One of the most common things I hear from many couples is that the husband likes investing and planning, and thus wives are all too happy to let him handle the retirement strategizing.
Big mistake.
Not because I am doubting the skill and intentions of men. Rather, my concern is that it’s women who typically are the most at risk in terms of retirement security for a very simple fact: Women tend to outlive men.
It makes me so sad to read reports that many households don’t have even $1,000 set aside to cover an unexpected expense. What’s so sad is that I know that must cause such stress.
A recent report that studied the 401(k) savings habits of millions of workers found that one in four of you are not contributing enough to your account to qualify for your employer’s maximum match.
The average annual amount of money left on the table is more than $1,300 a year.
That is nuts.
You know I love, love, love Roth IRAs. One of the prime reasons being that in retirement you will not owe a penny of tax on your withdrawals. That’s quite different from a Traditional IRA where every penny will be taxed at your ordinary income tax rate.
As a nation we set aside one day a year to formally celebrate our independence. When it comes to your money my hope is that you will make every day, not just July 4th, a day where you make conscious decisions that will help you build financial independence: a life where you are in control of your money, and not vice-versa.