Not too early to start is it?

[20something]

I'll jump right into it, I have always thought of myself as an over thinker. So naturally in my early 20s I would be thinking of my retirement! My only investment being $50k mortgage at 3.1% on property with $50-$80k in equity. I have a high stress high workload job in Real estate sales. I have many questions, most of which I'm sure I'll find here. But one I must ask, is it ever too early to plan for retirement?

 

[jerome len]

nope, but don't think of planning for retirement, think of it as planning for financial security. When you're financially secure you can choose to retire or.....choose to work.....if you aren't financially secure, you may end up hating work, since you can't quit. So.....earn, save, enjoy and look forward to being financially secure, the earlier age you are, the better.

 

[Aiming_4_55]

Never to early to start thinking about anything.

Just be responsible with $$ and saving while enjoying life and contributing to society.... things will hopefully fall in place.

 

[Onward]

To me, financial independence is the only real defense against the insanity of mid-life. The problem has always been that it's almost impossible to convince an optimistic 25-yr-old that he will ever be driven so insane. Then years go by. And then it happens.

If you have the foresight to begin planning now, you are way ahead of the game. Your 45-yr-old self will thank you, more than you can ever guess.

 

[meekie]

Never too early. I think around age 6 I started putting 50% of my cash gifts into the bank. Seeing compound interest work was a great motivator for me. I didn't think of it as "retirement" at the time, was thinking more as a college fund, but it did end up being my emergency fund once I moved out.

 

[Mulligan]

As the Bogleheads say, at your age focus on saving as much as you can as that is way more important than your investment options. Then become familiar with those as you go. Remember the power of compounding. A 20 year old who invests $200 a month for 10 years and stops, has about as money at 60, as a person who starts at 30 and contributes $200 a month for 30 years! I wish I had been more financially disciplined at a younger age.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

nope, but don't think of planning for retirement, think of it as planning for financial security. When you're financially secure you can choose to retire or.....choose to work.....if you aren't financially secure, you may end up hating work, since you can't quit. So.....earn, save, enjoy and look forward to being financially secure, the earlier age you are, the better.

+1. I think you are way to young to think about retirement. Financial security is another thing. That just takes into account goals, financial goals if you will. Rule of thumb is to save and invest 10%. Ours was real estate. Don't go through life without a goal but don't beat yoiur brains out. Enjoy life first. For years when real estate was going good, all we ever tried to do was to build equity. In our 40 years of marriage we have owned 14 homes and made money on all of them. Building equity. It's tough these days but still the best investment in the world. Best of luck in the future.

 

[Live And Learn]

When I got my first raise from my first post-college j*b (age 22) I had 1/2 of it deposited in to a sepcially designated savings account and spent the other half. I did that again the following year, and the following year. After awhile I was certain I had the discipline to LBYM and keep saving so I stopped automatically transferring to the special savings account. Those original auto deposits have continued on until today. Its amazing how much has accumulated and its one of the reasons I can consider retiring at 50 or working a few more years and going on some pretty awesome vacations !

Bravo to you for thinking ahead

 

[obgyn65]

It's never too early to start saving. Welcome.

 

[WestLake]

I didn't really start contributing to a 401K until age 29 but I bought two homes (one a duplex) at age 25 in 1983. Paid $92,000 for one and $52,500 for the other. Now worth probably $350,000 and $200,000. I was also in Real Estate sales back then.

I say save 20% if possible. Otherwise it's difficult to retire by 55.

 

[CMH in CO]

The earlier you start the better. For most of us it takes a combination of consistent saving in addition to LBYM if you plan for an early retirement.And we are talking years of

 

[CMH in CO]

Whoops. Let's finish that thought. We are talking years of discipline with both. Some of us have had employers with great pension programs, which can really make a huge difference. But not as many employers are offering pensions now. So it may be up to you. Max a Roth Ira. Your contributions to a Roth are limited so save somewhere else too. I agree that 20% is good. If you want to retire early, keep in mind that you need access to funds for spending until you turn 59 1/2. So save in non-retirement funds too. Most important-don't buy a big house or expensive car unless you are really saving that 20%. Just as important as the saving is the LBYM. Many of is can tell you that it took decades of following these principles to be able to retire early.

Good luck. You are already way ahead of your peers just by asking the question. Listen to those on this forum. You get first hand knowledge from people that are successful at early retirement and the best thing you can do is learn from their experience.

Cases

 

[EvrClrx311]

Never too early... I started with my first paycheck, setting aside double what most book/articles would tell you to set aside for retirement. Decided at the age of 23 I'd continue to do so for the rest of my working career. Luckily I love what I do, but who knows if that will always be the case... I figure at 45-50 I'll have the choice now.