The author, Jen Glantz. Insider’s experts choose the best products and services to help make smart decisions with your money ( here’s how ). In some cases, we receive a commission from our our partners , however, our opinions are our own. Terms apply to offers listed on this page. I finally got serious about retirement planning in my 30s and opened up a SEP IRA.
But I realized I needed a better plan to reach my goal of retiring early as a millionaire.
Now, I’m keeping strict track of my budget, diversifying my investments, and building new income streams.
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For most of my 20s, I rolled my eyes at the thought of saving money for retirement. I was mismanaging my finances, spending more money than I was making, so the thought of putting away cash for the distant future was something I was completely unwilling to do.
When I turned 30, I realized that I didn’t want to struggle financially anymore. But to change that, I’d have to make some significant adjustments.
I started an emergency fund , stuck to a strict budget, began investing, and, for the first time in my life, took saving for retirement seriously by opening a SEP IRA.
But as I saw more and more adults in my life not be able to retire at age 65, I knew that I didn’t want to follow in their footsteps and still be working hard at a full-time job at that age. That’s why I set a hefty goal for myself: to retire (ideally in my 50s) as a millionaire. To make that happen, I’m taking five steps right now. Retirement Calculator
Use Insider’s calculator to see if you’re on your way to a comfortable retirement by answering a few questions about yourself, your savings, and how long you expect to keep working.
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How much have you saved for retirement?
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How much will you save each month?
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$5,000
At what age do you plan to retire? 0100Optional It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Expected annual average pay increase? Anticipated monthly retirement spending? 70% of pre-retirement incomeLife expectancy? You will have about$1,725,000You will need about$2,940,000*Need is based on covering 70% of your annual pre-retirement income and a life expectancy of 100 years. 1. Keeping a close eye on my money Even though retiring as a millionaire is my future goal, in order to take any steps in the present to make that happen, I have to make sure I’m in complete control of my finances now.For the past year, I’ve set a strict monthly budget that I usually stick to (or am very close to sticking to) in order to limit any overspending. I try to save between 20 and 25% of my income every year and use that cash to fund my emergency or retirement fund, or contribute some of it to my investment portfolio.To make sure I’m staying on track, I check my finances regularly.On a daily basis, I make sure I’m accounting for all the purchases of the day and tracking those numbers in my budget.On a weekly basis, I check my credit card statements to stay mindful about my spending and make sure there aren’t any mistakes.At the end of the month, I spend an hour doing a self-report of my entire net worth, tracking how much my investment accounts went up or down for the month, how much I was able to save, and decide how much additional money I can contribute to my retirement fund that month (in addition to my monthly minimum that I contribute). 2. Making recurring contributions to my retirement fund Before I turned 30, I had a small 401(k) that I had contributed to a few times over the years and nothing else to show for my retirement savings.After opening up a SEP IRA , I decided to contribute a minimum set amount at the end of every month. By contributing to a SEP IRA monthly, the cash in that account can grow tax-deferred until retirement, which means I don’t have to worry about paying taxes on that money, or its growth, until later. […]
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