Retirement is the period in our lives when we have all the time and money to do our hobbies, spend time with our families and enjoy life in general. However, this is not the case for everybody. Your retirement is only as good as your retirement plan, and it should have begun as early as your first job.
If you have never given serious thought to allocating money for retirement, it might not be as relaxing a time as you imagined it would be. Forget about going to the beach and travelling to different states. With a poor retirement plan, you might never get them done.
To further elaborate on dull but sound financial advice, here are the mistakes you are likely to make if you don’t start planning for your retirement now.
Failing to save early in your career
It’s not a secret that the longer you save, the bigger your savings will be. This is especially true when you save in increments throughout your developing career. One of the keys to financial success is starting your retirement plan at a young age. Not that you should be excited about growing old, it’s just nice to be prepared.
Approximately 50% of Australians do not seriously think about retirement savings until they are in their 50s, which leaves them a little over a decade to save. That may be a small amount when compared to allocating 10% of your monthly income to your retirement savings in your 20s, which is what experts suggest. It also helps to create a plan once you start saving for retirement, so you budget your money and allocate where everything goes.
Missing opportunities to grow your super
Your superannuation fund is a valuable asset that will save you from financial troubles upon retirement. Aside from government-mandated contributions to your super account, you must explore other options to increase what you are eligible for upon retirement.
There are four ways to actively grow your super fund: through salary sacrifice arrangement, making personal contributions, checking your eligibility for government contributions and transferring funds from foreign super accounts. How you grow your super is entirely up to you. The most important thing is you align it with your retirement plan.
Keeping passive funds and not investing them
Why leave all your money in the bank when you can grow them? Sure enough, it’s a good, accessible place to store your money during emergencies, but it’s a better thing to allocate some of those passive funds into active investments. Stocks, shares, and property are some investments that generate capital growth over the long-term. If you’re thinking about not knowing much about investments or the financial markets, that is exactly what your financial adviser is there for. If you want to venture into buying properties, your financial adviser should be knowledgeable enough to guide you.
Not seeking a financial adviser for advice
Arguably the biggest mistake you can make in planning your retirement is failing to seek a financial advice firm. Not everybody is good with money, and a little help goes a long way. The adviser will help you budget, allocate and plan your money way ahead of your retirement, so your plans to relax on the beach or travel may be possible.
A qualified financial adviser can also help you spot opportunities for growing your money. In a way, seeking an adviser can be an investment in itself.
Conclusion
A sound retirement plan should have several checklists: savings, investment and a budgeting adviser. Let’s be real–not everybody is good with financial planning, which is why we need help with money. It might sound boring now, but you’ll thank your financial adviser for the boring advice in the future. So what are you waiting for? Plan your retirement now.
Looking for a qualified financial adviser should be one of the first steps to creating a good retirement plan. In a way, your wealth isn’t solely about how much money you have, but also the quality of your life, which is what New Wave Advice is all about. We can give you the best financial advice on the Gold Coast and will guide you through every step of your retirement planning.
