Whether you are just out of college with your first job, or are halfway through your career, it is never too late to save for future retirement. Well, actually, it can be too late if you never save and are not left with much when it is time to enjoy your golden years, hoping to live off social security wages that you will be lucky to make ends meet. One excuse for a lack of savings can be thinking that you are making too little of salary to have anything left over to save. While it will be a struggle, you will have to sacrifice, but with a few hints, you can still have ample savings for the future.
Know Your Partner’s Finances Before Marriage
We all have our shortcomings and if you are fortunate enough to find love, by no means is poor finances a deal breaker, but you will need to do your research before taking that next step down the aisle. Have an open conversation about income level, current savings, and any outstanding debt. Student debt is one thing, but if you have a potential partner with outstanding credit card debt or personal loans in addition to student loan, it could set you back years of potential earnings to rely on in the future.
Keep a Similar Goal Oriented Support System
Not to say that you have to surround yourself with a bunch of cheapskates, but if you are around those that like to buy new things and splurge on unnecessary purchases, it may make it difficult for you to stay on track to save. You may even start to feel that you are cheap yourself, although you are being smart. It is good to bounce ideas of friends and family that are savvy investors, as well as being on the same page of your partner or spouse to have the same end game.
Delay Life Experiences
Life is all about the experiences, and I am certainly not one to give up living life entirely in order to grow your bank account, but there needs to be a fine line. If funds are tight, then maybe you go to the bar with your friends once a month instead of every week. Maybe you go out for dinner for special occasions instead of a few times a week. Any way you can cut corners in order to save will help, and especially if you are trying to build an emergency fund now or pay off debt, then it might be best to save all this year and put some experiences on hold until next year when you are in a better place.
Live Modestly
As you progress in your career you will hopefully continue to rise up the corporate ladder, or begin to work for yourself, but it is important that as your salary increases, your spending does not grow as well. It is true that the more you make the more you spend, so be sure to put whatever raise you get directly into retirement savings so that you will not notice.
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