There are some great ideas in this article by Joe Udo.
Steve
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Last week, the Employee Benefit Research Institute released their 2013 Retirement Confidence Survey, and the results aren’t unexpected. About half of the people surveyed have no or little confidence that they will have enough money to retire comfortably.
Workers know they have to save more, but they aren’t able to do it. Some 20 percent say they need to save between 20 and 25 percent of their income, and 23 percent say they should save more than 30 percent of pay.
What if you are in your 40s and have no retirement savings? It would have been better if you started saving for retirement earlier, but it is not too late. Here are nine simple things you can do now to prepare for retirement:
1. Cut spending. If you are in the half of the population that worries about retirement, you can do something about it now by reducing your spending. The first step toward retirement saving is to examine your monthly expenses and see what you can cut. You’ll have to ask yourself if you’d rather spend $1,092 a year on coffee or prepare for retirement. Once you reduce your spending, the rest of the steps will be much easier to do.
2. Increase your income. Cutting spending is an essential first step, but you also need to increase your income so you can save more. The economy is starting to get better, so hopefully there will be some opportunities in your field. Some ways to increase your income are higher education, training, switching jobs, or just finding an extra job.
3. Pay off your consumer debts. Credit card and other high-interest debt can take a huge bite out of your income. Many households carry credit card balances and pay a lot of interest to the bank every month. Wouldn’t it be better to channel that money to your future self instead?
Read the complete article here: 9 Simple Ways to Worry Less About Retirement – On Retirement (usnews.com).
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