How to Start your Own Retirement Savings Plan?

A retirement savings plan is essential to your future financial security. Where to put the money is not the question. There are numerous choices of where to put your retirement savings. The question for most people is where do they get the money for the plan. Here's how to start one for yourself.

The old saying, Pay Yourself First, is without doubt, the best financial advice you'll ever get. If you don't pay you, who will? How do you manage that? Here's how.

From every dollar that comes in the door, take 10% off the top and put it in an account that you have designated for your retirement savings plan. If you have debt and lots of past due bills, this is probably a scary idea. What do I say to that? Just do it! Making the firm commitment to yourself to operate on 90% of your income is half the battle. As the weeks and months go by, you'll find you have adjusted to operating on less money.

The biggest benefit of this self imposed retirement savings plan is the financial security and peace of mind it gives you. You will find that you actually stop worrying about money. Just knowing that cash is there will make you sleep better at night.

Do you think the whole 10% is too steep a step to start with? Take a look at your cash flow from this point of view. Review all of the suppliers you pay out of your cash flow every week and get the idea that these suppliers are all on your personal payroll. Is there anyone you can terminate and operate without? Is there anyone you can cut back to part timer status? Just look at the bills that arrive every week, and/or those automatic deductions from your accounts and you'll see exactly who is on your 'payroll'.

Here is an example. I was working with the owner of a business who was having a hard time cutting operating expenses back 10% to stash away in his retirement savings plan. We looked at every expense from the viewpoint that the vendor was on his 'payroll.'

Suddenly we were playing a game of firing suppliers like the extra $9.95 per month third-party fraud protection on each of his credit cards. We didn't renew the contract on some advertising that wasn't bringing in much new business and found a less expensive alternative and saved $280 a month. We consolidated part of his debt to a low interest loan and saved over $300 in interest charges every month. We sold a lease-purchase piece of equipment he didn't need and paid off the note. That gained him $239 a month. We even fired his bank and hired a new one with no monthly account charges and got the old bank off his payroll to the tune of $25 a month. Now he has a nice pension fund building up each month.

Why is controlling the flow of money so important? Money is the energy and life blood of a business. It is vital to pump it through the income producing areas first to keep it running smoothly. Everything runs better when adequatecash is available. And that includes you, the owner of the company. Our Money Management Software guides you towards making the correct decisions about how to use your income to generate more profits and build wealth.

Just by changing your viewpoint about how you use your business' income, you can make a fun game of building your retirement savings plan. Be the Donald Trump of your own company. Take a really close look at who you are paying out of your hard earned income. Don't be reluctant to say 'You're Fired!' and pay yourself 10% first by setting aside that cash in your own retirement savings plan.