With the recent losses on Wall Street many investors are wondering if the goal of achieving a higher rate of return than can be attained with a traditional risk free savings plan is worth the sleepless nights that many are now facing.While market fluctuations are a normal part of investing the huge losses suffered in retirement plans have made it clear that diversifying your retirement portfolio is now more important than ever. By choosing high quality investment securities, having a cash reserve, and seeking ways to earn a supplemental retirement income you will be able to secure your retirement future.Many people become intimidated when it comes to their retirement planning. They believe that they will need a professional investment manager to oversee their retirement portfolio. By using the K.I.S.S. principal of investing by using common sense, patience, reasonable expectations, patience and discipline you will be able to take control of your retirement future. Keep it simple should be the basis of any investment decision you make.While planning for retirement you should focus on multiple income streams. Having only one source of income in retirement is the biggest mistake many investors make. Many people have seen their retirement savings plummet and have no extra source of income. A successful retirement strategy will include income from multiple sources. Hopefully by the time of your retirement Social Security will still be available. However, it would be wise to not plan on it as a income source and if it is still around than it will be extra retirement income. Even with the losses recently suffered in all likelihood your 401k will still be your main source of income but you should begin to seek additional sources now. As the housing market has dropped and home foreclosures have increased this has opened the door for supplemental retirement income. If you have the available funds than purchasing real estate and renting it out has always been one of the best sources of income.If you do not have much in available cash than starting a home business is another excellent source of supplemental retirement income. You can start a Internet home business with very little money and over time begin to earn substantial income from it. Depending on the type of home business you choose you may even earn residual income for many years after you retire.It is important to remember that your retirement is your responsibility. The decisions you make now, regardless of your age will effect how you are able to live in the future. If you use the K.I.S.S. principal for investing you will be able to enjoy your golden years with plenty of supplemental retirement income.

Good question and even better, you’re thinking in the right direction about your future which is someday retiring. If you’re one of those people who haven’t saved any or very much money for your retirement, it’s never too late for you to start now! It’s important that you do start and soon. It doesn’t take long for age to slip up on you fast if you know what I mean! So, just get started on your retirement planning now while you’re thinking about it. You may want to consider some of these tips and information to get you started:
1) If the employer you are working for offers a 401K plan wherein you contribute a percentage of your earnings towards retirement, consider signing up for this plan! In most instances, the employer may match a percentage of the contributions you make to your 401K account. Your contributions can be made on a pre-tax basis which will help your money grow faster in your account.
2) You may want to consider taking a second job to add more income for your retirement. This will assist you in increasing the amount of money for your retirement fund. If you’re able to fit a second job into your schedule, make sure this would be feasible for you and your family without causing problems.
3) Save more of your money by cutting back on some of your expenses. You may want to reduce the number of times you eat out, go to the movies, shop, and any other areas you can cut back on to save towards your retirement.
4) Consider saving your change! That’s right, save your change. You would be surprised at the amount of money you can accumulate in a small amount of time by saving your change. Your change could be set aside for your retirement fund. So, start putting your coins away for your future!
5) Reduce or eliminate your spending on your credit cards. The less you pay on your credit cards, the more money you’ll have to save towards your retirement. So, if you can pay cash for that item you need to purchase, do that instead of charging it to your credit card. You’ll not only save yourself interest charges, but, you’ll have extra money to put away for your retirement.
6) If you have a home and are using it as a cash machine or atm by taking out your home equity via loans or a credit line, stop what you’re doing! Your home is one of your largest investments and will most likely be a retirement vehicle for you. You’ll either want to have your home paid off prior to retirement or be in a position to sell your home to obtain the equity to use as retirement income. If you have your home equity tapped out, then you will not be in the position during your golden years to enjoy your retirement. You’ll probably be still paying a mortgage that you may not be able to afford and will not have much money in your retirement fund.
It’s better late than never when it comes to starting your retirement planning. So, go ahead, start working on catching up with your retirement planning today, you’ll be glad you did!

It’s never too early and never too late. Here are a few retirement myths to start busting right now! Retirement planning myth articles might not be at the top of your weekend reading list but this one will take you less than three minutes to read and it could save you a lot of financial pain later.

Six Retirement Planning Myths

Myth #1. When I retire I won’t need as much to live on.

Hogwash! How do you know what the cost of living is going to be? Sure the kids are off on their own and the house might be paid off but medical bills and cost of living are unpredictable. You should be able to live on less but why would you want to?

Myth #2. I’m a young pup and retirement is far, far away!

Get real dude, time flies when you’re having fun and burning mun. Of course it’s much easier to save a measly $29 a week at 34 than it is to save a whopping $240 at 54! That’s about what it’s going to take to have $200k in the old nest egg at 65. So there you have it. You can do it the hard we or the easy way. You decide oh youthful one!

Myth #3. My adorable children will take care of me.

Whoa! Haven’t you been watching TV? Your kids are more likely to move back in with you than they are to take care of you! Think back a bit… didn’t you preach to your kids about personal responsibility and good old independence? Keep your kids in your life but keep them out of your retirement planning.

Myth #4. I’m counting on social security to save my bacon!

Yeah, that will be the day when pigs fly. Uncle Sam hasn’t figured out if there will even be any social security in another decade or two. If you want to hold onto a weak retirement strategy then just count on Uncle Sam to be there with that retirement check when you need it. You are better off counting on your own discipline and resourcefulness. You can start drawing social security at 62 but depending on your age, you might be better off to consider that as a bonus than a sure thing.

Myth #5. I don’t have enough money to save or invest for retirement.

That might be true but then… maybe not. Take a hard look at where your money is going. Have you maximized your contributions to your 401(k) or other employer-sponsored retirement plans? Have you considered leveraging your home equity or other under-performing assets into safe and secure investments? Have you scrutinized your spending habits? Do you really need that satellite dish and 500 channels of mind numbing video? Do you really need the newest and shiniest shoes and chicest Chevy’s? Even if you can only save a small amount each week, start now. Be consistent and automatic with savings and investing. You might never feel like it’s enough but that is no reason to not to start.

Myth #6. I can’t afford a financial planner.

Many financial planners are compensated by the companies they represent and therefore charge nothing to you unless you do business with them. Others charge for their time on an hourly or fee-based schedule. Find someone you trust and get references. Take your time, go slow and do a little homework. Retirement planning is all about the future but it needs to start today.