There used to be a singular notion of retirement: Walk away from your career one day and begin a life of leisure the next. You never envision working another day in your life. When planning for the retirement date circled on your calendar, you saved as much as you could for decades to ensure that you’d have enough money to comfortably live out your golden years.
This one-size-fits-all approach to retirement – and the financial planning that supports it – is rapidly changing.
Owning a home outright is a dream that many Americans share. Having a mortgage can be a huge burden, and paying it off may be the first item on your financial to-do list. But competing with the desire to own your home free and clear is your need to invest for retirement, your child’s college education, or some other goal. Putting extra cash toward one of these goals may mean sacrificing another. So how do you choose?