3412: Older and Don’t Have a Retirement Plan? Do This by Christina Browning of Our Rich Journey on Future Savings

Summary

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Optimal Finance Daily Podcast: Episode 3412

Title: Older and Don't Have a Retirement Plan? Do This
Author: Christina Browning of Our Rich Journey
Host: Diania Merriam
Air Date: January 5, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, host Diania Merriam narrates and discusses a post from Christina Browning of Our Rich Journey. The focus is on actionable steps for people in their 40s, 50s, 60s, or beyond who feel behind—or haven't started—on their retirement planning. The episode breaks down essential strategies, addresses late-starter anxieties, offers hope and practical tools, and highlights how it's genuinely "never too late" to turn things around for future financial security.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding How Much You’ll Need for Retirement

• Determine Your Number:
  • Don’t fixate on perfection; get a close estimate as a starting point.

    “Just remember, you don’t need an exact number, you just need the closest estimate. You can always modify this number later on.” (Christina Browning, 01:25)

  • Steps:
    • Pull up your current budget.
    • Predict how expenses will change in retirement.
    • Build a retirement budget (with existing tools or a free template).
    • Estimate annual expenses and multiply by 25 to get a target savings amount (the “25x rule”).

2. Start Contributing to Retirement Accounts Immediately

• Leverage Tax-Advantaged Accounts:
  • 401(k), Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, HSA, etc.
  • Catch-up contributions are available if you're over 50, allowing higher annual deposits and improved tax savings.

    “If you’re over 50, you can contribute more to certain retirement accounts. And this is great because these accounts aren’t taxed, meaning you reduce your taxable income significantly.” (Christina Browning, 02:50)

3. Consider Target Date Funds—But Be Intentional

• Pros:
  • Simple, self-adjusting investment options based on your estimated retirement date.
  • Frequent automatic rebalancing reduces the need for hands-on management.
• Cons:
  • Higher fees than a DIY portfolio.
  • Christina prefers low-fee index fund DIY construction.

    "Aman and I don’t own any target date funds because of this. But investing in target date funds is better than not investing at all." (Christina, 03:35)

4. Identify and Maximize Retirement Income Entitlements

• Social Security:
  • Check your Social Security statement online for an estimate.
  • Options to collect begin at 62 (reduced), 66-67 (full), or 70 (greater than full).
• Pensions:
  • Investigate both current and past employers for eligible pensions.

    “Go to the Social Security Administration’s website and get a copy of your Social Security statement. This will show you how much you can expect to receive at different ages.” (Christina, 04:45)

5. Embrace Sacrifice: Cut Costs Now for Comfort Later

• Tactical Budget Cuts:
  • Examine every budget line item—large and small.
• Specific Housing Strategies:
  • Downsize to a smaller, more affordable living space.
  • Relocate to areas with a lower cost of living.
  • Utilize your home for income (e.g., Airbnb).

    “Housing usually accounts for a whopping 30% of the average person’s expenses.” (Christina, 05:38)

6. Avoid Taking On New Debt—Especially for Others

• Student Loans & Family Obligations:
  • Prioritize your retirement security over taking on new debt, even for children’s education.

    “Remember, you can't borrow or get a loan for your retirement, but your children can for their education.” (Christina, 06:34)

    • Tough-love advice: Don't jeopardize your retirement if your own plan isn't solid.

7. Pursue Side Hustles to Supplement Your Savings

• Mindset Shift:
  • Channel your passions into income-generating side projects.
  • Even committing 10 hours per week can make a substantial difference.
  • Side hustles can continue into retirement if they’re enjoyable and sustainable.

    “Try to invest at least 10 hours a week into something you really enjoy that can also make you money because your passions are the best things to channel into side income.” (Christina, 07:25)

8. Stay Hopeful—It’s Not Too Late

• A Decade Makes a Difference:
  • Even starting at 50, disciplined effort for ten years can build a secure retirement.

    “Remain hopeful about your situation because financial independence is possible even when you’re starting late.” (Christina, 08:00)

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Host’s Commentary & Additional Insights

Reflecting on Target Date Funds (10:41)

• Diania’s View:
  • Her personal approach mirrors Christina’s: She doesn't invest in target date funds now but sees their merit for overwhelmed beginners.

