The Rightsizing Retirement Revolution ARE YOU FINANCIALLY PREPARED TO LEAVE THE WORKFORCE?
A recent Google consumer survey reported that almost 50 percent of the baby boomer generation has less than $1,000 in savings accounts. What’s more, according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, the average boomer has saved a nest egg of about $8,178 per year for a 20-year retirement, and 41 percent of this generation has no retirement savings whatsoever. But, despite these troubling statistics, retirement is feasible for nearly all of us. It just requires a bit of “rightsizing.” As opposed to downsizing, rightsizing implies that you’re moving into a monetary space that’s right for you. With rightsizing, nothing matters more to the financial success of your retirement, regardless of the breadth of your budget, than carefully managing your spending. Seems obvious, right? But according to an
Employee Benefit Research Institute report, 46 percent of retirees actually increase their spending after leaving the workforce. To prepare for retirement, you need to start living below your means as soon as possible and develop habits that will last until long after you’ve left the workforce. And no, this certainly doesn’t have to be as grim a process as it sounds. You don’t need to give up the things you love to do or purchase. It simply means taking a hard look at your surroundings, your possessions, and your spending habits and do something about it. Are you sticking around in a house much larger than you need, simply because it’s full of old stuff? It might be time to jettison the junk lying around and give your mind — and your budget — some wiggle room. Concentrate on what you actually need in your life and identify how much of your
spending is simply to impress others. These are tough decisions to deal with, but if you want to have a fulfilling, long retirement, they’re absolutely essential things to consider. If you really want to zero in on your expenses, use an app like Mint or iFinance that imports your banking data and organizes your spending by category. You’ll likely find at least one surprise on your spending pie chart that you might just live without. It’s vital to acknowledge that your happiness has nothing to do with your stuff. This fact will be thrown into sharper relief as you age. After all, you can’t take a high-end coffee maker or fancy curtains with you when you pass. Trim your life down to the essentials and live with the comfort that you can retire comfortably with money to spare.
JOIN US FOR OUR COOKIE EXCHANGE AND CRAFT FAIR As the holidays roll around, one tradition we observe here at Retirement Planning Strategies is our annual cookie exchange and craft fair. This year, we’re planning our biggest event yet, and we’d love for you to join us. After all, nothing spreads holiday cheer quite like artisanal gifts and delicious cookies. Mariko’s cookies would be reason enough to attend, but that’s just half of the event. We also feature one-of-a-kind crafts, which make the perfect gift for that hard-to-buy- for person on your list. We have new local creatives unveiling their work every year, and we’re always amazed by their wares.
One final note: Dress warm! We’re thinking of holding the event outside this year. There will be heaters to add a little warmth, but it’s December in Colorado, so we can’t promise we’ll entirely eliminate the chill. Regardless of the temperature, we promise that the cookie exchange and craft fair will be an awesome day. We are hoping to donate as many socks as possible, so we hope you’ll come by, check out some gift ideas, and enjoy some of Mariko’s cookies. You may think 2,500 sounds like more cookies than we could ever go through, but we expect them all to go home with our wonderful, generous clients. Don’t miss out on this annual holiday event.
Our cookie exchange is a little different from others. Instead of bringing your own cookies to trade with other attendees, we let our resident baking expert (and new mom!), Mariko, handle the cookie-crafting responsibilities. Using facilities from a professional bakery, she whips up over 2,500 mouthwatering creations in a variety of flavors. We ask that you bring a new pair of socks to benefit Serving Kids. Those socks will get you a box that you can fill with a dozen cookies in whatever combination you’d like. Great cookies and donating to a worthy cause? That’s the definition of a win-win.
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