Millions of Americans have read or heard all about the great financial reform hitting the banks and credit card companies by the government. This means that huge compromises have been made between government officials and the powerful lobby of rich banks and credit card companies.

At the same time, lawyers and insiders in these companies that produce credit cards have been working overtime to come up with ways to make up millions of dollars they will lose because of adjusting laws relating to your credit cards.

What does that mean for your family?

It means the credit card companies want you to relax. They want you to think you are protected, but they are secretly working to catch you napping and make you pay....MORE.

It means you better zip up, pull your boots up and always assume our #1 rule about credit cards and credit card companies: They are the enemy of your family when it comes to building wealth.

Not only should you read EVERYTHING that comes from your credit card company or companies, but you should be completely possessed to watch them closely and the onslaught of new fees and extra sneakiness you will see from them over the next several years.

Remember: They want you to relax. If you do, you will be much more likely to be sad to see you missed some of the new tricks.

#1 on your list should be watching fees.

Pay close attention to your monthly bill. Don’t assume they are “taking care of you or THEY WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU AND YOUR FAMILY and destroy your ability to get ahead over the next decade.

Watch the number of days you are allowed to take to pay your monthly bill.

Of course, the biggest and most important recommendation we can make for you is to use our “1% Savings Plan” (see www.BoostMyWealth.WordPress.com or www.MiddleClassMoney.com) to systematically reduce and then eliminate credit card debt.

Credit card companies are up to new tricks.

Don’t kid yourself.

Make your kids and your spouse aware of the fact that credit card companies and banks are not only uncontrolled by the new financial regulations.....they have teams of people working overtime to bring new profits and your expense. They want to catch you sleeping because it means millions.

Be careful of any new “offers” for a credit card.

Be careful of any communication you receive from your bank or credit card companies. It could hurt your family by thousands of dollars if you are not watching closely.

The government is not going to save you. WE have to save ourselves. We have to be demanding of credit card companies, banks and the wide variety of merchants we come in contact with. After all, we are driving the economy.

We have a responsibility to our families. And we can take these people on, but we cannot do it by assuming some new law will make them play fair; they won’t.

I hope I am not boring you here. Take nothing for granted with these people. If you are serious about building savings and wealth, you will reduce and eliminate credit card debt. It is the #1 killer of wealth production in the middle class today. And until you get them paid off, you must watch the credit card companies and banks. Watch their communication with you, and be prepared to call them directly. Expect to ask for supervisors and make repeat calls until you understand everything you get from them.

If you get “tagged” with a new fee, fight it. Keep calling them. Don’t back down. Being watchful will make it harder for them to take advantage of your family.

Don’t let your guard down. Keep a watchful eye on your money.

HELPING YOUR KIDS GET AHEAD

If you think I was born saving money, you are wrong. My own family didn’t believe in saving. They don’t believe in having a 401k. They have had “emergencies” all their lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly. I was not brought up to save and invest regularly and I have made every mistake you can think about when it comes to money. My parents thought they were shielding me from the realities of bills and worry. In fact, they were isolating me. I learned nothing until I had made many of the mistakes they made. I have had to learn the absolute hard way how to get savings on track and make it a part of your life without killing your lifestyle. I have had to learn the hard way how companies mislead with marketing. It is my mission to share what I have learned about regularly saving with my own children and also share it with you. That’s why we have a lot of “free” (blogs like www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com and www.stickyasset.com/blog and groups on Facebook like “Coupons & Coupon Codes”)!

In this country we don’t do enough to teach our children about money, managing money, saving regularly (and automatically), compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future. As a parent, we are always concerned that they get a good education and go to a good college so they can make a lot of money or have a valued career path. The truth is that we could do our children the biggest favor and one of the best things by sharing with them sound saving and investing principles.

You can join our free Facebook group (or have your children do it, too) by searching in the Facebook bar on your “wall” for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves.” Click on “become a fan.” It’s free and it ties our free blogs into that group.

If you want to give your children the same information we are giving ours, you can purchase the only thing we sell on any of our blogs or groups. It’s called “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” and you can get it for only $4.95 at www.middleclassmoney.com.

Thank you for reading our blog and good luck!

Loyd Ford
www.stickyasset.com/blog
www.middleclassmoney.com
www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com
www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth
www.stickyasset.com

Connect with us on Facebook with these free groups:
“Coupons & Coupon Codes”
“Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves”
“Saving Money”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

When I was a kid, we were friends with a family that always had brand new boats, cars, trucks. They spent money like they were rich, but they were only borrowing and borrowing.

It all ended with the word bankrupt.

The whole world believes in the idea of love at first sight and get rich quick, but it is not the way to bet.

Slow and steady wins the race 9.9 times out of 10.

Point to someone you think is rich and the chances are they have been working for a long time to chip away at building savings and investment. Some own businesses. Some work hard to invest regularly. Most people haven’t gotten rich quickly. More than this, most people who focus on get rich quick tactics end up in poverty or struggle their entire lives.

Think about the people you love. Get your family together. Begin with them. Brainstorm. Look at your spending. Review all spending and do what the major corporations do: Cut. Cut expenses and channel that money to saving REGULARLY and investing REGULARLY.

Use coupons and coupon codes. Negotiate. Buy only what you need. Save the rest. When you save using coupons, coupon codes or flat out negotiation, take the percentage and amount you “saved” and put it in actual savings. Play this game enough and you will be shocked at the savings.

Don’t focus on how much money you make at work. Focus on how much of your after tax pay you push to money market savings and certificates of deposit.

You should have or be developing an emergency savings fund that gives you 15 to 18 months of your family expenses in actual money market savings and certificates of deposit.

Use any excuse to move “extra” money (anything you can convince yourself will qualify) from checking to actual savings. Remember this: Your checking account is a money laundering account for other people’s money. Use any excuse to push money out to saving and investing IN ADDITION to your regular savings from each of your after tax income (paychecks).

Start saving regularly and paying down debt (by paying more than minimum payments) and you will eventually begin to develop wealth on any paycheck.

The upcoming era will be wonderful for the consumer that has reduced or eliminated debt (no debt) and savings and investments.

HELPING YOUR KIDS GET AHEAD

If you think I was born saving money, you are wrong. My own family didn’t believe in saving. They don’t believe in having a 401k. They have had “emergencies” all their lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly. I was not brought up to save and invest regularly and I have made every mistake you can think about when it comes to money. My parents thought they were shielding me from the realities of bills and worry. In fact, they were isolating me. I learned nothing until I had made many of the mistakes they made. I have had to learn the absolute hard way how to get savings on track and make it a part of your life without killing your lifestyle. I have had to learn the hard way how companies mislead with marketing. It is my mission to share what I have learned about regularly saving with my own children and also share it with you. That’s why we have a lot of “free” (blogs like www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com and www.stickyasset.com/blog and groups on Facebook like “Coupons & Coupon Codes”)!

