Go invest in your 401(k).  Now.  I work with money for the elderly, and trust me...  You don't want to rely on social security to keep you afloat when you're older.  Even if it's still around, it'll be a pittance compared to what you are used to living like.

Financial advisers say that you should be investing 10% of your income into a 401(k) to prepare for retirement.  The great thing about investing in a 401(k) is that it's pre-tax.  That means that you get to KEEP more of the money you've EARNED!  If you earn $10/hour and invest $2000 a year into a 401(k), you get to keep about $350 more of your hard-earned money, assuming you're taxed 17.5%.  And a lot of companies match your 401(k) contributions.  That's FREE MONEY your company wants to give you!  And the best part is, if you start when you're 25 and put 10% of your paycheck into retirement, you could retire a millionaire.  I don't know about you, but when I retire, I don't want to have to worry about anything.

Another super-cool thing I learned about recently is the Roth IRA.  With this thing, you do get taxed on the money you put IN, but unlike the 401(k) or the traditional IRA, you don't get taxed on the money you take OUT.  That means that all that interest you've been accumulating over the years?  You get to have that back, tax-free.  And like I said, that interest can compound very very quickly.

Why would you want to retire to poverty?  Don't you dream about a condo on the lake, mojito in hand and an RV in the driveway, ready to take you to Palm Springs whenever the whim strikes you?  Or would you rather be one of these poor ladies you see wheeling their little bag carrier down the street with their groceries, wearing a coat they got three years ago from the Salvation Army, heading home to their tiny little unheated apartment because they live on the fixed income that social security provides?

Think about it.  Then go to your HR department first thing Monday morning and find out how to sign up for your 401(k).

I went to get the mail yesterday and found both a sample RSVP card from a friend of mine who was married last summer, and a sample invitation I had ordered off etsy.com.  The invitation is $3.75 apiece online, but I figure that my future mother-in-law and I could make them for less.  They're very simple, and even my fiance said they were pretty cool...  And thus far, he's been pretty unimpressed by most everything wedding-related.  Though he was kinda excited about cake-tasting.    Has been talking about just buying a sheet cake and eating it ever since.  Good thing we just got an exercise bike for the apartment!

Anyway, the way I figure, if we're already dealing with invitations, we're doing pretty good.  Six months to go!

The guest list is finalized, the Save-the-Date cards sent, the cake ordered...  Everything is coming together!!  Six months to go and I'm MARRIED!

I dreamed last night about my wedding for the first time.  It was the day before The Big Day, and at one point I threw a glass at my fiance (something I would never do) and at another, I screamed for literally two minutes straight out of sheer frustration.

Sheesh.

Exhausted from being up too early and doing too much, we lay in bed, my head on his chest.  I reach up and feel my pulse to discover that, indeed, our hearts are beating in time with one another.

Life is beautiful