John and Sarah are both in their 50s. They’ve been married for 31 years. Their kids are grown, they’ve got a decent nest egg, and all-in-all life’s pretty great.
At least it was, until they recently started thinking about retirement.
The closer retirement gets, the more they find themselves grappling with concerns. Like most people approaching a major transition, they worry about their financial future. They wonder if they’ve saved enough to maintain their lifestyle. They worry whether they’ll have enough to stay ahead of inflation.
They’re also concerned about their health, knowing that age will bring new challenges and big expenses. The thought of becoming a burden to their kids, or each other, scares them.
As they lay awake talking, they realized they needed to do more than talk. They need to do what they’ve always done: meet their problems head-on and find sensible solutions as far in advance as possible.
John and Sarah spent a lot of time exploring the challenges they’re facing, then finding simple solutions to alleviate their concerns. Following are some of the services they explored to reduce their stress and ensure their golden years will be not just OK, but the most awesome part of their lives.
Hopefully their tips will be useful to you as well.
1. They diversified their savings
After doing a little research, John found that one of the best ways to protect their savings was moving some into investments that can go up when others are going down. For example, stocks tend to do poorly when inflation and interest rates are rising and there’s political turmoil brewing, but one investment that shines in that scenario is gold.
But John quickly discovered that not everyone in the gold business is on the up-and-up.
He decided on Preserve Gold. It’s a family-owned company committed to helping investors protect their wealth and retirement with physical precious metals. They offer gold, silver, platinum and palladium coins and bars delivered directly to your home. Plus, you can get up to $25,000 in complimentary gold and silver, along with waived IRA storage fees for up to 5 years!
They also lead the industry in retirement account rollovers and will help to facilitate a transfer from your current custodian into a precious metals IRA.
Preserve Gold will beat any competitor’s price on gold and silver, and offers fast, free, insured shipping. And once you’re a client, they’ll buy back your metals and charge no fees.
Here’s where John got more information.
2. They got a second set of expert eyes
When they started saving years ago, John and Sarah managed their own investments. But as their nest-egg has grown, so has their realization that they could use some professional help to oversee, preserve and grow their savings.
A Vanguard study found that, on average, a hypothetical $500,000 investment over 25 years would grow to $1.7 million if you manage it yourself, but more than $3.4 million if you work with a financial advisor. That’s twice as much!
Even if you don’t want help picking investments, an advisor can help lower your tax burden, create a comprehensive financial plan, maximize your Social Security, help with estate planning and make sure you’re on the right track. They can also be there in case one day, you’re not.
If you’ve got at least $100,000 in investments, do what John and Sarah did: Check out a free service called SmartAsset. You fill out a short questionnaire and instantly get matched with up to three vetted financial advisors in your area, all legally bound to work in your best interests.
Using SmartAsset only takes a few minutes, and in most cases you’ll be offered a free consultation.
Here’s where they got more information.
Please carefully review the methodologies employed in the Vanguard white paper, “Putting a value on your value: Quantifying Vanguard Advisor’s Alpha.”
3. They provided for their kids and grandkids
Even though John and Sarah’s kids are grown, they still want to leave them a legacy; especially their grandkids. That’s why they explored life insurance.
Enter SBLI (Savings Bank Life Insurance). These folks make getting life insurance easier than ordering pizza. Just a few clicks from your couch, no doctors poking or prodding. Answer some quick health questions, and boom — a personalized quote in under 5 minutes.
With SBLI, you can snag term life insurance worth up to $5 million. Or get a permanent policy with whole life. Either way, it might cost you less per month than your daily caffeine fix.
Over 1,000,000 families have trusted SBLI with over $187 billion in coverage since 1907. They’re legit and they’ve got your back.
Here’s where John and Sarah got more information and a free quote.
4. They protected their nest-egg from health care costs
One of John and Sarah’s chief concerns was burning through their nest egg in the event either or both of them need long term care. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 7 in 10 people who turn 65 today probably will.