In this country we don’t do enough to teach our children about money, managing money, saving regularly (and automatically), compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future. As a parent, we are always concerned that they get a good education and go to a good college so they can make a lot of money or have a valued career path. The truth is that we could do our children the biggest favor and one of the best things by sharing with them sound saving and investing principles.

You can join our free Facebook group (or have your children do it, too) by searching in the Facebook bar on your “wall” for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves.” Click on “become a fan.” It’s free and it ties our free blogs into that group.

If you want to give your children the same information we are giving ours, you can purchase the only thing we sell on any of our blogs or groups. It’s called “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” and you can get it for only $4.95 at www.middleclassmoney.com.

Thank you for reading our blog and good luck!

Loyd Ford
www.stickyasset.com/blog
www.middleclassmoney.com
www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com
www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth
www.stickyasset.com

Connect with us on Facebook with these free groups:
“Coupons & Coupon Codes”
“Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves”
“Saving Money”
“The Money Store”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

Are you like someone who lives for today or are you someone who tries to live with balance?

Good things + bad things happen to everyone. As someone very smart said, “It is about working hard all the time and waiting for opportunity to show up.” How do you build your savings and wealth so you have more control?

Most wealthy people don’t become wealthy all at once. It is usually the result of hard work over a longer period of time.

Many think the ability to save and the ability to become wealthy is beyond their reach, but you can reach it.

Regular savings, compound interest and then regular investing will help you grow your own little money farm. After all, most people focus on how much money they earn. That is a false reading of how you are doing.

There may be no secret to life, but there are absolute secrets in front of your eyes on how to build wealth over time. If you are willing to build your own plan and stick to it, you can become wealthy over time. You can have more control. Are you ready?

Get your family together. Talk to everyone about setting goals for your family savings. Get everyone to brainstorm ways to save more money or generate additional money to save or reduce and eliminate debt. Engaging your family in this way will help your saving and investing goals, but it will also help your children secure their own future through showing them regular saving and investing is important (even critical) to their entire life.

By including your family, you will help them live a more balanced life where they have more control over their financial life and future. It’s one of the best gifts you can give your kids.

The real focus should be on the percentage of the money you earn that you are regularly saving with each paycheck.

I’m sure you’ve heard this a lot. Slow and steady wins the race. When you are young, you don’t believe this, but time and experience are great teachers.

If you want to build wealth, you want to start with balance in your approach. If you work for a company that has a 401k and they match, you should be in it up to your elbows.

If you don’t have an emergency saving fund, you should start there. An appropriate emergency savings fund for 2010 is 15 to 18 months of your expenses in actual money market savings and certificates of deposit (you should keep six months in pure money market savings). You think 15 to 18 months of expenses is too much? Think again. It’s not 1979 anymore. How long might it take you to replace your job and your current income if you lose your job?

Have you educated yourself on a Roth IRA? If not, you should look it up and educate yourself. As a part of your regular savings, you should be investing with each paycheck in a Roth IRA. If you do this over time, you will build wealth as surely as you are reading these words.

At the same time you are working to save money, you should keep your credit pure. In fact, there are only a few things credit is good for today. The main body of business wants you to focus on your credit score more than you do your actual wealth. We say it is upside down. While we don’t encourage you to do anything to destroy your credit rating, we think your focus should be on CASH AS KING. In other words, cash IS king (just like it always has been). Debt is the #1 impairment to wealth growth in the middle class today.

Credit card debt is the worst.

Avoid credit card debt. If you already have credit card debt, work to consolidate your credit card debt to the lowest interest rate card you can get. If you cannot do this, split your credit cards by interest rate and pay them minimums on every card except the one with the highest interest rate. Pay as much extra (above the payment) as you can afford to do each month until that card is paid off. Then, rotate your “extra payments” to the next highest interest rate card.

Remember that your checking account is not actually really YOUR CHECKING ACCOUNT. It is a money LAUNDERING account for OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY. If you treat it this way (by using any excuse to push money out of checking and into actual savings, you will help your family WIN in the short-run and the long-run.

HELPING YOUR KIDS GET AHEAD

If you think I was born saving money, you are wrong. My own family didn’t believe in saving. They don’t believe in having a 401k. They have had “emergencies” all their lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly. I was not brought up to save and invest regularly and I have made every mistake you can think about when it comes to money. My parents thought they were shielding me from the realities of bills and worry. In fact, they were isolating me. I learned nothing until I had made many of the mistakes they made. I have had to learn the absolute hard way how to get savings on track and make it a part of your life without killing your lifestyle. I have had to learn the hard way how companies mislead with marketing. It is my mission to share what I have learned about regularly saving with my own children and also share it with you. That’s why we have a lot of “free” (blogs like www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com and www.stickyasset.com/blog and groups on Facebook like “Coupons & Coupon Codes”)!

In this country we don’t do enough to teach our children about money, managing money, saving regularly (and automatically), compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future. As a parent, we are always concerned that they get a good education and go to a good college so they can make a lot of money or have a valued career path. The truth is that we could do our children the biggest favor and one of the best things by sharing with them sound saving and investing principles.

You can join our free Facebook group (or have your children do it, too) by searching in the Facebook bar on your “wall” for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves.” Click on “become a fan.” It’s free and it ties our free blogs into that group.

If you want to give your children the same information we are giving ours, you can purchase the only thing we sell on any of our blogs or groups. It’s called “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” and you can get it for only $4.95 at www.middleclassmoney.com.

Thank you for reading our blog and good luck!

Loyd Ford
www.stickyasset.com/blog
www.middleclassmoney.com
www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com
www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth
www.stickyasset.com

Connect with us on Facebook with these free groups:
“Coupons & Coupon Codes”
“Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves”
“Saving Money”
“The Money Store”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

That ole pay yourself first things sounds good, but how do you do it, right?

Bills, kids, life out-of-control. Who has time or MONEY to pay themselves first?

You have to reverse things and look for money.

Start by using our “1% Savings Plan” (you can see details on this in previous blog entries or at www.MiddleClassMoney.com). Essentially this is a plan that starts by asking you to only take 1% from your next paycheck and then follow our plans for increasing this over time. You’ll like the plan because it allows you to begin saving money without killing your lifestyle....and you’ll be paying yourself first.

To put your “train” in reverse, start by looking at what you spend. Lay it all out. Do this with your husband, wife, significant others, children. Everyone in your household should be involved (because it says “Being financially secure begins with saving regularly and this is important to me.”)!!!

Look at the last three (3) months of all spending.

Be brutally honest (and allow family members to be brutally honest) about what is necessary and what is bull.

Set a goal, but be flexible. It is reasonable to look for 15% of your after tax income to section off for steady savings.

What? 15%! That’s crazy, right?

It isn’t crazy. Look to see how you can do what companies do – focus on percentages. Keep an eye on how much you are putting “to the bottom line” (saving and investing on a regular basis is “the bottom line”)!

