Are You Financially Ready for Retirement?

The following is a guest post from David Warren, the senior writer and lead researcher at HardStacks. He has been a financial engineer for over 30 years and has been investing in alternative assets since the Great Recession of 2008. He has a true passion for learning about economic cycles and educating others on how to protect and grow their wealth by investing in precious metals, real estate and cryptocurrencies.

With life being so busy, did you ever stop to think about your retirement yet? Want to save more money, but don’t know where to begin? Do you wish to invest in cryptocurrencies, but don’t understand what the fuss is all about?

You’ve come to the right place: have a look at a few simple steps on where to start. With a few investment suggestions, we hope to make your life easier. Let’s prepare you for retirement!

How to Prepare for Retirement

Before you commit to any investments, retirement plans, or accounts, have a look at this to-do list that you might want to follow:

1. Decide how you’d like to spend your retirement
2. Calculate your potential monthly income and your expenses
3. Make a retirement budget; you’ll want to be prepared!
4. Make an investment plan, it might be better than saving
5. Think SDIRA, think alternative investments (such as cryptocurrencies)
6. Take care of your debts before you retire
7. Follow your retirement plan once you’re there

Investment Options for Retirement

There are plenty of investment options in case you decide that investing is better than saving and are looking for ways to increase your income. Investing actually might be the best preparation you can make for retirement and the best thing about it is that you can start right away!

Think outside the box, there are classic and alternative investment options. Confused? Have a look at the following list and see for yourself; perhaps one or two of these investments might turn into your potential income:

1. Gold and silver

There are gold and silver IRAs available and they are also becoming more and more popular. With various possibilities, inside a self-directed IRA, there are plenty of new options to explore. Thinking long term, gold does hold timeless value all over the world.

Precious metals are physical assets that you can use in times when things get tough through either a natural disaster or an economic crisis. Keep in mind though, you should always do your research and make a comparison of gold IRA companies before making any investments.

2. Cryptocurrencies

In case you decide you want to jump on the cryptocurrency wagon, you should know that you can invest by getting an SDIRA first. After all, this digital money is everywhere, its popularity is on the rise, and we’re running out of arguments as to why you shouldn’t invest in cryptocurrencies.

Independent from any central authority, these currencies are stored in your wallet, an application that is secured with different keys, all stored separately. One last thing, cryptocurrencies are independent of any bonds and stocks, inflation is unlikely and there are high potentials for return.

3. Stocks and bonds

Before making any investments in stocks or bonds, think about your portfolio. You can use a strategic asset allocation, which can help you decide how much should you invest in bonds and stocks.

The amount of investment also depends on your age; some claim that the older you are, the more should you invest in stocks and bonds. Others claim that the sooner you begin, the better it is for you in the long term, because of the compound interest (an interest on interest).

4. ETFs

The ETFs or exchange-traded funds are quite popular in the world of investment, but not so much when it comes to retirement plans. The ETFs are investment funds (stocks, bonds, gold …), traded on stock exchanges and there are many different types: stock ETFs, bond ETFs, and commodity ETFs amongst others.

They have lower costs than mutual funds and could be more interesting to investors than mutual funds. How ETFs work is that the ownership of an asset is divided among various shareholders.

5. Mutual funds

Mutual funds are investments that are under control of a portfolio manager, whom the investors pay a fee for his decisions on investing the money. Mutual funds are basically pools of money under the supervision of this portfolio manager. The advantage of mutual funds is that you are able to diversify your portfolio with minimal investment.

Before You Head Off Planning Your Retirement …

Do any of these investments look like you want to give them a try? By investing in a diversified portfolio, your fund returns are higher than that of an ordinary savings account.

In case you don’t know how to begin, you can always consult an advisor to help you with your decision and to explain to you in more detail what’s it all about. After you’re all set for your retirement, pull out that bucket list and start living the life you’ve always imagined.

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