COVID has disrupted the social and financial plans that many people were looking forward to in 2020. This has been especially true for people who are retired or nearing retirement. This week on our Instagram Live, we discussed retirement during COVID and its financial and social impact on retirement planning with Jaye and Tammy. We also gave some advice on how to best prepare for retirement to avoid these disruptions and how to turn this challenging time to an opportunity.
Jaye, who recently retired, discussed dealing with living on a reduced income. After recovering from an illness, she decided to retire earlier this year. She is currently grappling with living on a lower income. COVID has also affected her spouse who is still working but now living on CERB due to the pandemic. This has severely impacted their financial plans and led Jaye to start a small part-time business in order to increase her income.
However, for some people, taking early retirement and reducing work hours during COVID may have increased their finances. Tammy, who is a social media marketer, mentioned that her business has largely benefitted from the pandemic. With many businesses shifting the majority of their sales online, people in marketing or sales can take this opportunity to get more customers and grow their business. She has certainly seen a spike in her income even as she has slowed down and made the decision to move into semi-retirement.
Other than a change of income, you might find yourself considering going back to work to help out your community. Our first guest Jaye changed her mind about retirement and went back to selling her immunity-boosting vitamins as a certified nutritionist to help the community fight COVID and improve their health.
How can you manage your finances during retirement better, especially during COVID?
Both guests mentioned that COVID has been a great time for them to assess their current situation and make some changes. If you are comfortable with managing your finances, carefully check each aspect of your income, decide on your financial priorities, and create a budget around your financial plans. Tammy shared how COVID pushed her to carefully examine her spending. This allowed to understand her financial situation and cut back on expenses that were not necessary. By doing this, she realized she didn’t need to spend as much as before to maintain her standard of living. She was able to reduce her expenses by $3000 per month!
If financial planning isn’t your strongest suit, work with a Certified Financial Planner (CFP)! If you are working with one, make sure that you are happy with the service. It is very important for you to work with a financial planner that prioritizes your needs and helps you reach the financial goals you set. Jaye shared how they worked with a financial planner before they retired, but were disappointed by the experience.
We hope you enjoyed reading our blog about ‘Retirement during COVID’. You can find more relevant content about the latest financial news and our live chats on our News Blog. To learn more about our discussion, you can watch the full live chat here. Stay tuned to learn more tips on a new topic each week on our Instagram Live at 5 on Instagram! To check last week’s blog article about ‘’Small Businesses and Phase 2 of COVID, click here.
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