Real Answers for Life’s Money Challenges

I just turned 54.

I have never had any kind of retirement plan aside from saving money where I could.

I have about $30,000 lying in a savings account thats really doing nothing.

A middle-aged man walks along the river.

Any suggestions would be great.

But chartland is a perfect world.

Then, theres the real world.

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So your predicament is common, unfortunately.

But you still have options that can make your retirement years a lot more comfortable.

7 Ways to Make Money if You Hate People

Do you avoid people too?

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Enough small talk.Here are some waysto earn extra cash, without all of the social stuff.

Since you have $30,000 in your savings account, I suggest opening a Roth IRA stat.

(Seriously, like as soon as you finish this column.)

it’s possible for you to easily open one online.

Did you know?

Then make it a priority to fund it to the max every year.

It certainly wont buy you a cushy retirement, but it will make things easier.

So now that leaves you with $23,000.

You should leave about three months living expenses set aside in savings for emergencies.

Your retirement will be a lot more comfortable without a mortgage or consumer debt.

But if youre debt-free, you could open a taxable investment account to accrue more retirement savings.

You should also plan to wait as long as possible to take Social Security.

Ultimately, when you delay saving for retirement, you should plan to work longer and live on less.

But you do have options for building a nest egg, even when you get a late start.

Robin Hartill is a senior editor at The Penny Hoarder and the voice behind Dear Penny.

Send your questions about saving for retirement to[email protected].

(Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)

You know which ones were talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…