Kristin Kaufman

Kristin Kaufman

On Posted on by Kristin Kaufman to Personal Growth & Alignment

Reality Check: 3 TIPS To RETIRE in STYLE

Here are a few sobering facts:

1 in 3 Americans have less than $10,000 saved for retirement.

The majority of American (80%) are VERY concerned about not having enough to retire.

At a bare minimum, what do we need to have in a nest egg? Our savings need to amount to at least 10-12 times your current income….so if you are used to making $100,000 a year – then you need to have $1,000,000 saved. If you want to have $500,000 of retirement income a year, then you need to have $5,000,000 in your investment accounts.

These are not ‘hard and fast’ rules of course – as there are numerous factors which play into this such as: what our living costs will be, how our savings will continue to generate income (aka: interest, investments, etc.), and what ‘extenuating circumstance’ could happen for which we are not prepared (aka: dementia, cancer, chronic illness – as healthcare costs are the #1 cause of bankruptcy in America).

So – what can we do about this reality? A few thoughts which may give ’cause for pause’ and food for thought:

  • Save NOW. Start NOW. If all you can afford is 15% of your income….save THAT. There is NO question of the compound value of money. If you wonder what I mean and how starting to save at a young age (even just $1000 a year) – simply go to this site to play and calculate your investment strategy with several compound interest calculators. Oh – and if you don’t trust yourself to stay disciplined – have your company or your bank automatically pull that money out and put it into another account. This is BASIC  – yet, there are over 90% of Americans who do not do this. The point: make your money WORK FOR YOU….after all – you have worked hard for your money!!

 

  •  Live within your means. Yep – another BASIC and obvious point. Yet, let’s face it – EVERYONE I know…and yes, I mean EVERYONE I know….. has found themselves in debt at least once in their lives; and, I am not speaking just about the standard home mortgage debt. Even my multi-millionaire friends have felt the pinch at least once or twice in their lives for one reason or another. And, in 2007 and 2008, many were hit with the downturn in the market. Some lost their jobs, some lost most (all) of their retirement savings, and some took huge hits in their investments. Sure, that was 11 years ago and most have landed on their feet again……yet, some had 30 years of their hard work and corresponding savings impacted and it can take longer than 10 years to dig out – depending on the approach. The point: is to live within (or beneath) our means while we recover from job loss and consider new and additional ways to make money. If you are curious on tips on how to do this – Dave Ramsey’s 7 baby steps are incredible….VERY basic yet spot on. I have had many folks say to me: ‘this is all well and good, Kristin, yet I am living paycheck to paycheck and I simply don’t have any extra cash to invest and I have ‘cut back’ as far as I can’…..which brings me to my 3rd point…….

 

  • Create multiple ways to make money. This can be through passive income such as oil and gas royalties, real estate investments and rental property, book royalties, dividend paying stocks, affiliate marketing, creating online content – such as a blog or a course, etc. Yet, again, if you are just getting started, these ideas can seem ‘too lofty’ as sometimes you have to ‘have money to make money’. The point: if you realize you need to have more than one revenue stream AND you are not sure what to do, where to go, or even how to evaluate options….reach out to me. I have been there – and I ‘get it’! There are many alternatives to consider and yes….we can be ALIGNED as we create the life we want and we DO NOT have to give up the creature comforts that we want. It is possible.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  If you are curious (or even skeptical!) and want to explore  – CONTACT ME at partnerwithkristin.com.  The way I look at it….you have nothing to lose…..and so much to gain.

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