Top 7 Regrets of Retirees and How to Avoid Them for a Stress-Free Retirement

[@austinbar]

I am in my early 60s and retired at 53. Lots of people gave me pushback because they had difficulty grasping the concept of not working if you don’t have to. I looked at my life as stages. I earned everything I have now through a lot of hard work, but I owe it to myself to “stop and smell the roses” in my final stage of life. In my case I left the country after I retired and live in Latin America. It allowed me to get away from all the negative things happening in America while appreciating my new environment. I have yet to meet anyone who regrets retirement.

[@eloign7147]

Nice way to retire. For me, I believe retirees who struggle to meet their basic needs are the ones who could not accumulate enough money during their active years to meet their needs. Retirement choices determine a lot of things. My wife and I has spent same number of years in the civil service, she is investing through a wealth manager and myself through the 401k. We both still earning towards having our retirement.

[@joshbarney114]

This is true. I'm in my mid 40's now. My wife and I were following this same trajectory. Last two years, I pulled out my money and invested with her wealth manager. Not catching up with her profits over the years, but at least I earn more. I'm making money even before retiring, and my retirement fund has grown way more than it would have with just the 401(k). Haha.

[@rogerwheelers4322]

It's unfortunate most people don't have such information. I don't really blame people who panic. Lack of information can be a big hurdle. I've been making more than $800k by just investing through an advisor, and I don't have to do much work. Doesn't matter if the economy is misbehaving; great wealth managers will always make returns.

[@FabioOdelega876]

I think this is something I should do, but I've been stalling for a long time now. I don't really know which firm to work with; I feel they are all the same but it seems you’ve got it all worked out with the firm you work with so i surely wouldn’t mind a recommendation.

[@rogerwheelers4322]

I definitely share your sentiment about these firms. Finding financial advisors like Marisa Breton Dollard who can assist you on things like investing, insurance, making sure retirement is well funded, going over tax benefits, ways to have a volatility buffer for investment risk would be a very creative option. There will be difficult times ahead, and prudent personal money management will be essential to navigating them.