Ganked from Money Turtle.

Click through to the Marketwatch article. Essentially it tells us Gen-Xers that we’re screwed for retirement. I find that hardly surprising.

I do find the statistics illuminating. I am at 40% risk of falling short for retirement saving in the middle earner category. I can tell you that I am already behind. I just hope to catch up, or at least not fall too far behind. I wonder how I rate against my peers. Per NetWorthHQ, I am very behind, but really someplace in the middle of my peer group. I’d say within the bulge of the bell curve.

The assumptions behind the study are very conservative. That’s about the only good news here. They assume that you retire at 65 and do not work past that mark. I know from my current experience, that lots of people plan on working till they die. They don’t necessarily foresee being debilitated to the point of unemployment. So please consider that though you may plan to retire at 70, your body might not give you a choice and retire you at 63. Just think about that for a moment. That’s 7 years of lost income and growth before you start tapping into your savings.

My family is lucky in that they can still live off the business they have as long as one of my parents is able to maintain it. But what if you weren’t a entrepreneur or in a stable partnership? Where would your passive income come from then?

I don’t have any answers here for you. I just like putting these mental ticklers out there. Everyone is going to have a different answer. I am finding some of my greatest creativity is coming out of being desperate for a solution for all. We’re doing fine, but it’s kind of tiring right now trying to juggle things and plan solutions that accommodate everyone’s needs and wishes. Again, I urge everyone to start conversations about parental retirement now before your parents cannot express their wishes and needs clearly.

I must be one heck of a mutual fund picker. Another one of my Fidelity funds is closing. I got the announcement today via email.

I was lucky to be employed with a company that uses Fidelity as its 401k administrator. From their retirement advice, I selected a mix of funds, REIT, Bonds, Large-, Mid-, and Small-Cap funds. I guess I did it a little randomly because I was looking for strong growth out of the REIT, mid-cap and small-cap funds with some stability in large-cap stocks. I think most places would have advised me to aggressively invest in stock funds without any bonds, but I do like to balance my risk a little.

When I left my old firm, I rolled my 401k into a private IRA plan at Fidelity. I know that if I ever leave my current firm, I’ll roll my 401k money into Fidelity since I really can’t stand my current fund options, but would hate to skip out on plan participation. The tax benefit is too good to pass up, plus there is a small amount of matching I receive at this firm. All things being equal, I’d rather be at Fidelity or Vanguard than my current plan administrator. There is a broader variety of funds with these two firms and fewer fund administration fees overall.

A discussion at CNNMoney with a gas company CEO.

And a sampling of gas prices around the world. Yes, folks, even at $3 bucks a gallon, it’s still pretty cheap.

Lenscrafters is a conspiracy with mall retailers to make you bored and spend more money. Hence my problems in the last post about spending $83.03 on things I only wanted and didn’t need.

It was that glasses in a hour catch. It sounds really appealing, and it really is convenient. However, I know I should have just sat down at waited with my newspaper and knitting project. But no, I was feeling the need to find something cute to wear to work.

Next time you go, do me a favor and just park yourself right down and wait. Do not cross the threshold of the store again to leave without a new pair of glasses on your face.

The only consolation? The money I saved in frames is greater than what I spent.

No, really, I am not.

I went to the mall today to pick up my new prescription sunglasses. At the same time, to save money, I asked if they could grind new lenses for my regular glasses since I really hated all the frames that were in stock. (That’s the frugal tip I’m sharing with you today. Share and Enjoy!)

So while waiting for said lenses to be fitted, I wander the mall for an hour. Lately I’ve felt the need to stop being Frumperella and maybe get some cute clothes and letting someone hit on me for once. I dress very differently for work and for the weekend and well, something in the middle that says cute girl at work doesn’t really exist in my wardrobe. I take work pretty seriously.

I wander into all the stores, Limited, Forever 21, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Coach, etc. I saw a lot of really cute shirts I could mix and match for work and for play. I was sorely tempted to get a black Soho purse from Coach, but no, I am a good little brownie and I assuage all my retail impulse/therapy shopping feelings until I see the Knife Store. Yep. Chesapeake Knife and Tool is going out of business at Fair Oaks Mall on RT 50, about 20 miles west of DC. OH BOY! IT’S A SALE!

Everything is 40-75% off and it’s been that way for probably a month. They are down to the very last of everything.

I’m a sucker for a fine writing instrument. I love fountain pens. And guess what? Mont Blanc is on sale! However, their pen feels cheap so I stick with the Pelikan instead. How much? 40% off $75. Not too bad.

For a very long time, I coveted my friend’s Spyderco. It was a tiny brushed steel finish blade. I think it was a Dragonfly. Half straight/half serrated. He dropped it once at a show and thought he’d lost it forever. After the houselights came up, he found it at the edge of the mosh pit, artfully scratched up. It looks great. Many times I have thought of stealing his little knife, but he would know that it was me. This knife has long been discontinued, but I still hunt for it like someone might find one in a storeroom somewhere. Of course, they have no more small Spydercos.

Instead, they have this really pretty knife by Columbia River Knife and Tool. I’ve seen this flippy little knife before. It kind of scares the bejesus out of me, like I’m going to cut my hand open. In fact, I am thinking of the shorter version when the salesman tells me that it’s being discontinued because too many people have cut themselves trying to open and close the knife. Ooooh-kay. Nevermind then. How much again for the regular knife? $59.99 with 40% off? I’m totally thinking this would make a really nice gift for a good friend who goes camping with me. But what, there is only one of the serrated blades left. Oh well, I guess it’s mine.

