Keep Saving for Retirement Simple

Saving for retirement shouldn’t be complex. Here’s how to keep it simple.

The number 1 thing to keep in mind when saving for retirement is consistency. Overthinking elaborate investment schemes is not as effective as it is to keep things simple and invest on a regular basis.

Whether you have a 401k (or 403b) and/or a Roth IRA, it’s best to put away 12 to 17 percent of your income. If you work for a company that matches your investments, but not up to the recommended percentage, invest up to what your company will match and put the rest in a Roth IRA.

It’s important to keep in mind, that obviously, saving for your golden years is a slow process over many years. And the longer it’s in there, the more it accumulates interest—it begins to ‘snowball’ if you will.  

Where a lot of people fail saving for retirement is that their retirement savings is their only emergency funds. Having to take money out of retirement to pay debt, cover loss of job or pay for medical bills is extremely costly and unfortunate. The most secure way to save for retirement is to make sure you have plenty of savings for urgent needs so you’re never in a position to take money from your future self.

Everybody’s situation is different. It’s best to get sound counsel from a financial expert. We get you going in the right direction today. Give us a call.

Image courtesy of jeremypair on flickr;