Is Now a Good Time to Retire? Ep #55 

<p>Is now a good time to retire—or a bad time? If you’re a Baby Boomer, you may be questioning what you should do. Many people are quite fearful of retiring given the state of the country and stock markets. So in this episode of Retirement Made Easy, let’s talk about it. I’ll share how you can improve your odds of a successful retirement (and the things you need to be aware of). I understand this turbulent time can be overwhelming. Hopefully, this episode can help prepare you and calm your nerves.</p> <h2>You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...</h2> <ul> <li>[4:21] Is now a good time to retire?</li> <li>[11:34] All the things you need to think of before retirement</li> <li>[18:15] How to improve your odds of a successful retirement </li> </ul> <h2>All the things you need to think of before retirement</h2> <p>What do those about to retire find concerning? Well, right now we’ve got all-time stock market highs. We haven’t had a large crash where at the end of the year the market was down over 20%. The market was only temporarily down because of COVID. We haven’t had a year where the stock market ended down 20% or more since 2008. Many people are thinking that a market like this can’t continue. <em>They’re expecting a pullback</em>. </p> <p>We also have a supply chain shortage. Interest rates are at record lows. Government or corporate bonds will pay very little interest. Inflation seems to be rising higher and higher. On top of this all, a Baby Boomer is the sandwich generation. People in their 60s are still caring for elderly parents whose health is declining. My mother is a Baby Boomer who spent the first few years of her retirement caring for her parents. </p> <p>Many people—because of COVID—had their adult children moving back in with them. According to <a href= "https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/state-of-student-loan-debt/">Experian</a>, outstanding student loan debt has grown to $1.57 trillion as of 2020. Are you helping your adult children pay off student loan debt? Do you hav