How to Speed Up Your Ability to Save for Retirement

According to experts, you should have roughly 10 times your annual income saved by the time you retire in order to maintain your standard of living into your retirement years.

Even that estimate may not be enough, depending on the lifestyle you hope to enjoy after your working years. Unfortunately, many fear that they’re not going to have enough when they stop working or that they’ll have to delay their retirement and keep working later in life.

These five tips can help you speed up your retirement savings and help make sure you have enough to enjoy life after retirement.

1. Invest Early

There is no bigger favor you can do for yourself than starting to invest early on in life. Even if you can’t save much when you’re young, putting whatever savings you can into high-growth investments will pay off down the line.

The reason is simple: compound interest. Your investment gains will stack if you allow them to. Let’s say you start with a $1,000 investment and earn a 10% return in one year. Next year, you’re starting with $1,100 plus any new savings you invest.

The other reason to invest early is that you have more time and may be able to make riskier investments that provide greater returns. When you have more time to recover, you can aim for investments with higher potential growth rates.

2. Save 20% of Your Income

How much should you be saving to reach your retirement goals? As a rule of thumb, experts suggest putting aside 20% of your after-tax income. One way you can achieve this goal is to automate your savings so that you contribute on a monthly basis or with every paycheck.

3. Kickstart Your Finances by Selling Unused Valuables

Saving money is no easy task, and sometimes you may need an injection of cash to get your savings going. Some mutual funds may require a minimum investment, often between $1,000 and $5,000.

One way to kickstart your finances is by selling unused or unwanted valuables, like silver jewellery or flatware. Jewellery buyers are always looking for precious metals to buy. They usually have it refined and recycled.

The key is finding jewellery buyers who will pay top prices for silver. Look for buyers that post their up-to-date rates on silver by weight and purity. For example, when you sell your silver to Muzeum, a Canadian jewellery and bullion buyer, they pay different rates for 99.99% pure silver, 99.9% silver, 92.5% silver, 80% silver, and 50% silver, all common purities found in coins, bars, jewellery, flatware, holloware, and other valuables.

4. Invest Your Tax Refunds

Investing your tax refund is one of the smartest financial decisions you can make. While many people have plans for how they’re going to spend the money, the extra funds can go a long way toward helping you achieve your retirement goals. If you’ve generated your tax refund by investing in a tax-advantaged retirement account, all the better.

5. Adjust Your Risk Tolerance with Your Age and Plans

Finally, you need to make sure your investment portfolio matches your age and your plans. As a general rule, younger people with more time to save have more time to recover from a stock market crash or a recession and are free to take on riskier investments. As you get closer to retirement, you can’t afford a sudden loss and need to shift more of your portfolio into income-generating investments.

It’s never too early or too late to get started on your retirement savings. These tips can help you speed up the process and save more before you say goodbye to the workforce.

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