As with anything important, saving for retirement can be intimidating.

It’s a natural instinct to avoid tasks that seem overwhelming. But not preparing adequately for retirement can have serious consequences—you may find yourself rapidly approaching that time in your life with little saved!

Here are two simple, actionable steps that can help you overcome the intimidation of saving and move you closer towards your financial goals.

Save 15% of your income. This is a good rule to follow for the long term, but it may not be realistic all the time. Elderly parents living with you? A child going through college? If saving 15% feels impossible or overwhelming, start by setting aside something more manageable. Saving 1% of your income may not feel like much, but it’s far better than putting away nothing! And once you get used to saving, you might be surprised by how eager you are to increase that percentage.

Automate savings so they happen without any effort on your part. Set up an automatic monthly transfer from your checking into your savings accounts. This way, you’ll never have to worry about forgetting or neglecting your savings. It’s helpful to schedule the transfer right after you get paid. This technique, called “paying yourself first”, results in your paycheck helping to build wealth for you, and not someone else!

It’s never too early–or too late–to start saving for retirement. The earlier you begin, the more time your money has to grow and compound over a lifetime. And even starting closer to retirement is still better than never starting at all! Begin with these two techniques, and develop your strategy from there.