Here’s an excerpt from the book ‘Safe 4 Retirement: The 4 Keys to a Safe Retirement‘ in an early section on the First Key: Financial Preparedness -
“I find that most financial books on the market today that discuss retirement planning come with an agenda and a set way of doing things. You will find that I also have strong opinions on things as well. However, this section is not intended to be the be all and end all of financial information, and it’s important to understand that everyone’s situation is different and no book could completely satisfy everyone.
The value of this section will be in its ability to help guide and motivate you to gather information, prepare a plan, and understand your financial preparedness for retirement. However, with the advice in this book and with any advice you gain from anyone regarding your finances, you must remember that it’s your money and, therefore, decisions related to that money should always be your decisions. These decisions may be made with your family, but it’s critical to remember that you’re the one in control.”
Within this First Key are the following chapters:
First Key: Financial Preparedness
Chapter 1: What Does “Financial Preparedness” Mean?
Chapter 2: Do I Need Help or Can I Do This On My Own?
Chapter 3: What Do You Have for Retirement?
Chapter 4: What Do You Need to Retire?
Chapter 5: What is the Four Percent Solution?
Chapter 6: How Can You Maintain Your Retirement Income?
Chapter 7: How Can I Plan for the Pitfalls?
Chapter 8: What if You Need More Money?
Another excerpt from an early part of this section:
“What’s mandatory is to have a written goal and a plan related to your finances. And that’s where this section can help.
Sure, people retire all the time without a plan. “Plans are for sissies,” they rumble into their pinot noirs. “I know how much I’ve got and that’s all I need to know.” Fine, I say to them. If you’ve got it all down, bully for you.
But moving ahead with a plan, and a plan based on sound financial advice and follow through, may not fully allow you to eliminate risk, but it will at least cushion it and give you a fighting chance when tough times come. Even if you haven’t used a plan or written budget in the past, now is a good time to do so.
I’ve seen enough people succeed and fail in retirement, and because of that, I believe that it’s absolutely necessary to have a plan for your finances. Heading into retirement without a plan increases the likelihood of having to say, “I shoulda,” the phrase that strikes terror into the hearts of every retiree when faced with the unwanted reality of going back to an undesired life at the office.
This chapter is designed to help you eliminate “I shoulda” and instead fill you with, “Thank goodness I planned ahead because now I’m going to live the life I dreamed of in retirement.” Just as life and those dreams are different for every person, the financial plans that will be created are also different for every person.”
