Saving for the Future - Don't Pull a Britney Spears

Okay, I will admit to being a Britney Spears fan. I have always liked her, and probably always will. I am not one to gossip...oh who am I kidding...but I saw on Good Morning America today that Ms. Spears makes $737,000 a month, as disclosed in court documents (I assume having to deal with all of her custody battle dealings).

According to these court documents, Britney allegedly spends $102,000 on entertainment and $16,000 on clothing each month. When I saw these figures, my jaw dropped. However, when I sat back and thought about it, when it comes to the actual percentage of her earnings, she probably spends the same on clothing and entertainment that you and I do.

So let's crunch the numbers...Britney spends 2% of her income on clothing and nearly 14% on entertainment...really, not that bad. But what I was shocked by was the amount Ms. Spears spends on savings and investments. Get ready for this one...zero, zilch, zippo, nada, nothing!!!

I know that I alone contributed to her $737,000 yesterday by buying her new CD, Britney Spears - Blackout(which is pretty good, by the way), but come on woman, you aren't going to make nearly 3/4 of a million dollars a month forever. And it flabbergasts me that she doesn't have a money manager to plan for her. My hope is that she just didn't disclose the proper information for these court documents. Although, I suppose that could get her into even more legal trouble.

My point is, and as much as I love Britney, don't follow in her footsteps and not plan for the future. Make sure that you are contributing to your 401(k) plan or investing in a traditional IRA or Roth IRA. Because even in Britney's defense, at 65, she will still get more money for a crotch shot than you and I ever will.

Just some food for thought...have a great weekend!

Keep the Change

My husband and I just signed up for a new program through our bank, Bank of America, called Keep the Change. My husband uses his ATM card more than I do (I use our credit card to get miles...really, I spend so much on the credit card just so I can get to Tahiti some day!) so we have enrolled just his card so far.
This is how the program works. You purchase something, let's say the total price is $15.65. Bank of America rounds that up to $16.00 and that is what is debited to your card. The remaining 35 cents is then placed in your savings account. For the first 3 months, Bank of America matches your savings 100%. And when the three months are over, Bank of America continues contributing 5% a year, every year. This reward is paid annually to your savings account.

Of course, when you look at the amounts and percentages, they aren't "retire early to Hawaii" kind of figures, but every little bit helps. Especially if you are like me and have a tougher time saving. If you don't bank at Bank of America but are interested, ask your bank if they have a similiar program.

Photo courtesy of BankofAmerica.com