Awake this morning at 4 (don't get me started) I was reading an online review of some books on why 20-somethings and 30-somethings are so much more economically challenged than previous generations -- why, in a nutshell, the starving-student-ramen-eating days don't end shortly after college for many people. There are a lot of factors involved, both at the macroeconomic level and personal. People tend to get married and start families later and put off pooling resources or getting serious about their future. It's expensive to buy houses. People come out of college saddled with student loans and credit card debt. At the same time we're bombarded with messages that we should consume and are entitled to consume: fancy cars, ski vacations, premium cable, yoga classes and $4 lattes. Gabe linked to another blogger who pointed out that even well-paid executives live paycheck to paycheck and don't have enough stashed away to cover a month's mortgage, yet we as a culture hop into our SUVs and hit the mall with alarming frequency.

For every thing on the list I feel good about having overcome or avoided, there's another that I know I'm failing. I have a mortgage on a house in an expensive area, and my ability to keep it and someday sell it are contingent upon interest rates, not only to keep my payments in the realm of feasibility but also to not scare away potential buyers someday. I paid cash for my car six years ago, but with some help from my mom. I won't be able to buy my next car outright. I have socked away money in my 401k for the past 10 years, but I still don't max out my contribution. I have enough in liquid savings to cover a short period of financial crisis, but we need both my income and Sarah's on a month-to-month basis. I drink the free coffee and tea at work, but I rely on DSL and the Dish Network and Netflix for a certain amount of marital stability.

My financial goals for the year are these:
1) To re-evaluate what funds my 401k is in.
2) To add another month's savings to our safety net.
3) To diversify how that savings is kept, whether it's with CDs or some other higher-yield mechanism.

What about you?