THE RETIREMENT BLUES
Meet Ravi Best, a trumpet player who's singing the retirement blues. Like many young people, Ravi has been working freelance for the last eight years. Living from paycheck to paycheck, he hasn't saved for retirement and doesn't have any substantial investments. But all that is about to change. Ravi recently got a job making music for the Broadway musical SWING, and now he's on the lookout for ways to make his fat paycheck payoff big in the long run.
THAT MONEY SHOW paired Ravi with financial consultant Marlene Cintron of Merrill Lynch. After a thorough analysis of Ravi's finances, Marlene had some good suggestions.
First, she advised Ravi to keep at least three months of expense money in the bank. Since he's a freelance musician, and doesn't know when his current job might end, this measure will prevent him from going into debt while he looks for work.
Second, Marlene advised Ravi to join the 401k plan provided by his union. This is one of the best ways to save for retirement and, since the money is drawn from pre-tax dollars, Ravi will get a much bigger payoff in the end. Additionally, Marlene advised that many employers will match an employee's contribution to a retirement plan.
With these two financial tools in place, Ravi will be in a position to begin saving to buy a home, which is his ultimate goal. With the continuing advice of a financial consultant, he should be able to reach that goal, and more.
Read these great articles about managing your personal finances. And visit our archive to read about other people who are in the same boat.
