Boring, but essential: Get these things sorted before you turn 60
There are many things in the personal finance realm that fall into the 'boring, but essential' bucket. For example, every time I prattle on about superannuation, or sitting down to do your tax return – hint, hint. They're all things we have to do, but not things we want to do (though joke's on you, I love prattling about superannuation).
A prime example of this is estate planning, which has the double whammy of requiring you to both a) think about your impending death, and b) do a lot of dull paperwork.
But it's absolutely essential to get your will sorted out, so much so that many experts recommend you write one as soon as you turn 18. Obviously, the vast majority of us don't actually do that because we're too busy partying and being cool, and indeed, if I unexpectedly passed away right now there'd be no documentation on how to distribute my collection of rare Yu-Gi-Oh cards, so that's a pity.
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What's the problem?
Realistically, a lot of us leave it until later in life to think about drawing up a will, usually when we have significant enough assets and dependants to pass those assets on to. This means you might be in your 50s or 60s by the time you actually get around to it; 93 per cent of people in their 70s have a will.
We also leave it that late to do myriad other important things that can make a huge difference to our (and our loved ones') quality of life. And I get it, things can get away from you, and, again, no one likes sitting down and doing boring stuff. But once retirement starts to peer around the corner, there are some things you really should get onto.
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