Thinking About Saving for Retirement #SHGenworth

So yesterday I mailed off our tax forms to the IRS and now we await our return.  We don’t claim all of us as dependents so we can end up with a bigger return and then we decide what we want to do with it.  Usually we use the money on a vacation, home remodel project and then we pay off some bills.  This year since we finally have no credit card debt, we are trying to decide what to do with the money.  We have decided though this year we will start really investing our money, somewhere.  I mean we are not getting any younger and we have yet to really come up with a retirement plan.  So my husband has been Googling like crazy about retirement plans and talking to co-workers for ideas.  We plan to use part of our tax return to start off and then make a monthly contribution.

One article I came across entitled “Tips for Planning Your Retirement” from Genworth Financial has 10 things you need to know to plan your retirement.  My husband was very impressed that I found it and it has become a great resource for us.  It is a basic article but one that is a starting point for us to think about.  I can’t believe I am thinking about retirement already but I know I need to.

Some of the 10 things to think about that popped out at me are:

• Set realistic goals.  Use a calculator to see how you should save each year.  For me to retire around 65 years old I would need to calculate just over $15,000 a year!  It will only get higher the longer we wait to start saving.

• An IRA can give you a huge tax break.  There are two types of IRAs to consider with the difference being paying taxes.
• Focus on asset allocation more than individual picks.  Think about how you invest your money between stocks and bonds to figure out your long-term returns.
• Stocks are the best for long-term growth.  I always thought stocks were risky and to stay away from them, but it makes sense that they are good for long-term growth.  For long-term stocks will have a chance to grow your savings faster than inflation, increasing the purchasing power of your nest egg.
• Making tax-efficient withdrawls can stretch your nest egg.  What?  Yes it is important to withdraw money from taxable accounts first and let tax-advantaged accounts compound for as long as possible.

Those are just the few ones that helped me out, but all of them are informative and give us something to think about.  So what are we going to do?  Honestly we haven’t decided yet.  First things first is we need to get our tax return so we have a starting point.  My husband is very adamant about stocks and bonds and many of them require a minimum balance.  So hopefully by the end of the month we have a better budget plan set up, a retirement plan written down and we can start saving.

Mom and More Disclosure: Information for this post is sourced from Genworth Financial in partnership with the SheHeard Influencer Network.  Please see my Disclosure Policy.