Start a Roth the first year you’re working…

Although retiring seems decades away…and it is… the time to start saving for it is now. This is because if you are now in your mid 20’s, what you save has about 40 years to grow. And if you are consistently diligent about doing so, you will have a nice nest egg to enjoy in retirement.

If you’re not sure where to start, a Roth might be a good idea. Get it opened and contribute to it — as much as you can. There is a $6,000. annual limit, so aim for that. Each year, add to it. Since the money is earned income, you pay income tax on it, but when you put the $6,000. into a Roth, it grows throughout the years tax free. This means that when you start withdrawing,  (the earliest age is 59 1/2), but you aren’t required to withdraw from it until you want, it is tax free.

Even if you are contributing to a 401k or other retirement plan, a Roth is a smart idea too. As your career advances, and your income grows, put as much as you possibly can into your retirement fund(s).

If you have a plan that your employer contributes to as well, sometimes referred to as a matching plan, which means for every dollar that you put in, your employer matches that dollar amount for you too.  It’s free money from your employer, so you put in all you can up to the maximum allowed and in essence, you’d be saving twice as much.

You should rely on only you for your retirement. So start saving as early as you can and save as  much as you can.

It will be the difference between doing things you’d like to do to enjoy your retirement, or having to budget and not being able to enjoy your retirement.

The choice is ultimately yours, so choose wisely. What you save now is a gift to you later.