Video Summary

After decades of building a career, raising a family, and saving for the future, approaching retirement brings an important financial question: How can you plan for your savings to support the lifestyle you want throughout retirement? One of the first steps is creating a realistic retirement budget that reflects both your essential expenses and your personal goals.

Retirement looks different for everyone. Some people envision traveling, dining out, or maintaining favorite hobbies, while others look forward to spending more time with family, volunteering, or pursuing creative interests. A well-designed retirement budget should reflect these priorities rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all spending plan.

Roger Brooks of Strategic Investment Management outlines three fundamental steps for estimating retirement expenses. First, identify fixed expenses such as housing, utilities, insurance, and healthcare. Second, estimate lifestyle spending, including travel, entertainment, hobbies, and family activities. Third, build a financial cushion for unexpected expenses, such as home repairs, medical costs, or providing assistance to a family member.

Together, these steps create a foundation for evaluating whether your retirement savings and income may support your plans. Retirement budgeting is not simply about restricting spending. It is about understanding your needs, making intentional choices, and preparing for uncertainties while pursuing the experiences that matter most to you.

Key Takeaways

• Build your budget around your retirement goals. Consider how you want to spend your time, whether that includes travel, family, volunteering, hobbies, or other activities.
• Identify essential monthly expenses. Housing, utilities, insurance, and healthcare provide a starting point for understanding what you must spend.
• Account for lifestyle expenses. Dining out, vacations, memberships, and recreational activities belong in your retirement budget when they are part of the life you want.
• Prepare for unexpected costs. A financial cushion can provide flexibility when medical expenses, home repairs, or family needs arise.
• Evaluate whether you're financially on track. Your expected spending should be considered alongside your retirement resources and long-term financial goals.
• Personalize your retirement strategy. Working with a financial adviser can help you assess whether your spending plan aligns with your goals, concerns, and financial circumstances.

Talking Points

• The importance of making retirement savings last
• Why retirement budgets should reflect personal lifestyle goals
• Three steps to building a retirement spending plan
• Identifying fixed monthly expenses
• Budgeting for discretionary and lifestyle activities
• Preparing for unforeseen financial obligations
• Evaluating retirement readiness
• How personalized financial planning can support retirement decisions
• Working with Strategic Investment Management to develop a retirement plan

Expanded Transcript

Hello, my name is Roger Brooks with Strategic Investment Management.

You know, you've spent decades building your career, raising your family, and putting money away for the future. Now retirement is on the horizon, and when it comes to it, there's an important question you need to ask:

How do I make sure my money lasts as long as I do?

The answer starts with designing a retirement budget that truly fits your life.

Designing a Budget Around Your Retirement Lifestyle

Here's the thing: Retirement isn't one-size-fits-all.

There are some people who want to travel the world. Others want to stay close to home and spoil the grandkids.

Maybe you're planning to volunteer, start a hobby business, or finally finish that book you've been thinking about writing.

Whatever your vision is, your budget needs to reflect it.

So let's break this down into three simple steps.

Step One: Get Clear on Fixed Expenses

First, get clear on your fixed expenses. These are nonnegotiables.

That's housing, utilities, insurance, and healthcare.

Write them down. Know what you must spend each month to keep the lights on and stay healthy.

Step Two: Identify Lifestyle Spending

Second, identify your lifestyle spending.

This is where your personality shines through.

Do you want to dine out regularly? Do you want to take a few trips a year? Or maybe you want to maintain that golf membership.

These aren't luxuries. They are what makes retirement enjoyable.

So budget for them intentionally.

Step Three: Plan for the Unexpected

Third, plan for the unexpected.

Yep, life happens.

There are going to be home repairs, definitely medical expenses, and also helping a family member. These things pop up.

So building a cushion into your budget gives you confidence and flexibility.

Are You on Track for Retirement?

Now, here's where many people get stuck.

They want to know, "Am I on track?"

That's a great question, and it's one you don't have to answer alone.

Personalized Retirement Planning

Here at Strategic Investment Management, we help people like you take what you've worked so hard to build and turn it into a retirement plan that fits your life and your lifestyle.

You see, we get to know you. Not just your numbers, but your goals, your worries, and your dreams.

Because to us, you're not just a client. You're part of our family as well.

Planning Your Next Steps

Now, if you're wondering whether your retirement budget will support your life, or the life you want to live, let's sit down and map it out together.

Reach out to us at Strategic Investment Management today.

Let's make sure you're not just on track, but that you're confident, you're prepared, and you're ready to enjoy what's coming next in life.

Additional Financial Planning Resources

For more strategic ideas about your finances, visit us on Facebook, or you can go to our YouTube channel, where you can subscribe and like our videos.

And when you're there, please leave a comment or a question. We are more than happy to answer any questions you have.

Along with that, you can also visit our website, strategicim.com.

There, you can access more blogs, videos, and our Strategy Sessions.

Wondering whether your retirement budget will support the life you've worked so hard to build?

Roger Brooks and the team at Strategic Investment Management can help you evaluate your retirement goals, organize your spending expectations, and develop a personalized financial plan.

Schedule a conversation with Strategic Investment Management to start planning your next chapter.