How to Plan for Retirement
Welcome back to Stocks4Docs, the Investor Podcast for the Medical Field.
This week we will change directions slightly to discuss retirement. With the birth of my 3rd child, the needs of my family, the beautiful chaos of life, and the demands of a dream job, the day to day at the end of 2021 felt unbalanced. This led to a deeper dive into short-term and long-term goals and ultimately a plan for a mini retirement.
Retirement planning is essential, whether for a temporary pause in a career, for early retirement, or for planned retirement at the average age of 67.
Many questions arise when thinking about retirement: When can I stop working? How much money will I need? What kind of lifestyle do I want?
There are many resources (blogs, websites, books) out there to help you get started on a retirement plan. But, a common first step is to determine the cost of your current lifestyle.
Add up all your current costs and spending:
-Housing (mortgage, taxes, insurance, property maintenance, etc.)
-Utilities (electricity, gas, water, internet, phone, etc.)
-Healthcare (insurance, copays, etc.)
-Family care
-Food and personal care (dining, dry cleaning, salon, vacation, fitness, etc.)
-Transportation costs, educational costs (yourself and dependents)
-Everything else (subscriptions, pets, gifts, charities, etc.)
Awareness of your spending habits and acknowledgment of your debts is also important here.
Next, consider if your spending will change. (For example, there may be decreased transportation costs or increased educational costs).
Then, determine the 4% rule. An approximation of total retirement savings is based on the amount you spend per year. Inflation and how long you will live will also affect this number.
So, how do you get that much money in the bank? This is where investing and building wealth comes into play. Your investment portfolio is very important, and we return to the concept of value investing. Put in the time and research to find the right companies and buy at the right time to start building that wealth!
Be brave, make plans, be responsible, and live your best life!
If you missed any episodes during our first year, check out our podcasts at https://stocks4docs.org/podcasts/
