2010 - The Year to Save

I have a savings account at ING Direct. There was a time when that company offered really great interest rates on savings accounts, and that provided the incentive to transfer money back and forth between my bank account and ING Direct. Granted, being a solely web-based institution, they make those kinds of transactions relatively painless. You just have to be aware that it will take days for the transfer and retrieval of that money.

Now, interest rates aren't great. They are still one of the highest in the business for a straight, liquid, savings account, but interest rates are just really tanking right now.

This morning they sent me an interesting e-mail newsletter. They are looking for stories about saving. In exchange for choosing your story, they will be giving out money towards your savings goals.

This got me thinking. Well, to be fair, I've been thinking about this for the last couple of months. Friends around me are losing their jobs or taking pay cuts. My business is slow, and my employee seems grateful just to have her job, regardless of the fact that her hours have been cut dramatically. The climate is changing in this country.

And it made me think about the generation who lived through the Great Depression. That became a generation of savers. Having lived through some of the toughest times this country has seen, they had learned the hard way to keep an "emergency fund", to pay cash for goods, and not to spend frivolously.

We've all seen where the "buy now pay later" mentality has gotten us. I think we might be moving again towards moderation and saving. At least, I hope so.

This year I'm determined to build my emergency fund. I'm also determined to build a month's buffer that will allow me to breathe a little easier when it's time to pay the bills and will hopefully temper that feeling of living paycheck to paycheck. It's not easy, let me tell you. I'm watching every dollar and dime. But I'm hoping that it will be worth it in the long run. That should the worst happen, and we are forced to live on one income, or god-forbid, no income, that we would have time to take the necessary steps to take care of our family.

2010... The year to save.