These 8 Expenses Can Kill Your Retirement — Should You Ditch Them ASAP?
Retirement is the period in your life when many focus on family and the things you weren’t able to do while you were busy with your career. As such, you’ll want to optimize your financial well-being now to provide yourself with the most money possible to spend on the things you want, without running into financial troubles. To help you enjoy a financially secure retirement, we’ve prepared a list of 8 expenses you can consider ditching or adjust.
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1. Streaming Services
These monthly subscriptions add up, particularly when you’re signed up for several of them, like Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, Max, Paramount — the list goes on and on. Maybe you really only use one or two of them. You could save well over $50 each month by canceling the rest — especially since many of them have been increasing their costs.
2. Reevaluate Your Life Insurance Policy
You may no longer have dependents, so you can save money with a policy change that carries lower premiums. A financial advisor can help find the best plan for you.
3. Overpriced Luxury Items
Practically speaking, you’ve probably been avoiding high-end purchases you didn’t really need. While retirement might seem like the time you’ve arrived at where you can finally go out and buy all types of stuff you missed out on, you’re better off sticking with more affordable options. This also goes for the newest tech. Whether it’s a computer, TV, phone or refrigerator, the newest releases are the most expensive — either wait or opt for an older model. An older one might still be a grand improvement over your previous tech.
4. Risky Investments
This is not a time for risk. If you’re continuing to invest, keep it to the safest options, like high-yield savings accounts, Treasury bills and Treasury inflation-protected securities (TIPS).
5. Debt
Don’t allow your debt to continue accruing interest. You’ll want to make sure your student loans, credit cards and other substantial sources of debt are taken care of. Additionally, you don’t want to take out any new loans that could lead to debt.
6. Vacations
It’s important here to temper your ambition — visits to Paris, London, Milan, Lucerne and the hundreds of other cities that serve as popular tourist destinations aren’t cheap and certainly add up. It may be worth your time (and savings), to find less expensive alternatives. Additionally, when you travel, use points you’ve accrued whenever possible.
7. Fraud
Elder fraud is a terrible but common scam practice. Be wary of offers that seem too good to be true and remember you can Google a company or product name to easily find out if they’re legitimate. Never provide your passwords or Social Security, bank account, debit/credit cards and/or other sensitive information to potential scammers and unknown entities.
8. Be Mindful of Your Medical Expenses
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It’s important to remember that with age comes the potential for dental, vision, hearing and other problems. These are a natural part of the aging process and can affect people even if they’re healthy. You’ll want to be sure, though, to explore insurance options that will provide for you without breaking you.
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