In this article, we examine a recent survey on retirement savings and consider ways to re-allocate money for savings, using a budget.
45.5% of adults may have nothing saved for retirement.
According to a survey published in October 2019, 45.5% of over 2,000 adults of all ages polled had nothing saved for retirement. GoBankingRates.com is an educational and financial information resource for consumers and published the survey.
Another 18.8% of respondents have less than $10,000 saved for retirement. And 12.3% have between $10,000-49,000 saved. Keep in mind, retirement can be 30 years long, depending on when you retire and how long you live.
Won’t social security will help people in retirement?
According to a report published in US News and World Report, the average monthly social security payment as of January 2019 was $1,419. Social security likely won’t be sufficient as the sole income source in retirement.
According to the same GoBankingRates.com survey, 45% of respondents said they don’t make enough money to save. This was the number one reason respondents said they couldn’t save.
So how can you “find” money to start saving?
That could start with looking at the amount of money your household earns in income, compared to the amount of money your household spends. In other words, create a budget.
Here’s an article I wrote on some tips for creating a family budget. Ultimately, once you find out where you money is going, you can figure out where there is opportunity for saving.
- Maybe there is an old subscription service or gym membership billed monthly on your credit card that you no longer use.
- Many people find they can set up a monthly transfer of funds from a checking to a savings account, creating an automatic savings tool monthly.
- Maybe eliminating one take-out meal per week is reasonable with a little more advance meal planning.
- Whether it’s $10 or $100 per month that you can save, automating the savings can result in less decisions you need to make each month.
Note that you should consult with your financial professional on what is best suited to your personal situation, as information included here is not intended as personal advice.
