The average lifespan for Americans hovers between 77 to 80 years old. Since the retirement age is between 62 and 65, Americans must figure out how to pay for their living expenses after retirement.
Planning for the future starts when individuals enter their 20s. Each decade of a person’s life has different milestones, and those milestones have shifted.
Previously, the average marrying age stood between 22 to 25 for men and women. In 2022, the average age has shifted to the late 20s and early 30s. Since individuals have started marrying later, couples have also started having babies later.
Planning for future milestones includes planning for retirement. It also determines how individuals will pay for their first homes to grow their families, vehicles, and daily necessities.
During these sessions, individuals must also consider how they will pay for health care expenses, given that the costs continue rising and individuals have become sicker.
We outline seven tips to follow for planning for your future.
1. Examine Your Current Life Stage
Examining your current life stage is the best way to start planning for the future. Central elements to explore include:
- Finances
- Health
- Career
It’s never too late to start planning for the first time. Planning for retirement at 55 poses more challenges, especially if you do not have enough savings in the bank.
However, it’s still better than entering retirement with no direction or savings.
Assessing your current circumstances also paints an honest picture. For example, individuals who have started developing lifelong chronic conditions must figure out how they will pay for doctor’s visits and medications when the condition worsens.
By becoming honest about your needs, the assessment might serve as a wake-up call to turn things around.
2. Understand Upcoming Life Milestones
Next, understand upcoming life milestones. Statistics show that two-thirds of households 30 to 34 years old have children. Therefore, becoming parents is still a significant milestone that most Americans experience.
Other significant milestones include purchasing homes, obtaining careers, and retiring.
Therefore, this exercise is a great time to start outlining those milestones since they have significant financial implications.
Raising children doesn’t need to cost $1 million. However, you will pay to clothe, feed, and keep roofs over the heads. You will also incur education costs.
An estimated 60% of the population develops at least one chronic condition. Thus, individuals must plan how they will pay for medical care. Purchasing health insurance to cover possible future medical conditions is one way to hedge against those costs.
Learn more about your health insurance options.
3. Establish Goals
The following step is to establish goals based on current and future milestones.
In the middle of reality, it’s still possible to dream and reach toward the sky. Therefore, feel free to establish pie-in-the-sky goals such as earning millions of dollars, achieving rock star status at work, or owning a corporation.
4. Explore Future Needs
Planning for the future means exploring future needs. Speaking with parents and grandparents helps individuals obtain a complete big picture.
For example, some adults care for their elderly parents. Others find that they need to adopt the children of their brothers or sisters.
Think about how you’ll want to live as a retiree.
5. Understand Available Tools
Retirement planning has become a complicated process for those who will leave behind loved ones and assets.
Nonetheless, several tools exist that help offset the costs of passing away and passing assets to family members.
Start familiarizing yourself with them so that you can use them when the time arrives.
6. Establish A Financial Plan
The point of planning and establishing goals is to formulate a plan of action, namely financial.
Entering 2023, eight in ten Americans carry some sort of debt, including student loans, medical bills, and credit cards.
Thus, you might decide to become debt-free in the next ten or 20 years. While some individuals leverage debt to their favor, most Americans have better lives without it.
7. Establish A Path
Now that you have great information, you can establish a path toward your future.
You might need to join a gym or exercise daily to prevent the development of chronic conditions. However, you can weave that into your routine on the way to owning a home, marrying a spouse, and having children.
Every person’s path is unique. No two individuals take the same steps toward living fulfilling lives. Thus, personalize it and remember that you can alter it as life presents you with curveballs.
Conclusion
Planning for the future should bring individuals optimism and joy. The assessments will uncover some uncomfortable truths and force individuals to start answering tough questions. Simultaneously, it allows them to age gracefully and accomplishes desired lifelong goals.
