Guest Blog: Nick Bradfield, Founder, Divvy Investments

How many of you know Feb 27 kicks off America Saves Week? (crickets)  I didn’t either until my good friend Sammy Rabbit told me about it.

Perhaps we should be more aware, particularly when it comes to preparing for the future.  According to an article in USA Today, seven out of 10 Americans have less than $1,000 in savings.  Gulp!

The days of pensions and gold watches for 30 years of service are long gone with the dinosaurs.  Social security may or may not be around in the future.  Even the military is getting away from its pension program and transitioning to a self-directed retirement!  It is more important now than ever to create good saving habits.

As a parent of a -6-year-old, a husband, and a small business owner, planning and preparation are important to me.  Creating good habits to nurture those plans is critical.  Unfortunately for me (to quote Garfield), “I’m a creature of habit.  All of the bad ones!”  However, luckily for me, my 6-year-old son is like a little sponge. He loves using all the information he absorbs to “teach” me how to make good decisions.  We casually talk about money in the grocery store.  It takes about an hour longer than it should to run and get groceries, but it is worth it.  It gives us a chance to discuss budgets, money, quality decision making and how Mama’s handwriting is impossible to read.  Does that say broccoli or dancing llama on the grocery list?  It gives him a chance to learn about all of those things as we chat.  Then he helps me make decisions about things like where to find a dancing llama.

Feb 27 kicks off America Saves Week.  Let’s make a habit of making good decisions, whether it saving for the future, investing time educating children or locating the dancing llama aisle at the grocery store!