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. The choices of where to put the retirement savings are endless. How to actually create the funds to put there is the question. Here’s how to start one on your own, FAST!

The old saying, Pay Yourself First, is some of the best money management advice you will 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 stash it in your retirement savings plan. This is more than likely a scary idea for those with debt and past due bills to pay. My advice? JUST DO IT! You will find that you CAN operate on 90% of the income if you decide you are going to. As the weeks and months go by, you’ll find you have adjusted to operating on less money.

The most significant benefit of this self imposed retirement savings plan is the financial security and peace of mind it gives you. You won’t worry so much about money. Just knowing that cash is there will make you sleep better at night.

Do you think the whole 10% is an impossible place to start? Take a look at your income from a different point of view. Look at all of the vendors you pay out of your herd earned money every month and get the idea that these suppliers are all on your payroll. Is there anyone you can get rid of and not really miss? Is there anyone you can cut back to part timer status? Just look at the bills that show up in your in-box every month, and those automatic fees deducted from your credit and bank accounts and you’ll see exactly who is on your ‘payroll’.

Here is an example. I was working with a business owner who was having a difficult time cutting company expenses by 10% to stash away in his retirement savings plan. We looked at every expense from the viewpoint that the vendor was on his ‘payroll.’

Right away we were playing a game of firing vendors like the extra $9.95 per month third-party fraud protection on each of his credit cards. We cancelled the expiring 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 a portion of his debt to a low interest loan and saved over $300 in monthly finance charges. We sold a lease-purchase piece of equipment he had no use for and paid off the balance. That saved him $239 a month. We even switched banks and moved his accounts to 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 it so important to be in control of the flow of money? Money is the energy and life blood of a company. It is vital to pump it through the income producing areas first to keep it running well. Everything runs smoother when enoughcash is available. And that includes you, the company owner. Our Money Management Software guides you towards making the best possible decisions about how to use your income to make more money.

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 hard look at who you are paying out of your hard earned cash flow. Don’t be shy about saying ‘You’re Fired!’ and pay yourself 10% first by setting aside that cash in your personal retirement savings plan.

Sandra Simmons, President of Money Management Solutions, has years of experience helping business owners and individuals manage their money to get out of debt. To find out about the Money Management Software she created, visit her website and watch the FREE 5-minute demo video at www.moneymgmtsolutions.com

- Sandra Simmons