a grown up weekend

this weekend i went to the crossroads theater in denver to see anna jones of and then she saved talk about her journey out of debt!! it was so fun to hear her tell the story i'd read in person, and getting to meet her was pretty rad too! she was so nice and so helpful with all of my questions.
i'm sure people that aren't religious and then she saved-ers thought i was ten kinds of crazy, but whatever! :)

a financial advisor also spoke. her name is hannah raynes. she helps people plan their financial futures and figure out how to best make their money work for them. when i have a grip on my financial situation (and by that i mean when i am out of debt-or at least further out of debt) i'm going to find someone to help me make some plans.

a few things i noted at the seminar that are good reminders, amazing math, or just general good advise:

getting rid of the temptation to spend (like removing all stores and the internet) is unrealistic so you have to learn to live in and around a society obsessed with possessions.

get rid of your credit card debt first.

people in debt have more health problems. specifically those in credit card debt. they are more stressed, overweight and generally unhealthy than those without debt.

realign your priorities and take a look at your finances because they will show you where your priorities lie (if the majority of your money is going to nordstrom-you may have warped priorities).

learn how to say no to yourself.

'stop spending money you don't have. stop spending money you do have.'

in regard to artists-but i think it crosses the artistic line-'charge what you're worth or do it for free, but don't do it for cheap.' anna

if you saved $300.00 a month and invested it-you would have $841,356 in 30 years. yes please!!

average inflation is 3% a year. so if your money isn't making at least 3% annually, you are actually losing money.

make your money work for you. INVEST!

only 1 in 8 americans close to retirement feel comfortable with their retirement accounts as they currently are.

the average monthly social security check is $1,050.00 -not that we'll even have that to factor in to our retirement as gen-y ers.

typical americans will never pay down their debt.

historically, when the S&P has a drop their is a double digit return.-man, here's hoping!

men should save 10% of their income, and women should save 12%. here's why.

so there's just a snip it of the good info i walked away with on saturday.

here's to 65 year old me-chilling on the beach.
xoxo ashleycolean