Ideas to Catch Up Saving for Retirement, Ep #124

<p>Do you feel like you’re late to the game? Are you in your 50s and just now seriously looking at what you have saved for retirement? If you feel like you don’t have any hope of reaching the retirement of your dreams, I’m here to tell you that you still can. But it will take some sacrifice. So how do you get caught up saving for retirement? I share some ideas in this episode of the Retirement Made Easy podcast. </p> <h2>You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...</h2> <ul> <li>[3:42] What to do if you’re behind on saving for retirement</li> <li>[6:38] The question you need to ask yourself</li> <li>[8:36] The best 401k match I’ve ever seen</li> <li>[9:28] A few strategies to save more money</li> <li>[11:43] Start with the end goals in mind</li> <li>[16:30] What got you <em>here</em> won’t get you <em>there</em></li> </ul> <h2>Make sure you’re focused on numbers that matter</h2> <p>I spoke with someone who was 55 and wanted to retire at age 65—but only had $100,000 saved. He thought he could save some money by looking for lower-cost mutual funds. Instead of focusing on the cost of the funds (that usually make very little impact), he needed to focus on the amount he was contributing to his 401k.</p> <p>Based on what he wanted out of retirement, he needed to have $1.4 million saved by the time he turned 65. At the time we spoke, he was only saving 4% of his annual income, with his company matching 50% of that (for a grand total of 6% of his annual salary). </p> <p>He was never going to hit his goal by contributing 6% per year. He’d need a 16% annualized compounded return to reach his goals. That’s a steep—nearly impossible—return.</p> <p>He knew where he needed to be in 10 years. So the bottom line? He needed to adjust his behavior to meet that goal. </p> <h2>What do I need to do differently?</h2> <p>You must always ask: “What do I need to do differently?” The answer isn’t lower-cost investments. It’s changing your priorities. You should be saving 15% of your annual household income for retirement