'You're going to live on beans and rice': Dave Ramsey tells a 73-year-old without retirement savings how to get on track

Lock in high interest rates

Once you know what you’re earning and spending, make sure you’re saving as much as you can. One way to grow your savings safely is with a High

Bulk up your savings

If you want to help your money grow while keeping it readily accessible, a high yield savings account can help you do just that.

While the national interest rate average is an APY of 0.40%, online banks can offer you much more competitive returns – in some cases up to 10x more.

You can check out the Moneywise list of the Best High-Yield Savings Accounts and find an offer that fits with your savings goal.

2. Reinvest dividends

Another way to increase retirement savings is to leverage passive income — for instance, by reinvesting it for a short period. A Dividend Reinvestment Plan, or DRIP, can allow you to deploy your regular dividends into acquiring more stock. These programs can expand your nest egg considerably.

Essentially, your dividends buy more shares of the investment, creating a compounding effect where those new shares can in turn earn more dividends.

Consider DRIP programs for compound returns

For example, Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL) currently has a 4.86% annual dividend yield. The major food processing company is known for iconic names, from SPAM to Skippy (3).

Platforms like Public make it easy to invest in dividend stocks like Hormel.

Public not only offers commission-free trading but also provides a high-yield account where you can park your cash between investments. Public also has social features, enabling users to follow and learn from other investors, share ideas, and stay updated on market trends with real-time insights — kind of like its own internal Reddit community.

As an added bonus, Public's high-yield cash account offers competitive interest rates on uninvested funds. Earn an industry-leading 3.3% APY with no fees and no subscription.

Set up automatic investments

It’s also worth looking into recurring investments, which can happen in the background, reducing any friction in the way of consistent investing.

Using a tool like Acorns — an automated savings and investment app — can help you do just that.

When you make a purchase on your credit or debit card, Acorns automatically rounds up the price to the nearest dollar and puts the excess into a smart investment portfolio. This way, even the most essential spending translates to money saved for the future.

When you sign up now, you’ll get a $20 bonus investment, too.

3. Tap into universal life insurance

Some life insurance policies allow you to cash out a certain amount before maturity. If your policy is no longer needed, consider this option to boost your retirement savings — but only as a last resort.

After all, life insurance can help protect your loved ones from unanticipated costs and policies can vary widely. Some permanent life insurance policies can pay a portion of the benefit out while the policyholder is still alive, which can ease the burden of unexpected expenses in retirement.

For example, an Indexed Universal Life Insurance policy through Ethos can offer insurance coverage you’ll never outlive, along with the potential for cash value growth.

Plus, if you are eligible for an accelerated death benefit rider, and you’re diagnosed with a qualifying major illness, you can access a portion of your death benefit early, ensuring financial support at a difficult time.

A portion of your premiums goes into the policy’s cash value component, which tracks market indexes — allowing you to benefit from market-based, tax-advantaged growth. And because losses are capped, there’s less downside risk in the event of a market downturn.

Unlike traditional policies, the Ethos application process doesn’t require extensive medical exams or a lengthy underwriting process. All you have to do is answer a few health questions online, and you can get an instant coverage decision and a free personalized quote from Ethos.

Cash value growth not guaranteed. It is still possible to lose money due to the impact of policy related fees and expenses. Accessing cash value will reduce death benefit, if not repaid.

Read more: Warren Buffett used 8 solid, repeatable money rules to turn $9,800 into a $150B fortune. Start using them today to get rich (and stay rich)’