{"id":6954,"date":"2013-09-20T13:59:08","date_gmt":"2013-09-20T20:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marketriders.com\/investing\/?p=6954"},"modified":"2016-12-21T07:28:24","modified_gmt":"2016-12-21T15:28:24","slug":"retirement-savings-comes-from-character-and-discipline-not-luck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketriders.com\/investing\/retirement-savings-comes-from-character-and-discipline-not-luck\/","title":{"rendered":"Retirement Savings Comes From Character And Discipline, Not Luck"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sooner or later, the conversation turns this way: How is your\u00a0retirement\u00a0savings<\/a>\u00a0plan going, and who’s doing it the right way?<\/p>\n

The conversation might be among your peers or with a spouse or partner, but the problems are same. We need to save more, we need to invest better, and we need answers that make sense.<\/p>\n

There’s a huge industry full of people out there willing to give it a try on your behalf. Certainly, they won’t mind collecting commissions as they attempt to do well with your money.<\/p>\n

\"retirement<\/p>\n

If they fail? No harm, no foul, at least from their perspective. The commissions flow just the same. Nice work if you can get it, I suppose.<\/p>\n

The important thing for you to understand is that you will make your\u00a0retirement\u00a0savings goals because you saved, and for no other reason.\u00a0Investing<\/a>\u00a0is powerful stuff, but doubling your money on a low balance will result in only incremental increases in your wealth.<\/p>\n

No, it takes money to make money. You should target to double your money every 10 years. If you can do that, the\u00a0compounding<\/a>\u00a0effect alone will result in quite a large\u00a0retirement\u00a0savings pot.<\/p>\n

But, this happens only if you actually put money away, in a disciplined and serious manner, for years. No taking a year off, no robbing the 401k for vacation money.<\/p>\n

Retirement\u00a0savings kickstart<\/h2>\n

How can get more serious about this? Here are some ways to think about increasing your own\u00a0retirement\u00a0savings:<\/p>\n

1. \u00a0Automate.<\/strong>\u00a0Get the decision process out of the way. If you have access to a 401k, sign up and maximize your contribution straight from your paychecks. Your taxes will be lower and, once the balance in your\u00a0retirement account<\/a>\u00a0starts to rise, you will be relieved and happy.<\/p>\n

2. Calibrate.<\/strong>\u00a0Don’t “set it and forget it” for years on end. Review where you are once a year and increase your contributions regularly. Open a\u00a0traditional IRA<\/a>\u00a0if you qualify and a Roth IRA as well. If you get a windfall, bank it. If you get a raise, put a significant portion of it, if not all, into your plan, not your check.<\/p>\n

3. Celebrate.<\/strong>\u00a0You should begin to see serious progress on your\u00a0retirement\u00a0plan balance within just a few years, if you are prudently invested in a\u00a0risk-adjusted portfolio<\/a>. Reward your discipline by taking that vacation if you like, just don’t draw down your\u00a0retirement\u00a0fund to finance it!<\/p>\n

Investing\u00a0can be easy. It’s saving that’s hard. You are putting off consumption today to make sure you can finance tomorrow. But saving is also a sign of good character and personal responsibility, a reward in itself. You can do it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sooner or later, the conversation turns this way: How is your\u00a0retirement\u00a0savings\u00a0plan going, and who’s doing it the right way? The conversation might be among your peers or with a spouse … Read more →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":6956,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nRetirement Savings Comes From Character And Discipline, Not Luck | MarketRiders.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How can get more serious about retirement savings? 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