Step One In Retirement Planning For GenXers

0:00You know that moment when you realize you're closer to retirement than college drop-off day and suddenly money feels urgent in a way it never did before? If you've been meaning to figure it out but don't know where to start, this episode is your turning point. I'm sharing simple steps that you can take right now to help you understand how easy it is to begin planning and moving toward the retirement you really want.

0:32Hey there and welcome to Wealthy After 40. I'm Dalene Higgins, your podcast host and financial coach. If you're a Gen X woman or couple who's worried about retirement, maybe you feel like you're starting late or don't have enough saved, you're in the right place. This show is all about ditching the financial stress and creating a retirement plan that works for your life now and later. So grab your favorite drink, settle in, and let's figure this out together.

1:10Welcome to the episode. So let's talk numbers. You cannot change what you refuse to look at. And yet so many individuals come to me wanting a different outcome. And they're avoiding the very information that will set them free. And I get it. Numbers can be intimidating. They're not always easy to interpret. And they can stir up some anxiety and worries. They make you feel like you're going to uncover a problem that you don't have the capacity to solve today or in the future. You want something for, you know, the other idea you have. So you just worry and you just stay status quo. But here's the honest truth, and I am saying this with so much love, but avoiding your numbers doesn't protect you.

2:07It's going to keep you stuck. But whenever any problem or goal with money comes up, looking at your numbers helps you make better decisions. So you have to have looked at them, have to know them, spend some time with them. Not just any numbers when you have a specific problem or a goal, but the ones that are going to support that issue. And guess what? That number is not your bank account balance. So when we talk about retirement or feeling behind or wishing you could get a better handle on your money, the very first step is knowing exactly what you're working with. Not just a vague idea, not a best guess, not a, I think we're okay, but the real numbers.

3:03These real numbers help you make real decisions. Concrete, they help you feel confident as you're moving ahead, as things happen. So numbers are really important. And today I'm going to walk you through which numbers matter, how to use them, and how understanding them becomes the foundation of your retirement plan. So your bank account balance is not the number you need. And why is that? Well, it tells you what you have today. It does not tell you whether you're on the right track, if you're hitting your goals, or even if you're on a path moving forward. So with specific to retirement, because I talked about you would need to look at the numbers that pertain to the problem or the goal.

3:57And here are the first five numbers that you need to know to help make progress in retirement planning. The first one is your monthly gross income. The second one, albeit the same, is your monthly take-home pay. Number three is your total monthly expenses. How much are you spending every month? Out of that expense, you're going to have number four, which is your monthly debt payment. A total. I don't need individual at this point. Just a total. And then the last one, number five, which is always a fun one, at least for me. you'll have to let me know what you think, is the total amount you're saving it each month.

4:43That's it. Five numbers. They just give you the clarity and the direction without overcomplicating matters, without, you know, making you feel overwhelmed and, you know, like I'm not even sure what all of these numbers mean. So why do these specific numbers matter? Well, if you look at your gross income and your take-home income, they will be showing you what you live on, the difference. And hopefully there is a difference, the bigger, the better. In a sense, there's still some tweaking we could do, but this is going to start showing you if you're living on less than you make. This is an important concept.

5:33I know a lot of people are like, ah, right? If I say the word budget or live on less than you make, people instantly are like, oh. But really living on less than you make when it comes to retirement planning is a very important concept. Thinking of the whole idea, and I hope by the end of this episode that will make more sense. So then the next number, total monthly debt payment. If you know your debt payments right now, and you are able to pay off debt before retirement, you don't need that amount in income in retirement. Now there's a little bit of massaging that goes in with that. I hear you if you're already saying something.

6:20But what you need to think about is of those debt payments, what is going to go with you into retirement? Or what can be reduced and hopefully not come back? This overall lowers your retirement income need. Okay, the next number is your savings amount. How much are you putting into savings every month? Again, this one needs a slight massaging. Hopefully, the number that you are putting into retirement savings is a good amount. That's why I had you look at gross pay and take-home pay because that right there is a difference. that retirement savings amount won't be needed in retirement. Why? Well, that retirement savings amount is the amount you are living on right now, or that you will be living on in retirement, excuse me.

7:19So thinking about that, but there is that caveat with savings. You still need to save in retirement for those emergencies, for those sinking funds, for those things that show up. And if we go back to debt payments, thinking about your car, if you have a car payment, you're like, yep, I can get that off before retirement, but I'm going to need one in retirement. Yes, you will. So instead of just having it as a debt payment, once it gets paid off, that car, that payment continues into, hello, sinking fund for your car, and then you can pay for your car and hopefully not have as much debt or save enough for that long that you can have a payment for a car.

