Getting an early start with your retirement planning is important because it generally takes quite a few years to gather the funds that will be necessary for you to have a comfortable living when you get to retirement age. If you start investing early in your career, your investments have the time they need to grow throughout the decades while you work so that your retirement years can be comfortable.

Today’s life expectancy has grown with the advance of science and medicine. This means that there will be more years in between retiring and death. Because of this, you will need even more money so that it will last you that much longer.

You can’t expect to retire on Social Security alone either. Today’s average benefits for Social Security are just about $1,180 per month, which just isn’t enough to live on. Also, the age for collecting complete Social Security benefits is going up. If you were born after 1942, you won’t be eligible for full benefits until you are 66 or older.

This is just one of the reasons you need to start investing for your retirement now. You also need to think about medical issues that you might have to deal with in your dotage. Why don’t we take a look at some of the investment options that are available and a tip or two for saving and investing money?

Bitcoin and Ethereum

Bitcoin and Ethereum are two types of cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies are a relatively new type of virtual money that is digital. It isn’t controlled by any sort of central financial institution, but every transaction is recorded digitally in what is known as the blockchain. Cryptocurrencies have value because there is only a finite number that will be produced. Also, more and more businesses are using and accepting them. You might have even noticed that when HBO was hacked earlier this year, the hackers demanded a ransom in Bitcoin.

If you are interested in investing in a cryptocurrency such as these, you can buy them outright if you want to go the easy route. Then, you can hang on to what you get and sell it for a profit at a later date. Alternatively, you can invest some time and money into mining for it by using a company like Genesis Mining.

Junk Bonds

Most of the time, when people think about bonds, they think of those low return for low risk type of investments. That being said, this theory is based on an assumption that whoever is actually issuing the bond has a credit rating that is outstanding. Companies with great credit ratings don’t have to pay interest rates that are high in order to attract their investors. Junk bonds however, are actually bonds that are issued by companies that have credit ratings that are very low. This means that they have to offer higher rates of interest, but it also means that they can default on the bond altogether. This is a risky investment strategy, but it does offer a higher return on your investment if it pays out.

Saving for Investing

If you want a helpful money saving tip or 3, you have come to the right place. One tip that everyone should know is to not spend more than you make.

Another thing you can do to save a bit of money is to change your bank so that you can take advantage of different perks and possibly earn more interest. You might be paying a monthly fee right now for your savings and checking accounts. If so, you might want to check on some of the offers other banks have. Some banks will even offer bonuses to people who open new accounts and set up their direct deposit. Others offer interest rates that make switching worth it.

One last tip is the 30-day rule. If you see something that you want to buy – be it big or small, and it isn’t an absolute necessity, wait for 30 days before you buy it. Often, once that period of time has passed, you will no longer have the urge to buy whatever it is and you will have saved all of the money that you would have spent on it.

By saving and investing, you will have the best chance possible to retire comfortably.

When we retire, our finances change. Income that we do receive comes in on a different schedule than perhaps if we worked a traditional job. Some of us may choose to work a part of the time, either out of necessity or for the joy of going somewhere on a regular basis. Whatever the situation, it’s important that we handle our finances carefully!

Track Your Income

It’s very important to sit down and map out on a calendar the dates when you receive your retirement income. Social security benefits often come once a month on a day that is pre-set by the government for you. Some retirement accounts function in a comparable way. We have heard rumors that a few investors will send out payments on a quarterly basis! You should also keep a running tab on your savings and allot yourself so much per month to use on bills. This way you are still earning interest and not overspending money that must last you your retirement. Aside from a calendar, tracking your income on a spreadsheet will be helpful for you when it comes to making sure you aren’t overspending.

Tally Your Fixed Expenses

Fixed expenses are those things that don’t change from month to month. This can be either a fixed dollar amount you have allowed yourself or it’s a bill that simply doesn’t fluctuate. Those bills include:

·  Mortgage or rent

·  Car payment

·  Insurances

·  Phone bill

·  Cable/Internet bill

·  Gym memberships

·  Magazine subscriptions

·  Health insurance

·  Property taxes

·  Auto registration

It’s a good idea to also put on the calendar when the bill for your fixed expenses are due. Then put it on your spreadsheet for tallying against income.

