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<p>They keep their rainy-day funds funded. Their bring-lunch-to-work game couldn't be stronger. And retirement savings? Their IRAs deserve A+'s.</p>
<p>It's tempting to think of great savers as unicorns. And with good reason: A 2018 GOBankingRates survey found that 16% of Americans have $300,000 or more in retirement savings, while 42% have stashed away $10,000 or less.</p>
<p>What do people say holds them back from saving more? A 2018 Bankrate poll indicated that expenses, underpaying jobs and debt are among the most common challenges. Life gets in the way, too: Roughly one in six respondents reported that they simply haven't gotten around to saving.</p>
<p>Whatever your reason, know that it is possible to <a href="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/lam/articles/money/family/personal-financial-planning-for-families" data-link-source="tiny">start saving</a> and make a dent in debt &mdash; just take it from other people who have adopted some smart money tactics and joined the ranks of super savers.</p>
<h2>The money coach</h2>
<p>Ashley Feinstein Gerstley began her career in investment banking but came to realize the field didn&rsquo;t suit her. &ldquo;I was making a lot of money, but working long hours,&rdquo; she explains. &ldquo;I was eating take-out food at my desk every night and leaving at 2 a.m.&rdquo; After getting her annual bonus, she decided to quit and make a lifestyle change.</p>
<p>Gerstley invested in workshops and classes to help find her next career, but also splurged on dinner and drinks with friends &mdash; a habit from her days as a high earner. &ldquo;I realized pretty quickly that my bonus was almost gone, and my lifestyle was unsustainable,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I had to figure out my money stuff.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Through a certification with the International Coach Federation, Gerstley became a money coach. In her newfound role she not only helps clients get more organized with savings and investments, but also guides them over any psychological hurdles they encounter along the journey. Here are the top financial tips Gerstley shares with clients (and takes note of herself):</p>
<h3>1. Talk about money</h3>
<p>&ldquo;People think everyone is doing better than them,&rdquo; Gerstley says. That mindset may make you hesitant to talk or seek help with your own financial problems, and, by extension, vulnerable to unintended peer pressure to spend more money. &ldquo;Like when you&rsquo;re at dinner and there&rsquo;s pressure to have another round of drinks &mdash; another round of $17 cocktails. It&rsquo;s not [your friends&rsquo;] fault, they just don&rsquo;t know that you are trying not to spend so much money.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Share your money story &mdash; in terms you&rsquo;re comfortable with. Decline that pricey cocktail, and simply explain that you're working toward a goal &mdash; like paying off student loans or buying a car &mdash; and would rather that $17 go into a savings account.</p>
<p>Gerstley says when you speak up about your own financial concerns, you may see your friends follow suit. From there, plan less expensive gatherings, like potluck dinners and game nights. Then sock away the money you save.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Share your money story &mdash; in terms you&rsquo;re comfortable with.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img class="right_image" src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/lifeandmoney/storage/public/web_GettyImages-1040303974.jpg" alt="woman taking notes as she refers to her mobile device"></p>
<h3>2. Make a money journal</h3>
<p>In Gertsley's book, The 30-Day Money Cleanse, she suggests <a href="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/lam/articles/money/productivity/bullet-journal-financial-planning" data-link-source="tiny">documenting every penny you spend</a> and how it makes you feel in a journal. This can help you identify the things you really care about spending money on and expenses you can cut.</p>
<p>"Like a food cleanse, if you quit dairy and sugar and coffee, you might realize that you don't miss them." Gerstley informs. This all leads up to Gerstley's main lesson: Change your money mindset. "Successful money cleansers always experience this shift where personal finance is not 'a have to,' they realize it is a gift and an act of self-love," Gerstley says.</p>
<h3>3. Put savings out of sight</h3>
<p>Many people have linked checking and savings accounts. It's convenient, allowing you to access your savings balance by transferring funds to checking. But some may find it helpful, in the spirit of better savings habits, to create at least one <a href="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/lam/articles/money/managing-money/money-market-account-or-cd-account" data-link-source="tiny">savings account</a> that is not connected to your checking account, Gerstley suggests.</p>
