When I came to this site, I had a lot of small goals in mind; the largest of which was to gain control of my financial life. My credit scores have improved from low-mid 600s to where they are now. Instead of worrying about bills, I now have a decent emergency savings account and I save early for larger expenses that come around a few times a year (car/bike/life insurance, Christimas spending, etc.). I am saving to buy my first home. The one thing that I have stayed away from is retirement. In 2008 my 401k was wiped out when the market crashed. I have avoided retirement savings since then. I don't get retirement benefits at work, and I didn't have much to put in it, so I didn't want something that has a lot of fees (which would eat up what I was trying to save). I found the myRA.gov account a few days ago, and I finally decided to open it. For those who didn't see my original post, this is a Roth IRA backed by the US Treasury. It has no minumums, no fees, etc. I thought it was my best option for now, so I signed up. I will make my first contribution as soon as they send some test deposits to my checking account.
It's not as profitable as a typical employer matched option, but if you don't have the employer match, or if you are avoiding retirement savings for whatever reason, I recommend checking out myRA.gov. It is a step in the right direction and better than not saving at all. I finally had to grow up and do it. I feel like my financial picture is coming together, and that makes me feel incredibly good about the steps I have made this year. Cheers!
Quicksilver $10,000 | Better Balance Rewards $2000 | Sallie Mae $3500 | Freedom $3500
