After spending a lifetime working, many people are eager to retire and enjoy a more relaxing lifestyle that is less demanding. Unfortunately, retirement can often be delayed due to a lack of savings and financial planning that should have been established earlier in life. To plan for retirement, there are a few important roadblocks to avoid.

1. Not Starting Early

It can be easy to make excuses and delay saving for retirement early on in life, but doing so will make it challenging to retire at an appropriate age and live comfortably in your Golden Years. It’s important to save early and to continue saving consistently to make progress while remaining disciplined with your savings schedule.

2. Not Diversifying Your Portfolio

You may want to grow your nest egg by investing in individual stocks, but failing to diversify your portfolio can lead to extreme loss. You need to have diversification among stocks from different market sectors, and even different countries, to create a strong retirement portfolio. This will reduce your risk of loss if one market suffers a loss.

3. Underestimating Inflation

One of the main threats to your retirement savings plan is the effects of inflation due to goods and services that increase in cost in future years. When calculating how much money you need to save to live comfortably once retiring, you need to take into account three to four percent of inflation each year. You also want to consider periods when high inflation is prone to occur.

Make it a point to obtain a fixed mortgage to ensure that the value of your home increases without costing you more each month on your payment. You can also invest in gold, which is known to increase in value when the dollar becomes weaker.

4. Neglecting to Hire a Financial Planner

Many people assume that because they’re smart with their money, they don’t need the help of a professional to plan for their retirement. On the down side, “doing it yourself” can mean having lapses with your savings schedule or missing important investment opportunities. Hire a certified financial planner to get the big picture of your future and accomplish realistic goals that will allow you to live comfortably once you retire.

5. Underestimating the Cost of Healthcare

You need to take into account the high cost of healthcare once becoming a retiree, which continues to increase each year. Although Medicare is available for adults who are over the age of 65, it won’t cover all of your bills. Create a retirement plan that allows you to afford healthcare to ensure that you can receive the medical attention and care that you need without draining your retirement savings.

Are you starting to think about retirement? It’s never too early to start discussing how you can build the future you want.

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