{"id":365492,"date":"2026-01-12T03:17:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T03:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/365492\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T03:17:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T03:17:21","slug":"5-best-money-habits-for-boomers-to-carry-into-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/365492\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Best Money Habits for Boomers To Carry Into 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The average retirement age is 62, as per MassMutual\u2019s 2024 Retirement Happiness Study<\/a>. This means that most baby boomers (born 1946 to 1964) are either already retired or are about to be.<\/p>\n

Retirement comes with quite a few changes, especially related to personal finances<\/a>. This means for boomers in 2026, certain money habits should probably change, while others should stay the same.<\/p>\n

GOBankingRates spoke with several financial experts about which money habits boomers should keep in 2026. Here\u2019s what they said.<\/p>\n

Also see five wealth-building habits to start in 2026 \u2014 even if no one ever taught you about money<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A new year is a good time to check in with your finances, starting with your household budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know your savings\/tax\/personal budget rate, and now you can anticipate how your salary may grow for the new year,\u201d said Marc Fowler, QKS, AIF, director of retirement education at Human Interest<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve retired, reevaluate your retirement income to make sure it\u2019s on track. You might want to run the numbers with inflation in mind. After all, the amount needed to live comfortably in 2025 might not be the same in 2026.<\/p>\n

Read More: 8 Frugal Habits You Should Never Quit, According to Frugal Living Expert Austin Williams<\/a><\/p>\n

Check Out: 6 Safe Accounts Proven To Grow Your Money Up To 13x Faster<\/a><\/p>\n

According to Cara Macksoud, a financial behavior specialist and CEO of Money Habitudes<\/a>, there are two types of boomers: those who are \u201cobedient savers\u201d and those who aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n

The former are those whose money habits were heavily influenced by their Depression-era parents and have lived with the fear that Social Security alone wouldn\u2019t be enough to live on in retirement. These are the boomers who contributed to their retirement plans and pensions, and who benefit from significant economic growth.<\/p>\n

Macksoud said many of these boomers experience the \u201cpain of paying.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSpending feels difficult because those account balances represent far more than money. They are a testament to discipline, responsibility, and having done everything right,\u201d she said. \u201cFor this group, the opportunity now is not frivolous spending but meaningful spending. Time has become more precious than money, and for many, time will run out before their savings do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boomers who have already been spending meaningfully can \u2014 and should \u2014 continue to do so. But those who\u2019ve been afraid of using their hard-earned money might want to loosen up a little and invest in those meaningful experiences they\u2019ve been putting off.<\/p>\n

The average person age 65 and up spends $61,432 annually, according to Federal Reserve data<\/a>. Whether that amount changes or stays the same, what matters is being aware and engaged.<\/p>\n

\u201cPriorities can shift quickly at this stage of life, and staying engaged helps prevent small issues from becoming stressful ones,\u201d said Linda Grizely<\/a>, CFP and financial wellness speaker. \u201cKeeping a clear view of cash flow, understanding how much is available to spend and being willing to adjust when costs rise, or circumstances change are key. Fixed income doesn\u2019t mean fixed decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The youngest boomers are still only in their early 60s, while the oldest ones are approaching 80. So the best money habits really depend on where they fall in terms of age.<\/p>\n

Older boomers should stay focused on their required minimum distributions<\/a> (RMDs). The IRS typically mandates RMDs to be taken once you turn 73. If you don\u2019t, any amount not taken may be subject to a 25% maximum excise tax. Those who\u2019ve already been taking their RMDs should continue to do so.<\/p>\n

Younger boomers who don\u2019t have to take RMDs should at least be aware of them. Chad Gammon, CFP, RICP, EA and owner at Custom Fit Financial<\/a>, also suggested considering Roth conversions and a retirement tax strategy.<\/p>\n

This is more relevant to boomers who are still working, but it\u2019s a wise move for anyone wanting to retire with the maximum amount possible in those retirement accounts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As per the IRS<\/a>, anyone aged 50 and up can contribute an extra $1,100 to their IRA or an extra $8,000 to their 401(k) plan in 2026. But new legislature allows for an even larger contribution for those who are older.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to provisions from the SECURE Act 2.0, an exciting change took effect in 2025 and will continue into 2026,\u201d Fowler said. \u201cIndividuals aged 60 to 63 (but not older than 64) in calendar year 2026 can make a \u2018super catch-up contribution\u2019 of up to $11,250.\u201d<\/p>\n

More From GOBankingRates<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com<\/a>: 5 Best Money Habits for Boomers To Carry Into 2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The average retirement age is 62, as per MassMutual\u2019s 2024 Retirement Happiness Study. This means that most baby…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365493,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[5063,84,4176,110772,14801,4174,4175,30384,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-365492","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-baby-boomers","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-finance","11":"tag-household-budget","12":"tag-money-habits","13":"tag-personal-finance","14":"tag-personalfinance","15":"tag-retirement-income","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}