April in Kirkwood. There's such a wonderful feeling of energy and new life in the Spring. Families enjoy spring break, the opening of the Farmers' Market, getting bikes out, and coloring Easter eggs. For City employees it is the beginning of our fiscal year and for most employees, the award of pay increases.

As you take a look at updating your personal budget, here are a few things to consider.

Payroll Taxes:  For 2012 the employee social security tax rate was reduced from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent through December 31, 2012, to help families and the economy. This means that as of January 1, 2013 your take home pay will be reduced by 2% when the social security temporary tax cut goes away.  So plan for that now.

Something else all of us need to consider is saving for retirement.   For those of you just starting out in your career, the sooner you start saving, the more manageable the amount you will need to put aside.  For example, if you have $50 you can put aside twice a month into the deferred comp plan, over a period of 10 years and expecting a modest growth of 5 percent annually for the mutual funds you've chosen to invest in, you can expect at the end of that period to have $15,533. Over 20 years, it would grow to $40,754.

If you didn't start putting money into deferred comp early in your career, then you may need to put a larger sum away now and will be interested to know that you can defer a maximum of $17,000 a year.  If you are over age 50 you can use the "catch-up" rule and put aside an additional $5,500 each year.  Save now, benefit later!

When my kids were little, I complained bitterly to the school district that they gave them too little time to eat their lunch. They got a total of about 25 minutes to walk to the cafeteria, go through the line, sit down, eat, clean up, and line up to walk outside for 15 minutes of fresh air and playground time (which wasn't enough either). And if you know anything about kids, you know that they dawdle. They eat a bite, then they look around, then they fidget, then they talk for a few minutes, and then maybe they take another bite. They dawdle. It's how they learn, but it's frustrating to parents who know they really only have about 10 minutes to get some nutrients into their little bodies before they are rushed into the next activity.

Do you ever feel like that at work? Show of hands (virtual): How many of you run errands on your lunch hour and then come back and eat at your desk? How many of you work through your lunch hour, eating at your desk, so you don't have to stay late to get your workload done? I know I have done both, so I am totally guilty of doing to myself exactly what I didn't want the school to do to my kids.

When was the last time you took a relaxing lunch break?  (Here's an article from Slate on how the French "Do Lunch.")  Americans work hard. We are incredibly productive. In fact, according to the Harvard Business Review, our productivity may be inadvertently making it hard to put all of the people who have lost their jobs back to work.  But our minds work best when they are well-rested and relaxed. Eating while you're doing something else (unless it's talking to a friend) is not relaxing.

So, here's my thought: At least once a week, I am going to untether myself from my desk, leave the office, leave the building, and eat my lunch somewhere else. In a restaurant, on a park bench, at the mall, or even in my car. I encourage you all to do the same. (And we're just talking about ONE day. The French do this every day, the loafers!)

I know that some of you work out or go for long walks on your lunch breaks, but are there some other great ideas out there for how to make the best of your break?  If you have a suggestion to share, or if you have a good photo of you and your colleagues eating lunch in a fun or relaxing place, send it to me and I'll publish it in the next issue. Until then: Eat, drink, relax!  See you next month!

Beth