Have Less Than $25K in Your Retirement Account? Make These 6 Moves

Do you have less than $25,000 in your retirement account right now?

You’re far from alone, my friend. The fact is, 40% of Americans have less than $25,000 saved for retirement, according to a Northwestern Mutual study. That’s scary.

But, hey, we’re not here to lecture you or instill fear in you. We’re here to cheer you on and show you how to get back on track.

We’ve got six ways to boost your balance and sock away more savings for your golden years. Bonus: You can start doing most of these things today!

1. Get Every Penny From Your Employer

If your employer offers a 401(k) plan as part of its benefits package, then you should absolutely, definitely take full advantage of your employer’s matching contribution.

“Take advantage of your full company match,” says Jeff Dixson, a financial adviser in Vancouver, Washington, who hosts a radio show called “The Retirement Coach.” “If they match 3%, contribute 3%. If they match 6%, try to get to 6%. That’s free money. There’s nowhere else you’re going to get free money.”

If you’re already at the full company match, consider increasing your contributions even more. Trying raising it by at least 1%.

If your employer doesn’t have a 401(k) package, or if you’re self-employed, you should strongly consider stashing retirement savings in a tax-free IRA. Contribute to it routinely and automatically, if you can.

2. Leave Your Family up to $1.5 Million in Life Insurance

Oh, to be a millionaire. Look, not all of us have the money to set up trust funds for our loved ones. But you could still leave them up to $1.5 million in life insurance — and you don’t even need to have the money in the bank.

You’re probably thinking: I don’t have the time or money for that. But this takes just minutes — and you could leave your family up to $1.5 million with a company called Bestow.

We hear people are paying as little as $10 a month.* (But every year you wait, this gets more expensive.)

It takes just minutes to get a free quote and see how much life insurance you can leave your loved ones — even if you don’t have seven figures in your bank account.

3. Ask This Website to Pay Your Credit Card Bills This Month

Every month, you make payments toward your credit card debt. But you never seem to make a dent. It’s because of those sky-high interest rates — as much as 24% interest. It can feel impossible to get ahead.

But MoneyLion could help you find offers to cut your interest rate by 70% as soon as tomorrow.

Here’s how it works: MoneyLion can match you with new loan offers at a lower interest rate — as low as 5.20% APR*. That’s 70%* lower than the average credit card interest rate. And it’s the key to finally getting ahead.

You can use this new loan to pay off all your existing credit card debt, then you’ll be left with one (cheaper) monthly payment that will help you get out of debt faster.

If you have a credit score of at least 620, you could get up to $100,000. With no collateral. And terms go up to 144 months.

Worried you won’t qualify? Take two minutes to check online and see if you could cut your credit card interest rate by 70%.

*Based on creditworthiness. Average credit card interest rate is 24.72% as of 8/14/23, according to Forbes Advisor’s weekly credit card rates report.

4. Add a Free $225 to Your Retirement Account Every Month

If we told you that you could get paid to watch videos on your computer, you’d probably laugh.

It’s too good to be true, right?

But we’re serious. A website called Swagbucks will pay you to watch short video clips online. One minute you might watch someone bake brownies and the next you might get the latest updates on Kardashian drama.

All you have to do is choose which videos you want to watch and answer a few quick questions about them afterward.

Swagbucks won’t completely pay off your credit cards, but it’s possible to earn up to $225 per month watching these videos. It’s already paid its users more than $400 million.

It takes about one minute to sign up, and you’ll immediately get a $5 bonus to get you started.

5. Get up to $500 in Free Stock

If you feel like you don’t have enough money to start investing in your retirement, you’re not alone. But guess what? You really don’t need that much — and you can even get free stocks (worth up to $500!) if you know where to look.

Whether you’re got $5, $100 or $800 to spare, you can start investing with Robinhood.

Yeah, you’ve probably heard of Robinhood. Both investing beginners and pros love it because it doesn’t charge commission fees, and you can buy and sell stocks for free — no limits. Plus, it’s super easy to use.

What’s best? When you download the app and fund your account (it takes no more than a few minutes), Robinhood drops a share of free stock into your account. It’s random, though, so that stock could be worth anywhere from $5 to $500 — a nice boost to help you build your investments.

6. Cut Your Cell Phone Bill to as Little as $4/Month

When you’re trying to save for retirement, you might feel like you have to cut every enjoyable thing out of your budget. But the truth is, one of the simplest — and most impactful — expenses you can cut is cell phone bill.

The thing is, you’ve probably had the same cell phone company for a while. And you’re probably paying way too much for your service.

But with discount prepaid phone carrier US Mobile, you could get a plan starting at as little as $4 a month.

With US Mobile, you get to build your custom plan. Pick the amount of minutes, texts and data you need. Don’t worry about perfecting your plan; you can adjust it at any time.

You can bring your own phone — 99% of phones are compatible with US Mobile — or buy a new one through its site, then order a SIM card (a $3.99 one-time purchase). It’ll mail you the SIM card for free to put in your phone.

So, don’t let your pesky monthly bills hold you back from hitting your retirement goals. See how much you could save here.

*Bestow: Policies are issued by Bestow Life Insurance Company, Dallas, TX on policy form series BLI-ITPOL. Bestow Life Insurance products may not be available in all states. Policy limitations or restrictions may apply. Not available in New York. Our application asks lifestyle and health questions to determine eligibility in order to avoid requiring a medical exam. Prices start at $10/month based on an 18-year-old male rated Preferred Plus NT for a $100k policy for a 10-year term. Rates will vary based on underwriting review.