<prompt> Human: Throwaway because Im embarrassed about my situation.Actually, I feel very blessed with what I have and where Im currently at with my career and finances. I just feel so stupid for not contributing to my 401K. Thinking about retirement just makes me sad and worried. I feel a great sense of urgency to take action now, but I just feel very overwhelmed with where to start, what to do, and just understanding it all to be honest. However, while I feel like the biggest idiot when it comes to retirement and investing, there are a few things I tried to do right. I graduated college a few years ago, I have a great career, and just recently I finally paid off all of the debt I racked up in my younger days and in my marriage, including my student loans and vehicle. After paying everything off, I started putting my money into a high earning savings account. Heres some info on where Im at financially: Im 38 years old. No kids. Salary: 80K. Ive been at my job for a few years. I believe my company matches half up to 6. Savings: 30K 0.75 APY. Mortgate: 1600mo. Its the only debt I have in my name. Utilities: 200 Cable: 125 Grocerieshousehold: 500 or so. Includes pet and rx. Also I hardly eat out. Gas: 175I am separated, but still file jointly. Our separation is amicable.Spouse info: Spouse salary: About 115K. Spouse debt: Small mortgage and a lease. Spouse also has savings and 401K. Not sure how much, I stopped asking when we separated. Finances are separate, but spouse has offered to still pay for health insurance, auto insurance, phone.So, the first thing I know I need to do is participate in my companys 401K, but what are some of the other things I should start doing to try and catch up with saving for retirement? Or is it just too late? I guess Id like to hear what everyone would do with my situation. FYI: I looked into starting a Roth IRA but if I am understanding correctly, I think our combined salary makes me ineligible to start one.Thanks for any advice or insight on this.Edited because formatting. And words. Edit again : Im at work and will try to respond to comments later, but I wanted to quickly thank you all SO very much for the advice youve given and words of encouragement. I definitely feel hopeful now and will start taking the first steps today. Im so glad I reached out for help, thank you again so much. ---UPDATE: Just got home and am finally able to sit down to read the rest of this thread. I am so overwhelmed by all of the kind and supportive responses! I truly was not expecting this. I have read every comment, and I apologize if Im not able to respond to all of them. Its been a long but good day.So earlier right before I was about to contact HR, I came back to my post to re-read some of the advice that was given. There were a LOT of new comments, and one of them mentioned that my employer may have already auto-enrolled me, so there is a chance that I might already have a 401K setup. So right away I went to our portal to look for the 401K website just to see if I could log in and YES, uRy-Fi was right --- I was able to log in and I already some money in my account!!! Its only 2K but hey Ill take it, its better than what I expected which is 0! I could not believe it. Finding that surprise was very bittersweet. I was ecstatic but I also felt like the biggest fool at the same time. Im going to move on though and try not to slap myself in the face for not knowing I already had this, and not contributing earlier too.So anyway this is much easier than I thought. Through the website Im able to choose my contribution and looks like I can adjust anytime. For now, I chose to do 10. I am planning to raise this, I just need to plan carefully and see what expenses I can cut out i.e. cutting the cord. Now Im looking into opening an IRA to max out before 2017 comes to an end. Then in 2018 Ill do the same. What a day. Once again, thank you all very much for your advice, honesty, and encouragement. It truly means a lot. My outlook on this has definitely changed, and I feel so much better about my situation. For those in a similar situations, I really thank you for sharing and wish you the best of luck too. It definitely helps to know Im not alone. Wishing everyone a happy 2018!!  <response>: Based on your income, Im guessing you have 1500-1800 a month left over? Thats enough to max an IRA, and contribute 12500 a year to your 401k. Do that, and you should be fine. 