running out of money during retirement is a valid concern for nearly all retirees after all we're constantly hearing on the news about the uncertainty of the economy in general and for years people have been worried about social security running out of money or the impact of significant tax hikes that will hurt those that are retired or that the stock market will crash and your investments will be worthless while we can't predict everything there are some ways you can make your retirement savings last much longer reduce stress and positively impact your life in other ways implementing
these behaviors might even allow you to not draw on retirement savings at all if you choose creating the possibility for a much more luxurious lifestyle in the future if so desired this is some advice to take seriously to maximize your savings and also improve the quality of your life watch this video to the end to hear the number one tip for a successful retirement coming from people who have already retired my name is chris and i help teach people about money personal finance and investing if you're interested in improving your financial future make sure to
subscribe to the channel and hit the like button if this video is helpful number nine maximize social security benefits taking benefits at the age of 62 which is not full retirement age can be tempting but starting social security too early will greatly reduce the benefits you'll receive by claiming them at age 62 the benefit amounts will only be about two-thirds of what you'd receive by waiting until full retirement age at 67 if you're born after 1955. in addition to lower payments taking them at age 62 restricts the amount of earned income you can receive to
18 960 dollars before being penalized for every two dollars you earn above that limit your social security benefit will be reduced by one dollar this can be a big deal if you plan on working well into your 60s especially if you don't need that income right away besides at age 62 you won't even be eligible for medicare by waiting until age 70 benefit amounts will be about 125 percent what they would have been if you had taken them at age 67. number eight develop a spending plan part of planning for retirement is determining how much
you plan on spending and how much money will be budgeted for each expense how much will you reserve for transportation housing dining out traveling and healthcare your home will likely need repairs and updating over the average retirement period also a common misconception is that paying off your car will reduce retirement expenses whether paid off or not a car always has depreciation repairs insurance and other costs associated with it the car will need replacing eventually so it's necessary to have a spot in your budget for a new one it's much easier to be ready for these
types of expenses beforehand developing a plan for each of these categories reduces stress and unpleasant surprises when these expenses do pop up number seven make healthy choices many chronic health conditions are preventable by maintaining a healthy lifestyle no one likes to spend their time and money and doctor's appointments in dealing with health conditions that make life less enjoyable making healthier choices can greatly improve your quality of life before and during retirement by reducing the chances of high blood pressure diabetes arthritis heart disease and other health problems staying in shape will allow you to do things
that bring you joy such as traveling hiking spending time with grandchildren and other physical activities some health risks are beyond our control but maintaining a healthy lifestyle with proper diet and exercise will reduce some of these costs and allow you to experience a higher quality of life number six work a little longer most people want to quit working and move on to the next phase of their life the grass will be greener and life will be much more enjoyable right while there are many people who are happy with their decision to quit working others miss
a sense of fulfillment activity structure social interaction and of course the income retirement can take some getting used to and avoiding boredom can be a little tricky even for avid golfers or gardeners reducing hours worked as you transition into a full retirement will help you adjust to a more idle lifestyle by earning enough money during early retirement to avoid drawing on savings you'll have significantly more money when you do fully retire if your investments are in the average rate of return of the s p 500 that means you'll have approximately 10 percent more money each
year if you're sick of your job consider another with less stress or responsibility number five get a side job some of us are just sick and tired of working whether you dislike your boss or you just don't like the schedule if you don't want to stay working in the traditional sense there are some excellent ways to make money on the side that have many of the same benefits for pet lovers dog walking can be an excellent activity that not only pays surprisingly well but gets you outside exercising doing something you enjoy others might enjoy driving
for uber or lyft or home sitting where they'll get paid to stay at someone's house while they're out of town perhaps you could babysit some kids while their parents are doing something on their own for the day there are many opportunities for different people that can actually be enjoyable the great thing about retirement is that you can seek out these things without having to earn a certain amount of money but instead see each dollar as an added bonus number four maximize credit card rewards utilizing credit cards goes against the belief of some people but when
used properly the rewards can be remarkable paying for things that you'd normally be using a debit card for is a great way to rack up cash back rewards that can add up over time say you spend about thirty thousand dollars per year on a credit card with an average cashback reward of two percent that's six hundred dollars over the course of one year while not a huge amount you can use this strategy with several cards for example one of your cards might pay five percent back on gas while the other pays five percent back on
groceries an extra six hundred dollars or more per year for basically no work seems worth it just be sure to pay the balance in full every month number three buy a home early owning a home is an excellent place to park your money in a great way to hedge against inflation in the rising cost of housing taxes insurance and maintenance costs will rise over time but home prices usually appreciate significantly while your mortgage is paid down getting into the housing market early on assuming you're financially stable is a good idea for most people a rising
home value can provide an excellent return and relatively stable return on your money for example if you put one hundred thousand dollars or twenty percent down on a five hundred thousand dollar home and the home value rises an average of fifteen thousand dollars or three percent annually that's a fifteen percent return on your down payment in the first year provided the housing costs are similar to what you'd pay in rent the rooms could always be rented for additional income or the entire place could be rented out if you decide to move or vacation somewhere else
the home's equity can also be used if you eventually decide to downsize too the home will either be owned outright by that time or there will be significant equity that can be used number two understand diversification chances are that you build your retirement accounts by investing your contributions will only be a portion of that total value while the interest earned is the majority however maintaining a proper level of diversification is important even more so during retirement when an overly concentrated portfolio can be risky some areas of the market will perform well while others go nowhere
until a few years later when they may switch places consider taking dave ramsey's advice and spreading your money equally across growth and income growth aggressive growth and international funds if you have significant investments in real estate make sure those are diversified as well don't make the mistake of keeping the majority of your retirement in your company's stock in fact it's not recommended you keep much of your portfolio in individual stocks at all aside from some speculative fund money this one mistake is all too common and if your company goes out of business it can be
a disaster for your portfolio number one reduce high interest debt we all know to pay off debt or to keep it to manageable levels and it's especially important before retirement people who have already retired attribute their ability to live comfortably to their lack of debt having low monthly obligations is a huge help and makes it much easier to get by on lower income amounts the average new car payment is over five hundred and fifty dollars per month and the average mortgage payment is around eleven hundred dollars per month so eliminating just these two obligations can
make a big difference you
