What’s Your Retirement Number

What’s Your Retirement Number : Retirement is supposed to be a wonderful time of life…when you sit back with all of your hard work behind you and enjoy some well-deserved freedom.

But, far too often these days, retirement is instead a cause of worry. You worry you’ll have to work for longer than you want…you worry about healthcare…mostly, you worry that you just won’t have enough money.

If you’re approaching retirement, you’ve likely seen lots of articles about your “retirement number“—how much money you’ll need to have in savings before you’re able to comfortably retire.

Some of these articles even include handy little calculators that help you do the math. It typically boils down to the notion that you’ll reasonably require a nest egg of somewhere near $1 million in order to retire. Or that you’ll need 80% of your current income multiplied by the number of years you expect to live in retirement.

We don’t know about you, but both of these plans seem daunting…and the latter feels a bit morbid. (We personally have no plans to expire any time soon and doubt you do, either)

But what if you don’t have $1 million in savings…and you don’t want to continue working until you drop to hit any ludicrous goal?

What then? What if you have little-to-no savings at all…and will be relying solely on your Social Security or pension income to fund your retirement?

According to statistics from the U.S. Social Security Administration, the average retired worker today is collecting a Social Security benefit of $1,368.67 a month…or about $16,424 annually.

Even if there are two of you in your household collecting this amount, that’s not a lot to live on…at least not in the U.S. today, especially when today’s average rent payment in the U.S. is about $1,100. (If you own your home, you may have mortgage payments…and you’ll never escape rising property taxes—the average in the U.S. today is $3,296.)

And then there are utility costs, car payments and maintenance costs, skyrocketing grocery and healthcare expenses, and much more.

We’re sure it’s not a lot different wherever you live and we’re using that as an example because there’s not too much data published on the subject elsewhere!!!

So what can a smart retiree do? Take your money and run…

A few years back we subscribed to International Living because wanted to consider our retirement options and where we would like to live.

It’s their mission, to introduce people like you and like us to the overseas retirement havens where you can live respectfully and happily in your retirement years. And that means living affordably.

Look beyond the U.S. and Canada’s borders and you’ll discover friendly communities in picturesque settings (from white-sand beaches to lush, green mountains) with agreeable climates where you won’t just survive, you’ll thrive.

In the locales they’ve identified, a couple can easily live on $1,700 to $2,100 a year…and singles on $1,100 to $1,400…well within that average Social Security income.

For as little as $13,200 a year, you’ll easily be able to afford a great lifestyle…rent and utilities, transportation expenses, groceries…you can dine out often, travel now and then, pay for someone to clean your home…

And on this amount, you can even afford a comprehensive healthcare plan. Many of the countries we’ve pinpointed offer universal healthcare programs that cover doctor’s visits, surgeries and hospitalizations, even prescriptions. Some of the health plans cost $100 to $200 a month for a couple…and some are even free. (And in some countries, you can qualify no matter your age or pre-existing conditions)

The point of all this: If the “retirement number” you can reach is low…or maybe even non-existent, don’t stress out about it. Do a bit of research about retiring overseas, and you’ll likely discover that you can enjoy the retirement of your dreams in a place where numbers don’t mean much.

And if you do need that extra income then becoming a ‘retiree entrepreneur’ following the method we use will allow you to create that and best of all you could be doing that in the location of your dreams just like we do…

How cool is that?

While you’re here why not download our book The Retirement Income Revolution. It’s packed with information we have assimilated that we think will help you with your retirement planning

PS Costa Rica is one of our most favourite locations and definitely fits the criteria we’re looking for

Who Are We

We’re former accountants of a certain age (60+) with 5 great kids and 4 grandchildren. We love skiing and traveling the world and have achieved a fabulous life helping others to start and build a successful business online and now speak on international stages following that passion and helping transform lives. We started an online education and training business helping entrepreneurs in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s create their ultimate retirement breakthrough and find a way to fund their retirement and fulfil their passion and purpose as midlife entrepreneurs. Our worldwide educational business is centered on online marketing business education, financial literacy and wealth creation and a desire to help you create financial freedom through online entrepreneurship whatever your age or experience.

Authors : The Mindset Shift