Most people are aware of the importance of saving for retirement. And, the earlier you start setting money aside for your future, the better a retirement you can enjoy. But knowing about it and actually doing it can be two very different things. When you have other demands on your budget and are short on cash, it can often feel like putting money to the side for your future is challenging, or even impossible. If you’re struggling to make enough money right now to set aside anything for retirement, the good news is that you don’t have to halt your retirement savings completely. There are still several creative things that you can do to make your money work harder for you when it comes to building your nest egg for the future.
Start an Investment Portfolio:
Investing your money is often one of the best ways to increase your retirement savings. And with a variety of investment options available, including many that do not require you to invest a great deal of money, it can be a good option for those who are short on cash, too. Trading binary options or trading on the Forex market are both ideal choices for investing that do not require you to put down a great deal of money at the beginning.
Open a Retirement Plan:
Instead of using a regular savings account, opening an account dedicated to saving for retirement is key to giving your savings the push that they need. An RRSP (Registered Retirement Saving Plan) is one of the best ways to do this. How do RRSP work, and where can you open one? An RRSP is an account that is designed specifically to help Canadians save towards retirement. Any money that you contribute will be tax-deductible, allowing your savings to stretch further, since you can subtract anything that you contribute from your income, meaning that ultimately, you will pay less in income taxes overall. Although you will eventually need to pay income taxes when you withdraw your money from the account when you retire, by this time, your tax rate will be lower – because you’ll be retired. There’s also the option to use a certain portion of funds from your RRSP to put towards funding your education or purchasing a property. Wealthsimple offers more information about setting up an RRSP and how to maximize your retirement savings through investments. Wealthsimple will provide you with access to expert financial advisors to help with your retirement saving goals while supporting you as you invest and grow the money in your RRSP.
Negotiate Your Monthly Bills:
Often, some freeing up of extra cash is needed to maximize the amount that you are able to put away towards your retirement on a monthly basis. Negotiating your regular monthly bills is one of the best ways to do this. Chances are that you are no longer getting all the best deals on the market and there might be different ways to save money on a regular basis such as switching to a different electricity provider or moving your smartphone plan to a cheaper option. You might even want to try and contact your service providers directly to ask them for better prices; letting them know that you are thinking of leaving because you have found a better deal elsewhere is often an effective way to encourage them to match the other deal you found and reduce what you pay. Make a habit of going through your monthly expenses on a regular basis to find any areas where money can be saved.
Pay Down Debt:
Today, most of us are in some kind of personal debt. It can be difficult to get through life without ending up owing money on a mortgage, credit card, auto loan, or personal loan. Whatever you need to borrow money for, the longer you are repaying it, the harder it will be to maximize the amount of money you are putting into your retirement nest egg. Consider working harder to pay down your debts before seriously committing to building your retirement savings. One of the best ways to get rid of your debts quickly is to use the snowball method. This method requires you to pay off your debts from smallest to largest. Firstly, commit to paying off your smallest debt as quickly as possible, while continuing to make minimum payments to the rest. Once you’ve cleared your smallest debt, put the amount of money that you’d typically pay on a monthly basis towards the next debt up in size, paying off more than the minimum to clear it faster. Continue up your list of debts until you reach the biggest one. By now, this should be the only debt you are in, and you should have freed up the amount you were paying to all the smaller debts, to put towards this one instead.
Consider a Side Hustle:
In some cases, no amount of scrimping and saving is going to make a huge difference to your retirement savings. If you are already getting everything as cheaply as possible and have exhausted all your options when it comes to reducing your expenses, it might be worth considering ways that you can earn more money instead. Today, starting a side hustle to earn more money towards your retirement is easier than ever, with several options to consider when it comes to earning a second income. This could be finally turning a creative hobby into a business, publishing an eBook, or starting a small business offering local services like dog walking, helping local parents with childcare, or a handyman service. The best way to make sure that your side hustle is effective is to choose to do something that you already enjoy.
Rent Out Your Additional Space:
Consider if you have any extra space around your home that you could be making money from. For example, if you have a spare room that never gets used, you can put it to use making some extra money from it. Anybody can benefit from sharing their home, and renting your spare room out to a lodger or roommate can be a great way to earn some extra money each month and improve your social life at the same time. If the idea of taking on a permanent new resident in your home doesn’t appeal much to you, it might be worth considering the idea of renting out part of your home to visitors through home-sharing sites such as Airbnb. If you don’t have a spare room at home, consider if you could make money from renting out your parking space. If you have extra off-road parking and are close to an area that generates a lot of traffic, you’ll likely find that people are willing to pay to park at your home rather than fork out for expensive parking fees in town. There are several great websites that you can use to start making money from your home parking spot.
Rent Out Your Car:
Whether you’re working from home, already retired, or able to find an alternative way to get to work like car-sharing or taking public transport, there is plenty of money to be made from renting out your car. If your car is sitting idle for several days of the week, why not put it to use supplementing your retirement income? There are various sites that you can use to find renters for your car that will cover all insurance needs for you, as long as you have the correct insurance for your car when you sign up.
Sell Your Stuff:
Lots of us are guilty of hanging on to our unwanted things for longer than we need to. Whether you simply don’t enjoy parting with things or never seem to be able to find the time to list items for sale, you could be sitting on a potential payment into your retirement account. Remember that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, so it’s always worth trying to sell anything that you no longer want, no matter whether or not you think it’s going to attract a buyer; you might be surprised. Often, people make the mistake of only selling unwanted high-value items, but the truth is that lower-value items can sell well and will add up over time to help you earn more money. Go through your home and clear out anything that you no longer need, from old clothes and household furnishings to tech items that you no longer use, and list them on eBay or Facebook Marketplace.
Incorporate Retirement Savings Into Your Budget:
Getting serious about your retirement savings is key to maximizing the amount that you put away, and this means budgeting for saving a set amount each month. Consider how much you can afford to put away, even if it’s only a small amount to start with, and make a commitment to save it on a monthly basis. You may find it helpful to set up an automatic payment to your retirement account just like any other expense.
Saving for retirement is often easier said than done. These strategies can help you free up more money and make an additional income to put towards your future.
