Saving & Spending

8 Must-Do Things Before 60 For a Stress-Free Retirement

Last updated April 8, 2025 | By FinanceBuzz Editors

Do you dream of a stress-free retirement? Maybe even an early retirement? (Now we're talking!) Of course, you do — you're human, after all.

Unfortunately, there's a common mistake that holds people back from making that dream a reality: People often make a mental checklist of things to do by the time they retire when they should really have those things done five to ten years before retiring.

If you're looking to retire by 65 (or sooner), you'll want to have everything below checked off before 60.

But have no fear! If you don't have one checked off yet, this page will show you how to get started.

Ohio Drivers: Say Goodbye to High Auto Insurance Rates if You Live in These Zip Codes

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I used our new tool and now I’m able to pay just $50 a month for two cars.Too many insurance companies do this. They push up our rates and make us pay even more. But if you want to try this new tool and compare and score same-day savings, here’s what to do:

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Earn potentially $1,000s in basically passive income by opening this account ASAP

You can turn your existing money into even more money by basically doing nothing. Yes, it sounds insane. But it’s true — and it all depends on how early in life you open a high yield savings account.

The American Express® Savings High Yield Savings Account offers a rare 3.70% (as of Feb. 21, 2025) annual percentage yield (APY)1 — compared to the national average APY of 0.41% (as of Jan. 21, 2025). This could be worth hundreds, even thousands of dollars in passive income.

This is all thanks to compound interest — the earlier in life you start putting money into this type of account, the more you can earn over time. As Ben Franklin put it, “Money makes money. And the money that money makes, makes money.” Bam.

Let’s say you put $50,000 into a high yield account with a 3.70% (as of Feb. 21, 2025) APY at age 30. Then, you contribute $5,000 a year, every year, until age 50. At that rate with interest compounding daily, you’d walk away with $250,166.37! But ... if you start at age 45, you’d only have $87,117.29.2

Open an account today — the sooner, the better. There are NO fees, and you can withdraw your money whenever you need it. Plus, can rest assured that your funds are fully backed by the service reliability of American Express, Member FDIC. Terms Apply.

Click here to open an American Express High Yield Savings account

Talk to a financial advisor about retirement (even if you’re skeptical)

Maybe you never thought of working with a financial advisor. But if you’re nearing retirement and worried about not having enough savings, working with one could help fix that.

Wouldn’t it be nice to feel hopeful again? If you have $25,000+ to invest, let the professionals at J.P. Morgan Personal Advisors build you a personalized financial plan. You could actually achieve the comfortable retirement you gave up on years ago.

To get started, schedule a free one-on-one session with J.P. Morgan Personal Advisors.3It’s 100% free, you can do it from home, and all you have to do is talk. You could feel a sense of relief just from that first conversation.

Working with an advisor may sound scary, but J.P. Morgan’s advisors are fiduciaries, so you can be confident they have your best interest at heart.4Even better — J.P. Morgan Personal Advisors was named "#1 in Wealth Management Digital Experience for Advised Investors" by J.D. Power in 2024.5

Talk to a financial advisor about your goals for free

Earn major cash back and a high APY with this powerful account

If you don’t know about this powerful climate friendly account, listen up. You can earn up to an astounding 3.00% APY6on your money, plus up to 6% cash back7on over 100 climate-friendly brands including EV charging. But that’s just the beginning.

Sign up for this account from Aspiration, and paychecks arrive up to 2 days early when you set up Direct Deposit.8You’ll also get Mastercard® ID theft protection and purchase protection, including extended warranty and satisfaction guarantee.

Seriously. Aspiration is FDIC insured by Coastal Community Bank9… and about a million times better than all the other accounts out there. You even get access to over 55,000 fee-free ATMs, and there are no monthly fees on standard accounts as well as no minimum balance fees. And it’s good for the planet, too.

Sign up for an Aspiration account today

If you’re over 50, take advantage of massive discounts and financial resources

Over 50? Join AARP today — because if you’re not a member you could be missing out on huge perks. When you start your membership today, you can get discounts on things like travel, meal deliveries, eyeglasses, prescriptions that aren’t covered by insurance and more.

How to become a member today:

  • Go here, select your free gift, and click “Join Today” 
  • Create your account (important!) by answering a few simple questions 
  • Start enjoying your discounts and perks!

You’ll also get insider info on social security, job listings, caregiving, and retirement planning. And you’ll get access to AARP’s Fraud Watch Network to help you protect your money, as well as tools to help you plan for retirement.

Important: Start your membership by creating an account here and filling in all of the information (Do not skip this step!) Doing so will allow you to take up 25% off your AARP membership, making it just $15 the first year with auto-renewal.

Become an AARP member now

Pay no interest on balance transfers until nearly 2027

Imagine getting 18 months with 0% intro APR on a balance transfer (APR then 18.24% - 28.24% (Variable)). Sounds great — right? You could dramatically change your financial picture with this industry-leading card - the Citi Double Cash® Card.

If you want to kick high-interest credit card debt to the curb, this is one of the leading get-out-of-debt cards available. Transfer your high interest debt to this card with a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months. After the intro period for balance transfers, the APR is 18.24% - 28.24% (Variable). Your payments can go directly to paying down your balance without incurring a pile of additional charges. That could save you hundreds of dollars in interest!

It doesn't stop with balance transfers though. Cardholders can also earn double cash back — 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases; plus, a special travel offer, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/25. Even better, you can redeem your cash back as direct deposit, a statement credit, or even a mailed check! You can turn your everyday purchases into cash back and make a dent in your debt, regular bills, or save for the future.

The best part? There's no annual fee with the Citi Double Cash® Card(Rates and fees).

Click here to apply now for the Citi Double Cash® Card

Don’t pay a CENT to contractors for home repairs until you do this

Sounds crazy. And maybe you’re not even sure if this is real. But … you’re probably curious anyway. Choice Home Warranty makes it so you might be able to save $100s in home repairs!

They’ve been around since 2008 (so you know they’re legit) and they offer affordable plans to cover appliances and systems in your home that could break down from routine wear and tear.

Think of it like this: Say your air conditioning unit breaks down during a heatwave. Instead of paying $1,500 for repairs, you may only need to pay a $100 service fee with Choice Home Warranty, and their techs come and fix it ASAP. This could save you $1,400 almost instantly!

Choose a plan here and you can still lock in their ultra-low 2024 rates (for a limited time). Then, whenever a covered system in your home breaks down, all you have to do is make your claim online or give them a call. Their team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.10

Choose a plan from Choice Home Warranty here and lock in 2024 rates

P.S. Use the links above and you’ll get $50 off and 1 month free. We don’t know how long this will last, so take advantage of it today before it disappears.

Alert: In 2023 Americans lost over $10 billion to identity theft and fraud

That's right. According to the FTC, Americans lost over $10 Billion to fraud and identity theft in 2023.

But you can safeguard your data with all-in-one identity theft protection services from Aura which comes with $1,000,000.00 in identity theft insurance11per adult, to cover you should you have eligible identity theft-related losses.

An individual plan starts at $9 per month, and you can choose a family plan that outmatches most others - includes Dark Web monitoring to scour data breaches and leaks for your sensitive personal data — such as Social Security numbers (SSN), Medicare information, and phone numbers.

Before you make your next online purchase, protect what you’ve built for a fraction of what it could cost you if your data were compromised.

Save up to 68% when you sign up for protection today!

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