    "If the alternatives are to not invest at all, work with a financial advisor who's selling you expensive financial products you don't need, or leaving money on the table in the form of a 401k match... a target date fund could be a good temporary solution." (Diania Merriam, 10:41)

  • Important Note:
    • Only use target date funds in tax-advantaged accounts.
    • She recounts the 2021 Vanguard situation where holding such funds in taxable accounts triggered unexpected and massive capital gains taxes.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Prioritizing Yourself:

  “You can’t borrow or get a loan for your retirement, but your children can for their education.” (Christina, 06:34)

• On Starting Late:

  “Remain hopeful... financial independence is possible even if you’re starting late.” (Christina, 08:00)

• On Simplicity Versus Perfection:

  “Just begin with your closest estimate.” (Christina, 01:34)

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Timestamps for Essential Segments

• 01:25 — Estimating Retirement Needs
• 02:50 — Catch-up Contributions & Retirement Accounts
• 03:35 — Target Date Fund Considerations
• 04:45 — Social Security and Pensions
• 05:38 — Cutting Costs: Focusing on Housing
• 06:34 — Debt and Family Obligations
• 07:25 — The Side Hustle Mindset
• 08:00 — Staying Hopeful and Time Horizons
• 10:41 — Diania’s Target Date Fund Advice

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Final Thoughts

Christina Browning’s roadmap—narrated and expanded upon by Diania Merriam—provides a motivational, tactical guide for anyone feeling behind on retirement savings. Key takeaways:

• Get real about your numbers.
• Prioritize tax-advantaged saving and avoid unnecessary debt.
• Make conscious spending cuts.
• Consider income supplements.
• Most importantly, adopt a hopeful mindset. Ten years of intentional action can redefine your retirement outlook, no matter when you start.