See things for what they actually are:

Credit cards – death

Checking account – leaky

Savings – safety net

Investment – wealth building

We are going to focus on building a plan that includes REDUCING debt (especially credit card debt), boosting REGULAR and steady savings every time you get paid, growing the right-size emergency fund for 2010 (15 to 18 months of your expenses in money market savings and certificates of deposit) and beginning an investment program (no matter how small it is in the beginning).

Look for Money

There are a lot of ways to look for money to do two (2) important things in your plan:

Pay down (reduce) and pay off (eliminate) debt and boost steady saving and investing.

Consider anything family members can do free-lance. Do people in your family have a skill? Is there something you can do? No, it does not matter if it is to sell lemonade. Every dollar you pay over the minimum on credit cards puts you closer to WEALTH.

What can you sell around your house to pay off debt? Garage sale or Craigslist. Whatever it takes! Think about reducing clutter while you SMOKE YOUR CREDIT CARD DEBT!

Consider that the #1 wealth KILLER in the US for middle class families is CREDIT CARD DEBT. Treat them as your enemy (see our info on dealing with credit card companies in previous blogs or at www.MiddleClassMoney.com).

Eventually if you involve your spouse and children, you will make a fun game of “finding money.”

Our family actually keeps a jar in our kitchen and we fill it with only “found money.” This is money we actually find ON THE GROUND (that people DROP). At the end of each year, we count up the money and put it in a certificate of deposit marked with that year’s date and the money we have found. We have been doing this for several years and EVERY SINGLE MONTH these accounts (CDs) produce interest. So, free money is making us money month after month and year after year.

What can you do this month to increase the amount of money in your savings? Think about this: You could use coupons ONLY for the things you regularly purchase and put the percentage you save in actual savings! After all, if you don’t put your savings in actual savings....who are you kidding? You’re not saving.

However, if you constantly look for ways (excuses) to push money from your (leaky) checking account to savings, you will build savings first and then wealth.

You can do this. Start with a plan and a commitment.

HELPING YOUR KIDS GET AHEAD

If you think I was born saving money, you are wrong. My own family didn’t believe in saving. They don’t believe in having a 401k. They have had “emergencies” all their lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly. I was not brought up to save and invest regularly and I have made every mistake you can think about when it comes to money. My parents thought they were shielding me from the realities of bills and worry. In fact, they were isolating me. I learned nothing until I had made many of the mistakes they made. I have had to learn the absolute hard way how to get savings on track and make it a part of your life without killing your lifestyle. I have had to learn the hard way how companies mislead with marketing. It is my mission to share what I have learned about regularly saving with my own children and also share it with you. That’s why we have a lot of “free” (blogs like www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com and www.stickyasset.com/blog and groups on Facebook like “Coupons & Coupon Codes”)!

In this country we don’t do enough to teach our children about money, managing money, saving regularly (and automatically), compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future. As a parent, we are always concerned that they get a good education and go to a good college so they can make a lot of money or have a valued career path. The truth is that we could do our children the biggest favor and one of the best things by sharing with them sound saving and investing principles.

You can join our free Facebook group (or have your children do it, too) by searching in the Facebook bar on your “wall” for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves.” Click on “become a fan.” It’s free and it ties our free blogs into that group.

If you want to give your children the same information we are giving ours, you can purchase the only thing we sell on any of our blogs or groups. It’s called “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” and you can get it for only $4.95 at www.middleclassmoney.com.

Thank you for reading our blog and good luck!

Loyd Ford
www.stickyasset.com/blog
www.middleclassmoney.com
www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com
www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth
www.stickyasset.com

Connect with us on Facebook with these free groups:
“Coupons & Coupon Codes”
“Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves”
“Saving Money”
“The Money Store”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

You know why most people don’t save money, right?

It isn’t because they don’t know the basics:

1. Spend less than you make.

2. Live below your means.

Here’s the real secret: People don’t have a plan and stick to it. They don’t set out a plan and they don’t make it a point to save regularly (as in with every paycheck).

Want to strengthen your opportunity to build actual wealth? Involve your family. Sit down together. Teach and learn the art of saving together. Let your kids know it is important to save regularly.

Start with our “1% Savings Plan” (see previous blog entries or check it out at www.MiddleClassMoney.com).

Start building your plan TODAY. Keep in mind that you can build a plan that involves growing your emergency savings to the proper level for today’s economic world: 15 to 18 months of expenses in money market savings and certificates of deposit.

Think about how regular savings (with every paycheck) can impact your life for the better. Think about how much of a head start you could give your kids by showing them it is critical.

Now get going!

HELPING YOUR KIDS GET AHEAD

If you think I was born saving money, you are wrong. My own family didn’t believe in saving. They don’t believe in having a 401k. They have had “emergencies” all their lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly. I was not brought up to save and invest regularly and I have made every mistake you can think about when it comes to money. My parents thought they were shielding me from the realities of bills and worry. In fact, they were isolating me. I learned nothing until I had made many of the mistakes they made. I have had to learn the absolute hard way how to get savings on track and make it a part of your life without killing your lifestyle. I have had to learn the hard way how companies mislead with marketing. It is my mission to share what I have learned about regularly saving with my own children and also share it with you. That’s why we have a lot of “free” (blogs like www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com and www.stickyasset.com/blog and groups on Facebook like “Coupons & Coupon Codes”)!

In this country we don’t do enough to teach our children about money, managing money, saving regularly (and automatically), compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future. As a parent, we are always concerned that they get a good education and go to a good college so they can make a lot of money or have a valued career path. The truth is that we could do our children the biggest favor and one of the best things by sharing with them sound saving and investing principles.

You can join our free Facebook group (or have your children do it, too) by searching in the Facebook bar on your “wall” for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves.” Click on “become a fan.” It’s free and it ties our free blogs into that group.

If you want to give your children the same information we are giving ours, you can purchase the only thing we sell on any of our blogs or groups. It’s called “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” and you can get it for only $4.95 at www.middleclassmoney.com.

Thank you for reading our blog and good luck!

Loyd Ford
www.stickyasset.com/blog
www.middleclassmoney.com
www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com
www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth
www.stickyasset.com

Connect with us on Facebook with these free groups:
“Coupons & Coupon Codes”
“Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves”
“Saving Money”
“The Money Store”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

It is difficult to really save money. Oh, everyone wants to tell you to pay yourself first, but putting this into actual practice is difficult without a trick or tricks to make it happen without destroying your lifestyle.

Try this for just thirty days.

Write down the things you need before you go grocery shopping. Seek out coupons on the internet (or any way you can get them). Only purchase the items you ordinarily and normally do. However, using your coupons, it is important that you take the percentage you saved on your groceries and push that money to your savings account. Don’t leave it in checking or you have saved NOTHING.

This idea of making a list of what you regularly purchase can be important for managing spending. More than this, you can use the same “list tactics” to limit your spending in other areas. At the same time, you must begin to negotiate on every purchase. This is a lot more possible than you think. Of course, you know I am going to recommend to you that you take the percentage you “saved” by negotiating and send it to savings.

