Community Update

By Sarah Cocchimiglio<br><br>Americans may be living longer, but our
retirement plans aren’t keeping up. Which means people are living longer
with smaller bank accounts.<br><br>But Marlene Konkoly will retire at
age 50. How did she do it? She contributes a whopping 45 percent of the
gross annual income she earns as a procurement officer for an automotive
finance company to her retirement—all while owning a home and remaining
debt-free.<br><br>Konkoly is actually well ahead of the retirement savings curve compared to many of her fellow Americans. According to the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/publications/10_ways_to_prepare.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">U.S. Department of Labor</a>,
fewer than half of Americans even know how much money they would need
to retire. And nearly a third of employees who had access to a defined
contribution plan such as a 401(k) did not participate in it.&nbsp;<br><br>“Save at least what your employer matches in your 401(k),” Konkoly said. “It’s like saying no to free money if you don’t.”<br><br>Konkoly,
who lives in Royal Oak, MI, said she started saving at 22—but only
because other people said she should. She saved a mere 2 percent at her
first job out of college. <br><br>“I didn’t think I could afford much. I didn’t have any understanding of savings and how it would affect my future,” she said.<br><br><b>$17,000 in Debt</b><br>At 27, she had $17,000 in credit card debt—but this became a turning point in her financial history.<br><br>“I
made the decision right then to get myself out of debt,” she said. “I
took on extra work where I could. I started to learn how to research
purchases before I bought items, and I began budgeting for the first
time ever. I successfully eliminated my debt five years later."<br><br>Once she was out of credit card debt, Konkoly, who is single, turned her focus to her golden years.<br><br>“I
started to see people around me who simply could not afford to ever
retire,” she said. “I knew I didn’t want to be in that position, so I
started applying the same principles which got me out of debt toward
saving more for retirement.”<br><br><b>How She Got Smart</b><br>Konkoly
decided to get smart: She took graduate classes in personal finance to
understand her portfolio and learn about retirement savings. She reads
books, researches on the Internet and follows blogs about saving and
investing. And she works with a financial adviser she trusts.<br><br>“Just
because I can do it myself doesn’t mean I have to,” Konkoly said.
“Having a professional adviser allows me to focus on other parts of my
life without the time commitment of constantly researching the market.”<br><br><b>Maxing Out Her 401K</b><br>Konkoly
“maxes out” on everything. She contributes the maximum to her
employer’s 401(k), to other retirement investments such as a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rothira.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Roth IRA</a>,
and to her employer’s health savings account. She also has a personal
investment account for everything else except emergencies.<br><br><b>Fitness for $12 a Month</b><br>“My
favorite fitness trainer says, ‘Nothing that is easy is ever going to
change your body,’” Konkoly said. “The same principle applies to
finances. If it’s easy, it won’t move the needle. Yes, it does mean I
have to sacrifice in other areas, and sometimes it makes me
uncomfortable thinking of all the things I can buy with that money, but I
remain focused on my goals to counteract that discomfort.<br><br>”To
really maximize her savings, Konkoly uses coupons, and takes advantage
of loyalty programs, travel miles and credit card points. She streams
television on the Internet rather than paying for cable, and subscribes
to a $12-a-month fitness video on-demand service instead of a gym
membership.<br><br><b>She Pays Herself First</b><br>“I put savings at a higher priority than all of the other creature comforts,” she said.<br><br><b>Her One Splurge</b><br>She
does, however, splurge now and then, and her ultimate passion is
travel. For her 40th birthday last year, she spent 10 days traveling to
Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. She stayed in nothing
but five-star resorts, and spent a total of $1,400 on airfare,
accommodations, meals and train transportation.<br><br>In her
retirement, Konkoly plans to continue to travel the world, and says she
would love to relocate to Sausalito, CA “for the wonderful weather and
gorgeous views of San Francisco Bay.”<br><br><b><i>About this series: </i></b><i>As
part of our Smart Spending reporting, Patch is profiling people across
the country who have found creative ways to save money. Are you an
extreme saver? We want to hear from you!&nbsp;</i><a href="http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1245799/Chase-Blueprint-Mindful-Spending-Campaign" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><i>Share your story here</i></a><i>&nbsp;or in the comments section below.</i><br><br>