Last week we got the inspiration to stay the course in our budgets, to adapt them to our changing circumstances. My grandmother, a representative of children of the 1930s Depression, as measured by a litany of reader comments, would simply adapt. In this case, adapt means buy less, downsize, downgrade, etc.

But unlike the children of the Depression, we're not required to adapt. There are credit cards.

I am going to let you in on the best-kept secret. When you start your first job, sign up to have 10% taken out of your paycheck and deposited into your retirement account. It's that easy.

Originally published as the "Save Yourself" column in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Sep 29, 2020