There are two very popular types of retirement accounts that most people are using to save for the “golden years.” They are the Roth IRA and the 401k accounts. There are some misunderstandings about the way these accounts can benefit account holders for retirement and how taxes are assessed with each.

Understanding the Roth IRA Account

The Roth IRA can be opened by anyone meeting the income guidelines and with financial institutions offering such services. Some consumers misunderstand the tax aspect of this type of account. The Roth IRA is not completely tax free. Essentially you pay the tax up front because the money you are adding to the account has already been taxed. As the money compounds over time, it will grow tax-free and provided the funds have been left in for the required time period of five years, they can be withdrawn tax free after the age 59 1/2 (with some exceptions to pull it out before without a penalty). The Roth IRA does not require you to take mandatory distributions. If you are looking to pass along money to your heirs, the Roth IRA may be the way to go. Otherwise, you can withdraw the money whenever you need to.

Understanding the 401k

A 401k account is an employee-sponsored retirement account. The contributions made to this type of account might also be matched by the employer. With the 401k, the rules are almost opposite of the Roth IRA. The money you are contributing to this kind of account has not been taxed or are pre-tax. The funds will grow tax free but when you take it out you will pay taxes on the contributions you have made to the account and whatever earnings the account has earned. At the age of 70 1/2, you must take distributions from your 401k account.

Which Is Better from a Tax Perspective?

Again, it all comes down to your personal financial situation and goals. A Roth IRA may be the way to go in order to avoid possible tax increases in the future if you expect your income to remain pretty stable or for it to increase after retirement. Taxes normally do not decrease and our personal income taxes comparatively to other nations are relatively low. It fact, it can be argued that since our government is building massive deficits, through massive spending, that tax rates will likely increase in the future (since spending cuts rarely come). Moreover, normally when you retire you may not get the tax deductions you did in the past. If you had a house and kids, then the deduction for interest paid on a mortgage or the deductions you lost with your children growing up may push you into a higher tax bracket then you were in before when considering a 401k.

If you think your retirement years will consist of considerable downsizing and more a more frugal lifestyle, the 401k may be ideal with a lower tax rate. Moreover, if your employer matches your 401k contributions, you may end up with more money than you would have otherwise even if taxes are increased (but no one knows). In some cases, those who are eligible for both account types may find that contributing to both kids of accounts may be the way to go.

However you decide to save for retirement, be sure to read up on all of the choices you have when it comes to saving for the future. Be sure to understand that not everyone can contribute to a Roth IRA as there are income limit restrictions depending on filing status. Moreover, contribution maximums differ by your age as well with both a Roth IRA and 401k.

Remember that the earlier you start planning for retirement, the more secure you will be when you finally reach retirement age. If you are overwhelmed by the information on retirement accounts, it is recommended you consult with a tax advisor who can highlight the pros and cons of each account type and analyze your specific financial situation.

This is a guest post provided by TaxDebtHelp.com, a website that provides articles, news, and services centered around tax debt relief. Find more information on various tax debt solutions including federal tax payment plans, penalty abatement, innocent spouse relief, an offer in compromise and more.

What Is Better from a Tax Perspective: A Roth IRA or a 401k? is an original article from the website brip blap.

Trinity: Please just listen. I know why you’re here. I know what you’ve been doing… why you hardly sleep, why you live alone, and why night after night, you sit by your computer. You’re looking for him. I know because I was once looking for the same thing. And when I found him, he told me I wasn’t really looking for him. I was looking for an answer. It’s the question that drives us. It’s the question that brought you here. You know the question, reader, just as I did.

What is the secret to financial freedom?

If you are deeply in debt, or spending more than you earn to acquire stuff, you are living in a world that is less than what it could be. Corporations and consumer society have constructed an elaborate world that is filled with shiny things and toys and useless items. In this  world, you are told that true happiness comes with the acquisition of things, that your attention should be focused on today, that tomorrow will take care of itself. In this Matrix, it’s always Black Friday and it’s always the Presidents’ Day Sale.

Morpheus: What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad.

