Let’s be real, most of us struggle with saving money.
Why save for later when we need or want it now? Well, there’s a lot you should know when thinking about your financial future.
If you work, most companies offer some sort of retirement benefit plan. Most likely, you are given the option to contribute to a 401k.
Understanding your options can be confusing so we sat down with an expert.
First question:
If it’s offered, should I be contributing to a retirement plan?
Our financial expert Philip Maliniak explained, “the short answer is, absolutely, people should save into their retirement plan. It makes a lot of sense, it’s a great way to just take money right out of your paycheck, forget it ever happened, send it there and then know that at some point in the future I will have assets for retirement.”
You might think, ‘I’ll just wait until I’m older.’ Think again.
Maliniak said, “If you can take 10 percent of your paycheck and put it off to the side in a savings account, a brokerage account, a Roth IRA, that’s a great way to start because the sooner you start and the sooner you get in the habit, the easier it will be to continue.”
Second question:
What kind of benefits are there to saving for retirement? The benefits are mostly in taxes, either in the short or long term.
“I often recommend clients have a balance. I have a 401k that’s giving me tax benefits today, I have my Roth IRA that gives me tax benefits tomorrow,” said Maliniak.
This is FREE money!
Most employers use the retirement plan as a huge employee benefit and if you’re not taking advantage you are missing out on cold, hard cash.
It literally pays to save with a 401k!