New Year’s resolutions are easy to come up with, it’s carrying them out that is the problem. Sure, everyone wants to lose a few pounds, so in January the gyms are packed with all those with new memberships and continues to be crowded for a few months, and then slowly you see more and more room and no wait for the machines as priorities change. By summer, those January signups have disappeared and the gyms can look forward to payments continued to be made without showing up, able to sign up more members. Same goes for your finances, as if you are looking to focus on retirement, you need to fully commit.
Look for Company Matching Contributions
If you are need of a place to start, then look first to see if your company will match what you put in. Let’s say they will match up to 6% of contributions and you make $50,000, then by putting in $3,000 that year, your company will also put in $3,000, doubling, which will make a huge difference if you continue to put in that amount and stay with the company. By not going up to that maximum match, you are essentially leaving free money on the table, which could add up to tens or hundreds of thousands by the time you retire, based on your salary.
Try a Percent Increase a Year
No matter what you are contributing now, or none at all, jumping to a large percentage of your salary can be a financial burden now as the money leaves your paycheck, although it will be great over time, you may not be able to comfortably afford giving too much now. By increasing a percent, a year, you will feel less of a burden from each paycheck compared to what you were contributing last year, while still adding to your retirement significantly over the next few decades until you are able to retire. Hopefully in a few years you can be maxing out your 401k each year, and really set yourself up for carrying out the same lifestyle you have now, so you really still continue to enjoy life experiences, without the need for working.
Continue to Free Up Extra Money
Whether that is now at your current contribution rate, or as the increases come, money will continue to get tight, so you will have to either free up money or generate extra income either from side work or csl plasma card. A good place to start to free up money is eliminating expenses, both necessary and unnecessary purchases. Take eating out for instance, think about how much it costs in a week from everything from stopping for coffee, picking up lunch, or going out to dinner, compared to going grocery shopping and preparing your meals at home. You can even buy a programmable coffee pot and have it finished brewing and ready for your travel mug by the time you are ready to walk out of your door to go to work, and save yourself a little extra time instead of stopping.
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