Retirement regrets: What retirees would say to their younger selves.
By Michelle Singletary in the Washington Post I’ve spent my whole life talking to myself. “No, Michelle you don’t need to stop and get food. Go home and cook and save money. “No, Michelle you shouldn’t buy that dress. You can wear what you have to the party.” “No, Michelle you can’t spend that raise. Put it toward your retirement savings.” I’m pretty good at fussing at myself. And yet, I still have some regrets. I would have more in my 401(k) had I not been so afraid of investing in equities. For years, my retirement account was too conservative overloaded with fixed income investments with low returns compared to the S&P 500 Index. I could just kick my scared younger self. With the help of a financial planner and increasing my retirement savings over the years, my 401(k) is doing well. But my portfolio would probably be worth 20 percent to 30 percent more had I not been so risk-adverse. Last week I asked: If you could, what retirement planning advice would you gi