Retirement Tip #1 Be a Saver!
This little nugget of wisdom I picked up on a podcast. I listen to a lot of podcasts across many subjects from money to history to music. Steve Chen hosts one I really enjoy called The New Retirement podcast. I have no idea who Steve Chen is but he sure gets some interesting guests on his once a month podcast.
A few months back I was listening and toward the end of the show, Steve asked a guest, “What is the one most important thing any person can do to prepare for retirement. The answer was so simple. “Be a saver”. Returns and types of investments are super important but if you are not saving money on a regular basis, you won’t get very far.
This means something to me because for years I was well managed spender. I always paid my bills on time and I made what seemed to be well thought out decisions about money and spending, but I wasn’t a committed saver. I would save some money then I would “need it”, pull it out and spend it. I carried credit card debt every month.
Five years ago I changed everything on a challenge from a very good friend of mine. She challenged me to get it together, pay off the debt and get my savings and investments straightened out. Within six months of that challenge I was out of debt and I became a saver. I am now debt free and well on my way to a good retirement nest egg. I max out my 401k and I save every week into an IRA and a non-qualified stock fund.
I bet you know someone, maybe you, who seems to live a great life with lots of things but has no savings. Those “things” won’t serve you well in retirement. A good sized nest egg is what you really need. Be a Saver.