PORTLAND, Maine — When you look ahead to retirement, what’s your No. 1 concern?
Jac Arbour, a graduate of Cony High School and Bowdoin College who now runs a wealth management business in Hallowell, pays attention to these issues. He said the top concern of retirees is that they’ll run out of money while still alive.
To help people avoid that fate, Arbour has written a slim book called “The Ultimate Guide to Retirement Income Planning.”
It covers the basics: setting priorities (do you want to travel, or would you rather leave money to heirs?), laying out financial goals, tracking your monthly spending, sticking to a disciplined savings plan, learning about different types of investments.
Whether you’re young or old, rich or poor, it’s almost always a good idea to get a clear picture of your monthly spending. That can be a foundation on which to build, in part because your household finances are, in this way at least, not unlike those of a business.
“We have money coming in, and we have money going out.” Arbour said. “At the end of the day it’s great to have a surplus, which is money left over which we call discretionary income. That’s money you can put into anything you want. Mostly it goes toward fun, travel, and what retirees are really looking to do.”
So, how to get started? Watch our interview with Arbour for an introduction to planning the retirement you want.