We all have choices in life, and we know that some choices we make affect not just us but our family and we also know that many choices we make today will affect us for the rest of our life.

You have to make a choice about the quality of life you would like to enjoy in retirement and you have to make that choice today. You then have to make a choice about how you’re going to set about making your decisions come to financial fruition.

Deciding on the quality of life you would like to enjoy is far simpler than answering the commonly asked question “how much money will I need to retire on?” Only you know whether you’d like to spend six months of the year every year of your retirement on a cruise liner or whether you’d be happy to spend every fine day of your retirement in your own back garden.

Only you can determine whether you’ll want to drink fine wine with your evening meal or diet soda!

So while your financial planner might suggest you need to save half your income today to enable you to live as you do today when you come to retire, you on the other hand might be able to tell the financial planner to remove expensive car loan payments and a mortgage from your retirement income for instance.

Indeed, one of the best things you can do today to enable you to have freedom of choice and the sincere chance of a better retirement is to work to pay off all debt – not just credit cards and car loans but household related debt and in particular your mortgage. Just think how much more money you would have left over at the end of the month if it weren’t for that dreaded mortgage!

By massively reducing your outgoings, by paying back all debt, you will need far less to comfortably live on when you finally give up work.

Another point worth bearing in mind is that the most significant asset most of us have as we approach retirement is our home. Therefore if you own your own home outright when you come to retire you can actually release the equity you have worked so hard to accrue to fund your retirement if you had no other or better options. Obviously this solution only suits some people but having this amount of security to fall back on is bound to offer peace of mind. Therefore do all you can to unburden yourself from the shackles of debt before retirement and you’re far more likely to enjoy life fit for a king.

The financial cost of delaying your retirement planning could make the difference between you enjoying a well deserved and comfortable quality of life after work or you having to take part time employment or seriously down-size in retirement.

Indeed, the longer you put off starting a savings plan for retirement the more of your income you will have to save for longer.

Did you know that if a 25 year old and a 35 year old were to start saving for retirement at 55 and the 25 year old invested £300 a month towards retirement, the 35 year old would have to increase his contributions to £803 a month to achieve the same potential returns?

Don’t put off until tomorrow that which you must get done today. To ensure your financial security and physical comfort in retirement take positive action today.

Rhiannon Williamson is the publisher of http://www.shelteroffshore.com/ - the online resource that guides you to a low tax, maximum investment profit lifestyle.

Shelter Offshore features three main channels - offshore investment, property investment abroad and overseas lifestyle.

Rhiannon Williamson is also the author of ‘The Offshore Advantage’ http://www.shelteroffshore.com/index.php/shelter/offshore_advantage/ which teaches readers how to build secure wealth using their secret offshore advantage.

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