One couldn’t be too careful. This is especially true for people who are preparing for that moment when he or she eventually decides that corporate life is no longer for them. That moment, of course, is retirement and that is a topic that we’ve touched on so many times in this website.
Too many things can go wrong, but you don’t have to fret. There are also too many ways to make sure that your retirement is problem free. Here are some additional tips that you might want to bear in mind, and add to your activities in preparation for your retirement.
Keep Yourself Updated on Your Investments
No doubt, you’ve been taught by your financial advisers that calculating your potential benefits from your investments is the first step to knowing how much you will be receiving by the time you graduate. That, actually, is theoretical, especially when your investments are dependent on the market movement in ways you may not have been told.
The market is inherently volatile, and the value of your investments could change drastically over time. What you expect to receive may not be the actual amount you receive by the time you collect on your investments. That is, actually, natural and might have been stipulated on the fine print.
Education is your weapon against shock and surprise, so you should always keep track of your investments. Mutual funds, for instance, can be tracked through their website so you’re always updated as to the actual value of your money. Insurance policies, on the other hand, must be updated by phone via your broker’s customer service hotline.
The bottom line is – you can better plan if you know how much you’ll be receiving, so you should try and get updates on your investments at least twice every 5 years.
Live Within Your Means
It’s easier to practice living within your means while you’re still working, because you have a solid grasp as to how much you will be receiving every month. This is a good chance for you to train yourself to keep your expenses limited to what you are making, and to learn frugality. By the time you retire, you might be receiving less than what you are being compensated for.
You don’t want to start practicing when things have already changed. It’s easier to adjust to your new environment if you’ve already prepared yourself for it, so it’s best to start when you still have a monthly stipend to fall back to when something goes wrong. You can consider your corporate days to be a safe test-bed for implementing frugality techniques, in other words.
Retirement is a wonderful new chapter in your life, one that lets you finally take control of your life after several years spent trying to make a living in your chosen career. It does, however, come with a lot of preparation.
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