But just maybe, while making a call on your iPhone, driving your leased car wearing your latest fall fashions on your way to the mall on your one day off from your crushing commute and your boring job, you had a sudden thought. Maybe the world isn’t supposed to be like this. Maybe we weren’t all meant to be shopping units in the corporate world’s vast consumer Matrix. Maybe our happiness doesn’t come from owning CDs, or watching American Idol, or buying a Wii. Maybe there is another world – the real world – where your work and your life are one and the same because you love them both, where you can do what you want, when you want, where you have time to give to people and experiences, not just to commuting and working for a faceless employer. No, it’s not possible. Your neighbors look like they are doing fine, and they have lots of stuff, right? This is how it has to be. This is how it has always been.

Morpheus: I’m trying to free your mind. But I can only show you the door. You’re the one that has to walk through it. There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.

Maybe you’ve started reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad or Dave Ramsey or Your Money or Your Life. Other people are trying to show you the way out. The trouble is, you set down the book and remember “I need a new belt! I want to see “Avatar” 8 times!” Only you will start the journey out of the Matrix, and it will be difficult – there will be roadblocks everywhere: pricey restaurants, bigger homes, newer cars, fancier cell phones. The Matrix will do everything it can to keep you, because its existence depends on your continued function as a shopping unit. Without shopping units to generate power, the consumer Matrix will weaken. You have to stop, today. Put down your credit card. Stay away from the store. Cook a meal at home. Turn off the TV.  Try to earn income a different way.

Neo: Why do my eyes hurt?
Morpheus: You’ve never used them before.

When you finally leave the consumer world, you’ll notice that your old behavior is now awful to consider. You’ll see credit card debt, still-functioning cell phones gathering dust in cabinet drawers, barely-worn clothes in the back of the closet, half-empty rooms never used in your house. Your eyes will hurt looking at all of this STUFF that you valued so much, because you never really SAW before.

Morpheus: Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?

The dream is the 9-to-5 world. The dream is a 3000 square foot home for a family of 4. The dream is a $400 per month car lease. The dream is an iPhone, a Wii, digital cable, the latest fashions. And the dream is a nightmare. You have to wake from that dream and realize that in the real world there is VERY little you need other than shelter, food, friends, family and basic clothing and entertainment. In the dream you have no time – but you can have all the time in the (real) world if you just wake up.

Neo: I know you’re out there. I can feel you now. I know that you’re afraid… afraid of us. You’re afraid of change. I don’t know the future. I didn’t come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell how it’s going to begin. I’m going to hang up this phone, and then show these people what you don’t want them to see. I’m going to show them a world without you. A world without rules or controls, borders or boundaries. A world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you.

(with many thanks to The Matrix)

Originally posted back in 2007 or so – just thought I would run it for those who haven’t read it before.  I know the Matrix references are already very dated, but hopefully everyone’s seen it.

welcome to the real world is an original article from the website brip blap.

When most of us were younger, we were told to do well in school – make good grades, impress the teachers in order to get good recommendations, do extra credit. Scoring well on the ACT or SAT meant a lot. Proving that you were smarter than the average bear somehow indicated future success. Yet intelligence isn’t always a marker of success – at least success as measured by wealth.  Wealth is not, of course, the only measure of success – far from it – but it is a measure accepted by our society as at least a general measure of overall success.

Intelligent people are often gripped by what I’d call (technically) “smart people stupids.” If you’re an intelligent person, it’s quite easy to imagine a variety of outcomes to any given set of circumstances. If A happens, then B or C or even D might occur. Wondering whether “slim chance event D” might occur can drive an intelligent person nuts – you might sit around wondering how you would deal with situation D; would reaction D.1.1 be appropriate, or D.1.2? How will this affect you 15 years from now?

Over the last ten years I’ve started to believe that intelligence – at least as far as the ability to imagine future events based on current circumstance – can be a crippling factor in the pursuit of wealth (and happiness). Someone who doesn’t have the ability to imagine positive outcome X may also be able to avoid thinking about negative outcome Y – and therefore be freed from worrying about the result of their actions. Worrying about the future is a heavy burden; not worrying about the future would be liberating for most of us.

