The Beginning

      I've been kicking an idea around in my head for a few months (years?) I've always had a love for money. Yes, an absolute, complete and total love for money. When I was young, I loved to count it, as I got older, I liked to save it and look at it in my bank (don't judge me). I'm perfectly comfortable blaming this love of money on my father. Starting around age 7, he would take me to run errands with him every Wednesday. Without fail, we'd go to the bank, then the post office, and then to the library and then to McDonald's. First the bank, to transfer money (rob Peter) then to the post office (to pay Paul), then to the library (because I loved to read) and then to McDonald's (because what kid doesn't love McDonald's). It was on our weekly Wednesday trips that I learned the idea of "floating" a check (ask your parents) and how to write out deposit slips. It was at McDonald's that I learned the concept of waste - if I didn't finish my meal - every bit of it - I'd have to pay for it. For a child that only earned $5 a week in allowance, that $3.00 meal could be quite costly. I think it was the Wednesday runs that taught me the lengths my father had to go to to make ends meet, or at least get them closer together.   I've been very clear, from a very young age what money and (and can't) do for you, and I've been fascinated with it ever since. Hence, the idea that I've been kicking around in my head - an investing/saving/giving blog. I want to write about money - in plain English. 
     So here's the thing - everything you ever wanted to know about saving, budgeting and investing is on the internet. A Google search of "investing advice" brings up 176,000,000 results (in 0.30 seconds, thanks Google). So then why is it that folks' eyes glaze over when you ask them to discuss their 401K plans, or what their investment strategies are or even what their financial goals are for the next year? I think it's because no one writes about these things in bite-sized pieces. The easiest way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. (I never knew why anyone would want to eat an elephant, but I digress). So let's get started...let's talk about mutual funds, budgets, savings, 401Ks, etc., ad nauseam, one bite at a time.

One Simple Rule

       One of the reasons for this blog is that some things that I think are basic common sense regarding finance - aren't basic common sense. The fact is that most of us have been raised to think that "personal finance" and specifically, "investing" are big complicated ideas - things that "other" people do. I've never been intimidated by the idea of investing, because I follow one simple rule: if I don't understand it, I don't want any part of it.
       A friend of mine came to me with an idea that her neighbor gave her. Instead of buying a car with the cash she had saved, he suggested that she take the cash, invest it in a mutual fund, take out a loan for the car and then pay the car payment with the interest earned from the mutual fund. Her neighbor told her that this was the way that smart investors used money to make money and it sounded reasonable to her.
      There are several things wrong with this story, but the biggest one is this: she didn't understand what he was proposing. I seriously doubt he was trying to lead her astray, but inevitably, this story would have ended badly. Anytime you put your money in places you don't understand, the story will end badly. Which brings me back to my simple rule: don't invest in or spend money on things you don't fully understand. If someone offers you investment or financial advice, take the time to look it up. We're bound to make mistakes with finances, but fully-informed mistakes are learning experiences...ignorance is not an excuse.
    So in another post, we'll talk about what was wrong with her neighbor's advice...

Crash and Burn Finances

      There are a million reasons I wanted to write a personal finance blog - my love of money, my daddy (and daddy issues), my desire to share all I think I know.  But there is one particular moment in my life that defined me for awhile. Some of the things I learned in that moment were painful...just painful enough to help someone else. So here we go!
      I never wanted to get married. I was never that woman. But I did. I found myself in love and married, living the Black American Dream. It was cute, for like a year. And then, it all started to crumble, slowly at first, then all at once. From the beginning to the end my marriage lasted three years. The divorce lasted much, much longer...

Retirement - Start now!

      Right out of college, your first job, if you're lucky, your first real bills.  You're filling out paperwork for the human resources department, and one of them says "401K" or "IRA" or "Retirement" and your eyes glaze over because you have not got a clue what to do. Stop. Take a moment and breathe deeply.
      Here's what you do...ask the very nice lady who's helping you fill out the paperwork if your company or agency offers a "match" to the retirement program. (The technical term is "matching contribution", but that's not the important part here.) Tell her that you want to contribute enough to "get the match". Typically, this will mean that between 3% and 6% of your income will be diverted from your check and put into retirement for you. And I know what you're thinking...6%??? I can't afford to lose 6%, I'm barely it on the salary they are offering!! Again, breathe deeply and take a step back.  The easiest way to save for retirement is to get a head start.  You don't have to do much heavy lifting if you have 40 years to lift...And if you start now, with no kids, wife, husband, house, dog, cat...trust me, you'll thank yourself later.

Save, Invest, Give Tip #1 - Use your company match to start saving for retirement with your first job!

P.S. - I've said it before but...everything you ever wanted to know about personal finance is on the internet somewhere. My intention is not to re-invent the wheel but to provide enough knowledge (including websites!) that you'll be empowered to go find out more.  Send me comments and let me know how that's working out for you!

Not About Finance

     I hesitate to call any of my financial decisions "mistakes". The fact is, I did it for love, I did it for me, I did it for youth - whatever - I had my reasons and they made perfect sense at the time. But you'll recall in my last post, I mentioned that marriage and divorce caused me to make choices that sanity and wisdom would frown upon. This brings me to my love of houses...
    I DO love a house. I frown on an apartments and ever since I was a little girl, I've loved the spaciousness and freedom of a house (more on this notion of  "freedom" later).  In any event, I purchased my first house at 24. I knew nothing about the home buying process but I was relatively sure of myself (most 24 year olds are) and confident that I was making a good financial decision. Fast forward four years...I'm married and divorcing, in debt and drowning and the world is looking pretty bleak.  So what do I do - go buy a house! (This would be a second house). Yes, this is a reasonable and rational decision to make in the throes of despair.  My mother likes to say that a hard head makes a soft behind. I have the hardest of heads but in my defense, I make all my choices/mistakes and decisions and I ride them until the wheels fall off. And so it was with my freedom house.