4 Financial Milestones You Must Reach Before Retirement

Are you ready to retire? You might be looking forward to saying goodbye to the 40-hour work week, but financial readiness is a different thing. In truth, living without a paycheck requires more than some money in the bank and the ability to cash Social Security checks. You also need to have the right financial habits in place.

It's easy to be overconfident about our financial skills when we're earning a paycheck. Regular income increases from annual raises and the occasional promotion allow us to cut corners and catch up later. But once the paycheck goes away, there's no more catching up. You have to live on a perpetually fixed income. And that will quickly expose any lax money habits you might have.

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