Making Room for the extras in Retirement

Are you up to 15 yrs out from Retirement?

In baby step 2  to Rock your way into Retirement, it’s important to consider what it is you are doing and plan as much as you can for this.

We are going to discuss how to plan for those extras in retirement, the sauce that gets added to the pasta that makes it taste just that little bit better.

If you read the last post, it was all about working out what your baseline is.  The amount that you need to fund the necessities of your lifestyle in retirement.

You can read that post here if you missed it>>

Completing these important steps will give you more confidence when transitioning into the big unknown.  You will have levers to pull when things change.

Before we get to that we have that all-important disclaimer.

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This is not advice, I don’t you, you don’t me or you might know me a little from these posts. 

I don’t know your personal circumstances and you should not take any advice from anyone that doesn’t know you. 

I only give advice to people I know, clients I work with where I know a lot about them by walking alongside them in their journey. 

If you are looking for advice and someone to walk that journey with you feel free to book a call here to see if we are a fit.  Otherwise, seek the advice of financial professional or accountant before implementing any advice to make sure it’s right for you.  That’s only common sense.

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THE TRADITIONAL RETIREMENT HAS CHANGED FOREVER!!

Retirement is not what it used to be, it’s changed forever.

No longer are we looking to just sit around on a park bench.

We want a sense of adventure.

We want to make it the best years of our lives and make it count.

It’s a chance to do all the things we never had time for when we were working.

As you start adding up the cost of retirement it can seem like such a big wall to climb.  The numbers may be huge.

I liken it to when you have children, you worry about the cost of bringing them up.  How are we going to manage, how are we going to afford it but somehow you just figure it out?

If you look back now, I think you’ll find you managed just fine.

People figure this retirement thing out, it will be ok and we’re here to help you figure out yours.

The key is to think big, get the big picture and then start one step at a time, or one domino at a time.

LIST YOUR WANTS!

What are wants?

Wants are the things you would like to do?  The things we have been thinking off doing but haven’t actually done them yet.

I want you to imagine what life would be like when you are retired.

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What are you doing?

Who are you with?

Who are you being?

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Think big here, and it doesn’t need to be material things, it can be things that cost very little as well.

One of the big wants and features prominently in most peoples retirement plans is travel.

Everyone loves to travel.

What type of travel are you looking to undertake and how often?

Are you someone who loves to travel overseas? Someone who loves caravanning? Someone who loves to sail?

Whatever it is, what are the travel experiences you are wanting to have?

You may be someone who only travels and stays in five-star hotels and travel in business class.

Or, you could be someone who travels budget.  You enjoy staying in backpacker accommodation and only fly economy because you want your dollars to go further.

Are you wanting to spend 6 mths of the year in one place?

To help you count the cost here are a few examples to use as inspiration:-

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Retired doctor who wants to travel yearly to overseas conferences to keep his finger in the pie.  They want to stay in five-star hotels and travel business class. 

This one is pretty easy to calculate.  You have the cost of the flights and accommodation.   Add to that add on experiences you want to have while in that location.  Estimate how many times you would be expected to complete these trips and you have your rough number.

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A couple wants to caravan around Australia covering NT, WA & QLD over a number of years early in their retirement.   They want to do it while they are fit and healthy. 

The cost for this would include the 4wd, caravan and additional costs that might be attached to these trips.

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A single male client of mine loves his motorcycles.   He wants to travel to all the MOTO GP races around the world.  Your talking flights and accommodation.  Add any add on travels along the way.

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One of my retired clients has an interest in lawn bowls.   They take the opportunity to travel to QLD in the winter months to compete at a bowls tournament.  Combining their love of bowls with travel and avoiding the colder weather. 

There is a social element to this one.  They now have a community of friends they see each year over winter while enjoying their interest in bowls.

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If you have an interest in golf, it could be traveling around the world to different golf courses.  Include things like the cost of flights and accommodation and entry to the golf courses.

If you have an interest in boating.  It will be the cost of the boat, perhaps a vehicle to tow the boat and how often you would want to replace the boat.

