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11/30/10 1:44 P

I don't know about long term savings unless you are talking about 401k's or IRA's. I have both. The 401k is through my employer and my IRA was a rollover from an employer that I put with Ameriprise. I spent down my IRA a couple of years ago and just got it back up from a pension that was terminated so at least I have some retirement started again. With the 401k, the money is taken out before taxes so I don't miss it out of my paycheck. Check with your employer to see if they offer anything like that or even with an independent broker that is recognizable (Ameriprise or Fidelity or ING) to get you started.

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11/30/10 1:10 P

Here's a good online site. Hope it helps.

www.learnvest.com/pages/homepage/popularTo
pics/Investing

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11/30/10 12:46 P

Good start on getting your finances in order. I use ING Direct for my long term savings account. The money that is withdrawn from my paycheck goes in there every 2 weeks and I send a little extra when I have it. I have found that if I can't see it or touch it I save more.

Check out ING. Good luck and I know you will do a fine job at reaching your goals.

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11/30/10 12:27 P

Hey all,

So money, savings accounts, investments, all this junk just confuses the hell out of me to the point that I don't want to deal with it...but I do.

I'm in a point right now where one of the main priorities in life is to get my financial health back in order. I've created a spreadsheet to divide my expenses and budget my spending. I have a checking account just for my bills and those are deducted every month, I am working with a consumer credit agency to get my credit card debt squared away, and a separate checking account for spending. I have also linked a regular savings account where money is automatically pulled in and that I can easily access for emergencies (car breaks down, etc.)

Now I'd like to start an retirement and long term savings account to start saving for a home. I'm 30 and hope to own in about 5 years and don't plan on retiring for another 35. Does anybody have any tips on where I can begin to start looking? I signed up for an investment account that links to one of my checking accounts but they are so confusing and I don't even know what I'm doing.

Any advice you could share would be great.

Thanks,