Getting My Fnances In Order

For most of my life someone (my parents, my advisor, my girlfriends, my husband(s)…) have been telling me that I need to save money for retirement. The problem is retirement seemed so far away and what a waste to save money for something that I may never live to see. Surprise! It’s not that far away now, and I’m not sure where the time or the money went.

So now that it’s me telling me that I should think about saving money for retirement, it seems like a pretty good idea! I have always been really scared of financial advisors. They just want to make sure you don’t have any fun what-so-ever and that you put every penny you have into some annuity or money-market that lines there pockets, right? Not so much. I bit the bullet and actually sat down with one of these folks and as scary as it was, it didn’t kill me! He actually made a lot of sense and together we worked up a plan that should put me in decent shape to retire on time…not as soon as I’d like, but not as long as it could be.

Naturally, I can’t start this plan until after the Holidays because I have some making up to do! Travel is high on the list right now and I had already made plans to visit my daughter in New York and my friend in Miami over the holidays. But January 2^nd come hell or high water, I am beginning my savings plan!

This is where putting yourself first can get into conflict with itself. I know I need money for retirement, but I also need to have fun! That’s why in my budget I have allowed ample room for some domestic travel throughout the year. I’d rather do that than buy a lot of clothes and some simple cut backs on unnecessary groceries and move rentals and suddenly it’s all possible! Here are some tips I've learned and am trying to adapt to my lifestyle:

Make a budget - it doesn't have to be fancy or complicated. I made a simple Excel spreadsheet with all of my normal expenses; phone bill, electric bill, car payment, rent, insurance, etc. Add your credit card or loan payments and in the monthly column put the minimum amount due. Add a column for payoff amount. Trust me, this isn't to torment you or "rub it in", it's just to show you what it will take to pay that loan off. Think of it as a goal, a LOFTY goal in some cases. Add what you spend on average for groceries, gas, entertainment, things that are necessary parts of your life but that you can adjust if need be. The most important part is to be realistic. You aren't fooling anybody but making these numbers lower than they are - this is your budget and really for your eyes only, so be honest with yourself.

See what's left - once you have this budget outlined, put a row for what you bring in every month total including your pay check and any other deposits you make on a regular basis. Then subtract what you spend from what you make. That's the most important number on your spreadsheet. If you spend more than what you make, obviously that's a problem. Most people have money leftover; in my case more than I thought. So where does all of that money go? That's your next step.

Write down every dollar you spend and what you spent it on for one week - seems impossible but it's really important. If you don't know where your money is going you'll never get your spending under control. Maybe you need to budget more for food or less for groceries. The only way to know is to go through this exercise and see where's it all is going. I discovered that I was spending about $15 a week on Starbucks coffee. That's $60 a month and over $700 a year. Or, if you look at it another way, that's airfare to LA and New York to visit my kids. Okay, that's worth reallocating, right? That's how you do it - find what is really important to you and put your money there, rather than letting it drift away on things you really don't care about.

I'm no financial expert; quite the opposite. But this is working for me. Also, log on to Mint.com. It gives you a weekly snap shot of where your money is being spent and is quite easy and helpful. My financial goals for 2012 are:

1. Pay off credit card debt - I would save enough every month to speed up my retirement by 3 years! That's just worth doing, right?
2. Increase my retirement savings - see number one for part of how I'm planning to do this.
3. Budget for travel - bye bye Starbucks!
4. Build my emergency fund - because Life Happens. Unexpected car maintenance issues, emergency appliance breakdowns, medical expenses. The last thing you want to have to do is charge these expenses on a credit card and be back in the same fix you were in this time last year (I'm speaking to myself here, by the way).

When I read this I don't even know who I am anymore! Maybe that's a good thing though. Part of putting yourself first is finding ways to keep yourself happy and having money to spend on travel and the occasional "treat" will make me happy. Having a budget and a plan is another first for me in 2012!

Daily Recipe


Speaking of green things, add some Kale to your diet. It's full of iron and vitamins and taste really great too. This is a recipe that I love to make for my daughters when they come home because they are both vegetarians and this makes enough for all of us for several meals.

Kale and Northern Bean Salad

1 one pound bag of organic kale
2 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons of olive oil
4 green onions, stems and all
1 can of Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed thoroughly
1/4 teaspoon of hot sauce
lime juice, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste

Saute garlic and onion in olive oil over medium heat in a large sauce pan. Wash and rinse kale thoroughly and chop and remove stems. Add kale to garlic mixture and simmer, covered, for about 8 minutes stirring occasionally. Add beans and lime juice and cook through another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add hot sauce, salt and pepper and pepper flakes and mix. Serve as an entre' or a side. This goes really well with baked salmon or tuna.