Whether you are already taking advantage of your employer’s retirement plan, still considering it, or have different investment methods in place to save for retirement, I encourage you to think more broadly about your retirement and prepare for it between now and then. Today, I’d like to share some timeless principles with you to apply to your financial situation.

Consider the Impact of Short-Term Issues

We all deal with short-term issues in our day-to-day lives: creating a budget, paying off debt, creating an emergency fund, taking out a car loan, saving for a college education or a down payment on a home, and much more. We can get so bogged down in the here and now that we neglect to consider how these short-term issues impact the long-run results of our financial lives.

For example, the failure to establish a savings account (i.e. an emergency savings) often results in taking on new debts (via high interest rate credit cards) when our car is totaled in an accident, when we are injured on a ski trip and have deductible and out-of-pocket costs to pay, when the tree falls on the roof and suddenly you are re-roofing the house, or any other number of unexpected expenses. This new debt then diverts resources that could have gone to an emergency fund, paid off other debts, or gone to a college fund, for example. Ultimately, these incidents undermine your financial health by detracting from the monies that help you afford a secure and comfortable retirement.

It's recommended to have 3-6 months’ worth of expenses in a savings account if you are a salaried employee of a firm, 6-12 months if you are in sales, earn commissions, or are self-employed because your cash flow is less predictable.

Tie Short-Term Issues to Long-Term Goals

Working with a certified financial planner and having a written financial plan comes in handy, as all these short-term issues and events can be managed to mitigate the long-term impact upon that secure and comfortable retirement we all want someday. For example, are you scrimping on retirement savings to put extra money away for a college education? You may not be aware that you can borrow money for a college education by taking on student loans, but you can’t borrow money for a secure and comfortable retirement.

A certified financial planner can help you see opportunities and identify issues that you may never have thought of, and provide an alternate viewpoint. Your decision might not change from having this input, but it helps you make more educated decisions along the way.

A secure and comfortable retirement can be easier to achieve if you look beyond the obvious questions about how much to contribute to your retirement accounts and how much your employer matches contributions. Taking a “big picture view” can help you make better short-term decisions that help you optimize your financial future and achieve that secure, comfortable retirement you want for yourself someday. Engaging with a financial advisor to review your personal finances often leads to better financial decisions, financial well-being, and more successful outcomes for retirement planning.

Are You Ready to Optimize Your Financial Future?

If you’re ready to take the next step in securing a comfortable retirement, schedule a complimentary consultation with us today to learn more about our personalized approach to guide you through the different seasons of life.