Q: I've been employed with the same company for nearly 35 years, married for almost 36 years, and I have been blessed to make a good living, but it's been pretty much a paycheck to paycheck lifestyle. I'm 54 years old and would like to retire in the next 8-10 years, but not sure that will be possible unless I get a better handle on my finances. Do you have any suggestions?  ---Jim

A: It's never too early, and in your case certainly not too late, to save for your retirement. Considering that over the last twenty years savings are down from 9% of personal income to 1% in this country, I wish more people were looking farther down the road and would start preparing for the time when they can't work as much as when they are younger. There are many ways to save for retirement, some are provided by the federal government, for example, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), and for folks with young kids, College Savings Accounts (called 529s after the section in the tax code that created them), to mention but a few.

The advantage of these federal retirement plans is that you save out of pretax income, which means that, if you’re in a 26% tax bracket, you save 26 dollars of every 100 dollars you put in an IRA account because you're not taxed on the 100 dollars. Both HSAs and IRAs have certain requirements that you must satisfy. For example, to invest in an HSA, you must be in a high deductible health insurance plan with a minimum deductible of $1000. And an IRA limits your contribution to a certain amount. Since you're over 50, that amount increases for "catch up." Do a Google search of "HSA," "IRA," or "529" and you will find many useful resources.

If you wish to save more from your monthly income after participating in any of these federal plans, a sure way to save is by setting up a budget that you feel comfortable with and by trying to follow it (See my comments in Financial Resolutions). Sit down with your wife of 36 years and take a look at your spending over the last year: What things are essential in your good living that you can't do without and what is the frosting on the cake? Are you willing to skip some luxuries from time to time so you can put more money aside for later? It's a matter of choice, and once you choose to defer some of your pleasures until later, you're already ahead in handling your finances.    

Once you have saved up a nice sum you have options to put it in a bank CD (certificate of deposit) to earn more interest, or invest it in stocks, real estate or whatever. 8-10 years is long enough for you to accumulate a handsome amount for retirement, and should you strike it rich in due course you can email me and I’d be glad to help you spend the money.