CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Some people dream of retiring and having a life of luxury if that's on the beach or in a cabin.
But Steve Zeller and his wife, Jennifer, say they planned to live as nomads for a couple of years.
“We had this planned for several years that we were going to do this,” said Zeller.
What they didn't plan for was living out their dreams during a pandemic. Zeller who retired in September says they were supposed to start their journey in July but with strict travel restrictions he couldn't travel for work. It was something he would get paid well to do.
“I need to go to Indonesia, I need to go to the Philippines all these places were scheduled to happen and none of them (because) I couldn’t go anywhere,” said Zeller. “That cut our money back so it took us a while to get things in line with finances and things.”
Experts say that to to get to a certain level of income in order to prepare for retirement, a financial adviser can guide you to guard against the unexpected.
First Command financial adviser Jason Rodriguez says you might be considering retiring now for health reasons or because the volatility of the market is too much to bear.
“Seeking the advice of a professional that can assess your personal situation would be the best course of action,” said Rodriguez.
There are many things to consider when planning to retire. Rodriguez says offering some solutions to people in need is invaluable to them.
“We started to see people that have wanted to retire and they were prepared to retire,” he said.
Getting back on track with his plan nomadic lifestyle, Zeller thanks his financial adviser who helped him make some money on smart Investments for the future.
“Eventually, we want to build a house somewhere so we have to keep aside for that,” Zeller said.
First Command, located at 5703 S. Staples, offers financial planning at no charge for active military and consultations to anyone at no cost. And depending on your situation, Rodriguez recommends considering the factors of retirement.
According to Rodriguez, factors include whether a person has managed debt properly? Will they be going into retirement with business debt or a mortgage? Do they have a car loan or credit card notes?
Secondly, how long is their money going to last? Do they have enough saved for 35 years of retirement or even 25 years?
Also, how will they handle the rising cost of healthcare once they transition from an employer-sponsored plan and have to go to a private plan plus medicare? And what about prescription drugs?
And how to handle Social Security? When’s a good time to elect?
To learn how to make smarter decisions about when to claim social security click here.
