3 factors that could ruin your plans for an early retirement

The economy is in a rather weird place these days. Just knowing you’ll be able to eventually retire is probably a pretty satisfying feeling right now. But if you had grand plans to retire early, how are those plans looking now? If you’ve been hoping to retire earlier than most, here are three things that could derail those plans…

Debt: Your money might be a little tighter after you retire, so ideally you’d have all of your debts paid off before you call it quits for good. The last thing you’d want to have to do is find a part time job in order to pay off some lingering debt that you weren’t able to get rid of. If you’re planning on making any big purchases (a boat, etc.) after you retire, be ready for it and pay in cash.

Inflation: Nothing will ruin your plans like money that isn’t worth what it used to be. Think about how much you’ll need each year and then add in an annual cost of living increase. As things slowly get more expensive every year, you’ll want to be prepared when each bill is suddenly bigger than it was last time.

Health: As you get older, it’s going to cost you more money to stay healthy. And hopefully you or your spouse won’t have to become a caregiver for the other one, but you might want to be sure you’ve got some extra cash socked away just in case someone’s health starts declining unexpectedly.

Keep these things in mind before you trade in your loafers for flip flops, so when you’re ready to retire you can enjoy it.