Thursday, September 21, 2006

Cracks in Our Nest Eggs

If savings goals are so important, why is it so hard to put together a nice chunk of change? That's the question explored in the A.G. Edwards Nest Egg Score Survey.

A. "It’s the cost of living and debt," according to A.G. Edwards, an investment and money management firm. "Surprisingly, those aged 35-44 – a group with high earnings potential – had the hardest time building a nest egg due to debt."

Here are the survey details.

* "Essential? Extremely important?" That's how 47 percent of Americans feel about building a nest egg, according to the Nest Egg Survey.

* "55% cited cost of living and everyday expenses as the biggest obstacles to building their nest eggs.

* Another 28% said the biggest obstacle was too much debt.

* Only 66% of all respondents have a retirement plan.

* About 58% of non-retired respondents said they have no idea how much of a nest egg they should have to live comfortably in retirement."


Patching the Cracks: Solutions:

"Be proactive. The most important thing is to get started while time is on your side. The more time you have to save, the better off you’ll be.

Out of sight, out of mind. Don’t fund your retirement with the money that’s left over at the end of the month. Using direct deposit, you can have a portion of your paycheck put into your retirement/savings account automatically. What you don’t see, you can’t spend.

Find out what retirement will cost you.

Create a realistic plan to pay down debt. Debt can eat away at your retirement savings. Get a pay down plan to attack the debt – and get rid of it – so you can focus on building your nest egg."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Did anyone cite plain old lack of self-control and zero sense of urgency? *Laugh* I know that's my reason.