I have been getting some inquiries lately about how people can start to set themselves for early retirement or a comfy retirement. I have to say however, that I was surprised to hear that some of these inquiries (including some “money making” entrepreneurs), were not doing the most important thing… the one thing you keep hearing when looking for investment advice… the one thing that you should be doing, but most likely aren’t…. PAYING YOURSELF FIRST!!
You have probably heard this many times, but I must write about it because it seems that nobody is doing it!! And I don’t mean 401K or Pension Plan… I mean taking money out of your cash earned and putting it into a Roth IRA, or Money Market, or Stocks, or some other investment vehicle!
Couples may say that they have two 401Ks between the two of them, but you have to understand that it is still not enough. We have to stop being afraid of money! This is the deep rooted reason some people don’t even pay what they owe and end up in debt. It’s easy to spend, but when that bill comes, you combat that fear by saying, if I ignore it, it will just go away, or… I will just pay for it the next time it comes around. The only way to conquer your fears is to face them. Force yourself to sit down and look at your budget… what you earn, what you spend, and what you must pay.
Once you figure this out, set aside some money to PAY YOURSELF FIRST! I applaud all of you who have some type of retirement plan in place, but keep in mind that by the time you retire, what you thought would be enough, really isn’t. Please, hear my plea and put this simple step to use in your plans for retirement. And when you ready to retire, and are pleasantly surprised at how much more you have saved than planned, you can thank me, or give it to me! I mean… hey if you don’t want to pay yourself, then you could always pay me (HA HA HA).
