Guest Speaker~Budgeting

Today we had a guest speaker, Stacy Whiteman from Edward Jones, come in to talk to us about budgeting.  She discussed the importance of setting goals for us to work towards when creating and "living" our budget.  She quoted a Harvard study that stated that you are 94% more apt to meet your goals if you write them down.  So, set some goals in life and make sure you set some short-term, intermediate, and long-term goals. 

Budgets are a financial tool that set guidelines for us financially and help us move towards meeting our S.M.A.R.T. goals.  When developing a budget, you should make yourself a fixed expense....you should be Paying Yourself First 10% of your net pay. 

You should start investing as soon as possible.  You NEED to make sure you are making yourself a priority and taking the steps to ensure you can support yourself financially when you hit retirement age.  Remember that savings and investing are two separate activities.  Don't wait....do this as soon as you can!!