First, don’t beat yourself up if you don’t have that $1 million all those articles and experts say you should have. Most folks don’t have anywhere near that much. More like a few hundred thousand. If you find yourself behind, focus on cutting expenses so that you can free up money to invest. I mean really cut to the bone. If you can start contributing the max you can in a retirement account, either workplace or traditional IRA. Then think about what you can change about the ideal retirement you envision. You may not be able to retire at 65 and travel the world. You may need to consider a shared housing situation to cut down on the biggest expense in your budget. Manage our expectations for retirement.