Ep 124 | How to Budget for Retirement Without Sacrifices

Will we have to cut back so much that we don’t enjoy retirement? This may be a fear you have about retiring. 

In today’s episode, I’m going to share 3 steps to help you budget for retirement and be sure you don’t sacrifice your current lifestyle.

What you’ll learn:

✅ “Living on less” is just a limiting belief

✅ Fear of restriction comes from lack of clarity

✅ 3 steps to plan your ideal retirement lifestyle

Ready to Get Clear on Your Retirement Path?

Book your free Confidence Kickstart Call and in just 30 minutes, you’ll know what’s standing between you and retirement, and how to overcome it.

👉 Click here to book your free call now

Or, grab one of my free resources to help you take the first step:

5 Must-Do Steps for Retirement Planning — A simple guide to help you prepare with purpose

Retirement Ready Checklist — Make sure you’re not missing a single step on the road to retirement

Transcript

 Welcome to this episode. I'm excited to dive in with you about thinking about retirement, thoughts about retirement, what we truly believe about retirement. I know I sent out a, an email to my email list couple months ago. As I had just had a younger individual staying with me for a couple weeks and she said, man, I would love to be retired and not do anything all day.

And it had me thinking of what does a 25-year-old think retirement is, as opposed to what does a 40, 45-year-old think retirement is? And as opposed to what, the 65, and I'm using that number roughly right. What the 65-year-old truly sees that retirement is. It's a little bit about what we're talking about because the question was, will we have to cut back so much in spending and now that we don't enjoy retirement?

The first thoughts that individuals are having is they start thinking their lifestyle will change. All right. You might be thinking retirement's gonna cost more, or you might be thinking, I won't have as much in retirement. I won't be able to do the things I love to do. Retirement is going to be so different from working.

Yes, it will, but in a good way. I don't want, especially that last statement to be such a negative that it's going to be so different. And if you listened to the last episode, when I talk about define your dream, that is how you're going to know and be that 65-year-old with an amazing retirement. Okay, let's go back to cutting back so that we.

We won't be able to enjoy retirement probably 'cause you think it's going to cost more or that you won't have as much money. And so you're afraid. Retirement means cutting out the things that make life fun. Now I want you to think on that for a minute. You know, what is it that makes life fun? Right now you're probably imagining a stripped down lifestyle in retirement where you're going to be, have to sacrifice.

To keep the roof over your head, to be able to have food on the table. And honestly, these thoughts are coming from perception or things we've heard, which is again, perception, hearing how, you know, certain individuals, they really don't have enough money. Or we see somebody and we're like, well, they don't do anything.

Honestly, if you watched my home. I cannot leave my house for six days and I absolutely love it. But somebody might say, oh, well she can't go anywhere 'cause she doesn't have any money. And that is not the truth. Get out of the perception that will only bring on fear and I want you to start thinking about what is going to be real.

You have worked hard your, your whole life. And the idea of less and retirement. 'cause that's the perception that a lot of us give. And even if you talk to a financial planner of how much money do I need? Oh, 80% of what you take home now, right there says, oh my gosh, I'm gonna have less money. But we have never actually dialed into the specifics.

You're stuck between wanting freedom. Time freedom. Not having to go to work every day or not having to work so hard. There's a couple different things in there, but you're fearing the restriction because of all of these different statements, different ideas that people share on thoughts about retirement.

When truly it comes down to the fact that you don't really know what you value with your money. Going back to that question, will we have to cut back so much that we don't enjoy retirement? Well, I hope not, but how are you going to do this? How are you gonna make sure that happens? Again, like I said, there's not been a budget that really is reflecting your values, how you spend your money, because you haven't had the time, you weren't sure how to do it.

It was a lot of work. I get that. Most of my clients come to me in this situation, and most of them are doing okay. They don't have a lot of debt racked up. They're able to maneuver through, and now they're looking at retirement and they're not quite sure about some of the expectations in retirement. With that, you're thinking, what am I gonna have to give up?

The important thing to do here. Is to create boundaries, create the lines that you're gonna draw for what it is that you need to keep the lifestyle that you love. And the only way you know how to do that is by creating a budget and diving into what it truly is and why the budget, if you can say, well, it's just these things.

We need to have some amounts. We need to tie a number to it. We need to know how to project that for our retirement savings. I really want you to lean into that. The budget can help you. Protect the lifestyle you desire and thinking about that, leaning into the budgeting, and hopefully you're going to draw the lines around those specific things.

All right, what are you gonna do? Here's three simple steps to get you started. I want you to create a budget. Again, budgets are not restrictive. They're not about cutting back. They're not about, you know, limitations. Remember, what we're trying to do in this instant is delineate and draw boundaries about those things that we have to have in retirement.

We're worried about losing a certain lifestyle. What is it? What expenses make up that lifestyle? That's the importance. That's where we're going. Step one, create a simple budget. Does not need to be complicated. I've shared before. This can be as simple as bills spending and saving. And yes, you still need to be saving in retirement.

At a minimum, those are the three categories. If you're wanting a little more insight, expand those categories to five or seven. It's really not about control. I want you to. Build the awareness. Deciding how many categories you need because you want to be able to define those things that you're going to protect, and we're gonna get to that in just a minute.

Create a budget, build your awareness of what's in that budget and where your money is going. As simple as three categories or up to seven. Step two, I want you to evaluate your current expenses. I want you to evaluate what's going on. What does that budget look like? Where are you spending money? You know, getting in tune.

Again, this is about building awareness and you've heard me talk about how it is the soft skill, the golden soft skill to finding success with money. You know, it's just being aware at different purchase points. You know, when we are in tune with our money, when we're thinking about money, we, we just need to stick with the awareness of what's going to benefit us most.

Evaluate your expenses with that, I want you to think as you're reviewing those. What bring the lifestyle that you enjoy? What are convenience that are part of your lifestyle? There's a lot of us who love the convenience of certain things, and if you're not spending money, you're spending time. That's how that plays out.

What expenses bring you connection that are connecting you with, you know, family, friends, whatever it may be. And then also looking at. Those expenses that are bringing your wellbeing. You might have a gym membership and that's what you do to stay healthy and happy or whatever it may be. But I want you to think in those terms instead of the categories that we've got going on.

What is the lifestyle they bring? What is the convenience? What is the connection, and what is the wellbeing? Step three. As you review that, step three is to identify three to five non-negotiables for retirement. Okay? This is where we're drawing the boundaries. We're saying these things have to follow me.

I need them. Okay? But we've got to define them. What expenses would you fight to keep even when money is going to get tight? It doesn't have to happen in retirement, but if that was the situation, it's what I do with my clients now, even if we're not right in the middle of doing a retirement budget.

But what are your top three expenses? What are you gonna fight for? Travel monthly, spa day, weekend coffee dates with friends, golfing, whatever it may be. Mine, and I've said it before, is spending money on books. Look at the actual cost of this. Once you've kind of got it there, like these are the things that are going to be ride or die for me.

Know the cost so that you can plan for it. These will become anchors in your retirement budget. Now when I talk about three to five non-negotiables, I'm not talking about bills in the sense of basic necessities. I'm talking about anything above and beyond that. I want you to define these. I want you to know how much you've spent on these monthly, and I want you to anchor these.

These are going to be those things that you draw the line in the sand and say, Nope, I'm not giving up those. And just sit with that and see how that, you know, see how that makes you feel. Another way to approach this. Sometimes that, you know, individuals are like, ha, I'm not sure. I'm not sure what three.

Could you give up today in the blink of an eye? Like, okay, if I didn't spend money on this, this, and this, I'm totally fine with it. And then on the flip side, again, we've talked about it, but what are the three expenses I would fight for until the end? These are the things that you value that bring you so much joy that are a part of who you are.

These are very important. This is a way of creating that value-based budget. I want you to think about that. If you're wondering how to expand on budgeting, how it can help you get to retirement, the retirement roadmap session is your solution. I will help you build a realistic, purpose-driven budget.

Again, I've talked about it. Value-based, purpose, whatever, you know, whatever resonates with you. 'cause that's what matters most. We'll identify those expenses that matter to you most. Maybe you're not quite sure and you need some coaching around that. We can definitely spend some time on that and we'll create that spending plan,

just another name for a budget that will help perver preserve your lifestyle for retirement and getting you there. We spend 45 minutes going through taking inventory where you stand, what are the steps you need to take. And then we'll spend 45 minutes preserving your lifestyle, making sure that you know how to draw the boundaries around those expenses that bring you the most joy, that you value the most, that you are going to say, I have to have these, that some shift.

If there is any shifting that has to happen, will have to come from somewhere else. If that sounds like something you're interested in. I want you to head over to Elevate Finances us slash roadmap book your session. You can learn a lot more about the session there as well, I would love for you to explore.

There's also an option for a free call if you're not quite sure. All right, you don't have to fear retirement. You don't have to think that you are going to not do anything you want, that you are not gonna have fun because you get to define what retirement looks like. Starting by creating that simple budget, evaluating what your expenses are, and defining your non-negotiables.

Three to five of them. What are you gonna hold onto? Make sure if you have a partner in this, they're also included in that three to five. We're working together. It's not about what you give up, it's about what you will protect. Make sure you quit thinking that you gotta have something to give up. I want you to move into the abundance mindset where retirement.

Looking like X, Y, and Z is exactly what you want. Define it. Draw lines in the sand, and let's go for it together. Thank you for turning into this episode.