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B-N Ranks 101st In Saving For Futureby Scott MillerBLOOMINGTON -- The Twin Cities rank high on a list of the nation's most saving-conscious communities, but that doesn't mean employees are ready for retirement. Bloomington-Normal was No. 101 on A.G. Edwards & Sons recent Nest Egg Index, which ranks the top 500 communities on personal saving and investing habits. The St. Louis-based company analyzed nearly 1,000 communities, ranging from as big as New York City to as small as Lincoln, Ill. High-ranking communities share strong housing markets, low unemployment, above-average household incomes, manageable debt levels and above-average saving and investing habits, despite having higher costs of living, the study said. "What we're trying to accomplish with this is to get people to look at their own situation," said Sophie Beckmann, a financial planning specialist with A.G. Edwards in St. Louis. Consider this:
"With a negative savings rate and credit card debt, it's clear that a lot of people are just putting (retirement) on the backburner," Beckmann said. "Then they're forced to save larger amounts in smaller amounts of time" when they get older. It's a situation Jeff Telling of Normal witnesses more than he'd like. As manager of the Family Credit Counseling Service in Normal, Telling's clients typically come to him when they're approaching a financial collapse, with thousands of dollars in debt and little to no savings. Regardless of income, he said, people either don't save or rob their savings accounts. "Most people underestimate what they could save because they're not budgeting or tracking their expenses," Telling said. "When we get people budgeting, they typically find money they didn't even know they had." The nonprofit organization offers a variety of free classes and seminars on budgeting and saving. To inquire, visit www.familycredit.org. Nest eggs Here's how Central Illinois cities stacked up in the recent A.G. Edwards & Sons Nest Egg index, which ranked the top 500 communities based on personal saving and investment habits. Los Alamos, N.M. grabbed highest score at 134.31. Spartansburg, S.C. had the lowest score at 94.58. Rank City Score 101 .Bloomington-Normal .106.88 108 .Springfield ..106.70 124 .Ottawa-Streator .105.91 133 .Peoria .105.68 134 .Pontiac 105.65 250 .Lincoln 101.80 N/A .National Average 100.00 325 .Decatur .99.33 384 .Champaign-Urbana .97.31 SOURCE: A.G. Edwards & Sons and Claritas, a San Diego-based marketing information resources company. Article Reprinted Courtesy of The Pantagraph 
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