Saving for a secure retirement can often seem like a daunting task. But when you have even loftier goals it can feel near impossible. What would it take to become a millionaire, or even a multimillionaire? Would you need a big inheritance, some luck when playing the lottery? Do you need to spearhead a super-successful tech start up? Or become a doctor or a lawyer?
Vying for a promotion, meeting tight deadlines, navigating office politics and job insecurity. Work stress can arise from these and many other circumstances. And while some bouts may be temporary, others can have more lasting effects. Chronic stress can eventually start taking a toll on an your productivity, health and well-being.
It’s rarely the plan, but it happens — you’re faced with a financial crisis and have to find extra funds fast. The need may arise from many circumstances including a medical emergency, costly home repairs, job loss or escalating credit card debt.
Credit card debt left unchecked can significantly hamper your efforts toward securing a comfortable retirement. Instead of contributing to your 401(k), you end up forking out precious dollars toward interest payments on revolving credit lines each month. Having an actionable debt pay-down plan can make the difference between a relaxing retirement and feeling the pinch.
It’s rarely the plan, but it happens — you’re faced with a financial crisis and have to find extra funds fast. The need may arise from many circumstances including a medical emergency, costly home repairs, job loss or escalating credit card debt.
If you thought that retirement started at 65 for most Americans, think again — according to a recent Gallup poll, the average reported retirement age for currently retired Americans is 61. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a person who has made it to their early 60s can, on average, expect to live another 23.3 years.
The arrival of spring has brought warmer weather, longer days, a renewal of life … and the yearly desire to clean out and get organized. It’s also the perfect time to get your financial house in order. Here are some housekeeping tasks you can tackle to help make sure you and your money are headed the right way in the year ahead.
401(k) plans were established by Congress to encourage individual savings towards retirement. Offered through employers, the plans are generally available to eligible employees who are allowed to contribute a percent of their salary to the plan.
The need for retirement planning didn’t really exist until well into the 1970s. Up to that point, people worked until age 65, spent a few years in leisure through their life expectancy which was about 69. Many retirees of that era were able to coast into retirement with a cushy pension plan.
Today’s retirees are finding that retirement requires at least as much psychological and emotional preparation as it does financial preparation. So, retirement planning needs to include a thorough assessment of human assets and liabilities along with an assessment of financial assets and liabilities.
A credit score is assigned to you by each of the three major credit reporting agencies. The most common is the FICO score. Calculated based on the information in your credit report, it’s purported to measure your overall credit worthiness. FICO scores range from 300 to 850 — the higher the better.
Saving for a secure retirement can often seem like a daunting task. But when you have even loftier goals it can feel near impossible. What would it take to become a millionaire, or even a multimillionaire? Would you need a big inheritance, some luck when playing the lottery? Do you need to spearhead a super-successful tech start up? Or become a doctor or a lawyer?
It’s an age-old question: Can money buy happiness? The answer, it seems, is not straightforward.
© 2019 The Participant Effect. All rights reserved.
