Solutions if you Didn’t Save Enough for Retirement

Are you a baby boomer who didn’t save enough for retirement or lost your savings in the stock market crash of 2008? If so, you’re not alone. An estimated 45% of boomers have zero savings for their retirement.

This article is for you if you’re looking for a practical solution to retirement planning aside from telling you to work longer, save more, delay social security, expatriate, and so on.

I’ll explain that by treating your retirement as a business, with you as the customer, you can retire without the fear of not having enough money to do the things you love.

I will discuss an actionable process that you and your spouse can adapt to your current situation that will make a significant impact on your retirement.

Your current circumstance is not set in stone. It can improve if you are willing to step out of your comfort zone.

You don’t need any type of business acumen to comprehend and utilize these simple techniques.

If you have no knowledge or even the most rudimentary understanding of business practices, it will still be effective for you.

Are you ready to make a change in the way you handle your retirement?

If yes, let’s get started with some easy business strategies that will help you make the most out of the money that you do have if you didn’t save enough for retirement.

1. Assemble your team

Involve your spouse in the process.

Begin by listening and determining what expectations you both have for retirement.

Regardless of whether you want to live in an RV, remain in your current home,  work part-time, buy a boat and sail around the world, or sunbathe on a beach in the Caribbean, you and your spouse need to work as a team.

If you and your spouse have trouble getting on the same page, “Don’t Compromise with Your Spouse on Retirement Plans” may be helpful.

2. Achieve the mindset.

Think business-like and strive for success.

There’s a lot that goes into managing a successful business. However, at the most basic level, a business needs customers to succeed. Therefore, companies must provide something of value to retain customers.

For that reason, for you to succeed with this innovative method of retirement, it’s important to think of retirement as your business and yourself as the customer.

We’ve all heard the expression, “The customer is always right.”

The object is to keep you, the customer, happy with what you value. This will result in a satisfying lifestyle of your choice even though you don’t have millions in the bank.

Your strategy is to adopt a “Continuous Improvement Attitude.

Read: “A Generation Lost in Space”.

When you view yourself from the perspective of a customer, you shift your thinking to what you value most.

3. Scope your project

Define the problem

A business defines a practical problem that is adversely affecting the business’s performance in some way. Then, they focus on solving the problem by taking action to improve it.

In the business of retirement, you define areas that hurt your well-being, whether financial or otherwise.

Sit down and take a serious look into all areas of your life.

Defining the problem may be challenging. You may have been living in the rat race based on peer pressure from friends and relatives.

Children can create pressure as well. You may feel the need to pay for a fancy wedding or repay a student loan.

When you’re doing this exercise, you may want to make a list. Writing it down helps to bring it into focus.

Areas to evaluate include:

• • What would make your retirement thrive and what wouldn’t

• • Where are you wasteful and what measures can you take to improve

• • Consider choices that will have the most financial impact on your retirement

• • Contemplate what will give you the most satisfaction, the most value

4. Transform your problem

Know your goals and needs.

Once you objectively define your problem, it becomes easier to solve. You can begin implementing solutions.

Your focus should be to find solutions that will have quantifiable results as opposed to an “I think this will work” attitude.

You begin to look for ways to improve while at the same time maintaining a satisfying lifestyle.

Ultimately, you want to have growth with minimum wasted effort or expense.

Even if you fear being criticized for your actions,  remember, you are the customer of your business – focus on what is of most value to you.

As you begin to practice this method, you may decide to forgo a weekly dinner party, sell your fishing camp,  give up a hobby you no longer love, etc.

At the same time, you may buy exercise equipment, and a new camera, or take a trip to an exotic locale that’s been on your bucket list.

The point is to transform your retirement into a successful journey by providing value to yourself.

Deep Dive into Just-in-Time Retirement

There’s a bigger picture to these solutions. This article was written based on the fundamentals of Just-in-Time Retirement, our continuous improvement lifestyle plan based on the efficiency of Toyota’s Production System.

Learn the essential steps to maximize value by eliminating waste through efficiency and continuous improvement. Dive into Just-in-Time Retirement. 

Conclusion

There’s hope if you didn’t save enough for retirement. Think and act in ways that benefit you and your spouse. Approach retirement as though it is your business. Your retirement will become a fun project instead of a dreaded nightmare about money.

What do you think about this method? Will you try it? Please leave us a comment below and share this article with your friends!

Last update: 10/21/23

Image by Kirk Fisher from Pixabay