When I post my financial reports each month, they reflect only a small piece of who I am as a person. My bank account balances are only a small part of my life although they are center stage on Consumerism Commentary. I try to avoid labels for this reason; when I reach a net worth of a million dollars, I will be hesitant to call myself a “millionaire,” a label that would describe only a small part of me.

Dennis Kucinich is floating a proposal around the Senate which would create a six-month period in which anyone age 60 can retire voluntarily. This is a $15 billion bill funded by the bailout and stimulus. Kucinich estimates that by offering retirement two years early, a million workers will leave their jobs, creating opportunities for those actively looking for work.Although the plan sounds good in theory, I’m not convinced it would work in practice.

When I started Consumerism Commentary in 2003, after about eight years of writing on the internet in a smaller, more personal capacity, I only had two goals: to track my finances as I work to improve my money situation and to learn more about personal finance by finding articles, sharing links, and adding occasional thoughts of my own. Over a year later, I added advertising to Consumerism Commentary, and within another year, the website became more than just a way for me to track my financial improvement, it became an essential part of that progression.