At a young age you want to start planning for retirement, starting as soon as possible.
Key in all of this are some major priorities, including always saving in an emergency fund that is set aside of the big unexpected expenses. Take advantage of insurance too, including disability insurance. This will ensure that if you’re in a situation where you can’t work, you will be protected.
Dan Geltrude is the founder and a managing partner at Geltrude & Company. He says once you get into your 50s, it’s important to have a real commitment to savings.
“You have to be really mindful of your lifestyle. That is not the time to overspend,” he says.
Those at this time have an opportunity to do a “retirement catch up” in 401k and IRA plans. Many may have the opportunity to put even more money into these plans than when they were younger.
Geltrude, who is an accounting professor at Montclair State University, told Scripps News that while in your 20s and 30s you must have a commitment to financial planning, it can look a bit different for each person.
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He is the author of “Positive Financial Karma,” and highlights the importance of making sure our parents are taken care of as well, so that we don’t have an emergency when they are older.
It’s important to mind how your budget needs to evolve as you and your family ages.
Geltrude says to take advantage of compounding interest, so that over the years, your money continues to grow and work for you.
“It’s all about budgeting for your future, when you first get out of the blocks, let’s say from 25 to 35,” he says. “Then after that, you get into the mid-30s to mid-40s. That’s when you want to really start managing your money well.”
Geltrude says you want to make sure that you’re putting at least 15% of your earnings into a retirement plan. That might increase over time depending on your financial goals.
For those with kids going to college, fund as much as possible into 529 plans, which are tax-differed, he advises.