These two ways to save are powerful and work if you work them.

You can also check out our “1% Savings Plan” in previous blog entries or in “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis at www.MiddleClassMoney.com.

It has never been more important to establish regular and steady savings, but these strategies above can help you “push on” more savings.

That will give your family more options and free you to begin to enlarge savings and begin investing sooner for your future. That is an important goal.

HELPING YOUR KIDS GET AHEAD

If you think I was born saving money, you are wrong. My own family didn’t believe in saving. They don’t believe in having a 401k. They have had “emergencies” all their lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly. I was not brought up to save and invest regularly and I have made every mistake you can think about when it comes to money. My parents thought they were shielding me from the realities of bills and worry. In fact, they were isolating me. I learned nothing until I had made many of the mistakes they made. I have had to learn the absolute hard way how to get savings on track and make it a part of your life without killing your lifestyle. I have had to learn the hard way how companies mislead with marketing. It is my mission to share what I have learned about regularly saving with my own children and also share it with you. That’s why we have a lot of “free” (blogs like www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com and www.stickyasset.com/blog and groups on Facebook like “Coupons & Coupon Codes”)!

In this country we don’t do enough to teach our children about money, managing money, saving regularly (and automatically), compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future. As a parent, we are always concerned that they get a good education and go to a good college so they can make a lot of money or have a valued career path. The truth is that we could do our children the biggest favor and one of the best things by sharing with them sound saving and investing principles.

You can join our free Facebook group (or have your children do it, too) by searching in the Facebook bar on your “wall” for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves.” Click on “become a fan.” It’s free and it ties our free blogs into that group.

If you want to give your children the same information we are giving ours, you can purchase the only thing we sell on any of our blogs or groups. It’s called “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” and you can get it for only $4.95 at www.middleclassmoney.com.

Thank you for reading our blog and good luck!

Loyd Ford
www.stickyasset.com/blog
www.middleclassmoney.com
www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com
www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth
www.stickyasset.com

Connect with us on Facebook with these free groups:
“Coupons & Coupon Codes”
“Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves”
“Saving Money”
“The Money Store”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

What is the best way to help someone? What if you need the most help?

If you’ve been reading our blog entries for awhile, you know our basics:

While most people focus on what they earn, we urge you to focus on the percentage of your after tax paycheck that you save and work to increase that percentage.

We believe that credit card companies are the enemy of your family. Debt (and especially credit card debt) is the #1 reason for “middle class slippage” and the lost of true wealth building ability in America. Be tough on credit card companies. Check out our info on how to deal with credit card companies in “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” at www.MiddleClassMoney.com or in our past blogs.

We believe checking accounts are money laundering accounts for other people’s money, and we feel strongly that you should treat your checking account as just such an instrument. In other words, use any excuse to take any amount of money you can OUT of your checking account on a regular basis and put it in your savings!

We believe regular and steady saving every time you receive a paycheck is the #1 way to give your family opportunity to have a more secure future.

We believe that brainstorming with family members over ways to save money and generate additional dollars for investing regularly is the key to doing two things: building your own overall family wealth AND teaching your children how to build for themselves a better financial future.

We believe that embarrassed people don’t use coupons or coupon codes and stay poor. We believe rich people use every tactic and strategy available and both coupons and coupon codes are a part of getting more for less for them. Remember: Always compare coupon deals to non-coupon deals and check the unit costs to make sure it is a real deal. And take the percentage you “saved” with the coupon or coupon code and move it to actual savings. This makes you very smart.

We believe you should set a goal to reach an emergency savings fund of 15 to 18 months of expenses in money market savings and certificates of deposit.

We believe that negotiating on everything is a powerful tool everyone should use. This is why we believe you should focus your attention to negotiating on things you normally purchase and using the power of negotiation on those items. You don’t have to purchase an item at a specific place. You can choose with your MONEY. And remember: If you don’t put the money you “saved” by negotiating into actual savings, you saved nothing.

HELPING YOUR KIDS GET AHEAD

If you think I was born saving money, you are wrong. My own family didn’t believe in saving. They don’t believe in having a 401k. They have had “emergencies” all their lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly. I was not brought up to save and invest regularly and I have made every mistake you can think about when it comes to money. My parents thought they were shielding me from the realities of bills and worry. In fact, they were isolating me. I learned nothing until I had made many of the mistakes they made. I have had to learn the absolute hard way how to get savings on track and make it a part of your life without killing your lifestyle. I have had to learn the hard way how companies mislead with marketing. It is my mission to share what I have learned about regularly saving with my own children and also share it with you. That’s why we have a lot of “free” (blogs like www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com and www.stickyasset.com/blog and groups on Facebook like “Coupons & Coupon Codes”)!

In this country we don’t do enough to teach our children about money, managing money, saving regularly (and automatically), compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future. As a parent, we are always concerned that they get a good education and go to a good college so they can make a lot of money or have a valued career path. The truth is that we could do our children the biggest favor and one of the best things by sharing with them sound saving and investing principles.

You can join our free Facebook group (or have your children do it, too) by searching in the Facebook bar on your “wall” for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves.” Click on “become a fan.” It’s free and it ties our free blogs into that group.

If you want to give your children the same information we are giving ours, you can purchase the only thing we sell on any of our blogs or groups. It’s called “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” and you can get it for only $4.95 at www.middleclassmoney.com.

Thank you for reading our blog and good luck!

Loyd Ford
www.stickyasset.com/blog
www.middleclassmoney.com
www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com
www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth
www.stickyasset.com

Connect with us on Facebook with these free groups:
“Coupons & Coupon Codes”
“Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves”
“Saving Money”
“The Money Store”

Are you making the most of your money?

It’s hard, right?

It seems every dollar gets double-stretched. There are so many priorities. How do you choose?

We recommend you start with the people who burn up most of your money (no, not your family).

Credit Cards

Start by taking all your credit cards out and putting them on the kitchen table. (Yes, I am talking to YOU).

Spread them out and start dialing. Here’s what you want to know: How much is the interest rate on this card? (Keep a piece of paper and a pen out for this exercise). Write down each credit card (and credit card company) and the interest rate for each card.

Split up your credit cards by interest rate. You can stack them by highest interest rate first (because that is where you want to start OVERpaying them back).

First, see if you can consolidate them without harming yourself. If you can push all this debt to a lower interest rate card, do it.

Once you see where you really are.....start with agreeing to stop using credit cards. They are the financial enemy of your family.

Pay the minimums each month on every card except the highest interest rate card. That is the card you will want to focus on like the devil. Pay MORE than the minimum on this card until you pay-it-off.

Then, go to the next highest interest rate card. Repeat. Do this until you have no remaining credit card debt. Repeat after me: Credit card companies are the enemies of your family and any future wealth you can gain.

The #1 problem middle class Americans face in building wealth is D E B T.

