Imagine for a moment, that you live your life with no concern for your savings and essentially live paycheck to paycheck. You go on vacations, you splurge on various luxury items, and you are always driving a new car. Life seems great!

- Don't forget the college fund
But then, imagine that you are in your 40's and your two children are trying to get into college. And they do! They get into an excellent university. But you have no money saved for their tuition. And as a result they end up taking out numerous private and federal loans to attend that university, which will end up delaying their own financial future.

- Don't forget about retirement
And then, continue to proceed down your life path with no savings or investments. You are now in your sixties, yet again, with nothing saved. And as a result you are ready to retire, but on what? Assuming you are American, you will have benefits like Social Security. The average social security payout is around $15,600 US per year. Probably not what you want to try and live off of for the next few decades of your life.

So, you may be wondering, what exactly is the solution here, how can I secure my financial future after I'm ready to retire?
 
- Save and invest
The answer is to save and invest your income, as soon as you can! Luckily, there are a plethora of options available to individuals, no matter your income.

But, you are likely wondering, "How do I go about this process? Do I just throw part of my paycheck into some stocks I like?" The answer is, like it is in many aspects of life, to have a plan.

- Do your research
Having a robust financial plan will set you up grandly for the future. It is important to plan out your financial future because of the large number of pitfalls and other catastrophic financial issues you may run into throughout your life. You will need everything from an emergency fund, to a will, to a well-developed and balanced overall financial portfolio. So doing your research and perhaps working with a professional financial planner may help you set yourself up for financial success throughout your life.

The last thing you want, as you progress through life, is to be worried about every little thing that happens because you are living beyond your means and failing to save adequately. By having a solid financial plan and being fiscally responsible, you can sleep easier at night knowing that you won't be driven to financial ruin by a small medical emergency or trouble with your car. So why subject yourself to those stresses and fears when you can simply plan and save accordingly.

Copyright © Henry on NiceAnswers.com 2017

Editor's Note: Find below additional information that you may find useful on saving money and financial planning;
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