You’re doing laundry, pulling jeans pockets inside out and throwing coins and lint into a jar on the dryer. Is that your idea of saving for the future? Lint doesn’t spend, and those coins won’t add up very quickly unless you have a plan. What if your plan was to pay your piggy bank first?

The fortunate ones, get a paycheck, and it goes quickly. It provides for necessities: food, shelter, clothing and transportation. And the not so necessary: cell phones, Internet, entertainment and lattes. Even though unexpected expenses are a sure thing, an emergency fund is usually an afterthought.

Right now, decide how much you can afford to save from every incoming dollar. Maybe it’s ten cents. Make arrangements to have 10% deducted from every check you receive and direct deposited it into a savings account. Pay your piggy bank first and then forget about it. A promise, a plan and a prayer is all you need to get the financial security you deserve.

A Different Road

The road of change is not well-lit;
it's the dark corner of the mall parking lot,
way in the back, by the dumpsters.
It is that blind turn on the highway,
the one you take surface streets to avoid.

The road to change hurts,
alternately slippery,
thorny and up-hill both ways,
uncomfortable, brutal, mean.
Also, necessary.

The trickiest part is starting.
The trickiest part is never stopping.
I give You my hand, my hope, my promise.
Let's take the first step together.

"How would more financial security empower you?"