A Financial Awakening Comes At This Age
Most people say they finally become comfortable with their finances when they reach a certain age, and it's under the age of 35. And if you've already blown by this milestone and you're not feeling too money-confident yet, we've got some tricks to get you moving toward a $4 million stash for retirement.
Oh, why not just win the lottery and sock away a few million bucks that way. But most millionaires say they didn't get lucky and fall into piles of cash in a day. They've built wealth over time by being disciplined with auto-transfers into a savings account and steady contributions into IRAs and other retirement accounts. It's not as exciting as hitting the lotto, but it's proof that we can all get there if we'll get a little disciplined.
A new study from Ally Financial said people generally get comfortable with finances at the age of 33, meaning they've started to get confident with the monthly budget and the ends are meeting, and a retirement plan is in the works.
How much money do we have to make to be "comfortable," anyway? It's about $53,000 per year, according to Ally. Is that enough in Texas? If you've got kids and big vacation plans and need home improvements, tripling that might be nice. And how much do we need to retire? Swallow hard. Most people have a goal of $4 million.
To get a jump on saving goals in 2019, the experts have some advice on getting started. It all starts with setting a budget and sticking to it, then opening up a Roth IRA, maxing out a work 401k() plan, setting a goal of $4 million or whatever you'll need to pay your bills and take a few vacations when you retire, and setting up auto-transfers so the money will whip out of your account before you can get your hands on it.
I know the kids need braces and the car needs tires and we gotta eat. But I'm going to get more disciplined this year about saving money and maybe that's on your list too. Wanna race? First one to $4 million wins twenty years of golf, leisurely lunches, road trips, and time to kill. We can do this.