New Year Resolutions: Part One (Money!)
So I'm usually not a big New Years Resolutions person, but this year felt different. A lot of things are changing right now, and I feel obliged to change with them. For some reason, this most recent birthday has made me feel older (in a good way) than previous birthdays. Coupled with the economic difficulties the entire world is going through, I feel like this is the time to take hold of my life and not just let random things happen to me.
So I'm doing a series of entries on the New Years Resolutions I decided on this year, first and foremost being: Money! Yes, I like vague NYR's, and "Money!" is #1 on my list. What does it mean, specifically? Well, I want to finally be an adult. I want to have savings to fall back on, and a plan for paying off my credit cards. I want to be fully educated on how much money I'm making every month and where it's going. The "Money!" part of my NYR's is a small cheat, since I started this resolution back in September or so, but since I'm still working towards it in 2009, it counts.
1) The first step, which I recommend to everyone reading this, is joining Mint.com. It's changed the way I manage my money, and since it's web-based I can "take" it anywhere I go. What is Mint? Basically it's a money management tool (note: not a budgeting device) that streamlines all of your accounts to one place. So I log in and it accesses all my bank accounts and credit cards, updates the information on each, and displays every transaction I've made, as well as my net worth (depressing!). You can assign each transaction to a category, like "Groceries" or "Gas" or "Utilities", or you can make your own, such as "Christmas Gifts." One very enlightening/scary tool it has is a "Trends" section, where it breaks down all your transactions by category into a mega-pie chart. You can click on a section, such as Health, and it subdivides into categories like insurance, gym and fitness, prescriptions, etc. As painful as it is, it's really helped me get control of my spending, and see where money is draining off to. Before you mention it, yes it's safe. Unless you're extremely paranoid, in which case Mint is probably not for you. If you're curious (and I was, before I joined) there are huge FAQ's on the site about the safety of your information.
2) Working freelance means I have no 401K (what exactly is that again?) and definitely nobody contributing towards anything of mine. So I started a hardcore savings account (ING Direct!), and set up two automatic transfer's every month. This will be a combo rainy day account and mini-retirement fund, and I hope to grow it steadily over the years. Now I know that most people don't recommend using a savings account for this type of savings, but to be honest I'm extremely distrustful of the stock market, and don't like the thought of leaning on it more than I have to. Which leads me to ....
3) I'm going to set up a Roth IRA! Well, technically I sort of have one already. I found out a few months ago that UCF was contributing to an account when I worked there years ago, and I have a whopping $100 and change in an account with AIG. AIG? Ha. So yeah, I'm moving it to another company I trust more, and then I'm going to start growing it. Yes, it's technically the stock market, but the level of risk is acceptable to me.
That's it for resolution #1. If you're like me, and apparently the rest of America, and have decided enough is enough when it comes to money troubles, more power to you, and I wish you the best of luck! That said, I'm going to take the $90 I won in the office Oscar pool and probably spend it on something unnecessary but fun. Resolutions #2 and #3 coming sometime this year!
So I'm doing a series of entries on the New Years Resolutions I decided on this year, first and foremost being: Money! Yes, I like vague NYR's, and "Money!" is #1 on my list. What does it mean, specifically? Well, I want to finally be an adult. I want to have savings to fall back on, and a plan for paying off my credit cards. I want to be fully educated on how much money I'm making every month and where it's going. The "Money!" part of my NYR's is a small cheat, since I started this resolution back in September or so, but since I'm still working towards it in 2009, it counts.
1) The first step, which I recommend to everyone reading this, is joining Mint.com. It's changed the way I manage my money, and since it's web-based I can "take" it anywhere I go. What is Mint? Basically it's a money management tool (note: not a budgeting device) that streamlines all of your accounts to one place. So I log in and it accesses all my bank accounts and credit cards, updates the information on each, and displays every transaction I've made, as well as my net worth (depressing!). You can assign each transaction to a category, like "Groceries" or "Gas" or "Utilities", or you can make your own, such as "Christmas Gifts." One very enlightening/scary tool it has is a "Trends" section, where it breaks down all your transactions by category into a mega-pie chart. You can click on a section, such as Health, and it subdivides into categories like insurance, gym and fitness, prescriptions, etc. As painful as it is, it's really helped me get control of my spending, and see where money is draining off to. Before you mention it, yes it's safe. Unless you're extremely paranoid, in which case Mint is probably not for you. If you're curious (and I was, before I joined) there are huge FAQ's on the site about the safety of your information.
2) Working freelance means I have no 401K (what exactly is that again?) and definitely nobody contributing towards anything of mine. So I started a hardcore savings account (ING Direct!), and set up two automatic transfer's every month. This will be a combo rainy day account and mini-retirement fund, and I hope to grow it steadily over the years. Now I know that most people don't recommend using a savings account for this type of savings, but to be honest I'm extremely distrustful of the stock market, and don't like the thought of leaning on it more than I have to. Which leads me to ....
3) I'm going to set up a Roth IRA! Well, technically I sort of have one already. I found out a few months ago that UCF was contributing to an account when I worked there years ago, and I have a whopping $100 and change in an account with AIG. AIG? Ha. So yeah, I'm moving it to another company I trust more, and then I'm going to start growing it. Yes, it's technically the stock market, but the level of risk is acceptable to me.
That's it for resolution #1. If you're like me, and apparently the rest of America, and have decided enough is enough when it comes to money troubles, more power to you, and I wish you the best of luck! That said, I'm going to take the $90 I won in the office Oscar pool and probably spend it on something unnecessary but fun. Resolutions #2 and #3 coming sometime this year!