As a long-time Certified Financial Planner, I have always believed that having a written retirement income (cash-flow) plan is critical to enjoying a long and prosperous retirement.
Unless one has many millions of dollars or plans to spend well under their means (perhaps to leave more of a financial legacy to family and/or charities), having a real plan in place can allow you to fully enjoy the rewards of a long career – without worry or undo stress.
You’ll know how much you can reasonably afford to spend each year, with inflation and taxes included. Spend too much and you might have an unpleasant surprise at 75 or 80. Spend too little and you may wind up with regrets – wishing you had traveled more, spent more time with out-of-town family or any number of things.
Most people who do this on their own, don’t pay enough attention to inflation and the need to allow for nearly a doubling of withdrawals over 20 years – just to live the same lifestyle as you do today.
Certainly, virtually all financial professionals would agree to the value of knowing in advance a realistic retirement budget. After watching this video, what do you think?
all the best… Mark