We always try to talk about savings and creating regular savings, but we believe that you should be engaged in a long-term process that involves automatic and regular savings, a proper emergency development and management, regular investment (mutual funds, bonds) and the production of your own asset train (an asset train is the building of assets outside of your regular income).

Here are some basics:

1. Proper Emergency Savings Fund – You should work to build 15 to 18 months of your expenses in an emergency savings fund of both money market savings and certificates of deposit (nothing longer than six months). Think about it: If you lose your job, it will take longer to find a job and perhaps even longer to replace your actual income than it did even two years ago. If you contribute regularly and automatically to the goal of having this amount in savings, you will be surprised at how fast it builds. The time will pass and you will find you have reach your goal sooner than you think.

2. 401k and Roth IRA or Traditional IRA. Why both a 401k and an IRA? Because you’re not your parents. In the old old days, it was okay to just have social security. Then, people started to understand that social security might not get it done (or even be “around”). Now, you need to do all you can to have a 401k and an IRA to balance your retirement savings. Regularly and automatically contributing to both of these give you a much happier retirement.

3. Reduce and eliminate debt. We believe you should dedicate a percentage of your revenue (above any minimums) to debt reductions and debt elimination. This includes your mortgage. Want our mortgage trick? Check the principle you are paying each month (the part of your house payment that is actually going to pay down the mortgage). Once you see how much smaller that amount is, you should try to work toward making an extra principle payment each month in that amount (make sure your mortgage does not give you a big fat penalty for paying down your debt – yes, we are serious. If it does give you a penalty, you know you should be looking for a new mortgage, right?)!

4. After you have done both # 1 and #2 above, you should proceed to begin building your own asset train. That means you should proceed with caution to build a regular investment in assets that can reproduce themselves with dividends or produce other value results.

When you come to this blog, you must know that we believe that checking accounts are money laundering accounts for other people’s money. We also believe that you must focus on what you save – not what you make. Money is slippery. If you don’t constantly try to move money from checking to savings, you will lose track of money and it will get away from you.

The main thing that you can do for yourself is develop your own strategy to save and invest. That plan has to fit your life, but education and focus on ways to save more will help you over time. It only takes action. You can do it.

GIVING YOUR KIDS inheritance

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

When you and I thought about money as a child, we really thought about something we wanted. Money was a way for us to get it or a roadblock that meant we were not getting something we really wanted.

TALKING TO OUR KIDS ABOUT M-O-N-E-Y

Parents of middle class children rarely talk to children about money. In fact, survey after survey suggests that we don’t want our children to know how little we know so many of us tell them nothing. We share nothing with them about balancing a checkbook or automatic savings. We don’t challenge their minds to look at money as something you use now and put away for saving and investing.

THE CLEAR REASON TO SPREAD THIS BLOG TO OTHERS

That is one of the main reasons we began this blog. We wanted to make it clear how critical it is to be your own expert on your personal financial situation and share experiences with your children. You must develop your own plan for saving and investing regardless of economic challenges and the ebb and flow of the economy, and you must have a plan to help your children learn how to deal with money.

Here is what we recommend:

1. Give your children a set amount of money each month.

2. Also give your children a set number of things to accomplish with that money each month.

3. Make it clear to your children individually that you expect them to save 20% of the amount you give them each month and
accomplish the things they are supposed to accomplish with the money.
4. Do NOT directly bail your kids out should they miss an obligation or savings; make them pay you back for any amount you have to make up should they miss a goal.

This strategy with your kids is based upon one simple idea: In your life things may be complicated, but you can take a very small amount of money and teach children how to handle it and expectations about saving and even investments and that will serve them for life.

It is a better education than the one we are always focused on with homework and college prep.

Help your children learn how to handle money and you will provide great resources for them for decades to come.

Follow us on Twitter. We are BoostMoneyBlog. Share with others. Read our past blogs and mark this blog for updates later. We update about every three days on average.


You can make a big difference in your life and a big difference in the lives of your children just by spending a little time working on strategies to help boost your personal savings and assets. You can do this!

WE WANT TO HELP YOUR KIDS

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. Spread our group to others. Together we can build a better tomorrow for ourselves and our children through sharing and the strategies that help produce wealth no matter what you make.

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

If you talk to your children about money, does it include spending some time each week on personal education to improve how smart you are about making money work for you as much as you work for money?

We have people contact us about saving more and investing more, and we run into people who say that it is too complicated or overwhelming. However, we try to make sure that we cover the basics in our blogging. The basics include regular personal education (the kind that Abraham Lincoln did when he taught himself). The good news is that in 2009, so much information is available at your fingertips you really can easily access learning materials about a large variety of saving and investing tools.

