It can be tempting to abandon the idea of building significant savings if you have been slow getting started. Don’t be discouraged, take heart. Regardless of your age or financial health, it’s never too late to start saving.
One of the easiest ways to start saving is to enroll in an automatic deduction program. Many employers and even banks offer this benefit. Additionally, many offer professional advisors that can help you choose the highest yield savings vehicle for your tolerance level.
When the money is deducted automatically the temptation to spend it in other places is removed. Although many of us feel squeeze by rising food and energy costs, clothing children and all of the other responsibilities that come with familyhood, it is important to be sure that you have something to fall back on in the event of an emergency.
It is also important to save because regardless of how young you feel now, retirement will one day be upon you. Even if you are now in your forties or fifties you can still put away a tidy sum in anticipation of your golden years. Talk with your human services department to learn about the most you are allowed to contribute to employer sponsored retirement plans. Take a look at your budget to determine how you can find the money that will allow you to contribute the maximum amount. There are benefits to saving at work, for example you can reduce your tax burden and again, because the money is automatically deducted, you remove the temptation to spend your growing nest egg. Another bonus, many employers make matching contributions, which build your savings even faster.
You may be wondering how you can save in good conscience if your children are approaching college age. That can be a quandary. It is important to explore all available sources of information for options around financing. These include guidance counselors, the Internet, colleges and universities and the Foundation Center ate www.fdncenter.org. Many states now offer scholarships for students of local schools. These resources may be able to help you find some or all of the money that you will need to help your children get through school. When you consider that social security and pensions are eroding as a source of reliable income it becomes very important to think about how you can balance these two very important savings goals.
Another easy way to start a savings plan is bank a windfall and build. Most of us anticipate an income tax return check. Why not use some or all of yours to start a savings plan? Depending on how much you have to work with you can buy one or several CD’s. Many banks offer CD’s for as little as $500.00. You can use the investing technique called laddering if you have more money to work with. Buy 5 CD’s, each with a different maturity date. For example, if you had only $1,000.00, you could by one CD that matures in six months and another that matures in twelve months. Or you can go for maturity dates of 12 and 24 months. In this way you are never too far from your money.
It’s never too late to start saving. Even if you have only a few dollars to work with it is important to start with that. When you get into the habit and save regularly, your savings will grow before you know it.