Every few months, I will do something that
makes me pause, because I really feel like an adult when it happens.
Signing up for life insurance. Breaking
up with your current car insurance agent. Filling out your tax return. Creating
a “in case of death” file and putting your affairs in order. Now we can add
saving for retirement to that adult-list.
I’m not entirely sure why it’s taken me almost
five years of employment at my current job to suck it up and start a 403B
retirement account (same thing as a 401K but for non-profit employers), but it
is finally the time to do it. Looking back, I probably should have done this
when the economy was a bit better and there was a matching program in place,
but oh well!
I guess I can look at the bright side – I didn’t
lose anything in the recession, right?
Since we’re opening up an account with this
particular company, we can also look at other investment vehicles that are probably
a good idea to start now. We have a long way to go before retirement (try at
least another 27 years!) but it’s nice to know that our little nest egg is set
up all official-like. I’m looking forward to watching it grow!
Do you have a retirement plan set up?
One of the reasons I will be FOREVER grateful to my parents is that they set up a retirement account for me when I was in high school. And instilled me in a very real sense of urgency about saving saving saving for the rest of my life. (I may have taken their advice a little too much to heart, honestly.)
ReplyDeleteI've always had one because it comes "built in" as a teacher. Although with the state of our state I will be lucky if I have a retirement. We are just getting started with hubby's now. It's 2 years before the company contributes, but his 2 years started this summer while interning:) We haven't figured it all out yet, but we will before he starts in January. My BIL is a financial advisor and he's going to help us make some decisions. We want to make sure the bulk is somewhere other than SS since if something happens to my husband I can't draw or I'll get very little of his because of my teacher retirement:( Although there may not be much of that anyway if I don't teach my full years.
ReplyDeletegood for you! my husband has a 401k through his employment and he puts in the max amount he can that they will match (free money!) we've seen us gain thousands and lose thousands over the years. but overall, it's a great thing to have.
ReplyDelete