Whether you are 40 years away from retirement or you’re coming towards the end of your working career, it is really important, if you want to be able to live well when you do finally give up work, that you take planning for your retirement really seriously.
With that in mind, here are my top tips for planning towards a comfortable retirement:
Create a family budget
Creating a personal or family budget now will enable you to see where you are wasting money so that you can make savings and start putting those savings to good use for your future. There are tons of apps that will help you very quickly create a budget, so there is nothing to stop you from getting in control of your finances right now.
Start now
If you have not already started saving towards your retirement, now is the time to do so and you can start simply by putting a little aside in a savings account each month, so that it will earn compound interest while you start learning about 401(k)s, how annuities work and all the other important stuff you need to know to more effectively plan for your retirement.
The sooner you start saving, the more wealth you will accumulate offer time, after all.
Contribute to your 401(k)
If your employer offers a 401(k), then it is a really good idea to start contributing to it as soon as you can because you will not be taxed on a significant portion of the money you save in a 401(k) which means your money will start working fo you as soon as you make that first deposit.
Get an individual retirement account
Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are another good addition to your retirement fund. They are basically savings accounts that can be used towards your retirement. Contributions are often tax-deductible and tax-free if you access them after the age of 59.5, which means you can get significant tax breaks by saving in this way.
Diversify your portfolio
The best way to grow your money is by investing it and the safest way to invest your money is by splitting it across a wide number of investments from stocks san shares in huge corporations to property and commodities such as gold. The more diverse your portfolio, the less risk there is likely to be and the more secure your financial future is likely to be too.
Look into catch-up contributions
If you are over 50, you may be able to take advantage of catch-up contributions which enable you to exceed their usual limits on IRAs and 401(k)s so you can build up your retirement funds if you were not able to do so when you were younger. This is an excellent way to build up some security later in life, so definitely check if you’re eligible.
If you put these money tips into action in your life, you can expect to retire much more comfortably than if you do not, that’s for sure!
