FeelING Fiscal

Transitioning from beer chugging college frat boy to responsible young professional has been a lengthy process.

I have attempted to tackle as many issues as I could by prioritizing and conquering one goal at a time.

In the past few weeks, my paramount concern has been my present and future financial stability. Shifting from a meager college budget to a more respectable professional salary has raised many new worries that I had neglected to anticipate. I want the best quality of life possible for myself and my future family for the long term. And I fear the trappings that come with lifestyle inflation as well as drowning in student loan debt.

It's a great feeling to finally have the funds to purchase the gadgets that I have always fawned over. Not to mention the satisfying sense of independence that comes with acquiring the means to pay my own bills. However, I know that if I focus on my financial well-being at an early age, my future stability can be well in hand significantly earlier than my peers. I have made a plan to carefully analyze my spending for the next few months and determine a reasonable budget that fits well into my lifestyle.

With the economy in such a dire state today, Bree and I have been lucky to acquire stable jobs with highly competitive salaries immediately following our college graduation. It would be foolish for us to squander such a blessing by not properly managing our assets and neglecting to plan for the future.

Conversely, we would be equally stupid to restrict ourselves to an excessively stringent budget at such a youthful age. We are fortunate to be earning such competitive salaries and should enjoy all of the opportunities that this financial freedom affords us. By roving through some of the best and most realistic financial blogs the web has to offer, we have been able to contrive a goal-oriented action plan with realistic ambitions. We are still learning how to save for the future and form a stable financial base. But we have taken steps to ensure that, sooner rather than later, we will not have to be concerned about money.

As the initial step of my current financial plan, I have overcome my own inertia and appetite for procrastination and opened a high-yield savings account at ING Direct. It is surprisingly exciting to finally have an account where I can earn some real money and still have the freedom to save for emergencies, vacations, and large purchases. This method follows in the footsteps of Robert Pagliarini in The Six-Day Financial Makeover when he advocates saving for goals in several targeted accounts rather than in one lump account.

What was once just a plain investment account is now a dream — a real goal you are committed to achieving. Account statements have been transformed from boring pieces of paper into exciting treasure maps!

I have never been one to gloat, nor am I someone that counts my chickens before they hatch (I rarely even count them after they hatch), but this a true accomplishment which I am very proud of myself for. It feels great to accomplish one's goals (even if those goals are merely stepping stones in the path to greater achievements).