Many people spend decades working and hope to enjoy their retirement. That’s part of the American dream – enjoying your golden years and experiencing things you only dreamed of during your career. That’s all fine and good, but it’s easy to derail those plans once you reach retirement. Bad habits can creep up, causing you to sacrifice some of your dreams. Here are ten toxic financial habits to avoid in retirement so you can live the kind of life you want.
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Overspending
It’s going to be hard to make your money last throughout your golden years if you are constantly overspending. You are never too old to create a budget and start living within or under your means so that you can save money for later.
Hoarding
People seem to have a habit of collecting a lot of stuff. In some cases, it can be detrimental to both your physical and mental health.
A cluttered home leads to a cluttered mind. Plus, if you have physical belongings all over the place, it can create a fall hazard. Clean out what you don’t really need by selling or donating it. Then, enjoy your organized home.
Avoiding Retirement Planning
Retirement planning is an important part of aging. You need a solid plan about where your finances will be coming from to support you through your golden years.
If you haven’t made your retirement plans yet, the time to talk to a financial advisor and set them up is now.
Accepting Poor Sleep
Good quality sleep is extremely important to your health. If you aren’t resting well at night, your mental, physical, and emotional health will suffer.
Discuss your poor sleep with a health professional or make some adjustments to your nightly routine to make sure you are getting the restful sleep that you need.
Not Having an Emergency Fund
Life is full of the unexpected, especially during your retirement years. The typical advice for many people is to have at least three to six months worth of living expenses in savings to deal with unplanned, emergency expenses.
As a retiree, it’s best to aim for 12 months of living expenses. This will help with cash flow, and help ensure you can handle pretty much anything that comes your way. Make sure to keep the cash fluid, in a high-yield savings account, such as CIT Bank. This allows you to earn as much interest as possible without sacrificing FDIC coverage.
Neglecting Your Health
You shouldn’t be neglecting your health and routine doctor’s appointments at any age, but especially not as you get older. Eating well, physical activity, and regular check-ups should be a priority for you.
Overcommitting
Time is the one thing you can’t get more of, so make sure that you are spending your golden years on things that you enjoy. Keeping busy and active is important, but not to the point where you don’t have time for activities that you enjoy.
Avoiding New Experiences
You are never too old to try something new. Try new foods, go somewhere new on vacation, or take up a new hobby.
Life has so many amazing experiences to offer, so keep on trying new things.
Stop Supporting Adult Children
If you are still helping support your adult children, it’s time to stop. It’s okay to offer a helping hand from time to time, but your adult children should be responsible for their own expenses.
Do your finances a favor by letting your adult kids take care of their own financial needs.
Stop Living In the Past
Remembering the past and special memories is fine, but you shouldn’t obsess over it. Live in the now!
Make future plans and goals to keep your mind active and focused on the present.
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I’m John Schmoll, a former stockbroker, MBA-grad, published finance writer, and founder of Frugal Rules.
As a veteran of the financial services industry, I’ve worked as a mutual fund administrator, banker, and stockbroker and was Series 7 and 63-licensed, but I left all that behind in 2012 to help people learn how to manage their money.
My goal is to help you gain the knowledge you need to become financially independent with personally-tested financial tools and money-saving solutions.
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