Savings

Time certainly goes by fast. One day you’re interviewing for your first job and the next thing you know you’re a few short years from applying for Social Security.

If you’ve planned for your retirement, you’ll likely have a good stash of funds saved.  But the unfortunate news is that according to the ​Insured Retirement Institute,​ 42 percent of baby boomers have nothing saved for retirement, and even those that have saved don’t have nearly enough to survive on.

Other than panicking, there are many things that you can start doing today to help increase your retirement savings; Here are just a few:

Remember way back to your first paycheck. The moment you open the envelope anticipating the windfall when all your hard work pays off. Then, like a swift kick to your gut, realty hits. Your takeaway earnings are almost always way lower than what you expected.

Once the shock and horror of taxes goes away, money management comes into play. Most of the time these days, paychecks are spent before the money hits your account. If only at the moment of your first paycheck you had implemented the ‘holy grail’ of personal finance, pay yourself first.

According to a recent article from Forbes, “only 23% of Americans have enough emergency savings to cover six months of expenses (the amount many advisers recommend for financial security should something unforeseen happen)—and 26% have no emergency savings at all.¹”

Retirement can sneak up on you.

At one time, it seemed like a lifetime away, now it may be just around the corner. At one time you planned on working forever, but now you can admit that the thought of retiring has its benefits.  Perhaps you’ve found yourself daydreaming about a little cabin on a lake, or a small home in the mountains. You may have even entertained the notion of becoming an expatriate and retiring overseas. While these daydreams can certainly be pleasant, you’re also facing the reality that at the age of 50, you’ve done little to save for retirement.

We all have our own unique way of handling our finances. While some of us are natural born savers, others may have a hard time making it to the next paycheck. Fortunately, most of us fall somewhere in-between, putting away money at times, while making frivolous purchases at other times.

If you are looking for a way to help bolster your savings, here are a few suggestions that are easy to follow and may have you on the path towards a more sustainable savings balance in no time:

• Direct Deposit.  While it’s likely that you’re getting paid via direct deposit, consider making arrangements to have money deposited directly into your savings account as well. That way the money bypasses your wallet completely. You won’t miss what you don’t have and your savings account has the opportunity to grow much fast.