Saving For Life...

I am on the road to saving for retirement. It was a liberating yet scary feeling the other day when I went to my bank in Ft. Lauderdale and opened my first I.R.A. account. It was almost the same feeling of talking to a financial consultant as when I was in on buying my first real estate property back in 2003. I don’t know much about finances and have read a few books so I felt belittled by what the man was talking about and yet in the back of my mind I knew it was for a good purpose and for later savings. I’m going to contribute the maximum this year allowable. Interest rates are pretty low right now, but since I invested in mutual funds for my I.R.A. I should get more from it when the economy rises again. One thing I did learn from the books I read is that even though the economy is in a low, you can purchase more mutual funds. At a later time when the economy grows and your monthly input can’t purchase the same amount of mutual funds, the ones you already purchased will be growing with the economy. I’m hoping that is true. I had to start planning now while I’m in a surplus and have no debt. Social Security for the future looks grim, and while I’m on cruise ships I’m not putting anything into that fund anyway. People are living longer these days and I want to plan for it. I am glad that I’m traveling now while I’m young though and seeing as much of the world as I can. You’re only young once.