It was during one of our slow days when my husband and I got a chance to talk about our retirement fund. It started with the conversation on where we would settle in our old age since we are just renting our house in Manila. Of course, we wanted a peaceful and comfortable life when we’re old. We also talked about how we wanted our children to have a life of their own without worrying about us. What was a slow day, instantly became exciting as we were thinking about where to retire, what to do there, and all sort of other things we would do in our old age together.

With this thought in mind, we started also thinking about our retirement fund. We did not want our children to be worrying about us in our old age because we want them to live their own lives. This led to us planning for our own future. While we are saving for the dreams that we have for our family and children, we are now also saving for our lives when we retire.

Retiring in the Province

Since inflation is really bad, we cannot purchase our own home in the Metro. Having talked to people who are our mentors and financial support people, we have come to realized that purchasing a land or house and lot in the province, right now, will be more advisable. Since we also both want to retire in the province, this sounded like a good plan. So what are we doing right now with this first goal?

1. Learning about real estate: I am not a risk taker so I need to learn and be informed before I make a decision. This is why my husband and I reads and learns as much as we can with properties so we know what to prepare for, and how much we need to make.
2.  We watch financial videos and tips. The best way to learn about finances  is to give it the most time that we can. I notice that whenever I get to watch short videos, or full videos of financial management, I become more aware of my expenses which makes me more directed to complete my goal.
3. Looking at provincial properties. We also research about different provinces we like and the possible opportunities we can have in those areas. Retiring, do not always mean, just being lazy and all, right? We’d still like to do what makes us fulfilled which is teaching and coaching. So that’s one important factor for us.

Building our Retirement Fund

Since we are planning for our retirement, we also started building our funds especially for it. Here are some of the ways I am doing it:

1. I started in one of our credit cooperatives in school, wherein my salary is automatically deducted with the percentage I chose. This way I can save up a part of my money without the hassle. I like how I am able to build my fund automatically. This is because I find it challenging once I have the money with me, and I have to go to the bank and deposit it. Auto debits makes my life so much easier.
2. I used a retirement Fund calculator. I am a visual person and I understand things better when I see them, especially in numbers. So when I need to visualize our retirement fund goal I go to calculator.me and use the Retirement Savings Calculator. It helps me estimate the amount of money I need to save to achieve my retirement goal. What I also love about it is it has features like factoring in the inflation rate, one-time benefit, and three-post retirement incomes. My husband and I love to play with it using our different goals. It makes us even more motivated to save up now so we can a  comfortable retirement years.
3. I used a budget planning app. To save up, I need to be mindful of our expenses and our sources of income. Since we are both earning now, we have a tendency to splurge so we make sure to be guided by our budget. I use Budget Planning calculator so I know what percentages of our incomes goes to our expenses like utilities, housing, transportation, etc. I also love that it includes recreation, clothing and charitable gifts. We feel like we have so much room to move using this budgetting app.

Preparing for our Future Lives

As I mentioned earlier, I want a comfortable life not just for my husband and I but for our children as well. Our children are not our retirement funds which is why it is our responsibility to also care for our OWN future and not just our children. As much as we get excited to see how our children’s lives will turn out, we are also equally excited to see my husband and I’s lives in the future. This is  why preparing for our retirement is a must.

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