10 Ways to Save for Retirement

Introduction

We understand that retirement is a scary word for many.

Most look forward to the time when they’ll no longer have to work long hours and answer to a boss and customers who can make life difficult at times, and instead, they can spend more time with the people they love and doing what they love.

However, with this anticipation comes the scary part of wondering whether we have enough money not to work.

FocusGroups.com has researched to bring you 10+ ways you can save money for retirement.

Learning what you can do to build your retirement account(s) will alleviate the anxiety of not knowing how or where to start.

We are happy to bring you this important and helpful information.

Keep reading and use these tips to help you live the retirement you want! 😁

1. Match your Employer’s 401(k).

A 401(k) is a retirement savings and investing plan set up by employers. This plan gives employees a tax break on the money they contribute. The tax break comes either when you contribute money or when you retire.

The funds are automatically withdrawn from employee paychecks and invested in funds chosen by the employer.

2. Open an IRA. A Roth or Traditional IRA

These are good individual investment vehicles. This is how they work:

Traditional IRA—You may be able to deduct your contribution from your taxes for the year. So, you now fund the IRA with pretax dollars and pay your taxes when you withdraw money in retirement.

Roth IRA—Different than a traditional IRA, you contribute to a Roth IRA with after-tax dollars, so you aren’t taxed when you withdraw money in retirement.

3. Use Direct Deposit for your paycheck.

Direct deposit means that your paycheck is automatically deposited into the bank account of your choice.

Some employers allow employees to portion their paychecks, so some go directly into a retirement account.

4. Put 20% of your paycheck directly into a savings or retirement account.

In general, you can think of the 50/30/20 rule. 20% of your income goes into savings and retirement, 50% goes towards necessities like rent, and 30% goes toward what you want.

We understand that this rule isn’t achievable for everyone. If it’s not for you, save money monthly for savings and retirement.

You can save a % of your income or a flat amount such as $100.00.

This is the “pay yourself first” rule.

5. Downsize your lifestyle and save money that you can put into savings or retirement account

By downsizing, you can save money.

You can give away, sell, and donate so many things you’ve gathered over the years.

Doing this allows you to live in a smaller house or apartment and save on house payments, rent, utilities, and taxes.

All the money you save doing this can be money you put in your retirement account.

6. Put your tax refunds into a savings or retirement account.

While you might want to spend your tax refund on something fun, consider putting it into a savings or retirement account.

You’ve been living without that money so far, so keep going.

7. Get rid of cable and save money in savings or retirement accounts.

In today’s world, cable is no longer a necessity. Instead, there are much less expensive options for watching programs you like.

There are inexpensive platforms such as sling tv, peacock tv, the Roku Channel, and more. You can pick which programs you like best and select the streaming platform that gives you the best options.

You can cut your program-watching bills in half or even more! In addition, the money you don’t spend on cable can be saved or put into your retirement account.

8. Start using coupons if you haven’t already and pay yourself!

Use coupons, and deals, buy in bulk, whatever allows you to save money on necessities.

Almost any store you shop proudly displays all the ways and areas you can save with them. So buy what you need and check your receipt on your way out.

Then transfer money into your savings or retirement account the amount you saved. The amount of money you move will add up fast, it’s fun, and you’ll feel happy with yourself for doing it.

9. The next time you need a new car, buy a used one.

To save, drive your current car into the ground. If you maintain it well, it should continue to provide transportation well over 100,000 miles.

The time to trade it in is when the cost of repairs exceeds what you can get if you sell it or trade it in.

When you get your next vehicle, don’t buy a new one. It’s a lousy investment because new cars lose value when you drive them off the lot and will decrease in value yearly.

10. Work with a savings calculator to know how much to save to reach your goals.

There are straightforward ways to calculate how much to save for your goals and retirement.

You can determine how much to save, how much a one-time expense costs you over the years, the actual cost of those yummy coffee drinks you like, and more.

Click here to find free online calculators to help “make the math of personal finance easy.”

Bonus!

Now that we’ve told you all about investing by putting money in a savings or retirement account, the least we can do is show you how simple it is to open a retirement account. Of course, it’s straightforward these days.

You can choose an online broker. There are so many today that come from well-established companies with excellent reviews—companies such as Robinhood, Merrill, and ally. You can learn more with this information.

You can open a retirement account with as little as $0 with some of these brokers.

When you reach out to any of these investment firms, they will walk you through how to open your account and fund it. You can even ask them to help you determine how much is needed to save for your goals.

A Final Thought

I know that planning for retirement can be scary. Thinking about life 10-20-30 years from now, when life may be difficult, can be overwhelming.

I can offer this: if you are lucky enough to grow old and into your retirement years, which is a gift, you’ll be glad you planned.

The tips above, the names of online brokerage firms, and the calculator can make saving easier than ever.

So, take a deep breath, tell yourself it will be OK and ask for help. There are good people out there like focusgroups.org that want to help make your life easier now and later.

You’ve got this. ❤️