31% of Americans Have No Retirement Investments – Tips for Starting

“Nearly a third, or 31% of U.S. adults said they had no savings or pension to help them afford retirement, according to the Federal Reserve Board.”  – CNN Money

I want to say that I’m surprised, but after working with students, employees and retired folks for the last seven years ….  this is what I already know. If you’re part of this group, you’re going to be in for a HORRIBLE surprise come “retirement age”. Either you won’t be able to retire at all or the money from Social Security will only be enough for you to afford a room in your kid’s house and no fun, but it’s not too late. Here are my tips for creating a retirement plan and sticking to it … at any age.

0 – 16

Think it’s too early to start thinking about your child retiring? Not so. Though you can’t take advantage of tax-deferred plans like IRAs (you’re kid probably has no earned income) you CAN put a few dollars away every month in a regular investment account, buy individual shares of stock or purchase savings bonds. Let’s assume that you contribute $50 per month (or $600 per year ….  birthday … Christmas …  ) to any one of these strategies and that the investment earns 2% per year on average (some years more, some years less). By the time that child is 67 years old, that investment would be worth $84,584.31. Imagine how much money it would be worth once your child started contributing too.

16 – 24

By this time you are probably working, but not making much money. You might think that $50 per month won’t amount to much anyway so why bother? Because that $50 per month, or more, could end up being $432,992.84! Once you’re working you have earned income and can take part in wonderful retirement investing plans like 401k/403b, if your job offers them, or Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), if your job doesn’t. You put in $30,600 over your working years (16 to 67) and you’ll end up with a half-million dollars … easy! Read more about this in my book 10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money.

25 – 40

Yes! Now, we are in the prime earning years! Not only do you have a job, you probably have a half-way decent job. No more ramen for you! It’s time to take it up a notch. If you have been investing (since you have that good job) increase that contribution. If you haven’t begun contributing yet, it’s time to start.

You might think that you don’t have any spare money to invest or you might not know how to invest (read Money Matters: The Get It Done in 1 Minute Workbook), but it’s easier than you think, especially if your company offers a retirement plan with a company match. On your own, the average American can find $50 worth of spare change every month. PLUS, think about the ways that you waste a few dollars here and a few dollars there every month. Assuming a monthly $50 investment, starting at 30 years old, into a tax-deferred retirement account could still net you $136,725.48. Bump that up to $75 per month and you’ll be looking at $205,088.22. Not too shabby!

40 – 67

If you’re here then you are squarely looking at retirement …. perhaps. In Money Matters: The Get It Done in 1 Minute Workbook I have a worksheet that asks you to take a look at where you are and where you’d like to be. If you’re path is not heading in the direction you’d like it’s not too late to change.

You’ll need to do a little more to catch up, but it’s not impossible. A monthly $200 investment with an 8% return could turn into $229,797.95. Use the Social Security Administration’s estimator to find out how much you’ll get per month once you’re retired. You may find out that you need to work a few extra years. You may find out that you’re fine. Ether way, knowing is better.

If you haven’t begun investing for retirement yet, don’t be downhearted. The time is now. Don’t wait another day. Contact Human Resources at your job and find out how to start investing. Find a fee-only planner and take a comprehensive look at your financial situation. Buy a book to learn the basics and get started.

Working hard won’t get you what you want. Working smart will.

It begins now.

 

Shay Olivarria is the most dynamic financial education speaker working today. She speaks at high schools, colleges, and companies across the country. She has written three books on personal finance, including Amazon Best Seller “Money Matters: The Get It Done in 1 Minute Workbook”. Shay has been quoted on Bankrate.com, FoxBusiness.com, NBC Latino and The Credit Union Times, among others. To schedule Shay to speak at your event visit www.BiggerThanYourBlock.com

Money Mistakes on Retail Me Not

The dumbest thing Shay ever did with money is a story told at RetailMeNot.com.

Financial Education Speaker & Author Shay Olivarria’s whole career has been built on sharing the mistakes she made with others in hope that those mistakes could be avoided by others. Now, she shares the biggest money mistake of her life with Emma Johnson at Retail Me Not.

Smart people make dumb mistakes all the time. That’s why they’re smart—they learn from their mistakes. Even smarter? Learning from other people’s mistakes! Instead of screwing up your own finances, check out these doozies committed by financial professionals.

Read the article here http://theinsider.retailmenot.com/money-lessons.html

Camp Miss Independent

Camp Fire USA Executive Director/CEO Sandra Rutherford with SCE Federal Credit Union Foundation representative Shay Olivarria at Camp Miss Independent.