Reduction and elimination of debt while participating in regular savings is the #1 key in gaining more control over your personal finances and the path to growing wealth.

For more on how to deal with credit card companies (and interest rates) check out www.MiddleClassMoney.com.

You can expand your reach to include any bill that comes into your house. We recommend doing what the private equity companies and corporations do daily: negotiate with the companies that send you bills and get elimination of fees and reductions in monthly billing. BUT....make sure you put any reduction you receive in ACTUAL SAVINGS.

Add those reductions to your regular monthly savings (so you don’t get used to having the extra money).

How about some bonus tips:

1. Your checking account is a money laundering account for other people’s money. Use any excuse you can to remove money from “checking” to actual savings. It will pay off.

2. How much you are paid is not as important as how much you SAVE. You should think about your MONEY as being OPERATIONAL MONEY and WEALTH-BUILDING MONEY. Only wealth-building money is the key to your future wealth.

3. Regular and steady savings is the key to gaining more control over options in your life. Regular savings should not be optional for you.

4. Regular savings should also not be optional for your kids. While we always want to shield our kids from the hardness of being an adult, including them on developing your savings priorities will help make them secure over their lifetime.

5. Don’t let other people tell you that you cannot save and invest for the future and build true wealth for you while teaching your children the value of money and its’ place in your overall life.

We say it all the time, and we mean it: You should build 15 to 18 months of expenses into your emergency savings in money market savings and certificates of deposit. Yes, this will take time. Yes, you CAN do it.

Get started.

HELPING YOUR KIDS GET AHEAD

If you think I was born saving money, you are wrong. My own family didn’t believe in saving. They don’t believe in having a 401k. They have had “emergencies” all their lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly. I was not brought up to save and invest regularly and I have made every mistake you can think about when it comes to money. My parents thought they were shielding me from the realities of bills and worry. In fact, they were isolating me. I learned nothing until I had made many of the mistakes they made. I have had to learn the absolute hard way how to get savings on track and make it a part of your life without killing your lifestyle. I have had to learn the hard way how companies mislead with marketing. It is my mission to share what I have learned about regularly saving with my own children and also share it with you. That’s why we have a lot of “free” (blogs like www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com and www.stickyasset.com/blog and groups on Facebook like “Coupons & Coupon Codes”)!

In this country we don’t do enough to teach our children about money, managing money, saving regularly (and automatically), compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future. As a parent, we are always concerned that they get a good education and go to a good college so they can make a lot of money or have a valued career path. The truth is that we could do our children the biggest favor and one of the best things by sharing with them sound saving and investing principles.

You can join our free Facebook group (or have your children do it, too) by searching in the Facebook bar on your “wall” for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves.” Click on “become a fan.” It’s free and it ties our free blogs into that group.

If you want to give your children the same information we are giving ours, you can purchase the only thing we sell on any of our blogs or groups. It’s called “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” and you can get it for only $4.95 at www.middleclassmoney.com.

Thank you for reading our blog and good luck!

Loyd Ford
www.stickyasset.com/blog
www.middleclassmoney.com
www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com
www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth
www.stickyasset.com

Connect with us on Facebook with these free groups:
“Coupons & Coupon Codes”
“Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves”
“Saving Money”
“The Money Store”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

I got an e-mail from Dell the other day. Check this out. They were “celebrating” my anniversary (with Dell). They told me in the e-mail that they wanted to give me 15% off of any purchase at www.dell.com. I had a problem with the cord on my laptop, so I called their 1-800 number and told them what I needed. I even pointed out the specific cord and adaptor I wanted to purchase and told them about my “coupon.”

I was excited to have the coupon because the product I wanted was $59.95 on www.Dell.com. 15% off would really help me.

Dell balked. They actually said my celebration coupon from them was on only a select number of products and the product I wanted was not covered.

I simply said the magic word. Supervisor.

They put me on hold and went to get a supervisor.

Between the time they put me on hold and the time they came back I looked up the cord and adaptor on www.amazon.com. I found out the cord and adaptor was $17.95 on Amazon. Oops.

The supervisor at Dell wouldn’t even talk to me. I heard him tell the Dell operator with whom I was talking to “cut it out and give him the 15%.”

Unfortunately their hesitation lead me to check price with another source. It always pays to shop around. Always.

You don’t have to purchase a product from a specific merchant or on line retailer. If you don’t shop around, you simply are not saving money.

HELPING YOUR KIDS GET AHEAD

If you think I was born saving money, you are wrong. My own family didn’t believe in saving. They don’t believe in having a 401k. They have had “emergencies” all their lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly. I was not brought up to save and invest regularly and I have made every mistake you can think about when it comes to money. My parents thought they were shielding me from the realities of bills and worry. In fact, they were isolating me. I learned nothing until I had made many of the mistakes they made. I have had to learn the absolute hard way how to get savings on track and make it a part of your life without killing your lifestyle. I have had to learn the hard way how companies mislead with marketing. It is my mission to share what I have learned about regularly saving with my own children and also share it with you. That’s why we have a lot of “free” (blogs like www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com and www.stickyasset.com/blog and groups on Facebook like “Coupons & Coupon Codes”)!

In this country we don’t do enough to teach our children about money, managing money, saving regularly (and automatically), compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future. As a parent, we are always concerned that they get a good education and go to a good college so they can make a lot of money or have a valued career path. The truth is that we could do our children the biggest favor and one of the best things by sharing with them sound saving and investing principles.

You can join our free Facebook group (or have your children do it, too) by searching in the Facebook bar on your “wall” for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves.” Click on “become a fan.” It’s free and it ties our free blogs into that group.

If you want to give your children the same information we are giving ours, you can purchase the only thing we sell on any of our blogs or groups. It’s called “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” and you can get it for only $4.95 at www.middleclassmoney.com.

Thank you for reading our blog and good luck!

Loyd Ford
www.stickyasset.com/blog
www.middleclassmoney.com
www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com
www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth
www.stickyasset.com

Connect with us on Facebook with these free groups:
“Coupons & Coupon Codes”
“Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves”
“Saving Money”
“The Money Store”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

Everyone wants the shortcut.

How can I get there faster than anyone? We sometimes get so busy trying to find a shortcut that we lose the champions path: doing the things that are proven to work when it comes to building wealth.

1. Review your spending over the last 6 months.

2. Find a way to reduce your spending by 12 – 15% and make that 12 – 15% a monthly contribution to savings, and pay this new “bill” first each month (before you pay anything else).

3. Work to build the correct emergency savings fund for today (15 to 18 months of expenses in money market savings and certificates of deposit).

4. Enroll in your company 401k if you are allowed to do so. Keep in mind that this is not emergency savings – this is long term money.

5. Work with every member of your family to brainstorm and begin making money outside of your day jobs specifically only for boosting regular investment.

6. Concentrate on regular and steady savings. Focus on percentage of your after tax income (review past blog entries to see info about the “1% Savings Plan.”

