The most crucial part of retirement
planning is making the right financial decisions in accordance with the present
market conditions. But some non-financial qualities like courage also play a
very important role in helping you make the smartest financial decisions.
Although we perceive our financial choices to be purely rational, the bare fact
is that any number of personality traits can influence our decision, especially
in today’s stressful markets. After reading about the financial traits that one
needs to plan his retirement in most articles, let’s have a look at the
non-financial qualities that can also affect the fiscal aspects of retirement
planning.
- Courage: Here we are talking about the minimum courage that one needs to make a commitment towards his own future. There are many who resolve to spend a peaceful retirement but very few among them can live up to their dreams. That does require a type of courage or optimism, whichever you say is applicable. Saving for retirement requires you to surrender something today for receiving a worthy payoff in the near future. This means being prudent about drawing down your nest egg so that you have enough money left in the 90s and beyond.
- Resourcefulness: Sometimes sticking to a single plan isn’t always enough as you got to provide some creative ways to keep improving it. So, if you see that in spite of giving in your 100%, your retirement nest egg is not giving the desired result, you should immediately consider ways to enhance your savings like signing up for an auto-increase option. This is a way in which the amount that you tuck aside into your 401(k) increases each year. If your employer doesn’t offer a matched contribution, don’t fall short of investing.
- Perseverance: Yes, retirement planning is indeed a very long journey with many obstacles like market crisis, job loss, unanticipated expenses and many more. All such obstacles can undermine your initial commitment and also derail all your plans. So, even after you have made a full-proof plan, the ups and downs of life may test your courage to maintain the plan. Whenever you’re thinking of decreasing your 401(k) contribution in order to buy a better television, you need to find the resolve to stay on the same path and not urge to the temptation of following your desires. This way you can stick to the same plan and show your perseverance in a matter where you should nothing but win!
- Humility: These days you will get a long list of swaggering CEOs and hedge fund managers who act in a humble way only to take undue advantage of you. But don’t be a hypocrite. By being humble, it means knowing your limitations while creating a retirement plan and affording to have enough respect for the different things that you don’t control. Be aware of the rise and fall in the stock market, especially when you want to save for retirement.
Therefore, if you’re a late baby boomer who
is about to retire, make sure you have all the non-financial qualities
mentioned above.