Retiring soon? Here are 5 money tips to get ahead

With enough research and the right know-how, you can set yourself up well for a smooth retirement. Photo: Getty

Are you retiring soon but worried about taking the financial leap?

Here are five tricks and tips to help you get ahead (financially) in the long term.

1. Reassess all your finances

Treat retirement like any other major life stage or milestone and evaluate where you spend your money and what needs to change to best set you up for retirement, according to comparethemarket.com.au general manager of banking Rod Attrill.

This might mean writing down and rethinking daily and weekly travel habits and swapping the car for public transport more often, which could help you save hundreds across fuel and parking.

2. Understand your assets in retirement

Analyse your annuities or any extra super payments you can make. You can currently make super contributions of up to $25,000 before tax, Attrill points out.

“Consider looking into bonds and debentures (term deposits), blue chip shares, investing in property and precious metals such as gold too,” he said.

3. Revisit your insurance policies

If you’ve neglected your health insurance policy, you might be paying for cover that you don’t really need anymore as you get older, such as pregnancy.

But what you might start needing is cover for things like joint replacements or cataract surgery.

Go over other insurance policies you might have such as for your car and hunt for deals with lower premiums.

4. Consider part time work

If you’re not quite prepared to make that jump from working full-time to not working at all, there are a number of low-intensity jobs available that can help keep your mind and body active.

This can include tutoring, book-keeping, Uber driving, dog sitting or walking, gardening, and blogging.

Find these roles on job websites such as Seek or look for roles on community boards, or draw on your friends and your networks to see what else might be around for part-time work.

5. Find a good deal on your energy bill

The government offers various discounts and concessions for pension card holders.

However, this can vary from state to state – if you’re a Queenslander you’ll get a rebate of $340.85, while NSW residents will get a rebate of $285.

Reconsider bills and usage in other areas such as the internet and decide whether you will stick to memberships and subscriptions that you currently have, such as to the gym, community groups or magazines, when you move into retirement.

Make your money work with Yahoo Finance’s daily newsletter. Sign up here and stay on top of the latest money, news and tech news.

Read next: What your debt stress REALLY costs you

Read next: Here’s the trick to making smarter, quicker decisions

Read next: How to MAKE money from Labor’s plan to change negative gearing