I know people who don’t worry – like I do – about long-term wealth. They assume that they will have “made their nut” at some point – whenever they make it. Whether it’s the blissful ignorance of uncaring or fewer smarts I don’t know. I would assume that not worrying about the future is an overall net plus. It may put you into some pretty bad situations, but at least you won’t worry about the outcome.

I suspect that being intelligent and being wealthy will always be unrelated. Just because I can play the piano, for example, doesn’t make me smart or stupid. It just marks me as a good piano player. I don’t think wealth accumulation can be associated with intelligence for much the same reason – it’s a skill, just like musical ability, or sports ability, or the ability to learn and speak foreign languages. You can’t think your way into it – you have it or you don’t.

photo credit: swambo

(originally posted 3/09, in different form)

wealth and intelligence is an original article from the website brip blap.

American young adults and children are notorious for their lack of financial know-how. In a society that practically forces you to get a credit card when you turn 18, this ignorance can be deadly. Here are five ways to teach your children how to excel in a competitive economy and to avoid the pitfalls along the way.

1. Teach the idea of financial self reliance early on.

There are times when everyone could use a helping hand, and there’s nothing wrong with that. With that said, there’s nothing wrong with teaching self reliance as a preferred choice. From a very young age, help your child differentiate between needs and wants. If the thing they’re asking for constitutes a “want”— assuming you can/will give it to them in the first place— set up a system where they can work to earn it. Even if “working for it” only means doing extra chores for a couple days, they’ve learned that work is necessary and beneficial.

2. Learning about compound interest is crucial.

When your child first learns about interest, start to talk to them about credit. Explain the pitfalls of taking out too much debt. At the same time, open up discussions concerning investment. Show them the potential for making money if they invest early in life. Compound interest can work for you, or against you. Teenagers are more likely to be interested in these discussions than younger children, so keep the conversations age-relevant.

3. Teach them about other financial perspectives.

Every society and individual family has a unique financial policy. Discussing other viewpoints allows your child to pinpoint the crucial financial questions that any functional philosophy seeks to answer. Here are some examples:

“Is private property a good thing?”
“Should we allow extreme divisions of wealth?”
“How much influence should governments/companies/individuals have in making financial policy.”

Accept that you might not agree with their answers. Keep any debate friendly and informative.

4. Encourage early attempts to start businesses.

When I was 8 years old, I started a business selling golf balls and cans of soda on the golf course next to my house. These early experiences taught me the basics of running a business. This knowledge was carried into my adult life, and inspired me to become a freelance writer.

You never know how far a child’s chosen small business will take them. A close friend in high schools started a lawn-mowing business. By the time he was 18 and had graduated high school, he was able to sell the business for 500K. Now, he manages a department of 100 people in a Fortune 500 company.

5. Allow your child to enjoy the fruits of their financial success, and, if applicable, controlled financial failure.

Saving for college is important, but don’t’ demand that your child put every penny they earn from a high school job into a savings account. Help them save a certain percentage, and allow them to spend the rest how they see fit. Never feeling rewarded for your work can foster an attitude of futility.

Finally, allow them to make manageable financial mistakes. If they don’t save ahead-of-time for a desired item, it’s “ok” to allow them to go without the item. Now is the time to make small mistakes so that larger, life altering, mistakes won’t be made down the line.

Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at onlinedegrees.org, researching areas of accredited online degrees. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Photo by larbelaitz

Finances are Fun: 5 Ways to Encourage Your Child to Embrace the Spirit of Enterprise is an original article from the website brip blap.

I am no fan of Apple. I know there is a cult behind Apple but some of the frenzy behind iTunes, the iPhone, the iPod and the Mac has always eluded me. I get the general principle. They look nice and they do their stuff with flair and they aren’t Microsoft. But let’s face it – if I told you I had a great car that wasn’t susceptible to typical car problems, and looked really cool, but at the same time used a different kind of gasoline that wasn’t widely available, needed car parts that only one manufacturer produced and cost twice as much (or several multiples as much) as your current car, would you be in a hurry to upgrade? Since 99% of my computer time is now online, it’s hard for me to understand why I would want to pay a premium (and suffer so much incompatibility) for an Apple. I am sure someone reading this on an Apple will have a good argument why Safari browsers are better than Firefox or Chrome… ?

