The most recent numbers on aging indicate that a lot more of us will reach 100 years of age than we suspect.
In fact, the first person who will reach the age of 150 is alive now and walking around.
If you haven’t taken the time to think about how much it costs to live 30 or 35 years without a job, maybe now is the time.
Take a look at the chart on your screen now.
It list what just a few items will cost in as little as 30 years at what everyone knows are very low inflation rates.
And if you live in the colder environments, add a lot more to the cost of heating oil and gas. Like five times as much!
The food number looks low, too.
In addition to longer life expectancies, the fact that 25% of this country, all ages, save absolutely nothing for retirement, has created a real mess on the very near horizon. How’s the next 10 years?
The only way most of us will not run out of money in our golden years is to get very structured in our spending in retirement. The best way, according to MarketWatch, is to first figure out what your after-tax monthly income will be.
After-tax! Don’t forget to include taxes on interest, dividends and capital gains.
Then split up your budget, which most of don’t have but must, into essentials and discretionary spending.
Then set up your cash flow in short-, medium- and long-term cash needs. The short has to be in cash-like investments… CDs, money markets, etc.
The medium can be in the more traditional retiree’s investments; bonds, income-producing stocks, REITs. Ones that generate cash and some growth.
The long term, and this is one no one ever considers, has to be in growth investments that will be there for you later in retirement.
Solid growers, not speculative small caps – the big oil companies, oil services, railroads, consumer products, etc. All the ones I have talked about here in the Two-Minute.
Budget, segment into long, short and medium needs, and last, save something each month. You will need it for those annual unexpected cash drains… roof repair, plumbing and electrical repairs. Yes, these things happen in retirement, too.
We will live a lot longer than any of us expect to and, believe me, you do not want to wake up broke in your 80s. It is still a long way from 80 to 100.
Make the changes now.