Here is an article from US News Money titled “50 Ways to Improve your Retirement in 2012″.
There is some good tips and ideas for anyone, including teachers, in here. Unfortunately, it is a little on the long side. 50 tips with a paragraph or two on each adds up quickly.
Sometimes the best advice is the simple stuff that can be overlooked all the time. One that I really liked was #33 “Invest in your Career – Even when you’re being frugal everywhere else”. There are so many reasons to invest in yourself and your career. You never know when the next skill you add or the next thing you learn can absolutely change your career. It might be a whole new way of teaching a subject you never thought of before. It could be additional skills or another degree that makes you even more invaluable to your school and that much more attractive to other districts (if you were ever so inclined to change schools).
Another tip that I liked was #24 “Take advantage of job benefits”. About half of all teachers do not take advantage of one of the best benefits available to them: the 403b.
Texas teachers are no different. But based on recent and potential future changes on the Texas teacher retirement system pension, Texas teachers much save for their own retirement in addition to the Texas TRS.
What is even more unfortunate than the lack of teachers saving for retirement in addition to their pension, is that 80% of those Texas teachers who indeed are saving are choosing the absolute WORST plans available to them. These plans are predatory and needlessly (and secretly) siphons off hundreds or even thousands of dollars from the teacher’s account each and every year.
In fact, between all the teachers across the US in these predatory plans, over $3 Billion is collectively stolen from teacher retirement and is transformed into profits for a few money-hungry corporations.
To learn how to avoid being a part of this $3 billion per year heist of teacher retirement and guarantee that you are able to retire the way you desire & deserve (no matter what happens to the Texas Teacher Pension in the future); sign up for the Texas Teacher – Only webinar at this site’s home page:
http://teacherretirementtexas.com
Leave A Reply (3 comments so far)
Eva
440 days ago
We are our greatest asset. It makes sense to invest in ourselves so that we are ready for the future. We should always try to learn a new skill and increase our employability. This is the only way to survive in a competitive and uncertain world.
Peewee
386 days ago
I agree with Rachel as an Elementary teacher the best acdvie I could give you is finding a teacher that would be willing to let you go into there classroom. Teaching is hard work but very rewarding. You will never make a lot of money, have to deal with angry parents, spend a lot of your own money of resources for your classroom, and work a lot outside of school (grading, preparing etc) but if this is the right career for you all of these things become less important and trying to educate a teach achild is what really matters.If you want some questions when I was in college we had to go and observe and some questions I asked my cooperating teachers were:What is the most/ some rewarding things that you find as being a teacher?What are some of your challenges that you face? Hardest things about being a teacher?Describe a typical dayHow do you deal with angry parents? demanding?Why did you become a teacher?What keeps you teaching?What are three (or whatever number you want) things you wish you knew going into teaching your first year that you didn’t learn from school or student teaching?those are some things I thought of otherwise google what to ask my cooperative teacher? questions to ask a teacher?S
angel
384 days ago
Put into your 401(k) the minimum amnout necessary to collect the maximum firm contribution. That’s free money they’re giving you.Next, get a ROTH IRA and max it out every year. Tax free forever. That’s free money too.If you can do more, then go back to your 401(k) and max that out to the legal limit.If you can still do even more, then consider other options.Take advantage of all the free money you can.