Don’t risk watching your hearse towing a trailer full of money to your grave

Imagine this, you go through your whole retirement worried about spending money on experiences. You do the bare minimum, maybe miss out on a few luxuries along the way and more importantly important experiences.

All because you’re fearful about running out of money.

But as you age, you look back, look at the money you had and realise you could have done a whole lot more if you’d known.

Maybe gone on an extra adventure or two, whether that’s local travel or overseas travel.

Lived a little more comfortably.

Skipped a home cooked meal for a relaxed meal at your favourite restaurant more often.

Paid someone to do chores at home to make life a little more comfortable.

Worked longer than you thought because you just didn’t know.

Waiting for the right time to do something, only to have your health stop you from doing it.

Helped your kids out when they really needed it.

But now you’re dead, upstairs looking down as the hearse carries your body to your final resting place with a huge trailer in tow with all the money you left behind.

I can’t imagine this would be a pleasant feeling…

Fear of Running Out…

Or FORO for cool kids out there…

The number one fear for people entering retirement today is the fear of running out of money.

And rightly so, no one wants to live in poverty after spending the last 30 or 40 years saving their hard earned money to live a comfortable life in retirement.

But the fear is real, I see this everyday with the people I speak with.

It’s no surprise when you need to make your money last for the next 30-40 years. You’ve got no idea what’s going to happen.

Without the right guidance you may face this fear, cautious about how you spend your money.

But the problem with this is it leads to severe regret later in life. All at a time when you don’t have to spend much to live. After all you’re not as active, travelling less and probably spend your days visiting medical specialists whether we like it or not.

It’s a balancing act between spending enough and not running out…it’s a complicated equation.

How are you addressing your fear of running out?

Under Spending in Retirement is Real…

Yes, under spending in retirement is a major risk, but you may not be aware of it just yet.

Why?

If you haven’t done the work to determine how much you can comfortably spend. You’ll always have guilt about spending money. Second guessing yourself.  Missing out because you fear you’ll run out of money.

The reality is very different for many people.

Even the government is concerned many will leave this earth with money unspent.

In a study between ASIC (Australian Security and Investment Commission) and APRA (Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) they revealed there was evidence a high proportion of Austrailian’s retirement benefits remained unspent.

Indicating many people struggle with spending their money in their retirement years.

Why?

Simply because they fear they will run out…

This is a worrying statistic. Meaning people are leaving important experiences and memories on the table.

Speaking with people entering this phase of life everyday, it’s evident people are struggling with this in a BIG way. There is little out there to help them maximise their lifestyle with confidence.

Maybe it’s people’s fears and maybe there’s too much self interest in the financial industry. After all they don’t make money if you spend it all…think about that for a minute.

It’s very clear people transitioning into retirement need help with maximising their retirement years so they maximise their experiences and memories. So they don’t leave this earth looking from above as the hearse drives to your final resting place with a trailer full of money you didn’t spend.

That’s why we do what we do, helping people to maximise their retirement years without the fear of running out.

Biggest Regrets Of The Dying From A Nurse Working In Palliative Care

Sadly in 2023, my mum passed away from cancer after a nearly 15 year battle. She lasted many years past what all the doctors said.

It had been a long battle and watching her at the end was heartbreaking. But ultimately her body gave up and she passed away in the middle of the night. I’ll never forget the phone call from my father at 2:30am on Monday morning. The day after my youngest’s confirmation.

Unfortunately they lived interstate.

Rather than going into palliative care, my father cared for her at home, but there were some very open and honest conversations I’ll never forget.

Bronnie Ware was a Palliative care worker in Australia and wrote the book, “Regrets of the Dying”.

In her book she opens up about the conversations she had with those at the end of their life and summarised the regrets they had.

Here are the top 2:

• I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me

It was the choices they didn’t make. Leaving this earth, realising they had unmet dreams that weren’t realised. It’s important to understand once your health goes, it’s too late to add to your experiences and realise more dreams.

• I wish I hadn’t worked so hard

Speaking about every patient Bronnies nursed, there was a common theme, working too hard.

Thinking they needed more income to be happy. This leads to bitterness and resentment.

The other three:

• I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings
• I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends
• I wish that I let myself be happier

Herein lies the biggest challenge, balancing out living a comfortable lifestyle with the money you have.

Avoid heading into retirement stressed & lacking the confidence to spend

Working out how much you can comfortably spend in retirement is a complex equation. With many unknowns, it’s the most challenging part of planning your retirement. There’s no one size fits all equation, it’s very personal to your unique circumstances.

If you don’t have a clear plan on how to spend your money in retirement, you risk leaving too much.  More importantly, you risk leaving far too many memories and experiences behind.

Things to consider include, returns, uncertainty over longevity, inflation, investment risk, spending rates and ultimately running out of money. Get one calculation wrong and it’s going to lead to a retirement full of missed opportunities.

The BIG issue is the superannuation system gives so much guidance when you’re working but leaves you lost at sea when it comes to your retirement.

I can certainly back this up with the many conversations I have with people struggling to plan for their retirement years every week. It doesn’t matter if people have a lot of money or very little, it’s the same across the board.

It’s one reason why working with a professional can help you not only solve this problem while providing the guidance and confidence to spend based on the money you have.

Retirement planning is much more than just super and investments. More importantly it’s about securing your regular income to fund your retirement lifestyle while maximising your experiences.

To do this you must make a sound plan to extract your income from your capital without putting yourself at risk of running out of money.

Or even worse, leave experiences and memories behind…

Ready to take the first step to secure your retirement?

Book your Retirement Clarity Call by clicking here…

It’s a quick 15 minute chat to pinpoint the gaps in your current plan and a roadmap to resolve them.

You deserve to retire on your terms…

Glenn Doherty – CFP – Financial Planner | Retirement Planning Specialist |Retirement Planning Made Simple for over 55’s within 7 years of retirement

We work with people in Adelaide and around Australia virtually via zoom!

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