{"id":1118,"date":"2014-12-03T00:55:32","date_gmt":"2014-12-03T00:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prosolution.com.au\/?p=1118"},"modified":"2018-03-08T17:17:23","modified_gmt":"2018-03-08T07:17:23","slug":"do-you-have-a-retire-one-month-earlier-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wealthcoach.com.au\/stage\/do-you-have-a-retire-one-month-earlier-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Do you have a \u2018retire one month earlier\u2019 strategy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Printable version<\/a><\/p>\n

How much of your income each month do you contribute towards achieving your financial and lifestyle goals including retirement?<\/p>\n

Every employee already contributes 9.5% of their gross salary towards their retirement savings in the form of compulsory super. But super is just not enough for most people. Firstly, depending on your income level, working lifespan and super investment choices, your super might not be worth enough to fund your desired lifestyle in retirement. Secondly, if you are solely reliant upon super to fund retirement, you must realise that you are putting your entire retirement plan in the hands of the government and as they are constantly changing the super rules they will decide when you can access it.<\/p>\n

You have probably heard of the financial advice \u201cpay yourself first\u201d which means you should make saving or investing a portion of your income a priority before anything else. If you think you don\u2019t have any income to invest, you probably do\u2026 read on.<\/p>\n

How much income should I be contributing?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I believe if people get into the habit of contributing 10% or more of their after tax income towards saving for the future they will be able to retire early. When I say \u2018save for the future\u2019 I refer to their financial goals \u2013 call it retirement, financial freedom, having the flexibility to work whenever you want \u2013 whatever.<\/p>\n

How much you save (5%, 10%, 15%, etc.) will depend on your particular circumstances and goals. But you need to pay yourself first and you need to be super-disciplined with doing so.<\/p>\n

I often help clients work out what their strategy is and how much they need to allocate towards investing so if you need help, please reach out to me. But the first step is making a commitment to yourself about how much money (per week, month or year) you want to set aside for your future. Do that now.<\/p>\n

Where do I get the money from?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Most clients I meet don\u2019t realise or know exactly how much they spend on living expenses. If you don\u2019t know where your money is going, how do you ever think you will be able to get ahead and successfully implement a realistic retirement strategy? Your first step must be to review the past three months of credit card and bank statements and work out how much you spend and what is left over. If you do this and the amount is higher than you expected (or want it to be), you then need to dig deeper (see below). I suggest undertaking this exercise every 6 months or so. That way you can keep tabs on your expenditure and make adjustments wherever necessary. Remember, all I am suggesting is a high level review \u2013 you don\u2019t have to count every dollar and cent if you don\u2019t want to.<\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t have a surplus income (i.e. you are spending everything you earn), here at a couple of tips to help you find<\/em> a surplus:<\/p>\n