 TITLE: Savings Goals for Age 30, 40 and 50 CONTENT: By age 40: Retirement Savings + Child's College Fund + Adjusted Emergency Fund\n------------------------------------------------------------------------------\nBy now, you should be well into taking advantage of a tax-deferred retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or 403(b) if one is available to you through your employer. In 2019, you can contribute an annual sum of up to $19,000 in pre-tax income, and that maximum typically increases by $500 a year. If you consistently max out your contributions, you might have built up **$264,000** over those 10 years since turning 30, assuming a conservative 5% investment growth. These savings will be much higher if your employer matches a portion of your contributions and your investments did especially well.\nEven if you can't come close to maxing out your contributions due to your living expenses, experts recommend saving at least 15% of your earnings for retirement. The best way to do that is to set it and forget it by having your contributions taken out automatically each pay period. For more information on saving for retirement with a 401(k), see \"How Much Should I Contribute to My 401(k)?\"\nIf you have children, there's another important expense to save for, and that's your kids' higher education. If you want to pay for their tuition, plan to have between **$40,000** for an in-state public university to well over **$200,000** for private university tuition per child. Keep in mind, this is just for tuition. If you plan to pay for your child's college in its entirety, including living expenses, you'll need to save much more. A 529 Plan can help you save for it in a tax-advantaged way. For more on saving for your child's college, see \"How to Save Money for College.\"\nFinally, continue to maintain an emergency savings account, but adjust it for potentially higher expenses. For example, if you bought a home, your mortgage could be more than what your rent was. And maybe you have additional children. Whatever the case, your savings should reflect the reality of your current situation. Perhaps now you need $5,000 a month for six months—equaling a **$30,000** buffer. That might be a daunting amount, but if you're married or partnered up, two people could be contributing to the funds and sharing the same expenses, so achieving it may not be as hard as you think. END