When it comes to retirement planning, the best time to start is now. Whether you’re fresh out of college, mid-career, or nearing retirement, it’s never too early or too late to take steps toward securing your financial future.
Why Start Early?
Starting early allows you to take advantage of compound interest. This means your money earns interest, and over time, that interest earns interest too. The earlier you start, the more your savings can grow over time, even if you’re contributing smaller amounts.
How to Get Started
- Set Clear Goals: Think about the lifestyle you want in retirement. What’s important to you? Do you plan to travel? Downsize your home? These defined goals will help you determine how much you’ll need to live comfortably during your retirement years.
- Build a Budget: Take inventory of your income and expenses to help you identify how much you can save each month without stretching your current finances too thin.
- Open a Retirement Account: Consider options like a 401(k) if your employer offers one, or an IRA if you’re saving independently. A flexible Traditional or Roth IRA from Discovery FCU is also a great way to supplement an employer-sponsored plan.
- Automate Your Savings: Set up automatic transfers to your retirement account to ensure consistency in your savings journey. Treating this transfer as you would another bill payment, could prove to be a good strategy that can help you stay on track towards reaching your savings goal.
- Review Regularly: Life changes, and so do your financial needs. Review your retirement plan annually to make adjustments as needed. Some years you may be able to increase the amount you’re contributing towards retirement and others you may have to scale back to meet life’s demands.
No matter where you are in your journey, retirement planning doesn’t have to be overwhelming. At Discovery Federal Credit Union, we’re here to help guide you in the right direction. Just give us a call at 610-372-8010 or stop by to speak to one of our knowledgeable team members.