10 New Years Resolutions for Your Retirement: Part II
By John Trauth and Alan Bernstein
If you continue to put off thinking seriously (rather than just dreaming) about your retirement, here’s 5 more specific resolutions to consider for New Year’s.
- I will estimate the annual cost of my future lifestyle by doing some pre-and post-retirement expense estimates. (Financial planners generally suggest that life after work will cost 70% to 80% of your previous annual expenditures, but this could differ depending on your specific plans.)
- I will meet with my financial advisor to review both my plans and my finances and work with him/her to develop a realistic financial plan which will ensure that my resources will be sufficient to support me for the rest of my life. Based on what I learn, I will make the necessary adjustments to bring my resources in line with my retirement plans.
- I will implement my financial plan to achieve my savings goals (which probably will include maximizing my allowable retirement account contributions prior to my retirement).
- I will think about the legacy I want to leave behind, including updating my will and estate plan, and undertaking activities both now and in in the future for which I want to be remembered.
- Beginning right now, I will live every day to the fullest. I will strive to eliminate the things that are making me unhappy and maximize those which are making me satisfied and fulfilled. I will remember the words of the Indian dramatist, Kalidasa, who wrote: “Today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a vision of hope.”
And, on January 1st, 2012, I will review this list, see how I have done, and either pat myself on the back or kick myself in the ass (fortunately, hard to do), and then make a new list.
About the Authors: John Trauth and Alan Bernstein are the co-authors of “Your Retirement, Your Way” (Mcgraw-Hill, 2007), a curriculum, which takes readers step-by-step through the psychological, strategic and financial aspects of this major life transition.
January 2011