Remember that one time when we all talked about our financial goals?
I said then that these were the things I wanted to start working on:
1. Start funding an IRA
This one will have to wait, maybe until next year. But retirement savings is still happening so that's good. Have run a couple of retirement calculators to see how much we will need, just because it's kind of fun when my heart stops dead in my chest like that and my left arm gets all squeezy. (And yes, I always check the "No Social Security Benefits" box because hi, like I am even banking on that). A good guideline seems to be saving 10-15% of your gross income for retirement, leaning more on the higher end if you're over 30 (or if you're under 30 but happen to be smart).
2. Get our savings into accounts where they can earn more interest
Hee! Totally did this! I opened an Orange Savings Account online through ING Direct. At 1.40% interest, it's not the absolute highest interest rate available (that would be Ally with 1.85% at the moment, for those who are interested). But I've heard great things about ING's customer service, there are no fees, they are FDIC insured, and I very much like their subaccounts feature.
So now instead of one lump at my bank earning hardly any interest, I now have several different savings accounts with cool names like "Emergency Fund," "Car Fund," "Vacation," "Christmas," "House Downpayment," and "GH's iPod Touch That I Promised He Could Buy This Fall if We Put the Rest of the Tax Return into Savings." Not all of these accounts have any money in them, but having this visual reminder of what I'm actually saving for is really helpful.
3. Get my student loan out of the picture asap because even though it's not "bad" debt like the credit card kind, it still nags at me and I'd like it to be gone
Which brings us to . . . .drum roll . . . .
We totally paid off my loan this week. I started doing the math and realized that at the rate we were going it was going to take years and years and I just wanted to be done. And this debt-free feeling is better than an IRA, I can tell you.
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