5 Tips for a Better Retirement In Ontario

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Thinking about retirement?  This article has a few different tips.

The word ‘retirement’ can be exciting to some and give them the feeling of freedom. While to others it is a really scary word. In order to be not be afraid of this stage of life it is important to be prepared.

Set goals, both short term and long term. Goals are important in attaining many things in life, and they are quite helpful when you want to save money and plan for retirement. It is easier to save when you know your goals.   Plan for hobbies, classes and volunteering, so you’ve got some productive things to do with your time!

Start with your bigger goals in early retirement and smaller ones for when you have completed the bigger ones.   The reason is that your health often dictates your ability to fulfill your goals.  The older you get the more difficult some things are to do including large travel excursions.  If you do them in the early stage you won’t regret not doing them later. Set up a budget to meet those goals and save for them.

Plan to stay in touch with your friends during retirement. When you were working, a majority of your socialization came from the workplace. However, after you retire, you will not have that any more. To make your days more interesting, spend more time doing things with your friends.

Acknowledge that if you make nothing of your retirement, you will feel bored or older much faster.  An active lifestyle with supports in place is better.  There are many low cost activities to get involved with at community and senior centres.  There are meet-ups for hobbies, travel groups, interest groups and you make friends with things in common.  This is a time for all you wanted to do but couldn’t while you were busy working and raising a family.

Take advantage of senior discounts.  Always ask if there is a discount and remember that some discounts start long before the age of 65.  Some as low as 55!

To ensure you have a nest egg saved for retirement, you must be pro-active in finding ways to put a portion of your salary into some kind of retirement savings. Many companies no longer offer a pension plan, so saving for your retirement is now up to each individual. To successfully save for retirement, you must get into a saving mindset and determine what percentage of your pretax income will be deducted from each of your paychecks and placed into your retirement savings account.

Are you frustrated because the company you work for does not have a retirement plan? Take matters into your own hands. Go to your employer and ask them to get started with one. You may be surprised at how willing they are to take this step and become more attractive to potential employees.

If the thought of retirement bores you, consider becoming a professional consultant. Use whatever you’ve spent a lifetime learning, and hire yourself out for an hourly fee. You can make your own hours, and it will be fun teaching others about your expertize. The money you make can be saved for a rainy day or put toward immediate expenses.

When you’re retiring the last thing you probably want to do is to work too hard on your plans right then and there, or feel lost because there are no plans in place. Use the tips you went over here to get you prepared. That way you won’t have to do anything but enjoy the retirement that you earned after all those years of working.

Remember you earned this!  So dream big about the best retirement you could have and work backwards to develop a plan to make it happen.

 

pccs mediation and counselling debra

Debra Rodrigues BA, BSW, RSW, Acc. F.M. (OAFM), CP Med., CRP

Director, PCCS Mediators & Counsellors

Contact us today: (905)567-8858

Toll Free: 1(866)506-PCCS (7227)

 

 

 

 

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