Step 2: Back to the Future | Your Handy Guide to Planning for the Future
If we strip away the mystery, retirement planning is just about getting an idea of how you want your retirement to look. And then taking the right steps to make it happen. Now that doesn’t sound too tricky, does it?
Last week we looked at the importance of understanding your spending. So far so good. Now you have a clear picture of how your finances are looking today. The next step is to think about how much you might want to spend in the years ahead.
Thinking ahead
So, presuming you don’t have a crystal ball at your disposal, here’s what you need to do. Firstly, think about everything you’re doing now. What do you want to do more of? Is there anything you’d like to do less of (we’re guessing work is one of your answers?)? Then, you need to consider if there’s anything big you’d like to do – whether that’s embark on a world cruise, move to a new home or give your children some cash to help them get on the housing ladder.
“Fortitude Financial Planning has allowed us to predict our likely spending cycles going out over ten, twenty, even thirty years.”
– Jon
Armed with a rough plan for the future, you can then start to work out how much money you’ll need to do all the things you want to do. How’s it looking? Is your cost of living likely to fall or will you need even more money for all the adventures you’ve got planned? And do you think every year is going to look pretty much the same, or are some years likely to be more costly than others?
Go, slow, no
If you’re finding this tricky, we’ve been looking at a recent study on expenditure in retirement. It shows that most people’s spend is reduced as the years go on and that there are three main stages of retirement:
The GO GO years
With more time on your hands, this is when your expenditure is likely to rise. You might be travelling more, decide to splash out on a new conservatory, or just take more trips to the theatre or your favourite restaurants.
The SLOW GO years
As you get older, you’ll probably find that your pace of life changes and you’ll want to take things a bit easier. And if you’re spending more time at home, then you’re likely to be spending less money too.
The NO GO years
In your twilight years, you’ll probably be spending very little as everything slows down considerably. Though this is also the time you may need to consider how you can fund any extra care needs.
“Getting to 70 and then finding your plan didn’t really work isn’t an option. You’ve only got one hit.”
Next week we’ll be bringing you a double-feature of ‘Steps 3 & 4: Time to Take Stock’.
If you can’t wait that long and would like to read the series in full right now, you can download the entire guide by filling in your details on the form.
We’re raring to go, so why not give us a call today? We’d love to hear what the future looks like to you and find out whether we’re the right fit to help you get there.
Contact us at theteam@fortitudefp.co.uk or call us on 01327 354321 to start the conversation.