When we go on about retirement, do you drift off? We get it. Retirement may seem irrelevant when you’re young and excited about a brand new career. It might feel too far off to worry about now. You might even think it will never be possible for you, so why bother?
Look. If you want to make work optional someday, you will need a rather large sum of money — but you can totally start small. The secret is to get started early so compound interest has time to work its magic.
Plus, putting together a retirement strategy will have you taking strong financial steps you should be taking regardless. Stuff like learning to budget and building an emergency fund. Take a look:
- Free up funds. The first step is to make smarter spending decisions so you’ll have money to put towards saving and investing. Make – and stick to – a budget.
- Secure your foundation. Before you invest for tomorrow, take care of today. Save an emergency fund, deal with high-interest debt, and get insured to secure yourself against the unexpected.
- Look at your options. Learn about all the ways you work towards retirement. When you’re thinking retirement, the TSP, IRAs, and general investment accounts are all on the table.
- Set your strategy. Pick investments at the right level of risk for you. Your investment approach can be DIY or to get help from an advisor.
- Get going. Make it happen. Set up your accounts, fund them, and be sure to set up systems to keep your contributions rolling in according to plan.
Don’t miss that last step! The wrong time for you to retire is the exact right time to put a retirement strategy in place. You can start small and still succeed if you get started early.