The primary reason why people are unable to properly plan for their retirement is that they do not see it as an immediate problem.
Without realizing what is needed to fund their retirement, they face many problems when they come close to it.
Here are the top 10 tips for figuring the savings rates and investments needed to fund your retirement.
1. Start Saving Now Rather Than Later
Most people want to live in the now rather than save for later. However, if you want to fund your retirement, then you need to start saving today rather than later.
You might just be 25, but it is a smart idea to start saving for your retirement starting today. If you deposit Rs. 2,50,000 a year into your retirement fund, you will have almost a Crore when you retire at 60.
And that’s just from your deposits alone. When you consider the interest, you will have multiple Crores by the time you retire.
2. Prioritize Your Goals
People do not realize how important it is to prioritize your retirement goals. You may need to sacrifice that big foreign vacation and settle for a smaller vacation.
If you value your retirement above everything else, you will need to save and sacrifice accordingly.
3. Make Realistic Goals
If you barely get by every month, then a goal of having Crores of Rupees at the time of retirement is not realistic. You need to look at your life, goals, job, investments, etc. and make goals based on it.
If you are in debt, get into a debt settlement program with your bank to get out of it faster.
Know what you need to do. By making realistic goals, you will be able to better plan for your retirement.
4. You Home Loan is in Fact One Part of Your Retirement
When you look at it, a lot of your hard-earned money goes into repaying your home loan. In other words, your home can be considered one part of your retirement fund.
The sooner you pay off your home loan, the better it will be for you. This way, you will be able to save more for your retirement.
5. Plan Your Investment Properly
If you are going through a hard time right now and barely save anything, it may be a good idea to properly plan your investment.
Sit down and calculate how much money you save every month and how much you will be able to easily save every year. With this data, use any of the online retirement calculators, and you will have an estimate of how much money you will have when you retire.
This will let you know whether you need to start saving more money or ease up.
6. Have an Emergency Fund
When we are in a financial crisis, many of us tend to tap into our retirement fund. However, that is one of the worst ideas ever.
You should always have an emergency fund in case you need money urgently. This includes savings accounts and fixed deposits.
7. Free Money is Good Money
If your employer offers a Provident Fund (PF) account and matches your contributions, take advantage of that free money.
You are depositing the same amount of money as you would in any other account. However, in this case, your employer is adding free money to your tax-free account!
8. Stay Updated
Every year, check on your retirement fund to see if you are still on track or not. If you are on track, you can rest easy.
If you are not, you need to find out what is going wrong and correct the error(s).
9. Budget Wisely
If you want to have at least a Crore rupees in your retirement fund at 60, plan your spending in such a way that you will be able to achieve that goal. Do not just set a goal and hope you will reach it – ensure it happens.
Retirement does not need to be a hard task or call for a debt settlement program. Plan beforehand, get your priorities straight and start saving!