Automatic!

This weekend, Jeff went on a 3 day hike in Franconia with my brother-in-law. So it was just me and the little munchkin this weekend (and Ellie, but she's so easy I just about forget about her!). Friday night I put Parker to bed and then suddenly felt inspired to read a book the I had gotten weeks ago - The Automatic Millionaire. I started reading at 8pm thinking I'd just read a few chapters and then hit the hay, get a great nights' sleep in and be refreshed in the morning. I should have known better.

I was fascinated by this book! I stayed up until 11:30pm (very late for me) reading and rereading, taking notes, researching interest rates, etc. I have a whole new perspective about money now.

You see, I've been so focused on getting rid of our debt - which is in the long run, a very short term problem. I haven't even though about a retirement fund for us, I kept thinking we'd start that when we have more money. The book opened my eyes to the harsh reality that time is money. And - it made me realize that I need to save myself from myself.

So - Parker got me up bright and early (4:30AM!!!) Saturday morning, which worked out ok, because I was totally jazzed about fixing up our finances. First thing, I got on the phone with Capital One (my credit card) and tried to negotiate a better interest rate. I spoke with a few different people but none could help me lower it. However, the last one agreed to take off my recent $70 finance fee, which I was very grateful for. Then, I went online and redeemed my 15,000 rewards points I had sitting there for a $74 credit to my account. So all in all, I knocked my balance down $144. Then, I grabbed the card, put it in a plastic freezer bag, filled it up with water, and tossed it in the freezer. One more step to saving myself from myself.

The whole point of the book was to make everything you possibly can automatic. Good intentions of paying down debt, saving an emergency fund, saving for retirement, etc, never get you to your goal. If you really want financial freedom, it HAS to be done automatically.

So, I spend the rest of the day making as many payments as possible automatic, including the credit card, which was always a case my case basis. Then, I spend a solid 4 hours (excessive I know, welcome to my obsessive nature) researching what company I want to open up a Roth IRA with. I want the ability to go for some aggressive stocks, some bonds, and some interest earning low risk accounts all blended. I'm still trying to get through the nitty gritty of the commission, the fees, etc, so I haven't made my final decision, but I have it down to two - I'll let you know who I went through on my next blog post!

I have a dedicated credit card payment, a dedicated savings transfer, and (I will have) a dedicated retirement fund contribution every month. In short, the book scared the living daylights out of me. 28 might seem like a great age to start saving for retirement (and it is!) but the perfectionist side of me can't help but be mad at myself for wasting precious early years of savings.

One thing is for sure, we'll be a heck of a lot closer to our goals now that it will all be set up and AUTOMATIC! I've never been so excited for the future - and I HIGHLY recommend this book!