Saving For Retirement: It's Not Your Parent's Retirement Any Longer

Being prepared for retirement is a lot harder than it used to be. Companies no longer offer pensions and many are reducing or eliminating matching contributions to 401K accounts. In addition, Social Security retirement benefits are expected to be smaller and you may have to hang on longer to get benefits. Which means it's basically up to you to fund your own retirement; you can no longer rely on Social Security to pay your bills during retirement. To confirm that you will have a comfortable retirement, you'll need to start planning and saving at an early age.

But for many people in the workforce, it's difficult to save. You need every dime you have to pay the bills, get the kids through their dentist bills and clothes for school and have a bit left over at the end of the month for dinner and a movie. So how can we ever find a way to put money back for retirement under these circumstances?

The key to savings is to take advantage of changes in your earnings to start a savings plan. For example when you start a new job with a new salary, before you get used to that paycheck, set up a direct deposit of a little amount of money into a tax deferred account such as an IRA. The money goes straight in there and you never see it in your paycheck. The funny thing about how we all think is that you survive up to the level of money you are receiving. So if you never see that $50 or $100 in your paycheck, you will adjust your lifestyle accordingly and suddenly you have a program in place to save for retirement.

You can use the same principle to payments you may have automatically deducted from your account. If you are paying a car payment or you have a health club due taken directly out of your account, when those issues come to an end, think about if you want to see those direct withdrawals stop entirely. If you are not used to having that money in your budget, you may be able to have your bank direct deposit some or all of that amount right into your retirement account.

Just think how great it would be if you could put your car payment into retirement savings each month. You would see a very significant amount of money grow in that account in no time. And when you begin seeing the financial reports start coming in from your bank or whoever is managing your retirement funds and you see it really start to build up, the goal of a secure retirement future for you and your spouse will begin to become a reality for you.

Another fun way to build up that retirement account is to make a project of it. You and your spouse could accept the challenge to do some sort of contract or temporary work every month or so and put all of that money into your retirement fund. Maybe he can go out with friends and cut wood and sell it around city for firewood. Maybe she could use her artistic skills to make original art works and sell them at the local crafts fair or flea market.

Saving for retirement may seem difficult now, but it's very important if you want to enjoy a comfortable retirement. Passed are the days where you could rely on your company and Social Security benefits to fund your retirement. It's up to you to make sure you have enough money to enjoy a fun and financially secure retirement.

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