3 Steps to Build A Retirement Plan w/o Budget Restrictions

0:00When you think about retirement planning, do you feel pressure to give up some of your enjoyable expenses now to be able to save for the future? That's a false belief. You don't have to give up what you love today to be able to create security and independence for tomorrow. Inside this episode, I am sharing the secret of how to do both with intention and not feel restricted or limited. Welcome to the Wealthy After 40 podcast, the show for Gen X women and couples who are ready to ditch financial stress and feel confident about retirement. I'm your host, Dalene Higgins, financial and retirement coach, helping Gen Xers master their money and create a personalized retirement plan so they can stop spinning their wheels and step boldly into their dream retirement.

0:50If you're feeling behind, don't worry. Continue listening to this podcast, as well as be sure to grab your free guide, Five Must Do Steps to Start Retirement Planning Now. at elevatefinances.us backslash must do. And remember, let's make retirement possible together. Welcome to the episode. I want to start out by sharing that one of the main philosophies I teach my clients is balance. This comes in multiple areas and different ways, But where it is needed, I help clients structure this philosophy with what I call rules. Now, I know rules sound restrictive, but they're really powerful. For example, if you're looking to pay off debt and save for retirement, I would help coach you through creating a rule for this.

1:50We dive into looking at the overall impact and what your ultimate desire is for both of the goals. How quickly do you want it? Do you want to explore it? Are you behind in certain areas? Is it overwhelming? Whatever it is. But when I say a rule, this comes as a percentage. If you're looking to pay off debt and save for retirement, it can be a 50-50 or a 25-75. But like I said, it depends on your goals and the overall impact this 50-50, 25-75 would have. So exploring those opportunities and then understanding that you have the power in doing that. And it's not a one and done. We can say, I'm going to do 50-50 until this point, and then I'm going to do 2575 or heck, you know, percentages are 8515 or 9010.

2:49It just depends. But I want to say there is not one rule or one statement that I would give about saving and debt or spending and saving other than you need to balance now and later. So let's get nostalgic for just a moment. Do you remember those candies from our generation, child years? Those now and laters. I was chatting with my coach and we were, you know, I'm like, oh, I like to help people balance their money now and later. And I'm like, oh, those candies, you know, and she's like, is that what they're called? And I'm like, I'm pretty sure. So I Google them. They still have a website. But what I loved was their statement, their motto on there.

3:36Chew now and chase your later. And I thought, yes, this is so fitting for the overall strategy that I use this now and later. Enjoy your now and chase your later, chase your future. You've got to find that balance. You've got to think about it in that way. So hopefully you remember those candies, whether you loved them or hate them. There is a lot to have now and then you had the enjoyment for a little bit longer. Let's shift into thinking about planning for retirement. A scarcity mind or restrictive mindset will tell you, you have to save every extra dollar for retirement. That's probably not true.

4:19And it really just depends. But even if you find that you haven't saved a lot of money, there still isn't a reason that you couldn't enjoy any of your money now. We do, that's what I get from clients all the time, but I work hard now and I do, you know, I deserve a reward and I'm like, yes, yes, you do. However, what is the impact if all of that is happening now and we're not looking at the later? So, you know, we've got to shift and get out of that scarcity mindset of I need it now or I've got to save everything for the future. If you are thinking that once you focus on planning for retirement, it will mean that you have to deprive yourself, this thought will prevent you from taking even the smallest step closer to retirement.

5:15This belief has you avoiding doing anything that is taking away from now because you think the exchange is one of sacrifice. ice. I'm here to tell you it doesn't need to be that way or feel that way. You honestly can enjoy now while creating something amazing for later. So again, remember the motto of the now and laters, chew now and chase your later. Why is balance so important? Without balance, there is nothing guiding you, you know, for enjoyment, for self-satisfaction, and really you find yourself overspending and then regretting it. Without balance, you might be over-saving right now. Everything is going to savings and it's leaning to burnout and or finding some rebellion spending.

6:14one situation or the other is going to lead you to overspending if you can't narrow in that balance. Think about that now and later. Just that self-satisfaction of I saved this money so that I can enjoy my trip in two years or whatever it is. Self-satisfaction to save money for retirement because I have such an amazing vision and I'm going to bring it to pass. Sustainable retirement planning comes from aligning the joy today. You do deserve to get rewarded for working hard, but also for the security you're building for tomorrow. Okay, let me say that again. Sustainable retirement planning comes from aligning both the joy today and the security tomorrow.

