Coming Out of Retirement

Coming Out of Retirement

I feel like Jay-Z. My public has spoken. They want those gentle reminders to save, to stop spending, to get their stuff together. And as a good public servant, I must oblige. Here are a few things that you need to reflect on before the summer gets you too lazy to stay focused.

Summer-Ready Money Checklist

• Have you started saving for retirement? checked the beneficiaries on any financial accounts? reevaluated your risk tolerance?
• Have you been keeping your spending journal current?
• Have you written a will? (Even though we are young, getting started early when there is time helps us avoid panicking, confusion, and fighting when you have already passed.)
• How is your emergency fund with 6-12 months expenses looking?
• Are you paying your bills when they come or are you waiting for a "convenient time" to pay?
• Are you using your summer sun time locked up in a mall shopping?
• Have you set short-term, manageable goals (ie earn through saving or extra work $1,000 per month for 10 months for the down-payment on that house) ?
• Have you transformed a passion or hobby into a profitable endeavor?
• Have you aligned your spending patterns with what you truly love? (That is, are you spending all of your money on lattes when you really could be putting it toward that trip to Ghana you have been claiming you can't afford?)
• Are you selling stuff that you don't need on amazon.com, textbooks.com, or ebay.com?
• Are you hating on someone else for their financial discipline?

Going Away, Coming Home

This is one of the recurring themes throughout post-colonial Caribbean literature. The idea that one can't go home twice. The home that once was is no longer because the self that has left has transformed. I am happy to say, though, when it comes to my passion of financial empowerment for black women, this is not the case. I just needed some time to place other parts of my life in order. I can not promise the length and nature of my future blogs, because truthfully, like my Caribbean ancestors,  I am not the same person that started writing this blog a year ago. Can't pinpoint how she is different, but she told me that she wants to take it easy for the summer.