You know you should be saving for retirement, but how much are you really setting aside?
And when was the last time you actually checked on your nest egg?
It helps you keep a long-term perspective on things…
It just helps keep things in front of you.
But you should start saving now if youre not.
The younger you start, the less youll need to put away each month to reach your goal.
AKA you benefit from compound interest.
If youre a full-time employee, youll likely have the option to open a 401(k).
Make the contributions automatic.
Are you going to keep living in your house?
Move to a lower tax state?
You may decide youre going to keep a part-time job in retirement, or live off of your investments.
Here are someother options.
So dont do it with your retirement account.
Pay the tax now, put it in a Roth.
Then consider upping your contribution by one percent, even if you signed up for auto-escalation.
Turn off the market news and try not to pay too much attention to it.
Especially if the market continues to go down, says Stewart, of Forestview Financial Partners.
Its multi-year returns youre worried about, like three, five, 10 year average returns.
Also, check the fees associated with the different mutual funds offered by your plan provider.
Heres acalculatorthat can help you make sense of how much fees eat into your balance.
Another thing to note:rebalancing a taxable accountwill cost you, and rebalancing generally has tax implications.
So its definitely not something to make a habit of.
Check the fund options and associated fees to see if it makes sense.
you might research the value of various plans onBrightScope.com.
And know that your company doesnt have to allow rollovers.
So check the fine print, and then check again.
