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IRA Financial Blog

Are You Ready for Retirement?

Ready for Retirement

It can be difficult to know when you’re ready to retire both financially and emotionally.

Key Points
  • Are your finances in order?
  • Do you have a plan?
  • Can you cope with the future?

Know Your Worth

To retire, you need more than just the strong desire to stop working. You need to know that you have everything in order and can take care of yourself and your loved ones as needed, whatever should arise. Many financial advisors recommend a goal amount to reach for retirement, but more recent wisdom suggests looking at your annual needs to make sure you’ve got enough income to match your lifestyle.

Are you ready for retirement? Hopefully, you’ve been funding your 401(k) or IRA all along the years that you’ve been working. If you haven’t it may not be too late. If you’re a solo entrepreneur, you can even start a Solo 401(k). A Self-Directed IRA can help anyone reach his or her retirement goals by opening up your investment options. Getting clear on your financials is paramount, because if you can’t support yourself, you can’t retire.

Getting Ready to Retire

Looking ahead is important as you decide what you want to do with your golden years. Are you ready for retirement? Will you be traveling? Staying home and watching the grandchildren grow up? Will you fund an archaeological expedition with the extra money you’ve been putting aside? Knowing what you want to do makes a difference in how you approach the years to come.

And the earlier you know what your long-term goals are, the easier it becomes to save for them, because you have a real target to work towards. Let’s say you want to take your retirement savings and the real estate you’ve invested in and live on the beach. You planned early, knew what you wanted, invested in a beach house, have been collecting rents all along, and have a workable plan for what you’re going to spend your years doing. If you just got to retirement and hadn’t planned all that out, you wouldn’t have the retirement you hope for.

Related: Debt & Saving Money

Know Your Health

If you currently enjoy insurance covered by an employer, you will need to wait for Medicare or purchase insurance on your own to cover any health issues. Be honest with yourself about your health. Are you prone to stationary living? Does your family have a history of heart trouble? Make the best decisions you can for your health and get in shape while you’re young, although it truly is never too late.

Focus your insurance purchasing on what it can do for you, how it is proactive, and what it covers, and not just a price comparison. Until the United States get universal health care, it’s your responsibility to take the proper measure to ensure your health and keep yourself covered in the event of emergency. Really looking into the options before you need them can reduce stress and pressure-picking a plan that might not work for you.

Are You Ready for Retirement?

If you’re having trouble making ends meet while you’re working, it can be difficult to find the money in your budget to fund your retirement. Beyond paying your bills, you also have to be sure your debts are paid and that you don’t have outstanding financial obligations that you won’t be able to meet.

Consider if you enjoy your work, that you may not want to retire when society tells you it’s acceptable. Doing a job and having a career you enjoy is a very special gift denied to many. Don’t feel that you necessarily have to follow someone else’s rules. And the longer you work the longer you can save for retirement, so that when you eventually do retire, you can have even more of a financial cushion and stability.

Related: Retirement Benefits You Should Know

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