While y’all may not be 40-year-old virgins, you may be 40-year-old slackers when it comes to financial planning. No worries! I’m here to help you get a start on your financial planning practices and any and every age group. If you’re in your 40s, congratulations! You’re about halfway to retirement! Scary to think about if you neglected to plan, but if you did all of the preparation in your 20s and 30s, you should be on the right track by now.
But if you didn’t, there’s still time to catch up! Here are some steps to take in your financial planning practices in your 40s — but as always, I highly suggest that you pay for the assistance of a financial planner who can help you to put all of your eggs in a row. Be sure to check out this issue of Money Magazine Australia for more tips:
Step 1 – Stay Fit and Healthy
Getting sick is expensive. If you’re already healthy or could potentially get sicker, now is the time to ensure that you’re taking good care of yourself. Go to your annual physical, eat your fruits and vegetables, go to a spa, get a massage regularly, go to the gym or play sports. Stay fit for as long as you can, and you’ll be around as long as you can for those who matter most.
Step 2 – Invest
Not just in stocks, but in things that bring you happiness. Losing your job in your 40s is difficult because oftentimes you won’t be able to find an equally decent paying job as would someone with more education and less experience who can be hired for dirt cheap. This isn’t meant to scare you, but while you can, be sure to invest in a side job or a hobby that you love just in case. Brew some beer, have a landscaping business, sell paintings, start a band, cook, clean, etc. HAVE FUN!
Step 3 – Check Your Social Security Contributions & Retirement Plan
Now is a good time to see where you stand on retirement planning, including how much you can expect from Social Security. Figure out where the gaps in your planning lie, so you can make sure you use the rest of your time working to ensure that you’ll have enough saved. There are great planning tools out there to see where you stand, even if you didn’t want to pay for an adviser.
