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Working towards retirement can sometimes feel like an endless game of shifting goalposts. You work hard, save well but somehow, as the years go on, it seems like retirement is still a long way off.
If you feel like you are stalling in your progress, dont worry. Saving for retirement is tricky if you don’t have the know-how or the experience in spotting ways to make your money work harder. You might be a hard worker and a great saver, but there are a few other ways you can build up your funds for a happy retirement.
If you’ve got your mind on your money, you need to do something to make it work for you. Here are two simple ideas.
Invest
Making an investment is the best way to put your savings to work and there are all sorts of investments you could make. Some things such as investing in a startup company will be high risk but other investments come with relatively low risk such as investing in property. If you still have a few years left before you plan to down-tools, consider longer term investments for better returns. However, if you are looking to retire a bit faster, you may prefer short-term investments with quick payouts.
You might also see smaller purchases as an investment. For example, you could buy gold or start a collection of artworks. With this method, you will be able to see and enjoy your investment as well as have it working hard for your finances.
It is important to state, though, that if you are an inexperienced investor you should always seek financial advice from a trusted and experienced advisor before you act. This will help you to make smart choices with your money and should make you fully aware of the risks you may be taking.
Pay Down Debt
Debt is a huge drain on your finances simply because of the interest you are building up over the time period you take to pay it off. If you have to make a choice between paying extra toward your retirement fund or paying extra toward eliminating your debt, there’s a strong argument to choose the latter.
The longer your take to pay off your debts, the more expensive they become. If you can pay debts off faster such as your mortgage or credit card bills, you will actually be saving money in the long term that you can redirect to your pension fund. However, you must watch out for early payoff fees and do the math to figure out whether it is still worth paying off early or not.
Again, a financial advisor will be able to assist you in doing all your calculations and figuring out what your priorities are. As with many things in life, how your finances work will be quite different to other people’s so you will need an independent professional to help you tease through your finances and set goals that are reasonable for you.