My Financial Plan Gives Me Confidence

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  • #3187

    Recently I was chatting with two of my friends about retirement. One friend is currently retired and the other, like me, is still working and has one child in high school and one in college. The conversation went something along these lines.

    Retired friend, “It feels weird spending money each month and knowing that our accounts are now being depleted. Even though our financial planner has assured us that the money will last, and I know it will – it just feels strange!”

    Me, “Well, in six years I am hoping to be in your spot.”

    Working friend looking at me with a startled look on her face, “You can retire?”

    Me, thinking that is a strange question, “Yes. I can’t touch any of the money until 59 ½, but yes, I can retire. I just need to work from now until then.” She continued to look at me with a rather perplexed look, so I continued, “Yes, I can most definitely retire. I am not teaching forever. I might do something else, but retiring from teaching is in my future.”

    She didn’t ask me any more questions, but that conversation left me thinking about how important it is to have a financial plan. Thanks to Sum180 I know what I need to retire, and I know what I need to do to get there. Like my retired friend – I have been managing money for years with the goal of being able to retire.

    Having a plan and working the plan not only feels good, it gives me the confidence to know what my financial future will look like.

    Beyond being a road map, what does a financial plan provide for you?

    #3203

    I agree with a financial plan giving you confidence, but in addition to that, it provides me with structure. Having a significant amount of student loan (and various other consumer) debt, a financial plan gives me the structure necessary to dig myself out of it and one day experience financial independence. I credit my plan with helping me tackle about half of my debt in the last few years. I’m positive that without one, I would’ve probably stayed in debt forever without realizing that another option was available.

    #3215

    Kelby, you are right! Structure is so important in helping us stay on track.

    #3222

    You go, lady! That’s awesome! I definitely hope to be able to retire early, although I still have a way to go. But given that I’m 26 and already saving a ton of money, I’m sure I”ll be in a much better position than most of my peers will be at that age. Just the thought of that makes me happy 🙂

    #3305

    Kayla, I totally think that you are on the right track! That fact that consistent savings is part of your plan is what will get you there.

    #3371

    I love that it brings you confidence. For me it would be peace of mind because I would feel like I was prepared and ready to go!

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