To be honest, we arrived to our saving strategy organically… but being a DINK couple, we have always had extra income coming in. But having the discipline to save money and budget – that takes some work, patience and planning to get to a consistent and ideal level.

For couples approaching retirement, effective saving strategies include maximizing “catch-up” contributions to retirement accounts, coordinating Social Security benefits, and transitioning investments to a more conservative allocation. Regular, open communication about shared financial goals is crucial for creating and maintaining a unified plan. 

We are both fortunate to work for companies that truly invest in their employees. I have had a company IRA (Individual Retirement Account) since my 30s, complete with a company match. However, when I was younger, I didn’t pay much attention to contribution percentages. It took several years before I realized there was a maximum contribution limit and that I should aim to max it out. My wife started investing and contributing to retirement accounts a bit later, but knowing she was behind, she focused more on consistently adding funds than I did.

We have always kept track of our monthly budgets—groceries, subscriptions, and other expenses—using rough estimates while noting spending patterns and identifying areas to improve. Setting up any automatic deposits is a great first step. Once the money is automatically moved out of your regular bank account, you hardly notice it and learn to manage with the remaining balance.

Additionally, having separate automatic deposits for annual expenses like property taxes and insurance is very helpful. Setting this money aside in a dedicated account makes managing these costs much easier and more organized.

Turning 50 allowed me to increase my “catch-up” contributions even further. Working with a financial advisor was incredibly helpful. Together, we consolidated many of our investment and retirement accounts into one place, making it easier to track our progress and manage our portfolios effectively. We also wanted to set up a Backdoor Roth but weren’t familiar with the process. Our advisor handled all the paperwork swiftly, making the setup seamless.

Hopefully these strategies and tips will help you in your journey towards retirement, fellow DINKs!

夫妻接近退休儲蓄策略（丁克版）

說實話，我們是自然而然地制定了我們的儲蓄策略……但作為丁克夫婦，我們一直都有額外的收入。但是要有節儉和預算的紀律——這需要一些努力、耐心和計劃才能達到一致和理想的水平。

對於即將退休的夫婦來說，有效的儲蓄策略包括最大限度地增加退休帳戶的「補繳」金額、協調社保福利以及將投資配置轉向更為保守的模式。定期、公開地溝通共同的財務目標，對於制定和維持統一的計劃至關重要。

我們倆都很幸運，因為公司/雇主都對員工投入大量資金。我從30多歲起就開設了公司個人退休帳戶 (IRA)，公司也有公司匹配帳戶。但我年輕時從未關注過繳款比例。直到幾年後，我才意識到繳款是有上限的，應該盡量達到上限。我妻子開始開設投資和退休帳戶的時間稍晚一些，但她知道自己的投入落後，所以比我更專注於往裡面存錢。我們也清楚每個月的預算——食品雜貨、訂閱費和其他開支——大致數字，但也會留意一些規律和可以調整的地方，以便更好地控制支出。開設任何自動存款帳戶——任何帳戶都很好。一旦你在常用的銀行帳戶裡看不到這些錢，你就不會真正注意到它們，而是會把剩下的錢花在刀刃上。為「年度」開支（如財產稅、保險等）設立單獨的自動存款帳戶也很有幫助，因為將這些錢存入單獨的帳戶也有助於管理開支。

當我50歲時，我能夠進一步增加「補繳」供款。花時間諮詢財務顧問幫助很大。在他的幫助下，我們能夠將許多投資和退休帳戶整合到一個地方，以便查看我們的進度並管理我們的投資組合，看看我們有哪些不足。我們也想做一個後門羅斯退休帳戶，但不太了解流程，我們的財務顧問能夠快速處理所有文書工作來設定它。

希望這些策略和技巧能幫助各位丁克族同胞順利邁向退休！