Last year on all but a memory now, but one of things you can do is to still contribute to your Traditional IRA, Roth IRA, or SEP.  You have until April 15 to contribute the remainder of your annual contribution amount.

For your both your traditional or Roth IRA you can contribute $5000 and, if you are 50 or older, you can add an additional $1000.  You must have earned income equal to or more than your contribution.

Finally, if you are married you can contribute the maximum amount for you and your spouse – regardless of whether your spouse works as long as you meet the earned income amount.

There are income limits as to whether you can contribute.  Check those out first, but take advantage of the April 15 window as long as you are at the step to invest.

This year has started with a bang.  Several of the folks I have spoken with over the last couple of weeks have shared this statement with me, ” we are so glad we had an emergency fund…”  You see, the unexpected happened to them, but instead of them standing there wondering what they will do they had an emergency fund that allowed them to better manage the situation that they found themselves in.

No one, absolutely no one, like to experience an emergency.  However, whether we like them or not  - they occur.  They can be anything – a broken pipe, an appliance that died, a family emergency that required immediate travel – who knows what it will be.  The only thing that I know, for sure, is that they are going to happen.

Having an emergency fund in place will not prevent emergencies from happening, but that emergency fund will lessen the blow.  Having the fund equips you to fight the battle more securely than if you had no idea what you were going to do.

What does an emergency fund buy you?  Not security and that’s for sure.  The emergency fund will buy you peace in knowing you are ready to take the hit if the hit comes your way.

Many of you have decided that this is the year you are going to break away.  You have survived over the last couple of years when everyone was telling you that we were all on the verge of financial collapse.  This year you have decided to make a difference.  Can I suggest that you need to get past the “surviving” and focus on “THRIVING”!!

You have been affected in so many ways – higher costs, too much debt, unexpected emergencies, and maybe even the loss of income.  Whatever it has been, it is time to thrive.

How are you going to do that?  With a plan.  Your plan has to be simple, yet strong enought to make you taking bigger and bigger steps to thrive.

It may start off slow, but if you work it your plan will help you thrive.  It will never happen if you do not get it going and reach a little further.

Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, used to tell us to set “stretch goals”.  Goals are great, but setting those that cause us to stretch a little further will challenge, motivate, and equip you to really thrive in 2011.

Are you ready to thrive?  If not, what’s holding you back?

Since the first of this new year I have met several people who have just quit.  They have quit different things, but one things stands out in each one – a defeated spirit.

The most pitiful one was a man who had given up on the job hunt.  According to him, no one wanted him.  All he had to offer was what he had to offer.  Since no one was taking him from the selection pool, he had decided that he was done.  ”There is nothing else I can do to prove to them I can do the job.”

Never once did this man ever say that he had went out to do something to sharpen his skills.  Did he learn a new trade?  Did he learn new software programs?  Did he offer to work for free to show prospective employers his abilities?  No, he could not share anything positive.

When I asked him about starting his own business his response was, “who would buy from me at my age”?  My thought was more like who would buy from you when all they see is defeat.

What is going on in your life?  Finances, employment, relationships, direction???  What are you doing to move ahead?   What are you doing to plow through the obstacles that are in front of you?

You will never get through the issues unless you determine that you will.  All of us, at some point, experience roadblocks that get in our way.  It is difficult to muster the strength, energy, and fortitude to knock down those things that get in our way, but you will only be successful when you do.

I am not a John Callipari fan at all.  However, I did see a quote he recently gave as a result of the current state of his Kentucky Wildcat basketball team.  He said, “The only good news I can tell you: only a crisis brings about change…”  True, how true.

Is your crisis going to bring about change or have you decided to quit?

l meet many people who just do not know if they can really change their current direction and head in a more positive direction with their finances.  In many of those cases, these people are comfortable living in the same state they are in.  They fail to realize that, with the right change(s), they can turn things around and life can be much more rewarding in so many ways.

Are you one of those people?  What are you missing out on?

1. Harmony – Peace within the family and marriage when you know that you are on the right page, the right plan, and seeing the right results.  Marital harmony is priceless!
2. Solid Financial Future – Making the right changes now can help you move into the financial life that so many only dream of.   Looking to the future and seeing now that you are making the best decisions and those decisions are preparing our for your future.
3. Security – Money does not buy security.  In fact, nothing buys security but it is more secure knowing that you have a plan that works, you build, and leads you down the right path making the right decisions to take you where you need to go.  Can you imagine making a 3000 mile trip with no map or GPS unit and having never been there before?
4. A Legacy – Your children are learning from you whether you recognize it or not.  Their financial future, in many ways, is set on a course of your current direction and whether you make the correct choices on how you handle money.  Based upon where you are now, what will their financial situations look like when they are your age?
5. Freedom – Yes, freedom from the bondage that has a hold of you right now.  I recently told my Sunday School class that I always had wanted to start my own business.  The fear I experienced that prevented me from stepping out was a direct result to the bondage I had with financial debt.

Where are you?  What are you missing out on?

Is there really a difference?  Debt is debt!  Most people do not see it like that and refer to non-mortgage debt as bad debt.  They believe that having a mortgage is good debt and it is ok to have that kind of debt load.  Some will even lump in vehicle debt as being OK too.  Not me.

Yes, I will agree that most people are going into debt to purchase a house.  That is a given.  However, many buy the wrong house because they can borrow money to do it.  To some degree, that has had an affect on our current economic state.

Whether it is a bigger house because we can afford the payment, borrowing to make an investment, or just keeping up with the Jones – mortgage debt should not be considered good debt.  No debt is good debt.

Regardless, carrying a mortgage is no fun.  You should strive to pay that thing off as fast you can.  When you do, then you can truly say you are a “homeowner” and potentially be debt free!!