Hundreds of readers have accepted this month’s money mission to focus on retirement, and this has confirmed to me that many people are very concerned about said aspect of financial planning. I’m sensing that some of you are becoming desperate about your present financial state of affairs and the bleak future that may be awaiting you.

Whatever your current financial position, I want to reassure you that it is possible for you to design a realistic plan of action that can help you to not only survive during your retirement years, but have a fulfilled life. However, pretending that you don’t have a looming problem is only going to ensure that your worst financial nightmare will become your retirement reality.

Let’s look at some important issues that you should consider in order to make proper preparations for this important time in life.

You can become knowledgeable about retirement

When the subject of retirement is mentioned, you will often hear references to concepts such as inflation, future value of money and projected returns. If you’re like most people, you’ll probably tune out at the thought of doing complicated mathematical calculations. However, don’t think that you need to have an advanced degree in finance to understand the basics of retirement planning.

The key to retirement success is to understand how inflation affects the value of your money. Think back to the 1980s when the Jamaican government bought some new public transport buses. People were so amazed at their expensive price tag that they called them ‘quarter-million’ buses. Today, the only vehicle you can get for J$250,000 is a decades-old used car!

You can’t think in today’s dollars to plan for an event several years in the future. Using a simple calculator such as those found on www.financiallysmart.org, you can project what your current spending would really cost at the time of retirement. You have one objective — to learn how to create several income streams that will allow you to meet all your expenses in the future.

You’re not too young to save for retirement

As I have previously indicated, the calculators will probably indicate that it will be difficult to save enough to fully fund your retirement nest egg, especially if you didn’t start saving aggressively at an early age. The good news is that if you are in your early twenties, you have lots of time on your side to create the retirement lifestyle of your dreams.

Please understand that you cannot afford to waste precious time and money doing frivolous spending in your youth. Learn how to defer instant gratification — you really don’t need to have it all right now. Make sacrifices to put aside as much as you can into your workplace retirement plan or an approved individual retirement account, so that you can have fun as a retiree as well.

While it’s smart to seek assistance in designing your retirement plan, don’t depend solely on experts at a financial institution. Your advisor will help you to invest in the institution’s retirement account, but may not necessarily guide you on other ways to create income. It’s still going to be your responsibility to learn how to create different earning sources that will meet all your needs.

You’re not too old to create retirement wealth

Many persons who have passed the age of 45 often feel intimidated by the technology age and its rapidly evolving gadgets and trends. The reality is that the wonderful new developments that are constantly emerging in the 21st century actually make it easier for persons to create sustainable streams of income at any stage of life.

Gone are the days when you needed to have large amounts of physical resources or financial capital to make money. The Internet has levelled the playing field so that you can have access to millions of people who may be interested in what you have to say or to sell. In fact, online marketing can help you to create wealth from your hobbies and talents.

Years ago, I heard the story of a 90-year-old Australian great-grandmother who was bored with retirement and wanted a way to share her love of quilting with the rest of the world. She received some basic Internet training, set up a website and published an eBook on quilting. Eventually, she was earning over US$1,000 monthly selling her eBooks to thousands of devoted subscribers.

So whether you are young or old, regardless of your financial present or past, you have the ability to create a retirement lifestyle that will be carefree instead of stressful. In upcoming weeks, I will continue to share different methods of making extra money. I hope that you will discover some income-earning ideas which can help you to boost your retirement plans.

Copyright © 2012 Cherryl Hanson Simpson. No reproduction without written consent.

Originally published in The Daily Observer, May 17, 2012

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Is It Practical to Plan for Retirement?

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Cherryl is a money coach and business mentor, and founder of Financially S.M.A.R.T. Services. See more of her work at www.entrepreneursinjamaica.com and www.financiallysmart.org. Contact Cherryl