Total damage was $83.03.

I know. I didn’t need a knife, nor a pen. But see Mapgirl is a serious shopper and all sales are final. So I really know how to blow a budget big time and there will be no buyer’s remorse returning for me. I’m just lucky they were out of white LED Photons or there would be two sitting in my purse right now. (Highly recommended for your keychain for safety! Get one for every woman you care about, with a can of pepper spray. I’m not kidding.)

And all I was really shopping for was maybe some heels and a new shirt. I guess I’m just not that girly. I’d rather buy nice tools than nice shoes even if both have utility. I just think I’ll get more use out of the tools.

ps- Korea just won over Togo! GO RED DEVILS!

I want a TV.

No, I **really** want a TV.
And Cable.
And ESPN2 with live games.
I will have to be satisfied with installing TVUPlayer at home on my PC.

I am immune to Addidas and Nike ads because I do not like running. Soccer on TV doesn’t make me run out at buy things. In fact, neither do Red Sox, Red Wings, or Flyers games.

However, those silly Guinness ads make me thirsty.

Brilliant!

Greetings! Posting will remain light over the next 3 weeks due to personal reasons. Family, vacations, work are all conspiring to make me a poor blogger. I’ve burned through a lot of cash and will be spending out the wazoo as I go to three weddings all requiring over 50 miles of travel.

Currently on my mind are cutting back this month’s savings contribution so that I can have more funds available for wedding/travel expenses. It’s always best to pay in cash for these things.

I am also contemplating further CD laddering as I do not want to spend away the Emergency Basket of Cash I am trying to save. Most of the Save-O-Meter funds are in CD’s right now. That’s the only reason I haven’t taken all the money and paid down my credit cards. One of those CD’s is expiring soon. I am contemplating renewing it and making a true ladder of CD’s so that I have one expiring every month for 6 continuous months. I know that locks stuff up in the event of a real emergency, but money runs right through my fingers and I fear that I will spend it if I keep it truly liquid.

What do you do? Do you keep a set of cash very liquid or do you save it in a manner that does not allow you to access it easily?

“Taxes, they do take a bite.” - Raising Arizona

Kay at Don’t Mess with Taxes debuts the new Carnival of Taxes!

It’s a monthly carnival and I think it’s a pretty good idea since everyone . I really liked the Mauled Again post about Lynn Swann’s cockamamie tax plan for PA, my homestate. I really don’t need it to end up like California. Now if VA would only reassess every three years like PA does instead of annually, I’d be a happy camper.

ps - Can anyone verify the quote above? I used to receive my direct deposit paystub at work and my cubemate would say that to me and laugh. He swore it was from that movie, but I haven’t seen the film in years.

Money smells. No, really. It’s a pee-yoo stink to high heaven of sweaty palms and B.O. I always wash my hands after counting wads of the stuff. $10K of cash really overpowers in the small back office of our gas station. At least I was working there in the winter when it stank less.

Recently I was peering into the bathroom of a friend. There were several bottles of perfume there. I commented on the vanity or paranoia my friend must have to spritz themselves with posh perfume all the time. The reply was that every single bottle was a gift from a family member. Honestly, I couldn’t see the point of such a useless gift unless they were trying to say something about personal hygiene.

Do you wear CK One? JLo’s perfume? That godawful stench of Paris Hilton? (ick, I can’t believe I just mentioned that hideous crow in my blog.) Why?

Sure I love nothing better than sniffing my friend’s shirt on the escalators in the Boston subway on the way to church Easter morning. He was wearing Polo Crest that day and I will never forget it. (Especially since I went to a Harvard Law party the night before and actually HAD FUN.)

I prefer fresh flowery scents. In fact the cheapest perfume is one I make myself. It’s easier than mixing a cocktail.

Order essential oils from some place like Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs or Tenzing Momo. Get a spritzer/atomizer, a small funnel and distilled water. Fill the spritzer with a little bit of oil, and fill the rest of it with water. Spritz away. I use a small cobalt glass bottle instead of a spritzer.

There are more complicated kinds of ways of doing this involving oils and alcohol. But the nice people at Tenzing Momo explained to me that really all you need is a bit of water to thin out the oil.

Lately I’m wearing violets and vanilla. I shake up the bottle and dab a little behind the ears and on the wrists on my way out the door. All in all, it cost me $20.18 at Tenzing Momo for all the supplies. I went with true vanilla oil, which is more expensive than other vanilla oils, violet oil, a cobalt glass bottle and special funnel top. The good thing is that when I run out of oil, I will have two more perfume bottles I can fill with anything I want. Oh, that is also the price without shipping since I was at Pike Place Market in person last year. I will easily have enough perfume for two years. Not too shabby when you see that most perfumes at the mall are 40 bucks.

Yippee! I just won a copy of

It’s the first contest at NCN Network and I was lucky to win.

If you aren’t familiar with NCN Network, please click the circle icon on the right. It’s a nice website of supportive PFBloggers all trying to stay on track with their financial goals. Even though I keep my own Save-O-Meter, I like being in a virtual support group. Some of my favorite PFBloggers were introduced to me through the network and I will probably continue with the network after my current goal closes.