Thinking about Retirement

You may not be in your 50s, but you should start thinking about retirement.  There is some good advice in here on how to save.  Contribute to your company's 401K or start your own if you don't work.  Pay off something.  Put $50 away each month. 

http://money.msn.com/baby-boomers/c_galleryregular.aspx?cp-documentid=250412236

I definitely didn't start when I was 25 like you should.  I did save some, but needed to pay for college, etc.  I was also barely able to afford my living and work and go to school. 

Save now and enjoy later.  I would much rather take vacations when I am retired than take a vacation every month now and spend way too much money.  This is one thing that my husband and I are good at.  We do vacation, but we don't go as much as some of my friends and we try to do stuff that is cheaper (stay with friends or family to save money, etc). 


One of the top items on here is talking about budget.  I think I'll take my februrary crunch and budget check beyond the month (of course we haven't started yet).  I do think the article makes a point that if you wait to check what you spent at the end of the year - you have spent too much.  Do it month by month and be on a budget. 

Of course there are times when you need to spend - you need a new car, etc.  You should do that, but just keep an eye on what you are spending on.  Little things add up over time.  If you are like most moms or dads I know, you go to target or other stores and you make many impulse buys.  You are not sticking to a list and you buy stuff that is just there or just on sale.  I do this a lot and sometimes buy things on sale and only just because they are on sale.  It really adds up especially if the sale is 30% of less and you really didn't need the item to begin with.