How would you like to make a million dollars?

Not by winning the lottery but by EARNING it with your own work and planning? There is a very realistic way you can do this which is by proactively saving for your retirement. Before you say aww, I promise it’s not difficult and it’s important!

WHY YOU NEED TO START NOW

Pensions are practically a thing of the past, unless you work for the military. And you can’t depend on Social Security because by the time we get there, it very likely won’t be around. Even if it is, it’s extremely little to live on. You are in the driver’s seat of your future, so you need to take control of the wheel and make sure you are on the right path.

Time is the key to allowing your money to grow, so it’s best to start young! A person who starts at 30 will have to contribute for 4 times longer with 4 times as much money than a person who starts at 20 and then stops after 10 years. And the 20 year old starter will still come out with more money in their nest egg!

YOUR OPTIONS

If your employer offers a retirement plan, it’s best to start here. It’s the simplest method and can be deducted directly from your paycheck. If your employer offers a match, then absolutely contribute enough to capture the match. It is FREE MONEY! Don’t leave it on the table.

If you don’t have a plan offered by your employer, then you must go to your bank and open up an IRA. You can choose between a Traditional IRA or a Roth IRA, where the difference is whether you pay taxes up front or on the back end.

If you don’t have anything saved yet, it’s not important where you start but just that you GET STARTED!

LATTE FACTOR (David Bach)

The Latte Factor concept is that a lot of people think they don’t have extra money to put towards retirement but could be spending it on trivial things like a daily Starbucks latte. That $5 coffee could be costing you a million dollars!

I know we are all struggling in a recession but don’t let that be an excuse! One easy way to save money is to eat at home more. Eating out is in incredibly fast way to drain your finances. If you don’t know how to cook, learn! There are tons of cooking blogs and youtube videos out there for
free.

FINISH RICH

Saving for retirement early puts you ahead of the game. I strongly encourage you, if you haven’t already, to take that first step tomorrow. Either go to your employer or your bank and find out what options you have available to you. Remember you have to take care of your future self, because no one else will.

David Bach has a wonderful Finish Rich series that is dedicated money management, retirement and achieving your dreams. All of his books are very easy to read, so you don’t need to worry about understanding financial and investing terminology. I recommend his series to anyone who doesn’t quite have a grasp on their finances and to ALL young people who are starting out. His grandmother said something I found so inspirational that I taped it on my refrigerator:

“It’s not how much you make that will determine whether or not you become wealthy. It’s how much you save.”


DISCLAIMER: I am not a financial expert. I am just
passionate about getting more young people to save.

Gift Ideas Under $20: Shoes Page-A-Day Gallery Calendar

This calendar is PERFECT for any shoe lover aka 98% of all women. A different shoe every day from Manolo's to Choo's and some unusual ones tossed in for variety.

Shoot, I want one for myself!!

Available at Amazon for $15.99.

Gift Ideas Under $20: A Lifetime of Secrets: A PostSecret Book

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard. The secrets are creative and artistic, as well as relatable, humorous, shocking and sad.

I have read all of the PostSecret books and with the recent release of A Lifetime of Secrets, I had to check it out at my local library. While the first PostSecret book Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives is probably my favorite, because the book is large and the secrets are varied, A Lifetime of Secrets does the collection justice.

As the title suggests, the new secrets in this book cover all ages with admissions from the very young to the elderly, roughly in chronological order. There is certainly a flow to this book that the others did not have.

At about $17 a piece on Amazon, either title would make great holiday gifts as these are perfect coffee table books and are sure to make for interesting conversations and browsing. I just like the cover of the new one better.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!

I love Christmas, and I love games! Yes, I am a dork. Here's a cute, little game to play to get you into the holiday spirit or just waste some time while you're at work.

In Christmas Escape, you are trying to get out of the cold room while collecting as many presents as you can. Can you escape and collect all of the presents?

Play now!

Good luck! And if you need any help, feel free to ask.

Mwahahaahaaaa

And it begins!!