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Finding yourself divorced at age 51 after a lifetime of being a stay-at-home mom would be overwhelming for just about anyone. That’s before having to figure out how to take control of the finances of your life.
This is what happened to Teresa. In 2022, she called in to appear on The Ramsey Show (1) after her husband left after 22 years of marriage, taking with him his $130,000 annual income but leaving behind the new car he bought her last month with monthly payments of $596.
Now that she’s had a few years to adjust, she’s looking for a way forward. In addition to having to support herself, she worries about retirement. She told hosts Ramsay and Jed Warshaw, “I’ve been raising kids and homeschooling my whole life. I basically don’t have a pension.”
But Ramsey said even if she started saving late, she could get back on track.
“There are a lot of 51-year-olds who are making $50,000 a year, plus extra income, making $75,000 a year, and are millionaires by the time they are 65 or 70. There are a lot of them,” Ramsey said.
If you find yourself struggling to make up for lost time when it comes to retirement savings, here are some things you can do.
While Teresa worries about her future, Ramsey is relaxed, saying, “Your math is going to be fine. You’re going to make it.”
Trisha told the host that she had refinanced her car loan to save money, started a second job, and had $38,000 in a money market fund and $3,000 in another account.
With this fairly solid foundation, Ramsay recommends his “Baby Seven Step Plan” (2), which details his approach to building wealth.
These steps are:
1. Save $1,000 to Start an Emergency Fund
2. Pay off all debt (except mortgage)
3. Save three to six months of living expenses as an emergency fund
4. Invest 15% of your household income
5. Save for your kids’ college
6. Pay off your home loan early
7. Build wealth and give
Ramsey walked through the steps with Trisha, advising her to first pay off the remaining balance on the car, which was approximately $25,000.
“Write a check and pay off the car today,” he said. While he admitted it would be “very scary,” he also noted that she still has $16,000 in savings, which is a good start for an emergency fund.
If you’re like Theresa and you’re just starting to build an emergency fund, don’t let your cash gather dust. The ideal emergency fund typically combines high liquidity so you have access to cash when you need it, with a stable interest rate to continually grow your savings.
But interest rates on traditional savings accounts are typically lower. This makes finding the right high-yield alternative crucial to improving your ability to save.
First, a high-yield account (such as the Wealthfront Cash Account) can be a great place to grow your emergency fund, offering both competitive interest rates and easy access to cash when you need it.
The Wealthfront Cash Account offers a base variable APR of 3.30%, but new customers can get a 0.65% boost for the first three months, for a total APR of 3.95% offered by the bank on your uninvested cash. That’s more than nine times the national deposit savings rate, according to the FDIC’s November report.
With no minimum balance or account fees, along with 24/7 withdrawals and free domestic wire transfers, you can be sure your funds are always available. In addition, the FDIC insures Wealthfront cash account balances up to $8 million through program banks.
Since Trisha already had an emergency fund set up, her kids had finished college, and she rented the house instead of owning it, Ramsey concluded that the only big thing she had to do was start investing 15% of her income.
Trisha earns $52,400 and her second job last year earned $14,000. She is also eligible for an employer match on her 401(k). By crunching the numbers, Ramsey was convinced that if she invested 15% of her income between the ages of 51 and 70, she would end up with $600,000 to $800,000—even if she never got a raise.
He left her with an important piece of advice: “You have to continue to be process-oriented, math-oriented, and let the facts tell you,” he said. “You can get over this. You can do it.”
For people like Teresa, keeping track of where your money is going is more than just a quick fix. This was the beginning of a lifelong commitment to financial literacy.
However, managing all the input and output yourself can be time-consuming, especially if you’re working two jobs at the same time.
You can also let Rocket Money work behind the scenes to keep your finances on track.
With the app’s advanced net worth feature, you can link all your accounts – bank, investments, retirement, property, vehicles, even manually added items like jewelry – and it’ll show you your assets and liabilities in real time, no spreadsheets required.
With free tools like subscription tracking, bill reminders, credit scores, and budgeting basics, as well as advanced features like automated savings and customizable dashboards, Rocket Money makes it easier to understand your overall finances, take control of your investments, and let you focus on building wealth.
