It’s never too early, or too late, to start thinking about your retirement goals. No matter if you’re hoping to retire early or work until you can’t any longer, having a plan for how you can retire comfortably is essential.
Get started on these steps right now so you can reach your retirement goals.
1. Have A Professional Review Your Plan
If you’re fortunate enough to have plenty of retirement savings and investments, now is the time to futureproof your funds. But that takes time and skills that most don’t have, so the best option is to turn to a professional financial advisor. The hard part is finding the right one.
WiserAdvisor does all that work for you, matching you to the best financial advisor for your specific situation so you get in an expert in the areas you need.
There’s no cost to you and no obligation to hire the advisor, so there’s not much to lose.
2. Keep An Emergency Fund
Common wisdom suggests you should keep three to six months of expenses in an emergency fund. Once you retire, however, you’ll likely want to bump up that amount. Generally speaking, accidents occur more often as you age, whether through accidental falls, reduction in driving abilities, loss of general dexterity or simply through spending more time at home rather than in an office. The best way to plan for emergency expenses in retirement is to build up your nest egg while you’re working, rather than making it a monthly line item in your budget.
Sign up for a new SoFi Checking and Savings Account today so that you can start stashing cash. You can earn a cash bonus of up to $300 with direct deposit and you can get up to 2.00% APY (Annual Percentage Yield) on all checking and savings balances with no balance cap restrictions*.
Plus, there are overdraft fees, no minimum balance fees and no monthly fees. You can even get paid up to two days early when you set up direct deposit.
3. Think Outside Your 401(k)
A 401(k) retirement plan is an excellent way to save for retirement, but it does have limited investment options, so you may also want another account with more investment flexibility. And no matter what your retirement goals look like, working with companies that understand how to invest will help you.
Ally Invest opens the door to a wide range of investing options, giving you more control and flexibility with your investments. With commission-free trading on stocks and ETFs and a hefty cash bonus of up to $3,000 depending on the amount of initial deposit, this online brokerage offers up appealing incentives.
Ally’s platform provides powerful research and analytical tools that an independent-minded investor is looking for. Plus, with no minimum account balance required, it’s also a good option for beginning investors who are just starting to build their portfolio.
Get up to $3,000 in bonus cash when you open an investment account with Ally
4. Diversify To Mitigate Risk
With a sinking economy and rising inflation, it’s important to diversify so all your investment eggs aren’t in one basket. Gold is traditionally a popular investment during a recession because it’s negatively correlated with the stock market.
Goldco offers both precious metals IRAs and direct purchases of gold and silver. It’s a top-rated company and is now offering $10,000 or more in free silver with qualified accounts.
5. Invest Creatively
A strong way to diversify your investment may surprise you: Art. With a 13.8% return, art handily outperformed the S&P from 1995 to 2021.
Masterworks allows everyday investors to own shares of iconic works of art by the likes of Pablo Picasso, Banksy, Andy Warhol and more.
You can get paid when the painting sells or sell your shares on the secondary market, providing more liquidity than would typically be available when investing in art directly.
6. Generate Passive Income
Passive income plays a key role in many successful retirement strategies. Here’s one that’s about as effortless as it gets. You can rent out all types of extra space around your house – garage, shed, basement, driveway, closet and more – to people who need to store their stuff. And you can make hundreds of dollars a month doing it.
Neighbor is a website that lets you list your extra storage space for rent and connects you with potential renters. It’s free to post a listing, and you won’t need to write up a contract or collect payments – Neighbor handles all that stuff. However, you are in control of where you should be: You review renters’ requests so that you know exactly what they plan to store before you decide whether to approve the deal. Plus, you set the move-in date that’s convenient for you.
You’ll also be protected with up to $1 million in liability insurance, and Neighbor will cover the cost if a renter doesn’t pay.
7. Become A Landlord
Rental real estate is popular as an additional, passive income for the long haul. Unlike investing in stocks, real estate is somewhat shielded from the constant ups and downs of the market and has offered a return of up to 6% over time, which makes it a smart way to diversify your portfolio.
Arrived is your gateway to the world of real estate investing that’s historically required lots of upfront capital. With a minimum investment of just $100, Arrived makes real estate investing truly accessible to everyone.
It’s simple to get started: Create an account, decide how much you want to invest and watch for property appreciation and quarterly rental income payments.
Investing in real estate is a great option for anyone looking to build long-term wealth that can stand up to risk and market volatility.
ADAM MCFADDEN | Updated August 22, 2022