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Category: Financial Planning

Two Ways to Trim Your Spending in Retirement

Two Ways to Trim Your Spending in Retirement

Saving money before and during retirement so their standard of living doesn’t suffer is important for many retirees. Unfortunately, many Americans aren’t saving nearly enough and are falling short of setting aside adequate funds to support their retirement needs. The average retirement savings for people aged 56-61 is only $163,577.[i] Meanwhile, one estimate of what retirees can expect, on average, to spend on healthcare is nearly $275,000.[ii] The National Institute for Retirement Security estimates that America has up to a $14 trillion gap in retirement savings.[iii]

If you are retired and find that balancing your savings and spending is an ongoing challenge, follow these tips for ways to trim your expenses and save more.

  1. Cut Your ‘Time-Saving’ Costs

When you’re employed and busy managing your career and family, spending money on time-saving items—like professional house cleaning or monthly food-subscription services—can be helpful. Once you retire, however, you typically have more time on your hands. You may be paying for items that are no longer necessary. You can save money each month by trimming or eliminating any time-saving resources you don’t need to support your retirement lifestyle.

  • Actions to take:
  • List all the monthly, quarterly, and annual subscriptions and services you have. Identify which ones aren’t necessary.
  • Consider taking over household chores you pay someone else to manage.
  • Assess how much you spend on eating out, and switch to eating in for some of those meals.

2. Reduce Your Health-Care Costs

Actions to take:

Retirees typically spend a large amount on health care, often siphoning income that could be used for other expenses. Unless you have the money to pay these bills, they could leave you in a financial bind. You can help reduce some of your medical costs by learning to shop around. For example, changes like getting an MRI at a radiologist instead of a hospital can make a difference in your medical bills, as the radiologist is typically less expensive.[iv]

  • Get comparative quotes from hospitals and other medical professionals.
  • Check prescription costs at different pharmacies and consider buying generic.
  • Revisit your insurance plans to help identify if you’re receiving the best value.

Every retiree’s financial life and needs are different, so knowing a true breakdown of your daily, monthly, and yearly costs (your budget) is important for finding ways to save. By taking time to assess what may be unnecessary spending in your life, and reducing or eliminating these expenses, you may have more money on hand for other lifestyle needs.

To learn more about how you can trim your spending or pursue other financial goals in retirement, please contact us at 800.929.1001 or visit our site at http://capsouthwm.com/services/financial-estate-planning/ We’re happy to help you explore strategies for your unique needs.

Investment advisory services are offered through CapSouth Partners, Inc., dba CapSouth Wealth Management, an independent registered Investment Advisory firm. Information provided by sources deemed to be reliable. CapSouth does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information.  This material has been prepared for planning purposes only and is not intended as specific tax or legal advice.  Tax and legal laws are often complex and frequently change.  Please consult your tax or legal advisor to discuss your specific situation before making any decisions that may have tax or legal consequences.

This article contains external links to third party content (content hosted on sites unaffiliated with CapSouth Partners). The policies and procedures governing these third-party sites may differ from those effective on the CapSouth company website, as outlined in these Disclaimers. As such, CapSouth makes no representations whatsoever regarding any third-party content/sites that may be accessible directly or indirectly from the CapSouth website. Linking to these third-party sites in no way implies an endorsement or affiliation of any kind between CapSouth and any third party, including legal authorization to use any trademark, trade name, logo, or copyrighted materials belonging to either entity.

[i] https://www.thebalance.com/average-retirement-savings-by-age-4155888

[ii] https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/24/average-couple-will-spend-275000-on-health-care-in-retirement.html

[iii] https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewbiggs/2016/07/21/how-much-retirement/#1c4486b94d28

[iv] http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/091615/7-ways-reduce-healthcare-costs-retirement.asp

Why You Still Need Goals-Based Planning in Retirement

Why You Still Need Goals-Based Planning in Retirement

Before you retired, you may have spent time developing strategies to help you reach your retirement goals. You might have invested for the income you would need, minimized your debt, or protected yourself with long-term-care insurance. By focusing on your financial goals and envisioning the lifestyle you wanted for that next stage in life, you were able to build a path toward retirement.

Now that you are retired, you are no longer setting long-range goals because you’ve likely reached your destination, right? Not quite.

Each stage in life requires new goals and strategies, and retirement is no different. Here are some reasons why goals-based planning can still help you build the life you enjoy, even in retirement.

Your New Reality May Not Be What You Expected

The Employee Benefit Research Institute found that fewer than half of retirees say that their retirement is very enjoyable, no matter their economic status or gender.[I]

As you prepared for this phase of life, you may have envisioned your dreams of a leisurely lifestyle coming true. But as reality set in, you found the life you once imagined is not what you are experiencing. If this is true for you, you can still make the most of your retirement by acknowledging how you’re feeling and identifying the necessary steps to revamp your perspective and experiences.

Ask Yourself these Questions:

  • What exactly do I feel unhappy about? And what am I able to change?
  • What have I been unable to achieve so far? And what are the roadblocks?
  • What lifestyle changes can I make? What can I change now to make my life different?

You May Need New Lifestyle Goals

The average retiree in America will spend 18 years in retirement.[ii] Before you retired, you had to focus on the goals that would help you retire comfortably; now you may need to look at how you want to spend your time.

