Retirement Week continues! Every day we are posting retirement advice from NerdWallet. Read about preparing in your Twenties and Thirties. Today’s focus is on the Forties.

There’s one truism about retirement that has stood the test of time: It’s never too late, or too early, to start saving. Whether fresh out of school or winding down in a career, there are things you can do to successfully prepare your nest egg, as well as places where it’s easy to stumble. Financial institutions such as Vinton County National Bank can help you set up a retirement account  and personalized plan. But it’s up to you to do the heavy lifting throughout the decades.

By Cait Klein, NerdWallet

Despite having another twenty years until retirement, it’s time to get more serious. If you’ve been heavy on the investments and stock portfolio, you may want to start pulling back a bit and shifting to more conservative strategies, such as government bonds. One rule of thumb is to subtract your age from 110 and to have the result be the percentage of your savings that’s invested in the stock market. For example, 45-year-olds may want 65 percent of their savings in stocks as opposed to the 80 percent or more that 30-year-olds might want. Consider refinancing your home if there are better rates available. It’s also time to start paying down credit card and other high-interest debts and allocating that money back into your future.

Don’t let your current life get in the way of a future one — particularly in your forties. People often take a detour from saving to fund higher education for their children. But doing so could put both generations in financial danger. If you aren’t prepared for retirement, you could be a major burden to your own children, preventing them from establishing savings. It’s important to have three to six months’ living expenses saved in an emergency account to prevent the need to draw on retirement funds in the event of a medical crisis, roof leak or for higher education.

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