7. Work to reduce debt (see our info on dealing with credit card companies at www.MiddleClassMoney.com).

Don’t back up. Get your family involved. Talk about saving money. Talk about how to generate more savings and remember it is a process and not a shortcut.

You can do this, and it does not take a team of experts. YOU need to educate yourself and show your own children it is important to you so they grow up with a head start!

HELPING YOUR KIDS GET AHEAD

If you think I was born saving money, you are wrong. My own family didn’t believe in saving. They don’t believe in having a 401k. They have had “emergencies” all their lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly. I was not brought up to save and invest regularly and I have made every mistake you can think about when it comes to money. My parents thought they were shielding me from the realities of bills and worry. In fact, they were isolating me. I learned nothing until I had made many of the mistakes they made. I have had to learn the absolute hard way how to get savings on track and make it a part of your life without killing your lifestyle. I have had to learn the hard way how companies mislead with marketing. It is my mission to share what I have learned about regularly saving with my own children and also share it with you. That’s why we have a lot of “free” (blogs like www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com and www.stickyasset.com/blog and groups on Facebook like “Coupons & Coupon Codes”)!

In this country we don’t do enough to teach our children about money, managing money, saving regularly (and automatically), compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future. As a parent, we are always concerned that they get a good education and go to a good college so they can make a lot of money or have a valued career path. The truth is that we could do our children the biggest favor and one of the best things by sharing with them sound saving and investing principles.

You can join our free Facebook group (or have your children do it, too) by searching in the Facebook bar on your “wall” for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves.” Click on “become a fan.” It’s free and it ties our free blogs into that group.

If you want to give your children the same information we are giving ours, you can purchase the only thing we sell on any of our blogs or groups. It’s called “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” and you can get it for only $4.95 at www.middleclassmoney.com.

Thank you for reading our blog and good luck!

Loyd Ford
www.stickyasset.com/blog
www.middleclassmoney.com
www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com
www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth
www.stickyasset.com

Connect with us on Facebook with these free groups:
“Coupons & Coupon Codes”
“Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves”
“Saving Money”
“The Money Store”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

Everybody thinks about it. Retirement. What is it? When will I be able to do it? It is such a long way off. Of course, the recent financial crisis, great recession and credit crunch made most people feel like they won’t ever be able to retire.

Thinking about retirement make you snooze? You always hear about the accidental millionaires. Do you ever hear about the accidental poor people? No? That’s because no one is interested in these people. Be wary about becoming one yourself.

Only 16% of those surveyed by MONEY MAGAZINE recently said they felt they will have a comfortable retirement. You see, the cold and hard truth is that most of us think of retirement as being far away. We don’t think about it approaching fast.

We try not to think about factors we don’t control and the simple fact that many things can create barriers to your comfortable retirement or even stop you from working before you want to stop.

Our personal finance blogs rarely talk about retirement. If you read us often, you know that we focus on helping people develop a steady plan for constant and regular saving and investing based upon a percentage of your income. Why do we do this? Because we don’t feel that saving and investing is about retirement.

We don’t think saving and investing is optional.

Of course, it’s a free country. You can live it up now and join the larger and larger group of people who “used to have it good.”

The major difference between people who save regularly and invest regularly is not the same as looking at the rich and the poor. In other words, a wide variety of people save and invest money regularly – not all of them are rich.

The major difference is attitude, consistency and having a plan that you stick to year after year. The savers and investors are those people with a plan.

If you read this blog often, you will know that we also feel most of the people working in personal finance, banking, investing and more are looking to shave your money – not make you money.

This is why we recommend that you involve yourself in some personal education about saving and investing. You have to take charge of building your own plan. This is one of the key ways to get ahead.

The younger you are....the more opportunity you have to build pure wealth.

Advertising and marketing in general are there to tempt you to spend it BEFORE you get it. Be smart and divide your spending into categories. Work to develop your own plan to keep your debt low (or at zero) and build emergency savings (15 to 18 months of expenses in savings – money market or certificates of deposit). Focus on having a steady investing plan. This can include developing a second revenue stream – outside of your day job – just to feed investing.

If you build your emergency savings and investing on a regular basis, you will be shocked one day to learn that you are indeed wealthy.

Don’t miss out – teach how important this is to your children. Show them how to educate themselves.

You can do it. You can win!

HELPING YOUR KIDS GET AHEAD

If you think I was born saving money, you are wrong. My own family didn’t believe in saving. They don’t believe in having a 401k. They have had “emergencies” all their lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly. I was not brought up to save and invest regularly and I have made every mistake you can think about when it comes to money. My parents thought they were shielding me from the realities of bills and worry. In fact, they were isolating me. I learned nothing until I had made many of the mistakes they made. I have had to learn the absolute hard way how to get savings on track and make it a part of your life without killing your lifestyle. I have had to learn the hard way how companies mislead with marketing. It is my mission to share what I have learned about regularly saving with my own children and also share it with you. That’s why we have a lot of “free” (blogs like www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com and www.stickyasset.com/blog and groups on Facebook like “Coupons & Coupon Codes”)!

In this country we don’t do enough to teach our children about money, managing money, saving regularly (and automatically), compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future. As a parent, we are always concerned that they get a good education and go to a good college so they can make a lot of money or have a valued career path. The truth is that we could do our children the biggest favor and one of the best things by sharing with them sound saving and investing principles.

You can join our free Facebook group (or have your children do it, too) by searching in the Facebook bar on your “wall” for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves.” Click on “become a fan.” It’s free and it ties our free blogs into that group.

If you want to give your children the same information we are giving ours, you can purchase the only thing we sell on any of our blogs or groups. It’s called “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” and you can get it for only $4.95 at www.middleclassmoney.com.

Thank you for reading our blog and good luck!

Loyd Ford
www.stickyasset.com/blog
www.middleclassmoney.com
www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com
www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth
www.stickyasset.com

Connect with us on Facebook with these free groups:
“Coupons & Coupon Codes”
“Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves”
“Saving Money”
“The Money Store”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

We believe in negotiation in 2010. This is a consumers’ economy. If you don’t take advantage of that, you are leaving money on the table and losing opportunity to save more money and build investments for the future of your family.

The same is true for using coupons and coupon codes.

We always recommend that you do your own research, but we also want to encourage you time and time again that you can find coupons and coupon codes that can save you thousands of dollars over time.

Do you know why the rich get richer? It’s because they WILL and they DO negotiate, they WILL and they DO take the emotion out of buying and plan ahead for any purchases and they WILL and they DO use coupons and coupon codes. How about you?

Here are a few to get you started doing YOUR OWN research:

www.currentcodes.com

www.couponcabin.com

www.retailmenot.com

www.bargainist.com

www.savings.com

www.deallocker.com

www.couponsmarter.com

www.coupons-coupon-codes.com

www.mycoupons.com

www.couponmom.com

www.solutions.coupons.com

www.coupons.smartsource.com

www.groupon.com

www.hotcoupons.com

We are not giving a blessing to any of these sites. As we always say, do your own research. We believe you should dedicate an hour every other day or at least twice a week to doing research on ways to save money or generate additional dollars outside of your day job simply for investments only. If you want more details on this, you can get them in “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” at www.MiddleClassMoney.com.

