Confident about retirement? You may not be ready to retire for another 20 or 30 years or more. Even though that date is decades away saving a small amount that can accrue interest over a long period of time will give you something to live on in your golden years. Employee Benefit Research Institute found in the 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey that only 16% of workers feel that they will be able to have a comfortable retirement. This number has increased 3% over last year, yet most Americans haven’t saved enough money, and don’t know how to plan for retirement. Over half of Americans have $25,000 or less saved.

Retirement money has been cashed out and used prematurely because of joblessness. But too often retirement savings is often considered the annoying clingy friend you lost touch with. You know you need to call and keep in touch, you just don’t feel like it.

Retirement money should be treated like a piggy bank with no stopper. Keep adding to it until it is time to break it open. This doesn’t mean using it as a down payment for a home or for some other purpose. If there is no other choice like a job loss or medical emergency then use it, but retirement has a price.

Unless there is a revolution in the world of and a change in the way people think about long term money plans this could be a big problem.

I like things – nice things like other people do, but I know I don’t want to have to work after I’m 70 unless I want to. Many people come out of retirement or postpone retirement because they have to, not because they want to. Saving a little more and not investing all of the money in one place or type of asset there is a greater chance that there will be some money for retirement.

No calculator can give you the right amount you need to save for retirement. Use the guidelines of saving 10-15% of your annual salary and adjust it to your needs. For every person who has a lot of money to spend in the retirement there are dozens who are barely making ends meet.

Not adequately preparing for retirement seems like a gloom and doom story and it is for some people.

The unemployment rate has officially surpassed the 10% mark.  In actuality, the number is probably much higher considering the unemployment rate doesn’t include people who have been unemployed for a longer period of time and have just given up. There are people who are employed but not earing enough to make ends meet.

If 90% of the labor force is working and sectors such as construction, manufacturing and retail trade are losing the majority of jobs, where will the gains be made? Manufacturing affects the good that can be sold here and abroad.

What about the people who are under the radar and haven’t collected unemployment or are taking time off from their job search. These people that the bureau of Labor Statistics refers to as marginally attached may be seeking employment or are working on a project, volunteering or a money making opportunities.

Even though some sectors may not have people who are unemployed their wages may have decreased such as those who work on commission or tips. The people who are paid in cash for their work may also have noticed a dramatic drop in some of the monies they receive.

An unemployment rate of ten percent doesn’t show the whole picture.

Need to make a costume for a last minute party?

If you have old clothes around the house, you are one step closer to a great costume…

Check out these videos for more ideas!

“Coupons were not in vogue during our period of gluttonous consumption,” said Kit Yarrow, a consumer psychologist in San Francisco and an author of “Gen BuY: How Tweens, Teens and Twenty-Somethings Are Revolutionizing Retail.” “But now that it’s once again cool to be cheap, they’re back.”

Using coupons has always been in vogue with many frugal people. Now people who are considered more affluent are using coupons as well.

Even online retailers are offering coupons for things other than discounts or just free shipping. I made a purchase and found a free coupon for an item, in addition to reduced shipping.

Several coupon sites such as RetailMeNot.com offer coupons sent to you via email. Additionally, there are coupons you can receive via your cell phone.

The super coupon clippers have them organized. Keeping them in your wallet for easy access also works well too. Serious couponers might scoff at those who carry them in their wallets or loose in a bag, but one or two coupons can still help you save big.

Shoppers can take charge when you use coupons. Good deals can be made better with the use of a coupon.