5 Things That Happen When You Spend More Time Planning for Vacation Than Retirement, According To a Financial Expert
You've probably spent more time comparing flight prices and reading hotel reviews this year than thinking about how you'll actually afford — or navigate — your retirement. You're not alone, and it's not really your fault: vacations are fun to plan whereas retirement isn't.
According to Princella Seymour, CEO and founder of Complete Elder Solutions, planning for aging requires us to discuss and think about things we’d rather not, including decline, dependence and death. But avoiding retirement planning can have a steep cost.
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“A poorly planned vacation might mean a disappointing hotel or a missed reservation. A poorly planned retirement can mean losing your independence, your savings and your ability to choose how you live,” said Seymour.
Seymour has spent her career helping families navigate the emotional and logistical mess that comes with aging, and she's seen firsthand what happens when people skip the planning part. Here are five things that can happen when your retirement plan takes a back seat to your vacation itinerary.
1. Someone Else Will Make Decisions for You
Retirement planning extends beyond saving money. It's also about the legal and financial groundwork that protects your assets and makes sure your wishes actually get followed. Unfortunately, most people haven't done that groundwork. A Caring.com survey found that only 24% of Americans have a will.
As Seymour explained it, without any sort of legal framework, such as a power of attorney, a healthcare directive or documented wishes, decisions like where you live, what treatment you receive and how your assets are managed get made by someone else.
“That someone may be a family member who loves you but doesn't share your values, or in the absence of a designated person, it may be the court system,” said Seymour.
Luckily, Seymour's fix for this is straightforward. Get the documents in place, have the conversations and make your wishes known while you’re still in a position to do so clearly.
2. Your Family Could Fight
Conversations about money, property and care responsibilities can surface unresolved tension in a family.
“I have watched families fracture permanently over decisions that a single conversation or a single document could have prevented,” Seymour said.
“Families always think there will be more time to sort out the finances. And then, one day there isn't, and what felt like a manageable conversation has become an impossible one, with far fewer options than there used to be.”
3. You Could Run Out of Money Faster
Most people plan for retirement income. Almost nobody plans for retirement costs — and that gap is where savings quietly disappear.
Seymour pointed out that the average cost of assisted living in the U.S. is now over $54,000 per year, and memory care or skilled nursing runs even higher. Add in the fact that Americans are living longer than ever, and you've got more years to fund with a budget that never accounted for them.
“The expenses that catch families off guard most often are the ones that arrive gradually, such as the in-home aide a few hours a day that becomes full-time, the medication management and the home modifications,” Seymour explained.
None of these costs show up as a single, alarming bill. They creep in a few hours, a few pills, a few home repairs at a time until suddenly they've eaten through a nest egg that was supposed to last.
4. Your Health Could Decline More Quickly
Of all the consequences on this list, this might be the one families see coming least.
“Research consistently shows that older adults who lack social connection, structured routine and a sense of purpose deteriorate more quickly, physically and cognitively, than those who have these things in place,” said Seymour.
A real plan for aging answers questions that go well beyond money, like:
Where will you be?
Who will be around you?
What will give your days meaning?
Without answers to those questions, Seymour said that the default is often isolation.
5. The People You Love Will Burn Out
“When there is no plan, the responsibility for care falls on whoever is closest and most willing,” Seymour said.
In practice, that's usually a woman. Family caregivers skew overwhelmingly female, and Seymour estimates they provide $470 billion in unpaid care every year in the U.S.
“Caregiver burnout is not a personal failure,” she added. “It is a structural inevitability when families are left to manage a crisis with no roadmap.”
In other words: the bill for skipping the plan doesn't just come due for you. Someone else pays it, too — usually in exhaustion, not dollars.
Bottom Line
Nobody's saying skip the vacation, but the same energy you put into planning your vacations should also be put toward your retirement. A bad vacation ruins a week. A bad — or nonexistent — retirement plan can ruin the years you've spent your whole life working toward, and it doesn't just affect you. It lands on the people who love you.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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