Budgeting For Retirement

​You may not like the idea, but you need to start planning your budget for retirement. There are several building blocks for retirement such as creating an income plan, growing your nest egg, and setting a realistic budget.
 
Here are some valuable tips to be diligent with your retirement budget.

​Plan Ahead
Reflect on how you want your life to be during retirement. Determine your spending patterns today and how they can affect your spending in retirement. Evaluate your monthly bills and identify what services you need to do continue or not when you reach your retirement period. For example, cell phone, swimming pool service, dry cleaning, cable, landscaping, etc.
 
List your expenses into two categories; discretionary and essential.
 
Discretionary Budgeting

• Travel. Create a budget for your travel depending on the kind of trips you do. Is it for short visits with family and friends, long vacation, or weekend getaway? If you have a vacation home, take into account the cost of expense when traveling there back and forth.
  
  
• Leisure. Dining out, mall shopping, and watching movies can be costly. Include the times when you buy gifts for your loved ones every year such as during birthdays, New Year, Christmas, baptismal, graduation, and so on. Another factor to include in this category is your charitable contributions and inheritance taxes.

 
Essential Budget Priorities

• Housing. Consider if you are still paying for your home or it is already paid. But, some expenses are necessary for good living. These include shelling out for maintenance, repairs, and utilities. Also, add the costs of possible upgrades and renovations of doorways, stairs, ramps, and so on.
  
  
• Health Care. Prepare yourself for out-of-pocket expenses and supplemental premiums even though you have insurance plan and Medicare.
  
  
• Food. Food expenses are always constant. It doesn’t matter if you are eating at home or eating out with family and friends.

 
Have Fun And Keep It Basic
Retirement is the time to do the things you have been dreaming of doing when you were too busy working. But, doing a new hobby, traveling, and pursuing your passions come with a cost too. Try to simplify this aspect by consolidating your funds for retirement.
 
It is also beneficial to refer with a financial adviser to help organize your expenses, investments, and income.
 
Conclusion
When you are near your retirement years, start paying attention to your budget as early as today. Also, know how an annuity can help you in retirement. At Oncken Insurance Agency,  we aim to make our client's life easier with policies that are tailored to their needs. You can get more information about our products and services by calling our agency at (281) 256-8310. Get your free quote today by CLICKING HERE.