6 tips to retiring rich

1. Save early and often

One the most important tools for building wealth is time. Those who started saving in an IRA at a young age have a definite head start on the those who chose to wait, as their compound interest is stacking up. Just because you showed up late to the party doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start now. Consistent contributions can’t make up for the lost time, but can increase your wealth in the long run.

2. Take advantage of employer match

If your employer contributes to your workplace retirement plan, make sure that you are contributing enough to get the full match. This is as close to free money as it gets and you can’t afford to miss out. The most common match is fifty cents on the dollar with a 6 percent ceiling. If you make $50,000 a year, you could be missing out on over a thousand dollars of free money.

3. Automate it

Do not let saving for retirement be a choice and something that you have to manually keep up with. You are a busy person, so set up automatic contributions from your paycheck. That way you can just forget about it and save.

4. Get the right help

Some people are more comfortable admitting when they aren’t confident than others, but when it comes to your money you need to swallow your pride and ask for help. There is always someone out there that is more knowledgeable and more informed than you. The right financial advisor can create a comprehensive financial plan and help you develop a plan for sticking to it.

5. Don’t be stupid

Investing and risk are essentially synonymous there is no avoiding that, but there are ways you can avoid major mistakes. Stay away from more complicated and risky things like trading on margin or options, and understand that the market fluctuates. The worst thing you can do is pull your money out of the stock market during a downturn without giving your investments an opportunity to rebound.

6. Downsize before retiring

Before you finally retire you have to think about the things you currently have that you are not going to need. Your needs shift greatly when you retire and you can save a great deal of money by leaving expenses behind. Whether it’s having more cars than you need or having a much larger house than is necessary, downsize and relieve that burden on your savings.