<p>You can still set up deposits to it through your checking account or deposit straight into it each month like any savings account &mdash; but making it separate can click something in the brain so it doesn't seem as accessible. Consider assigning this "lock box" a purpose &mdash; to cover emergencies or a home down payment.</p>
<p>Likewise, Gerstley says, "View the money in a 401(k) or IRA accounts as untouchable until you retire." They're not intended to fund a car purchase or a wedding.</p>
<h3>4. Don't delay</h3>
<p>Many people, believing that a bigger paycheck &mdash; and therefore a more forgiving budget &mdash; is always on the horizon, and put off saving till they get older. Gerstley flags this thinking as a huge problem. If you happen to lose your job or face medical issues, savings will be a crucial cushion. The time to start saving was yesterday.</p>
<h2>The frugal lawyer</h2>
<p>Holly Carroll worked as an associate lawyer at a New York law firm in her late twenties and early thirties. The money was amazing, she says, but the hours were brutal. &ldquo;I knew I couldn&rsquo;t keep it up,&rdquo; Carroll says. &ldquo;I just decided to pay off my school loans and sock away as much as I could.&rdquo; So while her fellow associates lived in doorman buildings and dined out at five-star restaurants, Carroll developed frugal habits and shared a modest two-bedroom in Brooklyn. She still went out for drinks with friends and made the occasional splurge, but she developed some smart strategies around limiting her spending.</p>
<p>When she quit, she and her husband decided to move back to her hometown of Pittsburgh, PA, where their income went much further than it did in New York. They found a&nbsp;<a href="../../index.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link-source="tiny">three-bedroom home in her dream neighborhood</a>&nbsp;&mdash; and she had saved up enough money to pay for it in cash. Carroll is now a stay-at-home mom and avid crafter. Her top advice:</p>
<h3>1. Don&rsquo;t overspend on work attire</h3>
<p>&ldquo;When I first started at my [attorney] job, there was another associate I worked with who always looked sharp; [she] wore the same suit a few days a week and rarely wore designer heels,&rdquo; Carroll says. They were chatting one day, and her colleague explained her work dress policy: She considered money spent on work clothes as cutting directly into her salary.</p>
<p>That idea was like a light bulb moment for Carroll. She had always been a simple dresser, so she developed a strategy of sticking with a set color palette so that she could easily coordinate all of her work pieces into multiple outfits &mdash; it often seemed she had a larger wardrobe than she did.</p>
<h3>2. Set a weekly cash allowance</h3>
<p>&ldquo;I set a budget for weekly walking-around money and take out that amount in cash,&rdquo; she says, "then I try to only spend that much.&rdquo; Physically seeing how much money she has to spend usually keeps her from making impulse purchases or going shopping on a lunch break.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Set a budget for weekly walking-around money and take out that amount in cash.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img class="right_image" src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/lifeandmoney/storage/public/web_GettyImages-857304948.jpg" alt="two women cooking"></p>
<h2>The young saver</h2>
<p>When Haley Evans graduated from college and moved to Dallas, TX, she had very little student debt and earned a healthy paycheck. "But I spent it all on Dallas nightlife," Evans says. By age 24, she says, "I was kind of trapped in this cycle" &mdash; unfulfilled in her job, and compensating through happy hour, brunch and shopping. Evans was taking advantage of all that Dallas had to offer, but that lifestyle quickly went beyond her financial limits.</p>
<p>Now, five years on, Evans has remade herself as the model of a buckled-down saver. Her husband's pay covers daily expenses, and she puts her income toward business school and savings &mdash; both investments in her future. Here is her top advice:</p>
<h3>1. Create frugal joys</h3>
<p>A profound moment helped end her cycle of wasteful spending. "One night I was out drinking and just realized I wasn't getting any joy out of it," she says. "I felt like I wasn't really getting to have deep talks with friends since it was always so loud and it just didn't seem worth it anymore."</p>
<p>The next time a friend suggested a big night out, she countered with a nice long walk and home-cooked dinner. "I got to have real one-on-one time with her," Evans explained. "I call it finding frugal joys." Five years later, she and her friend are still doing those walks and joined a discount wine club to enhance those dinners.</p>
<h3>2. Get more out of your bank accounts</h3>
