Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow

"Don't stop, thinking about tomorrow,
Don't stop, it'll soon be here,
It'll be, better than before,
Yesterdays gone, yesterdays gone."

These lyrics, by Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, are not just for those who may long for the Clinton years. They are a good motive for today's investors to not give up on saving for retirement. It will be here sooner than you think, too! My recent time on Facebook has been a reminder of just how fast time can go by. I have been reconnecting with high school friends that I have not seen in over 28 years! For those of you who have given up on the stock market because of the recent carnage over the past 16 or so months, my question is: what are you doing about your retirement savings? Just because your 401k has lost 30-50% of it's value and your employer is no longer matching a portion of your contributions is no reason to stop saving altogether. If anything, you may now need to save more! Social Security will only amount to perhaps 30% or less of what you will need to live on when and if you do actually retire (future blog). 401k and IRA savings plans are tax deductible, and if set up properly, are on automatic pilot. This means that you do not have to write a check to any financial institution to get your money to them. If you save automatically from your payroll or checking account, you will save more. Why? Because you are paying yourself first. When you pay yourself first, you are making sure that you are saving, instead of getting to the end of the month after the bills are (hopefully) paid, and realizing that you don't have any money left to save. So don't stop saving because you have lost money in the stock market, maybe you need to revisit your tolerance for risk. Saving for your future retirement is more important than ever, now that people are living longer and healthier lives. Oh great! Now I can't get that song out of my head!

1 comment:

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