Recession, anyone?

I have been really struggling to keep my head above water ever since my roommate moved out. The bills keep coming in… dentist, car repair, mulch, etc. Gas is hovering around $4/gallon again, and everything else seems more and more expensive too. Ugh! I did decide to bundle my phone service with my cable provider, so that will save me about $40 a month. I need to figure out how to make more money and cut what I spend, so I will be devoting some time to figuring that out this weekend. I have tons of stuff I could be selling on eBay–collectibles and such–I need to get cracking! When is the economy going to start looking better??

Few Gen Xers think they’ll fully retire

Came across this tidbit in yesterday’s paper:

Only 31 percent of Generation Xers believe they will ever be able to fully retire, according to a survey commissioned by Scottrade and BetterInvesting. The study shows Gen Xers, people ages 27 to 42, are the most stressed group financially right now. Among other findings, the study shows 40 percent have saved less than $25,000 for retirement, and 21 percent say they haven’t started saving.

Gen X is taking action, however, according to the study. Compared with counterparts in other age groups, Gen X is saving more and spending less.

Luckily, I’m among the 39 percent who have begun saving for retirement (yep, with my very first job out of college) and who have more than $25K in retirement savings. I think I’ll be able to fully retire at some point; hopefully I won’t be 70!