Ad Disclosure

The Future You Will Thank You for These 4 Retirement Tips

Written by:

AmONE

Edited by:

Kristin Marino

Updated on September 4, 2025

Getting ready for retirement is not an easy process, in fact it usually takes a few decades for most people to be ready. Some people may start saving as soon as they begin working while others may wait to save until they have a more secure job and one that pays better.

The Wall Street Journal and LearnVest, a financial planning company, teamed up to take a look at retirement savings between and young and old. It seems that if you start saving earlier you can put less away each month rather than saving when you’re older. A person who saves $50 a month for retirement will have $50,000 before they’re 60 years old. If you start saving $100 a month at the age of 45 you won’t hit $50,000 until you’re about 70 years old. Now that you know that saving early can help, here are a few retirement savings do’s and don’ts.

Do worry about your health. No matter what age you are, you need to be sure to get a yearly check-up. Staying healthy as you age can help with your healthcare costs in the future. If you’re in good health during your retirement years not only will you be able to enjoy retirement more, but your retirement savings will not have to be used for medical bills.
Don’t underestimate what you need to save. There are many ways to estimate what you need to save to retire comfortably including using a retirement calculator. You also need to realize that this number could change over time. If you start saving in your 30s be sure to reevaluate this number in your 40s and 50s.
Don’t be too optimistic. It’s easy to convince yourself you will save more money when you’re older, or that you can take a small “loan” replace the money as soon as you can which is called false optimism. You hope that things will get better, but one can never make that assumption. Instead of hoping for the best, plan for the worst.
Do try to pay off your debt. You do not want to have to use your retirement savings for debt, so it is best to try to pay everything off before you reach retirement age. If you are reaching retirement age and find that you still have debt then you’ll need to start figuring out if you need to save more or how you can pay it off before you reach retirement age.

Figuring out how much you need to retire can be difficult as many factors can come into play. Using the following rules could help you start saving and bring you back to reality about how to prepare for retirement.

Ad Disclosure

Advertiser Disclosure*. The financial products and services on this site are from advertisers from which AmONE receives compensation. Compensation may be based upon whether you click on certain links on this site or buy products or services from those advertisers. We do not receive compensation from consumers. The placement of advertisements on this site are based in part upon the compensation AmONE has or expects to receive from those advertisers. Placement of advertisements does not reflect our recommendation of any advertisers' products or services. Please consult a financial services professional before making any financial decisions. Our advertisers do not include all the financial products and service providers available in the marketplace.

Loan availability, rates, APRs (Annual Percentage Rate), and other terms vary by advertiser and borrower attributes, including borrower location. Lenders have a range of available APRs; only borrowers with excellent credit will qualify for the lower rates. As of 01/11/2024, our advertisers were offering loans to some consumers for as little as a 6.40% APR on a three-year $100,000 loan.

We do not provide financial products or services. Rather, AmONE provides administrative and marketplace services by attempting to connect consumers with service providers offering products and services such as debt settlement and personal loans. We do not take applications or make credit decisions. We may not be able to match you with any of our advertisers. Credit and other decisions and terms are determined by our advertisers based upon the consumer's submission of an application to the advertiser, which may obtain other information about the consumer from third parties. Approval for financial products and services by an advertiser is not guaranteed.

Get matched to your perfect loan and level up your money game.

Find My Loan

Ready to up your money game?

See my loan options

Why AmONE is Trusted By Millions for Their Loan Needs

Anyone can put together a group of lenders in a marketplace to offer people loans. We go beyond that. We not only partner with some of the best lenders around (like Citi, Rocket Loans, SoFi and so many more), we also work with partners who can help people like you go beyond a one-time loan. We connect you with the money programs you need to help you get real financial solutions in place that allow you to tackle your debt and money problems so you can move forward. Getting out from under debt to financial freedom is daunting and we're ready to help you every step of the way.

AI is the hottest thing around right now, but we know from our decades of experience in the personal finance space that the last thing someone wants to do is talk to a robot when they need real answers. Solving money problems can be stressful and daunting, so don't settle for generic responses and information that offers little real financial insights. Speak to one of our many support specialists who all work from an AmONE office right here in the U.S. and get the answers you really need to make better financial decisions.

We work hard to find loan offers for even the most challenging financial situations. With our large lender marketplace, we know we give everyone the best shot at getting the loan, debt and credit help they're hoping to find. Even when someone's credit is clearly poor or they hold a large amount of debt, we still get our customers in front of lenders to give them the best shot at securing the funds they need. When the unexpected happens and customers are rejected for loans, we still work with them to find other financial solutions that put them on the path to financial recovery so they can keep moving forward toward their money goals.