As we get older and we take on more responsibilities such as mortgages, bills and looking after our own families we start realising that planning for the future is really important. Not only is good to have a plan in place in case of an accident but we also become more aware of just how much, and how many people might effected if something did happen to us in the future.
Whilst retirement and pensions might seem like a lifetime away right now, the earlier you start planning for the future the easier and more successful your plans are likely to be. Not only that but as you get older you just want to be able to sit back knowing everything is in place rather than worrying about making plans. Plus the earlier you start the more time you have to get all of your plans just right.
Here are some ways that you could be planning for the future right now to make later life much easier and secure for you and your family.
Savings
Having savings is always a good idea regardless of your age or situation. None of us know what the future holds and one small bump in the road, a redundancy, unexpected payment or eviction could see any of us in a tricky situation. It is good to have a savings pot for those unexpected bills or for times when you may need a cash injection. Not only that but whilst pensions may help a little in retirement it will struggle to cover all of the costs you might incur and having savings mean you won't have to worry about retirement and later life as much.
Having savings once you go into retirement will mean that you won't have to rely on welfare payments or your family to help out and it will give you more options when it comes to your living arrangements etc too. Plus if you begin paying into this savings pot early you can put a small, barely noticeable amount away each month and you might just be surprised at how it all adds up. And if you end up with a little more than you expected you could always treat yourself to a dream holiday or something you have always wanted.
Creating a Will
There is a lot to consider when it comes to making a will but it is so important to have one in place. There are many places you can do this including picking up a post office will kit or visiting a solicitor to check everything is ok with your own will. Remember that you can always change or amend a will if things change such as your wishes, your assets or your final wishes.
Your will is an important document as if anything was to happen to you it allows people to know your final wishes and important things like who would care for your children, who would take charge or any of your assets, estate and finances and where these will go. Try to include as much detail in your will as possible, not only will this ensure your final wishes happen but it will save family and friend's from having to make difficult decisions for you that they may be unsure about.
Funeral Care & Wishes
Nobody wants to think about death and it feels a little morbid perhaps to be thinking about planning a funeral or having a funeral care plan. But when a loved one passes away the worry, stress and financial strain of arranging a funeral often ends up being placed onto grieving family and friends, often making a deeply upsetting time even harder.
Funeral care services such as those offered by Heart of England funeral care can help you get everything sorted and give you piece of mind. Whether you are looking to just chat to someone about funeral care plans, set up a pre paid funeral plan to ensure your loved ones aren't left with the cost or even ordering the headstone you want, they can help you with it all. Whilst it may not be something you want to think about, making decisions now will ultimately make everything easier for you and your family in the future, whenever the time may come.
Life Insurance
Life insurance is something I think everyone should consider and have in place, especially once you have your own home/family to think about. Whilst none of us want to think about the worst happening having a good life insurance is about far more than just "putting money away" it is about protecting your spouse, your home and your children's future. It is about providing security to your family if the worst should happen and having the peace of mind they would be taken care of.
There are many companies who offer a range of life insurance policies and you might just be surprised at how much coverage you can get for very little a month if you take our your policy early. They are also very easy to set up too so there really is no reason not to do it.
A Lifetime Bucket List
A bucket list perhaps isn't an "essential" when it comes to planning for the future, however it is something to consider especially if you have lots of exciting things you would like to do before you are a certain age or whilst you still can! A bucket list can be as long or short, as extravagant or simple and as cheap or expensive as you wish. The main thing to remember for your bucket list is that if you can dream it, you can write it! Your bucket list is about all the things you want to achieve in your lifetime.
Clearing Debts
There are many reasons we might have debt, it could an old student loan, a car on finance or a credit card to name a few. Whatever the reason for the debt none of us like the idea of leaving debt behind for our loved one to have deal with or spending our hard earned cash paying interest on debt that we could be saving instead.
Clearing debts can be done in a number of ways including speaking to the company who you owe money to and arranging a plan to get it paid off as soon as possible, transferring lots of little debts into one 0% or low interest easy to manage payment or speaking to someone like Citizens advice who can offer lots of help and advice to help you get debt cleared as fast as possible.
Have you started planning for the future? If not what is putting you off?
xXx
**This is a collaborative post**
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