Step 2: Spend Wisely. Save Wildly.

Leonard McCracken

I saw a headline called View of Retirement at 107 a few days ago. It's about Leonard McCracken, who has been living in retirement since about 1969. The article explains how he has done it in great details, but the key points are:

Thrift
Real Estate Investments
Use Debt Well
Work Even When Jobs Are Hard to Find
Save and Invest Conservatively
Stay Healthy

I understand that being thrifty can be extremely difficult to do for many people since credit cards are so easy to apply. You can buy all kinds of stuff you don't need with no money up front. When I finally paid off my credit card debt, I wanted to put the money for my monthly payment into a savings account. Not only I wanted to put it in a savings account, I wanted a savings account that's not easily accessible. I found ING Direct Orange Savings. They don't have branches all over the place, so I wouldn't be able to just go to an ATM to withdraw cash. Additionally, I was also offered a $25.00 bonus to open a savings account with a minimum balance of $250.00.

The bonus is not automatic. In order to get the $25.00 bonus, you either need to have a bonus coupon or have an existing ING Direct account holder email you a referral link. You MUST use that referral link to open the account in order to get the bonus. A friend of mine jumped the gun and opened a savings account through ING website after I told him about the bonus. He didn't realize that I had to email him a referral link first, so he wasn't able to get the bonus. I have been an ING Orange Saver since November 25, 2003, and I never had any issue with ING. By putting the money far away, I can't make impulse purchases. They have never ever charged me a fee for anything. One time I messed up in making a deposit transfer from my checking account when there wasn't enough money in the checking account. ING didn't charge me anything for insufficient fund. The deposit simply didn't take place. That was all.

If you decided to start saving like I did, and ING Direct looks good to you, email me at squirrelliving@gmail.com to get a referral link for your bonus. I do not work for ING. I am just sharing my personal experience on what worked for me. It may work for you as well. You will have to decide.