Gruesome retirement ahead? Try consulting

Gruesome retirement ahead? The Motley Fool says that’s the kind of retirement for which many people are headed. About one in three people would rather scrub a bathroom than plan for retirement! And about 2 in 5 people aged 55 and over have less than $25,000 saved. Yikes!

If you’re looking to step up your retirement savings contributions, consulting’s a good bet. Even consulting part-time can allow you to throw an extra $200 or $1000 a month into your retirement coffers. And you can use consulting as a transition to retirement. You could start out consulting full-time, then three-quarter time, then half-time, quarter-time, sporadically and so on. This is a great solution for people who want to take early retirement but will still have kids in college or high school, too.

A retirement calculator can be a good (but sobering) way to check your numbers. (I tried Googling for one, but all I could find were Canadian versions. What’s with Canadians and retirement planning?!)

Are you planning to consult during retirement? Drop me a line.