Average Out the Rest of Your Expenses

There are still other expenses that you have that are not fixed. Unless you have allotted yourself a specific amount to spend, and don’t exceed that budget, you will include them here. Those examples are:

·  Groceries

·  Clothing

·  Toiletries and beauty supplies

·  Auto repairs

·  Household repairs

·  Gift giving

·  Vacations/Travel

·  Auto Fuel

·  Credit Cards

·  Hobbies

Some of these you may think you can make a fixed expense, like auto fuel or groceries. However, the reason they are on this list is that the price can change significantly, quite often, and without notice. This can upset your entire budget on a weekly basis. This is where you allot a flat amount and then watch as prices change and adjust accordingly.

Adjust the Budget

Once you have all your expenses and income down, you may panic a little. Don’t worry! Everyone has to make adjustments to their budgets after the initial recording. The fortunate thing is that it’s a great time to really think about the big picture and make your budget work for you.

Adjusting your budget is going to base on how much you are overspending. If it’s $100 or less per month, you can adjust things like your vacations/travel and gift giving. If it’s more than $100, it is time to make bigger changes. Look at the bigger things first. Do you need the cable? Internet yes, but there are plenty of television viewing options that can free you from your cable bill. Look at things like a Roku or Chromecast and see if a subscription service will save you money. You can easily save $100 on your cable bill by dropping everything but the internet.

What about your house? If it’s paid for, good for you! If you are still paying a mortgage, would you save by renting a smaller place and selling the home? Do you have family that could move in and help pay the mortgage? The same goes for your car. If you are paying on a car loan, can you downgrade to something less expensive? Making those kinds of big adjustments can help you save tons!

Budgeting for retirement is a big deal. If you overspend, you could find yourself in a huge predicament. Worse than if you were working. Take care of your expenses and you will be just fine!

It is difficult to believe but some surveys recently have suggested that the average couple has just $5,000 in a retirement savings account. The Economic Policy Institute has analyzed Federal Reserve data and has stated that the top 10% have at least $275,000 which in itself is not fantastic bearing in mind that life expectancy is increasing and many people can expect to live well beyond 80.

There was a dramatic change in retirement saving in the 1980s. Previously companies guaranteed pensions to their employees. The introduction of the 401(k) changed the emphasis. Workers were given control of their retirement rather than having to rely on their employers’ generosity or the Social Security System. Instead companies made contributions up to a certain level into their employees’ individual plans but has no responsibility for their success or failure. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but it has been little short of a disaster with the vast majority well short of what they will need to fund a comfortable retirement.

The figures are so poor because it appears that nearly have of couples of working age have no savings at all and almost 40% of those within 10 years of retirement are in the same position. The problem is compounded by the fact that the Social Security System is fragile at best. Without a significant injection of funds existing benefits will fall by as much as 25% early in the 2030s. That significant injection can only come from taxation and that is a very unpopular topic, especially among Republicans.

Even now the average benefit is little over $1,000 a month which can hardly provide any real source of comfort.

401(k) Policy Hasn’t Worked

The theory that the introduction of the 401(k) would ensure that everyone would have the retirements they wanted has been thoroughly misguided. Their reliance on Social Security has risen dramatically rather than fallen. Those in the low tax bracket have little financial benefit in saving and this is the band of people who are in the greatest need. Tax breaks are therefore fairly irrelevant for the majority. Tax breaks are great for higher earners but they are not in as great need. All those with that $275,000 mentioned above come in the middle to top wage bracket. They would have probably saved anyway without the need for a tax incentive policy.

The Impact of the Recession

The question is whether the plans are wrong or whether people have simply found themselves unable to make proper provisions for themselves? The recession certainly caused widespread misery especially for those tempted to take on too much credit. The real estate market had been buoyant and everyone had expected to make money from investing before the Collateralized Debt Obligation crisis hit their plans. Plenty of people took out multiple credit cards and spent money they simply did not have. Their logic, if they had any, was that there were other cards offering 0% balance transfers where they could move their debt to avoid paying interest. Those deals were temporary and the escape routes soon closed.

“The mistakes made in pension strategy decades ago have been compounded by people’s reluctance or inability to save anyway. Everyone needs to look at their finances and take whatever action needed to improve their future.”

