Plan for retirement financial changes

#Middlebury #Seniors

If you’re planning for retirement, it’s easy to assume that you’ve covered all the financial details. Based on my own experiences, however, here are a few things you might have overlooked in your budget:

• Incidental spending might need to come to an immediate halt. When I retired, out of the half-dozen charities I routinely supported, I had to settle on two of them, at a fraction of the previous amount.
• Buying in bulk on sale to stock up on canned goods or paper products was no longer automatic. Even bargains had to be considered in the overall total of the monthly grocery bill.
• The thermostat has been lowered a bit to cut back on the fuel bill. (See Energy.gov for calculations on just how much you can save and whether a programmable thermostat will help you conserve energy.)
• When it came to an emergency home repair, I could no longer afford to just call someone and have it fixed. I knew there were senior service organizations in town, but I’d never applied for help. Finally I had to, and the work was done for free, but it was quite a jolt to actually need to ask for help.

When you do your retirement planning, consider everything. Ideally you’ll spend a full year in advance living only on the amount you’ll have during retirement, writing down every dime you spend. Where you spend more (such as with charities or stocking up), be sure to note those expenses. Consider home repair, vehicle maintenance, new clothing … don’t leave anything out.

First on your to-do list, however, is to pay off credit-card debt before you retire, and then pay off any balance each month.

© 2019 King Features Synd., Inc.