Tuesday, July 13, 2010

How And When To Start Saving For Retirement

... adapted from christianpf.com

There are many financial gurus who tell you to start saving for retirement NOW! No matter what, you should begin right away! This can be unwise advice for many people, as some are not financially stable in the present time in order to adequately contribute to a retirement fund and might forego necessities for the sake of the future.

Instead, there is a financial template that we should follow to ensure success. The basics are as follows:

Meet all short-term financial needs.
For example: paying for food, lights, shelter, and reasonable clothing.

Meet all medium-term financial goals.
For example: paying of debt, building your emergency fund, beginning to regularly save for retirement, kid’s college educations, etc.

Meet all long-term financial wants.
For example: building wealth to live the way you desire, where you want, doing those things that give you fulfillment.

Any plan built around this template has a great head start. Of course, you want to make sure you start saving for retirement as early as possible, but you don’t want to get ahead of yourself.

Once you have met all your more immediate financial obligations, it’s time to get that retirement account rolling!

How To Begin Your Retirement Savings
One of the most important points about retirement investing is to not invest until you UNDERSTAND what you are investing into. Make sure you fully comprehend the ins and outs of your portfolio. To begin, you’ll need an advisor that has a heart for teaching and training. Don’t hire someone who simply wants to sell you on the latest and greatest. Find someone who will take the time to teach you how to invest wisely.

The End Result
If you start your retirement planning when it is most opportune for you, and you contribute the recommended amount, you will be wealthy in the end. Remember not to get too far ahead of yourself. Take it slow and learn before you jump into an investment. I’m confident that if you follow these principles, you’ll have enough money to last you throughout your latter years.

Retirement is within reach.
By asking yourself the difficult questions about where you want to be in life, you can effectively mold your future. What do you want to do in the future? How do you want to live?

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