{"id":7690,"date":"2014-05-11T15:15:03","date_gmt":"2014-05-11T22:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marketriders.com\/investing\/?p=7690"},"modified":"2016-12-21T07:28:03","modified_gmt":"2016-12-21T15:28:03","slug":"3-ways-kickstart-retirement-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketriders.com\/investing\/3-ways-kickstart-retirement-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways to Kickstart Your Retirement Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Saving for\u00a0retirement\u00a0is above all a mental game. After all, that’s what people like about good old-fashioned pension plans \u2014 no muss, no fuss, things just work.<\/p>\n

It’s also why we tend to prefer direct deposit and online bill pay systems. Who really likes sitting down and writing 10 or 15 checks on a Saturday? Most bills do not vary month to month, so it’s usually better to let a computer write those checks and lick those virtual stamps.<\/p>\n

\"retirement<\/a><\/p>\n

Retirement\u00a0saving is no different, except the pension plans of old are mostly gone or fading fast. The solution is to build your own, and doing so can be surprisingly cheap and easy.<\/p>\n

There are a few simple rules, again mostly mental, but following them faithfully can put you on the road to building a\u00a0real\u00a0retirement<\/a>.\u00a0Here are three ways to kickstart your\u00a0retirement\u00a0plan:<\/p>\n

1. Automate<\/strong><\/p>\n

Out of sight, out of mind. The first step is to set a weekly, biweekly or monthly number to save and remove it from your check before you deposit it. Your workplace 401(k) plan is already set up to do this, but\u00a0the default option might be too low<\/a>\u00a0for your goals. Aim for double-digits here.<\/p>\n

If you don’t have a 401(k), build your own. Contractors and small business owners can open a personal 401(k) plan at nearly any large brokerage, with the added benefit of access to more low-cost investment options and, usually, higher total contribution limits.<\/p>\n

Similarly, a traditional IRA or Roth IRA is easy to set up online or at your bank. Then just direct the bank to withdraw funds periodically or pay yourself using online banking tools.<\/p>\n

2. Delegate<\/strong><\/p>\n

The next most important step is to avoid trying to game the system. Early on, you won’t have a large balance to invest and are likely to leave it in cash. Don’t do that. Open a target-date fund or a low-cost balanced fund and direct all incoming cash to that account.<\/p>\n

Later, when your balances grow, it becomes tempting to try to play the market. That’s another huge mistake, one far too many people make. You will be better off managing your\u00a0retirement\u00a0using a\u00a0tested, well-designed portfolio<\/a>\u00a0or by simply owning an appropriate target-date fund. You won’t “beat the market” (almost no one can) but you also won’t take a huge hit in a market downturn.<\/p>\n

3. Generate<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let your investments compound by automatically reinvesting dividends and interest and by rebalancing periodically. This is where\u00a0low-cost index funds or\u00a0ETFs<\/a>\u00a0can help a lot. The more money you keep and reinvest, the faster your\u00a0retirement\u00a0plan will grow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Saving for\u00a0retirement\u00a0is above all a mental game. After all, that’s what people like about good old-fashioned pension plans \u2014 no muss, no fuss, things just work. It’s also why we … Read more →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":7695,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n3 Ways to Kickstart Your Retirement Plan | MarketRiders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There are a few simple rules and following them faithfully can put you on the road to building a real retirement plan.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.marketriders.com\/investing\/3-ways-kickstart-retirement-plan\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"3 Ways to Kickstart Your Retirement Plan | MarketRiders\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"There are a few simple rules and following them 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