She relies on you for everything, but so do you.
Single parents are powerhouses of efficiency. But one real drawback is that you might spend so much time focusing on providing and holding together the household that your own future gets put on a back burner for later. Kids might need braces, and there’s college on the horizon, too.
But you can’t help everyone around you until you take care of yourself. Braces might be unavoidable, but kids have other options for college, such as loans and sometimes grants. There’s no grant for retirement. The only way you’ll have the life that you need is by creating it for yourself. And because the goal is so large, the sooner you start the better.
Here are 4 ways that a retirement calculator can help.
Make Retirement Planning Easier
If there’s one thing that a single parent doesn’t have, it’s lots of spare time. Anything that makes your life easier is worth checking out, especially when it helps something as important as your financial fitness in the years to come.
Retirement calculators are designed for simplicity. All you have to do is enter your information. The calculator does the rest, giving you a predicted need at retirement and showing what you can expect to have based on your current approach. You might not be thrilled with what you see, but in a matter of minutes you’ll have accomplished what it might take hours to do using a spreadsheet and no guidance.
He’ll be on his own before you know it, so there’s no time to waste planning your retirement.
Set a Realistic Financial Goal
Probably the most important part of any retirement plan is determining a bullseye to aim for. You can save without a goal, but how would you know whether you’re saving enough or if you have enough at retirement?
One of the basic functions of a retirement calculator is projecting your need. This number might not be accurate, but you can adjust that. What you’ll see is an average. If you live in a rural area with low cost of living, or the reverse, you’ll need less or more accordingly. And when you adjust your goal, your regular contribution requirements also adjust. So you’ll know what to save, and for how long.
Understand Your 401(k) Plan
It’s amazing, how many people contribute to a 401(k) plan without understanding how it works. It’s even more amazing to learn how many people don’t contribute at all because the benefits aren’t exactly clear. A retirement calculator can help you understand how your 401(k) contributions grow, and why.
With a regular paycheck deduction, your pre-tax dollars go into a retirement savings account. And with employer matching, that’s like getting money for free. While you could tap into that account before you retire, there’s a severe penalty for it. If you leave it until you retire, you can have a steady stream of income that helps sustain you through retirement. And all from a little bit of money out of every paycheck, before taxes are even applied.
One of the best examples that you can set is taking care of your own future.
Learn More About Retirement Planning Fundamentals
You’re probably not a financial planner. Because of that, the ins and outs of saving and investing might be more than you’ve taken the time to learn about. It’s not easy finding time between soccer practice and commutes. But you don’t have to be a financial wizard to invest wisely. You just need a little guidance.
A retirement calculator such as the one at NewRetirement makes suggestions on ways that you can improve your plan. Through trying on suggestions, you can see firsthand the result of something like acquiring an annuity and how that could give you more retirement income. Knowledge is power, and confidence is a good thing.
NewRetirement was created for people just like you. Busy, concerned about the future, but not 100 percent sure what to do about it. With just a few minutes of your time, you can start creating a real plan. And once you have a plan, all that’s left are the day-to-day actions that keep it in motion.
Check out our retirement calculator today. There’s nothing to lose, and a lifetime of security to gain.
