Saving money for retirement can be easy or difficult depending on your current salary. If you are like 75 percent of the American population, earning just enough money in your current job to meet your monthly bills, then it's time to do some serious thinking on how you are going to live when you retire.
Social Security isn't going to meet all your monthly payments. That is, if Social Security, or some revised form of it, still exists when your day of retirement arrives.
Here are some tips on how to save today for your future. No matter how little, or how much, you earn today.
Estimate how much you must save to give you the income you know is necessary for you to retire in comfort.
Experts suggest that you will need an income equaling about 75 percent of your current take home pay. Be sure to estimate a rise in inflation which has historically been about 5.3 percent per year.
Figure out how much of your current salary will need have to save each year to achieve your retirement goal by counting backward from the year you plan to retire to see how many years you have before retirement. Include the possibility of being on a fixed income for as long as 20 or 30 years. Depending on how many years you have until retirement a U.S. Treasury bond that guarantees six percent interest might be considered, while stocks might have the potential for a much higher return, but has a much higher risk of loss.
A financial planner, stockbroker, or an accountant, can offer guidance, expertise and access to knowledge about almost any type of investment or retirement planning concerns.
Spread your money out over a variety of investments. Some will prosper while others may fail.
Set up an automatic draft from your bank account from your paycheck so that a portion of your income goes directly into your retirement funds. Pay off major debts, such as home mortgages, college loans and other significant cash-flow drains, as quickly as you can.
For more information visit: http://www.apluswriting.net/finance/retire.htm
REQUIREMENTS FOR REPRINT: You have permission to publish this article free of charge in your e-zine, newsletter, ebook, print publication or on your website ONLY if it remains unchanged and you include the copyright and author information (Resource Box) at the end. You may not use this article in any unsolicited commercial email (spam).
You may retrieve this article by:
Autoresponder: retire99@getresponse.com
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net/articles/retire.txt
Copyright: 2005 Marilyn Pokorney
Please leave the resource box intact with an active link, and send a courtesy copy of the publication in which the article appears to: marilynp@nctc.net
Author: Marilyn Pokorney
Freelance writer of science, nature, animals and the environment.
Also loves crafts, gardening, and reading.
Website: http://www.apluswriting.net
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
article_text... Read More
You've been thinking that your financial life could probably be better, right? Maybe you think, "If I could just stick to a budget everything will be fine?", or how about "When I get that next raise or promotion, I'll have enough money to pay off my debts and save some money?" You may even be thinking,"I can do this on my own!"I hear these comments and more on a regular basis... Read More
What is "The Commodity of Kings""Power is simply "the ability to act... Read More
Before I had a lot of money, I was really quite happy," said Oprah Winfrey... Read More
Have you stopped to realize that although you go to school to learn about important subjects, no one teaches you how to manage your money? Money is an essential part of life in our pursuit of happiness, yet very rarely will a parent sit down and tech their child how to handle their money... Read More
Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes -- Envision your life 10 or even 20 years from now... Read More
Compounding: The Ninth Wonder of the WorldBy Nicola Cairncross Compounding is often described as the ninth wonder of the world... Read More
"Ooooooh," you may say, "I could NEVER be good at marketing, I'm just not that sort of person... Read More