Although you may not be quite ready to enter life in retirement, it never hurts to have a plan in place for when the time comes. A lot of planning goes into taking a long trip, and depending on the length of the trip it may be better described as a journey. If you’ve ever taken a journey, you know how much work it takes to put it all together. The least of which is packing.
Packing your bag may seem like the easiest part of the journey planning process, but there are a number of things that need to be considered, like the size of your bag.
First and foremost, you must pack appropriately for the type of journey you’ll be going on. That means taking a look at the weather forecast for all destinations you’ll be visiting and thinking about how you’ll be spending your time. Are you going to the beach, will there be any formal dinners or nights out on the town, or will you need comfy clothes for exploring?
So you finally embark on your journey and you’re feeling great, you’ve thought of everything. But just as you’re getting settled in, you discover something missing. How could you think of everything and forget something so basic like your toothbrush?
It happens frequently enough that the front desk of your hotel keeps plenty of them in stock. While forgetting to pack your toothbrush for a long journey is relatively mild, there’s a bigger lesson here. When it comes to planning for your retirement you may think you’ve covered every aspect and planned for every detail, but what if you forgot something?
Planning for retirement is like preparing for one of the biggest journey’s you’ll ever take in your life. Think of the bag you would pack for the journey, all the financial planning and tools that you have put together for retirement. Your retirement bag should be packed with; safety, security, an income plan for life, inflation, taxes, future health care needs, and an estate plan to name a few. There are many other potential things that may need to go in your retirement bag depending on your personal situation and retirement goals.
The question is, are you sure you didn’t forget something very basic? Sometimes forgetting something can be easily fixed and other times the omission can have a major negative impact. Why not take advantage of a free second opinion review and have a qualified financial professional take a look at your retirement plan to make sure you have everything you need?
Your retirement should be a journey of a lifetime so make sure you have everything you need, including your toothbrush.
