Retiring can be a scary time. It is the point from which you hope to be able to live solely off your fixed income and investments for the rest of your life.
And one of the biggest concerns that I see across the board is the worry of losing all the hard earned money that you have accumulated. And while this worry is 100% natural, we want to make sure that we are still making great long-term decisions with our money.
For example, most retirees I talk to invest their nest egg too conservatively. And while being more conservative in retirement may make sense, we want to make sure we aren’t ignoring the bigger picture.
Many retirees take their money out of the market when they retire because they are scared of losing money but we have to remember that our goal is not just to make it to retirement but to have our money last all the way through to the end of it. And in many cases, retirement can actually be just as long (if not longer) as your working career.
One of the biggest problems with investing too conservatively is inflation.
Inflation is one of the biggest risks we face in retirement. Now that people are living for longer, it is becoming more important than ever to find a way to make sure we not only don’t outlive our money but also that our money doesn’t lose all of its purchasing power.
For example, if we put all our money in a savings account, the value may not go down but the purchasing power will certainly go down over time.
This is why it makes sense (in most cases) to invest a portion of your nest egg in something that will provide the growth you need.
But as we all know, investing in stocks has risks. In the short run, we don’t know where the stock market will go.
Where people get into trouble is when they aren’t prepared financially or emotionally to wait out a storm (or another 2008). The average investor invests when times are good (when stocks are up) and sells when times are bad (when stocks are down) and they repeat the process until they are either broke or too scared to invest any more.
But this doesn’t have to be you.
The most important thing is to find an investment strategy that will help you reach your goals tomorrow but also for the next 30 years as well.
Disclaimer: This is meant for educational purposes only and is not tax, investment, or legal advice.