Are you one of the many folk who are starting late to save for retirement? Wondering whether you may have left it too late in fact? You’re not alone. I’ve got a story for you…
This is the first of 10 articles on starting late to save for retirement.
I met a guy recently, I will call him Journey-Man.
Journey-Man is a guy who started asking himself some tough questions about savings and investments. At some point in the not too distant past Journey-Man started wondering if he had left things too late. He started thinking about this more and more and decided to take a journey of discovery.
Join us as we follow Journey-Man as he tries to answer that question ‘Have I left things too late?’
Journey-Man is a real guy, but he chooses to remain anonymous.
So, here we are!
I am Journey-Man and I have a question, “Is it too late to start saving and investing?”
When you start thinking you have left things too late, you may also start to believe that there is no hope. I believe there is always hope. So, from today, as I start looking at options available to people who have not started saving or investing early enough, I do so with hope!
I was always told that ‘knowledge is power’. It is with this slightly cliched mantra in mind that I will look for solutions to the problems of a late-starter.
What is a Late Starter?
I suppose that’s up for debate. Perhaps I will find that it’s too late to start saving and investing if you are over thirty, or that that I should have started saving when I was still in school. ‘Late’ may be a relative term so you can decide. For me being a late-starter means that I have come to understand that I probably should have started saving and investing earlier in my life. I probably could have started earlier in my life; but the reality is that I didn’t. I’m starting late to save for retirement.
It may be good to follow along with me regardless of your age because there may be a time in your future when you believe you have let things too late.
So here we go!
This will be a practical journey in which I’ll share how to start sorting out your finances and take charge of your money. I’ll be sharing from my own perspective and my own reality. It may not all relate to you but I really hope that together, we will realise that it is never too late to start. Rather, it is generally too early to quit.
Facing Reality
There are a few realities that I must face as I start this journey, and these are some of the things that I want to test, change, upgrade and (perhaps) fix: –
- I’m worried that I can’t do this!
- I don’t know enough about savings and investments.
- I have, for a long time, survived – I think that ‘survival’ must be the arch-enemy of ‘success’!
- Although I hate to admit it, I think I spend too much!
- I have a ‘savings’ account (which is actually a spending account) but I don’t have an investment account.
- I don’t have a real plan for my finances – I am not sure that I ever had one.
- Life is busy and I don’t know that I have the time to dedicate to this task!
- I want to share my knowledge with my children and other younger people in my life so that they can understand the value in starting early!
- My fear of the future has led to my bad attitude towards money, and that needs to change!
- How can I manage my debt in retirement?
I continue to believe that anything is possible if I work hard, learn, plan and commit. I have noticed in my life that consistency and persistence are powerful tools and attributes. I intend to take them out and use them to the maximum effect as I take this journey.
About the Journey Man; who is he?
So, before starting this journey with you here are some things you need to know about me: –
- I am not providing financial advice of any kind. This is a personal journey and you are welcome to come along. You need to make your own decisions and request professional financial advice where necessary.
- I am not going to make any decisions unless I have had professional advice.
- My late-starter journey assumes that I have no savings or investments (that includes a pension fund, RA, or buried treasure in the back-yard). If you have any of these things, you are already better off than me!
- I am in my late Forties! I wasn’t kidding when I said that I left this a ‘bit’ late. If you are younger than me, you are already better off than me!
- I am employed (for now) so I do have a monthly income (and I intend to use it to the best of my ability as I journey along with you).
- I am a husband, and a father to two beautiful children. I have tremendous responsibility (can you feel the anxiety in that sentence?)
Right, let’s gather some information for the journey!
As I said earlier, I believe ‘Knowledge is Power’. In this information age I know that there is valuable information out there; information to guide, encourage and assist me as I plot my course.
Keep reading as I share my journey, findings and motivation over the next 9 articles.
I must admit that I am excited about what is about to happen. I think that the next few months are going to be life-changing.
Let’s GO!
Next up, knowledge is power.
Journey-Man