Daily Money - These Are Retirees’ Top 5 Regrets

They say hindsight is 20/20 … at least for those who don’t wear corrective lenses. So one of the best ways to prepare for a major life event is to heed the advice of those who have experienced it. Retirement is no exception.

My Retired Life is a YouTube channel that’s getting attention for its candid interviews with 70- and 80-year-olds. According to one of the videos, titled “Retirement Regrets,” there are a handful of recurring themes among retirees asked what they lament most, including:

1. Not retiring earlier
2. Not spending more money when they first retired
3. Not taking better care of their health
4. Not finding a hobby
5. Not traveling more

The video, which has amassed nearly half a million views, shares important lessons about preparing for retirement beyond boilerplate recommendations like “maximize your IRA contributions” and “find passive income streams.”

As legendary (and 98-year-old) entertainer Dick Van Dyke once said, “Retirement means doing what you have fun doing.” When you get to that landmark stage, never forget to reward yourself for the decades of determination and planning it required. You earned it.

Research has found that younger Americans are positioned to have greater financial security after leaving the workforce than those in older generations. While just over one-third of Gen Z workers are projected to run out of money during retirement, an estimated 52% of boomers are expected to suffer the same fate. 

Currently, many high-yield savings accounts are offering around 5% APY. With returns like these, why settle for anything less? For example, if you were to deposit $1,000 into an account with a 5% APY, you could have upwards of $1,600 after 10 years. That’s the beauty of compound interest — and one of the perks of opening a high-yield savings account. But move fast, because those sweet APYs may start to drop when the Fed cuts rates.

Check out Money’s list of the best high-yield savings accounts and start growing your savings today.

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