4 Moves to Make When Retiring: How to Manage Your Money Effectively

Are you ready for retirement? If not, maybe it’s time to start thinking about it. While many people think of retirement as the end of their working lives, in today’s world, it’s just the beginning of a new phase.

With more and more people living longer than ever, retirement is no longer just a brief period between working and death but rather a different stage in life with its own challenges and opportunities. Do you know when you are going to retire?

Are you saving enough money for retirement? Do you know how much money will be available when you retire? These are some of the questions we should ask ourselves if we want a happy and stress-free retirement.

Evaluate Your Financial Lifestyle

Your financial lifestyle is the amount of money you need to live your current lifestyle. While working, your lifestyle is reduced by debt repayments, taxes, and saving money. 

Try to minimize your financial lifestyle while you are still working to save more money while you are young and healthy. When you retire, your financial lifestyle will decrease. This is because you will receive a retirement income (Social Security, pension, etc.) usually less than your current salary. 

You will also have fewer expenses as you won’t be commuting to work, and also, you may be paying less for health insurance.

Update or Start Estate Planning Documents

If you don’t already have an estate plan, start creating one as soon as possible. An estate plan is a document that outlines how you would like your assets to be distributed amongst your loved ones after your death. 

You can either update your existing estate plan or start a new one by hiring a qualified attorney specializing in estate planning. Some documents that are an essential part of every estate plan include a Will, Durable Power of Attorney, and Health Care Advance Directive. 

These documents will help ensure a smooth transition of your assets to loved ones after you die, as well as ensure that your final wishes are fulfilled.

Enroll in Medicare

The sooner you enroll in Medicare, the less you will have to pay out of your own pocket towards the cost of your health care. For retirees who have worked in the U.S. for at least 10 years, Medicare will cover 80% of all health care costs while the patient will cover the remaining 20%. If you are not yet enrolled, start looking into the Medicare enrollment process as soon as possible.

Protect Your Wealth

Retirement is a great time to consider putting money into a long-term care insurance policy. These policies help to cover the cost of nursing home care and other long-term care expenses. 

If you are considering a long-term care insurance policy, you must purchase it when you are still relatively young. The cost will be much lower than it will be when you are older. Another way to protect your wealth is to set up a gifting strategy. 

A gifting strategy allows you to transfer money to your loved ones while still alive. You can gift up to $16,000 each year beginning in 2022 to anyone without paying taxes on that money. 

You can gift as much as you want, but you must pay taxes on the amount you gift over $16,000.

Retirement is a time of new beginnings, challenges, and opportunities. To make the most of this exciting stage in your life, you need to prepare for it. 

This means saving money, updating your estate planning documents, and enrolling in Medicare, among other things. If you start planning now, you will have a much happier and more relaxed retirement, free from financial worries.

Figuring Out a Monthly Budget? Car Expenses to Account For

Manage your money well, and you’ll wonder how you ever lived without a budget. Your spending will dictate how much money you have leftover for emergencies, savings, and discretionary fun.

A monthly budget is a great way to help you stay on track and focused on your financial goals. It’s an essential tool for anyone who wants to keep tabs on their money and make smart financial decisions. 

Following a budget will help you stay on track and help you feel accountable for your spending. It’ll also help you avoid making money-eating mistakes and set realistic spending limits. 

This article will go into depth about car expenses to make sure you include them in your monthly budget.

Petrol and Diesel

The average person will spend $2,783 on petrol and diesel each year. This equates to $8.67 per gallon of petrol and $4.39 per liter of diesel. 

However, this doesn’t consider taxes, fees, or additional costs associated with operating a car. If you’re a higher-end driver, you may spend even more. To put this in context, the average car in the U.S. costs $30,000. 

That means, on average, you’re spending about $4,000 more per year on petrol and diesel compared to the price in your own country.

Insurance and Registration

The average person will spend $1,919 on car insurance every month. This equates to $8.62 per gallon of petrol and $3.25 per liter of diesel. What’s more, this exceeds the price of car maintenance by far. 

You could easily pay $1,000 or more for the privilege of driving your car. If you need to take someone to court, their car insurance will likely cost you more than your monthly budget.

