The "I" Word

Hey PF.<br><br>I grew up in a family where money wasn't at the forefront of our mind. My parents, like many other families, mostly had enough and sometimes they didn't. Luckily, I never went to bed hungry, but we also had some rough years financially.<br><br>After moving out of my childhood home, I've found myself prosperous enough to use most of what I make probably unwisely. I work hard, I worry about bills, my finances are important to me but not to the extent they probably should be. I'm grateful for what I have, but I don't save like I should, I don't make my money work for me, and I waste a lot of money on little things.<br><br>I have an emergency fund, but I don't know about my retirement. I think it's one of the things that keeps me up at night, this constant uncertainty and fear of running out of money in the future. I've had a few scares recently, that made me realize my financial situation isn't as stable as it should be.<br><br>PF, I need your help. Thousands of comments later, I feel like I've learned a lot here, but I still don't feel like I have a solid grasp on my finances. Money's intricacies - at least to me - feel too complicated to understand. There are entirely too many unknowns and I think that's where most of my fear comes from. <br><br>I want to plug in the holes, make my money work for me, and build wealth. I want to feel safe and secure with my finances. I want to understand what I need to do in order to be okay. With the state of the economy and world, I need to know that I can get through this.<br><br>So, I'm asking PF, where do I start? What should I do first? I know that sounds like a pretty dumb question, but I'm at a loss. What are some key issues that I should address and in what order? I don't want to just throw money at a problem, I want to understand it, I want to be in charge of it.<br><br>I know I need to do this, but I need your help.<br><br>TIA.<br><br>EDIT:<br><br>I made the post a bit vague as to not seem too lazy and to not make this post too long. Little background material: I'm in my thirties, USA, make around 80k, 8k savings, 5k in retirement, no big debts, pretty hefty car payment, small credit card payments, and pretty stable. That's a very basic rundown of my situation.<br><br>My biggest goals are to understand my money situation clearly, in depth, and in detail. I want to minimize waste, make my money work for me, and ensure I'm gonna have enough for my future.