Bring out the golf clubs ... five simple questions can help you work out if you are on track with your retirement plans
One of the most common, repetitive and negative thought patterns is financial uncertainty. Left unaddressed it is like an undiagnosed cancer, a constant niggle that can eat away at your frame of mind in the short term with potentially catastrophic long-term consequences for both your health and your wealth. Bumbling along day to day, trusting to luck, hoping that everything will be all right in the end is normal – you are not alone but you can do better. Not many people know their financial future but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Ask anyone who has confronted their financial future and they will tell you that whatever you find out, whether you are behind the financial eight-ball or ahead of it, just knowing where you are and where you are going will knock years off the ageing process, save you a fortune in beauty creams and botox and at retirement leave you ready to fly rather than ready to die.
So here goes ... a quick formula for you to get a handle on your retirement, help work out roughly how much you need, when you will get there and whether you are financially under pressure or ahead of the eight-ball. Grab your partner if you have one (but it works just as well on your own), open an Excel spreadsheet if you know how to use it, or a calculator and a pen and paper if you don’t, and get a handle on your retirement.
Start with a few simple questions:
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