By Webster Tilton Retirement planning is a bad thing to put off. Here are 5 proven strategies you should look into sooner rather than later. 1) Start now: There is literally no age too young to start saving. Open up an IRA and start sliding a few dollars from every paycheck in it. Make it a habit ...

By Webster Tilton

Retirement planning is a bad thing to put off. Here are 5 proven strategies you should look into sooner rather than later.

1) Start now:

There is literally no age too young to start saving. Open up an IRA and start sliding a few dollars from every paycheck in it. Make it a habit and don’t every stop. You’ll thank yourself later.

2) Max out your 401K:

There’s some debate as to whether or not this is always the best idea, but in general it’s hard to go wrong. Employer contributions help a lot, as do tax breaks from the state and federal government. They have a strong motivation to encourage you to save; the more you can take care of yourself the less they have to do it.

3) Invest in rental properties:

It’s no small amount of work, being a landlord, but a decent, well managed rental property will usually cover its own expenses and not cost you much out of pocket. It may even earn you a profit. Over time the property will pay off its own mortgage and leave you a free and clear owner who can continue to rent or sell as best fits your situation.

4) Study the tax laws and, if necessary, move to another state:

Different states make more or less sense for retirees. Florida has no income tax and a below average cost of living and as such is extremely popular for people on a fixed income. Other states may have tax laws that allow you to travel more or deduct differently to best fit your personal situation.

5) Bite the bullet and pay for an expert:

doing any or all of this yourself isn’t necessarily a good idea. Building a plan with someone who does retirement planning for a living is the best way of making certain that you aren’t missing something, or making a serious error. It’ll cost you something up front, but it’ll save you vastly more than that down the road.