Retirement planning is often very intimidating for most ordinary people.
The idea of having to put away a lot of money over decades for a time forty years down the road can be difficult and intimidating.
Still, saving for retirement is an absolute necessity and something that has to be dealt with.
The good news is that even on a tight budget, there are many ways that an individual can save extra money in order to prepare for the golden years.
One of the biggest problems people have with saving is that money that's not appropriated to anything tends to just get spent.
The very moment you get a pay check, make a habit of taking $10-20 out of every single check and put it into some type of account.
If you don't have an IRA, but this into a savings account until you have enough to open an IRA.
This should be in addition to any normal IRA deposits or 401-k contributions.
Also, look around to see if you can find a bank that offers checking accounts with interest.
If you're used to carrying a decent amount of cash on hand, this can add up over a year.
Another huge tip is to keep a change jar.
This might sound like ridiculously little, but change tends to spend itself.
Over a four month period between my sophomore and junior years of college, my change jar was just short of $100.
Imagine putting away $300 a year for 30 years into an IRA.
It would be pretty amazing how that could add up over time.
The other is to cut the small expenses.
If you rarely watch the movie channels on cable, don't pay extra for them! Don't pay for a $100 a month cell phone plan if a $70 a month will do, and if you're making ends meet before these cuts, take half of the money you save, and put it right into a savings account.
This way you can save a lot more for retirement and still enjoy a little extra money in your pockets to avoid burn out.