Retirement Plan: 3 Extra Comforts to Consider Saving For

Budgeting for retirement is challenging for many people. After all, to properly prepare your finances for your non-working years, you need to determine each expense that you may need to pay for. 

You also need to assign a reasonable estimated cost to each expense. While some expenses are obvious, such as housing expenses and food, there are a few additional expenses that you may not currently have in your projected budget. 

While these additional items are not essential, they can improve your quality of life in retirement.

Frequent Travel

Many retirees plan to travel in early retirement, but they may plan to remain closer to home as they advance in age. Some travel plans may be relatively affordable, such as spending a few weeks with an adult child in his or her home. 

Other plans may be much more expensive, such as spending a few weeks vacationing in Europe. Ensure that you budget appropriately for your travel plans so that you are not stuck at home unnecessarily.

In-Home Healthcare Services

You may equate in-home healthcare services to hospice and other significant services, but traveling doctors and nurses can also visit your home for routine exams, sick visits and more. 

Your need for medical care likely will increase substantially as you get older, and this is at a time when your mobility may be declining. Budgeting for the extra expense of in-home care for even seemingly minor needs can be a true convenience later in life.

New Vehicles

Many retirees continue driving their own vehicle for decades after they leave the workforce. They enjoy the independence associated with having a personal method of transportation. 

However, many people fail to budget for the replacement of their vehicle from time to time. You may drive the same vehicle for many long years in retirement, but you eventually will want or need to replace it with a newer model. 

Rather than plan to take out an auto loan and increase your monthly expenses, consider saving money so that you can make a few new car purchases in retirement using cash.

One of the most important steps to take to ensure that you have enough money in retirement to enjoy the lifestyle that you desire is to budget intelligently for that lifestyle. 

Consider adding these and other extra comforts to your budget that can improve your quality of life. When you budget appropriately for them, you can adjust your savings and investment goals accordingly and ensure that you have money available to spend on these items.