Do you know that your lifestyle affects your retirement planning? Or are you getting a better paycheque but still find it hard to save for retirement?
Read on further below.
Your lifestyle affects your retirement planning
Recently, I read an article by Yap Ming Hui on NST online with the title SAVING little for retirement.
This great article is an awakening call for those who are still not planning for their retirement. I won’t be surprised to know that even those who make hundreds of thousands a year are not saving for retirement.
The main reason is as their income goes up, their lifestyle also goes up.
When a person earns RM3,000 a month, he drives a small economy car just to bring him to his destinations. With only RM3,000, how to save for retirement?
When his salary increases to RM6,000 a month, he is driving a bigger and more expensive car.
In the same way, when his salary increases to RM10,000 a month, he will replace his car with a more expensive model.
If he continues, he will not be able to have enough savings for his retirement.
How to save more when our income increases?
I agree that as our income level increases, we will need to somehow upgrade our lifestyle.
But, do monitor and adjust your lifestyle from time to time according to your retirement planning.
For example, do you really need that expensive newly launched car? Or, do you really need to move to a bigger new home just because you’ve increased your income?
Why not put the new purchases aside and invest the additional income in Private Retirement Scheme (PRS) or investment such as a unit trust fund, robo-advisor or gold investment?
If you prefer something more traditional, you can consider contributing more to EPF through EPF self contribution.
Final thoughts
It is important to have sufficient savings for our golden years.
Make it a priority to save a portion of our income while we are still in our income-generating years as we’ll not be working and earning forever.
As you are getting nearer to your retirement years, you will be grateful for your early saving attitude.
Hi Yan,
This is one very important message. Indeed, as there’s a mandarin saying that goes like “save little and it’ll become abundant”. =)
Thanks for this valuable reminder. Haven’t been here for awhile, but always follow your feed. ^^ take care.
Hi Ching Ya! Thanks 🙂 Didn’t log-in for a few days. Had been pretty busy lately. Will tell you why soon :p Take care, pal!
Hi! It’s a good thing I don’t idolize cars that much. As long as I have a ride, that’s good enough for me. I’m only 30 years old but I’m proud to say that I have 400k in retirement fund already. ^^ Keep posting ^^
Financial freedom for all!
Earn and Save Money Now! The Pinoy Entrepreneur
Hi Pinoy Money Magnet! Thanks for your comment and for dropping by. I had a quick visit at your blog. You have a great and informative blog. It’s also interesting to know that we had some similarities 🙂 I am impressed by your fat retirement fund! Lets Keep Posting 🙂
Hi Yan, i found it difficult to save nowadays especially when I started to pay monthly car & house loan. Consequently, I have less confident to take the risk for investing as only little was saved in the end of the month.
Hi Anonymous, That's great that you still be able to save at the end of the month. Many just ngam-ngam and i knew some who even had to borrow from friends till the next paycheque. I believe it's still important to invest, even RM100 a month is also better than nothing. As the time goes by, with the compounding interest, you will see your RM100 grow into a bigger amount. Alternatively, you can try to reduce your expenses. If can't reduce your expenses, then get some extra income. Happy Planning 🙂