Defaults, unemployment and utter misery followed. Many were unable to meet their liabilities and although debt has been written off and the economy has recovered it seems that personal finances in the Country have barely improved. The figures of what retirement savings the average working family have are proof enough. If you add the average credit card debt in the USA exceeding $5.000, dividing the debt by the number of cards in circulation, the picture gets worse. When you take away the number of cards whose owners pay in full at the end of each statement period, the debt goes up to over $15,000.

It is what it is. Every family will know how they stand or at least they should. There is no point in ignoring financial problems because they will not disappear as if by magic. Everyone should take time to write down their income and regular expenditure as well as their debts and assets. If the figures are to be believed there is only a small minority that can feel satisfied with what they see.

Courses of Action

The rest will need to take one or more of the following courses of action:

• Credit Card Debt. If you have significant debt and you cannot afford to pay off your balances you will be paying a high rate of interest as well as having core debt. You should look at taking out a consolidation loan to pay those balances off in full. The rate of interest you will be paying on the nation 21 cash loans are much lower than credit card companies charge.
• A budget. You must start to discipline yourself when it comes to spending. There is no point in paying off those balances simply to build them up again.
• Look at whether you can make savings on some of your regular bills. They can include utilities and insurance for example. There are comparative websites that will do much of the initial research for you.
• After you have created a surplus don’t suddenly think you can begin to spend. This surplus should be put towards retirement or an emergency fund. Both are important and ideally you will create an emergency fund worth about 3 months of your regular expenditure.

If your financial situation is poor you have to act. Retirement can be a cold and lonely place if you have not got the money to make it comfortable.

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Americans are overconfident about their finances, feeling more secure than their actions warrant, according to the latest Financial Literacy Survey conducted by Harris Poll for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and NerdWallet. While more than nine out of 10 people feel “very” or “somewhat” confident about their most recent financial decision and two out of three give themselves an A or B in financial knowledge, six out of 10 are spending money each month without a budget, an equal amount aren’t able to save or buy a car because of student loans, and more than four in 10 aren’t saving for retirement. Ouch.

Becoming a genuine financial expert means taking a step back and arming yourself with the knowledge to build a solid foundation for investment confidence.

Savings Basics

Knowing how much to save is the most fundamental question in personal finance. While many financial advisers recommend following a rule of thumb such as saving 10 to 20 percent of your budget per month, Forbes recommends developing a customized savings plan based on how much you will need to invest to fund your annual living expenses.

The first step in the Forbes strategy is to estimate how much you’ll need to save up to fund the lifestyle you want given your projected annual expenses, whether your goal is to retire at a traditional age or to achieve financial freedom early. Once you’ve set this goal, calculate how long it would take you to reach it assuming your current savings rate and annual rate of return, and then make any necessary adjustments you need to achieve your goal within your desired time frame. Forbes suggests setting a goal based on the assumption that you’ll be spending 4 percent of your savings per year in retirement, and they provide spreadsheet and calculator tools to help you do the math.

Building Credit

While building your nest egg, it’s also important to build your credit so you can achieve your major purchasing goals. FICO’s consumer myFICO site explains the variables that go into credit scoring, which include your history of repaying debs, amount owed in relation to your income, mix of credit cards and loans, and frequency of submitting credit applications. For a more advanced understanding of credit, consider specialized educational resources. For example, Moody’s Analytics offers a Corporate Credit Ratings Analysis seminar.

Investment Foundations

For most people working in a traditional job, a 401(k) plan should be the foundation of your investment strategy. Daily Finance provides a good overview of 401(k) basics, explaining how you can roll over your money into a new 401(k) or an IRA if you leave your job. For those seeking 401(k) alternatives, NetCredit outlines other fundamental options such as traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs, annuities, and index funds.

Retirement Planning

Your 401(k) plan or equivalent normally forms one component of a complete investment plan designed to achieve your major financial goals, chief of which should be saving for retirement. A complete retirement income plan should include a diversified mix of withdrawals from an investment portfolio, fixed-income annuities and variable annuities. A financial adviser can help you select a specific investment mix appropriate to your goals, income and risk preference.

If you’re looking for more assistance and want a financial advisor check out these articles to help pick the right one for you

What is the Role of a Financial Advisor?
Afraid To Meet With a Financial Advisor? Here’s How the First Meeting Goes
Hiring a Financial Advisor: Clues from the Receptionist