{"id":8996,"date":"2026-01-24T16:04:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T16:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/is-57-too-late-to-start-saving-for-retirement-dave-ramsey-says-of-course-not-what-to-do-now-to-build-nest-egg\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T16:04:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T16:04:49","slug":"is-57-too-late-to-start-saving-for-retirement-dave-ramsey-says-of-course-not-what-to-do-now-to-build-nest-egg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/is-57-too-late-to-start-saving-for-retirement-dave-ramsey-says-of-course-not-what-to-do-now-to-build-nest-egg\/","title":{"rendered":"Is 57 too late to start saving for retirement? Dave Ramsey says ‘of course not’. What to do now to build nest egg"},"content":{"rendered":"


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When Susan, a 57-year-old living in Florida, called into The Ramsey Show<\/em>, she admitted something that millions of Americans quietly feel but rarely say out loud.<\/p>\n

“I never thought about retirement,\u201d she told co-hosts Dave Ramsey and John Delony. \u201cIt was just something not in my vocabulary.\u201d<\/p>\n

After spending her 20s and 30s enjoying life without much thought to the future, she now finds herself with modest savings, a small IRA and a sinking feeling that she’s run out of time.<\/p>\n

Is it too late for me to think about retirement?” she asked (1).<\/p>\n

Ramsey laughed and reassured her with a clear, \u201cOf course not!\u201d But she has to get busy.<\/p>\n

Susan explained that she fell behind when her catering business cratered during the pandemic, costing her $4,000 a month in lost income and forcing her to sell her home. Five years later, she’s still struggling to recover.<\/p>\n

“I think I’ve been making some poor decisions,” she confessed.<\/p>\n

Although Ramsey acknowledged she’s “still living in the trauma and the pain\u201d of the pandemic, he said wallowing in past mistakes won’t change her future. The question wasn’t whether she should have started earlier, but what she could do now.<\/p>\n

Susan has $57,000 in her IRA and earns $50,000 a year. Ramsey recommended she save 15% of her income \u2014 $7,500 per year \u2014 in a Roth IRA invested in growth stock mutual funds.<\/p>\n

Delony told her if she contributes $7,500 a year to a Roth IRA for the next 20 years, she should have just over $1 million by the time she\u2019s 77, assuming average market returns.<\/p>\n

Ramsey added that she will earn more once she gets her catering business going again and if she applies extreme money to her nest egg, she may reach a million by 67.<\/p>\n

It’s worth noting that Ramsey and Delony\u2019s projections assume consistent contributions and average market returns.<\/p>\n

The S&P 500 has delivered above 10% average annual returns over the long term with dividends reinvested (2), but it\u2019s important to remember that past performance doesn’t guarantee future returns.<\/p>\n

So starting late doesn’t mean starting from zero. Even modest, consistent savings can grow significantly over 10\u201320 years.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n