Savings for Any Age

USAToday has a helpful piece today about what you should do with your money and, unlike many similar stories, it customizes its advice depending on whether you are in your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, or 60 or older.

I'm not going to make a guess as to how old my average readers is — google analytics only goes so far — but USAToday says experts agree:

"You should do something. The financial meltdown is the most serious since the Great Depression. Nearly $2.1 trillion has evaporated this month alone."

Younger investors can take solace in the fact that they haven't lost as much as older investors; the article says if you're in your 20s, you should be putting 80 percent of your savings in stocks, but you might ignore the old advice that you should put your money into riskier stocks, which can have higher gains ... and losses.

If you're in your 30s, the story says to keep contributing to retirement accounts and try to protect yourself from the risks of unemployment by having at least 6 months of cash squirreled away.

If you're in your 40s, you should be stuffing as much money into your retirement savings plan as possible but stay diversified.

If you're in your 50s, don't do anything rash. Of course, it also says don't overlook any way to boost your savings. If you're in your 50s, I'd read the entire section.

But if you're in your 60s or older, you might skip it: The story suggests over-60s put off Social Security as long as possible, cut back on withdrawals, work part time, and move money to safer investments.