If your golden years are within sight, it’s time to get excited about what life will be like once you clock out of the office for good. Setting yourself up for financial success in your post-working years takes some planning, and it’s never too late to improve your financial situation before you decide to retire.
Here, we’ll look at a few steps you can take now to help you create the best financial situation possible.
Know Where You’re Starting
If you’ve pushed your retirement funds to the back of your mind, it can feel scary to tackle your financial situation head-on (especially if you’re not sure whether you’ll be able to retire at the time you originally planned).
Understanding where your retirement accounts stand can help you determine the steps you need to take moving forward. Looking at all of your accounts–including your savings, expected income from social security, and your retirement accounts–can help you understand your financial situation in retirement.
Not seeing exactly what you’d hoped? You can take steps now to help maximize your retirement, including meeting with a financial professional (more on that in just a moment).
Know Where You Want to Go
If you haven’t considered the type of life you’d like to have in retirement, this is the time. Your financial needs can differ greatly depending on the lifestyle you’d like to enjoy. If you live in a home that’s already paid off and you have no plans to move elsewhere, your retirement plan will likely look different than if you’d like to move to a new home in an area with a higher cost of living.
After you decide how you’d like your retirement to look, it will be easier for you to understand what you need to do financially to make your retirement dreams a reality.
Work With a Financial Professional
There’s no need to try to figure out your retirement finances independently, and talking with a trusted financial professional can give you concrete action steps to help you create the life you want. If you’ve never worked with a financial professional before, there’s no time like the present.
Whether you’re confident in your financial situation or you’re unsure of when you’ll be able to retire, a financial professional will be able to help you make the most of your current situation.
Remember, knowledge is power, and talking with someone who understands your retirement account’s ins and outs can give you more information to create the post-office life you and your family want.
Check In Regularly–And Make Adjustments
As the market fluctuates, it’s normal for your portfolio to change. Understanding where you’re at can help you make the adjustments necessary to create the financial circumstances necessary for the type of retirement you want. Understanding that fluctuations (both positive and negative) are a normal part of preparing for retirement can help you stay calm and focused as you move toward your golden years.
If you’re unsure whether you’re doing all you can to prepare yourself to manage normal market fluctuations, don’t be afraid to reach back out to your financial professional to ensure you’re moving in the right direction. You may also want to talk with the human resources department at your organization to ensure you’re maximizing your retirement contributions–the earlier you take this step, the better.
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