$11.80 From Cafepress; Straight Into My Roth IRA

I got a nice surprise in the mail yesterday. A while back I was experimenting with the Cafepress.com affiliate program on my various websites. I had so completely forgotten about this that I was surprised to get an envelope from Cafepress in my mailbox yesterday. I opened the envelope to discover a check for $11.80 for business generated via my affiliate links.

It's not much money, admittedly, but that $11.80 is going straight into my Roth IRA in addition to my regular contribution. $11.80 today will be worth many hundreds of dollars in thirty years, so the lesson is clear: even small amounts of money are significant to one's overall retirement plan.

Increasing your retirement contributions by even a percentage point or two can dramatically increase the value of your retirement nest-egg when you retire. So if you haven't made an increase to your 401(k) or your Roth IRA contributions in a while, take a moment to up your contributions by a percentage point or two. You won't miss the money, and you will thank yourself later.