Chapter 11
Balancing Retirement Savings with Other Needs
IN THIS CHAPTER
Getting a grip on financial obligations other than retirement
Sizing up ways to cut your debt
Saving for a home while socking away money for retirement
Prioritizing the competing demands for your money
If all you had to do was save for retirement, you’d hardly feel it. How hard is it to put away 15 percent of your salary if you could spend the rest on whatever you’d like?
But life is more complicated than that. IRAs and 401(k)s are just two parts of your financial life that demand your cash. Competing uses of money need attention, too. You might also have debt, from a credit card, car loan, or college loans. Perhaps you want to save to buy a home.
And whether you have children or plan to, if you start saving for college early, you can amass much more money than your children could on their own. A little bit of saving now, when your children are young, can help them avoid loading up on student loans.
You might want to enjoy life by taking vacations or going out to eat.
Welcome to life. It’s a world of balancing ...
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