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11 Ways to Improve Your Finances Before You Retire

April 8, 2021 · Personal finance
A charming, modern small house with a beautiful garden, suggesting a downsizing move.
A sold sign in front of a modern home highlights the financial benefits of evaluating housing needs.

Don’t Make Major Changes

Major changes come with major financial stress. You want to avoid anything that could harm you in the years to come, and that means switching things up a little bit. Planning on getting a new car? A new house? These may sound like smart ideas now, but will you regret them in the future?

We’ve always said here that downsizing is the way to go, but actually, not a lot of financial advisors agree because they’ve seen the mistakes people make when taking this step. A lot of seniors, in the interest of saving a lot of money, buy small houses that need a lot of work, thinking that their expenses won’t be so big after all. It’s only after the fact that they realize that living in their bigger, former home would have been more cost-efficient than buying a fixer-upper.

Rule of thumb: don’t make major changes but if you absolutely must, make sure you’re prepared for the initial financial burden and the stress that comes with them.

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