Do you have a clear retirement plan? Are you still decades away, or are you interested in retiring earlier than usual? Thinking of retirement can be stressful. Many people are in precarious financial situations, and it’s never easy to predict what turn the economy will take.

However, whatever your personal financial situation is, not thinking about retirement can only result in more stress in the future. The good thing is that once you have a clear plan, you can make better financial decisions now that can cement a better future for you and your family while alleviating some fears that come with not planning at all.

In this article, you can learn about strategies that can help you have a stress-free retirement.

Real estate investing

Real estate investing is a time-tested strategy that many financially savvy people take advantage of to get ahead of the game. Many people dismiss it due to misinformation. Many think that to get into real estate investing, you have to have many assets to start with.

However, this is not the case. There are many ways to get into real estate investments without putting up a significant amount of upfront capital. A reputable real estate investment company can help assess your current financial situation and give you professional guidance.

Many people don’t know that many public programs and even creative tactics are completely above board that smart investors are familiar with. You might be interested in going into leasing or maybe even short-term rentals. Another “hack” that not many people are familiar with is 1031 exchanges, which might be applicable in your situation.

Creating passive income

Traditionally, people rely on a big nest egg or a pension for their retirement. If you’re on your way to getting one or both of those, that’s great. But the reality is that for many people, they’re either not a possibility, or they’re underestimating the amount of money needed to have a comfortable retirement.

This is why creating passive income streams is a big cornerstone of retirement planning. What is passive income? As the name suggests, it’s income that is passive. It’s money that comes in regularly and requires minimal work or energy.

Of course, making money is not easy, but there are smart ways to go about it. You probably already have passive income that you’re not aware of. If you have money in a traditional bank, that generates passive income for you through the interest banks give.

Unfortunately, interest rates in traditional banking are tragically low. In the last several years, there has been a rise in the popularity of high-yield savings accounts, often called HYSA. Most traditional banks offer this type of account. They can generate more than ten times the interest of your traditional savings. Simply transferring your savings to a well-vetted HYSA can give you regular passive income that’s nothing to laugh at. The amount’s likely not enough to cover expenses, but it’s money you’re leaving on the table otherwise. 

Interest income is just one type of passive income. Long-term investing in dividend-earning stocks is another stream you can explore. 

Increasing your savings rate

Take an honest look at your expenses and income. Do you have clarity into how much money you spend versus the money you make? Are you making good money but feel like you barely keep your head above water? Unfortunately, this feeling is familiar to many Americans.

Saving a small percentage of each paycheck has been the traditional advice, but the reality is, it won’t be enough if you want a comfortable retirement. You have to increase your savings rate or the percentage of your after-tax income you put aside for retirement. Of course, it all begins with tracking your spending. You need to know how much you need for necessities and how much you spend on wants. From your expenses, look at what can be reduced without sacrificing your family’s quality of life. Budget for wants, but don’t go overboard. Anything left over is for savings.

Many people will find that the amount left is not very much, and this is where you need to make changes. There are only two ways to increase your savings rate: increase your income or reduce your spending.

Increasing your income is always best because you can only reduce so much before your quality of life gets pinched. With that in mind, think of ways to earn extra cash or maybe explore the first two strategies. Planning for retirement can be daunting, but the sooner you tackle it, the better off you’ll be.