Often, young workers think, “Retirement? I’m much too young to think about that …”

Do you hear yourself saying, "I have plenty of time to save" or "I can do it later…"? Well, that's the voice of procrastination, a persistent, relentless pest that can easily steal time and money from you. 

How much of your spending goes to tasks that aren’t necessarily too difficult or time consuming for you to do, but that you just habitually pay someone else to do? Doing some basic projects yourself can save you some money and leave you with new skills and accomplishments to be proud of.

My life is consistently 1 to 5 percent cheaper because I use credit cards. For many, credit cards evoke negative emotions. We all have heard it, “Credit cards are evil.” And we’ve seen the torrent of people abandoning credit cards in fear of debt. Their fear is not baseless; banks want to make money, and they can be clever about it. Some people fall into the trap, but avoiding the trap can be simple. Let me tell you how.

Two of the most popular resolutions for 2012 may center on losing weight and saving money. But, is it possible to save money while losing weight? According to this Yahoo! Finance article, which quotes co-author of "Small Steps to Health and Wealth" Barbara O'Neill, shedding the pounds may pay off — a great reason to consider getting healthier this year.

At the start of each new year people make resolutions to gain or lose something, e.g., “I resolve to lose x amount of weight, by x date.” They may even resolve to reach a certain amount in general savings by a certain date. But you rarely hear resolutions to save specifically for a comfortable retirement, yet it’s something most of us would say we desire.

If you got $3,000 dollars in the mail, what would you do with it?

Going into my sophomore year of college, I was very excited to live off campus. I felt independent. I had my own car and an apartment; I had it all and thought living on my own was going to be great. When reality hit me, I realized that what I actually had was a lot of responsibility.

No matter how much you love your job, you will want to retire someday.  To counter your future dependence on Social Security payments, you have probably (hopefully) already begun contributing to an employer-sponsored retirement plan or some other retirement investment option with a certain percentage of your pre- or after-tax dollars.

A thought occurred to me a few nights ago: “Why am I paying $100 to $150 per month for cable TV and Internet access?” Immediately following this thought I began calculating the costs over a 1-year period, then 5 years, 10 years, etc. It could add up to a lot of money!

On my 18^th birthday, I woke up with a different feeling and early in the morning I was chanting, “I’m 18, I’m 18!”. I felt grown! It didn’t matter that my dad’s responsibility speech went in one ear and out the other. My mom even tried to shush me but that didn’t work either. Finally she told me to go get the mail. You know I couldn’t say no to that. So I got the mail.

If you’re looking for good deals, and you don’t mind buying used items, the summer season can offer a great shopping option for you — yard sales.

While snowed in during last February’s historic snow storm on the East Coast, my wife and I went through our CD collection. We found CDs that we either had not listened to in years or CD cases that we never even cracked open.

Even if you can retire young because your finances are in order, a good question to ask yourself is “Should I retire young?”

My mother is nuts about coupons. I remember my Dad opening up the refrigerator, its door lined with baked goods. He’d say, “I tell you I like the nut cake and look at what you do!” My mom would reply, “Those were half-off with my coupons.”  I suspect they were never eaten.

Jet skiing, sky diving, snorkeling… Most people would agree that these are not activities typically associated with retirement.

Looking for a way to get some old items you don’t need or want anymore out of your home? Selling them in a yard sale can get them out of your way — and give you some extra money at the same time.

Ever raced against a friend when you were younger or even in gym class… just waiting for someone to say “Go!” so you can take off? Well here it is…“Go!”

Budgeting is to saving what dough is to pizza. You could have a no-dough pizza and how unappetizing does that sound?! Well, saving without budgeting wouldn’t be nasty, but it would be pretty darn tough. So mastering this budgeting thing is pretty important to really saving money.

The desire to have just one more thing, the urge to put off getting your consumption under control until some other day, the temptation in all directions… Sounds like dieting, right? Well trying to save money can be a lot like dieting. And approaching new financial goals like a spending diet might help you get — and keep — your spending down.

Coupons have evolved from special newspaper sections or advertisements you received in the mail once a week to special online coupon sites you had to know about and remember to check, to daily deals that come right to your email inbox and can be redeemed in a few clicks. It’s easier than ever to take advantage of great deals on all kinds of consumer products — but does that actually help you save money?

But first you’ve got to choose the right home inspector to do the job. It could mean the difference between a couple hundred dollars and thousands spent on maintenance right after you move in — as I found out with a bad leak that my home inspector missed.

Two months before I graduated from college, I realized that my dream job had yet to surface. Even though I was pounding the pavement, I was finding it difficult to land the job I wanted.

In a recent comic in The New Yorker, a couple stands in a completely bare room staring at a small, shiny item on the floor. The man says proudly, “I’ve simplified my life by converting all of my possessions into one gold brick.”

I consider myself a risk taker. I drink milk as much as a week and a half after the sell date. I cut the stickers off my mattress (yes, the ones that say “under penalty of law…”). I have even been known to ride a scooter without a helmet, which I realize is like driving a car without doors and a seatbelt (at least that’s what my mother says).

When my wife and I go shopping for our 17-month-old daughter, we don't go to major department stores first. Heavens no! We head to the thrift store for the best bargains around. Now before you turn up your nose, read on.

When you’re a little kid, saving for anything can seem like an impossible feat. But if you grew up in a home like mine — where money didn’t grow on trees — you learned how to make it possible.

If you’re like many Americans, by early November (or even as soon as the trick-or-treaters go back home on Halloween), you start to get excited about Thanksgiving.

Today is the day that you will develop an action plan to move your life forward.  So, grab a sheet of paper and let's begin doing this fun, mind-stretching exercise.

If money was no object, what would you do, have, or become?

Have you ever wondered, “What if we all stopped buying holiday gifts for each other?” Probably not something you’d say out loud, but it might be what some people think when the holidays roll around.

The other day I was going through my fridge looking for the items I needed to make a sandwich and realized that I had two completely full jars of mayonnaise. One of them was dated December 2009 and the other May 2010. Gross!

If you’re looking for ways to cut back on spending and save money, buying in bulk will almost always do the trick.

I am going to do some revisionist writing for the next paragraph. I was taught that the Golden Rule was: “Do unto others as you want done to you.”  Well that’s all well and good, but I want to repurpose the rule for another idea.