Personal Economy

Let's talk about personal economy, let's talk about saving. Talking about GDP and earnings is great but what about savings and retirement. A strong and stable society is composed largely of hard working smart individuals who plan for the future and are prepared to meet it. What do you do if you live paycheck to paycheck and your car breaks down or if you have a serious injury/illness and no nest egg? I do not know and I do not want to find out. Some of the best financial advice I have ever received was from a small business owner named Roger who became a friend and mentor to me, he said, "put away $10,000 to cover emergencies, it may take quite a while to do it, but make sure you do (if you save $100 every week it will take less than two years). When you have your emergency fund start putting away at least 15% of your annual income into solid long-term investments, that is your 15% for wealth building. And remember this is your actual paycheck so pay yourself before you pay anyone else, no one else will do it for you." I took this to heart and followed through, it has made a difference in almost all aspects of my life. This is also something I try to share with as many of my friends as will listen. A good starter long-term investment (and one I still invest in every year) is Treasury Direct. At this site I purchase government bonds, as long as I do not pull my money out early I have zero risk of losing it and guaranteed interest, not bad for a starter investment. I do also have a Roth with Vanguard with a targeted retirement account and other more sophisticated investments, but I believe that starting with something as long-term and low risk as possible is the wisest recommendation I can make to beginning investors/savers. Go start saving put away what you can and invest, maybe, just maybe you will not end up as a Walmart greeter at the age of eighty...here's hoping.

"A penny saved is a penny earned"-B. Franklin

-TODD