8:04It's how these numbers kind of flow and work and getting into tune with what is going on. So with these numbers, you can look at them, kind of, you know, comparing them, looking at them overall. You can determine if you need to save more. Maybe you're not happy with that amount, or if you want to pay off debt first. And I talk about a balance. It's all about now and later looking at that, but looking at those numbers, you're going to be able to start looking at those things. And at this point, truly leaning into living on less than you make and putting the rest of it into appropriate savings places, not just retirement.

8:49Retirement is important, but so are emergency funds, they can help you devise a very basic but impactful retirement plan. So when I say live on less than you make, you might be thinking, I can't cut anything else. We need everything we're spending on. I hear it. I hear it a lot. And listen, for some individuals, this is absolutely true, but this is probably not my listeners. And if it is, it's going to be less than 10 % of you. Maybe I'll even go out to say less than 5%. If you have three meals a day, housing with heating and air conditioning, and transportation to get to work, you are doing better than a huge portion of the world.

9:46You are not living in survival mode. What's actually happening if you feel like you do need to spend all of that money is you've normalized your lifestyle so much that it feels like necessity, but it's not. It's just familiar. So instead of focusing on what you might cut out, because that instantly puts us into scarcity mode, restriction, the walls goes up, I want you to reverse that thinking and I want you to look ahead. I want you to picture yourself in 20 years. I want you to say out loud, how old will you be? Okay, what do you want this however age person want to be living life? What does he or she want to fill?

10:45Now you might say, my future self won't spend as much. And honestly, she's not going to if you don't give her the chance, him or her. So that is why if you can start looking ahead to that individual, keeping him and her in mind, keeping that, and if you're a couple, together, like thinking about what that future is going to hold, what that future is going to entail, and why you need to really lean into not discounting her. this is why I teach my clients to always remember now and later there's a lot of individuals who are not living life now because they're saving so much for later and yes later is not guaranteed however if later does come and you are living only for the now how is that person going to fill You've got to respect the now and the later.

11:52And balancing that now and later is crucial. It is crucial. And it's for your enjoyment that is now but also doesn't stop in the future. Knowing your numbers. Those first five we talked about plus a handful more is the bridge between where you are and where you want to be. So if this episode is sparking something in you and you're realizing that you maybe don't know your numbers or you need help in putting them into a clear perspective. I've had clients say, I've looked at my numbers and I don't know what they mean. I don't know what to do with them and I understand that. So if you are that situation or just avoiding and want support, I want to personally invite you to the Retirement Ready Planning Workshop.

12:44So this is a live workshop. The format is on the details and the sign up. It is going to be held Saturday, January 24th, so 2026. And you can reserve your spot at elevatefinances.us backslash workshop for$35. So this investment of$35 is going to help you take your numbers. We're going to organize them into a one-page financial snapshot. There's going to be some calculations going on. There's going to be a few other things we're going to input, walking you through every step of the way. And by the end of that day, the format of the workshop is on those details as well. So I hope you'll read through that.

13:35but at the end of the day, you will know exact steps that you need to do and why. It's fine to say, well, I know I need to save more, but why? And looking at these numbers is going to help you. Understanding these numbers, and we're going just a little bit deeper. As I said, we're going to do a few more numbers is your starting point. So I hope you'll join me. I hope you'll be able to invest in yourself to be able to, number one, invest a day of time. Go read the details. It's not a complete full day. We're going to be in and out. And the investment of$35 for your future that can turn into who knows what.

14:18So if you're ready to understand your numbers, please, please, please sign up for that workshop or reach out to me if you have questions. So in this episode, we talked about five numbers that will help you build the baseline for understanding what you've done and where you need to go with retirement planning. Very, very simple. It doesn't need to be complicated, but it does need to take all of these elements into place. You need to know your income. How much are you making? How much are you taking home? How much are you spending every month? And I don't mean every little category. I just want a total.

14:59And in that expense is going to be a debt payment and maybe a saving because saving is an expense. We're going to spend it later, but we've got to save it for later. So I hope this episode was helpful. I hope you were able to understand that retirement planning, looking at your numbers does not have to be hard or technical. and I hope you'll join me in January where I can walk you through a few more numbers. We'll throw in some calculations. We'll make this customized to you. So I hope you'll join me. If not, I hope this was at least enlightening and that you'll join me in next episode.

15:41Thank 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 Gen Xers. 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.