7:10How do you begin implementing this now and later philosophy? First, you need to identify your priorities, really thinking about what means the most to you. First off, let's talk about what do you love spending on right now? You know, truly what brings you enjoyment in the now and make that it's not a list. It's not an exhaustive list. But what are the one or two things that you spend your money on that you get so much enjoyment out of it? You know, you're like, man, that was so good. Kind of like a good massage. Man, that was worth that money. You know, what is it for you that does those things.

7:58And we do need to limit ourselves. One or two things within reason. Maybe if you still have kids, maybe it's three things with that because including family is important and having that. If you have listened to my journey, or I even talked about it in a recent episode, that our short-term focus was anything recreational, meaning we went camping and four wheeling and we bought property, we had a camp trailer. That was for family. That was what we enjoyed to do. And so ours was the one thing. However, my daughter loved her sports. So that was another thing. Being able to find that balance, but not overdue.

8:40All right. Number two, you've got to focus on that now and the future. You need to direct most of your money towards what matters now and your retirement future. And I think a lot of clients that I work with, they're stuck on that, you know, putting off until the future because they're not quite sure what that vision looks like. Well, I want to retire when I'm 65 or I want to retire in 10 years. That's not enough. That's not enough. And I'm not diving into that here as I've done several episodes. So head over to episode 98, or episode or both 120. And those will help you dive in deeper about how to create this dream, this vision and understand, get excited about it.

9:33Just that creating that enjoyment for the future comes with envisioning it, with dreaming about it, with building it right now. If you've listened to those, and you're like still not clear on what that vision could be or what you're trying to dial into, jump on a Clarity Connection call and let's help you gain that clarity around your retirement vision. Maybe there's something that you've got you're stuck or you haven't thought about. That's what a coach is all about is helping you open up and thinking about other things. Head over to elevatefinances.us backslash connection and schedule that 45-minute call.

10:16Let's jump on there. Let's define that for you. Let's get you excited about that vision. All right, number three is you need to use systems and not willpower. I read a book. It's been a little bit ago. It was called Willpower, so you can look it up if you want. And basically, this author said there is no such thing as willpower. And after reading that and thinking of it that way, I'm like, oh man, I don't need to just create this willpower. He's like, you need to learn the skills and the habits that work for you. That's the key, is finding something that syncs with you, that is easy, but gives you the same results as something else.

11:02Your system is going to be a money management system. Inside of this is your budget, the tracking against that budget. You're sinking funds and automations that will help you keep balance without overthinking. Systems can do a lot of the heavy lifting. You've just got to get it set up right and be able to support you. I worked with a client who was budgeting, but it wasn't working for her. She was lacking the other pieces of that system. So helping her set up her system, she was able in 90 days to save$7 ,500. She put$5 ,000 to savings,$2 ,500 to pay off debt, because while working together, we also created a rule for her that now and later and being able, she knew what her focuses were, and she knew what her priorities were.

12:01So just bringing in the rest of the system gave her the power to be able to create this momentum. If you want similar results, I invite you to check out the Retirement Roadmap session. In that session, I can help you define your priorities, create some rules if you need, and provide a budget to get you going. If that is of interest, again, head over to elevatefinances.us backslash connection for a free call and let's chat about what that will look like for you. To go check out this session, it's also on elevatefinances.us backslash roadmap. Go read what we cover in that, how long it is, the cost of it, it's all right there.

12:45But again, jump on that free call if you have questions. To recap the episode, being able to save enough for retirement doesn't come through sacrificing your enjoyment today. It comes from learning how to balance the now and later through priorities, focuses, and systems. I hope this episode was supportive in helping you expand your mindset around money and that it's not an all or nothing, that it can be a variety of different leverages to help you build what you need and what you want. The biggest thing that I've seen out there was an individual who said, I wished I would have known retirement was not an age, but was a number.

13:33If you've been stuck on that age thing for a while, lean into that number. Let's see what that can do for you. And let's get you moving to an awesome, wonderful retirement. Thank you for tuning into the episode. Please leave a review or share with a friend. I would surely appreciate it. We'll see you next episode.

13:56Thank you for spending this time with me. If you're not already following the show, be sure to hit subscribe so you don't miss what's coming next. And I'd love to stay connected with you between episodes. So come join me inside my Facebook community, Retirement Ready Hub for GenXers. It's where we're having real conversations about money, sharing wins, working through challenges and building a clear path toward retirement. And remember, retirement isn't just a dream, it's a plan and you get to make it possible.