Have you got plenty of retirement plans? Are you seriously planning for retirement? Well here’s why it might be time to be a bit more selfish with your money!
Many of us have plans for our retirement, whether it’s travelling the world with your partner, downsizing or even moving abroad! However big your plans are, they all require some form of finances to achieve.
Saving Enough For Retirement?
Statistics from pension advice specialists, Portafina show that even with these future goals in mind, nearly two fifths of over 45-year olds don’t think that they’re currently saving enough or have saved enough to fulfil these plans. Indeed, more than a third of 55 to 59 year olds don’t think that they’re saving enough for their own future full stop, despite the fact that they want to retire in the next 10 to 15 years!
For many, the barrier to saving for their future is that their income is simply not large enough to balance their outgoings. Others may suffer with expensive ill health, lack of help or just not understanding how much money they should be putting aside if they’re to achieve their retirement dreams.
Some of the biggest concerns of those approaching retirement include whether they will be able to pay their bills with their monthly pension payments. Or if they’ll have enough money to sustain their lifestyle, let along achieve their dreams for the future.
Planning for Retirement
Geraldine Joaquim, De-Stress Coach at Mind Your Business gives her tips on how to mentally prepare for the future: “Just thinking about the future is the start of moving you towards the goal. Whether you’re interested in travelling or building a lifestyle business, putting your plans on paper is an important aspect of making them come to fruition.
“Without planning, all those big ideas end up not coming into fruition. The very act of writing them out makes them more concrete and helps you visualise the steps you might need to take you there. It’s a kind of mind-mapping which gets your subconscious thinking about what the next logical step should be to make your plans a reality.”
Mentally preparing for the future is half the battle. However, there are more tangible steps you can take to get your finances in order and give yourself the best chance of being able to afford your future plans – whether this is starting your own business or paying off your mortgage.
For Jamie Smith-Thompson at Portafina, it’s important to focus on yourself financially as early as possible. We all love to spoil our family and relatives, but we mustn’t forget about ourselves and our savings in the process!
Be Selfish With Your Money
“A quick Google search throws up lots of how-to lists when it comes to planning for a better financial future. But you’ve got to question how useful these lists really are if, as a nation, we are not being a bit more selfish about our money until we reach our early 60s!
“Don’t get me wrong, practical checklists can be a great help when it comes to financial planning. But sometimes a change of attitude is just as important. Like most of us, I’ll do anything to help my family and friends. And yet, I think it’s really important to get the balance right. There’s nothing wrong with sometimes saying no to others if it means you can put more aside for your future. Why shouldn’t you get to do more of the things you want to do as you get older?
“Being a bit more selfish simply means putting your financial future first now and again. You deserve it!”
Planning for retirement is important – very important! If you’re unsure whether you’re on track to making your saving plans a reality, or if it’s time to focus on ‘me, myself and I’ a bit more, then take this handy quiz at: https://www.portafina.co.uk/blog/quiz-whose-money-is-it-anyway