But when I had to really stop and wonder was when a $600 phone became a source of such consumer bloodlust. Is this what America has come to? $600 phones? Are there that many people out there with that kind of money to spend on phones? That’s a rhetorical question, since I know that many people will buy an iPhone while ignoring their upcoming credit card payment or saving for retirement. But just stop and think about that statement: something you can get for free like a cell phone is being sold for $600 because it adds functionality so you can play YouTube videos from lonelygirl15 on a one-inch screen!

The concept of something-for-nothing that comes out of offering an after-the-fact refund for a price change when none was implied in the sale is terribly annoying to me. Should I get a break on my house if the prices in the neighborhood don’t go up as fast as they did the year I bought the house? Should I be able to go back to Pathmark and ask for $1 off a carton of milk if they offer a sale the day after I bought it?

Of course I can ask. That’s my right as a consumer. I am willing to bet more stores would consider whether it was worth their trouble. I remember buying a video-editing device from amazon and seeing a rebate offered before it even shipped that wasn’t available at my time of purchase. In that case, Amazon acted quickly to grant the rebate when I pointed it out, because it was a matter of hours. I just don’t understand why Apple felt a need to cave in to demands for refunds 2 months later. You can’t convince me that your average Apple first-adopter isn’t going to rush out and buy an itouch or an iToaster the second it’s offered, no matter how many times they get screwed. Apple should have said hey, $200 is your instant gratification premium! This is your premium for being among the touched – the divine – the ubercool!

It’s this kind of consumer mentality that leads almost directly into consumer debt. I can whip out a credit card and buy something now for $400 but pay $200 on it in interest because I don’t have the cash on hand to pay for it. Or, I can wait 2 months and pay $400 in cash. I know that this seems obvious to most of the people who read personal finance blogs, but I think a large segment of America just doesn’t get it. At all.

I have learned that you have to stop and think before you buy stuff. I have also learned that rushing out to buy stuff is a good way to retire poor. The iPhone and the iPod and so many of Apple’s products have become so trendy and so cool I continue to wonder when a backlash will come and they will become uncool, and people will realize that there is no need to pay a premium simply based on design. I suppose it will happen when someone else comes up with a neater, cooler product and not before, rather than when the American consumer suddenly realizes Apple – like a million other “brands” – is giggling all the way to the bank.

the iPhone sickness (2010 and counting) is an original article from the website brip blap.

I’ve known more than one guy with the following life story: working at a corporate job as a middle manager, married with young-ish kids and settled in normal sized house in an acceptable neighborhood. Maybe the kids are really young, even though he’s in his forties; like me, a lot of men (and women) are waiting until later in life to have kids. The house is comfortable but small. The job is OK but if the guy’s honest with himself he knows he’s not likely to soar to the CEO floor in the 15 or so years of working life he has left to him.

So here’s the question: if you make X dollars at age 40, say, and 40% of your income goes to your mortgage that you took out at age 38 – a 30 year fixed mortgage – and you’re expecting a 5% raise every year (if you’re lucky) – when will you reach the finish line?

I know the common perception is that if you own instead of renting there will come a blissful moment when you burn the mortgage documents and skip off into sunset worry-free. In my mind, two things will be happening in 30 years when my mortgage is paid off that will throw a big monkey wrench in those plans.

Property taxes

Perhaps you live in Cheyenne, Wyoming. If so, your property taxes are the lowest (on average) in America, probably around $1000 per year. That’s $83 per month, a doable figure. However, if you live in places like Garden City, New York, your taxes run closer to $9000 per year, or $750 per month. One thing I can guarantee about both Cheyenne and Garden City that holds equally true for both is that 30 years from now, those taxes will be higher. Will they have grown at a rate faster or slower than your annual raises at work? With the strains looming on the US economy – an enormous national debt, rapidly ageing population, and so on, I’d be willing to bet those taxes will eat up a big chunk of your post-retirement income after you’ve paid off the mortgage.