WHAT ARE YOU WANTS IN RETIREMENT?

Think big and write them down.

I would also encourage you to think about hobbies that are inexpensive that you would want to pursue and perhaps with your circle of friends.

You could be thinking of learning a language, going back to study, starting up a side hustle or learning a new skill?

These are all wants.

This will help in working out how you are going fill your time and have a Rocking time in retirement.

You could be thinking of buying a holiday house in a coastal location.

Do you buy it outright or do you just rent somewhere for that period of time giving you the flexibility to explore other places?

THE CHALLENGES!!

Follow this process and it will help you to start putting together the actual cost of your retirement.  You will have much more control of the outcomes.

However, as life changes, you are going to find that your wants change over time.  Having a guestimate allows you to make decisions along the way and course correct.

Think of it this way.

While you are working, preparing for retirement is like working on a farm.  You tend to it every day, making gradual improvements so that when you retire you can harvest your crop.

This is when you reap the benefits of all your hard work.

Or put another way you have limited human capital.  Your ability to earn an income(human capital) decreases every year.

The goal is to transfer your human capital into an asset that increases over time.  This asset then replaces your human capital when you are no longer working.

Some have understood that concept and saved hard over the years.   Those are more likely to be overfunded.  This is fantastic, it gives you more options and more ways to enjoy your retirement.

But, there are many that are going to be underfunded.

You know what, at all levels, there are ways that people still manage to have an awesome retirement.

Whatever position you are in, going through this exercise will help you count the cost or retirement and put you in a unique position.

A position to make positive choices now so you can have a ROCKING RETIREMENT.

It will also give you the power, that when you enter retirement, you have levers to pull if you need to adjust due to when circumstances change.

Let’s say the market corrects, and this has a negative impact on your retirement portfolio.  You may look at your plans and postpone some of these wants until things look a little better.

Just imagine how that feels, having levers you can pull to manage your way through retirement.

I’d also to be realistic with your timeframes.

I find that most of the needs are ticked off in the first 10-15yrs of retirement, and post that some people revert to the sitting on the bench when they get older.

Let me say, I have many clients in their late 70’s, early 80’s that are still very active and still ROCKING their RETIREMENT.

You can still experience the good things in life at all levels, it just requires a little planning and preparation.

Practical Planning

1. Sit down with your spouse.  If you are single do this yourself.
2. Think about all the wants that you both have and write them down.  Use the above examples as inspiration.
3. Put a date and approx cost on them.
4. Think about the hobbies or interests that do not cost a lot and list them as well.

Dream big here, you can always compromise/adjust once it’s on paper.

Add this to what you calculated as your baseline number in the previous post.

Next week we are going really big and talking about big aspirations goals.  The herbs and cheese to your pasta to make it just that extra tastier.

Now, go ROCK this…

NEED SOME HELP?

If you’re someone who is up to 15 years away from retirement.   You plan on being self-funded. You have accumulated some assets and want some help in figuring this stuff out.  Feel free to book in a 15 min Rock Retirement call here>>> and we can help you work out what that first step is for you.

I’ll be honest here, we won’t do your pushups for you.   But if you are motivated for the right reasons we can save you a lot of time and heartache.  We can save you from the mistakes most people make to fast track your way to a ROCKING RETIREMENT.

Ps. We don’t sell you anything on this call.  We will help you determine what the next step is for you.  However, if you are someone who is looking for a get rich scheme, silver bullet or believe you know everything we are not for you. If you are someone who really wants to achieve financial freedom, committed and wants to work collaboratively then we can help.

Hope that’s been useful.

 

Know someone that would gain benefit from the information, feel free to forward on.

Glenn

Make it a great Life!

Challenging the Status Quo!

Glenn Doherty – CFP – Founder & Financial Organiser at Jigsaw Private Wealth

Website: jigsawprivatewealth.com.au

Email: gdoherty@jigsawprivatewealth.com.au

Mob: 0401 253 729

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