MUSIC, RUSTLING NOISES

>> Anna Hennings: Well, 401K and my retirement accounts in general have seen massive dips, massive dips. It's very frustrating, actually. Hey, there. I'm Anna Hennings. I'm 23, single, living in Oakland. I am the editor of womenco.com, a writer for bitchbuzz.com, and in light of the economy, I'm starting to think, can I really do what I want to do? I have to take care of my credit card debt. I want to save up for a family, and I'm wondering, how is it all possible?

MUSIC

>> Sumi Das: Anna Hennings is a typical 20-something who is enjoying her life.

>> Anna Hennings: Hey, girlfriend. Did I tell you I ran into Alex twice over the course of two days last week?

>> Sumi Das: She writes a woman's blog, loves to go shopping...

>> Anna Hennings: Oh, that's nice. It's good.

>> Sumi Das: And of course, hang out with her friends. But lately, apprehension and uncertainty has cast a shadow over her general well-being.

>> Anna Hennings: I kind of feel like the whole recession is giving us low morale; like, we don't have faith in the system anymore.

>> Do you remember Emily?

>> Anna Hennings: And it kind of makes me sad because I want to feel free to go do what I want to do, and I feel like the recession is holding me back from doing that because I'm hyper-aware of: I should be saving my money, I should be saving my money.

>> Sumi Das: Since the economy went into recession, Anna has started cutting back.

>> Anna Hennings: Financially, I'm just not spending as much. I think it's really made me think more about the future of my finances. Zoe...

>> Sumi Das: In many respects, Anna is dealing with financial pressures that many twenty-year-olds are also facing. How can she save for her future, but also do the things she wants to do today?

>> Anna Hennings: knock, knock Ralph?

>> Sumi Das: To help Anna get a handle on things and plan for the years to come, MoneyWatch.com introduced her to Ralph Latza, a certified financial planner based in San Francisco.

>> Ralph Latza: Before you know it, you're going to be able to have money making money for you.

>> Anna Hennings: Yes!

>> Ralph Latza: I know, it's exciting.

>> Sumi Das: This is a current snapshot of Anna's personal finances. Her salary is 55,000 dollars a year. She has 14,700 dollars saved in the bank. Her debt is 2,000 dollars. And her retirement nest egg, about 8,000 dollars.

>> Ralph Latza: Let me show you where you're going to be going.

>> Sumi Das: Ralph's advice? Anna needs to start saving ten percent of her income every year until her net worth equals her annual salary. This will provide Anna with a solid foundation and help achieve her ultimate goal of home ownership.

>> Anna Hennings: I want my own home, and I like to think I'm not going to make a stupid decision in buying it before I can really afford it. But I want a house. I want to make that investment.

>> Sumi Das: Ralph also has these tips to help Anna secure her financial future. First, she needs to pay down her debt.

>> Ralph Latza: Credit card debt means that you're living beyond your means. And so that's one of the most important thing for all of us to live within our budget.

>> Sumi Das: Second, create a sense of liquidity.

>> Ralph Latza: Liquidity is very important because you have to make decisions for yourself looking forward, not only today.

MUSIC

>> Sumi Das: Third, Anna also needs to do a better job funding her retirement.

>> Ralph Latza: For Anna, part of the advice we gave her was to maximize what she can put away into her 401K account at her office. And for 2009 for Anna that's 16,500 dollars. I also would love her to maximize the Roth deduction as well. That's an additional 5,000 dollars. And then with that, that's when you can take greater risk.

>> Sumi Das: Ralph says by being aggressive now, she's building a cushion for her future and will also be able to draw from it in the event she loses her job.

MUSIC Finally, Ralph believes Anna needs to invest in herself above all else.

>> Ralph Latza: I'm a big believer in education. Oftentimes, employers are looking for somebody with those higher level of degrees and training. And in a w -- it's a way to compensate for the experience that you may not have.

>> Sumi Das: The bottom line: Anna has some work to do to achieve Ralph's objectives. But he's helping her with an important homework assignment.

>> Ralph Latza: One of the projects we've given Anna to see whether she has frivolous spending is to create a budget. So I gave her an assignment to record what her expenses are and where the money goes over the next thirty days.

>> Anna Hennings: Talking to a financial adviser is not something I ever thought I'd be doing at twenty-three.

>> Sumi Das: But she feels like she's on the right path.

>> Anna Hennings: It feels pretty grown-up to know that at this age I'm planning for forty years from now. Zoe, come on. Here, kitty.

>> Sumi Das: For MoneyWatch.com I'm Sumi Das.

MUSIC

==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====

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    jillcurry

    10/25/09 | Report as spam

    RE: Real People: Starting Out in a Recession

    At 23 I was married to my high school sweetheart, finished with a four-year degree in psychology, living in our first home, working for a marine manufacturing company, and putting $2000 per year into my IRA per the government incentive. At 26, we earned a little more money, accumulated equity, bought our second home, and put money in the IRA as scheduled. This continued until a 401-investment option added, so we did this too. Home three through five and savings continued without modification. All of the sudden we are broke. Who took our money? No one asked us to take our money. We did our part in supporting the country, and look at us today. We are barely hanging on. We both received Master degrees in our fields.

    I in particular added a master in education to teach experiential education, and develop environmental education programs aligning state and federal standards with out of the classroom experience. I am a director of development, and quite good at meeting the challenges. The title of director of development includes 12 years in the marine business, opening greater than 30 distributorships west of the Mississippi, achieving the INC. Top 100 for corporate growth. Several years in energy management, specializing in the commercial industry. Fifteen years devoted to land development-incorporating preservation, conservation, recreation, educational programs in the out of doors, construction of energy efficient homes at multiple price points. I am proficient with technology, media, community engagement and support, grant writing, advertising, marketing, management, training, animal husbandry, wildlife, sea to mountain, and soil to skyline knowledge. All acquired by hands-on experience professionally, and personally.
    The smallest community I was involved with consisted of 7200 acres, 4400 homes, 3 million square feet of light industrial and commercial use, a main street with a church and early childhood center written into the master plan. It is successful, and located within minutes of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.

    In September 2008, I was prepared to open a new school in a superior location for easy access to the working family, beginning with infants. The business plan incorporated experiential education available to all students at any age. Suddenly, the money vanished. When I think of the opportunity for the greater community taken away I become numb, for none of this was about me, only for the betterment of the families who live or work within reasonable distance. The experiential educational programs would be student-centered, project-based, agriculture, farm, business development, sales, marketing, communication, and leadership.

    I devoted 15 months to make this happen, and it was well underway. When the money vanished, so did the opportunity. Therefore, I warn the viewers of this video to consider what to do to secure your assets from use and lost by markets that you have no control.

    At 45 with a seven year old doing very well in all of the fields mentioned above, maybe this publisher has the ideal connection for me to continue my vision. I have a great deal of experience and knowledge to give and no one responding to a year of resume submissions to countless organizations.

    There you have it, my story in brief. I made good choices with the best intentions. All suggestions are welcome, except take out a loan and go get another degree.

    May the wind set our sail -
    Jill Curry
    Licensed in Virginia

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