When you prioritize a set of tasks, you probably often order them by deadline, right? The things that have to be done today get taken care of first, and the things that have to be done tomorrow go next, and so on. Given that this system seems to work well for most tasks in our lives, it’s easy to see how people keep putting off saving for retirement. It’s so far off it seems like there will always be time later to work on it.

I certainly think I’m busy. I work a demanding (although fulfilling!) job, have an additional side gig–and even take on freelance stories regularly. Because my various forms of work take up so much time, I feel like I have barely any time left for socializing, sleep, cooking and cleaning. And forget exercise. But I still manage to read and post on Facebook regularly, write personal emails to certain people (while ignoring others), surf the web, watch The Daily Show and listen to a lot of music.

Think of the last charitable donation that you made. Now we’ve got a question for you: Can you say, with certainty, whether that charity’s work will be effective in truly helping the cause it’s meant to further? Probably not.

Today, we bring you four real stories of women who are saving for retirement, plus the story of one woman who is already retired. Read on to see what you can learn from each of them.