Growing Up and Getting Ahead

Today I took another step toward adulthood.  I'm 27 years old, but I still think I'm a long way from being grown up.  Lately I've come to realize that this is the normal course of events in people's lives.  We progress down this road slowly, step-by-step, and not all at once when we hit any certain age or milestone.

My step today - I purchased my first piece of essential furniture: a couch.  I have other pieces, a bed is the only one that comes to mind at the moment, but those were bought for me either as gifts or as we-are-your-parents-and-aren't-going-to-let-you-sleep-on-the-floor type things.  I have lovely parents as you might guess.

I've also decided to take another step: plan for retirement.  The sooner I get started the higher the likelihood that I will actually be able to retire one day.  In part, I want to take control of my money and also be more aware of my money and how I can actually make it work for me.  So until I get a bit better informed I've got a short list of goals , financially speaking.

1. Pay off my credit card.  In my long search for a job I definitely spent more than I made and am paying the price for that now.  I knew that the best policy was either not have a credit card or pay it off in full each month.  Because I didn't follow my own good advice in this sector, I'll be spending the next few months paying this off.

2.  Put at least $50 a paycheck into savings.  As of right now I know almost nothing about IRAs, 401ks, annuities, and all the other options people have for saving.  Therefore, I'll put my money in my savings account which only gets 0.025% interest.  That's crap, and I know it.  Which leads me to the next goal...

3. Teach myself the basics in finances.  I want to know what an IRA is compared to a 401k.  What the difference between an annuity and CD is...and why I should put money in one or another.  So I'm going to start reading.  I like Suze Orman, her personality appeals to me and from what I've seen her advice is pretty darn practical.  I already try to read a couple of financial blogs (Get Rich Slowly being one of my favorites). So a sub-goal, to accomplish such a big goal is going to be read at least one financial/money management item a day.  It's not a lot, but hey you have to start somewhere.

Here's to walking the path to adulthood.  Cheers!