How To Start A Retirement Plan Is Easy
It’s easy to start a retirement plan, the question is, can you keep it going. You start a retirement plan by signing some forms; that’s the easy part, the more difficult part comes over the next 30 years while you are building it up.
Retirement planning is a long-term project, not a task to be checked off of your to-do-list. It does not take talent, wealth or luck to build up a retirement plan; all it takes is consistency. Do you have what it takes? Can you be consistent? If you want to build up a retirement plan that has enough money for you to stop working you need to be consistent at saving, investing and spending. Sounds easy? It is if you approach it correctly.
The Consistent Approach
Start With Your Spending
Folks make spending and saving so complicated. If you just live below your means, spend less than you earn, it’s logical that you will find money to invest. However if you spend money you do not have (for example, rack up your credit card balances) then you never have enough money to pay your bills let alone invest into a retirement plan.
Build Up To Saving
Immediately cutting yourself off from all spending and going “cold-turkey” never works; it only causes discouragement. A better approach to finding money for your retirement plan is to slowly change your spending habits. Everything you do is a habit and that includes how you spend your money. Practicing new spending habits to find money to invest into your retirement plan is not a matter of talent or luck, just self discipline.
Wasted Investment Money
A poor spending habit that will reap the greatest reward, if changed, is the habit of paying for all purchases with credit cards and never paying off those credit card balances. Credit card interest is wasted money; money that could be invested into your retirement plan. While you work at paying down your credit card balances discipline yourself from using your credit cards. Instead pay for all purchases with cash or debit cards. If you cannot buy it with cash or a debit card than you cannot afford it, period!
Take the first step, sign a few forms to start a retirement plan; but if you want to achieve the results necessary to retire someday stay consistent.