Savings don't save themselves. It takes steady dedication, but it works. The same is true for investing.

This is your economy. The only recovery that matters is the one at your house. Having a plan is the #1 way you can get ahead in the next decade.

You can do this.

HELPING YOUR KIDS GET AHEAD

If you think I was born saving money, you are wrong. My own family didn’t believe in saving. They don’t believe in having a 401k. They have had “emergencies” all their lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly. I was not brought up to save and invest regularly and I have made every mistake you can think about when it comes to money. My parents thought they were shielding me from the realities of bills and worry. In fact, they were isolating me. I learned nothing until I had made many of the mistakes they made. I have had to learn the absolute hard way how to get savings on track and make it a part of your life without killing your lifestyle. I have had to learn the hard way how companies mislead with marketing. It is my mission to share what I have learned about regularly saving with my own children and also share it with you. That’s why we have a lot of “free” (blogs like www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com and www.stickyasset.com/blog and groups on Facebook like “Coupons & Coupon Codes”)!

In this country we don’t do enough to teach our children about money, managing money, saving regularly (and automatically), compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future. As a parent, we are always concerned that they get a good education and go to a good college so they can make a lot of money or have a valued career path. The truth is that we could do our children the biggest favor and one of the best things by sharing with them sound saving and investing principles.

You can join our free Facebook group (or have your children do it, too) by searching in the Facebook bar on your “wall” for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves.” Click on “become a fan.” It’s free and it ties our free blogs into that group.

If you want to give your children the same information we are giving ours, you can purchase the only thing we sell on any of our blogs or groups. It’s called “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” and you can get it for only $4.95 at www.middleclassmoney.com.

Thank you for reading our blog and good luck!

Loyd Ford
www.stickyasset.com/blog
www.middleclassmoney.com
www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com
www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth
www.stickyasset.com

Connect with us on Facebook with these free groups:
“Coupons & Coupon Codes”
“Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves”
“Saving Money”
“The Money Store”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

I usually focus on how to squeeze savings out of your everyday life. This blog isn’t about that. This blog entry is about style.

Americans in general have a style that is unique. That style comes with an attitude that we don’t really want people telling us what to do or the proper way – according to “them” – to get something done.

That’s not the same as saying we can’t be marketed to in a wide variety of ways. We can be tempted. We can be baited. We can be “moved.”

Spending has become our style.

We have often been told that we live in the richest country in the world. What does this mean? Choices. Products. Availability.

Overkill.

The things we think we need are what the world generally looks at as luxuries.

Think about it: Do you need the things you want? Be honest with yourself. Most of our “needs” are truly wants.

Until the recent bump in the economy (called the Great Recession), we had long forgotten the savings principles of “the Greatest Generation.”

We think it terms of what we want or what we think we need (like that new iPad or a watch or pair of shoes.

Being tempted is easy. Focusing on savings is not only not sexy, it is difficult to establish and continue with consistency.

Yet you see all around you businesses have cut back and shaved expenses. You can do the same thing at your home. You simply have to commit. You have to begin.

I challenge you to develop a new style. Build it yourself. Spend time with the other blog entries on this blog. Develop conversations about savings with your family. Include your spouse and children.

If you want, you can develop a style that enriches your life and helps your children live a better life than your life today. Isn’t that worth doing?

Read our blogs about what your emergency savings should be in 2010. It is eye-opening.

Get started right now. Take charge and develop your own plan to get ahead.

You can do it! Start. Get going! Do it now.


HELPING YOUR KIDS GET AHEAD

If you think I was born saving money, you are wrong. My own family didn’t believe in saving. They don’t believe in having a 401k. They have had “emergencies” all their lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly. I was not brought up to save and invest regularly and I have made every mistake you can think about when it comes to money. My parents thought they were shielding me from the realities of bills and worry. In fact, they were isolating me. I learned nothing until I had made many of the mistakes they made. I have had to learn the absolute hard way how to get savings on track and make it a part of your life without killing your lifestyle. I have had to learn the hard way how companies mislead with marketing. It is my mission to share what I have learned about regularly saving with my own children and also share it with you. That’s why we have a lot of “free” (blogs like www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com and www.stickyasset.com/blog and groups on Facebook like “Coupons & Coupon Codes”)!

In this country we don’t do enough to teach our children about money, managing money, saving regularly (and automatically), compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future. As a parent, we are always concerned that they get a good education and go to a good college so they can make a lot of money or have a valued career path. The truth is that we could do our children the biggest favor and one of the best things by sharing with them sound saving and investing principles.

You can join our free Facebook group (or have your children do it, too) by searching in the Facebook bar on your “wall” for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves.” Click on “become a fan.” It’s free and it ties our free blogs into that group.

If you want to give your children the same information we are giving ours, you can purchase the only thing we sell on any of our blogs or groups. It’s called “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” and you can get it for only $4.95 at www.middleclassmoney.com.

Thank you for reading our blog and good luck!

Loyd Ford
www.stickyasset.com/blog
www.middleclassmoney.com
www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com
www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth
www.stickyasset.com

Connect with us on Facebook with these free groups:
“Coupons & Coupon Codes”
“Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves”
“Saving Money”
“The Money Store”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

Debt is the #1 killer of wealth in the middle class. This is primarily because of some basic factors.

1. When you begin your adult life, credit card companies pound you with offers that make it appear that you can have the life your parents have while you work to pay for it. This is a reversal of the healthy truth. In a healthy model, you work, save and invest to put off instant gratification. By putting off your wants until you have build significant walls of emergency savings and regular investing, you are insuring a better life for yourself and your family.

2. Most credit card debt is considered high-interest debt. While paying money to investing could return 6 – 8% or more to your personal wealth, credit card debt can do more than make you owe debt. You are actually earning 9 – 12- 15 – 21 – 34% interest for the credit card companies. This goes against you big time. And it accumulates over time to insure your family gets further and further behind.

How can you truly get ahead over the next ten to twelve years?

Step 1: Stop believing any of the marketing. It’s not okay to spend money you don’t have today and pay for it tomorrow. Debt is the #1 killer of wealth. Don’t feed debt. Feed wealth. The only way to do this is to have a plan. That is what this blog is all about. You can develop your own plan to feed your wealth and NOT your debt.

Step 2: Don’t chase your credit score. While we are certainly not saying you should do anything to destroy your credit, we are saying your focus should be on regular saving and investing. Start with the correct emergency savings for 2010: That’s 15 to 18 months of emergency savings. Don’t have it? Get a plan together to develop that kind of savings. You can do it faster than most people recognize. If you need help or tips, go to www.MiddleClassMoney.com or read past blogs to show you how to reduce what you spend, separate the wants vs. needs and reduce debt on a regular basis. This is the first few steps to building wealth.

