It ain’t over til it’s over, and there are four quarters in the game — the financial game of life. Although I’m not sure where I first came across this, it is a useful analogy in explaining where on the journey we are. So full disclosure, I did not invent this example.

Let’s assume that we have 40 years of earning power from age 25 to 65. Each ten-year period is a quarter as follows:

• 1st quarter – age 25 to 35
• 2nd quarter – age 35 to 45

HALFTIME

• 3rd quarter – age 45 to 55
• 4th quarter – age 55 to 65

One of the reasons I decided to get started with side hustles (like this site!) is because I am playing catch-up. Maybe that’s you, too. If you read my story, you know I did not start saving hard for retirement until about the middle of my 2nd quarter.

I happen to be in the middle of my 3rd quarter.

While I would love to retire near the beginning of my 4th quarter, that remains to be seen…

So I’m working a few side hustles — education services, writing, financial coach, and online courses. And I also invest Foolishly.

If you are in the 1st quarter of the game… listen to people in the 3rd quarter! The typical 1st quarter player spends most of his or her disposable income.

But if I knew then what I know now, I would have started investing in a Roth IRA right after college. I would not have had to concern myself with side hustles, other than as a fun hobby.

Of course, any journey starts by looking at the map to determine where we are. Only then can we plot a course for where we want to go. Identifying the game status, so to speak. So start where you are, cuz ya gotta dance with who brung ya!

Regardless of where you are, the baby steps are the best place to start building a solid financial foundation. But once you’re into steps 6 and 7, what can you do besides pay you house off early? My favorite catch-up tool has been investing.

Please stay tuned to learn more about the investment strategies I used to start catching up.