Got 5 Minutes? This Simple Step Can Set You up for a Happy Retirement

Pause your music for a second. When’s the last time you thought about your 401(k)? Been awhile, right?

You know it’s growing, but is it growing fast enough?

While you’re jamming out to your tunes, a company called Blooom could be hard at work optimizing your 401(k).

That’s money music to our ears.

Grow Your 401(k) Faster

Already contributing to your 401(k)? Great. That’s what you should be doing. But do you know what’s happening to your money after you contribute it?

Probably not. That’s where Blooom comes in. It’s an SEC-registered investment advisory firm that can optimize and monitor your 401(k) for you and set you up to retire when you want to.

The money in your 401(k) account is most likely diversified into a mix of stocks and bonds, but it might not be the right mix for you. Depending on your age, your desired retirement age and how much you can afford to contribute, you might need different settings to make your money grow the best way possible.

That’s where Blooom’s robo-adviser can help. Instead of setting your account and forgetting about it, it’s constantly watching to see that it’s optimized to make your money grow and avoid hidden (investment) fees.

Take a Commercial Break to Fix Your 401(k)

It just takes a few minutes to get a free 401(k) analysis that will show you whether your investments are allocated properly and whether you’re losing money paying hidden fees.

This check up will even tell you just how much more money your account could earn by the time you retire. You might be surprised at how much that is.

After that, if you sign up, it’s just $10 per month to have Blooom monitor and maximize your 401(k). Bonus: Penny Hoarders get the first month free with the code PNNYHRD.

Carson Kohler discovered that working with Blooom could potentially boost her 401(k) by up to $247,367 in additional funds by the time she retires. She plans to retire at 60, too, so that’s pretty sweet.

That’s $19 per day of extra earnings versus just 33 cents per day the service would cost her.

What Does a Robo-Adviser Do, Really?

Blooom’s robo-adviser looks at your 401(k) as well as factors including your age, contributions and target retirement age to see whether your account is zooming toward your goals or sputtering along the wrong path.

Here are some major factors it’ll keep an eye out for:

Risk: How aggressive are your investments? Depending on your age and the money in your account, you might want to be more aggressive to make that money grow. On the flip side, for some accounts, getting more conservative can help protect a healthy-looking future.

Fees: Many 401(k) accounts are riddled with hidden fees that bog down your earnings. How can you build your money if someone keeps taking little cuts? Blooom finds and minimizes your fees. It’s like tuning up your car to get better gas mileage.

Diversification: Small cap, mid-cap, stocks versus bonds, commodities, equities… who knows? It’s OK if you’re not a pro at investing. Most of us aren’t. The folks at Blooom are. They can balance out your portfolio and keep your account running smoothly. The tool can even change your investments for you as needed when the market changes.

What’s Your Future Worth?

You love your Netflix. It’s okay to admit it. Most of us do. It’s only $10 per month, right?

And, of course, there’s Hulu. Have you seen the latest episode of “The Handmaid’s Tale”?” I-N-T-E-N-S-E! That’s just TV. You get your big-screen fix with a movie per day with Moviepass. And on the way to the theater, you rock out to your favorite jams on Spotify, right?

That’s another $10… $10… and $10.

Think about the future you want once you retire. If you can afford to spend money each month to zombie out in front of the television, you should consider investing in your own future.

Just a few minutes now and a few bucks a month could add years’ worth of additional funds to your retirement kitty.

Okay, you can get back to jamming out to your tunes now.

Tyler Omoth is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder who loves soaking up the sun and finding creative ways to help others. Eddie Money is his mood music for writing Penny Hoarder posts. Catch him on Twitter at @Tyomoth.