<p>One concrete piece of advice Evans offered: Find checking and savings accounts that offer high-interest rates. Evans and her husband did a lot of research to discover a savings account that offered much higher interest rates on their balance. "We put our wedding fund in there and the down payment for a house," she says. "It's awesome to see that [additional] money each month."</p>
<h3>3. Find healthy splurges</h3>
<p>"There was a period of time after [my] money cleanse where I was crazy thrifty because I am so competitive," Evans says. "But when you go too extreme, you feel deprived and then you binge." So, she figured out what regular splurges would bring her the most rewards. The top one was her gym. "I pay $105 a month &mdash; which is a lot for a gym here &mdash; but it brings me so much joy. It's community and women-based, and I go at least three to four times a week."</p>

The Secret Habits of Super Savers

<p>In her sophomore year of college, Nasrin Jafari was down to 23 cents in her bank account. It was a financial wake-up call.</p>
<p>In the following five years, the Los Angeles, CA, native prioritized and tracked spending to pull her finances out of the red and build up $50,000 in savings. After graduating with a degree in education and politics, Jafari took a teaching job.</p>
<p>But, just as she was launching her career, she faced another pivotal life event: her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.</p>
<p>Her mother's illness and eventual passing led Jafari to reassess her own life path. She decided to tap into the nest egg she built and change the course of her life. "I knew that was going to be the opportunity where I could really lean on the savings I had created for myself," says Jafari.</p>
<p>Jafari quit her teaching job to volunteer at a nursing home and work with Alzheimer's patients. It was there that she started to pursue graphic design as a new career path. She also began work on a book, as an homage to her mom, that would express her encounter with the disease in words and pictures.</p>
<p>"I wanted to create a resource that people could use to help them navigate Alzheimer's&hellip; and in a way that brought some light and some lightness to this illness," Jafari shares.</p>
<p>Jafari has worked hard to save money and, in turn, create a life that allows her to pursue her passions. "Having savings is so important to being able to pursue that path with confidence, patience and kind of with a calmness," Jafari says.</p>
<h2>Try her smart saving tips:</h2>
<ol>
<li><strong>Set your savings goal. </strong>Think about your values and lifestyle and <a href="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/lam/articles/money/savings/saving-money-hacks" data-link-source="tiny">set a goal that works</a> for you. "Understanding what your lifestyle is, and figuring out how much money is required to keep that up is really important to know when you're trying to save," Jafari says.<br><br></li>
<li><strong>Track monthly spending. </strong>Once you determine your long-term savings amount, commit to making it happen over time and <a href="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/lam/articles/money/productivity/bullet-journal-financial-planning" data-link-source="tiny">track your spending</a>. "Keep that number in mind and then think about how much you would have to save every month to be able to reach that goal over the next three, five, six years," Jafari notes.<br><br></li>
<li><strong>Prioritize where your money goes. </strong><a href="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/lam/articles/money/managing-money/how-to-create-a-budget" data-link-source="tiny">Make a list</a> of your monthly expenses, then set aside your designated monthly savings. Spend the remaining amount on what matters most to you. Whether that's taking a trip, eating at a new restaurant or paying down student loans faster, feel secure knowing that you are still saving towards your goal.<br><br></li>
<li><strong>Invest in yourself. </strong>Spend your money in a way <a href="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/lam/articles/money/career/hobby-to-small-business" data-link-source="tiny">that invests in your personal long-term growth</a>. "Focus on what you want out of your own life, what goals you have, what dreams you have and how your money can make that possible," Jafari says.</li>
</ol>
<p>To learn how to create meaningful savings in your own life, check out the video above.</p>

How Savings Helped This Teacher-Turned-Artist Change Careers

<p>Ever look at one of your monthly bank statements and wondered: Who made all these purchases &mdash; only to realize it was you? You're not alone. One recent study indicated Americans make three impulse purchases per week.</p>
<p>An unexpected spike in spending from time to time is only one of the reasons many of us have trouble saving our hard-earned money. A 2017 GOBanking Rates survey found that 57% of Americans had fewer than $1,000 in total savings and 39% had no savings at all.</p>
