My mother is 52, with little savings. What advice can I give her to invest for retirement?

My mother is 52, and has very little savings if any. She recently ended up empty handed after a bitter divorce. She currently makes about $1200 - $1500 bi-weekly. What advice can I give her to pave the way to retirement this late in the game? The more specific, the better. Please give me some references if you can! Thanks!

It is very hard to give specific advice without having access to the full story, and all of your mother's financial information, as well as knowing her personal goals, dreams, and responsibilities.

At this point, she needs to save every dime possible, if she wants any chance of retiring at a fairly young age. The first step in this process is to drive her expenses to the absolute minimum. I don't mean that she has to eat Top Ramen for the rest of her life, but she should do her best to minimize her fixed expenses, in order to be able to save the maximum amount of money possible. You will need to be careful on your method and manner of saving/investing this money, since she has a short time horizon, but a need for fast growth. This can be a challenge, because she is not really in a position to take huge risks, but she needs an above-average return.

You should speak to a financial planner in your area. If you want more specific advice, please provide more information.

I wish you and her the best of luck!