Financially Jump Start Your Life

I need to financially jump start my life. You probably are at a point where you need to financially jump start your life. I am currently in the whole again (in debt) and that is due to a number of factors: paying for my daughter’s college, leaving my last job, and just life.

I will be debt free by the summer if I stay on my current track and that is how I am going to financially jump start my life. Maybe you will follow the things I am doing to financially jump start your life.

First, I am maxing out my retirement contributions. I am pretty transparent and right now I have $500,000 saved for retirement not including my pension. Again, I am pushing the envelope and contributing $19,000 to my funds.

Second, and I haven’t been able to do this for a while, is that I am going to live off half my income. When I left my job I did contract work and got paid to do some work for people. The freedom of my life was awesome. That was the first time I relaxed in YEARS. All my bills were paid BUT I didn’t have much in the way of saving. And that bothered me. Once I paid my car loan off, I was going to use that money for future savings.

My third mission is to rebuild my emergency savings fund. Because of my savings and working contract gigs I was able to take off an entire month from work. I still had enough to move and pay for my security deposit and first months rent in my new place. I still own my home in Georgia and have no plans to ever sell.

Tips to Financially Jump Start Your Life

Focus on paying off your debt. The less debt you have, the more money you can save. Nearly 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, and 10% of people making six figures or more are in this predicament.
Put aside savings into a retirement account and savings account. DO NOT ignore your retirement savings. Anything helps. When I started working I started with 3% of my salary which was about $900 a year. At some point I jumped to 10%. That was probably $4,000 to $10,000 I was putting aside a year. Now I put the IRS maximum in and fortunately for me because of my small amount of debt and income I can do this. I have absolutely ZERO desire to still be working in my 60’s. Honestly, I would like to retire about mid 50’s. I know it can be done. And don’t forget about your emergency fund or putting money aside for savings. I use the Acorns app and I will be rebuilding my emergency fund. I have $900 saved in my Acorns App presently.
Be a savvy shopper. When I started my new job I realized I didn’t have a wardrobe. I’ve gained a little weight (it looks good) but I needed some clothes. A lot of the stores in December had 60% off so I grabbed some items. Additionally, places like Banana Republic had a great sale. I also shop at a place called Modcloth. They had an online clothing sale where I was able to get dresses totaling $85 plus for $20!
Stay the financial course! You are going to get knocked off track during your debt free life. I have, even after getting out of debt, gotten back in through no fault of my own. But I know how to get back on track.