One day after I checked my Hotmail account, MSN prominently featured a story about retirement planning, complete with a calculator. In the past, I would participate in retirement plans at almost every job I worked. (Waterloo was the exception because I needed every single penny of that paycheck.) But I treated it like some abstract concept. Besides, these kinds of plans are pitched in ways that say, "Just put money in, and let it work for you. Don't think about it."
When I was just starting out, I did exactly that. I didn't think about it at all. The usual routine is to increase your contributions as your finances get stable. Being laid off, then underemployed and now underpaid isn't exactly stable. The cost of living has increased, and my average salary hasn't. So I'm stuck with making the paltry contribution I have been since, well, forever.
Now that I'm within sight distance of 40, it's dawning on me that I just might be screwed, not just with retirement but on the whole. I used to be incredibly vigilant with my finances, but when the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, there was no point. Why be vigilant with something that's not there?
I've spent the last few years waiting for things to get better, and now that I'm entering my second economic downturn as an independent adult, I kind of realize they never really did. I'm breaking even. That's fine, I guess, but I'm tired of it.
So I spent this past weekend getting caught up with the numbers in Quicken. I had to reconstruct my retirement data because I had been haphazard with updating it. At one point, Quicken told me my retirement portfolio was worth only $750. After reconstruction, the number multiplied manyfold. But the retirement calculators all still say I'm screwed if I don't pick up the pace.
I have a credit union account in Hawai`i that's supposed to serve as a rainy day fund. It looks like it's raining now. So I'm going to move a chunk of it to my local banks in Austin. I've been stashing away about $175 per month, hoping to save up for something nice for myself like a trip or a new printer. I'm going to bring that back down to $100 per month because gas prices are pretty much forcing my hand.
I thought about cutting expenses, but I don't have much of an extravagant lifestyle. I could cut back on shopping for CDs, but I think the awful release schedule by the labels should take care of that for me. Actually, I ought to go back to cooking for myself, since my grocery bills skyrocketed when I started depending on Central Market's Chef Corner for sustanence. I won't because the only things I can cook involve lots of frying. That, and I want to see if The Abs Diet really works.
To address the credit card debt, I've moved revolving charges — TiVo and eMusic — to my debit card, and I removed the credit card from almost all online shopping sites. If I want to pay for something, I'll need the cash on hand to get it. I'll keep it on record for my domain registrar and for travel web sites. I have no idea whether I need to fly back to Honolulu at a moment's notice. I stopped short of cutting up the card. Rather, I took it out of my wallet, so I wouldn't be tempted to use it.
It's a good thing I'm a recluse. Staying in on weekends is no problem for me, and these leaner times certainly won't curtail what I don't already do. Besides, I have a lot to work with Eponymous 4 to get finished.
Raises are supposed to happen next month, but I'm not holding my breath. I actually got a raise out-of-cycle as part of a promotion, but with economy in such bad shape, I'm betting I'm sitting this cycle out till next October.
I want to think as pessimistically as possible so if something good does happen, it'll be surprising.