Investing and saving for retirement is a hot topic in personal finance. Many advisors, bloggers, and influencers give hundreds of strategies on how to invest for retirement. However, many forget to mention how important it is to continue to build wealth during your retirement.
Here are a few of the best strategies to make sure that happens — regardless of your age or employment status.
Cut back on your expenses
You invest in yourself whenever you find a strategy to cut back on your day-to-day expenses. Even cutting back on the smallest purchases helps. Think about it: you can make coffee at home instead of going to the coffee shop every morning or throw a sweater on when you’re cold instead of cranking up the heat. Keep track of the monthly expenses you cut, calculate the total amount saved, and invest it.
Get the right advisors
You need a financial advisor who understands your situation and perspective. Financial advisors have specialties, such as small cap, large cap, and retirement. It’s invaluable to consult with a person who focuses specifically on your situation.
Reinvest annuity payments and other income supplements
You may not spend all of the money from an annuity or another income supplement. Don’t just stow it away in a savings account to accrue abysmal interest. Reinvest it in another long-term vehicle that will come to maturity later on, such as a certificate of deposit. Perhaps the maturity date is five years instead of 20, but you’re assured a positive interest rate after inflation and an increased buying power as you age.
Look to midterm stocks instead of long-term buy and hold stocks
Beginning investors love to take the Warren Buffett strategy of “buy and hold” and apply it to their entire investment portfolio. But, if you actually look into Buffett’s behavior, you’ll find it doesn’t mirror this sentiment. He sells stocks he doesn’t think will make him money. He does this more frequently as he ages, an altruistic strategy since plans to give all of his money to charity after he dies. Take a look at midterm stocks that you can hold for four to six years. Talk to a financial advisor or research look at online brokerages if you are unsure of how to make these investments.
Trade on your equity
If you have large assets with equity, use that as leverage to get lines of credit. You don’t have to use this credit for consumer purchases. Instead, you can utilize this expanded financial leverage to increase your ability to build wealth. You have the ability to invest in businesses, real estate and or anything else without borrowing from a bank. The advantageous interest rate you receive when you borrow against hard assets makes it much easier to score a profit from speculative investments.