If you never save for retirement, what happens to you? How much SHOULD you invest?
I'm only 25, but still at my age, I"ve just gone through lots of schooling, and spent all my money on things like housing, car, vacation, etc, all those frivolous things, and I never really saved, I'm n ot a millionaire, and I don't have a 401K or any type of plan yet. I have lots of family friends, and I live with my partner, who has some of those things, but I'm starting to feel like maybe I should already have some sort of a plan. Personally, I just don't think that far in advance, because I could be dead by then, but just HOW important is saving for retirement. Worst case scenario, if you have no plan, money, friends or family by then, will you end up being a homeless senior citizen, where do you technically end up? I'm not familiar with the programs this country has, if any. I'd like to start planning something, however it makes life SO monotone, everything is a plan. work, schooling, shopping, retirement, it takes the FUN out of living. Blah.
Public Comments
- If you have no money to retire on, you'll end up working in your golden age. That is no fun. Time is on your side. Instead of thinking of it as retirement money, think of it as your savings account. It doesn't sound as daunting. Pay yourself first. When you get your paycheck or income, put away 10% or better into a savings account. When you have a good amount, say $5,000, look into opening a brokerage account and invest that money in a mutual fund or a money market account. And keep adding to it, like the 10% you would normally save. And look at it in the long term. If you can manage, DO NOT touch that money at all until you retire. And beware of wolves in sheep clothing; there are plenty of people who will try to persuade you to invest in this, or that. Consult a personal financial planner (find two or more); listen to their advise. Run away if they try to sell you things or services.
- You should start investing as soon as possible if your work offers a 401K. Most will match a certain $ or % and if you don't contribute you are basically walking away from free money?!? Plus most 401K deductions are pretax dollars so enjoy the tax benefit savings instead of paying the taxes on $ and then trying to put it into savings. Start small...maybe 2 - 5% of your paycheck. Work your way up to at LEAST 10%. Cut out one lunch and a few lattes a week and you won't even notice the difference. You are still young...start now and you'll be fine. We are all living longer and senior populations are booming. There is no guarantee Social Security will be around in 40 years when you will need it. If you don't plan for yourself you may end up sick, alone and without the means to care for yourself. That is no way to go. So what if you die early and you never get to use the $. You'll be dead so what does it matter? Make sure you have a beneficiary that you love and trust attached to the $ so they can use the cash to pay for your funeral expenses and then maybe make their lives a little better. If you love them you wouldn't mind knowing that you can't use the $ so they might as well! Its not fun...I know. But its responsible and the right thing to do so you don't end up a burden on someone else. Plus I kind of get a little charge out of seeing my quarterly statements come in showing me how much I've earned. I'm proud when I read it knowing I earned that and am doing the right thing.
- the earlier you start saving, the less you have to save. if you start now and put $5000/yr into your 401kplan for only 5 years (25000) and you get an average annual return of 9%, you'll have 400,000 at age 62 - even more if your company matches. If you wait 15 years and put 10,000/yr into 401k for 5 yrs, you'll have to wait until you're 69 until you reach 400,000 and your started with twice as much investing each year - so start early and save as much as you can - if you don't save anything you could wind up homeless or living with your kids, eating dog food
