Where Does the Time Go?
Americans are so busy that they often
have a hard time balancing demands for work and their personal lives. In fact,
participants in a recent survey reported having only an average of 26 minutes
of free time each week.1
Where does the time go? The Bureau
of Labor Statistics reports that women have not only increased the number of
hours they work outside the home, but they also are spending more time caring
for children and doing housework.2
Then again, today’s average adult spends
an hour and a half online daily.3 Of course, that could include time-saving
tasks such as shopping for groceries and paying bills, so it may not be completely
social or leisure time.
Perhaps if Americans spent as much
time planning for retirement as we do planning for meals or checking sports
scores, we wouldn’t be as concerned with running out of money. Time is a funny
thing; it can work with you or it can work against you. Over time, inflation
can put a dent in purchasing power — particularly once you live on a fixed
income. If you’ve got longevity in your genes, you may want to consider ways to
help make your money last longer. We believe time is the best way to earn
interest and grow wealth. If you’re looking for ways you can use time to your
advantage or leverage your assets to help create income throughout retirement,
we have ideas.
One of those ideas is to consider purchasing
an annuity contract. Annuities are a financial product that can provide a
lifetime insurer-guaranteed payout, so no matter how long you live, you can
still receive a minimum level of income. It’s important to keep in mind that annuities
are insurance contracts designed for retirement, and they provide guarantees of
principal and credited interest, subject to surrender charges.
If you’re running out of time
before retirement, it’s never too late to buckle down and start living well
below your means. Start by determining how much you need to save each month,
and devise a budget around that number. This is also good practice for retirement.
4
If you’re thinking of selling your
home or downsizing, now may be a good time. Mortgage rates are still historically
low, but residential prices remain high due to low inventory, creating an ideal
seller’s market. This trend may not continue in the coming months as threats of
a recession loom. Once home prices drop, buyers have more options and
negotiating power. 5
Content prepared by Kara Stefan
Communications.
1 CW Headley. Ladders. April 3, 2019. “Survey: The
average American has less than half an hour of free time per week.” https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/the-daily-task-americans-are-neglecting-the-most. Accessed Sept. 25, 2019.
2 Katherine Schaeffer. Pew Research Center. Sept. 24, 2019.
“Among U.S. couples, women do more cooking and grocery shopping than men.” https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/09/24/among-u-s-couples-women-do-more-cooking-and-grocery-shopping-than-men/. Accessed Sept. 25, 2019.
3 Eric Griffith. PCMag. Aug. 29, 2019. “State by State:
Alaskans Spend the Most Time in Front of Screens.” https://www.pcmag.com/news/370447/state-by-state-alaskans-spend-the-most-time-in-front-of-scr. Accessed Sept. 25, 2019.
4 Adrian D. Garcia. Bankrate. Sept. 25, 2019. “Survey:
Scary percentage of Americans financially unprepared for recession.” https://www.bankrate.com/surveys/top-financial-priority-september-2019/. Accessed Sept. 25, 2019.
5 Aly J. Yale. Forbes. April 18, 2019. “With A Recession
Looming, Is Now The Time To Sell Your Home?” https://www.forbes.com/sites/alyyale/2019/04/18/with-a-recession-looming-is-now-the-time-to-sell-your-home/#794d17285bce. Accessed Sept. 25, 2019.
Annuity guarantees are backed by the financial strength and
claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance carrier.
We are an independent firm helping individuals create retirement
strategies using a variety of insurance products to custom suit their needs and
objectives. This material is intended to provide general information to help
you understand basic retirement income strategies and should not be construed
as financial advice.
The information contained in this material is believed to be reliable,
but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed; it is not intended to be
used as the sole basis for financial decisions. If you are unable to access any
of the news articles and sources through the links provided in this text,
please contact us to request a copy of the desired reference.
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