America is a consumerist culture and many people get stuck in a ‘financial rut’ if they don’t start a diligent money-saving plan to prepare for their futures. Learn America’s biggest financial regrets based on a recent LendEDU study to help you better prepare for your golden years.
Do you feel prepared for retirement? If not, you are not alone because overall more than half of seniors “feel unprepared for retirement,” according to the survey. Many Americans reflect on the ways they could have been more proactive with their financial planning.
In the study, LendEDU surveyed about 1,000 Americans ages 65 and up to understand retirement planning and saving habits and financial regrets. Their findings relay these three biggest financial regrets:
More than 54.6 percent of older Americans do not believe they have saved enough for retirement. Many wished they had saved more in their 20s and beyond. A basic sentiment is that America needs to do a better job emphasizing the importance of saving money at a young age to grow money exponentially for future financial success.
According to the Center for Financial Services Innovation, nearly half of Americans say their expenses are “equal to or greater than their income.” Several of these expenses go to non-essentials. It is useful to keep track of your expenses with a budget and have a spending strategy with your money. Diligent spending and budgeting can help set you up for retirement success.
Time in compound earnings is severely underestimated. Investing can be intimidating, but if you take time to educate yourself from several resources and meet with a financial professional you can easily start building a balanced investment portfolio. Having a balanced portfolio is important to give you a healthy mix of assets so that you don’t rely too heavily on Social Security or Life Insurance.
In fact, 69 percent of respondents of the survey stated that Social Security benefits are a critical part of their financial strategy and 47 percent said the same regarding life insurance. Many financial advisors stress the importance of building a retirement plan that doesn’t even factor in Social Security or life insurance so that you have retirement income coming from accumulated investments and assets.
If these are some of your regrets, that’s okay, learn from your mistakes, take responsibility and move forward. Let these regrets be motivation to improve your retirement planning strategy and more importantly share these lessons to your children and grandchildren so they can learn for the future. Connect with an expert financial advisor today.
With our trusted network of advisors, we’ll connect you with up to three established planners in your area.
With our trusted network of advisors, we’ll connect you with up to three established planners in your area.
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