Last year I turned 40, I know I don’t like to make a deal about it (*cough* but here’s my 40before40 bucket list) and this year David and I after 20 years together got engaged. These big milestones in my adult life shifted my mindset and I started thinking more and more about the future.  When you are self-employed it can be harder to think forwards 5, 10, 20 years but the things we put in place now will really help to set us up in our golden years. 

5 Future Financial Expenses You Need to Consider:

Retirement: I’ve made no secret of the fact that David and I plan to retire to Corfu and love a long and happy life eating souvlaki and drinking beer. But to get there we need to start planning now, investing and saving money away to sustain the lifestyle we wish to have in later life.  Which when we are paying for a wedding and 3 children might be a bit easier! 

Make A Clear Plan: We really shouldn’t go into later life without a clear plan that we have set up for ourselves financially now.  I never used to think about much more than where my business was going this year maybe 5 but not what I wanted to do when I retire! But once we hit 40 and we realised that the children only had about 10 years left at home of actually needing us (I am fully aware they may never leave home but at 24 I’m hoping Charlie doesn’t still need me to help him change a duvet!)we started thinking more about what we want in the future, which is dictated to by school routines and parenting.  How much money will you need to “buy into” your future life and how much will you need to sustain it.  These are all things you need to consider now so you can start investing and saving. There’s also for us the practicalities and legalities of living in a foreign country that all needs to be planned for. 

Pension: Being self-employed it can be easy to “forget” or underestimate the importance of saving into a pension pot. I’m not going to pretend to be any form of expert. There are lots of companies out there that deal with self-employed individuals and can tailor to your needs, but sorting out a pension is something to put on your list for 2022 to do, no matter how old you are. In 2021-22, the full level of the new state pension is currently £179.60 a week (£9,339.20 a year) and I’m so hoping for a villa with a pool when I retire!  Paying into a pension now will help with the financial expenses when you do retire. 

Funeral Expenses: Recently our Great Aunt passed away unlike when David’s Grandparents passed the process has been really easy, straightforward and pain-free. But this time around things were already in place as our Great Aunt had a plan, she had already paid the costs of her funeral in advance so there were no financial outgoings for us. She also picked her coffin, cremation, order of service and where she would be laid to rest, And whilst this sounds incredibly morbid, knowing how difficult things were after David’s Grandparents passed away as we had to make these decisions, it has made me consider what I’d like in place for my children when we pass. I don’t want them to have to deal with any of the stresses that come with dying. Funerals are a very expensive process but also an emotional time. Heart of England Funeral care offers a service in which you can start to pay towards your funeral expenses, giving peace of mind to your family later on.

Care Expenses: And finally, just in case we don’t live out a long and happy life together and we do need additional care at some stage in our lives, how will that be paid for?  It’s important to have some idea and plan in place. Again mostly to take the stress and financial burden from your children. 

Whilst this isn’t the most pleasant of conversations because you know we Brits don’t like to discuss money, we can’t wait to get old. These things all need considering and putting an action plan into place now. 

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