These words mean something different for every retiree – every retiree has a different source for money and different priorities to spend their money on. The one thing that remains constant, however, is the concern about these words in today’s economy. So today I would like to walk through the key concerns about money during the first two phases of retirement. There are many issues that may overlap one phase or the other, so I encourage you to read through both phases.

“Go Go” is the first phrase, usually associated with the early retirement phase. You may have been told that, as a general rule of thumb, you will need 75 to 90 percent of the income you have before retirement during retirement. However, when you actually enter retirement you may find this simply isn’t true. You may find yourself spending just as much money as when you were working or maybe even more. And who can blame you – why would you want to change your standard of living? You’ve worked hard and feel that you have earned the right to treat yourself. You’ve probably made plans to see the world, work on your bucket list, and ride in style. Which, by the way, is perfectly okay in case anyone hasn’t told you.

The key is planning for these goals with your Life Consultant in a proactive manner, rather than the alternative-after the fact. Money decisions you make during this stage of retirement can have an effect on your financial picture for the rest of your life: especially in the conditions of our current economy. Today is the first day of the rest of your life; how long will that be? 20 years, 30 years, longer? The questions you need to address now are:

• Is your spending a little overboard?
• Do you know how much you should be spending?
• Should you be waiting to purchase that new vehicle?
• Or should you be taking advantage of the current car market?
• Are you taking your retirement income from the right places?
• And most importantly, are you making these decisions with your emotions?
• Or are you letting someone who is emotionally unattached to your financial situation help you make these decisions?

“Slow Go“-the mid retirement phase-comes at a different time for every retiree. You may find yourself slowing down, spending less on leisure, and shelling out more dollars on health care costs. When it comes to money you want to ensure you have enough income not just for tomorrow, but enough to take care of your needs 10 years from now. Think about this for a moment: How many bags of groceries does $100 buy today? How many bags of groceries do think $100 will buy 10 years from now? If your money does not keep up with inflation, which of these bags are you going to put back on the shelf? And during  these crazy economic times, this probably makes you feel a little uneasy.

You may also have fears about the current status of Medicare, which the Trustees of the Medicare trust funds reported this year the Hospital Insurance Fund reserves will be exhausted by 2017. This is especially the case looking forward to the “No Go” years-the third phase of retirement-when you don’t spend anything, yet your health care costs are the highest.

So what are you doing to address these concerns? We have found that there are many individuals and families sitting, waiting, and just hoping for the best. They’re scared and don’t know where to go or what to do. Some are actually making emotional decisions that have the potential to devastate their future lifestyle.

It is more important than ever to distinguish between being proactive and emotional, to develop a recovery strategy, and to start planning today if you want to maintain your standard of living during the “Slow Go” and “No Go” phases of retirement. Especially so, if leaving a legacy behind to your children, grandchildren and your favorite charities is one of your dreams. Don’t accept a cookie cutter solution to your unique situation. We believe in addressing the goals and concern that are important to each of our clients individually. There are so many creative planning tools out there and I encourage you to work with someone who has an open architecture which utilizes these tools to address what is important to you before it is too late.