4 Things To Know About Retirement Planning

0:00Are you doing enough for retirement? Because retirement isn't just about saving money. It's about building a life you want to live. And if you're unsure where to begin, today I'm walking you through four things you need to know about retirement planning that go beyond just contributing to your 401k. 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.

0:47If you're feeling behind, don't worry. Continue listening to this podcast, as well as be sure to grab your free guide, 5 Must Do Steps to Start Retirement Planning Now at elevatefinances.us backslash must do. And remember, let's make retirement possible together. So you've most likely been saving here and there and contributing to a 401k, but then deep down, you're wondering, what else do I need to do? How else do I need to prepare for retirement? Then you search things to know about retirement planning, but you probably got lost in the jumble of all of that information. Well, I'm going to help you sort that out today.

1:35But before I do, I have a retirement checklist with six areas of retirement planning, specific steps so that you don't get lost in the jumble that makes sense and can help you plan in all of the areas necessary for retirement. So be sure to download your copy at elevatefinances.us backslash checklist. All right. The truth is retirement planning isn't just about how much you saved. It's about how clearly you've defined the life you want and if your money is aligned with that vision. It's really about creating the life for the next phase. As I love to say, that retirement doesn't mean it's the end.

2:26It's probably the end of your regular go-to-work job, but it's definitely the next phase. And retirement doesn't start at 65. It starts with a plan. So that's the first thing I want to talk about is starting with a plan. And if you wait until you're, quote, closer to retirement, this can cost you years of progress, years of planning, because the earlier you start planning intentionally, the more control you have over your timeline and the life you want to live. So I love that word control, but honestly, it's much easier to make informed financial decisions if you have that control. So if you start planning early, that's how you find that control.

3:20Having control helps you navigate all of the financial decisions that are coming up before retirement. because heck, we know at this age, life can be lifing in so many different ways. But if you start early enough, have somewhat control, you're able to take a right, take a left, stay on your path without any big hiccups. So if all you're doing is saving and not considering all the other aspects of retirement planning, you will either be one of two things, if not both. you will either be unhappy, and I hear about that all the time, or you will be unsuccessful. And both of those terms can look many different ways for many different people.

4:11But the key for you is starting retirement planning early. So planning for all aspects of retirement can be daunting. So I want to encourage you to not wait until the last minute because you've got health insurance, you've got social security if you're going to be at that age, and you've got to think about, do I do it now? Do I do it later? And as you're just got all of these things coming on, it's better if you get started sooner. And thinking about everything as a whole helps you not leave anything on the table, not missing out on opportunities, and overall, honoring yourself who deserves such a wonderful retirement.

5:05You've worked hard to get to this spot. Why just say, I'm just going to retire. Why are we not giving it the thought, the effort, the planning that it deserves, that you deserve. So I want you to start thinking about the overall vision. And I know we've covered that before. Like, what do you want? But bigger yet, when do you want it? So I have three dates I want you to set. I want you to set a desired date. This is one that, man, if I could do it this soon, that would be amazing. Okay, write it down, a desired date. The second one is your realistic date. All right, this is the day that I really want to go.

5:53And it makes sense. Nothing, you're not thinking that it's too soon or too late. That would be your realistic. Now I sound like Goldilocks. Anyways, so then the third date I want you to create is an absolute last. This is the time you have to exit the working world as you know it. You can still work in retirement. That's not what I'm saying. But the working world as you know it, I want an absolute last date that you need to leave. So setting these three dates gives you a range of time to shoot for, to plan for, and it ensures your readiness, right? With that desired date, that one that's like, man, ooh, if I could have that.

6:43We create a desire to really, really achieve that. But we're not going to feel like a failure if we don't make it, but we're before a realistic date. And honestly, if life is lifing and you get stuck in planning mode, that absolute last date gives you the time and you're not like, oh, well, I didn't make it in time. No, that gives you the range. And I love being able to set up ranges for anything in life, anything you're trying to do. This is how you can give yourself that push, stretching yourself to reach that first date, but also giving yourself enough time so that if you feel like you still need to plan just those last few things, I'm hoping that's all it is, that you are like, well, I didn't make it.

7:33You can still give it that time and effort because you've got that range. Moving on to the next one, your lifestyle now shapes your lifestyle later. There's a lot of things that you love to do now that will carry forward into retirement. But there's going to be some things that you're like, well, I just won't need to do that or anything like that. So thinking about small adjustments, having an impact today can compound into big results later. So really, you want to look at aligning your spending with your values, because it's going to transition into retirement as well. So really getting into what it is that you need, that you desire, that you enjoy.

8:25I love that word joy. The rest of it can start freeing up, number one, to get you into retirement preparedness, increase your savings, but also make sure that you're still going to be able to live on that dollar amount for retirement. Really exploring that. A budget in retirement is just as important as it is now, so why wait to get started? Diving into your retirement will help you define more accurately what expenses you have now will go into retirement so that you can dial into your financial independence number more accurately. So if you're wondering how to calculate that FI number, financial independence number, you need to head on over to episode 116.

9:18And I walk you through how to calculate that and figure that and it'll explain more why having a budget is so important for that. However, your FI number isn't just a math problem. It's a life vision. So exploring the what ifs of can I? I really want to. I wish I could do. Fill in all of those blanks that you want and desire for retirement and dial into your vision further. So we talked about what do you want at the top. This is the second time you want to explore the specifics, their financial impact. And again, those numbers get to feed into your FI number, help you calculate what retirement expenses you're going to need.

10:10That's truly the number you want. We can base it off of today's budget number and hope we're going to spend less because that's mostly what financial advisors do. But if you can start exploring all of these and creating the more financial impact awareness expenses, you can again dial into that FI number more clearly. And the last thing, retirement isn't a destination. It's a lifestyle shift. It's not just about stopping work. It's about you living with purpose, freedom, and joy. So thinking about it sooner rather than later is going to be essential to, like I said, your success and happiness. So besides just worrying about saving enough and getting caught up in that, that number could be so ambiguous at this point that you're trying to save for if you haven't started visioning what you want, what it's going to cost.

11:18Maybe you're going to be happy in the four walls of your home, and it's going to cost you less. But exploring that and understanding that and defining that is where you're going to find the results, the biggest results and number help you kind of alleviate all of the worries and concerns that you have going on now. So if you're not sure what vision you desire, or how to calculate your FI number using that vision, That is exactly what I do inside the Retirement Roadmap session. I recently had a client discover from this session that long-term, she's going to be fine. Could she make it better? Yes, because now she has the knowledge and understanding to take control and drive her retirement to be exactly what she desires.

12:08So if this sounds like something you want solved today or sooner, it doesn't have to be today. book a Clarity Connection call. You can do that at elevatefinances.us backslash connection, and let's chat about those specifics and what exactly you can learn from the roadmap session. I also help you explore what ifs. So if you're like, well, I've got like three different ideas, let's work through them. That's what we can do. So today's episode, we talked about retirement planning outside of just saving for retirement. And it's easy to get focused on that number and forget that you need to start creating a new lifestyle for your second phase.

12:55Don't just think it's going to happen and it's going to be okay or that you're going to figure it out when you get there. You might, but it's going to be hard. It's going to be difficult. It's time to create something you truly desire. And I would love to support you on that journey. So thanks for listening to the episode, and I hope you'll join me next episode.

13:21Thank 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.