I wasn't sure what I was going to write about today until I read a column in the Sunday paper about retirement planning, a subject near and dear to my heart. What struck me was how many strategies there are to prepare for retirement that could also be applied to much younger people.
Living a healthy lifestyle is probably number one. As we get older, regular exercise and a healthy diet are important because, obviously, it's better to enter retirement healthy than it is to be fighting an ailment or sickness, both for lifestyle reasons and for financial reasons. Personally, I find myself dealing with health issues now that could have been prevented if I had taken better care of myself when I was younger.
Financial management is another area that young people ignore because they think they have plenty of time. You will never have too much money. Start saving and investing NOW! Invest in a 401k at work or in a stock mutual fund on your own. Educate yourself in investing, take a course, read books on investing, and share your knowledge with your friends. Get some help from a professional if necessary. At the very minimum you should be putting money into a savings account every week. The important thing is to start young rather than trying to play catch-up when you're older.
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1 comment:
That is very true. I wasn't too excited at the idea of money being taken out of my paycheck for a 401K, but now it is cool to see it adding up.
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