Shoddy construction

On this point I only have my own limited experience to go on, but I remember laughing out loud every time someone asked me in New Jersey if I expected to pay off my mortgage on my townhouse in 30 years. I laughed because I really didn’t expect my townhouse to last 30 years. We moved in while construction was going on in the community, and I saw how these homes were built: pressboard and 2 by 4s. Not stone, not metal. K. Hovnanian put them up fast, using what (ahem) APPEARED to be workers who might not have been entirely legal citizens. These were not structures built to last. These were not cheap places, either; it was a very expensive gated neighborhood with fancy homes (think elevators installed in the homes, riverfront views, etc.) Most American homes will need substantial and continuous maintenance and repair work in 30 years. So think about that mid-70s guy dealing with a crumbling home. Again, no mortgage, maybe, but those bills can mount up quickly.

…the dead end

I still think you ought to own if you want to own, and you ought to work for a corporation if that’s what twirls your pigtails, but this scenario just looks like a dead end to me. This house I’m in now needs to be my last one, or else I’m going to need to move into a place where I can pay off the mortgage substantially sooner than 30 years or I’ll be working to pay the mortgage (and other costs) into my 80s. If you don’t think that’s a dead end, I don’t know what is. I for one don’t want to be struggling away at age 75 to finally pay off my mortgage just to get stuck in a crumbling house paying exorbitant property taxes. Figuring out how to stay out of this dead end ought to be a high priority for anyone who looks to buy a home in their late 30s or later.

the dead end of home ownership is an original article from the website brip blap.

1. You don’t know how it’s calculated. A lot of people include home equity in that calculation, for example (value of the home less mortgages/loans against it). I don’t include it, because I believe that it’s not a value you can “cash in.” If you cash it in, you still have to buy a new place to live. The only way to “cash it out” is to sell and then move into a rental or downsize, which is not a typical move most people make these days. The counterpoint is that it is an asset that you can borrow against; a bank will give you a loan against that value. Regardless, you just can’t know if people include it or not.

2. A net worth of $200,000 means different things in a small town in Texas and in La Jolla, California. In one place it’s a substantial amount that could generate a sustainable income. In the other place it’s lunch and a tip. Many of us may know that we’re staying put our whole lives, but many of us might be living practically anywhere in 20 years. Knowing whether you’ll be living in Smallville or Gotham would make a big difference.  Since I moved from New York City to a small town in Florida I’ve understood this statistic better than ever.

3. Net worth doesn’t accurately measure cash flow generation. If you have an asset (a rental property, etc.) that generates cash flow, is that worth the same as one that doesn’t (like bricks of gold or a non-dividend paying stock)? In the long run, of course, that cash flow adds to net worth, but the potential future accumulation of cash isn’t really represented in a snapshot view of net worth. That’s not the purpose of a net worth calculation, but it is a problem with analyzing it.

4. Net worth also doesn’t show risk. If I have $500,000 invested in equities, is that the same as $500,000 invested in a money market? Again, for a snapshot in time, yes, but one of them is substantially riskier than the other. If you could apply some sort of risk calculation to your holdings it might make a difference in how you look at the overall picture, as well.

I don’t think it’s all that important to know your net worth. If you use it for motivation or simply feel better knowing what it is, by all means do so. But just like knowing that Harold weighs 200 pounds isn’t that helpful in getting a picture of him unless you also know whether he’s 5 foot 3 inches or 6 foot 8 inches, or whether he’s solid muscle or flabby, knowing your net worth doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about your financial position. It’s part of the picture, but definitely a small part.

what’s the point of net worth? is an original article from the website brip blap.

