5 Simple Questions to Ask Yourself Before Retiring

Marie Curie, the famous Polish-French scientist and Nobel-Prize winner once said, "Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." Why quote a chemist-physicist when trying to learn about retirement and finances? What does it have to do with both? Everything. Different people view retirement and their finances differently. For the financially well-versed, the well-organized and well-planned, retirement may be viewed as the big bright light at the end of the decades-long and narrow tunnel of work, work and work. Unfortunately for the financially-challenged, retirement finances may also be viewed as an intimidating and terrifying black hole that simply swallows them up in either fear, oblivion or confusion! However, if we are to follow on the enlightened thought of Madame Curie, retirement and its financials- like everything else in life - is not to be feared. Retirement and its financials need only be understood. And what better way for the financially-challenged to start understanding retirement than to answer the most basic and the most practical questions regarding their finances in relation to their retirement?

· What do you have and how much are these worth? Answering the question will tell you what current and existing properties and valuables you have that you can list under your assets. Assets would include properties, investments, social security, employee benefit plans, insurances, collectibles and others. Assessing your total assets will start you on your way to planning your retirement, paying off your debt and starting your life as a work-free person. Knowing what you have and how much you have will tell you where you should start and how you should start with your retirement. Answering the question will give you a more objective perspective on how you should tailor your lifestyle during your retirement.

· How much do you owe? Note down how much you owe such as credit card debts, loans, mortgages, payables and such. Listing them down and comparing these against what you are worth will give you a more realistic account of your net worth.

· What do you plan to do when you retire? Usually, this question is best answered based on what you have and how much you have and how much you owe. Certainly, it is impossible to envision a grand retired lifestyle when you don't have much to live on, especially in cases when retirement planning came late for you. Starting early on retirement financial plans give you a head start and give you more time to accumulate more wealth. When answering the question on what you plan to do when you retire, you should also consider other questions such as:

- Will you travel?

- How often will you travel?

- Where will you travel?

These are seemingly simple and trivial questions but answering them will definitely reveal more of your finances to you than you expect.

· Where do you plan to live? Retirements are meant to be lived in comfort, peace, and if you so desire, with a little excitement. Knowing where you want to live will definitely matter in terms of planning your retirement finances. Are you planning to buy that sprawling mansion and live your retirement days with your two cats roaming around a 30-roomed estate? That would not sound practical, would it. Or would a modest home or a two-roomed apartment be enough for you and a companion?

· What do you need? Needs are different from wants. It is want when you already own a yacht and still want to purchase two more with your retirement money. However, it is need when you talk about medications, hospitalization and other matters that concern your health and your life. Identifying your needs from your wants will certainly narrow down priorities and do much in helping you understand about retirement, and the finances it requires.

These are seemingly-simple, basic and trivial questions but their answers

will reveal to you much about what you basically need to understand about retirement and its finances just when you need to most. In the end, retirement and the years following spent away from the comfort zone of work need not necessarily be dreaded or feared. Retirement and its finances need only be understood, lived, and enjoyed.