8 Must-Do Things Before 60 For a Stress-Free Retirement

SAVING & SPENDING
Last updated March 14, 2024 | By FinanceBuzz Editors
enjoying free time in retirement

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Do you dream of a stress-free retirement? Maybe even an early retirement? (Now we’re talking!) Of course, you do — you’re human, after all.

Unfortunately, there’s a common mistake that holds people back from making that dream a reality: People often make a mental checklist of things to do by the time they retire when they should really have those things done five to ten years before retiring.

If you’re looking to retire by 65 (or sooner), you’ll want to have everything below checked off before 60.

But have no fear! If you don’t have one checked off yet, this page will show you how to get started.

Earn cash back on everyday purchases with this rare account

Want to earn cash back on your everyday purchases without using a credit card? With the Discover®️ Cashback Debit Checking account (member FDIC), you can earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases each month!1

With no credit check to apply and no monthly fees to worry about, you can earn nearly passive income on purchases you’re making anyway — up to an extra $360 a year!

This rare checking account has other great perks too, like access to your paycheck up to 2 days early with Early Pay, no minimum deposit or monthly balance requirements, over 60K fee-free ATMs, and the ability to add cash to your account at Walmart stores nationwide.

Don’t leave money on the table — it only takes minutes to apply and it won’t impact your credit score.

Apply for a Discover Cashback Checking account today

Earn potentially $1,000s for basically free by opening this account as early as possible in life

You can turn your existing money into even more money, by basically doing nothing. Yes, it sounds insane. But it’s true — and it all depends on how early in life you open a high yield savings account.

The Customers Bank high yield savings account offers a rare 5.11% APY2 — compare that to national average APY of 0.47% (as of Feb. 8, 2024). This could be worth hundreds, even thousands of dollars in practically passive income.

This is all thanks to compound interest — the earlier in life you start putting money into this type of account, the more you can earn over time. As Ben Franklin put it, “Money makes money. And the money that money makes, makes money.” Bam.

Let’s say you put $50,000 into a high yield account at 5.00% APY at 30-years-old. Then, you contribute $5,000 a year, every year, until age 50. With interest compounding daily, you’d walk away with $303,467.67! But … if you start at age 45, you’d only have $91,898.37.

Open an account today — the sooner, the better. Customers Bank is powered by Raisin's savings marketplace, there are NO fees, and you can withdraw your money whenever you need it. Plus, with FDIC insurance, Customers Bank provides a more secure online banking experience and a safer place to store your extra cash.

Click here to open a Customer Bank high yield savings account

Get a personalized financial plan to reach your goals faster

73% of Americans rank finances as their chief stress in life, according to a recent study.3 If you’re part of that 73%, J.P. Morgan Personal Advisors could help ease that stress.

Schedule your free one-on-one financial planning session with J.P. Morgan Personal Advisors,4 and you’ll get access to a team of fiduciary advisors who will create a personalized financial plan catered to your lifestyle and financial goals.

Working with an advisor may sound scary, but J.P. Morgan’s advisors are fiduciaries, so you can be confident that any advisor you work with has your best interest at heart.

Book your free financial planning session here

Ask this company to pay off your credit card debt

Credit card debt is suffocating. It constantly weighs on your mind and controls every choice you make. You can end up emotionally and even physically drained from it. And even though you make regular payments, it feels like you can never make any progress because of the interest.

National Debt Relief is designed specifically to help you get out of credit card debt faster, without having to make drastic life changes. With National Debt Relief, you could pay off your credit card debt (with potentially way less interest) in one simple monthly payment.5

How to get National Debt Relief to pay off your debt: Sign up for a free debt assessment here. (Do not skip this step!) By signing up for a free assessment, National Debt Relief can immediately assist you in paying off your debt, but only if you schedule the assessment.

Try it

Invest in “cash flow” properties for as little as $500

Rental properties can be a powerful source of cash flow. But what if you don’t want to buy (or manage) entire rental properties?

Thanks to recent advances in investment tech and legal, it’s now possible.

CalTier gives you access to cash-flowing commercial real estate starting with as little as $500.6 These “cash flow” properties are alternative investments that fall outside of the stock market and are not always available to retail investors.

Where your money goes: Your investment is spread across a portfolio of cash-flowing apartment buildings, either directly or as fractional investments with CalTier’s real estate partners.

How you get paid: CalTier with their partners manages the buildings for you. When applicable, you’re paid directly to your bank account from the potential income generated by the portfolio in proportion to your share ownership in the fund.

Ultimately, CalTier is a powerful tool that can help you get started in the world of cash flow real estate … all for a fraction of what it would cost to buy an entire property yourself.

Get started with as little as $500

Invest your spare change on autopilot

The best time to invest was yesterday. The second best time is today. By harnessing the power of compound interest, not only is every penny saved a penny earned, but cumulatively those pennies can grow into thousands of dollars.

With Acorns, you could turn your pennies into real wealth with their unique automated investing system for as little as $3/mo. Setting up automatic recurring investments, even just $5/day, will set you up to take full advantage of time, compound interest, and the stock market — without even having to think about it!

You’ll get access to expert-built portfolios7 with highly rated Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), which include stocks and bonds, that can help reduce risks compared to trading individual stocks.

Plus, you can access Acorns’ Round-Ups® feature, where your daily purchases get rounded up to the next dollar and automatically invested, adding even more wealth-growing opportunities on autopilot!

BONUS: Set up Recurring Investments and Acorns will give you a $20 bonus after you make your first successful Recurring Investment (minimum $5).

Get started today for as little as $3/mo

If you’re over 50, take advantage of massive discounts and financial resources

Over 50? Join AARP today — because if you’re not a member you could be missing out on huge perks. When you start your membership today, you can get discounts on things like travel, meal deliveries, eyeglasses, prescriptions that aren’t covered by insurance and more.

How to become a member today:

  • Go here, select your free gift, and click “Join Today” 
  • Create your account (important!) by answering a few simple questions 
  • Start enjoying your discounts and perks!

You’ll also get insider info on social security, job listings, caregiving, and retirement planning. And you’ll get access to AARP’s Fraud Watch Network to help you protect your money, as well as tools to help you plan for retirement.

Important: Start your membership by creating an account here and filling in all of the information (Do not skip this step!) Doing so will allow you to take up 25% off your AARP membership, making it just $12 per year with auto-renewal.

Become an AARP member now

Cancel your car insurance

We've got bad news. You could be wasting $500 every year on overpriced, second-rate car insurance. And you should probably cancel your existing insurance right now, because there's something much better.

This new tool from FinanceBuzz can tell you if you're overpaying for your car insurance in just a few clicks. We match drivers with companies that report saving drivers up to $500 or more per year when they save! Each driver’s savings will vary by driving history and how many discounts you’re eligible for. And once you try it out, you'll never have to look for affordable insurance again because we find you the lowest rates that other companies can't match.

Oh, and it's also free. And come on — you can't tell us you don't want to save up to $500. To find out if you're losing up to $500 or more a year, just enter your zip code here, answer a few questions and see if you're overpaying. It takes less than 2 minutes.

See if you're overpaying

Discover®️ Cashback Checking Benefits

  • Earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases each month1
  • No minimum deposit, no minimum balance, and no account fees
  • Access your paycheck up to 2 days early with Early Pay
  • 60K+ fee-free ATMs and make cash deposits at Walmart stores nationwide

Want to learn how to make an extra $200?

Get proven ways to earn extra cash from your phone, computer, & more with Extra.

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