Successful investing takes some effort. You have to assess your goals, study your options, and regularly check in on your investments. These common-sense steps will help you to avoid taking a wrong turn on your retirement journey.

Start Early

The younger you are when you begin investing in your retirement plan, the more time you have to benefit from years of potential compounding growth.

Increase your saving contributions

Every time you get a raise, increase the amount you are saving for retirement. This makes it easier to save and will help you stay on track.

Know your goals

Many people start investing without defining their goals or estimating how much they will need in retirement. Use the retirement planning tools on this site to help you determine your goals.

Choose investments that help you stay on track

The key is to invest for the long term with a mix of investments that is appropriate for your goals, timeline and risk tolerance. Many people are choosing target date funds to help them stay on track. Target date funds adjust automatically over time to help make sure you have a mix of investments that are appropriate for your goals.

Don’t let emotions drive your decisions

Have you panicked and made a snap decision to "drop your course" and sell investments? Being too involved with your investments (such as trying to time the market) or not enough (such as avoiding rebalancing) can both be detrimental to reaching your investing goals. Learning more about investing can help you feel better about your choices and decisions.