"Save" Is Not A Four Letter Word
BOSTON (CBS) - Last month Bankrate.com conducted a survey on Financial Security. Thirty-six percent of those surveyed had not begun to save for retirement.
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Okay, I thought no big deal it is probably mostly those workers under age 22. No it wasn't! Sixty-nine percent of 18-29 year-olds haven't saved anything, along with 33% of 30-49 year-olds, 26% of 50-64 year-olds and the scariest 14% of people 65 and older.
The key years for saving for retirement are between the ages of 22 and 35, because even small amounts saved have 30 to 40 years to grow into a hefty nest egg.
So I did a survey about retirement savings at one of my recent workshops. I asked the audience if they had not started to save why that was. There were the usual excuses that retirement for some of them is 20 or 30 years away and they had lots of time.
A couple of people thought they would inherit a bundle from Mom and Dad. Some folks were still paying off school loans and credit card debt!
A few of the single folks planned to marry up and leave the savings part to their new spouse. And some thought that Social Security would provide enough for them.
There were many there that told me they could not afford to save. If they wanted to balance their budget there was no extra money to go into savings each month.
Yet these same folks told me they had high speed internet service at home for their tablets and computers, smart phones for all members of the family over 10, cable TV with all the sports channels and HBO and many were leasing a new car every three years.
I then asked more about their spending habits. They told me they needed all of these things now to have a good life and some were not willing to give up anything to save for their future when I suggested it.
The best advice I can give any of you is simply to spend less than you earn.
Money Conference Alert!!
On October 11th I will be the key note speaker at The Money Conference which is a FREE one-day event presented by The Office of Massachusetts State Treasury. It will be held at UMASS Boston and the first 500 registrants will get a free copy of my newest book, Money, Your Personal Finance Guide.
There will be afternoon classes on everything from budgeting to buying a house. The Financial Planning Association of Boston will have volunteer financial planners there to help answer questions. You can set up a meeting with a Money Mentor when you register. If you have questions about the conference, contact Sheila O'Loughlin of the State Treasury at (617) 367-6900 ext 615.
