Finding Free Money!

Since you are reading this article, either you truly were hoping to find free money, or you are interested in saving more toward your retirement. We both know that people offering free money either printed it themselves, stole it, or really want something in return. So, let's concentrate on saving more toward retirement.

Most of us intend to save... we really do. The reality is that very few of us do it. You have probably heard the numbers, and they adjust periodically, but here are some of the basics. Americans as a whole basically save nothing. A few do, but so many more spend more than they earn, the national average shows NO savings. Something like 80% of Americans are one paycheck away from financial disaster. If any of this rings a bell in your life, don't take offense... recognize it is the way most Americans feels.

If you are on the edge, feeling like you are living paycheck-to-paycheck, you probably think I am nuts when I suggest setting aside $200 or $300 a month for retirement. So where do you get the money?

Budget!

This is not an alien word; governments operate with budgets all the time. Rarely, however, do people operate with budgets. Most of us get by with knowing what we have, how much we can spend, and how much debt we have. This is our downfall. For once, something that the government does regularly actually makes sense.

A budget is a written plan showing how much money is expected to come in, and how it will be spent. When you fail to budget, you are more likely to spend money on immediate desires rather than saving for future requirements. For example, imagine that your agency allowed unlimited overtime... work whenever, wherever you want, on any detail you want. Sound interesting? Think everyone in the agency would want that OT? What happens when everyone works 60 hours a week, raking in the OT, and the agency runs out of money 6 months into the year? How does it buy fuel? Or ammo? Or computer paper? Or light bulbs?

Our personal expenses work in a similar way. Since most cops are Type A personalities anyway, we can be rather impulsive. We get tempted into spending money in ways we don't originally plan if we don't have a budget. How many people do you know that have bought a hi-def flat panel TV because it was on sale or the company offered free installation or any other type of enticement? It's our nature! A written budget, though, gives us boundaries; it helps us stay focused and spend our money where we want to, not where the advertising gurus want us to.

By setting realistic budgets, you can actually set aside a fixed amount every month for retirement. You may not be able to start at $300 a month - that's OK. Start at $50 or $100 if that is all your budget allows. Then start working at finding the free money that is, whether you know it or not, in your budget.

Free Money?

Yes... you can actually save more without working any harder. They first trick is to recognize where you are spending on needs instead of wants. This may sound goofy, but give it some thought. Obviously, food, shelter and utilities are basic needs; so are transportation and clothing. After all, we do live in modern civilization and we can expect to enjoy some of the basic conveniences. These are items that we must pay for; these are mandatory in the budget.

Balance those against wants. We need food, but we want to go out for dinner because it is easier than cooking. We need entertainment (it's true), but we want to buy DVDs rather than rent them from the library. We need a telephone, but we want Caller ID and Voicemail and Auto Callback and Blocking. We need coffee, but we want to spend $4 on that Super Venti Tall Mocha-choco-latte with lowfat cream.