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I heard on the news recently that two-thirds of Americans would find it difficult to come up with the money to cover an unexpected $1,000 expense. This truly makes me sad.
We’ve all been there at one point or another. Lack of finances has got to be one of the most stressful challenges to live with. I’ve experienced it myself, and I’ve sat with clients who have gone through tough times, too. There is simply no peace when you’re struggling financially.
One of the biggest reasons for this problem today is loss of income. We all know someone who has suffered a job loss for one reason or another. In that case, it is understandable why coming up with an extra $1,000 would be a challenge.
But there’s another reason I would like look at, which places the blame on lack of financial literacy.
What tends to get women in trouble is spending money without any sort of plan for getting ahead financially, which also means not being able to put away anything for retirement.
The first step to taking control of your finances is tracking your money. How much do you have coming in? How much can you afford to spend? This is basic financial management.
However, the problem is most of us have never been taught proper financial management. A lot of us have had to learn basic money skills the hard way.
Women, Money & Retirement – The Painful Reality
There are many reasons I believe women need to pay attention when it comes to their retirement financial security. For instance, statistically speaking women outlive men, and they retire with smaller accounts and Social Security benefits.
As a women, we have the power to create financial security for a time when we’ll need it most: In retirement. It’s a matter of being proactive, choosing to take control of your finances and creating financial goals.
Have you ever stopped to think about how much money you could save every month if you really buckled down and got serious about your retirement?
Your response might be “But Patti, I can barely cover my monthly expenses, how can I possibly save money for retirement, too?”
What if instead of eating out twice each week, you decided to save that $25 dollars? That would give you $100 to put into savings each month. Now, where you decide to save it has the potential to leverage your money into a guaranteed retirement income stream.
For example, a tax-deferred annuity with a guaranteed lifetime income rider would enable you receive retirement income for the rest of your life. Even if you lived to be 120 years old, and even after your account balance has gone to zero. As long as you’re alive, you get a check from the insurance company (insurance companies that provide annuities). That’s the power of lifetime income annuities.
Now, what if you started several of these annuities over time? And, for the sake of diversification, you started them with different companies? You’d have multiple streams of retirement income, wouldn’t you?
You could potentially cover all of your expected living expenses in retirement with this simple strategy by essentially creating your own pension income using lifetime income annuities.
It takes a little planning and a strategy to reach your retirement income goals.
It starts with intention. Once you set the intention to take charge of your finances and create a plan, reaching your retirement goals starts to become a reality.
Ladies, little things you do add up over time. Especially when it comes to retirement savings.