You don’t have to spend hours crunching numbers to get a useful estimate of how much money you’ll need to retire (but you can if you want to). Start with two easy-to-remember rules: the 25x rule and the 4% rule.

The 25x rule gives you a baseline retirement savings goal. Simply:

  1. Take your current monthly spending level and multiply it by 12 to estimate your annual spending.
2. Multiply your annual spending by 25.

As long as an online bank is FDIC-insured, your money is safe (and you’ll probably earn a higher interest rate than a traditional bank). Look for an online bank offering key security features, such as firewalls, multifactor authentication and secure encryption, as indicated by “https” and the lock icon in your browser’s address bar.  Remember not to use public computers, or networks to sign into your account. Choose a strong password and keep in a safe place.

Wondering how you can save for a down payment on a house? The budgeting and bucketing strategies described above are both vital to saving for a house, but you still need to set a savings goal. The traditional 20% down payment may, or may not be right for you.

Most mortgages require a 20% down payment, and that amount can save you money in the long term. But if you’re a first-time buyer, you can qualify for mortgages that require as little as 3% down. Just be sure you understand any additional costs, such as PMI (private mortgage insurance), before you put down less than 20%. You may be better off delaying the purchase so you can save more towards down payment.