Archive for the ‘Retirement’ Category

Debt reduction vs. retirement savings: which first?

Monday, March 30th, 2009

Liz Pulliam Weston wrote a nice article recently describing nine money priorities.  She lists them from top priority on down: Pay your bills Save $500 Start saving for retirement Pay off "toxic" debt Bolster your emergency fund Check out long-term disability insurance Enhance your retirement savings Start saving for college Save for spectacular expenses I emphasized #3 and #4 because ...

Did Powerball tickets beat the S&P last year?

Monday, February 9th, 2009

This morning in Sunday school someone threw out that a substantial fraction of Americans have a lottery win comprising their retirement plans.  ("How did we get to talking about gambling in Sunday school?" you might ask.  It was just a chance discussion, that's all.) I just shook my head at that ...

Patching up shortfalls can mean postponing retirement savings

Saturday, December 27th, 2008

This Michelle Singletary column on the Washington Post website has answers to a few readers' questions regarding debt and debt reduction.  The first question outlines a situation that stings a bit.  Here's a summary: Husband has less construction work coming in; takes lesser-paying jobs to bring in something. Couple cuts budget but ...

Back to Basics: Spend less than you earn

Sunday, October 5th, 2008

Pretty much any good personal finance resource you run across will talk about this: Spend less than you earn.  All this means is that your expenses (everything that leaves your wallet) are less than your income (everything that enters your wallet). If you're spending more than you bring ...