Three Reasons You Should Start Saving For Retirement Before You're 25

How far away is retirement for you? 10 years? 30? 40? Even if retirement isn’t for another 50 years for you, there are plenty of reasons to start saving up for your golden years as early as possible.

1.   You can reach retirement sooner: If you begin saving for retirement at 16 when you get your first job, putting away $2,000 a year for just 40 years, you could have around $560,000, assuming earnings grow at 8 percent annually.  And that's a heck of a lot more than you would have if you weren't saving anything at all. When you're young, you can invest relatively little for a short period and wind up with far more money than someone older who saves much more over a longer period. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Save a little now and reap big rewards later
2. Avoid Procrastination & be financially secure in old age: Start saving ASAP. There are plenty of ways to get yourself in the habit. If your job offers a 401(k), sign up. If you don’t have a company retirement fund, use a Roth IRA instead. Be aggressive with your investments, and put 90 percent of your investments in stocks; Stocks are interchangeably referred to as equities, since as a stockholder you own a slice of the company's value in the market, its equity.
3. More money = More time for the things you want to do and buy: Begin putting automatic deposits into an emergency fund, then you’ll always have a cushion for when things come up. You’ll never have to dip into your retirement savings to cover those unexpected expenses.

Remember, you should start your retirement savings right this second. If you contribute $100 a month, appreciating at 10% a year, you' could have over half a million dollars after forty years. Your most valuable asset is time, so make sure you use it.

To listen to 97.5 Y-Country’s Wild Bill and Honor’s CEO Scott McFarland talk about saving for retirement early, listen to the Mason Jar Monday episode below!

Financial "Faux-Pas" To Avoid In Your Twenties

Whether you are graduating from college, moving out on our own for the first time, starting your first real job, or making your first big purchase, your twenties are an exciting time often full of life milestones.  With those life milestones, comes the increased responsibility of managing your own money.  As exciting and fun as this time of your life can be, here are three financial “faux-pas” that you should avoid to set up your thirties and beyond to be a success. 

• Not setting financial goals: setting a savings goal is crucial regardless of your age.  As you approach the stage of looking at your first job, your first car, or even your first home, you will thank yourself for setting a savings goal and sticking to it when it comes to making a life purchase.

• Buying more than you can afford: on the flip side of savings, is spending.  We’ve all be tempted once we start to receive those first paychecks to go out and splurge.  Splurging a little is just human nature and is ok, but within reason.  Don’t spend more than you can afford (especially at the expense of your credit card!) just because you now have an income or are trying to keep up with your friends who are all buying brand new cars.  Set your limits, make a plan, and stick to it.  Your older self will thank you, later!

• Not starting a retirement fund: You’re probably thinking that you just started working, why in the world should you think about retiring?! It’s never too early and you will REALLY thank yourself when you are in your thirties and already have a head start on reaching your retirement goal.  Even if it is the bare minimum each paycheck, setting aside something towards retirement will literally pay off as the years go by. 

The full Mason Jar Money conversation between Honor’s CEO Scott McFarland and 97.5Y-Country’s Wild Bill on Financial “Faux-Pas” To Avoid In Your Twenties is below.  We just listed a few, but what are some other financial tips that you would give to someone in their twenties just starting out on their own?


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