Are you all as excited for 2017 as I am? So much has happened over the past year and rest assured, there will be scores more changes in 2017... for better or for worse. Just about everyone comes up with a New Year's Resolution, or multiple, and more often than not they are the same each year: lose weight, join a gym, find a new job, quit smoking, etc.

However, there is one resolution that people make all the time and it should be SO easy to accomplish: SAVE MONEY!

Why is this so difficult? Do people feel like they have all the time in the world to save? Do they set some lofty ambition about saving a few hundred dollars every month when realistically they can't?

Think about it this way: the natural rate of inflation is around 2.0% and so most employers tend to match or exceed this each year with most annual salaries. With energy prices so cheap and employment improving, you can definitely find a way to set a little bit aside. My grandmother turns 90 years old in February - despite many financial hardships in her life, any time she got a raise or an increase in pa, she took the difference and put it aside into a savings account. Living modestly and saving modestly, despite having a middle-class-paying job, has enabled her to live comfortably in her own home over the last 25 years beyond retirement. Assuming we are all really living better, will you have enough money to last through the end of your days?

It seems hard, but I want to give all of my readers a very easy New Year's Resolution: whether you are already saving for retirement or not, I want you all to save at least 1% of your income for retirement. That's it! 

If you make $40,000 per year, set aside $400 in a brokerage account or Roth IRA. If you make $100,000 per year, set aside $1,000. If you make only $15,000 per year, set aside $150. Divide that number by 12 and set aside a little bit each month. If each year you set aside a little more, you will be on your way to a very happy retirement.

Are you ready to take on the challenge? Send me a message to let me know your plans and encourage your friends to do the same!

I wish you all a very safe and Happy New Year 2017!