

3 Expert-Approved Tips To Use For Retirement Planning
I don't know about you but I was real clueless when I got into the workforce and was asked if I wanted to contribute to a 401K.
Before making a decision, I had a little conversation with myself in my head that went a little something like this:
"What the heck is a 401K?"
"That sounds real shady."
"It's gonna be coming out of my paycheck? Nah, I need ALL of my hard earned coins!"
"Well I guess I should sign up for it because they say they're gonna match me. What's the worst that can possibly happen here?"
I know I'm not the only one who has had a similar convo with themselves. I wasn't even thinking about no retirement, I was fresh out of school and simply trying to gain some real life experience and look fly while doing so. I was focused on what was going on in my world that day, that week, that month.
Nah, 30 to 40 years down the line didn't exist to me.
I ultimately ended up putting a good chunk of money into my 401K while at my first job, but when hard times hit a few years later, I was up against a wall and had no choice but to pull all of my money out. There I was with no savings, just like that. I didn't know any better though. Fast forward a few years, I started learning more and more about retirement planning and the different types of Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and having real life conversations with my peers about it.
Shamese CampbellThe General Ledger Group
When I heard Shamese Campbell of The General Ledger Group tell her story, it struck a chord in me. Imagine making millions and millions of dollars as a boss babe business owner, traveling all around the world, and living the high life for years and years, but now being in retirement age with absolutely nothing to show for it.
This is Campbell's 82-year-old grandmother's reality. When business was booming, she was so focused on the "here and now" that she didn't think to plan for retirement. "We don't think about these things when we're young," Campbell said.
In the age of boss babes and Girl CEOs everywhere, it's especially important to ensure that the money you're bringing in while hustling has an assignment. "Everyone's always so focused on securing the bag that they're not even thinking about managing it and putting it aside for the future," she continued.
When you work for yourself, you have to make sure that you don't lose sight of retirement planning. Just because you may not have access to an employer sponsored 401K plan, doesn't mean that you can't contribute. You can take advantage of an IRA and set it up to where you're contributing the maximum amount each year ($5,500) so that you can earn more on your investment. This will allow you to ensure that you're gonna actually be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor over the years once you're ready to throw in the towel.
There's two common types of IRAs: Traditional and Roth. The difference between the two is that with a Traditional IRA, you're getting a slight tax break because you're putting pre-tax dollars into it. When it's time to withdraw, you'll get taxed on it. With a Roth IRA, it allows you to invest with after-tax dollars so that when it's time to pull from it, it's completely tax free. The unfortunate truth is this though: retirement seems so far away for so many millennials and, as a result, they are either not saving at all for it or not saving enough.
The General Ledger Group
It's a foreign concept for those who were never educated on the importance of retirement planning.
The whole point of retiring is so that you won't have to work anymore. Campbell says that, "If you have to get a job after retirement, then you've done something wrong along the way."
That's why we see so many older people working jobs these days. Not because they necessarily want to, but because they have to in order to survive. Think about it: do you want to be standing in front of a Wal-Mart greeting people when you're 70 years old? If your answer is "no," then it's time to really shift your mindset and start thinking about and planning for your FUTURE SELF.
Wherever you are in your workforce journey, it's never too late to start pouring into your future. Here's a few ways that you can ensure a happy and thriving retirement for yourself.
Make it a priority.
It's sad to see how we work every single day for so many years and end up broke, busted, and disgusted at the end of it all. That's because we're so conditioned to go to work in order to pay bills. Campbell says that you should be making it a priority to pay yourself first before doing anything else. Regardless of how much you're putting in, it's imperative to be contributing something. Start small if necessary and increase your contributions over time. You also gotta make sure that you're disciplined enough to not pull from it like I did when things got a bit rough.
Know where you are to know where you're going.
A lot of times, people don't know how much it truly costs to live the life that they live or even how to calculate their financial independence number. You have to have an idea of how much money you even need in order to retire comfortably and maintain your standard of living or better. Additionally, you have to take into account inflation over the years. Ask yourself this: With how much you're contributing currently, is your future self gonna be good or nah?
Sit down with someone.
Regardless of whether you're an entrepreneur or work a traditional 9-5, you should be sitting down with a professional to discuss your options and create a plan that will allow you to live the life you desire after retirement. You should also meet with them multiple times over the years to make changes to your contributions as needed. You do not need to figure it all out on your own, that's why there are qualified people who are willing and ready to help you get the most bang for your buck.
Campbell says that you should be planning for the future so that the future can take care of you. If you're not looking out for you, then who will? Make yourself a priority and do what's necessary TODAY so that you can live your best life TOMORROW.
Featured image courtesy of The General Ledger Group
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Kristin Sutton (aka the Money Therapist) is a personal finance and lifestyle blogger/coach over at DebtFreeBlackGirl.com that empowers young women to take control of their finances by changing the way they think about money. As a licensed therapist, her daily mission is to uncover and eliminate the mental roadblocks that hinder people from living the life of their dreams. You can find her on all things social: @DebtFreeBlkGrl
Smile, Sis! These Five Improvements Can Upgrade Your Oral Hygiene Instantly
This article is in partnership with Sensodyne.
Our teeth are connected to so many things - our nutrition, our confidence, and our overall mood. We often take for granted how important healthy teeth are, until issues like tooth sensitivity or gum recession come to remind us. Like most things related to our bodies, prevention is the best medicine. Here are five things you can do immediately to improve your oral hygiene, prevent tooth sensitivity, and avoid dental issues down the road.
1) Go Easy On the Rough Brushing: Brushing your teeth is and always will be priority number one in the oral hygiene department. No surprises there! However, there is such a thing as applying too much pressure when brushing…and that can lead to problems over time. Use a toothbrush with soft bristles and brush in smooth, circular motions. It may seem counterintuitive, but a gentle approach to brushing is the most effective way to clean those pearly whites without wearing away enamel and exposing sensitive areas of the teeth.
