[USER]

what would you recommend a 26 y/o accountant with 1 year experience and no certs to do to make their retirement as FAT as possible.

I’m certainly on track to retire at the age of 65, but the issue I’m finding is the saving of income since I don’t make much.

[James]

Jack that savings rate up as high as you can, for as long as you can, and invest wisely.

[Kina]

start saving a large % of your income now and put raises towards savings is your best way to get there fast. But more specific to your situation…

15 years experience in Accounting/FP&A here (ugh that hurts to say). In my experience getting to.the FP&A route is bigger $ opportunities, but some technical accounting experience first can set you apart a bit.

Within accounting CPA is a big help, but once you move FP&A it doesn’t make much impact.

And MBA in Finance could be a good option – especially if your company reimburses for education, sometimes you could take classes part time.

Loyalty to a company generally doesn’t pay until you get yourself in a leadership role and have more negotiating power (even then it may not pay off).

Get to management so you can get on bonus plan, and ask about equity as that can be another multiplier as you move up. Also, if your company is ever doing M&A or a big special cost program/ new product that you can get yourself connected to the project, ask if there are project or retention bonuses.

Lots of companies do these but it’s easy to miss out; if you can get some of those it can help rack up the savings.

Also check if your company has an employee stock purchase program with a match.

All this to say though it can be grueling and spirit crushing, but hopefully you can find something you enjoy and a way to not get too burnt out along the way.

[Jeffrey]

If you aren’t already contributing to an IRA, that is obviously the first step.

If you aren’t earning much now, a Roth is probably the way to go because you can withdraw it without paying taxes someday.

You can set that up yourself through a company like Fidelity.

Your income will grow over time, but the sooner you start putting aside money in a retirement account, the better.

It really starts to grow after a few years.

[Colleen]

Get your certification, don’t be afraid to change jobs for more salary and better benefits, save and invest as much as possible.

[Author]

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