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Stretch and Flex Your Savings Muscles

Watching the Olympic games is inspiring, motivating and can be downright addicting. Now that the Games are over, take the opportunity to channel that energy and motivation toward your own goals—fitness related, or even financial.

For those of us who are not Olympic caliber athletes, there is good newswe can stretch and flex our savings muscles to prepare for retirement. After all, it’s all about muscle memory: you condition your body to do the same motions over and over so that you remember how to perform even if you take some time off. The same goes for conditioning yourself to save like a champion.

Here are some training tips to help you stretch and flex your savings muscles:

Set your goal

Write down your goal and your target goal date. Putting that in writing is your stake in the ground, and can give you that extra motivation to take steps toward it. With 1 in 4 Americans fearing that they will outlive their retirement income*, there’s no better time to clearly lay out your goals, and a plan of action.

Save early and often

No amount is too little to save. The important thing is to start, and keep the momentum going. What is the cost of waiting to save? Use this calculator to find out.

Make every move count

Anticipating a tax refund this year? Earmark some of that refund toward your retirement savings. Small changes can add up, especially when it comes to saving. See how saving a little more each month can help you work toward your goals. Use this calculator to see the power of compound interest.

Here are some tips for saving for retirement

Visualize your success

What is your end goal? Visualize yourself reaching your goal and all that you plan to enjoy—perhaps it’s traveling, moving to a warm and sunny climate, or spending more time with your loved ones. Keep positive images around you to remind you of what you are saving for. This can be a helpful reminder and help you curb your spending in other areas.

Like the Olympic motto, “Citius, Altius, Fortius,” (Faster, Higher, Stronger), you can strive to apply these qualities when it comes to attacking your own goals. Just don’t wait four years to review your financial goals again.

*IALC Retirement Data Survey, 2016.

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