You Don't Need to Be Rich to Retire Well

Tips to Get You Off to Retirement on a Budget

By Rosa Hayes, published Oct 17, 2007
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The myth that goes along with retirement is that you need a large income to retire the way that you would like. Capture the part where I said that it was a myth. The truth is that all you need is a plan for your retirement and a plan for now.

Let's say that there was a very wealthy guy who only invested what he felt that he would need when he retired, the rest was his to do whatever he wanted to with it. This person might have been able to spend extra money and still retire but it is the same with someone who is not as wealthy. A person who earns a certain amount of money every year can plan for the future by investing in mutual funds or by simply saving a certain amount of money for retirement purposes.

A person might think that they are not capable of setting any money aside because of their financial situation when they do not realize that if money is not there, they will not miss it. For instance; if you were to put away one hundred dollars a month and to make this a habit, after a while, you would not even miss the money because it has become one of your priorities instead of something that you can choose when and when not to do. This is smart planning for the future and for retirement.

Besides just adding to your retirement plan what would happen if you were to put away one hundred dollars a month over the course of twenty years? There would be an added $24,000 that you saved for your retirement and this is without any added money that you might have earned from it being in savings accounts or stocks and bonds.

The money that you save can also be added to your children's college fund or saved for those moments when you have a rainy day such as added unexpected expenses. The trick is that you should not take the money out of the savings plan in hopes of putting it back later. There are only a small percentage of people who can borrow the money and will put it back later.

All of this goes to show you that you do not have to be wealthy to retire well, you just need a plan to stick too and a goal that will allow you to sacrifice a little bit of your earnings.

Takeaways
  • Money that isn't there, will not be missed
  • Making a plan to live by
  • Keeping yourself and your money where you need it most
Did You Know?
Myth: You need to be wealthy to be able to retire well.
Comments
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Discipline and perserverance are important in establishing consistent saving habits. Thanks for the reminder.

Posted on 10/21/2007 at 1:10:00 PM

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