• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Castle Rock Investment Company

Independent Guide, Trusted Partner.

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Community Involvement
    • Our Commitment to You
  • Services
    • Individual Financial Planning
    • Qualified Plan Services
  • Education
    • Employee Education
    • Fiduciary Training
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

budgeting

Retirement Savings… Are You on Track?

September 21, 2016 by admin

By Mack Bekeza

Retirement savings… that thing you are supposed to live off of when you no longer want to work. Although people seem to talk about it frequently, most people do not realize how important it is to actually save for retirement. In fact, there are numerous statistics that show how little people save for it. For instance, 40% of working Americans are currently not saving for retirement at all. And on top of that, 80% of Americans ages 30-54 believe that they will not have enough saved for retirement.

So, how come Americans do not save for or are not confident about retirement? For starters, many believe that saving for retirement is not worth it because they can just rely on Social Security. However, what most people do not realize is that Social Security was meant to supplement retirement, not completely fulfill 100% of a retiree’s needs. And, if you fall into a higher income bracket, Social Security will only cover a small fraction of your income. Another reason people fail to save for retirement is because many families live above their means, meaning that they typically spend more money than they make. This also explains why many people lack sufficient emergency funds.

So, are you on track when it comes to retirement savings? First, do you know how much you need save to support 70-85% of your current income in retirement? If you do not, J.P Morgan offers a Retirement Savings Check Point. If you are surprised as to how much you need to have saved, consult with a Financial Advisor, such as Castle Rock Investment Company, to discuss what is an appropriate savings rate for you and how to get there!

Although the idea of saving for retirement can be quite intimidating, the need to have sufficient savings is becoming more and more crucial as the cost of living and reaching important goals are increasing every year.

© 2016 Castle Rock Investment Company. All rights reserved. Please share your insights with us at mack@castlerockinvesting.com or via phone at 303-719-7523

Filed Under: 401K, Advice, Blog, Castle Rock Investment Company, Mack Bekeza, Personal Finance, Retirement Plans, Roth Accounts, Services, Uncategorized Tagged With: 401k, budgeting, Emergency Savings Account, IRA, JPMorgan, money, retirement, roth, saving, Social Security

Why You Need A Budget

June 30, 2016 by admin

By Mack Bekeza

Budgeting sounds difficult, right? Well actually, not really. In fact, it is even more difficult not to maintain a budget. Many people think they don’t need a budget, but end up broke by the time their next paycheck comes in. This can lead to a never ending cycle of not having any money left over and not being able to accomplish financial security, which is never fun!

Budgeting is very important to not only maintain financial security at the homestead, but it can be a very powerful tool to help reach your goals like saving for a house, retirement, and even a nice vacation every now and then. If you are curious on how to get started, check out these tips.

  1. When starting your budget, it is important to pay yourself first! In other words, make sure the first thing you do when you get paid is to deposit a small amount into your savings. This can be used to fund a rainy day fund, a home improvement project, contribute to your retirement accounts, or preferably, a combination of those.
  2. Once you have “paid yourself”, budget towards the expenses that don’t vary like rent, insurance, utilities, etc.
  3. Next (and here comes the part that can help you big time), it is time to budget for things that are more discretionary like groceries, eating out, clothes, subscriptions, and much more. Easy targets for this include eating out and shopping. Typically, these two things are what people spend way too much on and end up not being able to pay some important bills or even save. Before setting goals for this part, make sure that you are able to figure up how much you spend on these items by looking through bank statements. This will help give you a clear view on what you can cut back on. For instance, if you figure out that you spend an average of $500 a month eating out and only $200 on groceries, set a goal to cut back on eating out and spend a little more on groceries. This alone can save you hundreds of dollars a month, which can go towards your savings goals!

Now that you have a basic idea of how to budget, are there any tools that can help you? Yes! There are plenty of free or low cost budgeting tools that can help you accomplish this rather quickly. For instance, Mint.com is an excellent and free way to track and manage your expenses. Another one includes YNAB.com, a.k.a you need a budget. For as little as $5 a month, you can have access to an exceptional budgeting tool that allows you to have access to a user friendly mobile app as well.

Hopefully you take these tips to get your finances together and accomplish big goals… now get to budgeting! Also don’t forget to follow us @Save4Youself to get more tips for your finances!

© Castle Rock Investment Company. All rights reserved. Please share your insights with us at mack@castlerockinvesting.com or via phone at 303-719-7523

 

Filed Under: Advice, Blog, Castle Rock Investment Company, Mack Bekeza, Personal Finance, Retirement Plans, Uncategorized Tagged With: Advice, bekeza, budgeting, expenses, finance, mint, ynab

Footer

About Us

Castle Rock Investment Company, formed in 2006, is an independent woman-owned SEC-registered investment adviser located in Castle Rock, Colorado. We specialize in individual financial plans and qualified service plans.

Sign up to hear about events:

From the Blog

State Farm and Edward Jones React to the Fiduciary Rule

By Mack Bekeza With April 10th, 2017 quickly approaching, a large number of investment firms and insurance agencies are scrambling to comply with the DOL fiduciary regulation. However, some firms believe they have found a solution to the upcoming rule. Knowing that their representatives cannot put their clients’ interest first, State Farm and Edward Jones […]

  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

© Copyright 2006-2017 · Castle Rock Investment Company · All Rights Reserved