6 Extremely Simple Ways Young Adults Can Secure a Stress-Free Retirement Starting Now
Written by
Jamela Adam
Edited by
Cory Dudak
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Retirement might feel like a lifetime away when you’re in your 20s or 30s, but that’s exactly why now is the best time to start preparing for it. The earlier you start, the less money you’ll need to save later, and the more it can work for you while you sleep.
Here are six extremely simple things you can do now as a young adult to set yourself up for a successful retirement.
1. Get 401(k) Match
Many companies match what you contribute to your 401k, usually up to 3% to 6% of your paycheck. If you make $50,000 a year, for instance, and your employer matches up to 4%, that means putting in $2,000 could earn you another $2,000.
Even if you can’t afford to max it out, contribute enough to get the full match.
2. Open a Roth IRA
Roth IRAs are individual retirement accounts that you contribute to with after-tax dollars, meaning you’ll pay taxes now, but your withdrawals in retirement are completely tax-free. So, if your investments grow to $1 million by the time you retire, you won’t owe the IRS a single dollar of it.
As of 2025, anyone under a certain income limit can contribute up to $7,000 per year ($8,000 if you’re age 50 or older). If you’re not sure what to invest in, a target-date index fund is the simplest “set it and forget it” option.
You can open a Roth IRA account through a brokerage like Fidelity, Vanguard or Schwab.
3. Build an Emergency Fund
It’s hard to focus on saving for retirement when you’re one car repair away from going bankrupt. That’s why you should always have an emergency fund to help cover three to six months of living expenses.
This safety net keeps you from having to take on more credit card debt or dip into your 401(k) if something goes wrong.
4. Pay Off High-Interest Debt
While investments can grow over time, credit card debt can balloon just as quickly — but in the opposite direction.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the average interest rate on a credit card is 21.39% as of August 2025. If you’re paying this much interest on a balance, your credit card debt can quickly spiral out of control if you only make the minimum payment each month. At that rate, most of your money will be going toward interest instead of the principal.
If you’re drowning in high-interest debt right now, you’re priority should be paying it off first. You could try using the avalanche method to pay off the highest interest rate first, or the snowball method, which starts with the smallest balance. Once your high-interest debt is gone, redirect those payments straight into savings or investments.
5. Start Tracking Where Your Money Goes
You can’t fix what you don’t measure. If you haven’t already, use a budgeting app or simple Google Sheet to see where your money’s going every month. You don’t have to cut everything fun out of your life, but tracking your expenses will make sure your money is actually helping you build wealth and not just going toward unnecessary spending.
6. Take Advantage of Compound Interest
Compound interest is the reason why investing early is so important. If you invest $200 a month starting at age 25 and earn an average 7% return, you’ll have around $500,000 by the time you’re 65. But if you wait another ten years and start at 35, you’d only have around $240,000.
In other words, you don’t need to be rich to build wealth. You just need to be consistent and start while you’ve got time on your side.
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