Is it too late to start financial planning at 40?
I don’t have debt and have some money saved but don’t have an IRA, 401K or any substantial investments. Oh, and my salary is pathetic.
Is it too late to start planning for retirement at my age or am I doomed to work until I die?
No. Its never too late. In the scheme of things, 40 is a relatively good time to get your act together.
First things first. Your real problem is your second sentence. "My salary is pathetic." If you had said, "my salary is low but I LOVE MY JOB!!!!!" I might be willing to debate you a bit. As it is, you left no doubt. Start the search for a better job that pays well today. Ten minutes a day every day plus one hour every weekend for the next year, minimum. Make it a priority and it will happen. Go to the library and do (not just read) one or all of these books:
What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles
Gifts Differing by Isabel Briggs Myers
Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton
Second, open an IRA at INGDirect.com (linked to your checking account) and deposit at least a few dollars into it with every paycheck. If your income is low enough to get the tax break from a traditional IRA, open that. If not, open a Roth IRA. To start, don’t worry about all the investment options. Just put the IRA money in the FDIC insured savings investment option for your IRA.
Recommended Reading
- Financial Retirement Planning, A First Look
- Who is the best company to go with for financial planning?
- Financial planning 101
- Plan Your Future – Financial and Retirement Planning | Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Houston
- CFP Board’s Financial Planning Clinic – Boston, 2007
- Succession Planning Blueprint (ebook)
I wouldn’t Really say you had to work for life,I think it would be a great time to start.You would have alot of extra money for your retirement in 20 odd years time so i would go for it!!
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It’s never too late, and it sounds like you are on good solid ground to make some gains …
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It’s your choice whether you want to start saving now or work until you die. The problem is many people get frail/sick/dementia in their old age and can’t earn income even though they have decades more to live and need daily care that isn’t covered by health insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid. Hopefully that won’t happen to you, but my recommendation is to begin a retirement plan. You can create it yourself or get the help of a financial planner. Saving to an IRA is very simple and anyone can open and contribute to one. Here’s more information: http://moneygirl.quickanddirtytips.com/how-to-save-for-retirement.aspx
http://moneygirl.quickanddirtytips.com/what-is-the-difference-between-a-traditional-and-roth-IRA.aspx.
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No. Its never too late. In the scheme of things, 40 is a relatively good time to get your act together.
First things first. Your real problem is your second sentence. "My salary is pathetic." If you had said, "my salary is low but I LOVE MY JOB!!!!!" I might be willing to debate you a bit. As it is, you left no doubt. Start the search for a better job that pays well today. Ten minutes a day every day plus one hour every weekend for the next year, minimum. Make it a priority and it will happen. Go to the library and do (not just read) one or all of these books:
What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles
Gifts Differing by Isabel Briggs Myers
Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton
Second, open an IRA at INGDirect.com (linked to your checking account) and deposit at least a few dollars into it with every paycheck. If your income is low enough to get the tax break from a traditional IRA, open that. If not, open a Roth IRA. To start, don’t worry about all the investment options. Just put the IRA money in the FDIC insured savings investment option for your IRA.
References :
http://www.retiremyway.com/Open/
better late than never – probably a very small % of people your age have started saving for retirement
I didn’t start saving for my retirement until age 44, I’m 51 now and I expect (hope) to have $500,000 when I retire at 64 and I think I started out contributing 3% of my salary – I’m up to 7% now and I have good company matching
you better start doing something something – soc sec will never be enough to live on by itself if it is even still around in 30 yrs
if you have a 401k plan at work and the company matches even a little – that is FREE money and you would be stupid to pass it up – start with a 1% contribution at least and at l;east every other pay increase you get, increase your contribution another 1%
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It is not late, Look this
http://getpaidtodoonline-surveys.weebly.com/
Or this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX99cvApT-s
Luck!
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