The decision to
retire is not necessarily an easy one. There are many critical decisions to be
made pre and post retirement
in order to meet the challenge of living well in retirement.
The good news is that
you do not have to make these decisions alone or uninformed - there are 5
people whose skills and expertise will be key to your living well in
retirement!
The 5 people are your
- doctor
- dentist
- chemist
- accountant
- financial planner.
Take the time to find
good ones!
The first three -
your doctor, dentist and chemist will help you to live the healthiest life
possible, assist you with addressing health issues and monitor your wellbeing. The last two will be key to
managing your financial situation, ensuring that you make the most of your
finances and take advantage of any government entitlements for which you may
qualify.
Your Doctor
Your doctor will work
with you to manage health issues - minor and major. You have time now to have
regular check ups, ensure you have flu shots, and put effort into addressing
and managing health issues like obesity and overweight, diabetes, high blood
pressure and giving up smoking.
Your quality of life
will sky rocket as a result! You deserve that! Live well!
Your Dentist
If you are like many
people - including me - you may have avoided regular visits to the dentist.
Find a great dentist! They will diagnose,
prevent and treat various diseases and conditions that affect our teeth and
mouth - and overall health.
Did
you know that scientific evidence strongly suggests that poor oral health is
linked to heart disease? Bacteria in your mouth can cause gum disease which in
turn can put you at increased risk of heart disease.
From my perspective -
as someone who was previously terrified of dentists (sorry to any dentists out
there) - treatments seem to have changed and improved remarkably in recent
times to a point where I have overcome my fear of those six monthly check ups!
Make that appointment right now!
Your Chemist
Why did I include
your chemist you may be wondering? It's simple really - your chemist is in a
position to monitor your medications in a way that your doctor is not.
If you are being
treated for a number of health issues and seeing more than one doctor or
medical specialist each will be prescribing medications for the particular
condition you are presenting to them with. One important area of your chemist's
expertise is to understand and analyse how any medications you may be
prescribed may interact with each other.
Ask your chemist to
review your medications and how they might be working together! They are in a
position to talk to doctors if the case may be. Use them!
Your Financial Planner
Your financial
planner will develop strategies to help you manage your financial affairs in a
way that meets your life goals.
Choosing the right
financial planner is critical. They need to put your interests first - not the
products for which they may be earning a great deal of commission. To get the
best advice road test a few - we met with five different financial
planners before choosing one that was the best fit for us. Most offer a first
obligation free visit. Provide the same information and ask the same questions
of each - then choose wisely!
Importantly, never be
rushed into or commit to a plan you don't understand or have some
questions/uneasy feelings about. If it sounds too good to be true - BEWARE!
Your Accountant
Your accountant is
key to assisting you building wealth. They have specialist knowledge in areas
of taxation, taxation management and capital gains as well as compliance,
succession planning and business structure analysis.
In addition to
managing our taxation and providing answers to our many financial questions we
use the skills and expertise of our accountant - who works for a separate
company - to peruse the work of our financial planner. This has left us feeling
confident regarding the long and short term strategies our financial planner
has developed for us - he has been very good indeed!
A last piece of advice!
Use these key people
and their expertise, but remain in charge - it's your money, your health, your
retirement! So ensure that you
- Schedule regular meetings with each - every 3 to 6 months is ideal - that keeps you in charge and on top of things.
- Find professionals with whom you can develop a strong, positive and honest rapport.
- Question, question, question! Ask questions like 'Why this and not that?' 'Can you explain...?'
- Keep learning - it's a lifelong thing! Develop and continue to fine tune your own financial and health literacies.
With each of these
professionals working for you you should find yourself very much able to to
meet the challenge of living well in retirement.
Enjoy every minute!
No comments:
Post a Comment