Brake, Tire, and Servicing Expenses

These are the majority of the costs associated with maintaining a car. Break these down, and you’ve still got yourself a healthy monthly budget. 

For example: brakes cost $84, tires require $96, tire recommended $40, servicing fees $36, tire replacements $36, brake maintenance $318, etc.

Now that you’ve got a better understanding of how your monthly budget works, it’s time to take action. Make a plan and stick to it. Make small adjustments each month, and you’ll see results. 

There are many ways to go about this. You could look at your monthly expenses as a percentage of your income or look at them as a dollar amount. Whatever way you look at it, you can still make it work.

4 Apps to Help You Manage Your Money

When it comes to handling money, it can be a struggle to remember to save a percentage of your paycheck every month, figure out how and where to invest your money, and budget how much money you spend on fast food and going out every month. The vast majority of American adults report that money is among their top three stressors.

However, technology can change that. While it might be difficult for you to sit down regularly and crunch numbers on a spreadsheet, apps have made it easy to make smart money management a part of everyday life. 

It’s just one way that an app outweighs a computer program when it comes to habit management and convenience. There are a few apps that can make budgeting, saving, and managing money a breeze. Here are a few of my favorites: 

Digit

This app helps you save money every single day. The first month is free, and then after that it’s $5 a month. You connect this app to your bank account, and then it uses an algorithm to figure out how much money you can afford to save that day. 

It takes into account all of your spending habits, and also the total amount you have in your bank account that day. Some days it may only save $0.20, and other days the savings may be closer to $20.

You can set your preferences within the app. For example, you can put a limit on how much it saves every day, and then also tell it to never save money if you have less than a certain amount in your bank account. 

Digit is an easy way to save money without even thinking about it. Before you know it, you’ll have a few thousand dollars saved away and you won’t have even noticed. This is perfect if you’ve been trying to save for an emergency fund, but haven’t been able to put very much away. 

Acorns

If you’re having a hard time figuring out how to invest your money, Acorns is the app for you. This app works in the same way as Digit where it makes the most of your spare change, or the leftover money that you won’t miss. 

You simply connect your credit or debit card to the app. Any time you make a purchase, it will round the purchase up to the next dollar and invest the leftover cents. It invests in over 7,000 different stocks, to reduce risk and make the most out of your spare change. 

Using Acorns means that you don’t have to spend time trying to figure out how the stock market works. You can just go to happy hour and grocery shopping like normal, and suddenly you’re investing. 

Mint

This app helps you budget your money. You connect it to your checking account, so you have a real time balance of how much money you have available to spend. After entering in the amount of your necessary bills and expenses every month, it will tell you how much you have left to budget out however you want. 

It also tracks your spending, so if you exceed your set budget one month, it will alert you. Mint helps you be more aware of your spending, because you can very clearly see how much you’re spending on fast food or travel every month. 

Prism

Prism helps you pay all of your bills! It tracks your payday and every single recurring bill that you have. You won’t have to check a dozen different websites to check the balance of your utility bill and credit cards, you can just open Prism on your phone and see everything laid out with the balance and the due dates. 

It can help you schedule when to pay them, so you’ll never have a late fee again. Not only will this app help you keep track of every single one of your bills, it also makes paying your bills a breeze. Your credit score will stay safe because you’ll never forget about a bill ever again.

Broken Wallets: How to Manage Your Personal Finances after a Personal Injury

Personal injuries can happen to anyone and at any time. Usually, they lead to great financial distress as you have to pay for medical care and the fact that you will be out of work for some time. 

Even people who are covered by health insurance will have to pay a portion of the medical costs. Depending on the severity of the injury, you may have to spend a lot of time from work, and the opportunity cost will mount over months.

It is important to learn how to manage your finances after a personal injury accident as this will help to ease the stress experienced through the period. Here are some helpful tips to help you manage your finances in case of such events:

Find out how Much Money you have

It is not possible to plan your finances if you don't have a specific figure to work with. When calculating your money, be sure to include all assets that can easily be liquidated. Other assets can be used to calculate your net worth, although this figure will only be relevant if you are going to be out of work for a very long time. 




