From MSN Money today
Retirement planning and 8 ways to save with a 401k - MSN Money
More than 54% of Americans report that the total value of their household savings and investments, excluding the value of their primary homes and any defined-benefit plans, is less than $25,000, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's annual Retirement Confidence Survey. What's worse, 27% have less than $1,000 in assets. Just 11% have more than $250,000 set aside.
Yes, those figures include Americans young and old, those just heading into the working world as well as those about to check out of it.
However young you are, put away something every year. I'm in OK shape, but I should have put more away when I was younger, I'm 56. I put at least the maximum tax-deferred allowed by the IRS every year for the last 35 years. If the stock market just does OK over the next 12 years, I'll at least be eating canned dog food; man I hate that dry dog Kibble.