Coming to a decision over which assets to sell can be very difficult. But if you find yourself in a situation with an income shortfall, you may have no other choice.
In certain circumstances, it makes financial sense to release any money locked away as an asset to help you during times of financial difficulty, to reduce or clear debts.
If you have assets that you’re willing to sell, such as a car, watch or other valuable items, you could consider selling them to release the money and use it to help you while you’re struggling.
Typical items that may have value and can be easily sold include jewellery, watches and antiques. You can also consider larger items, like cars, caravans, bikes and property or land, but these will usually take longer to sell.
Obviously, what you choose to sell will be dictated by exactly how much of a shortfall you need to cover.
If you have two cars, it may be worth investigating how much use you are getting out of your second car.
In retirement, you may find that you do most things with your partner and that you are holding onto the second car purely out of habit. If you drive both cars frequently, but make most of your trips together, selling a second car can be the easiest asset to cash in.
This comes with the additional benefit of significantly reducing your expenses, with no maintenance or registration costs for a second vehicle.
If the second car option doesn’t describe your situation, you should start by looking at assets that you no longer use, or use significantly less than you used to. This may include jewellery or watches, but might also be a boat or a caravan, depending on your situation.
The final option you may want to consider is releasing the equity in your home by downsizing. This can be a very viable option, but it can have an effect on your pension payments and you may be better off searching for funds elsewhere if you are only looking to temporarily fix an income shortfall.
Downsizing is a very creditable option, but you do need to make sure you are doing it for the right reasons.
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