Managing Your Retirement Budget While Relocating to Age Restricted Apartments in Ocean County, NJ
Proper management of your finances is so important, regardless of what life stage you’re in. When it comes to retirement, however, budgeting becomes all the more important. When you’re no longer depending on a paycheck and instead rely completely on your fixed pension, managing your savings and passive income is critical.
Lack of a proper budget can have disastrous consequences, affecting everything from your peace of mind to your physical health. You’ve worked hard all your life, so you deserve some rest when you finally decide it’s time to retire.
Preparing a budget becomes even more important for retirees planning to move. Whether you’re looking to downsize your square footage, reduce your monthly mortgage, or join a community of like-minded, active adults, senior communities like Barnegat 67 are a great place to spend retirement. So, if you’re considering a move to our age restricted apartments in Ocean County, NJ, here are some tips which will help you make sure you manage your finances properly before, during, and after the move.
1. Start saving early.
This is the most important point of all! It’s crucial that you start saving as early as possible – because there will likely be unexpected expenses, drops in income, and other financial fluctuations that will present a hurdle.
However, if you’re already feeling like you’re behind the game, there’s no reason to worry! Depending on your income, expenses, and your plans for after retirement you may be able to comfortably live at your current lifestyle. There’s no time like the present to sit down with a financial adviser and your loved ones to work out how much you can start setting aside and how much you can expect from your pension.
2. Set short and long-term goals.
Goals make anything more achievable. They help you keep the result in mind and remind you of what you’ve accomplished so far. While budgeting and managing your finances, create quarterly and yearly goals initially, and then 5-year goals for later.
Your goals should be specific and realistic. You need goals that outline your retirement lifestyle (and what you need to do now to maintain it), state when you want to retire, and if possible, also where you want to retire. If you’re considering a move to Barnegat 67 or similar age restricted apartments in Ocean County, NJ, drop by to pick up our rate information now, even if your move is years away. You can have a good idea of exactly what to expect so that you can set your goals now.
You need to discuss these goals with your partner, and make sure you’re both happy with them. These goals will influence the financial decisions you make now.
3. Create and re-create a budget.
Practice makes perfect. Trial and error are often necessary. So, keeping your lifestyle, specific needs, income and expenses in mind, build a budget. During retirement your biggest expenses are likely to be housing, transportation, and other similar fixed costs. Write down what you need to do now to be able to meet these expenses later in life, and build your budget based on that.
Once you have your budget ready, start attempting to live by your retirement budget now. This might help you realize if some initial goals were unrealistic, or you need some things you didn’t factor into your expenses.
Make a list of those changes and after six months or a year, build a new budget that reflects the lessons you learned when putting the trial budget into practice. This budget will be updated and improved and will help you see where things are headed. Tweak things where needed and give the new, reformed budget a trial run. You may have to make additional tweaks in the future – feel free to adjust your budget as many times as you need to get to a point where you’re comfortable with the goals you’ve set.
5. Have a concrete, detailed plan.
Generations ago, all a retirement plan entailed was having some mutual funds and taking out 4% every year once you’re retired. That’s not the case anymore. A worrying number of people don’t have a proper plan in place for their retirement funding.
Protect yourself from shortages and other unforeseen problems by creating a detailed plan early that entails compiling your estate, healthcare, investment strategies, pensions (if applicable), taxes, social security, etc. When you’ve made the shift into retirement, work hard to stick to your plan. As with the budget, review and update it regularly as needed.
4. Invest right.
When you’re looking to invest your hard-earned money to ensure a worry-free retirement, please do the necessary research and make sure you invest right. The sad truth is that investment firms have their profits to consider. Always remember that anyone selling you their services is doing it in order to make a profit. They may care about you as a customer, but the goal of any business is profit – which is reasonable, all things considered.
Don’t fall for trends, fads, or what’s “hot” on the market. What’s selling now may go out of fashion a week or a month from now, leaving your finances in a bad state.
Try to find a firm you can trust – whether it’s a firm you’ve been dealing with and are happy with, an agent who is a family member, or someone whom you’ve known personally for a long time. And unless they’ve handled your investments in the past (with good results), always conduct some independent research to make sure the advice they’re offering you is good. Trust is important, but caution is more important.
6. Know how much risk you can take.
One of the best ways to protect your investments from inflation is to hold stocks in your investment accounts. However, holding stocks would involve some amount of risk as the market has its ups and downs. You need to know how much risk you can afford to take, and at what point you need to turn back.
Plan your investment based on your risk-taking ability. Set your needs and expectations clearly and absolutely do not take on more risk than you can afford. If you do, it could jeopardize your finances and bring your goals to a halt. Be mindful of what you can afford so that you can while away the days in an amenity-loaded, age restricted apartment in Ocean County, NJ.
7. Include healthcare costs in your plan.
Healthcare costs are often unexpected and can sneak up on you. Health issues are painful and worrying, and realizing that you don’t have enough money to pay for treatment while still funding your retirement can come as a blow. Many people fail to meet their retirement goals due to healthcare costs. In fact, they are the number one cause of bankruptcy in retirement.
That is scary, but the good news is that these problems can be prevented by planning right. The biggest mistake people make is that they underestimate healthcare premium costs and other expenses. To put it into perspective, most people think healthcare costs after retirement will be somewhere between $50-200k, while realistically the amount is closer to $390k – everything included.
The amount will vary based on your location, medical history, overall health and other factors, so we advise consulting with an expert before creating your financial plan.
8. Work with a fiduciary advisor.
What is a fiduciary advisor? It is someone who is legally obligated to act in your best interests to help make financial plans for situations such as retirement. It can be difficult to manage your investments, money and retirement funds – especially if you don’t understand financial subjects thoroughly. In that situation, working with a fiduciary is a good idea. They’ll look out for you and your family and advise you on the right actions to take.
When meeting an advisor, ask them if they are a fiduciary, and if they receive compensation of any kind aside from what you pay them. Their answers to these questions will tell you all you need to know before engaging their services. (However, as an added precaution you can look up their records on FINRA’s BrokerCheck. If there have been any complaints against them, you should find them there.)
Working with a fiduciary will make things a lot simpler, so you can stop planning your finances and start planning which hobbies to take up when you move to age restricted apartments in Ocean County, NJ.
There is a lot more that you can – and should – do to ensure a worry-free retirement. For advice specific to you, please consult a professional. This article is meant as a general guide for information purposes only. Treat it as a starting point.
Picture Your Retirement at Barnegat 67 – Age Restricted Apartments in Ocean County NJ
Located just off Exit 67 on the Garden State Parkway, Barnegat 67 is a charming rental community. If you’re looking for an active independent, like-minded community to spend retirement, check out our beautiful new retirement community in historic Barnegat Township. With an excellent location, affordable lease, wonderful amenities, and quality finishes, it’s not hard to see why we’re growing more and more popular since opening our doors.
The amenities offered at the community include: Planet Fitness, a medical care facility, firepits and barbecue areas, a bocce court, billiards, work stations, a reading corner, and much more.
The apartments have 9-foot ceilings, and they come with a stainless-steel appliance package. Upgraded LVT flooring, stone countertops, and in-residence washer/dryer units are also included. The buildings boast multiple elevators, a storage area, and a resident manager for your convenience.
To learn more about our amenities and fees or for any questions, visit our website today! Barnegat 67 promises an excellent experience. Our on-site leasing center is open Sunday through Friday.