Saturday, April 21st was the Second Annual Camp Miss Independent hosted by Camp Fire USA. The SCE Federal Credit Union Foundation supported the event, so Shay Olivarria delivered three 45- minute presentations on personal finance topics including:

Click to visit SCE FCU

Financial Goal Setting (creating S.M.A.R.T. goals)

Paying Yourself First (Emergency Funds and Retirement Accounts)

Understanding Financial Institutions (Credit Unions, Community Banks,and Banks)

Camp Miss Independent is a two-day event at Camp Nawakwa in the San Bernardino mountains. Students come up Friday night and and stay overnight until Sunday morning. Speakers cover personal finance, dressing for success,financial aid, and college life. Students were excited to receive a special offer from SCE FCU.

SCE Federal Credit Union Foundation representative Shay Olivarria facilitates a discussion the difference between credit unions and banks at Camp Miss Independent.

Students really enjoyed Shay’s presentations. They said they learned:

“The difference between banks and credit unions”

“I can start saving money now”

“Start saving around $50 a month and I’ll have lots by the time I’m 30 years old. So save, save, save!”

“Retirement fund and realizing that I NEED to save money if I want to have a comfortable lifestyle”

“Debit cards do not effect your credit”

“Setting short & long term goals …just setting financial goals in general”

“The eye opening information makes me realize that I need to make smarter decisions”

“Saving money but also knowing how to use it”

I had a great time working with the students that attended Camp Miss Independent 2012!

Shay Olivarria is the most dynamic financial education speaker working today. She speaks at high schools, colleges, and companies across the country. She has written three books on personal finance, including Amazon Best Seller “Money Matters: The Get It Done in 1 Minute Workbook”. Shay has been quoted on Bankrate.com, FoxBusiness.com, and The Credit Union Times, among others. To schedule Shay to speak at your event visit www.BiggerThanYourBlock.com.

ACS Financial Education Event

 

Shay Olivarria was the keynote at the ACS Financial Education event in New York City April 11, 2011. The event was held at The Children’s Place on 1st Ave and 28th. Everyone had a great time! There were some great vendors at the event:

CheckSpring (community) Bank – They are a local community bank that’s mission is to provide financial services to the local community. They have branches in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx.

Department of Consumer Affairs – They have loads of good things going on, but the thing that really stood out was the Safe Start Program. If you can’t open an account at a financial institution because you’re on ChexSystems you might be able through this program. Through the Save USA Program you may also be able to earn $500  for letting your tax  return grow in an approved financial institution.

Henkels & McCoy – They provide job services to 17 to 21 year olds that are not enrolled in school.

IRS – Darrell Weinberg talked about free  services in the city. Did you know you could get your taxes done for free.

SBA – They were on hand to answer any questions about starting a small business. Check them out if you’ve ever considered starting a business.

Candi Sparks was also there. She wrote a book called Can I Have Some Money? (Volume 3) Max Gets It! Pick up your copy for $10 on Amazon.com.

 

Need a speaker for your next financial education event? Book Shay Olivarria! Visit www.BiggerThanYourBlock.com to watch videos, read testimonials, and buy copies of 10 Things  College Students Need to Know About Money, Money Matters: The Get It Done in 1 Minute Workbook, and All My Mistakes.

Shay on CU Broadcast

Watch the video here

I’m so glad that I had a chance to sit down and talk with Michael Lawson from CU Broadcast. He interviews awesome people involved with credit unions across the country, so I’m honored that he wanted to interview little ol’ me!

We talked about why I became a financial educator, why credit unions are awesome, and how my two books “10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money” and “Money Matters: The Get It Done in 1 Minute Workbook” are helping people across the country.

Click here to watch the interview.

Interview w/ CU Broadcast

I just finished my first interview with Mike Lawson at CU Broadcast. We talked my work teaching financial education to youth, my partnerships with credit unions around the country, and how the credit union industry can continue to grow and reach out to more members. We even talked about why I named my company Bigger Than Your Block and why I wrote “10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money” and “Money Matters: The Get It Done in 1 Minute Workbook”.

I had a wonderful time being interviewed and I’m looking forward to seeing the interview posted on CUBroadcast.com. Until then, take a look at the other interviews Mike has conducted with credit union industry professionals across the country.

Credit Union Times

You guys know how much I respect and appreciate the work that credit unions do, right? Well, I’m honored that the Credit Union Times has included me in a story about getting students engaged in financial education. Whoo hoo!

