Tips for A Fruitful Retirement

We like to offer different perspectives on money management, budgeting, and retirement planning so it is evident that there is more than one way to plan your spending and saving. However, if you want a truly personalized financial planning outlook, contact a Fee-Only financial planner.

In a NextAvenue.com article, Jim DeGaetano, author of The Fruitful Retirement: A Financial Framework for Your Life’s Greatest Chapter, offers a retirement planning system that involves food. DeGaetano asks readers to think of retirement in terms of a triangle that is divided into three parts: Needs, Wants, and Legacy. The Needs portion makes up the bottom of the triangle since everything else rests on being able to meet basic needs. Wants are in the middle and the very top of the triangle is for Legacy.

In this plan, you consider this triangle in terms of fruit that represent each section. Pears (wide at the bottom) represent Needs, Apples (widest in the middle) represent Wants, and Strawberries (widest on the top) represent Legacy. You choose your fruit based on the area where you need the most financial assistance.

Strawberries are in the best position because their needs and wants are covered and they just have to find ways to leave the legacy they want.

Apples have the resources to cover their needs and that is important; what they lack is the ability to cover their Wants. To make the most of their life after they retire, they need to consider how to fund the lifestyle they are used to or envision. The article suggests that Apples might consider how they can do this through their investments.

Pears have the most work to do since they do not want to run out of money during retirement. A Pear may think about working beyond the first year they can retire to earn more in the present and increase their Social Security payments in the future.

©Bring Clarity to Your Finances™. Tips for A Fruitful Retirement is a post from Bring Clarity to Your Finances™

About the author

Claire Emory, MBA, CFA, CFP®

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