Retirement planning 3

Imagine if you could spend the money you are currently using to pay down your debts every month! Being debt-free costs a bit upfront, but it is key to being financially free eventually. Paying interests on debt is akin to lighting money on fire. Get rid of your debt as soon as possible.

You don’t want to work – working is not “retirement.” However, maybe you enjoy cooking, woodshop or spending time with dogs.  There are increased ways to make money from these types of hobbies.

If there is something you enjoy doing, you can figure out a way to get paid for it. Here are some ideas:

·       Offer dog sitting in your own home or take a dog for a walk.

·       Provide home services like house cleaning, gardening, handyman, errands…

·       Sell home cooking.

·       Sell handmade goods.

·       Sell your photographs.

Retiring abroad can offer adventure and a dramatic reduction in cost structure for your retirement.

There are affordable places to live in all corners of the world – places where the climate might be a little warmer, where the cost of housing might be a little (or a lot) less expensive, and the healthcare might be more affordable.

But is it realistic to think you can afford to spend your retirement years living in some exotic locale? Not only is retiring abroad plausible, the number of retirees who have done this has more than doubled since 2006. And the kicker? They’re doing it for a lot less money than you might think, some as low as $40 per day!

These days more of us have a different perspective on a retirement date.  Retirees today transition into retirement either by going part-time for a few years or we find a retirement job.

Creating a retirement plan might not seem like one of the most “creative” ways to retire.

However, only 30% of us have a long-term financial plan that includes savings and investment goals and a detailed outline for their retirement finances. So, if you have a plan, you are at least unique – if not creative!

And the good news for planners? The retirees who went through a rigorous planning process to figure out “how to retire” expressed the most satisfaction with retirement. When you create your plan you can try an infinite number of scenarios to see which is best for you.

Retirement planning 2

 Look Carefully at Your Current Spending: When you have established what is important to you, assess your current budget.  Take a detailed look at everything you spend money on – and cut out the little things that don’t really matter to save money.

Cut Costs: Figure out how to slash both the big and small costs. Look at where you live, who you spend time with and what you do on a daily basis.  If these aren’t in line with what is important to you, then make changes that can save you money and help you live a more meaningful life.

Retirement has three distinct stages; in the first phase, you might need and want to spend more after you stop working to travel or engage in new hobbies. But your spending will drop off as you get older.

Thinking through the details of how you see your retirement unfolding, and the spending required at each stage of retirement will give you some leeway to spend more (maybe just a little bit more) in certain years and less (perhaps much less) at other times.

Your home is your single greatest expense. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, the cost of a home and home-related expenses accounts for about 43% of spending for those who are 65 to 74. Reducing this cost could be one of the best ways to retire securely.

Furthermore, if you own your home, then it is also probably your most valuable asset and one that could be used to help fund retirement expenses.

Rent Out Your Home or a Room in Your Home: House sharing is becoming increasingly common. And, Airbnb has absolutely exploded in popularity. Renting out a room in your existing home (or your whole home when travelling) – either on a permanent or short-term basis – can be a great way to help fund retirement.

If reducing housing costs and releasing your home equity interests you, downsizing may be a great option for you. When you downsize you sell your existing home and buy or rent something less expensive. It can be a smaller home or a residence in another community

Retirement planning 1

The majority of people have not saved enough for retirement that is a fact and many are thinking that they may have to keep working well into their 70’s, if they stay healthy. There are ways to prepare for retirement even without adequate savings:

If you are emotionally or psychologically ready for retirement, but your finances are not quite there, you might explore taking an extended (3-12 month) vacation from work to get to see what retirement is like. Some of you may have already been faced with a long-term break because of COVID-19.

In normal circumstances, many people nearing retirement age find that an extended break from work is enough to recharge and re-energize. COVID has changed that and the break from work may be unwanted, but it will give you an idea of what life might be like when you retire.

Quitting your job with the hopes of finding a similar job upon your return is another option. However, many people who take a retirement gap year or are forced out of work by this Pandemic discover they can create an encore career and new passions during their time away from their normal career.

Having no work can force us to focus on the things that are enormously important to us. Living frugally is never going to be easy street and it will take some adjustments.

Most financial advisors assume that we want to maintain our spending habits when we retire. While this is true for some of us, many people redefine themselves in retirement and can dramatically reduce spending – one of the best ways to retire securely.

 Retirement is an excellent time to take stock of what you have and what you want. If you know what is most important to you, you can set goals and figure out a way to achieve your highest priority. Write down your retirement priorities and refer to them daily. It may even be helpful to write a list every day about what you want to accomplish and why.

Mind, Body, Spirit

Celebrated poet and novelist, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote when he was ill with leukemia:

“We were such wonderfully good friends, my body and I, I don’t know at all how it happened that we separated and became foreign to each other.”

For those who have a serious illness or chronic condition, I think they are separating from their body at a faster rate than those of us not seriously ill. For those of us not ill, we are separating from our bodies at a slower and less dramatic pace. Ageing could be seen as a gradual separation of mind/spirit from the body.

As we age, the shape of our life changes. So does our relationship to spirituality. So, as we separate mind and spirit from our bodies, here are some tips on how to keep the connection as long as you can:

1. Keep asking questions. Why do you believe what you believe? What would help strengthen your beliefs? What could you do differently?

2. Give thanks. Don’t forget to take a moment every day to think about what we have to be grateful for.

3. Take time for reflection. Not only is it a fulfilling exercise, but it can be beneficial to your mental and physical health.

4. Stay optimistic. Looking at the positive can help comfort you in difficult times and inspire you during the good times.

5. Pray. For those of you who equate spirituality with religion, praying is a simple act of faith, and it can have a positive impact your spirituality.

Keeping mind and spirit together is important, but what about self-image as we age and is there a difference between genders? Several studies have shown that older men express less concern about their appearances and the age-related changes in their bodies and compared to older women have higher self-esteem in later life. However, some men and women may experience a decrease in their self-esteem and feelings of attractiveness as they age because they bow to the idea that it is better to maintain a youthful appearance.

In addition, other studies show that many older women tend to be dissatisfied with their appearances and they continue to express the same levels of discontent found in young and middle-aged women.

As we slowly separate body, spirituality and our bodies become strangers to us we move toward total separation, which is death. It is, I believe a natural progression and I see it as no longer as a betrayal of my body by my mind, or my mind my body.