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Budgeting for life’s needs and wants is even more important when you reach retirement. One of the ways to do this is by making a budget and understanding where you spend your money.

It‘s important to make the most of your money in retirement. One of the ways to do this is by making a budget and understanding where you spend your money.

How much income do you receive?

Figure out how much you’re ‘earning’ so that you know how much you have to spend. This is important throughout your life, but it’s especially true in retirement as your income may be more finite. Your income in retirement might come from regular payments from your super account, money from an investment, a government pension or a combination of these.

Breaking down how much you receive each week, fortnight or month will give you a better idea of how much you have to play with, and how comfortable you’ll be in meeting your expenses. 

Separate your needs and wants

What are your ‘needs’ and ‘wants’? ‘Needs’ are essential to living a healthy life, like accommodation, electricity, transport, water and food, while ‘wants’ are things you can live without, but are nice to enjoy, such as going out for dinner, seeing a movie, or splashing out on an overseas holiday.

Remember that cutting out certain ‘wants’ due to money doesn’t mean you need to stop being social. If your expenses are adding up one month, you might choose instead to head out to free (or cheap) events in your community.

Set up a budget

Once you’ve figured out your needs and wants, and found some ways to make savings on everyday items, set up a household budget. List out everything that’s a need, and how much each need costs to understand what you have available to spend on other things or save for a rainy day.

Keeping track of your spending via a budget helps you get the most out of your money, making it easier to live as comfortably as possible within your means.

This article was previously prepared and published by AIA Australia Limited ABN 79 004 837 861 (AIA Australia) prior to Resolution Life’s acquisition of AIA Australia’s Superannuation & Investment life insurance on 1 July 2023.

What you need to know

Any advice on this website is provided by Resolution Life Australasia Limited ABN 84 079 300 379, AFSL No. 233671 (Resolution Life), and is general advice and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on this advice, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs, as well as the relevant product disclosure statement and/or policy document, available from Resolution Life at resolutionlife.com.au or by calling 133 731, before making a decision on whether to acquire, or continue to hold, the product. 

The Target Market Determinations (TMDs) for our financial products (where applicable) can be found at Target Market Determinations (TMDs). The TMDs describe the key features and attributes of an applicable product that affect whether it is likely to be consistent with the objectives, financial situation and needs of consumers in the target market.

Resolution Life is part of the Resolution Life Group and can be contacted via contact us or by calling the phone number mentioned above.