On the sixth day, Arkad addressed his students about their financial future.  He stresses the importance of having a  plan to ensure future income to provide financially for old age.  In today’s terms, he challenges the students to start as early as possible to establish a retirement plan. ¹  

Carving out additional money for retirement

By this time, Arkad has taught us the necessity of paying ourselves first, controlling our expenses, living within our means, saving for emergencies and making our money work for us, and keeping an affordable roof over our heads.  But carving out additional money for our retirement years doesn’t seem possible in today’s financial environment.

Don’t wait for a “rainy day” to start planning

Arielle O” Shea, in a recent article she wrote for Nerdwallet.com, said, “Planning for retirement is so difficult precisely because you can’t predict the unknowns, like how long you’re going to live or what sort of medical expenses might come your way.” ² O’Shea believes that you can provide for your retirement if you have a plan, seek wise counsel, and most importantly, start today.  Don’t wait for the proverbial “rainy day,” but do it now.

There are many retirement plan options

The options available today for retirement investment plans are many.  There are 401Ks, Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, and defined-benefit plans to name a few.  Remember, the sooner we can start putting money away for our retirement, the better.  When we start putting money away for retirement early, we take advantage of a magical thing called ‘compounding interest‘³

For example, a 25-year-old earning an annual salary of $40,000 with an annual raise of  3% will have earned an estimated $3 million if they retire at age 65. That means that after 40 years of hard work, they could be considered a millionaire.  We should have a retirement plan if we want to retire comfortably.   That is an example of compounding interest which is known as the eighth wonder of the world.

Benjamin Franklin knew the power of compound interest

History tells us that Benjamin Franklin knew all about the importance of compound interest.  When he died, he left 1,000 pounds (about $5,000 in today’s money) to a trust that named his favorite cities Philadelphia and Boston, as beneficiaries of the money.  However, there was one provision that the money in the trust would not be available for at least 200 years.  The proceeds of the trust grew to over 7 million dollars, with $2 million given to Philadelphia and a whopping $5 million for Boston.

Start your plan early

In this lesson, Arkad teaches us to put “time” to work for us by starting early to save for retirement. Time can be our retirement’s greatest friend.  Ben Franklin once said, “Remember that money is of a prolific generating nature.  Money can beget money, and its offspring can beget more.”

Don’t miss the next lesson- #7

Lesson 7 implores us to Invest in ourselves by increasing our ability to earn more money. Arkad will show us that continually learning and striving to develop ourselves is the best way to increase our earnings.  So, don’t wait.  Join us for lesson seven now.

Larry Marvin, LifeCrafter Money $ense

Introduction-The Richest Man in Babylon

Introduction2-The Man Who Desired Gold

The First Lesson in Becoming Wealthy

Control Your Expenses-Lesson 2

Guard Thy Treasures-Lesson 3

Make Thy Gold Multiply-Lesson 4

Make Thy Home a Profitable Investment-Lesson 5

Insure Future Income-Lesson 6

Invest in Thy Ability to Earn-Lesson 7

Just Do It-Lesson 8

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