Parents left with an empty nest often have to deal with the emotional and psychological ordeal of letting their children go.
These mixed emotions can be overwhelming. Parents deal with it through various ways and diversions. It’s not only emotionally taxing, it can also pose dilemmas on finances – either you have a newfound financial freedom or you could suddenly find yourself with extra financial burden.
Some empty nesters cope by focusing on:
- new hobbies,
- reconnecting with friends
- finding time to spend with their partners
- taking a vacation,
- ticking things off their dream list.
Today we’re going to talk about getting your finances in order.
6 Financial Tips For Empty Nesters
1. Adjust Your Insurance Coverage
If your children are already out of your home and pursuing their careers, then it’s time that you realign your insurance coverage.
You can reduce your premiums if you ask your agent to remove your children from your dependents (this is if they are already covered by insurance in their new school or work).
2. Re-focus Your Finances
Raising a child or children may cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars. This keeps you from planning your own retirement. So if there is no college fees and insurance or other fees blocking the way, you can increase your retirement plan contribution.
Saving for retirement will allow you financial freedom after you decided to retire from your job.
Here are some links to online finanical calculators to help you get started.
3. Re-do Your Budget
A whole family budget is vastly different from a single person or double person budget.
From meals to groceries and other basic needs, an empty nest can slash away a big part of your spending.
This can make a room for better and newer things for your home comfort or save it in your retirement fund.
4. Work Again
If you have been focusing on raising kids for a long time, then if you’re healthy and ready you can get back to work again once your kids leave home.
It can take your mind off the emotional transition empty nesters experience and provide extra money for other wants.
5. Move and Downsize
Selling the home you spent your life with with your kids can be difficult. But what’s the use of a 6-bedroom house when only the two of you (or maybe even only you) are living in it now?
You can slowly school yourself to downsize on things and eventually downsize on your home size to free up hundreds of thousands of dollars later.
See more here on how decluttering can help you save money.
6. Pay Your Debts
It might only be ten to fifteen years, until you’re fully retired. Start paying off debt now since you already have a few space for savings.
Even just paying your bills on time can save you money. If you’re a little slack in paying your bills then one of our previous blogs: Organizing Your Finances: Get Organized to Pay Bills on Time, will be a big help to you.
Consider this tips wisely, consult a financial planner and and make your empty nest experience productive.
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Thank you for this. This can really help me out.
Thank you for your amazing tips. I have been an empty nester before and to be honest, it was not easy. What I did first is pay all my personal debts. I am so happy that I am now experiencing financial freedom.
What more can I say, it’s a bummer.
Been empty nesters for a long time, and you can not survive on social security ; if you can be sure to put back for your retirement. Otherwise you’re going to need a few good friends, I mean GOOD FRIENDS.
As we boomers grow older, we eventually become empty nesters. We find our once-bustling households filled with baseball games, loud music and arguments over who gets the car keys, suddenly as quiet as a library. For the first time in our lives, we can truly afford to be selfish. We can take that vacation we never had when the kids were at home, or turn that now empty bedroom into a study.