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Transcript

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This is optimal Finance Daily. Older and don't have a Retirement Plan do this by Christina Browning of rrichjourney.com what do you do when you're nearing retirement but don't have a retirement plan in place? This is a question we get all the time. It's a scary prospect and a lot of older people are in this situation. So today I'm going to cover everything that you need to do to prepare for your retirement. When you're in your 40s, 50s, or 60s, or even older and haven't saved anything or barely anything for retirement, following these tips will help you feel more secure as you approach those golden years. Number one how much do you need to retire? This is the first question you need to answer. It's the starting point because you need this number to figure out how much you need in investments before you can retire. Just remember, you don't need an exact number, you just need the closest estimate. You can always modify this number later on. Just begin with your closest estimate. Here's how you figure it out. First, pull up your budget and look at your expenses. Then determine how those expenses will change in retirement. Once you do that, Create a retirement budget. Do this by working with your existing budget or download our free budget to work with. The idea is to estimate your annual expenses in retirement. Once you get that number, your annual expenses in retirement multiply it by 25. This is the amount of money you'll need to reach financial independence and to retire. Number two Start contributing to your retirement accounts. It's time to start contributing to retirement accounts. Look into all of your options. 401k, traditional IRA, Roth IRA, HSA, the list goes on. Figure out the tax advantaged retirement accounts available to you and start pouring money into them. And remember, when you're dealing with retirement accounts when you're older, age is actually an advantage for you. If you're over 50, you can contribute more to certain retirement accounts. And this is great because these accounts aren't taxed, meaning you reduce your taxable income significantly. Consider Target Date Funds if you're concerned about investing and have held off from investing in the stock market because of your fear of losing all your money, consider target date funds. But full disclosure, target date funds come at a cost. They typically involve more cost than the old do it yourself method. In fact, Aman and I don't own any target date funds because of this. But investing in target date funds is better than not investing at all. These funds are typically designed to reduce the volatility in the market, and they use specific dates to figure out if you should be investing more in bonds or equities. Target date funds are typically simple and easy to invest in because they allocate investments based on your age and expected time of retirement. They also do frequent rebalancing for you so you don't have to worry if you're not comfortable with rebalancing on your own in a general index fund. Again, if you're choosing between not investing or investing in a target date fund, you should seriously consider target date funds. Even better, if you feel comfortable investing on your own, you can create your own stock and bond index fund portfolio to reduce fees. Either way, the goal is to begin investing according to your risk tolerance. Number four what retirement income are you entitled to? When we talk about retirement income, we're talking about your Social Security and pension. Go to the Social Security Administration's website and get a copy of your Social Security statement. This will show you how much you can expect to receive at different ages. You can start collecting Social Security at 62 at a reduced rate and start collecting 100% of it at 66 or 67, but at 70, you can collect more than 100%. When it comes to your pension, you may be entitled to pensions from your current job or your previous ones. Do some research and find out what you're entitled to. Number five Start making sacrifices. Let's face it, sacrificing isn't fun, but it could make the difference between retiring comfortably and not retiring at all. Let's talk about cutting costs. You need to do it. Go through your budget line by line and find out where you can save so that you can use that saved money to invest more. And when you're going through your budget, focus on everything. The the big expenses and the small expenses. Everything adds up. Here's an example with housing. Housing usually accounts for a whopping 30% of the average person's expenses. Here are a few ways you can reduce your housing downsizing. If you live in a house that's bigger than what you need, consider swapping it out with a smaller property. Whether you rent or own, you'll save money. Move somewhere with a lower cost of living. This is common in cities with a variety of suburbs and neighborhoods and a simple way of saving more for retirement and Airbnb. If you own your home, you can consider renting it out through Airbnb. Rent out the extra rooms and use that extra money to invest. Number six Avoid additional debt I'm not just talking about car loans and home loans. Think student loans. A lot of parents in America take on student loan debt for their children, and I get this is going to be a touchy subject because Aman and I are parents too, and we understand that you feel an obligation to give your kids the best start that you can. But I've seen so many parents sacrifice their retirement to take on student loan debt for their children, and I think if you're an older parent who doesn't have a secure retirement plan in place, you may want to reconsider. Remember, you can't borrow or get a loan for your retirement, but your children can for their education. When you shoulder the brunt of their loans, you're pushing your retirement back and you only have a limited time to do that. On the other hand, your kids have their whole lives, or presumably much longer than you do, to pay off student debt. I know this sounds harsh, and I'm not saying you should never pay for your child's education. I'm simply advising that you consider whether to take on massive amounts of student debt for your children if you don't have a solid retirement plan. Without a solid retirement plan, you simply can't afford huge amounts of debt. 7. Start a side hustle. Get your money making mindset right. Try to invest at least 10 hours a week into something you really enjoy that can also make you money because your passions are the best things to channel into side income. A good side hustle that you enjoy doing can also be carried into retirement if it isn't too labor or time intensive, and can supplement your retirement costs. Stay positive. Many people who don't have a retirement plan are pessimistic because they feel like they're in a hopeless situation. But this isn't true. Life is long and many of us live to be as old as 80, 90, and even 100. This advice I've shared for retirement planning can be carried out over just 10 years if you're 50, you can have a secure retirement in place by the time you're 60. Remain hopeful about your situation because financial independence is possible even when you're starting late. You just listened to the post titled Older and Don't have a Retirement Plan. Do this by Christina Browning of rrichjourney.com.

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I appreciated the optimism in this article. It really isn't ever too late to save for retirement. Since target date funds are referenced in this article, I thought you'd be interested in a dissenting opinion. Check out episode 1956 titled why youy Shouldn't Buy Target Date Funds. While I personally don't invest in them now, I do feel the offering could be a good solution for someone who is just starting out and nervous about investing. If the alternatives are to not invest at all, work with a financial advisor who's selling you expensive financial products you don't need or leaving money on the table in the form of a 401k match because you're simply overwhelmed by which investments to choose from in your 401k options, a target date fund could be a good temporary solution. After you read a book like this Simple Path to Wealth by J.L. collins and get more comfortable and knowledgeable about investing, you can change your investment selection to something a little more optimal in terms of fees. I also wanted to point out that if you do decide to invest in a target date fund, please only do so in a tax advantaged account, not in a regular after tax brokerage account. In 2021, we saw a situation where Vanguard reduced the minimum needed to invest in their institutional target date funds, and that announcement triggered a lot of people to jump from the higher cost retail fund to the lower cost institutional fund. Vanguard needed to sell fund assets to raise cash to redeem shares for investors in the retail fund, which resulted in capital gains that were 40 times larger than previous years. Tax advantaged accounts are able to reinvest the gains without a tax bill, but if you were holding those target date funds in a taxable brokerage account, it would have resulted in an unexpectedly high tax bill in 2021. And that's a wrap for another Monday show. Have a great start to your week and I'll be back tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.