Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think the following are practical goals before a person can retire. It is a rather simplified plan and may not work for everyone. Just my views. I welcome others views and goals
1) Be debt free.
2) Own home
3) At least $100,000 in the bank.
4) Have as much as possible in 401K, Roth IRA and regular IRA.
5) Have retirement plans to fill void of having more free time.
I think the following are practical goals before a person can retire. It is a rather simplified plan and may not work for everyone. Just my views. I welcome others views and goals
1) Be debt free.
2) Own home
3) At least $100,000 in the bank.
4) Have as much as possible in 401K, Roth IRA and regular IRA.
5) Have retirement plans to fill void of having more free time.
I think you probably have part of this in your number 4 but I would add have source(s) of income to meet your retirement needs.
The idea of a lot of cash in the bank is good, especially with the way the stock market is.
Have a source of health insurance.
I think the following are practical goals before a person can retire. It is a rather simplified plan and may not work for everyone. Just my views. I welcome others views and goals
1) Be debt free.
2) Own home
3) At least $100,000 in the bank.
4) Have as much as possible in 401K, Roth IRA and regular IRA.
5) Have retirement plans to fill void of having more free time.
#2 is not necessary if one has enough in #3 and #4. Owning a home is not the be-all and end-all of retirement, and there is nothing per se wrong with renting. I do own my home free and clear and I'm glad I do, so I am not arguing that renting is preferable, just that there is nothing necessarily wrong with it. And yes, I know all about rents increasing with inflation and changes in housing markets, but that's covered by my "if" clause in my first sentence.
You need to add a #6, as already mentioned: 6) If not yet 65, have your ducks in a row with health insurance coverage.
Failing to consider #5 trips a lot of people up, as evidenced by posts in this Retirement Forum over the years. Other people have existing interests in addition to activities and goals in mind to the extent that no formal plan is necessary and that success in the area of #5 is simply a given (more or less automatic), while still others profess to be completely satisfied with total aimlessness and total lack of structure. I don't understand the latter, but we are all different in what floats our boat.
I think most have similar source of incomes in retirement. Social security, withdrawals from retirement accounts and I forgot to mention pensions.
'Regular income' is a top priority. This can be comprised of SS and retirement account withdrawals, but, then "Have as much as possible in IRA's" needs to be modified to "having enough to match one's projected retirement budget, based on a nominal withdrawal rate and limited market growth."
INO it is not important to be debt free. In fact after retiring, I bought a new home with a 30 yr mortgage and I also bought a car with a 5 yr loan. IMO owning a home is not important. In fact when I retired I sold my house but still had a mortgage.
The important criterion is having enough income and investments to fund your anticipated expenses and lifestyle. Like many, SS covers a nice chunk of my expenses and the 4% rule covers the remainder. In addition I keep a cushion of over a year in cash so that I can avoid pulling from investments when the returns are poor or the market drops like it has recently.
I think the following are practical goals before a person can retire. It is a rather simplified plan and may not work for everyone. Just my views. I welcome others views and goals
1) Be debt free.
2) Own home
3) At least $100,000 in the bank.
4) Have as much as possible in 401K, Roth IRA and regular IRA.
5) Have retirement plans to fill void of having more free time.
To that list you need to add secure, affordable medical insurance.
For most people, that means Medicare. So retiring prior to age 65 becomes a challenge for most folks.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
