Budgeting and planning can lead to years of happiness, if you properly plan for it. By making a retirement budget this can help you avoid one of the biggest retirement mistakes people often make by spending too much of their nest egg too soon. Here are a few tips on what to consider for a happy retirement far into the future:
Create The Best Budget For Your Retirement Lifestyle
In order to create your retirement budget, you need to first gather the following items:
- Your last 6 to 12 months’ worth of bank account statements.
- Your last 6 to 12 months’ worth of credit card statements.
- If still employed, last two pay stubs for you (and your spouse if married).
- 10 to 12 coloured highlighter marking pens.
- Last year’s tax return.
Review the transactions on your bank account and credit card statements to track where you have spent your money over time and use the highlighter pens to group expenses into different-coloured categories.
Your Fixed Expenses
In your retirement budget, be sure to list you recurring monthly, quarterly or annual payments. Then break this list down into these three categories below:
- Essentials (ex: food, clothing, housing (like an assisted living residence), transportation, and healthcare).
- Non-essentials (ex: cable, gym memberships, subscriptions, and other items for which you receive bills).
- Required non-monthly expenses (ex: the amount you pay each month towards things like property taxes, insurance premiums, auto registration and home warranties).
Use a spreadsheet to keep track of each of these expense categories per month for the entire year.
Changing Costs To Living Arrangements
As we get older, many of us will get to a point where we can’t safely handle all our daily tasks living in a home. When the time comes, the best move is to start considering different Oakville senior residences to find a new place to call home. If you anticipate and plan for the costs, you will be prepared for a happy retirement far into the future.
Plan For Optional Items
This includes all the fun stuff, like travel, grand kid outings, fitness activities, interests, hobbies, and other entertainment. Begin to think about changes you may be willing to make that would reallocate money from items that are less important to items that are more important.
Queens Avenue Retirement Residence: Senior Retirement Residence For Independent Lifestyle
Is a retirement residence the best option for you? As one of the top Oakville senior residences, Queens Avenue Retirement Residence considers their senior residents as family as we work together to create a home perfect for your needs and independent retirement lifestyle. Contact us today to learn more about the benefits of our balanced-focus approach to seniors living in a top retirement residence in Oakville.
