SECURE YOUR DEBT-FREE RETIREMENT

Today’s internet scene is awash with information on how to retire early and with ease; and it has fast become the dream everyone hopes to experience. The plan is to be able to save enough while you are still working to be able to enjoy that dream retirement, it is quite simple. But if you have some credit or debt issues, you may still find yourself in a mess.Before you become the next victim, please be aware that debts and credits can rob you of every penny you have saved and turn your retirement into a living nightmare. For obvious reasons, you need to address all issues that have to do with your credit report and records of debts.Carrying Debt into RetirementIn earlier times it was unheard of for anyone to work throughout his/her youth and then retire in debt, as a matter of fact it was unimaginable, but in more recent times it seems to be happening on a consistent level and that is of no coincidence, something has obviously changed. People no longer care about the concept of retiring debt free and that is largely due to the fact that the level of resentment related to it has dropped massively; therefor proving that the rise of debt among retirees is directly proportional to the consequences/resentment attached to it.According to the CFPB statistics surveying 2001 to 2011, the mortgage debts owed by Americans aged 65 and above has risen to 35% at an average of approximately $43,400 to over $79,000 within the decade, and obvious signs show that there will be an increase.What these statistics represents is that people are no longer very careful to live debt-free, they now don’t even care to retire free of debts. To imagine that you will labor all your productive days and then live your old age in debt; it used to be a taboo, but not anymore!One thing that can considerably lower retirement options is mortgages. Normally, you are meant to have a wide range of options as your retirement closes in on you but, taking a mortgage may affect that, leaving you with very few options. For instance, selling your home for the purpose of cutting down expenses, that might prove difficult, because you’ll have to get extra funds from elsewhere which might end up being your savings, considering the fact that, that will leave you indebted to something you won’t enjoy, that’s not advisable. You may just have to buy another house that is equivalent to your previous house.Debt Means You’ll Need More Retirement IncomeWhen you are in debt, you can’t actually claim to be earning the full worth of your pay because a certain percentage will be deducted on a regular bases to cover for the debt. So while taking your mortgages makes sure you have calculated the full implications it will be having on your retirement portfolio.Retiring with debt will mean that you would have to live below the budget that you had crafted out initially, if it’s a huge budget you shouldn’t have much problems with that, but if it not, you might be in for some trouble. As a retiree you are already subjected to a restricted budget and no longer have the privilege of ostentatious spending, and believe me when I say you do not want to make that worse by carrying debts over to your retirement.That will have a major impact on the amount of money that you’ll need to have saved for retirement. For instance, if you had planned to have the recommended safe withdrawal rate of 4% of your retirement portfolio each year, to make sure you never run out of money, and have budgeted for an income of $4,000 per month, that means you will need to save up an arithmetic of $4,000 X 12 months, divided by .04, which will result in a portfolio of $1.2 million ().On the other hand, if you happen to require a monthly income of only $2,800 – which is enough to take you by (without any debt of course), meaning that you will only need to save up a the equivalence of ($2,800 X 12 months, divided by .04, which will give you a retirement portfolio of $840,00). Which are less than the previous option and much better also; considering the fact that you will be saving the sum of $360,000 less for your retirement portfolio. Making the job of saving for retirement much more easier and feasibleCredit Problems Can Limit Your Retirement OptionsA lot of times people tend to retire solely to the financial aid of what they have saved up which in its own way is quite advisable and very advantageous, it might also not be sufficient. As humans we can only be able to give an attempt in presuming what the future holds, but we can never really give an accurate prediction of what will happen. So, assuming that the money you have saved up will be enough for you might just end up being a flawed assumption. It is for this reason that people are advised to make other investments that will bring forth some returns much later in the future just in case their savings fail them.The problem with saving for your retirement can be complicated. If you do not happen to be very wealthy, allowing you to save up a huge chunk of money you will only enable you to buy the basic things that you’ll need; it will be incapable of making huge purchases like a new car, house or whatever might cost you a few thousand bucks, else you will get broke. Forcing you to take other loans or mortgages, this may end up spinning off to become a burden to your family due to your inability to pay; that is if you are lucky enough to be granted one. That is could be difficult especially in the post-Mortgage Meltdown world, where mortgages are harder to get in general. With credit problems, it can beOne more problem is should you decide to move into some kind of high class housing arrangement. If credit qualifications are required, your application for residency may be rejected.Fix Your Credit and Debt Problems Before You RetireSo to what good is all this talk if you are not given to solution to avoiding these ugly occurrences? If you are working hard to accumulate enough money to be able to retire; you should also mind the fact that you are in debt. Make advances towards improving your credit profile in order to settle your debts. Make sure that you acquire assets; especially real estate and other fixed assets so as to reduce the pressure you will face later on in your retirement years.If you fear that you are not equipped enough to make take this steps or that you do not have the time to plan them; acquire some professional help. Besides as you get older, options become fewer, and your intellectual abilities dimes. So if you plan to lower your expenses and expand your options; it’s best to address credit and debt problems well ahead of retirement; it’s the only way.[contact-form][contact-field label='Name' type='name' required='1'/][contact-field label='Email' type='email' required='1'/][contact-field label='Website' type='url'/][contact-field label='Comment' type='textarea' required='1'/][/contact-form]