Post A CommentDo you have a family? Are you looking for support with your retirement planning? A common theme with saving for retirement involves taking care of your family. Some elderly folks will work into their late-60s just to help their kids pay for college or start their own families. Everyone has their own family support system that they rely on and turn to for help with retirement planning.
I asked around to see how some of my older friends were gathering support for their retirement plans from family. The responses were interesting and I wanted to write about the role of family here.
What can your family do to help with your retirement planning?
Understand your sacrifices.
Sacrifices aren’t easy. They often are painful in the short term. They often make you want to give up and take the easy way out. This is why it’s important that your family understands why you do the things that you do.
Why work over-time? Because you want to contribute more money to your retirement accounts. Why stay in? So that you can increase retirement and enjoy life in your golden years. This then leads to the next point…
Find cheap ways to have fun.
The beauty of a solid family is that you guys can come together to have fun. You don’t need to spend any money. You can use a little creativity to have LOTS of fun.
When you’re with your family, you don’t have to blow your whole paycheck to enjoy a weekend. The simple pleasures can bring you more joy than life’s most expensive luxuries. The trick is to get your family on board with your thinking of having fun on the cheap.
Is it worth working into your 70s just because you had to blow all of your money?
Help you get rid of crap.
Do you have too much stuff? Do you wish you had less junk around the house?
As a family, you guys can try to get rid of your junk. My family holds a yard sale every summer. We put everything on the driveway that we no longer need. We also try to get the community involved. The end result is that we get rid of crap for money. This helps my parents because they can think clearly without all of the clutter at home.
Stuff also just takes up space. As someone planning to retire, you likely want more retirement savings and less stuff in your home. You can have that with a supportive family.
Motivate you to work when you have energy.
Life isn’t always easy. Your job can feel like torture. Your co-workers can drive you mad. You just want to call in sick or quit. This is where your family can help you. When you have no energy or lack ambition, a family should be there to give you that boost. That motivation that’s badly needed in those moments. Does your family push you for better thigns?
What’s your relationship like with your family? After looking into family law, it’s important to emphasize the role that those around you play on the decisions that you make.
You may have to be more creative, but you can change your habits. Knowing that everyone involved is cooperating to make those changes helps and is more likely to succeed.