During my 20’s it was easy to live in the present, only ever thinking of retirement as being a far-off fuzzy “what if” scenario.

I’ve only recently begun to plan 15+ years out for my future. Until now, it was hard for me to imagine where I’d be (realistically!) in 5, 10, or 20 years.

I used to think that before I could save for retirement, I had to pay off all my debt. Though paying down debt definitely frees up money which helps you save more, it’s not a black and white area where you can only do one or the other. Instead, retirement savings should be a priority with paying off debt close behind.

I’m the first to admit that I’ve gotten off to a rocky and late start with retirement planning. The only thing in my corner, so to speak, is a pension plan that I have automatically contributed to for the past 13 years. However, the more I think about working for another 24 years, the more I think, can I retire before 65?

Today, I’m going to do the same thing with retirement. Of course, there’s no one way to prepare for retirement, so feel free to substitute some ingredients with others, as you would a true recipe: