http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...allyTakes.aspx

I found a great article on retiring by 50. I liked it because it was reasonable and simple. But it was these three main points that struck home the most.

People who are really good with their money are:

1) Allergic to debt. "Debt is the opposite of savings," Geiger said, "and you don't get to be rich if you don't save."

2) Acutely aware of the power of time. Early retirees know that the sooner they put money to work for them, the more they'll eventually have. Even small amounts, if diligently saved and invested, can grow to whopping sums over time, thanks to the power of compound interest.

3)More interested in their goal than what the neighbors think. You may realize that you can't keep up with the Joneses and have any hope of retiring early (or even of retiring at all, depending on how far you take your consumerism). But you may not understand how very different your life might have to be from those around you to retire young.

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Great Artical! It is nice to hear that it can be done if you are not a "Must have it all right now type of person"

I for one definately want to continue every year at uping the amout we save everyweek. The plan is to increase DHs contributions to his 401K Annualy by $25 a week it may not sound like much but it adds up. We started a little late in the game for retirment savings (just 2 years ago, we are also still under 30) But are already over 10K in investments that had that money not been invested it would have been spent on stuff we really don't need

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Kimberly Proud Mommy to Bethany Rose April 2006