If you have reached retirement and found yourself feeling disappointed or disillusioned, you can make changes. You can start revamping your lifestyle by identifying ways to enhance your enjoyment and deepen your engagement in the long term.

Ask Yourself these Questions:

  • Are there any new hobbies I would like to pursue?
  • What volunteer opportunities could increase my community involvement?
  • Should I get a part-time job, and what new skills can I develop to support my search?

Ultimately, every stage in life brings new experiences and fresh priorities. Just because you spent years working to ensure you could afford retirement doesn’t necessarily mean that the planning and preparation stops once you retire. Of course, your unique financial situation and life values will drive how goals-based planning can help you in retirement.

If you’d like to explore how to strengthen your goals and better ensure you live your best retirement life, feel free to contact us.

Investment advisory services are offered through CapSouth Partners, Inc., dba CapSouth Wealth Management, an independent registered Investment Advisory firm. Information provided by sources deemed to be reliable. CapSouth does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information.  This material has been prepared for planning purposes only and is not intended as specific tax or legal advice.  Tax and legal laws are often complex and frequently change.  Please consult your tax or legal advisor to discuss your specific situation before making any decisions that may have tax or legal consequences.

This article contains external links to third party content (content hosted on sites unaffiliated with CapSouth Partners). The policies and procedures governing these third party sites may differ from those effective on the CapSouth company website, as outlined in these Disclaimers. As such, CapSouth makes no representations whatsoever regarding any third party content/sites that may be accessible directly or indirectly from the CapSouth website. Linking to these third party sites in no way implies an endorsement or affiliation of any kind between CapSouth and any third party, including legal authorization to use any trademark, trade name, logo, or copyrighted materials belonging to either entity.

[i] http://time.com/money/4383981/retirement-3-ways-isnt-boring/

http://time.com/money/4308089/retirement-happiness-satisfaction-study/

[ii] https://www.thebalance.com/average-retirement-age-in-the-united-states-2388864

 

Important Topics for Older Parents to Discuss with Adult Children

Important Topics for Older Parents to Discuss with Adult Children

How do you talk to your adult children about your financial plans and future health-care needs? Both you and your children may view this type of discussion as uncomfortable, awkward, or even confusing. It can be difficult, but putting it off only makes matters more complicated later.

Having these types of financial and end-of-life discussions, ironically, instills a sense of confidence and comfort in everyone involved. Parents who talked with their adult children about their concerns about aging were pleased with the discussions: 95% reported experiencing peace of mind, compared to 63% of parents who didn’t discuss their concerns with their children.[I]

Here are some topics to help get you started.

Caregiving Wishes

 

Making preparations for health-care needs during later years in life is important.

Preparing for future health problems that may affect your independence is a good topic to discuss with your adult children. Most seniors—7 in 10—will require some form of long-term care as they age.[ii] Elderly people generally need some form of assistance with basic daily tasks, such as bathing and dressing. Some 90% of people over 65 prefer to stay at home as long as possible.[iii]

Here are some talking points:

  • Do you intend to stay in your home with a caregiver?
  • Do you prefer to move to a retirement community or nursing home?
  • Do you have long-term care coverage to help your caregiving costs?

End of Life Discussions

Despite the challenges, many families still haven’t taken the opportunity to talk about end-of-life issues. More than half of adult children say they haven’t discussed wills or their parents’ estates.[iv]

Here are some questions to begin the conversation:

  • Do you prefer hospice care, and if so, at a hospice facility or at home?
  • What do you intend to do with your estate?
  • How do you want your family to remember or celebrate your life?

Important Document Locations

It’s important to let your adult children know where you store important documents. Without knowing where documents are, your adult children will have a difficult time upholding your wishes without court interference.

Here are some questions:

  • Where do you keep your will?
  • What passwords do you have for protected accounts?
  • Where can your children find information on the power of attorney?
  • Click here to learn more about estate planning

Ultimately, you should address these and other topics with your adult children soon to help ensure they’re able to carry out your wishes. Your unique life and goals will determine what topics you need to address. Feel free to contact CapSouth Wealth Management at 800.929.1001 for more information. It’s our goal to help you make the most of your financial life.

Investment advisory services are offered through CapSouth Partners, Inc., dba CapSouth Wealth Management, an independent registered Investment Advisory firm. Information provided by sources deemed to be reliable. CapSouth does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information.  This material has been prepared for planning purposes only and is not intended as specific tax or legal advice.  Tax and legal laws are often complex and frequently change.  Please consult your tax or legal advisor to discuss your specific situation before making any decisions that may have tax or legal consequences.

This article contains external links to third party content (content hosted on sites unaffiliated with CapSouth Partners). The policies and procedures governing these third-party sites may differ from those effective on the CapSouth company website, as outlined in these Disclaimers. As such, CapSouth makes no representations whatsoever regarding any third-party content/sites that may be accessible directly or indirectly from the CapSouth website. Linking to these third-party sites in no way implies an endorsement or affiliation of any kind between CapSouth and any third party, including legal authorization to use any trademark, trade name, logo, or copyrighted materials belonging to either entity.

[i] https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/Family-Finance-Study-Executive-Summary.pdf

[ii] https://www.phca.org/for-consumers/research-data/long-term-and-post-acute-care-trends-and-statistics

[iii] https://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/ppi/liv-com/aging-in-place-2011-full.pdf

[iv] https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/Family-Finance-Study-Executive-Summary.pdf

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