You should include the last paycheck that you got or are about to get. Any other money that will be coming in during the period should be taken into account.

Review your Budget

Without a paycheck, you will have to edit out some purchases. In your budget, you can eliminate or reduce the expenditure on non-essential products and services. If your finances are still overstretched, you can reduce the expenditure on essentials. 

For example, you can choose to buy foods with generic branding. Cable TV can be cut or reduced for some time to lower your costs. Electricity bills can also be adjusted to suit the prevailing financial situation.

Entertainment costs don't have to be cut off completely unless you are in a particularly tight situation. A little entertainment can keep you occupied and relaxed when you aren't reporting to work for several months. 

You can simply reduce your expenditure by opting for more affordable entertainment. For example, you can find a cheaper theatre or restaurant to go to on weekends.

Negotiate with Creditors

Instead of hiding from creditors, you can renegotiate the payment plans in light of the situation. Some are even likely to extend financial help through the stressful period. You can suggest a reduction in the monthly payments or such arrangements. Here are some further tips on how you can negotiate with creditors.

Find a Part-Time Job

Even with an injury, you can get work. For example, many online jobs can be done by people who are physically challenged. 

Also, short-term disability programs can employ you for the period that you will be out of work. Whatever income you get from these temporary jobs can be used to expand your budget and allow you to live more comfortably.

Legal Expenses

The biggest expenditure in cases of personal injury is legal fees. Good personal injury lawyers don't come cheap. 

It is not advisable to choose lawyers based on their cost, especially in cases that relate to personal injury. Instead, pay the best lawyers and increase your chances of getting a settlement for the inconvenience you have undergone.

Normally, the settlement should cover your costs and inconveniences that result from the injury. If you win the case, you will be able to sustain your normal lifestyle even without a paycheck. 

Attorneys like those at Ahlander Injury Law, a group of personal injury lawyers in Las Vegas can help you get the amount of money you deserve after the accident. Depending on your financial plans, you can choose to get the settlement money in installments, or as a lump sum. 

Generally, the latter option is preferred if you intend to make investments with the money.

Personal injuries can lead to difficult financial situations. You have to adjust your lifestyle and expenditure because of the shrinking budget. 

If you are a victim of personal injury, take the step of making a claim for settlement. This can potentially save you from financial turmoil, especially if you go for the best personal injury lawyers.

How to Manage Your Money and Prepare for Retirement on a Budget

We all hope to retire at some point in our adult lives. However, to achieve that goal, it is important to have a level of fiscal literacy. 

This means that you know how to manage your money today in a way that allows you to save money for later in life. What are some ways that you can prepare for retirement regardless of how old you may be right now?

Talk to a Financial Advisor

Whether you are 20, 40 or 60, a financial adviser can help you make the most of your financial resources. 

This person may be able to recommend mutual funds or other investment accounts that can grow exponentially over time to help grow your nest egg faster. You may also be given insight into how you can use Roth IRA or 401k accounts to help manage your tax burden in retirement.

Take Advantage of Social Security

Social security benefits can be worth thousands of dollars per month depending on how long you worked. 

If your spouse has a work record, you may be able to claim benefits based on that record whether you are a male or female. Professionals, like Horn & Kelley, PC Attorneys at Law, know that looking into these possible benefits is incredibly important. 

They may help you secure your financial future in the event that you are disabled or choose to raise the kids instead of go to work.

Find Easy Ways to Downsize Your Lifestyle

Instead of living in a 3,000 square foot home, it may be better to buy a condo. If you like to travel, it may be a good idea to buy an RV that you can customize to your liking. 

These options may cut your housing payment by hundreds of dollars per month as well as reduce the amount of maintenance that you are responsible for.

Buy Long-term Care Insurance

There is a good chance that you could live into your 80s or 90s. Therefore, there is a good chance that you will get sick or otherwise suffer health issues that require long-term care. 

Buying long-term care insurance helps pay for the services that you need without depleting your personal assets.

Retirement should be a time in life when you get to live life on your own terms. If you take the time to plan out how much you will need to live comfortably, you should be able to achieve your goal. 

Those who need help managing their money should turn to a trusted family member, friend or professional financial adviser for assistance.