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4 Tips to Budget for Retirement

Everyone should budget for retirement, and the earlier you start planning for it, the better. Retirement can be a vibrant, fun, and adventurous stage of your life, but it can be stressful and dissatisfying without ample resources. 

Creating a budget for retirement involves estimating how much money you will need and making a plan to build up a nest egg during your working years. This means you need to look at your current budget, but you also have to anticipate future needs. 

This guide explains why people need to budget for retirement, and it provides tips on how to work through the process. 

Why You Need to Budget for Retirement

retired couple looking at their retirement plan

You work hard during your career, and once you retire, you want to enjoy the fruits of your labor instead of stressing over your finances. Creating a budget for retirement as soon as possible is critical to ensure that you are ready. 

Here are the three main reasons everyone needs to budget for retirement:

Retirement Can Last Decades

Retiring means decades of expenses without employment for most people, so it’s wise to prepare for this chapter in your life. You should plan to support yourself as long as possible — because the longer retirees live, the more difficult it can be for them to support themselves. 

A Budget Ensures You Can Cover the Essentials

You need to pay for housing, food, health care, and other essentials during retirement, and when you budget for retirement, you ensure you have the resources to cover the basics. People who don’t budget for retirement may be forced to apply for government aid or request help from relatives.

Retirement Should Be Fun

Aging can be difficult. You often have to deal with health issues and other age-related challenges, and adding financial woes on top can be disastrous. The right budget ensures you can cover the essentials and also plan for a bit of fun. 

Retirement can hold surprises for many, but preparation and planning can make the picture clearer. It allows you to look forward to your golden years and helps to ensure you enjoy them.

How to Budget for Retirement

a book full of retirement savings plans with glasses, a pen and calculator laying on top

Take some time to look at your current expenses to estimate how much you need to live each month. This number can provide a baseline for your retirement budget, but it can also help you identify potential areas for savings. 

You may be able to cut some unnecessary expenses now and channel those funds into your retirement account. Here are the main points you need to consider as you budget for retirement:

1. Think About Health Care Costs

Most people need more health care during retirement than they do at any other time in their life. Most people over 65 are entitled to Medicare, but this coverage has a lot of out-of-pocket expenses. You may not be able to home in on an exact estimate of your future health care premiums and copays, especially if you are decades from retirement. Estimating health care expenses and identifying plans such as long-term care coverage can keep your costs as low as possible. 

2. Consider Changes to Your Budget

Most people don’t have the same budget during retirement as they do during their working years. Homeowners often have hefty mortgage payments when they’re working, for example, but if they pay off their home, they will only need to cover taxes, upkeep, and utilities during retirement. 

Others may experience reduced expenses when they move to a smaller home or their kids move out. Think about how your budget is likely to change as you make estimates about how much money you’ll need during retirement.

3. Think About Extras You Want During Retirement

Not all budgets go down during retirement. Some people want more expendable income during retirement because they want to do more things. They may want to travel, go back to school, pursue expensive hobbies, or engage in other pursuits.

You are at work most of the time during your younger years, but you have all that time free during retirement. Don’t just create a budget that only covers the essentials. Take some time also to think about what you want to do to enjoy your retirement, and make sure you include those fun extras in your budget.

4. Identify Where You Can Save Money

Try to find places where you can save money in your current budget and your estimated retirement budget. Reducing your current expenses frees up funds to put into your retirement account; on the flip side, if you find ways to lower costs during retirement, you won’t need to save as much now.

You may want to consider moving to an area with a lower cost of living, for example, if you anticipate that you won’t be able to afford the lifestyle you want. You may want to sell your home and move to a smaller space or live in an RV or on a sailboat for a few years. 

You should have a sense of how much you need to pay for your retirement once you have worked through these steps to budget for retirement. Now you need to make a plan to meet your goal. A financial advisor can help you create a savings strategy and guide you toward the investments that can make your retirement possible. 

Retirement cannot be an afterthought that you ignore until you are ready to quit working. You should be actively planning for your retirement during your career, and to make the most of your efforts, you should consider working with a specialist.

Contact Bogart Wealth to Talk About Retirement Today

Maximizing your retirement fund means having the expertise to make a lot of informed decisions. Bogart Wealth offers numerous services to help people plan for their later years and preserve their assets for the next generation, and we would love to talk with you about your goals. 

We can help you realize the most comfortable retirement possible if you work with our skilled financial advisors to form a solid plan. Contact our team today so we can help you budget for retirement.

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION:

Please remember that past performance is no guarantee of future results.  Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by Bogart Wealth, LLC [“Bogart Wealth”]), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this blog will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful.  Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions.  Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this blog serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Bogart Wealth. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing. Bogart Wealth is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the blog content should be construed as legal or accounting advice. A copy of the Bogart Wealth’s current written disclosure Brochure discussing our advisory services and fees is available for review upon request or at www.bogartwealth.comPlease Note: Bogart Wealth does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to Bogart Wealth’s web site or blog or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility for any such content. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly. Please Remember: If you are a Bogart Wealth client, please contact Bogart Wealth, in writing, if there are any changes in your personal/financial situation or investment objectives for the purpose of reviewing/evaluating/revising our previous recommendations and/or services, or if you would like to impose, add, or to modify any reasonable restrictions to our investment advisory services.  Unless, and until, you notify us, in writing, to the contrary, we shall continue to provide services as we do currently. Please Also Remember to advise us if you have not been receiving account statements (at least quarterly) from the account custodian.

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