Planning for retirement is just as hard as keeping yourself financially stable in your current phase of life, with the intent of saving up for yourself as long as you can for as long as you live. And as life expectancy increases, the need for retirement financial planning is now more than ever important.

Let’s get to it and go over some practical strategies to ensure that your retirement savings will last throughout your lifetime.

Understand your spending needs in retirement. There’s a universal rule of thumb in saving, and it says that the best contingency is planning for eighty percent of your pre-retirement income to initially cover your retirement expenses. So if you think that this works with your desired lifestyle, then it’s a good way to start. Either way, you can always adjust depending on your personal lifestyle.

Create a withdrawal strategy. There are also considerations that need to be made for when you can withdraw your savings early without a big impact on your retirement plan, especially when the unexpected happens. Assess the conditions of the financial market first so you’ll know how to set the guidelines for yourself based on your savings and lifestyle.

Diversify your investments. A good retirement portfolio balances your assets and the bonds that you have so that your savings can still grow regardless of the financial condition of the market. High and low-risk investments can go hand in hand because they give your savings growth either way. For this strategy, you can ask your financial advisor to assist you better.

Plan for healthcare expenses. Supplemental insurances for healthcare can be a great advantage to you, as healthcare is often one of the largest expenses you will encounter in retirement. If you faced the planning for healthcare costs early on, you could provide yourself with a buffer against the dread of medical expenses.

Consider part-time work or passive income. In this day and age, hobbies can turn into something that can give you income. If you have current financial burdens, it gives you an added layer of means to keep your finances secure, so you need not withdraw your emergency funds when unexpected expenses happen.

Monitor and adjust your plan regularly. And just like any other progress, you also need to track your insurance policies regularly, so you can make adjustments early on and check if you are on track if you feel like the initial goals you’ve set are already set in stone.

Being financially smart means keeping yourself in balance.

Planning, monitoring, adapting—your retirement savings is like a game of strategy where you need to balance your finances early on so you can give yourself the lifestyle you so long aspired to want. Remember that even if you are still in the process of keeping your finances afloat, as long as you give yourself the best retirement plan, anything is possible. Don’t forget to enjoy life now, even if you dream of enjoying it in the future too.