Sell it for extra cash, or donate it for a tax write-off. "I needed help picking out a career, rather than just a job." If your company offers a match, contribute the money from your lowered expenses and new earning opportunities to your 401(k) up to the match. Use this bill-by-bill savings guide to find savings on everything from your cellphone bill to your utilities. Here’s your guide to protecting yourself. "It was a saving grace," says Eckerson. Households said they had no financial plan for retirement, and U.S. News reports that about 36 percent of American workers have less than $1,000 saved for their post-work years. I had $250, a 6-year old daughter, an old car, and some of our clothes. You might think you deserve a raise, but convincing your boss of that is another story. Best Money Market Accounts. I had nothing but a few contacts in the city, $300 to my name, and one suitcase. When starting over at 55, you need to plan on waiting until 70 to begin your benefits. These will be different for everyone; for ideas, check out the responses from Lifehacker readers when we asked what people tend to cut back on first, When Northwest Airlines laid off 60 employees earlier this month, the pink slips were accompanied…. Make a promise to yourself to spend your life walking on the path of the Soul, not that of your ego. Since you're contributing to your accounts each month, help them grow more quickly by adding as much extra cash as possible. I picked a direction (north, because I'd never been north). Community colleges provide good resources for a second act. This is…. So you've signed up for your company's 401(k) plan or opened an IRA for your retirement savings.…. Almost half the respondents of the Federal Reserve's latest Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Bookselling giant Borders, for example, wants employees who read a lot--and who better reflect the demographic makeup of the areas they serve. It's never too early to plan for life after the 9-5. Even small contributions count: you can open an IRA with as little as $10, and that money will grow over time. "I felt, this time, I was really on a slippery slope when it came to finding something new," he said. It was many years ago and I was running from an abusive ex-husband. If she starts saving 10 percent of her income each year ($5,000) and works until she's 67, she'll be much closer to her retirement goals. Deciding whether to own or rent is tricky, especially in a slumping housing market. Then move onto Step three. Third step: Get some health insurance.

If not, spend a month or two adjusting to your initial plan, then revisit Steps 2 and 3 to identify additional saving and earning opportunities.

Get To Work © 2020 Forbes Media LLC. We think of the golden years of retirement when people lived a few years on SS or companies had good pensions.

Not because you want to go out and buy yourself a bunch of…. Calculate how much you need to contribute each pay period to max out the match by the end of the year, and set up automatic transfers from your checking account after each payday. To get started, set up a consultation with a certified financial planner; you can find them at napfa.org, Web site of the National Association of Financial Planners. If you're thinking about saving for retirement, you probably know that an individual retirement…. It's not. You're not quite finished; it's time to check your work. "There is a retirement plan for everybody. Eckerson's woeful tale is all too common. Next, target your "needs" to see what can be trimmed. Now that you've put a retirement plan into action, put it to the test to make sure you're on the right track. Total the amount of "extra" money you'll have each month. Schedule a meeting with HR. For some, it's a reality.

Then comes health insurance--in the hundreds of dollars per month for individuals, not including out-of pocket expenses--followed by food, clothing, utilities, telephone, car payments and maybe cable television. Funny, right? Be prepared for a wake-up call: a 40-year-old earning $60,000 should aim to save 17 percent of his annual income — and that's assuming he or she already has $10,000 in the bank. Part-time work (including being an usher at Kennedy Center opera shows) has kept him going while he waits for a full-time voting registration job this election year.

For example, a 40-year-old earning $50,000 a year can expect benefits of $1,517 per month if she retires at age 65, or $1,766 if she waits until age 67. The general rule of thumb: if you'll be in a higher tax bracket in retirement than you are now, you should choose a Roth IRA.

You don’t have to quit Starbucks to save money on coffee. Companies with 20 or more people are required by a 1986 law called COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) to extend existing health coverage up to 18 months at the group rate, even in the event of layoffs and most firings. Here's a guide to choosing investments for your retirement accounts. As soon as you get your feet, sit down and map out--in writing--where you want to be five or even 10 years down the road. Choose a rough estimate based on your earning opportunities, and adjust it as you start earning more money. Beware, though: Not all planners are worth your time. Now it's time to put your money to work in a retirement account that's right for you. If you are just starting to save at age 40, you'll probably … Seeing a gap between your estimated retirement income and living expenses can be sobering. Yes, the numbers add up in a hurry, but putting them on paper is the first step toward truly dealing with them. Rent a room or suite in your house, or start a side business. Now run your numbers through the AARP's Retirement Calculator. Enter your age, salary and lifestyle details, and it creates a graph that shows your estimated retirement income and projected living expenses, as well as any gap between the two. Since you're only about 25 or 30 years away from retirement, you won't want to invest as aggressively as a 20-year-old might, but you should still find a good mix of options. If any of your investments pay dividends, reinvest them so your money grows faster. As she approached 50, Coulson knew she was going to be laid off from her employee-training job at a natural gas utility. Next, start bringing some cash in the door. To make your life about creating and offering a lot of value, and not about acquiring a lot of money and having a lot of success. He points out that not only does the extra income boost weak retirement accounts, but the social connections and sense of purpose can help retirees stay connected to their communities. ".

Before we get into what you should do about it, this might make you feel a tiny bit better: lots of other people are in the same predicament.

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