Financial planning tools are important when you are approaching retirement. This process can be overwhelming, tedious and full of worry for you if you need direction concerning how you will support yourself and your loved ones throughout your retirement. Fortunately, there are many tools that cater to the tough decisions associated with retirement. These tools will help to give you perspective and direction toward financial freedom so that you can focus on the more important things in life, like your family and friends.
Financial Tools to Use
Upon approaching retirement there are several planning tools that one can use to give perspective on a current situation and what may need to be done further to achieve some particular goals.
To begin, one should gather all bills and outline cost over dates. Document rent/mortgage payments, phone bills, credit card bills, hospital/medication bills and any other monthly bills.
It may be an easier task to outline all of these expenses from smallest to largest and from earliest date due to the latest date. One can then calculate the monthly and annual bills that accrue.
After you calculate your expenses assess your current income. Whether there is income from employment, tips, odd jobs, etc., all matters should be outlined in a similar fashion to the expenses. Simple addition and subtraction at this point will illustrate a ratio of income vs. expenses and also reveal if there is any disposable income left. Financial planning tools can help you along the way.
With many careers these days, companies are offering IRA and retirement fund accounts where one can build on until their retirement. Placing that money in any type of interest accruing account would be a positive decision, but as many of these accounts have different offers, you must carefully research to see which ones offer more of a return for the investment. It is also a plus to be or become vested with a company to earn even more toward savings for retirement.
Being vested means that a company will contribute a percentage usually 3% of an employee’s gross salary into a retirement fund for them, the added benefit with this is that these funds are not subject to taxation until they have matured, or until early withdrawal. Other interest accruing accounts may include money market accounts, savings bonds and CDs. The objective in using these is to give disposable income an opportunity to earn more money for the retiree. Typically, with IRAs, taxed income is not allowed for making contributions against, so setting a percentage of one’s check after calculating what the disposable income would be is the way to get those funds into the account. There, written approval would be required after taxation for those monies to be accepted as a contribution.
Many financial institutions offer similar information and even a financial calculator to give perspective on allocated funds. You should inquire with an institution of interest as to how their funds would be handled and affect their long term financial goals. use the financial planning tools available as much as possible.
Add to Your Social Security
As it is an added incentive to set-up interest accruing accounts for retirement, you should also pay attention to the already set aside funds that you can receive upon retirement. Every employee pays taxes to social security in their lifetime to secure some form of financial aid for the future. This money should be factored in when you use financial planning tools.
As the economy has been on very shaky ground in the past ten years, it has had grave affects on one’s expectation of social security benefits. Therefore, the more put in will at least assure more to get out.
If you anticipate retiring at the appropriate age of 65 years old, you should consider getting a second part time job before reaching this age. Any added contributions via social security tax paid into social security will assure a more substantial monthly income to live on upon retirement. You can see that as you use tools on financial planning.
Of course, in today’s world of economic troubles, everyone knows that not just one source of income will be sufficient for living on after retirement. It is therefore important to know on how to retire at the right age and take advantage of any and all added programs that assists one in securing financial freedom so that the end result will be enjoying life amongst family and friends, rather than worrying about expenses that outweigh the income allotted for it. Remember to take advantage of all available financial planning tools available and those tools will in turn secure a financial future.
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