Reaching retirement age is a milestone and a part of life that needs forethought and a bit of planning. A time when most are at the zenith of their chosen careers and their earning history, 60 or near-60 is also the time to figure out how you could save money and live better when you actually hang up your work boots:
1. Take stock
The first step is figuring out all your assets. Balances in any and all bank accounts, stocks and shares that you might have purchased and their value, and any investments you may have already put your money into.
2. Calculate your needs
Ask yourself, am I saving enough for retirement? Figure out how much money you would need to take care of your day to day expenses – keep in mind your longevity, the inflation and the extra for emergencies. Once you have this figured out, match it with your savings and see where you stand.
3. Plan retirement investments
Make sure that by the time you retire, you are set with safe investments - your funds have been pulled out from risky investments, and have steadily been shifted to safer yields instead. To help set up a steady stream of income from savings, there are senior-specific fixed deposit offers at various banks along with opportunities such as the Post Office Monthly Income Scheme (POMIS) Account, or Senior Citizens' Saving Scheme (SCSS) that can also be explored.
4. Trim the fat
As you get older you need to start eating healthier, living healthier, taking it easy and decluttering your life. This holds true for money, investments and expenses too. How you spend your money? What are actual needs and what are just habits that can be dropped? Are there luxuries you may have outgrown? This is a good time to examine your lifestyle and reassess these and more choices to reduce your cost of living and increase your balance in the bank.
As long as you plan it well and have a robust ‘money-saving box’ to back you up, life, no matter how long, can be lived freely, and choices can be made fearlessly.
Do you have more such savings plans? Let us know, in the comments below.
