Show 16 - Do new teachers need to plan for retirement? YES! with Mrs. Black
I talk with Mrs. Black about the steps new teachers can take to plan for retirement. And yes, you need it!
11/9/20231 min read
Preparing for retirement as a brand new teacher seems ridiculous. It is easy to think you’ll never get to retirement, so why worry about it? Ms. Black lays out why you need to be thinking about the future, and easy things that new teachers can do to plan for retirement now. For example, she named her future self Lola to make sure that Lola gets what Lola wants!
Key Ideas
Control your spending: As a new teacher you aren’t making a ton of money compared to other teachers, but you’re still probably making more than you’ve ever made in your life! That makes it the ideal time to start setting money aside. By simply reducing your housing costs and having fun in less expensive ways you can start setting aside funds for retirement.
Set aside 15%: Ms. Black recommends that you set aside at least 15% of your total salary from day one. The great thing is that you will learn to live on what’s left and you will automatically have a great retirement prepared if you start immediately.
What to invest in?: While we can’t give specific advice, we recommend you look into low cost options (investment options with fees less than 1%) such as index funds. These are set it and forget it type investments that follow the market. Past performance isn’t indicative of future gains, but if the market goes up the index will follow.
Remember that it only feels like a sacrifice if you’ve let yourself get used to a higher standard of living. The sooner you start investing in your retirement, the easier it will be.