<p>It's not for lack of hard work, but perhaps more a matter of spending and saving smarter. Small splurges seem harmless, but over time, they can impact your overall financial wellness. Here are seven easy steps to put you on the right track to avoiding that spending statement-sticker shock.</p>
<h2>1. Track your spending</h2>
<p>The first critical step to pulling yourself out of the spending cycle is figuring out how much money you need to pay for essentials &mdash;&nbsp;and how much you have left over. &ldquo;I suggest dividing expenses into types: absolutely necessary, necessary but discretionary and totally unnecessary,&rdquo; says Sharon Marchisello, author of<em>&nbsp;Live Cheaply, Be Happy, Grow Wealthy</em>.</p>
<p>Keeping track of where each and every dollar goes will help you separate the essentials from the frills. You&rsquo;ll find it easier to align your spending habits with your monthly budget and savings goals. Digital tools and apps like Clarity Money and You Need to Budget can make tracking your money easier. You&rsquo;ll put less towards your shoe addiction and more towards your first home. &nbsp;</p>
<p><strong>Goal:</strong>&nbsp;Discover where your hard-earned cash is going.</p>
<h2>2. Pay yourself first</h2>
<p>Transfer a percentage of your income automatically into a savings account every month. That way, it will be in there before you get the urge to splurge, and you&rsquo;ll be one step closer to your goal with every paycheck. Your savings will build quickly and you&rsquo;ll be saying &ldquo;Aloha&rdquo; to Hawaii sooner than you thought. You can also set milestones, such as saving a certain amount by a certain date. Small changes in behavior can lead to longer lasting habits.</p>
<p><strong>Goal:</strong>&nbsp;Save with minimal effort.</p>
<h2>3. Nip impulse purchases early</h2>
<p>With 24-hour access to alluring online deals, it&rsquo;s harder than ever to resist a sale. But there are some easy tips to avoid going overboard with mindless online spending: Don&rsquo;t elect to save your debit or credit card information on your computer or with online retailers. While you take time to dig out your card, pause and ask yourself, &ldquo;Do I really need this?&rdquo; This quick mental check-in will give you the opportunity to reevaluate the spend.</p>
<p>Timesheet spending is an old &mdash; but valuable &mdash; trick. Before you purchase those trendy headphones, calculate how many hours you&rsquo;d have to work to pay for them. A full week of work might be enough for you to empty that cart.</p>
<p><strong>Goal:</strong>&nbsp;Be mindful of your spending urges.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Before you purchase those trendy headphones, calculate how many hours you&rsquo;d have to work to pay for them.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>4. Consider personal financial products with incentives</h2>
<p>Are you passionate about traveling? Do you have a home renovation project in mind?</p>
<p>Reach those goals with the help of credit card programs that offer the kinds of rewards (points, miles, access to exclusive member perks) that enrich your life. Whether it&rsquo;s earning a flight with travel rewards or collecting points to get that kitchen appliance you&rsquo;ve had your eye on, leveraging instruments like a rewards card may bring you closer to your dreams without sacrificing your savings.</p>
<p><strong>Goal:</strong>&nbsp;Collect on points and rewards.</p>
<h2>5. Schedule regular financial check-ins</h2>
<p>Just like making a regular visit to the dentist, your finances also need that same attention to care. Consulting a financial advisor on a consistent basis will help you set clear financial goals and keep you on a path towards the life you&rsquo;ve always wanted.</p>
<p>Kara Stevens, author and founder of the website Frugal Feminista, recommends that financial check-ins should also include, &ldquo;Digging deep into the 'why&rsquo; of each purchase, so you can adjust your saving, investing, philanthropy and spending percentages throughout various legs of your financial journey.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Also, once you&rsquo;ve defined those goals, share them with select friends and family who can help hold you to &mdash; and better realize &mdash; them. Stevens adds, &ldquo;This includes communicating these shifts with your partner and children so there&rsquo;s transparency and shared goals.&rdquo;</p>
<p><strong>Goal:</strong>&nbsp;Check your financial health.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Just like making a regular visit to the dentist, your finances also need that same attention to care.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>6. Invest in yourself and your community</h2>
