Planning for your financial future and retirement looks much different now than in previous years. Some people must supplement their Social Security to have enough to maintain their desired lifestyle. This means financial planning is now a critical component of retirement. While having a financial professional on your side is vital to managing your financial future, so is visualizing what your future may include.
Visualizing Helps You Determine How Much You Need in Retirement
One of the most important reasons for visualizing your future is that it may help you understand how much money you might need to afford the retirement you want. Imagine what your retirement may look like for you. Might it include travel? Do you anticipate making significant purchases? Do you want to leave a large estate to family members? Consider what you want to have in the future and calculate how much money you may need to accomplish those desires.1
Visualizing Helps You Consider Aspects of Retirement That May Affect Your Financial Needs
Visualizing your retirement may help you determine what steps need to be taken and how your retirement may be affected by certain aspects of your future. You may decide working longer is the ideal way to get to the future you visualize. You may also find that your plans could involve downsizing or upsizing your living situation, which may lead to adjustments in your financial plan.2
Part of Your Visualization Needs To Consider a Few Inescapable Factors
Certain parts of the future, such as aging and retirement, are inescapable. To improve your visualization and planning, here are a few things that you might want to factor in:
- You may live longer than expected: With advancements in technology and better health care, people are living much longer than the average life span used to be, so you may need to manage your financial plan in order to provide you with enough money to get you through the remainder of your life.
- You may face major health care bills: For most people, getting older means more health concerns and higher medical bills. As medical costs continue to rise, this challenge is expected to get worse in the future.
- Inflation: The cost of living may continue to increase as you age. In some cases, the inflation cost may be significantly higher than expected. During your visualization, you must account for the fact that prices might increase from now through your retirement and make sure you plan accordingly.
Planning for retirement involves trying to see into the future, so you may imagine how to cover your wants and needs. One of the easiest ways to start your plan is by visualizing what you want your financial future to look like. With the help of a financial professional, you might then come up with the necessary steps in your plan to help you get there.
Important Disclosures:
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, LPL Financial makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.
This article was prepared by WriterAccess.
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Footnotes
1 How To Prepare For Retirement Through Visualization
https://www.businessinsider.com/prepare-for-retirement-through-visualization-2011-4
2 Visualize your way to a better retirement
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/visualize-your-way-to-a-better-retirement/
