I’ve been spending a lot of time setting savings goals and getting my spending under control, but one question I’ve been afraid to tackle is – just how much do I actually need for retirement? It’s so difficult to estimate that I’ve been avoiding it altogether, and instead hoping that the rule of thumb re: investing 15% of your gross income per year will be sufficient. Finally, I bit the bullet and dug in.
I heard a quote on a podcast last week that has really stuck with me: “If you don’t have a plan for your money, somebody else will.” Maybe I was a little harsh in my last post. After all, it’s not really fair to blame my friends for my own inability to plan.
I’ve (obviously) never planned ahead financially. When it comes to my student loans, I’ve always just paid off the minimum each month, thinking “What difference does it really make if I put $200/month more towards my loans?” Instead, I used that extra $200/month for nails/clothes/drinks/travel/you name it.
Turns out, that $200/month would have made a LOT of difference, if only I had understood the power of forecasting.
Austerity Kate 