Start with a financial checkup.Do it own your own, then sit down with a financial advisor to look at your fuzzy retirement goals. It can be just the dose of reality needed to change your behavior.
Your advisor will help you set real, measurable financial goals. As you get closer to retirement, it is no longer some vague event that you hope will happen in a decade or so. The investment world has changed radically since 2008 and you need to know the real numbers. Set firm, measurable short- and long-term financial goals.
Build a workable plan. Achieving those milestones along the way is exhilarating—almost like a preview of what being debt-free is all about. If you just keep doing what you are doing and stick to your plan, you will make it. When you build your plan, talk it over with your significant other, and make sure both of you are totally committed to the plan
Realize you are not alone. Since 2008, when the interest rates on CDs and fixed income securities dropped to the point of not keeping up with true inflation, even folks who have managed to accumulate some wealth have had to make some tough choices when it comes to priorities. We have many friends who have owned a lot of luxury cars who are quite proud to drive up in their new Toyota and discuss how much they saved along the way.
There is no shame in adjusting your lifestyle to the current environment. Simply put, you have to do what you have to do! While it may have been nice to feel rich during the boom times, adjusting your lifestyle and spending patterns to avoid being poor is not shameful; quite the contrary, it is prudent. The solution to too much debt is twofold: first, make a true commitment to get out of debt; and, second, learn the skills to do so. Many folks have never learned to save. Once your goal is true, stress-free financial independence, it is worth giving up a lot of stuff.
Your advisor will help you set real, measurable financial goals. As you get closer to retirement, it is no longer some vague event that you hope will happen in a decade or so. The investment world has changed radically since 2008 and you need to know the real numbers. Set firm, measurable short- and long-term financial goals.
Build a workable plan. Achieving those milestones along the way is exhilarating—almost like a preview of what being debt-free is all about. If you just keep doing what you are doing and stick to your plan, you will make it. When you build your plan, talk it over with your significant other, and make sure both of you are totally committed to the plan
Realize you are not alone. Since 2008, when the interest rates on CDs and fixed income securities dropped to the point of not keeping up with true inflation, even folks who have managed to accumulate some wealth have had to make some tough choices when it comes to priorities. We have many friends who have owned a lot of luxury cars who are quite proud to drive up in their new Toyota and discuss how much they saved along the way.
There is no shame in adjusting your lifestyle to the current environment. Simply put, you have to do what you have to do! While it may have been nice to feel rich during the boom times, adjusting your lifestyle and spending patterns to avoid being poor is not shameful; quite the contrary, it is prudent. The solution to too much debt is twofold: first, make a true commitment to get out of debt; and, second, learn the skills to do so. Many folks have never learned to save. Once your goal is true, stress-free financial independence, it is worth giving up a lot of stuff.
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