Buying private disability insurance does provide some advantages over an employer’s disability. Probably the best advantage is that you can carry your disability insurance anywhere you go, including if you choose to be self-employed. Also, private disability benefits are provided to you tax free, giving you a bit more income than if you had used employer’s insurance. Finally, if you have a specialty or premium skill such as a surgeon, you can choose to purchase disability insurance that provides a comparable income level if you should find yourself disabled.

When shopping for disability insurance, there are several things you should keep in mind. Make sure you won’t find yourself without coverage by making sure the policy you choose states that it is non-cancellable. Choosing this type of policy also locks in your premium at a set cost. Most non-cancellable policies will cover you up to the age of 65, but check before you sign into the policy. Also avoid policies that only provide accident coverage or limited term coverage. these kinds of coverage are simply too specific to provide you with peace of mind.

Gap benefit coverage, also known as residual coverage is also important. Just as with health insurance gap coverage, residual coverage fills the gap in your salary during employment and the salary you will receive on disability. This will keep you and your family from scrambling to adjust expenditures in the event of disability, allowing them and you, to focus on your health. Similarly, you can add a rider to your policy that will maintain your disability benefits at the cost of inflation. Otherwise, you will only receive a disability benefit equal to the salary you received when you signed the policy.

Disability insurance can be purchased through almost any of the major insurance carriers. The costs vary widely, so its a good idea to shop around and ask questions before deciding on a carrier. Keep in mind, just as with other types of insurance, there will be a certain amount of time you will have to wait before receiving your disability payments after you have applied. This is a good reason to always have at least a few months of salary saved, so that the waiting period doesn’t leave you with unpaid bills.

how to find disability insurance is an original article from the website brip blap.

Both Bubelah and I have one surviving grandparent apiece. Until I was a young adult, I had all four; three of her grandparents had died either before she was born or when she was much younger.  But now we both have a single grandmother left.  It’s tough, of course, to lose relatives or friends but I think there’s something to watch the people whose genetic makeup pumps through your own veins pass away.  The loss of health is sad; the loss of mental health is despair-inducing.

My own grandmother, though, will be one of the last people to see her way through retirement with the following: her pension; Social Security; survivor benefits from my grandfather’s pension; and finally, the remnants of my grandfather’s aggressive and carefully planned investment strategy.  He began investing as a young man and was still studying stocks and monitoring his portfolio until the end of his life in his eighties.  My grandmother was typical for those days, too – she understood very little about their financial situation.  Like many women of the Greatest Generation, she focused on the expenses, not the income.

Once my grandfather passed, my parents took over my grandmother’s finances. I gave some advice but not much more than that.  Nonetheless, my grandmother has continued to rely on my opinion simply because I do work in a field related to finance and (vaguely) economics.  Speaking to her the other night, she asked a question which began to haunt me as a young man and these days has started to keep me up at nights.

“Do I still have enough to last until I die?”

A gambler or a credit card addict doesn’t think about that question. Tomorrow is tomorrow.  Somebody will be there to help:  daddy, adult children, the government, the market, the bank, Batman… but there is no scenario for most people that involves lying in the street freezing.  I imagine that in the worst case most people imagine being stuck in a government nursing home, but consider what a safety net even that is:  people expect the government to guarantee old age care.  Yet the same people complain about communists like me who’d like to see government-provided health care for all ages.

That question can only be answered one way:  yes. The question has two levels:  will I have enough for basic cable and fresh milk and the occasional new sweater on one level, and ‘is there a future where I am aged, infirm, helpless, cold and hungry’?

I don’t spend enough time around the elderly in general – I think we have a lot to learn, good and bad, from them – but I have spent enough time to realize that the question ‘do I still have enough to last until I die’ is going to be a scarier and scarier question in the years ahead. I used to worry about the first part:  would I have enough for me (at first), and then later, for my family:  enough to do a little traveling with Bubelah, send my grandkids a Transformers XIII action figure and so on.  But in my darker moods, watching the slow steady decline of the middle classes’ standard of living, the second part of that question creeps in, latches its claws into my lizard brain and stays.  That’s when I remind myself that there’s only one possible answer to that question; I have to make sure that answer is ‘yes.’

photo by Eleaf

the question that can only be answered one way is an original article from the website brip blap.

