More Tricks to Get Going: Saving Enough for Retirement!

Last time around, the Tricks to Save for Retirement series discussed the psychological obstacles to explain why people haven’t started saving for retirement.  For this next part of my ongoing “the glass is half-full series”, let’s look at more tricks to saving ENOUGH for retirement!

Become An Investor to Save Enough for Retirement

I was thoroughly encouraged by one of the findings in the 2010 Canadian Securities Administrators Survey on Retirement and Investing released as part of Investor Education Month this October.  Investors feel they will have enough money for retirement!  This was compared to their non-investing counterparts.  In fact, people who consider themselves to be active investors were twice as likely to believe they will have enough money to meet their retirement needs (62%) as compared to (31%) who are not investing.

There has been a lot of attention in the media on how to get started as an investor.  While much of it has been quite vague, or worse yet part of advertisements aimed to attract new clients to the numerous self-directed investment houses, many of which are owned by Banks, we can help you with:

Specific Tips to Build Confidence While Investing

Here @ DoNotWait! we have  researched, developed and enhanced investor tools and resources based on the needs of investors.  Our goal is to become an environment where people feel confident they can find impartial, professional advice on how to invest in capital markets successfully.

We have posted articles to help you Plan For Retirement to give you a starting point, to look at what is involved to Take Responsibility for Your Investment Returns along with details on how to Determine Your Investor Profile and Your Ideal Asset Allocation.

The above-mentioned survey also found that 71% of investors say they’ve done research on their last investment opportunity, either themselves or through their financial advisor. We’ve also addressed the importance of the Relationship with Your Advisor.

Use Your Financial Institution to Pay Yourself First

Also prevalent in the media and advertisements lately: the difficulties people are having with saving money and the savings programs being promoted by the banks.

I had read that half of Canadians don’t save on a regular basis and that almost 40% feel that all the cash is gone after having paid the bills.  Enough with the bad news, the key is to pay yourself first.  The Wealthy Barber always made sure to put money in a savings account before paying bills or spending on discretionary expenses.  Your bank should be able to get you started in the right direction.

The best advice is to start slowly by transferring cash to a separate, dedicated savings account via an automatic saving program with a small amount each week from your paycheque. The amount you choose can be a function of you goal.  An example of savings $20 a week can go a long way in helping you reach your savings goals of $1000 by year’s end.

So there you have it: Become an Investor to ensure you have enough savings for retirement.  Become confident as an investor by using impartial, professional advice provided to you at no additional cost.  And use your financial institution to serve your needs, trust me, they want your money deposited in their bank.  Have them earn your business by helping you reach your goals.

Let us know what tricks work best for you.

Author: Robert

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