Age 50 … and little saved

June 27, 2006

When you hit that milestone, you’ve got to act fast. Here’s a catch-up plan to follow.

NEW YORK (MONEY Magazine) — Some questions just can’t wait. Barbara Huarte was sitting at a chamber of commerce breakfast last April when she suddenly turned to her neighbor – a local financial adviser – and blurted out, “I’m turning 50 soon, and I’ve just started planning for retirement! Any ideas?”

Good question.

The 49-year-old had once run her own company and had recently embarked on a new career, and yet she has little to show for her success. She has roughly $30,000 split between a 401(k) and an IRA that’s sitting in a money-market fund, and not much else.

For 15 years Huarte ran her own business providing cosmetics services and supplies to television and film production companies. She phased out the company between 2002 and 2004 and found a better-paying job selling communications systems.

“I broke the cardinal rule of self-employment,” she says. “I didn’t pay myself first. I put everything back into my business.”
Full Article: CNNMoney

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