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Thinking about retirement is something that should be done as early as possible. This isn't to say that someone who doesn't start considering it until middle age can't retire only that it is going to be more difficult. This is primarily because the idea of investment is an equation with two parts not one. The one most of us focus on is money putting off saving because we don't have enough and missing the understanding that the second part of the equation is that of time.

Consider the possibilities of starting a retirement fund by putting 100 dollars in the bank each month at a 6.5 percent investment rate. If you do this at twenty and leave it in until you are 65 you will have $324,698.95. With the same amount of savings but only thirty years you would end up with $111,316.99 and with only ten years you would have only $17,031.53. This loss of time can of course be made up by an investment of more money, but if you begin to save now you can still put in more money later and have a huge head start.

Simply having enough money though is not the only thing to consider when preparing for retirement. Through years of resentment for the time that work takes from us it is easy to forget just how difficult it can be to have too much free time. It is for this reason that you must begin to consider the possibilities of what you will do when you retire. Keep in mind as you near retirement that six months after retiring a great many people sink into a depression. Don't let this be you. Create a routine, learn skills, find a hobby, plan to move closer to family, become involved in a church or volunteer group before you retire so you already have the connections.

Third to remember is that you want to be healthy when you finally have the time to enjoy it. Preparing for retirement means preparing to be healthy. Don't allow your work to drive you to being unhealthy. Consider making some minor changes in your lifestyle or even major ones that allow you to be health and likely even same you some money.

No matter what aspects of retirement you are considering the most important thing is to plan ahead. Thinking about the future now can lead you to a much easier and happier retirement.

Learn more about this author, Elton Gahr.
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