HOW YOU CAN PREPARE FOR RETIREMENT

HOW YOU CAN PREPARE FOR RETIREMENT

As you prepare for your retirement, we know that although it is an exciting time, it can also be a bit nerve-wracking as you move from earning an income to drawing an income from your investments, pension, etc.

In this video, Kelley Doerksen, CFP® walks you through some of the steps you can take to feel more prepared and confident that you will have what you need to live comfortably, retire successfully and enjoy the wealth you have accumulated.

Watch the video here:

https://youtu.be/usUtMbKUqTs

A large part of what we do when preparing financial plans for clients is helping to prepare for retirement of course; and although clients are excited to make the transition from working life to retirement, it also comes with some stress and concern related to whether or not you will have enough financially to do the things you want to do when retirement comes. It also can be a challenging period of time mentally, moving from the process of earning an income to drawing an income from your investments, pensions, and so forth. Even though a lot of clients might know factually by way of our financial planning, that they are going to be fully capable of retiring financially, and they might know intuitively that they are going to be able to retire comfortably, it still can be challenging.

One thing that we often recommend clients do is get a good understanding for themselves of what their expenses might look like; and this will help pair the financial plan really successfully with the goals and values that you as the client would like to see achieved over your retirement.

An easy way to start looking at your costs, first and foremost, is understanding what you are spending currently. We all have certain months of the year where we are going to spend a little bit more than usual, so assess your regular spending months – months that you do not have big events or parties or travel or so forth and get a good handle on what those regular costs look like. Understand your fixed expenses – your property taxes and utilities, and all of those things that you can understand are going to be fairly consistent from month to month.

Go forward from that and understand what it is that you might need to spend money on, or more importantly might want to spend money on throughout your retirement stage.

We do recommend that people quite literally take a walk through their homes prior to retirement. Assess for yourself what major expenses are going to be needed through your house, whether that is a new roof or a fence that needs to be replaced or updated. All of those large expenditures can and should be projected in your financial plan. Again, knowing what those might look like and an estimate of cost will help us determine whether or not the assets that you have accumulated are going to be sufficient to cover off those large expenses.

Another thing that you want to keep in mind is, oftentimes, people in the first few years of retirement or maybe just prior, will look at purchasing a vehicle – maybe it is the last vehicle you intend to purchase or own, and understanding what that cost might look like and how that would impact potentially drawing from your assets can be beneficial as well.

The most important part of understanding your retirement expenses is to try and get an assessment for yourself of the expenses that you are excited to spend money on.

Many people are going to put the most time into travel for example, in the first 10 years of their retirement. And so, understanding what that looks like for you, whether that is a number of small trips or a number of once in a lifetime experiences. We can work with those expenses; we can project them into your financial plan and you can walk away feeling confident that the dollars that you have accumulated are going to be able to provide you with your basic living expenses of course, but also most importantly, those need to do, want to do experiences throughout retirement that you have worked hard to save for and you want to be able to comfortably use your money for.

When planning for retirement, understanding your goals and your objectives and what you value is absolutely critical; and pairing those with the expenses that you would like to see for yourself is a really meaningful use of your time and helps us build a financial plan that is going to help you see that you can meet those needs comfortably, retire successfully, and enjoy the wealth that you have accumulated.

Learn more about our retirement planning services here.

Client Retirement Stories: Joanne

Client Retirement Stories: Joanne

We are asking our retired clients to share their experiences as inspiration for those of you approaching retirement. Here is Joanne’s experience of finding new activities in retirement.

 

“When I was looking at setting a date for retirement, I needed to sort out a transition plan. I was moving from working full time to not working. I needed to make sure things were in order so that I could successfully do this.

I knew that my finances were in order because of the input from Kelley and Stephen and I knew my legal papers had all been completed so those items were done, but I needed to look at the activities that I could do.

 

“I needed to look at the activities that I could do”

 

I had lots of things that I could do in terms of crafts at home that would keep me busy forever. I could travel and I could golf, but those are time limited. So I needed to look at other things that would keep me busy and would get me out to meet new people.

 

“What I decided to do is to start running.”

 

What I decided to do is to start running. I took a learn to run class in the summer prior to my retirement. I persevered through that, meeting some new people, had a lot of support from my family and my coworkers at the time to keep on running. I completed that course, did the race, and another one at the end of the year.

One of the participants from the learn to run class got a hold of me the following winter and asked if I would join her in a 5k clinic. I did that and I’ve since taken the 5k, the 10k, and done a number of races.

 

“I’ve since taken the 5k, the 10k, and done a number of races.”

 

I’ve met a lot of people running and have actually developed a small group of people who run like I do, who are slower paced, who are out there just to keep active.

It’s not easy, it’s not something I’ll do by myself. I take my dog with me when we do run. And we set our own pace and our own distances now just to keep going. It’s interesting, it’s nice to have met a very different group of people.

I’m very glad that I did it and I hope to carry on doing my running. It’s one of those many things that keep me active. It’s got me back into swimming and back on the bike, and keeps me very active and happy in my retirement.”

 

“…and keeps me very active and happy in my retirement.”

 

– Joanne, Retired Registered Nurse

WEBINAR INVITATION: PROTECTING YOUR ESTATE

WEBINAR INVITATION: PROTECTING YOUR ESTATE

We invite you to join us for an upcoming webinar, Protecting Your Estate hosted by Daniel Collison on March 16, 2022 7:00-8:00pm. Register for the webinar here. The registration form enquires who invited you to this event – please fill ‘Blackburn Davis Financial’ in this field. Please feel free to pass this invitation along to any family member or friend you think would find it useful.

If you have any questions or would like further information about this event or speaker, please reach out to us.

Estate Planning