Most of us grow up with the same “starter kit” for money: a cute piggy bank, birthday cash, maybe a savings account when we get older. And that’s great for learning how to keep money safe. Which leads me to… Habit #1 — Believing Saving Is the Final Goal Let’s be clear: saving is absolutely commendable and super necessary in order to implement wealth-building strategies. Creating the habit of keeping money instead of spending every dollar is huge — it’s the foundation for ever

Most of us have had… let’s just say, a complicated relationship with money. We work hard for it. We save some of it. We spend a lot of it. And it seems to disappear faster than a pair of designer sunglasses left at brunch. For more than 25 years, I worked for the federal government — and not just anywhere. I was blessed to work at an agency with a higher pay rate, which meant I earned more than the average federal employee, and we had benefits that were unique to that agency.

Let’s be real: nobody wakes up thinking, “Today feels like a great day to lose my job, or get furloughed. And in those moments, one question rises to the top: Are we prepared, or are we just hoping things magically work out? For over 25 years, I worked for the federal government. Safe, steady, predictable. The kind of job people assume you’ll retire from with a great pension and a fat Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). By the way, a TSP is a retirement savings plan — basically the fe