The beginning...

A few years ago I came to the conclusion that I needed to be financially secure. I feel that there are way too many things outside of my control and I need to be prepared to handle most of what comes up. I worry a lot...mostly about stupid things like pipes freezing or getting hit by a car, but one thing I never want to worry about is not having the necessities to avoid any suffering.

At scary times like these it is critical to have some money saved up. I could lose my job in an instant, and so can millions of other people. The economy and job situation is bad and it sounds like it is not getting any better any time soon.

I realize that I am in pretty good financial shape compared to many people. I've been employed at my current employer in the financial services industry for about ten years - I'm 32 years old by the way. I've been lucky enough to have had this job and to have saved up about $68K in my taxable accounts and another $146K in retirement. To some of you I realize that this is a lot...but to me, it is not even close to be enough. What if I do get laid off for a year or two and cannot replace even half my income? My nice little nest egg will begin to shrink..and that will kill me to watch all of my hard saved money vanish.

Introducing this blog. It begins now, with about $214K in savings and will end (or transform) when I hit $1M. Why 1M? Well, it sound cool for starters. Plus, with my current mortgage costs and other expenses, I can "survive" on a small 4% return - $40,000 per year -yes, I realize inflation kicks into the equation at some point so ideally I'd have $2M, but one step at a time!

My primary blog objective is not to rub my money in your face (money does smell good by the way), but to provide you updates on reaching my goal and to also help you get started or help you along the way. I also want to provide a bit of insight into the current market situation, and teach you something perhaps. For me to get where I am now, I had to give up some stuff- but as you'll learn not as much as you might expect. I want to share with you my ideas...and my goals. Let's get started!!