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Six easy-to-follow tips for planning for retirement

By : Guardian Nigeria

Date: 30 Aug 2022

Going to retire soon? It would be best if you could make a plan before you retire. Though nothing much has changed over time, you work to survive, make some savings, and after some years of working hard, you retire. At that time, you may find yourself in a different situation where you get nothing to do or no rush to meet the deadlines. You may start getting depressed when suddenly this happens. So, it is better to have a plan for your retirement.

Retirement plans are for those who are going to retire soon. When you are young you may not feel the pressure of old age pressure and it is also not bad. However, being long-sighted at a young age will be helpful for your old age, especially when you will retire. You may take ideas from people who already have been to that phase.

A retirement plan needs to be contented, reliable, and flexible enough that will make you feel like a safety cushion even in financial needs. Start the planning by making a goal for your retirement and savings to meet them. To make it easy, follow these six easy tips for a retirement plan:

1. Save money from an early age: For a retirement plan, it is imperative to think about saving money. If you have started already, you are on the right track, and don’t stop doing it. Think about the expenditure after retirement, make an assumption and save according to that. Your possible expanse could be:

Maintenance cost for your home
Average health-care and medical aid costs
Expanse for your essentials like food, clothing, etc.
Payment regarding entertainment and recreation, such as movies, restaurants, etc.
Regular instalments for life insurance
Spending on flights, hotels, or gas if you want to travel

2. Pay off all your debts before you retire: It is always better to settle all your debts while working. It may become a little harder to cope with all the expanse along with repaying the debts. If you are planning to take a loan for purchasing a home or a car then make sure that you sort this out until you retire. Even settle your credit card debts or mortgage loans before that. Things can be challenging at times so you can do some overtime to ease the burden when you are retired.

3. Making some investments can be helpful: Investments can be really helpful during your retirement period. It will keep you busy and hand you some money to deal with your life. You can invest in:

1. - The stock market to buy stocks through mutual funds or trade-fund exchanges. Keep a close eye on the stock price fluctuations and take informed decisions at the right time to minimise the risk of loss.
  - Bonds are a bit more popular than stocks as the price fluctuates a little less than that. You can invest in treasury bonds.. However, the interest rate for the bonds is low and the price of the yield will rise when the price falls. So, if you want to sell it before the bonds mature, you may need to sell it at a decreased price.
  - Different types of assets like gold, silver, oil, and so on. The most common asset investment is gold since its price tends to increase during recessions. You can make good money with it easily but you should talk to professionals before you start investing to understand the procedure to make it worthwhile.

4. Think about investing in your health insurance: It is important to think about your health. Anything can happen at any time so better to be prepared for that. Enrol in health insurance before you retire or sign up for it once you are retired. This will cover your medical expenses when you need them. You can pay for medications, prescriptions, and appointments with it which will keep you away from spending extra money. On the other hand, you may maintain a healthy lifestyle accordingly.

5. Start new hobbies: People need something to help fill their time once they stop working. Although most individuals look forward to the day they no longer have to go to work, most people do not know what to do with all the new free time they have! The sooner you start looking for hobbies and activities, the easier it will be once you retire as you can join local clubs related to your new hobby/activity.

6. Spend time working in part-time jobs: Part-time jobs can be a good option to spend time before it starts to bore you. This will keep you busy, hand you some extra money, and make you feel good about yourself. You can also go with your hobby or skill or whatever that makes you happy.

The retirement journey for everyone is unique and you can enjoy every bit of it by making a plan. Whether you pick a new hobby or take a tour of the world, your financial stability should be on point because it will keep you fit both mentally and physically. At the end of the day, a proper retirement plan can let you have the confidence to live a healthy life with a peaceful smile on your face.