<p>Financial health also means investing in your personal well-being and that of your community, too. &ldquo;Financial health and wellness also includes financial self-awareness and really knowing your values and aligning your spending to those purchases or experiences so they are more meaningful,&rdquo; Stevens says.</p>
<p>Whether it&rsquo;s attending a weekly yoga class to benefit your long-term health, or making a charitable donation to a cause you&rsquo;re passionate about, you&rsquo;ll be reaping rewards long past the swipe of your card.</p>
<p><strong>Goal:</strong>&nbsp;Sometimes you have to give to receive.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Avoid impulse buys by building a reward system into your budget.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>7. Reward yourself &ndash; if you&rsquo;ve earned it</h2>
<p>&ldquo;People rationalize [their spending] by saying, &lsquo;I work hard, I deserve this,&rsquo; even when they can&rsquo;t afford it,&rdquo; says Mary Beth Storjohann, certified financial planner, founder of Workable Wealth and author of&nbsp;<em>Work Your Wealth: 9 Steps to Making Smarter Choices with Your Money.</em>&nbsp;&ldquo;But that only continues the cycle.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The problem escalates when those &ldquo;rewards&rdquo; extend to bigger-ticket items, such as the latest designer bag or rare vintage sneakers, that can plunge you further into debt. Plan for well-earned rewards and avoid impulse buys by building a reward system into your budget. Create savings milestones and timelines for when you want to reward yourself.</p>
<p>How do you know when to treat yourself? When you&rsquo;ve demonstrated financially responsible behavior. And remember: don&rsquo;t spend more than what you&rsquo;ve set aside. It&rsquo;ll make your &ldquo;treat&rdquo; that much more worth the wait.</p>
<p><strong>Goal:</strong>&nbsp;Be flexible, but responsible, with your budget.</p>
<p>You&rsquo;ll quickly see how the small financial moves you make every day can bring you closer to the bigger goals that matter most.</p>

7 Goals to Set for Smarter Saving

<p>If you're evaluating your finances, you might wonder whether it's wiser to hold onto your money or to invest it. But a better question may be: What's the best way to do both?</p>
<p>That's the key to building real wealth, according to finance pros, because if you focus only on saving for the near term, you could be short-changing your retirement &mdash; and if you invest in the future but never save money, you may find yourself underfunded when your mechanic tells you the rattle in your car wasn't just a simple fix. For a more comprehensive approach to managing your money, try these expert tip.</p>
<h3>Put your savings to work</h3>
<p>If your funds are in a savings account earning next to nothing, that can be nearly as effective as stuffing your money under a mattress. Ideally your money should go where it will grow at a higher rate &mdash; either in a high-yield, interest-bearing savings account or into another financial vehicle like a <a href=" https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/lam/articles/money/managing-money/money-market-account-or-cd-account" data-link-source="tiny">money market account or certificate of deposit</a>.</p>
<p>You'll want to think through the pros and cons. For instance, CDs typically have fixed rates over their term length, whereas money market rates can fluctuate over time, so your earnings may be less predictable. People tend to like the predictability of a CD, knowing how much they'll earn on interest, but the downside is they can't access their funds before the term is up without paying a penalty.</p>
<p>Others like savings accounts because there's often no minimum required to open one, and you can take the money out whenever you need. Money markets operate like both a savings account and a checking account, with high interest rates and the ability to write checks, along with the ability to sometimes make payments with a debit card (with restrictions on how often).</p>
<h3>Explore a laddered approach</h3>
<p>Staggering CDs or bonds can be a smart way to save more, suggests D. Randolph "Randy" Waesche, a financial professional and the president and CEO of Resource Management, LLC, in Metairie, LA, because it takes advantage of rising interest rates and can also help with cash flow.</p>
<p>Here's how it works: Instead of investing, say, $10,000 into one CD that won't mature for two years, you could take the same money and split it up into securities that will mature in 12, 18 and 24 months. This way, you wouldn't have all your money tied up for two years. In one year, you could take the cash from the first CD or reinvest it, possibly landing a better interest rate, and six months later, you'd have another chance to do the same thing.</p>
<h2>Optimized investing</h2>
