Finding Our Way To A Better and Secure Future
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sun Life Financial for IZEA Worldwide. All opinions are 100% mine.
Our lives are always changing, and we all have our ups and downs, especially when it comes to our finances. Just the word finances makes us all cringe. What is it about money, just paper printed with ink and random numbers on our computer screens that makes us so uncomfortable?
I have always been one of those people who gets a little queasy when it is time to check our account balances, or discuss massive purchases. My husband and I are doing just fine financially, we are both transitioning in to retirement from our teaching careers and are still working together on our own company.
But, I am guilty of ignoring our finances. As long as the bills keep coming out successfully, and I didn’t get that embarrassing insufficient funds message at the ATM, we were fine, right?
Not too long ago we purchased the home that we are living in now, we had always been renters, but we decided that it was time to get a house of our very own. The market was right, the house was perfect, and our children had moved on with families of their own.
We went to the bank to meet with the woman who would be handling our mortgage, she began listing off all of the information she would need. Credit card statements, bank statements, our retirement account information, etc. And, she might as well have been speaking a foreign tongue. I began sweating profusely and that was my “A-Ha Moment.”
As soon as we left the office I vowed to keep track of all of our expenses, get a handle on our retirement accounts, and check our credit. That may sound simple to some people who are “on the ball” but to me that was a HUGE step. I knew that in order to make a massive purchase like this I was going to have to put on my big girl panties and get a hold of our finances.
I immediately got on my laptop and began scouring the web. I stumbled across Sun Life and it was a total game changer. It was the first website I found that actually addressed “Living In Retirement,” not just how to save for retirement. Their retirement section was packed full of useful articles and calculators that were the answers to my prayers. It even had an Annuity Calculator to help me decide how much of our retirement savings I wanted to tap in to for our big purchase.
Honestly, I just wish that I had found Sun Life 10 years ago. Their website has some amazing information to help map out your retirement accounts, and plan for your future after your working days are over.
My husband and I are big on staying active and living healthy lifestyles, our favorite way to spend time together since we retired is travelling and exploring new countries. Of course, that’s not cheap.
Sun Life’s tools and articles helped me learn more about budgeting so that we could live on a fixed income, yet still afford our new home and to travel frequently. The Preparing for retirement section also had helpful investment and insurance products and services.
By cutting back on our unnecessary day to day purchases, I was able to put more money from our business aside to travel, and not have to keep dipping in to our retirement accounts, which I realized we were burning through way too quickly.
Of course, my husband and my situation is unique, so I decided I should meet with an advisor. Not too many retired people decide to buy a home, and we are members of the lucky minority who have a stream of income from our business to help sustain our retirement savings. There’s actually a section on Sun Life’s website to help me find a local advisor, I went through the search process and scheduled a meeting. The advisor was awesome, and exactly what I was looking for!
Whether you are already enjoying your retirement, or planning ahead for your retirement, I highly recommend checking out Sun Life. They will make your life SO much easier!