On this episode of The Retirement Huddle podcast, Mark Howard shares advice for empty nesters as they navigate this stage of life.
College expenses
Make sure that you get some guidance on the best way to handle college expenses. Should the kids just get loans? Do you have assets that you should use to help cover college costs, even if those assets weren’t specifically earmarked for college?
Should you be encouraging your kids to attend a cheaper school? Give this some thought; don’t just send them off to school and assume that you’ll sort out the mess later.
Kids retirement savings
If your kids are new in the career world, or even just have a part-time job while they’re in college, it’s important to help them understand the power of starting to save for retirement at such a young age.
With 40 years of market growth and compounding ahead of them, they can create a fortune for themselves if they get started now. Even if they don’t have the money to save much themselves, maybe you have the capability to help them get started and get them off on the right foot.
Even a deal where you agree to match whatever they’re able to put into a Roth IRA could pay huge dividends for them down the road. Most important is helping them create the habit of saving for retirement at a young age.
Start saving for yourself
This is an opportunity to start saving more for yourself too. Expenses tend to go down a little bit after your kids go off to college. You are probably even in your prime earning years. Now that you have a smaller grocery bill, definitely rethink how much you are putting into savings.
Helping kids with expenses
It’s really rare for kids to go from your payroll directly to being financially independent. Perhaps they will start paying for rent but will need to stay on your phone bill for a bit longer. Think about how these expenses will transfer over the next few years.
Think about your home
Now that the kids are off to college you probably feel like you have a lot of space. Think about downsizing or whether you will stay in this house throughout retirement. Reach out to your financial advisor to learn the best option for your position. This can be a really great way to save more and have more freedom.
Listen to the full episode or use the timestamps to jump to a specific section. Thanks for listening! We’ll be back for another show every other Thursday.
Today’s Rundown:
[1:24] – College expenses
[3:05] – Kids retirement savings
[5:35] – Save money yourself
[6:29] – Transition of expenses
[7:42] – Downsizing
Coachable Quotable:
