No matter your age, if there’s one money-related piece of wisdom everyone needs to hear, it’s this: It’s never too late to care for your financial future. 

Even if you’re over 50 and it seems like you don’t have that many years to build your savings, you can still start planning for retirement with these 7 simple steps:

Take advantage of work opportunities to save for retirement 

If you’re working with a company that offers retirement options such as a 401k, one of the best ways you can start saving for retirement is to take advantage of these programs. Many employers offer a 401k match, which means they will match the funds (or a percentage of the funds) you set aside.

The amount set aside will be taken out of your paycheck, which will reduce your immediate tax burden by lowering your adjusted gross income (though it should be noted, you will have to pay tax when you take money out of your 401k). 

In general, this helps you meet the golden rule of retirement: the more money you can set aside each month for your future, the better. This is because the more money you have in your investment account, the more compound interest can work its magic and grow into more monthly income that you can draw on.

The ideal way to save into your 401k is to set up automatic payments. When you commit to saving money automatically, you’re more likely to make the rest of your expenses fit into your remaining income and the funds you’ve set aside can get to work, earning interest for you.

It’s also worth investigating whether or not you put money into a retirement account at one of your former companies and forgot about it. 401k plans are still active and earn interest even if you no longer work for a company. If this is the case, you can roll that money over into a new retirement plan.

As of May 2021, there were 24 million forgotten 401k accounts holding more than $1 trillion in assets, with almost 3 million more left behind each year. Don’t let that happen to you!

Make retirement plans in 10-year increments

Of course, it’s always desirable to be living as well as possible at all stages of our lives, but as we get older, it’s important to consider how financial needs might change. 

For instance, it’s important to include the cost of things like assisted living for later retirement, while taking time to reevaluate whether we really want the extra financial burden of a luxury item like a boat. 

When making retirement plans, consider your financial needs in ten-year increments—your 70s, 80s, 90s—and make adjustments for how your expected financial needs are likely to change from one decade to the next. 

What you may find is that you need less money than you realized, or that you’ll be able to maintain your standard of living by realizing you don’t have to pay for as many luxuries as you thought. 

Consider moving somewhere with a lower cost of living (including overseas)

One simple way to either maintain or increase your standard of living with less money is to move somewhere with a lower cost of living. 

This can mean moving to a different neighborhood, city, or state. Many retirees even find that moving overseas allows them to enjoy life as much as ever, even on less monthly income.

This can be a highly emotional decision, but it’s an option that can allow you to flourish later in life, and one that even gives you a chance to make a new home.

Redefine what “Planning for retirement” means to you

There’s no reason why reaching a certain age means you suddenly have to stop working. 

Many people actually find the prospect of retirement daunting. They fear they’ll lose purpose, meaning, and their sense of being a valued member of the community without their work. 

If you’re in this situation, then there’s great news - you get to redefine retirement!

You get to see retirement as the time in your life when you will be able to switch from your current career to something you’ve always dreamed about doing that other people value enough to pay for. 

Perhaps you’ve always wanted to make pottery. You could earn extra retirement income by setting up a shop on Amazon, eBay, or Etsy. You could turn your love for dogs into extra retirement income by setting up a small dog-sitting business.

By setting up a stream of income during your retirement, you can stretch your savings even further. That said, it should be noted that the more savings you have, the more freedom you will have to pursue your passion for the love of it. So it’s still highly recommended to save for retirement and not depend on a single source of income late in life to take care of your financial needs.

Invest in your health

As we age, health becomes one of our greatest concerns, especially in America where getting sick usually comes with a pretty hefty price tag. As we get older, one of the best things we can do for ourselves (and our wallets!) is to look after our health.

This doesn’t mean that you should buy an expensive gym membership (the vast majority of which people don’t actually use… if you’re one of them, you’ve just found extra money to put toward your retirement savings!). 

It means carving out time for walks, participating in physical activity you enjoy, and looking after your mental health. 

Doing so can benefit both your body and your wallet. 

For instance, you might budget for nutritious, home cooked meals and put the money you’d normally spend on less healthy take-out toward your retirement savings. Or you can spend a few minutes exercising each morning to get your heart rate up, which tends to reduce the amount of caffeine people consume in the early hours of their day. 

Investing in your health is one of the best things anyone, at any age, and at any income level, can do for themselves… especially those who are making retirement plans. The future cost savings for things like surgery or monthly diabetes medication can be enormous, not to mention improved quality of life. 

Remember to take things one step at a time

If saving for retirement later in life causes anxiety—making you feel as if you need to take drastic measures to put money aside—there are many good reasons why you shouldn't panic. 

Anxiety is completely normal, but take a deep breath and try to find a place of balance—aligning the time you have with the standard of living you want. 

The basic plan for someone in their younger adult years is still recommended for those 50 and above:

1. Open an investment account
2. Make monthly contributions toward a globally diversified index fund
3. Don’t touch the funds, even during economic downturns (see my blog on Top 10 investing myths for more detail)
4. Wait a minimum of 10 years for the index fund to grow 

Even if you start saving later in life, you’ll still benefit from saving for retirement one step at a time. Be nice to yourself, don’t panic, and remember that you have it within you to secure your financial future!

Train your brain to manage your financial psychology

You can unleash your hidden financial wisdom and secure your financial future by training your brain to manage your financial psychology. 

Our financial psychology includes our inherited beliefs, the emotions that we feel surrounding money, and the subconscious ways we interact with money that impact our conscious experiences. 

When we bring these factors to our awareness and understand how they have influenced our past financial behaviors, we can see a path forward where we can optimize and build the habits we need to grow and sustain long-term wealth. 

Delving into our inner financial world can be daunting for many people,especially for those who’ve spent their whole lives being told it’s not polite to discuss money. 

That’s why I created Fearless Finance University, a unique training program to help everyone manage their money emotions, while offering practical wealth-building insights, to help you activate your inner finance pro. 

At $9.95/month, it’s something you can afford, even if you’re saving for retirement later in life.