“But won’t Medicare take care of all that?” Nope. Medicare doesn’t cover long-term custodial care — and paying for it out of pocket could take a huge chunk of your retirement savings. That, plus inflation, could mean near or total depletion of your nest egg.
Without long-term care insurance, your options aren’t great: running through savings, borrowing money, burdening your family with your care, and possibly losing independence because you can’t live on your own.
One place to find long-term care insurance is GoldenCare. (Unless you live in the four states where GoldenCare doesn’t operate: Alaska, Florida, Hawaii and Washington.)
Here’s where they got more info.
5. They discovered this “secret” source for discounts
While researching various ways to save as seniors, John and Sarah rediscovered what they’d heard of, but never acted on. They joined AARP.
Members get discounts on hundreds of things, like:
- Up to $200 per person off flights
- Up to 30% off rental cars
- Up to 15% off restaurants
- Up to 20% off hotels
You’ll also save on eyeglasses, prescriptions, meal delivery and lots more. AARP also offers a Fraud Watch Network, job listings, retirement planning tools, games, and tons of information, programs and resources.
Anyone trying to save money can’t afford not to join AARP, especially since the cost is as low as $12 per year with auto-renewal. Click here and check it out.
6. They took care of their loved ones
Getting a will was something John and Sarah talked about occasionally over the years, but never seemed to get around to actually doing.
But their research convinced them now was the time.
Remember, when you’re gone, your problems will be over. But the problems for the ones you leave behind will just be beginning.
That’s why everyone should have a will, a trust or both. It doesn’t take much time and doesn’t cost much money. But it will save a ton of both for your family.
A will is a simple legal document that outlines how you want your assets to be distributed, and you can have one in minutes for $199.
A trust allows you to place conditions on how and when your assets are distributed to your beneficiaries. You can get one of these created for as little as $499.
John and Sarah spent an hour or two preparing these documents, to provide for their family, minimize potential conflicts, and potentially reducing estate taxes. Here’s where they got it done.
7. They opened another tax-free savings account
John and Sarah have healthy 401(k)s at work, as well as other savings accounts. But they hadn’t considered another way to sock away additional cash, prepare for future healthcare expenses and get a nice tax deduction for doing it: A health savings account, or HSA.
An HSA is more than just a savings account – it’s a powerful investment tool. Your contributions are tax-deductible, reducing your taxable income instantly. Your investments grow tax-free, allowing your savings to compound faster. And the real game-changer is the ability to withdraw funds tax-free for qualified medical expenses, including routine check-ups, prescriptions, or anything else health-related.
When you turn 65, you can even use your HSA balance to pay your Medicare premiums.
The only qualification is that, in order to use an HSA, you have to have a high-deductible health insurance plan. But if you do, an HSA is a no-brainer. You can contribute up to $4,150 for individuals or $8,300 for families annually. If you’re 55 or older, you can contribute an additional $1,000.
Once they determined they were eligible, John and Sarah immediately opened an HSA with a company called Lively. You can check them out and see if you’re eligible here.
8. They stepped up their investing game
Sarah has always been interested in stock investing, but stayed on the sidelines, overwhelmed by all the Wall Street jargon and fancy investment tools.
Until she turned to Moby.
Launched in 2020 by ex-hedge fund analysts, Moby translates complex market strategies into plain English: think stock picks you can understand, timely market alerts and educational resources that won’t put you to sleep.
Moby boasts serious results — outperforming competitors by over 300% and the S&P 500 by 400% in 2023.
And the price? You’ll likely more than cover it with one trade: just $16 a month. They’re so confident you’ll love it, they even offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.
John, Sarah and more than 5 million users trust Moby to guide their investments. They have more than 1,000 5-star reviews and their Trustpilot rating is a solid 4.7 stars. That’s a lot of happy investors!
Here’s where John and Sarah learned about Moby.