When it comes to personal finance, saving, and investing, there are a lot of "it depends" or "your situation may be different." I daresay that saving for retirement is not among those - unless you are one of the very fortunate few to be independently wealthy, setting aside money today to see that you have enough for the years down the road is mandatory.

Unfortunately, inertia can be a powerful force and going from "not saving" to "saving" can be daunting to most people. Making matters worse, so much of the investment and financial advice out there is designed for people who've already crossed the Rubicon and started saving and investing for the future. What we hope to do here, then, is outline some strategies for starting the process.

Saving Is Not Optional

Hopefully anyone who is reading this column is already on board with the idea that saving money is not an optional exercise. Nobody knows what social welfare system  will look like in a decade or more, nor how those benefits will compare to the actual cost of living.

The Problems of Starting Out

In my experience, one of the biggest problems people encounter when they try to start saving is the belief that they don't have enough money as it is, let alone any left over to save. While I don't mean to appear to be lecturing those who are legitimately struggling to get by, I do believe that too many people ignore the fact that paying yourself should be every bit as much of a priority as paying other people. I'm not suggesting defaulting on loans or letting bills go past due, but if you don't take care of yourself, who will?

It's also important to just accept from the beginning that there will be challenges as you start. There will be months where you come up a little short and don't have as much to save. You will also find that your investment choices are pretty limited and that many people won't want to deal with your money because there's not much of it. Don't be discouraged - save as much as you can as often as you can.

Starting Small

It is absolutely true that the personal finance industry is set up to cater to those who have considerable wealth - virtually every bank and brokerage would rather deal with 10 millionaires than 10,000 people with $1,000 each. But your savings and retirement plans should not be based upon what they want or what's convenient for them, but rather what meets your needs.

To that end, even $250 or $500 in retirement savings is a worthwhile start. Any savings is savings, and saving even relatively small amounts of money establishes the habit and the process. Sure, this isn't going to buy you a villa in France for your retirement, but you are establishing good habits and you ARE saving.

At the risk of harping on this, it really is important to look at this as a non-stop, life-long habit. It can be tricky to scrape together the cash to make a contribution so don't set yourself up for failure. Save a little each month, ideally using an online savings account and only tapping into it in extreme emergencies.

Be Realistic About Risk

Those who are just starting off saving for retirement also need to think about investment risk. While academics and investment professionals struggle to define and measure risk, most ordinary people have a pretty clear understanding of it – what is the chance that I'm going to lose a substantial portion of my money (with "substantial" varying from person to person)?

I suggest that new savers and investors be realistic about risk. While any amount of savings is a good start, small amounts of money are not going to produce livable amounts of income in the future. That means that it makes very little sense to invest only in fixed income or other conservative investments right at the beginning. Likewise, you don't want to destroy that initial savings right off the bat, so avoid the riskiest options. Different people have different risk profiles so understand where you are in regard to risk and use that knowledge when thinking of what to do with your savings.

Accumulating More

As time goes on, the habit of saving will hopefully take hold. What's more, as time goes on you may find that your earnings increase and that you can save more. As you save more and your initial investments grow in value, you will find that you have more and more investing options.

The Bottom Line

The most important part of any savings or retirement plan is to simply start doing it. There is no one right way to save money, nor one right way to invest. You will make mistakes along the way and sooner or later you will see the value of some (if not all) of your holdings decline. This is normal; it doesn't feel particularly good, but it is normal. What is important, though, is that you keep saving, keep learning and keep looking to build wealth for the future. If you establish the habit of saving money every month, taking the time to find good homes for that money, and patiently allowing your wealth to build, you will be taking some huge steps forward in making your financial future more secure.

(Seeking professional assistance as you go is also seen as a good idea).

By Investopedia.com | 24.05.2013