Step 3: Reduce debt by making more payments. Don’t focus on size. Focus on principle. If you can take advantage of paying the twice a month option (1/2 of your payment on the front end of the month, ½ of your payment on the back end), do it. If you have a new mortgage (within the last five or seven years), look at how much of your monthly payment is going to pay down principle each month. Remember: you are paying interest on that loan. If you look how much of your monthly payment goes to interest alone, you can get motivated to make smaller more regular payments in addition to your “note” each month. Write a generic letter that leaves a blank for you to fill in an amount. Then, send an extra payment of any kind marked “principle.” This will help move your debt off of you much faster than most people realize.

Step 4: After you have built your proper emergency savings fund (15 to 18 months of expenses in savings), begin a regular savings program outside of your 401k and Roth or Traditional IRA. Focus on the percentage you are saving each month – not just dollar amounts. Slow and steady wins the race. It’s as true today as it ever was. Steady savings and steady investing over time creates wealth.

Save regularly in your 401k, your Roth or Traditional IRA and in regular emergency savings. A little bit of savings adds up. It will take you to the next level.

These days just keeping your automobile 10 – 12 years could make a large difference in your wealth over the next thirty years.

Make sure you include your kids in the discussion. Helping them see how to manage money may be the single biggest and best gift you will ever give them.

HELPING YOUR KIDS GET AHEAD

If you think I was born saving money, you are wrong. My own family didn’t believe in saving. They don’t believe in having a 401k. They have had “emergencies” all their lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly. I was not brought up to save and invest regularly and I have made every mistake you can think about when it comes to money. My parents thought they were shielding me from the realities of bills and worry. In fact, they were isolating me. I learned nothing until I had made many of the mistakes they made. I have had to learn the absolute hard way how to get savings on track and make it a part of your life without killing your lifestyle. I have had to learn the hard way how companies mislead with marketing. It is my mission to share what I have learned about regularly saving with my own children and also share it with you. That’s why we have a lot of “free” (blogs like www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com and www.stickyasset.com/blog and groups on Facebook like “Coupons & Coupon Codes”)!

In this country we don’t do enough to teach our children about money, managing money, saving regularly (and automatically), compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future. As a parent, we are always concerned that they get a good education and go to a good college so they can make a lot of money or have a valued career path. The truth is that we could do our children the biggest favor and one of the best things by sharing with them sound saving and investing principles.

You can join our free Facebook group (or have your children do it, too) by searching in the Facebook bar on your “wall” for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves.” Click on “become a fan.” It’s free and it ties our free blogs into that group.

If you want to give your children the same information we are giving ours, you can purchase the only thing we sell on any of our blogs or groups. It’s called “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” and you can get it for only $4.95 at www.middleclassmoney.com.

Thank you for reading our blog and good luck!

Loyd Ford
www.stickyasset.com/blog
www.middleclassmoney.com
www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com
www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth
www.stickyasset.com

Connect with us on Facebook with these free groups:
“Coupons & Coupon Codes”
“Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves”
“Saving Money”
“The Money Store”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

If you set goals and find unique ways to plump up your savings, you will grow your own savings and then eventually personal wealth over time.

There is almost no such thing as get rich quick. Those people who want to become wealthy and do so by luck end up worse off than they were without the money to begin with. How come this is true? Because money gives you freedom and opportunity to bring the darker sides of your personality out faster than you would have a chance to experience without money.

Think about that and ask yourself if you want to build real value and wealth. If the answer is yes, we believe we can help with our steady saving values. Let’s give it a try.

1. Review your spending with the goal of identifying a 10 – 15% reduction in spending you can then apply directly to savings each month going forward.

2. Call all of the businesses you do business with and ask for a 10 – 15% reduction in your monthly bill (no, we are not kidding). Be open minded about change and any suggestions they may make (such as bundling of services). Be patient and tell them that you really want to keep their services, but tell them you desperately need the help. Be persistent. You may have to call back and talk to several supervisors. Always apply any savings or reductions to a “bill” to yourself. In other words, you are going to push all the “extra” you save from reducing your monthly savings to a fictional “bill” you will pay FIRST each month (before you pay any other bill). This will force you to engage in what we call “quick savings.”

3. Use our “1% Savings Plan” to layer in savings over the course of six or so months so you can take your savings to an appropriate rate without killing your lifestyle all at once. You can check out details on “The 1% Savings Plan” in past blog entries or in “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” at www.MiddleClassMoney.com.

4. Always pay more than the minimums on your credit cards. Focus on the higher interest cards first. Check out our strategies on how to deal with credit card companies in “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” at www.MiddleClassMoney.com.

5. Always include your family in competitive creative ideas on saving more money. You are not the only one with GREAT ideas. Your kids will probably shock you with their smart ideas (and you will be teaching them it is important to save regularly).

Our goal is to encourage you that YOU can save more money REGULARLY than you think. Develop your own plan for saving regularly and your family will be a winner!

Remember that debt - especially credit card debt - is the biggest killer of wealth production in the middle class. When you focus on savings, debt reduction and elimination, your family wins every time.


Your emergency savings in 2010 should be 15 to 18 months of your expenses in money market savings and certificates of deposit. The only economy that matters is the one at your house. Get a plan (your own) and move ahead.

You can do this!

HELPING YOUR KIDS GET AHEAD

If you think I was born saving money, you are wrong. My family is filled with hillbillies from Louisiana. There are members of my family that don’t believe in 401ks or IRAs. I was not brought up to save and invest regularly and I have made every mistake you can think about when it comes to money. I have had to learn the absolute hard way how to get savings on track and make it a part of your life without killing your lifestyle. I have had to learn the hard way how companies mislead with marketing. It is my mission to share what I have learned about regularly saving with my own children and also share it with you. That’s why we have a lot of “free” (blogs like www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com and www.stickyasset.com/blog and groups on Facebook like “Coupons & Coupon Codes”)!

In this country we don’t do enough to teach our children about money, managing money, saving regularly (and automatically), compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future. As a parent, we are always concerned that they get a good education and go to a good college so they can make a lot of money or have a valued career path. The truth is that we could do our children the biggest favor and one of the best things by sharing with them sound saving and investing principles.

You can join our free Facebook group (or have your children do it, too) by searching in the Facebook bar on your “wall” for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves.” Click on “become a fan.” It’s free and it ties our free blogs into that group.

If you want to give your children the same information we are giving ours, you can purchase the only thing we sell on any of our blogs or groups. It’s called “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis” and you can get it for only $4.95 at www.middleclassmoney.com.

Thank you for reading our blog and good luck!

Loyd Ford
www.stickyasset.com/blog
www.middleclassmoney.com
www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com
www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth
www.stickyasset.com

Connect with us on Facebook with these free groups:
“Coupons & Coupon Codes”
“Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves”
“Saving Money”