2) Use A Desensitizing Toothpaste: As everyone knows, mouth pain can be highly uncomfortable; but tooth sensitivity is a whole different beast. Hot weather favorites like ice cream and popsicles have the ability to trigger tooth sensitivity, which might make you want to stay away from icy foods altogether. But as always, prevention is the best medicine here. Switching to a toothpaste like Sensodyne’s Sensitivity & Gum toothpaste specifically designed for sensitive teeth will help build a protective layer over sensitive areas of the tooth. Over time, those sharp sensations that occur with extremely cold foods will subside, and you’ll be back to treating yourself to your icy faves like this one!
3) Floss, Rinse, Brush. (And In That Order!): Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not what you do, but how you do it”? Well, the same thing applies to taking care of your teeth. Even if you are flossing and brushing religiously, you could be missing out on some of the benefits simply because you aren’t doing so in the right order. Flossing is best to do before brushing because it removes food particles and plaque from places your toothbrush can’t reach. After a proper flossing sesh, it is important to rinse out your mouth with water after. Finally, you can whip out your toothbrush and get to brushing. Though many of us commonly rinse with water after brushing to remove excess toothpaste, it may not be the best thing for our teeth. That’s because fluoride, the active ingredient in toothpaste that protects your enamel, works best when it gets to sit on the teeth and continue working its magic. Rinsing with water after brushing doesn’t let the toothpaste go to work like it really can. Changing up your order may take some getting used to, but over time, you’ll see the difference.
4) Stay Hydrated: Upping your water supply is a no-fail way to level up your health overall, and your teeth are no exception to this rule. Drinking water not only helps maintain a healthy pH balance in your mouth, but it also washes away residue and acids that can cause enamel erosion. It also helps you steer clear of dry mouth, which is a gateway to bad breath. And who needs that?
5) Show Your Gums Some Love: When it comes to improving your smile, you may be laser-focused on getting your teeth whiter, straighter, and overall healthier. Rightfully so, as these are all attributes of a megawatt smile; but you certainly don’t want to leave gum health out of the equation. If you neglect your gums, you’ll start to notice the effects of plaque buildup, which can irritate the gums and cause gingivitis, the earliest stage of gum disease. Seeing blood while brushing and flossing is a tell-tale sign that your gums are suffering. You may also experience gum recession — a condition where the gum tissue surrounding your teeth pulls back, exposing more of your tooth. Brushing at least twice a day with a gum-protecting toothpaste like Sensodyne Sensitivity and Gum, coupled with regular dentist visits, will keep your gums shining as bright as those pearly whites.
Why Do Millennials & Gen-Zers Still Feel Like Teenagers? The Pandemic Might Be The Reason.
There’s nothing quite as humbling as navigating adulthood with no instruction manual. Since the turn of the decade, it seems like everything in our society that could go wrong has, inevitably, gone wrong. From the global pandemic, our crippling student debt problem, the loneliness crisis, layoffs, global warming, recession, and not to mention figuring out what to eat for dinner every night. This constant state of uncertainty has many of us wondering, when are the grown-ups coming to fix all of this?
But the catch is, we are the new grown-ups.
As if it happened without our permission, we became the new adults. We are the members of society who are paying taxes, having children, getting married, and keeping our communities afloat, one iced latte at a time. Still, there’s something about doing all these grown-up duties that feel unnaturally grown-up. Enter the #teenagegirlinher20s.
If there’s one hashtag to give you the state of the next cohort of adults, it’s this one. Of the videos that have garnered over 3.9M views, you’ll find a collection of users who are overwhelmed by life’s pressing existential responsibilities, clung to nostalgia, and reminiscent of the days when their mom and dad took care of their insurance plans.
@charlies444ngel no like i cant explain to her why i had to buy multiple tank air dupes from aritzia #teenagegirlinher20s #fyp
The concept of being a 20-something or 30-something teenager is linked to the sentiment of not feeling “grown up enough” to do grown-up things while feeling underprepared and even nihilistic about whether that preparation even matters.
It’s our generation’s version of when we ask our grandmothers how old they are and they simply reply with, “I still feel 45,” all while being every bit of 76 years old. In this, we share a warped concept of time while clinging to a desire for infantilization.
Granted, the pandemic did a number on our concept of time. Many of us who started the pandemic in our early or mid-20s missed out on three fundamental years of socialization, career development, and personal milestones that traditionally help to mark our growth.
Our time to figure out and plan our next steps through fumbling yet active participation was put on pause indefinitely and then resumed provisionally. This in turn has left many of us hanging in the balance of uncertainty as we try to make sense of the disconnect between our minds and bodies in this missing gap of time.
Because we’re all still figuring out what the ramifications of being locked away and frozen in time by a global pandemic will have on us as a society, there really is no “right” way of making up for lost time. Feeling unprepared for any new chapter of life is a natural rite of passage, pandemic or not. However, it’s important to not stay stuck in the last age or period of life that made sense to us because self-growth is the truest evidence of personal progress.
So whether you’re leaning on your inner child, teenager, or 20-something for guidance as you fill the gap between your real age and pandemic age, know that it’s okay to grieve the person you thought you would be and the milestones you thought you’d hit before you ever knew what a pandemic was. If there’s anything that the pandemic taught us, it’s that we have the power to reimagine a better world and life for ourselves. And if we tap into our inner teenager as a compass, we can piece together our next chapter with a fresh outlook.
Sure, we’ve lost a couple of years, but there are still some really amazing ones ahead.
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Featured image by Stephen Zeigler/Getty Images