Read more: Nearing retirement but no savings? Don’t panic, you’re not alone. Here are 6 easy ways you can catch up (and fast)
Teresa’s fear of retirement is not unique. A Gallup poll shows that while 59% of Americans have a retirement account such as a 401(k) or IRA, only about half feel they have enough saved to live comfortably (3).
And the balance doesn’t inspire much confidence, either. Vanguard’s 2025 U.S. Savings Report shows that the average Vanguard participant’s retirement account balance is $148,153, but the median balance (which better reflects the typical saver’s profile) is $38,176. Even for those closest to retirement, the median balance is $95,642(4).
This number may sound large, but the common “4% rule” generates less than $4,000 in retirement income per year.
For people like Teresa, the takeaway is clear: Getting serious about ongoing investing now can be the difference between getting by and retiring with confidence later.
If you’re behind on your retirement savings, or like Theresa, you’re almost starting from scratch, there are some concrete steps you can take to catch up.
Determine your retirement number: A general rule of thumb is to aim for 10 times your final salary saved in retirement.
For example, if you plan to retire with an annual income of $60,000, you will need to save approximately $600,000. Use a calculator (such as the one at Investor.gov) to enter your current age, expected contribution, and time frame to see what it will take.
Maximize catch-up contribution: In 2025, workers age 50 and older can contribute an additional $8,000 to a 401(k) on top of the standard limit of $24,500. IRA owners can add an additional $1,100 to the $7,500 annual limit(5).
These provisions are designed specifically for latecomers.
Delay retirement if possible: Working a few more years can significantly increase your savings by giving your investments more time to grow while reducing the number of years it takes you to withdraw your savings.
Investing for growth: A diversified ETF portfolio may be one of the keys to building wealth over decades. While bonds offer safety, if you’re starting late, stocks can provide the long-term growth you need.
That said, building a retirement fund doesn’t always mean moving all your money into one giant investment account. You can start small and even save change from everyday purchases. It all adds up over time, especially if you start early.
For example, saving just $3 a day can save more than $1,000 in a year—and that’s before compounding interest and making money in the market.
With Acorns, you can automatically invest spare change from your everyday purchases into a diversified portfolio of ETFs managed by experts at leading investment firms like Vanguard and BlackRock.
Here’s how it works: Once you link your debit and credit cards, Acorns automatically rounds each transaction to the nearest dollar and invests the difference in your Smart Portfolio. Therefore, your $3.25 morning coffee automatically becomes a 75-cent investment in your future.
If the aggregate amount isn’t enough, you can also set up a regular deposit. Even better, you can earn $20 in bonus investments as you build up your monthly contributions.
Once you’ve built a solid portfolio at a baseline, it’s time to start thinking about diversification to protect yourself. A common strategy is to balance stocks and bonds with market-resilient alternatives such as real estate or private equity.
For many people, investing in real estate naturally means getting a mortgage and taking on “good” debt. However, investors have other options.
For example, real estate crowdfunding platforms like Arrived make it easy to get started with this asset class.
Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived helps you buy shares in prime residential real estate and vacation rentals across the country.
Arrived manages everything for you—from property taxes to finding reliable tenants—so you can rest easy. Any potential rental income generated by the property is distributed to shareholders, helping you build a passive income stream.
Once you select a property, you can start investing with as little as $100. You’ll also have access to their secondary market, which is currently being rolled out in phases, giving you more flexibility to buy, sell or hold shares in individual rental and vacation rental properties.
If you want to take a different course, you may want to consider investing in private credit funds.
Arrived’s private credit funds allow you to invest in short-term loans to finance real estate projects such as renovations, property restoration, or even new home construction projects.
All loans are secured by a residence, so even if the borrower defaults, the underlying property can be sold to keep the fund healthy.
Historically, Arrived Private Credit Fund has paid investors an annualized dividend of 8.1%, paid out monthly. Dividend stocks aren’t even close — the long-term average yield for the S&P 500 is about 1.8% (6).
Starting at 51 can be scary, but as Trisha’s example shows, it’s not too late.
With focused savings, smart investing, and sound discipline, you can still build a meaningful retirement fund and regain control of your financial future.
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The Ramsey Show (1); The Ramsey Solution (2); Gallup (3); Vanguard (4); IRS (5); Y Chart (6)
This article provides information only and should not be considered advice. It is provided without any warranty of any kind.
