February 2021

Since nearly the start of the COVID pandemic and our new adventure of working from home, I began taking time each day to go for a walk. When I first started my walk routine, it was often a time to get out of the house and enjoy the sunshine. Warmer weather was on the way and I wanted to enjoy the outside. As fall and winter have set in, the walks are less about the warmth of the sun, and more about finding something different to do each day. As time has gone on, they have become a bit of self-therapy. A time to get out of the four walls of my house, get some fresh air, and take my mind off, well, everything. Over the last several months, I have concluded that I have walked in every possible street in my neighborhood, every direction, every nook and cranny, and every way available. Some routes are more direct, while others are more scenic. There isn’t one right or wrong way to walk in the neighborhood; the direction I go simply depends on the adventure I am looking for that day.

Before I begin my walk, I think about where I’d like to go and how long I’d like to spend walking. Then, knowing the approximate distance and time, I decide which route to follow. Sometimes, I might decide to make a detour or two, but the end result is the same…getting home safely.

Your retirement plan is a lot like my walks. OK, maybe not exactly like my walks, but there are a few similarities. On my walks, I know that if I follow the route I have envisioned I will get to my final destination. The same holds true for your retirement plan, if you follow your course, you will reach your retirement goals. We all have an idea in our heads for how we want our retirement will look. There are things we all need, such as food, shelter, and transportation, and then there are the things we want, like travelling or a new boat. These are our retirement goals, and once we identify them, we can plan the best way to reach them.

Many factors enter into a successful retirement plan. Your retirement age, how much you have saved, and how much you need to spend in retirement, to name a few. Knowing what your goals are and using some of these variables, Cliff and I work on the different paths you can follow to make your plan work. Sometimes, that includes saving more in your employer retirement plan, sometimes it’s saving more in a Roth IRA, and sometimes it’s both. The routes might be different but they all have the same finish line.

If you’re already living in retirement, your plan is equally as important as those who are still planning. While you might already be living out your dreams, we want to make sure we haven’t strayed off the path. When I take a detour on my walks, I have to be careful not to go too far in the wrong direction, or it will be much more difficult to achieve my end goal of getting home safely. It might get dark or I might have more traffic to avoid. I don’t know what obstacles await. In retirement, increased spending for whatever reason is an example of what might derail your ultimate goal of making sure your money last the rest of your life.

Your annual meeting with Cliff and I is a time for us to review these goals. Where are you on your path? Have you taken a detour? Let’s talk about what obstacles might be out there so we can be prepared.