As we start the New Year, many people have goals they hope to accomplish within the new year. That’s great! But, there are also some areas where it’s essential to think beyond the next 12 months; some goals take longer to accomplish.
When you were a freshman in college, likely you aspired to get your degree in 4 years, and so you spent the next four years working hard to achieve this goal.
Now that you are a teacher, it’s going to take the same work and discipline to get to your next professional goal, for example, getting your Master’s so you can receive a raise or promotion.
While you work on interim goals, there is one goal you need to spend your entire career working toward. Of course, we’re talking about planning for a comfortable retirement.
You hear about it all the time, people intend to retire, but then the housing bubble crashes, and they can no longer afford their home. Or a recession hits, and a spouse loses their job. Or, like right now, many people planning to retire are sticking it out longer due to inflation. Don’t let this happen to you. Instead, make this year the year you take action!
2 New Year’s Resolutions for Retirement Planning
There are two straightforward New Year’s Resolutions you can accomplish this year that can help set you up for success when you’re ready to retire.
- Start thinking about retirement now.
- Find a professional to help you.
Both goals are easy! The first one you’re doing right now. Just reading this blog post has got to have you thinking about retirement. Many teachers start thinking about retirement too late in the game. Serious retirement planning should begin much earlier. There’s no such thing as too soon for retirement planning.
As you think about retirement, what does it look like? Are you traveling a lot? Are you volunteering in your community? You may want to use all that extra time to get into a sport you enjoy.
For most people, it does take help from a financial expert to live their retirement as they want. This is where resolution #2 comes in. Working with a professional will help to determine your future needs and goals. It could mean that retirement is closer than you think! That sounds pretty good, right?
A financial professional can help you find ways to boost your retirement savings so that when you do retire, you don’t spend your golden years counting pennies. Plus, they’ll give you the motivation to stick to your goals.
How a Financial Planner Can Help
Here are a few other situations where having a financial planner can help you better prepare for retirement:
- You have a pension - know the amount you’ll receive so there are no surprises.
- You rent your home - when is the right time to buy? Or should you buy?
- You have debt - learn strategies for paying off debt faster and keeping it going.
- You don’t consider yourself to be financially savvy - learn simple habits to implement now to become savvy.
Having an expert guide you along the path to retirement can give you peace of mind. It’s not uncommon for new retirees to find themselves back to full-time work within a couple of years because they didn’t plan well. Often times it’s because they underestimated how much things would cost and the toll inflation takes when living on a fixed income.
When you work with a retirement advisor, they can help you to stay on track with your goals by regularly revisiting your plan and making adjustments where needed. As inflation increases or recessions appear on the horizon, the support of your advisor can help you easily navigate the financial bumps the economy throws at us.
Financial Retirement Specialists
Don’t find yourself nearing retirement age without enough time to gather the finances to sustain your retirement. Now is the time to plan to make your golden years shine!
Vector is a wealth management firm with over 30 years of experience helping people successfully plan for retirement. Our mission is to help teachers understand their goals and develop the right plan to get them there. So if you’re ready to invest in your future, give us a call today!