Read “Pop Culture and Field Trips Drive Home Personal Finance Lessons“.

“So many of the financial education courses focus so much on the theory and academia of it that kids just shut down,” said Shay Olivarria, a credit union board member, speaker and author of 10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money-Small Changes Make a Big Difference.

“Instead of telling them about a bunch of terms, present the information from where they are at. Otherwise they’ll just tune you out because they’re thinking, ‘You have no idea of the life I lead,’ and that doesn’t make them want to save.”

Read the full article here.

Who Controls Your Retirement Account?

I was reading about how the rules that govern your 401k and IRA are created in Financial Advisor and it kinda scared me. I think that we should all be saving for retirement. The part that scares me is when there are laws enacted to make sure we do:

While at Brookings, Iwry began developing the auto-IRA, which would require employers without retirement plans but with more than 10 employees to withhold a portion of each employee’s pay—similar to a payroll-tax withholding—and deposit it into an IRA. Employees could opt out.

Be an adult
You probably realize that I’m all for small government and personal responsibility. People should be educated about how and why to save for retirement and then left alone to make their own choice. If they end up eating cat food because they haven’t saved a penny… that’s not my fault. The reason that many law makers want to make laws that force people to save is because they think we’re not smart enough to comprehend the importance of saving and investing for our own well being. If we don’t start making different choices we’ll either end up a) being forced into programs that we don’t understand. Obviously if we understood them, we wouldn’t need to be forced. We’d run to our financial institutions and set up our automatic retirement contributions as soon as we earned our first check from the mall or b) we’ll opt-out of those forced plans and become part of the social welfare system set up for people that couldn’t handle being an adult and making adult decisions.

Make good choices

What is more, the lower-income workers are more likely to withdraw money before 59 1/2 for emergencies and living expenses, and then owe a 10% tax penalty on the withdrawal. “They might wind up with less after taxes than if they had never contributed at all,” says Ms. Ferguson.

That means that workers that don’t earn that much in the first place are putting a few dollars aside and then pulling them out before they should, triggering extra penalties. I understand that sometimes things happen that we can’t control, however we can control our responses. Do you have an emergency account set up to deal with life’s emergencies? Do you have your retirement contributions going to your 401k or IRA account automatically so you can pay yourself first?

One day you’ll be old.
One day you’ll be old. You can choose to prepare for that eventuality and feel the sense of pride and accomplishment that comes with that or you can choose to do nothing and hope that you can get by on whatever money you get from social security every month. Are you willing to make decisions that will set you up for a comfortable retirement? Will you make small sacrifices now to have future gains?

Whatever you’re life ends up being, it’s that way due to your choices.

Choose wisely.

April is Financial Literacy Month – 50 Games to Play FREE

Since April is Financial Literacy Month I’ve invited a few folks to share their blogs with my readers throughout the month.

I love working with youth around financial literacy. To remind us that personal finance is not all series business here are 50 games that you can play with your child to help them understand financial literacy.

Don’t forget to purchase a copy of Money Matters: The Get It Done in 1 Minute Workbook at a 25% discount (use code XS8K4YGX). Spread the word that financial literacy is power! Buy a book for a friend and a relative.

Each one teach one.

Cash Savvy Kids FREE Teleseries

I’m so excited that I’ve been invited to be a part of the Cash Savvy Kids Teleseries hosted by Raising CEO Kids! You’ll be able to listen to experts in the field of youth development and personal finance April 28, 29, and 30 talk about strategies to help your kids become cash savvy.

Each expert will provide an audio interview about their area of expertise and some great bonuses just for registering.

I’m giving away a bonus worth $20! Register now to get access to:

* Three Checklists: Adult, Student, Teen.
* Learn what you need to do now to take control of your finances.
* Use the Checklists to figure out what areas you need to work on.
* Use the Checklists with your children to help them better understand personal finance.

Phone Apps You Need

It’s important that we manage our money effectively and efficiently. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “its not how much you make, it’s how much you spend”. I’ve created a list of a few phone apps that are:

– Cheap
– Effective
– Easy to use

Take a gander at these puppies.

Budget

They say, “Budget helps you track your spending and keep to a budget. You can easily see your total income and your total expenses for a period, plus which expenses you are spending the most on and which expenses you are going over budget on.”

I say that everyone needs to have a spending plan and there’s nothing like having your personal finance information at your fingertips. Using this app is a small change that will make a huge difference in your personal finance outlook… if you use it.

