Planning for retirement will involve a lot of hard work. It is essential that you make sure you have as much money as possible in your account when you stop working for a living. While there are lots of commonly talked about retirement and saving schemes that you can use, some people like to think outside of the box, and so there are some unusual ideas on this page that you might want to consider. Take a moment to read the information below and see if you can use any of it to your advantage. Hopefully, these suggestions will help some readers to get more cash in their accounts and raise their quality of life after retirement.
Sell your collectibles
Lots of people spend their entire lives collecting original toys, and other items they claim will increase in value. If you made the right moves during your working life, there is a chance that you might have lots of collectibles you could sell before retirement to raise some extra cash. That could give you extra money or help to clear your debts. Sure, that strategy means you’ll have to part with the items you’ve spent years buying. However, you almost certainly justified those purchases by claiming they were investments. So, now is the best time to work out the value of all those items and place them in niche auctions to ensure you get the best prices possible.
You may be surprised about what you have that is considered collectible. Many high quality used items from your past may have a bigger resale value than you think. Some quick online research may surprise you. I found in my closet my old and forgotten 1986 Air Jordan sneakers that I used to play basketball that I had stored in their original box. I discovered there was a collector market for them and eBay bidding returned a tidy $1084. Look around, you never know what you may have.
Seek any compensation
There are various limits on how much time you have to seek compensation following an accident or injury. Take the time to think back to your working life during the last decade. Did you have to take time off work or end up in the hospital due to the negligence of your employers? If so, now is the best time to meet with this lawyer or other industry experts to determine whether or not you still have a case. In most instances, it doesn’t matter if you still work for the company or not. The legal professionals you consult will hear your story and let you know if they can assist.
If you have experienced loss due to another’s negligence, then don’t allow some overall sense of loyalty or disdain of taking legal action hinder your right to be compensated. I know that I “took it for the team” on a couple of occasions during my long career. I quietly toed the company line without compensation and now have to live with those injuries from long ago.
Research your family history
Many people start researching their family history when they retire. However, you need to do that for financial reasons, and this section will explain the ins and outs. There are thousands of people in the US entitled to benefit from their deceased relative’s estates. However, most of those folks never make claims in court for the money because they are unaware it exists. Maybe you discover you had a wealthy uncle who didn’t have any children? That could mean there is money in the pot for which you are entitled if you state your claim in court. Many times, a simple search for State’s unclaimed property will result in finding family names, both living and passed. It’s not a guaranteed strategy for boosting your finances, but it’s worth considering.
You have come to the end of this post, and so you should now have some unusual ideas for increasing your savings before retirement. Any additional funds to your life’s retirement savings will add tremendously to your retirement. Take a moment to think about each of the suggestions on this page, and then push ahead with the one that gives you the best chance of success. If nothing else, use these less common ideas to spur your own thoughts of unusual ways to increase your savings before retirement. Nobody wants to struggle for cash when they stop working, and so there is no time to delay!
Good ideas and probably overlooked by most people. You have likely quite a few things laying around that are worth more than you would believe. One that surprised me was my “Hotwheels/ Matchbox” car collection I still have. Some of those cars are worth a few hundred or more each now. I have to really do some research before selling them one day. Also my Mom has some old holiday decorations and other antiques from my Grandmother that have some value. Some things you think are only worth like $1 at a yard sale are worth $25, $50, or $100+. My Grandmother got $100K from an insurance policy from her sister that was sitting in an unclaimed property in another state. Once we were aware of that, I searched the site myself and found another policy for her for $1800 from about 50 years ago. Lots of other ways to boost your income. You just have to think outside the box sometimes.
Thanks for the comment Arrgo. I have some of my old toys too that I need to research. I think we all have stashed away things of value that we seldom think about and could sell for extra cash to someone who really feels like they need to have them. Like I mentioned in this post, my old basketball shoes that I wore for two county recreation basketball seasons in 1986 and 1987 brought a surprising amount.
Tommy
You need to be creative when saving for retirement since retirement expenses are becoming more expensive particularly health care and long term care. This is actually a good list that can help boost your retirement savings. You can get a lot of money in selling your collectibles alone. These are really good investments since their value will go up in time. In addition to this, you can also try negotiating your credit card interest rate if you have one. Making light threats might do the trick like considering their competitor. You might just get what you want since companies would do anything just to keep you. Dropping a few interest rates can benefit you in the long run.
Thanks for the comment ALTCP. Good point about interest rates. Same goes for auto and homeowners insurance. Sometimes we just have to think outside the box.
Tommy
Hi, very good article
thanks for sharing keep up good work
Thanks for the comment 60+. I’ll try.
Tommy