Saving for retirement can be challenging when your paycheques just barely cover your day-to-day expenses. But it can be done with proper planning and starting early. These tips can help.

1. Top tips to plan a smarter
retirement
Cruise into your golden years – Follow these tips

2. Challenging but not
impossible
Saving for retirement can be challenging when your paycheques just
barely cover your day-to-day expenses. But it can be done with proper
planning and starting early.
These tips can help.

3. 1. Start Retirement Planning
Early
The key to saving a sizeable retirement fund is to begin your retirement
planning early on, so start squirreling away money the soonest you can, even if
it’s just $25 a week. For example, let’s say you plan to save $100 a month for
your retirement. If you start to save for retirement when you’re 25, assuming a
6% rate of return, you would have around $190,000 in your retirement fund by
the time you turn 65.

4. 2. Know when to start taking
CPP
You can start taking Canada Pension Plan benefits between the age of 60 and
70. It’s worth spending some time figuring out which age is right for you. There
are a number of tax and income factors that could guide you to choose the
standard age of 65, or to start early or delay as long as possible.
Talk to your advisor to know the best time for you to take CPP benefits.

5. 3. Learn your retirement
‘type’
When it’s decades away, retirement is hard to really visualize. You put your
head down and work and sock away as much as you can, knowing it will help
build a nice nest egg for when you’re done your working life. But what if you’re
following someone else’s plan and not the one for you? Experts say a little self
understanding today can lead to fewer surprises when you meet the future
you. Talk to our advisors to understand what suits you the best.

6. 4. Save in RRSPs no matter
your age
An RRSP is a personal savings plan that lets you save for your retirement on a
tax-sheltered basis, so your money grows faster!
Investing Regularly in RRSP does pay off, no matter how small the amount is.
Small investments like $50 contributed weekly, earning 6% interest, can grow
to over $218,000 over 30 years.

7. 5. Make a Realistic Budget
Making a plan for your money is an essential part of financial success, and if
you’re just getting by with living paycheque to paycheque, chances are you
haven’t made a plan for your money. Having a plan for your money is basically
the same thing as having a budget: it shows how much money you have each
month, and where that money needs to go. This allows you to have more
control over your money.

8. 6. Cut Back On Expenses
Once you’ve created your budget, go through it and check for opportunities
where you can save money. Great places to start looking are what you’re
spending on eating out, what you’re spending on cell phones and cable, or
what you’re spending on hobbies. Whatever money you save on trimming your
expenses can go towards your retirement fund.

9. 7. Pay Off Your Debts and Give
Your Credit Cards a Break
If you want to enjoy a comfortable retirement, you need to make debt-free
living a priority. There are many of us out there who think we have to either
save for retirement or pay off debt, but if you can budget smartly, there’s no
reason why you can’t do both. If you can start to reduce your high interest
credit card debt now, you’ll free up more money to put towards your
retirement fund.

10. Talk to our experienced financial advisors to know more about how to
start saving for your retirement. No Fees, No Obligation!
Start as young as you can. Small contributions when you are young will
compound beyond your expectation!

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