Retirement is How Far Away?

I like dealing with money. I like helping people come up with ways to cut their budget and save and spend wisely. I like balancing the checkbook, and I like seeing my savings grow and my debt decrease. In fact, back in high school, I thought I'd someday get a job in a bank, although that never happened. What I don't like is dealing with investments. I understand the basics - what mutual funds are, bonds, conservative versus aggressive investments, etc. - but I don't understand enough to make really intelligent decisions about where to invest my retirement savings, and I don't find it fascinating enough to do a whole lot of study about it. So I've kind of played it safe, so I thought, with my retirement funds. I have a rollover from a previous job and a current 401(k) for which I'm responsible. Not that there's much in there, but right now with the state of Social Security, it's all I got.

I've not been happy with either one, really, for a while. The 401(k) from work only gets a 1% match, but hey, every little bit helps, right? After a few years of not doing well (like everyone else), I'm finally seeing a little growth. The rollover I had invested in an IRA in a local bank and then invested it with a group that was represented by some folks from my church. The folks from church I trusted; turns out it was their superiors that I shouldn't have. In the first year, I lost nearly 50% of my money. I understand that this is during the time that the stock market was not doing well; what I didn't know is that the fellow at the main office responsible for the actual investing was a thief. Whether that contributed to my losses, I'll never know. Anyhow, my representative moved, and for the last 1-1/2 years, I've had no one to contact regarding my account.

So it's time to take charge. This evening I met with a Dave Ramsey ELP (endorsed local provider) to get my money (and my future!) in a more secure place. Hopefully there won't be any problems with the rollover transfer, and I've already made the suggested changes to my 401(k). This is a little more aggressive approach than I was doing on my own, but I'm comfortable with it, and I now have a local financial planner to contact. Now if only the stock market will cooperate! haha