401K... Got 19 Thousand Dollars?
I had my first day of work yesterday, but it was just an orientation thing where you fill out a bunch of forms and hear about how great it is to work at the place you've already decided to work at. It went along alright though, and now I have to make some decisions regarding how much money I w ant to put aside for retirement, and how much I want to invest in company stock, and how much I just want to keep for myself. At my last job I put none into retirement stuff and as a result I had enough saved up on my own after a year to stay unemployed for about 9 months. It would be pretty nice to get a 9 month vacation at the end of every year of work, but I should probably try to look at retirement as a longer vacation that you get to take at the end of 30 years. It's a hard view to take when you're staring down the long end of 30 years, and sure I'll probably have plenty of different jobs before my course is run, but someone keeps telling me to "live for today" and "Don't save up your money for when you get old, it's not worth it.". Actually, My Great Aunt said to not save up the money for when you get old, but she is about 90 years old and has been smoking since she was 14 or so with no tobacco related health concerns. By all rights she shouldn't have had to save money for when she got old since she probably never could have expected to get old, but she did and good for her I say. Still, the band "Pennywise" tells me I should live for today, and when you're making important decisions about investing in your future, I think it's important to consult Southern California Punk bands circa 1995. You have to find someone whose opinion you can trust.
OK, Gotta go to my first day of real-work. Wish me luck, out-loud, wherever you are.
