When to Start Saving for Retirement?

Have you kept the proceeds from the lemonade stand you ran when you were 9 years old? Congratulations, you are a prudent retirement saver observing the most important rule of retirement planning: The time to start saving for retirement is never soon enough.

Setting funds aside for your retirement at a young age not only gives your money time to develop into a sizable nest egg, it also sets you up to make wise decisions throughout your life. Your goal may not be retiring early in style; many of us love our work and want to work and stay actively engaged as long as we possibly can. But starting to save for retirement early also makes you aware of the necessity of accumulating assets during your working life.

We’re all tempted to reward ourselves when we get our first paycheck, and again when we get our first big raise, and again when we get that huge bonus. We deserve it, after all. But the key to retirement savings is to, at least on a small level, resist these temptations. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say that every dollar we spend while we’re working could be a dollar saved for retirement. So the answer to “when should I start saving?” is … right now. And WalletPop is loaded with ideas on how you can save: Our weekly coupon round-up is a place to start.