Maybe the lifesaver?

So one of the presents that Steve and I got for Christmas is a book by Suze Orman called, "The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke". The inscription on the inside cover is wonderful...mom and dad just wanted to give us a book that they wish they had when they started out!

I skimmed through the entire book tonight, focusing on the things that affected me and Steve at the moment, and skipping over the IRA, Roth, 401K stuff that we'll figure out a bit later.

This book could, in all reality, save our asses.

It breaks down what needs to happen when, and what timelines we 20-30 somethings have. There was one part that absolutely amazed me.....

If a person invests $300 a month with an 8% average annual return rate, in 15 years the total amount invested will be $104,504. If you stop investing anymore money, by the time you reach 70, it will be worth $1.05 million dollars. That is a WONDERFUL retirement fund, if you ask me!

Of course, there are MANY important steps she plainly explains to get you to the point of HAVING the $300 to invest in the first place.

I really feel that the daunting task of money management will be easier if we both read and follow this book. Of course, there will be setbacks.....she explains what to do in SO many situations I've found myself in, and we find ourselves in on almost a daily basis. She starts off the book by saying how she has listened to people our age and has come up with some easy to follow directions on how to change things. I really believe her. There are moments in the book where it's kinda creepy....the questions she answers in the book are questions I've asked myself a million times.


This woman has read my mind.

I have a new found hope for our financial future. Things I was always too afraid to ask (for fear of either sounding stupid or knowing the answer) she deals with. I feel like we can deal with them too, now.

So all of the wonderful gifts we received for the holiday will be put to much better use.

And we received some wonderful gifts, wonderful aids to help us out when we need it the most.

And soon, hopefully very soon, we will no longer be in constant need of help. It's not going to happen overnight, but there are some things that we can do now to greatly increase our stability and, in general, decrease a major source of stress.

I always made fun of Suze Orman's billboards on the el and random places. But after reading what she has to say, I have to recommend to everyone in our situation, "GET THIS BOOK!!!"