<p>Your financial goals should be different for investing versus saving, says Mastrolia, and it helps to keep some guidelines in mind. Generally, she says, if you want your money to be available within three to five years, you should save it &mdash; which could mean putting it in short-term investments such as CDs, for example. But if you can go longer without accessing the money, and you have faraway goals that need funding (like saving for retirement or your kids' college funds), it's a good idea to invest it, perhaps in stocks and exchange-traded funds or ETFs.</p>
<p>This is because, even though there's always a risk when investing, "the market, on average, will provide a greater return," Mastrolia says. "If an investor can leave the money in the market for at least three to five years, statistically speaking, they are likely to make money." Here are questions to consider as you explore investing options.</p>
<p><img class="right_image" src="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/rcs/lifeandmoney/storage/public/SaveorInvest_BodyImage.jpg" alt="Couple sitting on a couch talking"></p>
<h3>Go with an advisor or DIY?</h3>
<p>If you'd rather make financial decisions on your own, there are apps and tools you can use to manage your portfolio and <a href="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/lam/articles/money/managing-money/getting-started-with-mobile-investing-apps" data-link-source="tiny">make investments from your smartphone</a><a data-link-source="tiny">. </a>The DIY approach is less expensive, but you miss out on guidance and the professional point of view that an experienced financial advisor can provide.</p>
<p>An advisor's deeper understanding of the financial landscape and investing options can be particularly useful, especially if there's <a href="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/lam/articles/money/managing-money/questions-ask-financial-advisor" data-link-source="tiny">market volatility</a>. It's the same principle as working with a real estate broker. Yes, you can sell a house on your own, but you may have a less stressful and more profitable experience working with a professional.</p>
<h3>When's the ideal time to start saving for retirement?</h3>
<p>It doesn't pay to put it off &ndash; the earlier you start, the more you'll have when you need it &mdash; and that means making your <a href="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/lam/home" data-link-source="tiny">401(k) account</a> a priority, not only because contributions are tax-deductible, but also because employers often match 401(k) contributions up to a certain amount.</p>
<p><a href="https://online.citi.com/JRS/pands/detail.do?ID=IRAInvesting" data-link-source="tiny">Individual retirement accounts</a> &mdash; IRAs and Roth IRAs &mdash; are other long-term savings accounts that are worth focusing on&nbsp;and are subject to contribution limits and other eligibility rules. With a Traditional IRA,&nbsp;the amounts contributed may be tax deductible at the time of contribution and, together with earnings, are taxable at the time of distribution. On the other hand, contributions to a Roth IRA are not tax deductible, but earnings on them may not be taxable when withdrawn when certain conditions are met.</p>
<p>If you're deciding which to invest in, keep this in mind: With a Roth IRA, the tax break comes when you retire, since you'll get tax-free withdrawals. That may sound great, and it is, but a traditional IRA's annual tax breaks might help you save more money every year. That said, if you fear you won't make shrewd financial decisions with the annual tax benefits, it may be best to go with a Roth IRA.</p>
<h3>What are your goals and appetite for risk?</h3>
<p>Experts tend to recommend diversifying your financial portfolio and sticking with safer investments the closer you are to retirement. You can also minimize risk with <a href="https://www.lifeandmoney.citi.com/lam/articles/money/savings/what-is-systematic-investing" data-link-source="tiny">systematic investing</a>, a process that uses data, algorithms and proven policies designed to grow your financial portfolio.</p>
<p>If you have decades to go before this stage, generally you can take more chances for a potentially bigger return; the thinking is that, if your investments lose money, you'll have time to try to recover it. Granted, markets will fluctuate and there are no assurances, but if you're in a position to wait, you may be able to limit any losses to paper. As Mastrolia points out, "If you look at the S&amp;P 500 as a proxy for the market return over the past 100 years, the average annual return was about 10%."</p>
<p>Building real wealth can take some balanced thinking, but it's worth weighing what you're putting away for the future with your spending choices today to land on your ideal spending-and-saving mix.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>&mdash; With additional reporting from Geoff Williams and Life and Money by Citi editors</em></p>

Save or Invest? To Build Wealth, Try a Balance — Here's How.

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