Compare Me Shopping Utility

They say, “WAS FEATURED BY APPLE IN “WHAT’S HOT” Did you ever shop at Sams, Costco or online at Amazon? Then CompareMe may help you to save money! CompareMe lets you compare products in different sizes and even in different packs.”

I say it’s an easy way to help you find out which buy is the best deal. Who knows if the $2 can at 16 oz. is a better buy than the $2.30 can at the 20 oz.? The Compare Me Shopping Utility knows.

iCredit Calculator

They say, “In the 1.2 release of the iCredit Calculator, the calculated repayment results can be generated into a PDF document that you can then e-mail as an attachment from your phone.”

I say this is a must have tool. When you’re out shopping and think, “i’ll put it on my credit card” this handy dandy tool will be there to help you find the true cost of those purchases. Small purchases really add up and effect your credit.

Bank of America Mobile Banking

They say, “Mobile Banking allows you to check available balances, pay bills, transfer funds or locate ATMs and banking centers on-the-go. It’s fast, easy and convenient. It’s a free service and available to Bank of America Online Banking* customers.”

I say it’s a great way to monitor your accounts on the go. The days of sitting at home balancing your checkbook are long gone for most of us. Why not have access to your accounts 24 hours a day, so you don’t end up with overdraft fees. Be honest… you know you take your phone everywhere you go. Now, you’ll have your personal finance information as close your music playlists!

Bloomberg

They say, “Bring the power of the most trusted source for financial information to your iPhone, along with tools to help you analyze the world’s markets.”

I say it’s a great free app that helps you toy around with financial market information. If you’d like to know more about stocks and how they work why not download an app from one of the most trusted financial sites in the world. Get this, it also comes in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Ukrainian. Nice!

What apps do you use for personal finance?

Promote Financial Literacy Through Teachable Moments

I’m often asked how old kids should be when you begin teaching them about financial literacy or what book children should read or what skills should be focused on. I think sometimes it seems like trying to teach kids about financial literacy is a huge task that some parents don’t want to do. Let’s make this simple: use everyday situations called “teachable moments” to instruct on what good habits are, encourage critical thinking conversations, and model those habits.

Let’s start at the beginning.

Teachable moments are those opportunities that children provide by way of questions. You know, “Daddy, how does money get in the ATM” or, “Auntie, let’s stay in the hotel with the gold toilets, we’re rich, right”. We’ve all been there. Sometimes we’re too busy to sit down and have an intelligent conversation about these topics, but many times we have the opportunity to provide a valuable life lesson with just a few minutes worth of your time.

During the conversation encourage the child/youth to think critically about what you’re saying, ask questions, and even challenge your wisdom. Only through a clear understanding, through their own process, can children begin to create their experiences with money. Have no doubt, that children are watching what you’re doing and viewing the habits of others to start deciding how they feel about money and money habits.

Which leads me to the last, crucial, part of using teachable moments to help children understand financial literacy. After you’ve shared the correct habits/behaviors and encouraged the child to think critically about the topic, you must make an effort to model those habits. All the talking in the world won’t blind your child to what’s going on in the home.

You don’t need to have a huge discussion with your child when they turn 16 or schedule weekly meetings to discuss the current state of events, unless you want to. Taking a few moments when you’re child provides and opportunity for a teachable moment will allay the stress surrounding money for both you and your child.

Be well.

Cultivating the 8 Habits of Women of Faith

I’ve signed on to be one of the speakers at Cultivating the 8 Habits of Women of Faith. It will be held Saturday, March 27th from 10am to 2pm at Greater Mt. Olive Baptist Church C.O.G.I.C. in Los Angeles. I’m really looking forward to speaking with women about how we can improve our financial lives.

I’ll also have a table where participants can purchase a copy of my new book, Money Matters: The Get It Done in 1 Minute Workbook.

I spoke at an event for the Sankofa Single Fathers group at Greater Mt. Olive last year.

Summer Learning

It’s been said that students forget up to 30% of what they learned over the summer. Here are some tips to help you kid stay focused this summer.

Save Every Penny

I just read the most awesome article about saving pennies. The family managed to save $7,000 by saving every penny that they came across for five years. That’s right $7,000! 

The article is a great illustration of how important it is to take every dollar, and every penny, seriously. Think about how much money you could save by noticing where you’re money is being spent and making small changes. For example, in the office we use clip boards pretty often. We found out that the $6 clipboards we had buying from big box stores could be purchased from a local $0.99 store for… you guessed it…. $0.99! Making that chance had saved us about $15 a month. 

Are there any small changes that you can make that might save big bucks?