More than 200 years ago, this great statesman, inventor, and philosopher was well aware of the power of saving. He knew that without attending to spending and expenses, saving won’t happen.

Live for today or save for tomorrow?

I have a friend named Judy (not her real name) who truly lives for today because the future is unknown. She thinks, “I may get hit by a bus, or get struck with a disease so why should I focus on saving?” But Judy isn’t stupid, she realizes there is some fallacy in this thinking as there is also a chance that she may live to a ripe old age. So, Judy struggles with the question, “how do I reconcile these competing beliefs”? She confides, “I don’t want to live my life totally focused on the future, and miss out on the fun of today. But I also don’t want to live only in the present and have no money saved if I live a long life.” Consequently, Judy has some really great stuff, a huge house, lots of beautiful furniture, but not much in the bank.

Now that she has all this stuff, the initial newness and excitement of her purchases has worn off!

Judy is also beginning to worry about the future a bit. This is a real philosophical question and a difficult one at that. “Live in the Moment,” is a wonderful tactic for enjoying the present.

But, how does one reconcile the practicality of living in the moment with the fact that we all need some money for future emergencies and spending?

For Judy and the rest of us grappling with this issue, how do you figure out how much to save? I confess that I have been struggling with this issue for many many years. It was very confronting to me last year when my husband and I went to a Monte Carlo night fund raiser. In exchange for our entrance fee we were given $10,000 worth of pretend money to gamble with all night. I was so terrified of running out of money that I only made very small bets. Consequently, I didn’t win too much………… although I didn’t lose too much either, and at the end of the night I had preserved a lot of pretend money. But the down side of my conservatism was that I FELT VERY ANXIOUS AND WORRIED ABOUT RUNNING OUT OF MONEY pretend gambling chips.

So why am I telling you this? Because at one point my husband admonished me, “Why don’t you stop worrying about running out of chips and have some fun? You know this isn’t real money!” For me, that was a wake up call, I was sacrificing the enjoyment of pretend gambling due to a fear that I would run out of PLAY money. I certainly would have been better off and had more fun if I had made some bigger bets and let go of my fear of “running out of pretend money.” Obviously, I couldn’t spend the pretend money I had at the end of the event as it was WORTHLESS! I had gone to the extreme at a party and even at this fun event; I missed the opportunity to live in the moment.

In sum, there is a fine balance between overspending and spending an appropriate amount to allow for today and tomorrow.

Practical Application

Your personal challenge is to find the best balance between spending now and saving for the future. Start simple and try saving 10% of your income. You can’t go wrong with saving 10%! And if you find it’s too much or too little, you can always adjust in the future.

Do not despair if you can’t save 10%; save as much as you can now, even if it’s just 2% of your income! In fact, it’s better to save something NOW, no matter how small an amount rather than give up and save nothing.

If you want to get a bit more specific, there are lots of calculators to help figure out how much to save for certain situations; down payment on a home, retirement, college etc. My favorite site for savings calculators is here at bankrate.com.

Assume that the world will go on…….. and not end tomorrow. Of course, fun and enjoyment are important and you need cash for the present, but to have a satisfying life, keep some cash stored away for future expenses. Don’t stress out about being really technical and calculating!

Start a saving HABIT! The amount of money is less important than beginning the habit.

Action Steps:

• Get a notebook and label it: “(your name) Personal Finance” and keep it by the computer. Use it to keep all of your personal finance goals, thoughts, activities, and plans.
• Tomorrow visit your personnel office at work and your bank. Follow their instructions to set up an automatic payroll transfer from your paycheck to your savings account.
• If you can’t transfer cash directly from your paycheck, then set up a regular automatic transfer from your checking to your savings account.

Today’s guest post was from Barbara Friedberg. Get more saving and goal setting motivation and information from her blog; a good post to get started on is “How to Get what you Want Out of Life and Have the Cash to Pay for it“.

What is the Point of Saving, the World May End Tomorrow? is an original article from the website brip blap.