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Retirement, Getting Close To Retirement Age?
by Robert Michael
If you find yourself getting close to retirement age without a nest egg, do not despair. There are still things you can do during your 40s and 50s to get yourself prepared for retirement. They include figuring out how much money you will need during retirement, income sources like social security or retirement pensions, setting goals, start contributing to your 401 (k), be aggressive, downsize, and eliminate debt to name a few.
The first thing you should do if you find yourself close to retirement with no savings is to calculate the amount of money you will need during retirement as well as what age you plan on retiring. You will find many resources online that will help you come up with this number such as retirement calculators.
Once you have a general number you will need for your retirement, then you should figure out the income you will receive each year in social security benefits, pensions, other retirement accounts, 401(k) plans and the like. Be conservative when figuring this number because you do not want to overestimate. Then, you can subtract what you will be earning each year from what you need to live comfortably and that will give you the money you need to save.
Now that you know how much money you will need on average you can set some savings goals for yourself. There are plenty of ways you can save money from shopping with coupons to taking your lunch to work with you to not buying a new car every year. Wherever you are spending money and can scale back, do. It will mean the difference between a happy retirement or a stressful one.
Next, if you have a 401(k) plan and are not using it, start! Start depositing the maximum allowed so you can get your retirement account beefed up and prepared for your years of relaxation. Also, see if your employer has a match program as well, this is free money and will help your nest egg grow that much quicker.
If you have some investments, consider getting a little aggressive with them. The stock market and mutual funds are a good place to start, and with the help of a stock broker you can likely turn a little money into a lot pretty quickly.
If you are still concerned about making it during retirement consider downsizing to a smaller home, less expensive car, fewer vacations, and less shopping sprees. This might take some effort, but it will be worthwhile to be able to retire happily and not continue working when you are 75 years old.
And finally, eliminate any debt you have. Do this as quickly and aggressively as possible because the longer you wait the more money you will have to pay. So, if you pay it off quickly it might be difficult, but it will allow you to save more money for retirement in the long run.
About The Author: Robert Michael is a writer for K Retirement which is an excellent place to find retirement links, resources and articles. For more information go to: http://www.kretirement.com
These articles on lifestyle and more
Return to the selection of retirement
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You may want to try these websites for additional information
http://www.fool.com/retirement.htm?refG02A04
http://www.opm.gov/retire/html/library/csrs.asp
http://www.fool.com/personal-finance/retirement/2007/05/03/hot-retirement-tips.aspx
The information provided in this article is the express opinion of the author. Exchangenet is not responsible for the content!
If you find yourself getting close to retirement age without a nest egg, do not despair. There are still things you can do during your 40s and 50s to get yourself prepared for retirement. They include figuring out how much money you will need during retirement, income sources like social security or retirement pensions, setting goals, start contributing to your 401 (k), be aggressive, downsize, and eliminate debt to name a few.
The first thing you should do if you find yourself close to retirement with no savings is to calculate the amount of money you will need during retirement as well as what age you plan on retiring. You will find many resources online that will help you come up with this number such as retirement calculators.
Once you have a general number you will need for your retirement, then you should figure out the income you will receive each year in social security benefits, pensions, other retirement accounts, 401(k) plans and the like. Be conservative when figuring this number because you do not want to overestimate. Then, you can subtract what you will be earning each year from what you need to live comfortably and that will give you the money you need to save.
Now that you know how much money you will need on average you can set some savings goals for yourself. There are plenty of ways you can save money from shopping with coupons to taking your lunch to work with you to not buying a new car every year. Wherever you are spending money and can scale back, do. It will mean the difference between a happy retirement or a stressful one.
Next, if you have a 401(k) plan and are not using it, start! Start depositing the maximum allowed so you can get your retirement account beefed up and prepared for your years of relaxation. Also, see if your employer has a match program as well, this is free money and will help your nest egg grow that much quicker.
If you have some investments, consider getting a little aggressive with them. The stock market and mutual funds are a good place to start, and with the help of a stock broker you can likely turn a little money into a lot pretty quickly.
If you are still concerned about making it during retirement consider downsizing to a smaller home, less expensive car, fewer vacations, and less shopping sprees. This might take some effort, but it will be worthwhile to be able to retire happily and not continue working when you are 75 years old.
And finally, eliminate any debt you have. Do this as quickly and aggressively as possible because the longer you wait the more money you will have to pay. So, if you pay it off quickly it might be difficult, but it will allow you to save more money for retirement in the long run.
About The Author: Robert Michael is a writer for K Retirement which is an excellent place to find retirement links, resources and articles. For more information go to: http://www.kretirement.com
These articles on lifestyle and more
Reprint this article free of charge as long as you keep the author's resource box or bio intact and the links active. A copy of the ezine or URL of the page where the article was reprinted emailed to the author would be very much appreciated. retirement
Return to the selection of retirement
You may want to try these articles on retirement
Retirement, 10 Ways To Transition Yourself Into Retirement by Cynthia Barnett Approximately 865 Words
Retirement, Why Prepare For Retirement? by David Sanders Approximately 486 Words
Retirement, Saving For Retirement Is Something Many People Put Off, But Why? by Robert Michael Approximately 527 Words
Retirement, Spring Cleaning In Retirement by Cynthia Barnett Approximately 705 Words
Retirement, Will Women Face Financial Hardship In Retirement? by Debra Lohrere Approximately 794 Words
Retirement, Planning For A Comfortable Retirement by Chris Snow Approximately 503 Words
Retirement, What Are The Benefits Of Using A Back Chiropractor? by Stephen Madsen Approximately 415 Words
You may want to try these websites for additional information
http://www.fool.com/retirement.htm?refG02A04
http://www.opm.gov/retire/html/library/csrs.asp
http://www.fool.com/personal-finance/retirement/2007/05/03/hot-retirement-tips.aspx
The information provided in this article is the express opinion of the author. Exchangenet is not responsible for the content!