Like the idea of private retirement accounts - Open one TODAY!

You can have a private retirement account today. No waiting for the government to wrangle about revising/renewing/revamping social security.

Open an IRA. It is a truly private (government can NEVER touch it) account. It can grow tax-free (Roth IRA) or tax-deferred (Traditional IRA).

In an appalling turn of events, the IRS says at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=127809,00.html
that only 10 percent of the people who are eligible for IRAs actually have one. So, before you call or write your government officials to weigh in on whether you like social security reform or not, take care of yourself by opening an IRA.

From Time Magazine 1/24/05 about "twixters" who won't grow up, here are some ways to help your kids move to adulthood.

From Mel Levine's book _Ready or Not, Here Life Comes_

* Help your kids figure out who they are: what they are good at and like doing
* Talk about the future on a regular basis: where did happy people in your life get to where they are now?
* Build your kids work skills: assign household tasks, talk about customer service, etc.
* Place limits on leisure activities: the instant gratification of tv, computer games, constant musical barrage doesn't really help develop life skills
* Help kids develop coping strategies: what do you do when things aren't going your way? what do you do with failure?
* Make sure childhood is not a hard act to follow: perfect vacations, paid for with borrowed money, don't set up realistic expectations