If you were lucky enough to have been advised to start planning your retirement early, and you did, you’ll know that saving for retirement can take a number of decades. If you’re just getting started today’s blog is vital to your retirement savings success, and your future happiness.
The reason why is that along the way there will be a number of variables that you simply can’t control, making it nearly impossible to come up with a retirement plan that’s perfect. On the other hand, there are a number of mistakes that you can certainly avoid in order to end up with the most money in your retirement nest egg as possible once you’re there, but also be very happy and content as well. Enjoy.
Failure to diversify your investments is a huge mistake, and one that delayed retirement for many after the economic crash five years ago. Make sure to stash some money in easily liquidated accounts like a savings and check account, or even a CD or money market account. But don’t put too much into these low interest earning accounts as inflation is a nasty bugger that can eat away at your hard earned money. Make sure to put some money in aggressive investments as well.
One of the biggest mistakes that some people make is focusing completely on money alone for retirement. While having plenty of digits in your retirement savings account is necessary, having family and friends to spend time with during retirement is extremely important. Also, making sure that you stay in good health so that, once you reach retirement, you can actually enjoy yourself, is a darn good idea. Frankly, while having a lot of money during retirement is helpful, it won’t buy you the comfort of good friends and close family that make your retirement years enjoyable.
Another mistake that many consumers make is to compare what they’ve managed to accomplish to others. Simply put, there’s always going to be someone who’s amassed more wealth, put more into savings and has more assets than you do. If your identity is based on “having the most” you will surely find yourself crushed at one point or another in the future when you find out that you don’t. Simply put, being able to feel good when seeing others who have “more” than you do will make your retirement much more pleasant. If you manage to avoid the mistake above and have surrounded yourself with loving family and friends, having a ton of “toys” or a summer retreat in Spain won’t matter as much anyway.
One final mistake that we’ll take a look at today is extreme frugality. Yes, trying to maximize every dollar that you save and put it to work for you is a good strategy but, occasionally, it’s also nice to spend a little bit of your hard earned money on those around you that you care about the most. You certainly don’t want to be broke during retirement but having said that, if you have been a generous person throughout your adult life, you certainly won’t be broke in one of the departments that counts the most, strong and loving relationships.
The best thing you can do when it comes to retirement is stay as flexible as possible and not focus to much on every small detail. Having a plan and sticking to it is all good and well but being able to deviate occasionally, even if just for a little while and with a few dollars, will make your life, and your retirement, much more enjoyable.