The age-old question remains, what percent of your salary do you really need for retirement? Will you need 60% or 90%? Most people think that a reasonable number for retirement is around 70% of their salary. However, the reason people think that this number sounds right, is because it’s the most common guess that people come up with. But, your retirement income shouldn’t be based off of random guessing, you should consider using numbers and proper planning to help determine your retirement budget, and to figure out just how much money you will need based on your personal goals, expected lifestyle and expenses.
When you end up doing the math and proper planning, it will likely turn out that you need much more of your income to live comfortably in retirement, than you had originally anticipated. In some cases, it may be twice the amount that you originally thought, which makes it nearly impossible to prepare for your retirement income without proper planning and saving. The reason that you need so much more money in retirement is because you have more COMPLIMENTARY time to spend your money. And, not to mention the fact that you’ll no longer be earning that steady paycheck. If you worked a 9 to 5 before retiring, then you likely had 8 hours a day where you probably weren’t spending too much money. This time may also have come with perks, like COMPLIMENTARY travel or happy hours sponsored by your employer. Once you are retired, you must fill those hours with activities in which costs can add up quickly. That’s why it’s important to try and keep an eye on your expenses and retirement budget for the long road ahead.
After you begin to get a sense of what activities you’ll be doing during your COMPLIMENTARY time, the first step to figuring out your retirement income is deciding your preferences. There is a big difference from living luxuriously to living modestly. You must budget if you will be going out to eat five nights a week or only one, and decide whether you will be ordering expensive wine or tap water with your meal. To try and better gauge how much money you will need for certain activities, you can break down your spending into seven categories; eating out, digital services, recharge, travel, entertainment and shopping, and basic needs. By setting a budget for yourself within each of these categories, it can help give you a better picture of your spending patterns in retirement.
Take the first step today by clicking HERE to schedule your no cost, no obligation review. Once you decide what your dream retirement looks like, you can get started on fulfilling those dreams by creating a financial plan that takes these dreams and your personal goals into account. At O’Donnell Financial Group, we can help you figure out how much money you will really need for retirement, and align your actions with your intentions through an actionable and customized plan.
