I vividly remember the first time I learned about the power of compound interest. My 9th grade social studies teacher taught us a lesson on it, showing what would happen if one student started saving for retirement at age 23 and then stopped putting money away at 35, and another student waited until he was 35 to even start his savings. Because of compound interest, the first student ended up with more money, and had had to put away a lot less.

Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough to have that lesson early. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, 43% of workers had less than $10,000 put away for retirement in 2010. This will certainly not do.

Catching up on retirement contributions can be an uphill climb, but its worth it!

If you’re one of the millions of Americans who have not put enough away for retirement, here are some things you can do to catch up:

1. First and foremost, you need to have an expert ally on your side. Find a reputable financial planner and lay out a plan together. It may seem as though only rich people need financial planners, but that is simply not true. Planning for retirement can be complicated, particularly if you are on a deadline, so get professional help!

2. Start cutting back. If you are still hoping to retire “on time,” you’ll have to reprioritize your spending. With each paycheck, you’ll need to pay yourself first (that is a necessity!) before you spend money on non-essentials. This means getting rid of credit card debt and potentially even downsizing your home so that more money can go towards your retirement. You may have to rethink how you spend your money—no more lavish vacations or less help to your kids for college—but the better gift to yourself and your children is to be well prepared for retirement.

3. Keep working longer. This is an almost blasphemous idea—just look at the riots in Europe when the governments there suggest it—but continuing to work past the magical age of 65 is a way to stretch your retirement further. It reduces the number of years that you are retired, and it gives you more years to grow your nest egg and potentially earn more through Social Security. If you love your job, continuing to work can also give you a few more years to figure out how to transition into being a retired person—it might be an easier change financially and psychologically if you reduce your hours over a number of years.

4. Take on more work now. It’s always possible to take on a second job and funnel all of that money into your retirement funds. While no one in the midst of a career wants to be delivering pizzas on weekends, it is certainly possible to find work that will be rewarding and lucrative. Could you teach about your field at the local community college? Could you work a night or two a week at the craft store you frequent? Be open to diversifying your income, and it can really help your bottom line.

5. Absolutely do NOT increase the risk level of your retirement portfolio. This would be gambling with your future. Make sure that you are well invested with reasonable level of risk and return—or you might find yourself working until you’re 100!

Catching up on lost retirement investing is not a fun prospect. But you owe it to yourself and your family to make sure money will not be a worry in your golden years.

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