| November 2008 |
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 Hurry, Only Two Months Remain to Reach This Year's Financial Goals Yikes! Where did the year go? Thanksgiving is within a turkey leg's reach and all of a sudden we'll be making 2006 New Year's resolutions. Are you on track to reach your 2005 financial goals? If you — like most of us — are way behind, here are a few steps you can take to at least finish strong. 1Throw some more money at your 401(k). If your human resources department will allow it, increase your 401(k) contribution for your last few paychecks. If you still haven't saved enough to get the maximum your company will match, then increase the contribution till it hurts. None of us is rich enough where we can afford to pass up free money. 2Open a Roth IRA. If you don't have a 401(k) or your employer won't allow you to change the deduction for the last two months, the next best choice is a Roth IRA. With IRAs, your money can grow without paying taxes on the earnings. The hardest part about saving for retirement is starting. But with just $50 or $100 you can slay the dragon named "procrastination." Call a financial planner in your area and discuss an IRA and an automatic savings plan where each month a small amount of money is transferred directly from your checking account. If you are self-employed, ask about a SEP IRA. 3Start your emergency fund. Interest rates are rising. That's bad news for debtors, but good news for savers. So make 2005 the year you become a saver. Find a savings or money market account that is earning 3% or more. Open the account with as much cash as you can scrape together and add something to it each month. 4Check your credit report. You can do a lot for your financial future by making sure your financial past is as clean as possible. Some studies have shown that 80% of credit reports have erroneous information. Could information, be hurting your FICO score? You are the only one who can fix your credit report, so visit www.myfico.com and get your credit report. This is something big financially that you can do in one day. 5Revisit your budget. If you didn't achieve your financial goals this year, maybe you should analyze your budget. What are you buying that you can do without? How much are you spending on groceries? Are you dining out too much? How much are your cars costing you? Answering these questions will at least help you develop your goals for 2009. |
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