This includes:

1. The Correct-sized emergency savings fund for 2009.
2. Certificates of deposit.
3. Money Market Savings Accounts.
4. 401 K and Roth IRA or Traditional IRA (they must go together; it is no longer as safe to do just one).
5. Short-term, medium-term and long-term personal financial goals for your family.
6. Investing in mutual funds
7. DRIPs.
8. Automatic and regular savings and how to increase percentages over time to build your family opportunity for wealth production.

If you don’t have a personal computer and wireless internet, you can go to your local public library. They are very likely to have computers you can use to resource anything you want to learn about personal finance.

All we are asking is that you take time once a week or several times each week to learn and build your own personal finance plan and teach it to your own children. Make them a part of it. Let them feel the power and responsibility of decision making with money.

Our blogs are about building your own plan for saving more and investing wisely to build wealth over time. Too many people just let time slip away or make savings optional. You must take charge and it begins with the learning process.

You can do this!

MORE THAN A GOOD EDUCATION

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 go beyond the basics with your children, 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

I read all those things telling you that you should cut your lifestyle by carving off this fun thing or that fun thing, but I always think: That’s not the way to have a full life and a strategy to build wealth.

So, this time out on www.stickyasset.com/blog we are going to focus on the “30 Day Experiment.”

THE THIRTY DAY EXPERIMENT

For the next thirty days, your job will be to use coupons, coupon codes and websites you find where you can receive discounts ON THINGS YOUR NORMALLY NEED AND PURCHASE; (if you use coupons to purchase things you don’t ordinarily need, you are only participating in marketing – not saving). Shop around. Negotiate.

Take the money that you save from coupons and “act like you didn’t save.” In other words, take the difference between what you would have paid and the coupon discount and remove that money to savings.

Then do the same with your coupon codes, negotiation, websites, shopping around and every way you can “save.” Take what you saved – only for the next 30 days – and remove it to savings.

To make this more fun, put the money you saved in a jar in your kitchen (similar to our family’s found money jar). See how quickly it adds up. You will be blown away.

What does it take to participate in this? Commitment to do the work. Strategy to stay on course and only purchase things you would normally purchase.

30 days. That’s all we are saying. Try it. You might like it a lot.

MONKEY MONEY

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

You know we like to give you opportunity to save on site research from time to time.

Here are some money saving sites for you. Just remember: If you don’t put the money you save thru negotiation, coupons or money saving sites in actual savings, you have not saved. You participated in marketing.

www.Woot.com
www.Kashless.com
www.Fatwallet.com
www.Ebates.com
www.Craigslist.com
www.Slickdeals.com
www.Totallyfreestuff.com
www.Retailmenot.com
www.Thecouponclippers.com
www.Bargainshare.com
www.Cheaptweet.com

SAVE MORE THAN MONEY

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

I SAY IT TO MY KIDS ALL THE TIME

We need to remember this in our personal financial lives: The sky is not falling. I say it to my kids all the time, but we all act like kids sometimes...don't we? The rules don't change. Slow and steady wins the race.

It's not how you start, it's how you finish. We all panic (as a group) when the economy drops or when unemployment spikes. Those things are important. However, the most important thing you can say to yourself is: "What is my strategy?"

FIRST – THINGS NOT TO DO

Whenever you think about money, saving and investing, allow yourself to become overwhelmed. Think about all the people who are smarter than you and how much pure knowledge there is out there that you don’t have today. Give up. You could never manage money so that it works for you and you build savings, reduce debt and grow wealth.

THE TRUTH ABOUT NEGATIVE MESSAGES

If you allow yourself to become overwhelmed, you will.

If you allow yourself to believe others are smarter and that you can’t learn what they know, you are 50% more likely to give up.

Don’t.

THE PATH TO GROWING WEALTH

It all begins with you and your own attitude. After all, there are millions of people out “there” who have given up on their financial future. Some have even given up on the financial future of their own children. That’s just sad.

The personal finance industry has thousands of people waiting for you, too. They can guide you and do what we call “fee you to death.” (We are not against personal financial advisors; we believe in people learning personal finance, saving and investing for themselves, but it is always good to seek financial advice. Just remember that you need to interview a number of people before you find the person who is right for your family).

BUILD YOUR OWN PLAN

You have already taken some good first steps. Reading blogs like this one and www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com are good starters to learn to build your own plan for the future. You can become a member of the Facebook group “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves” to learn even more on building your own personal financial plan.

Spend an hour two or three nights a week learning all you can about saving with different institutions. Learn about emergency savings. Learn about the smart ways to use coupons. Don’t be afraid to seek and read. Compare what you see from different websites. Learn what works for you.

Remember these guidelines:

1. If it looks to good to be true, it is.

2. If you don’t understand it, don’t do it.

3. If they want money from you to “get you started” or teach you inside tricks to get rich quick, it’s probably both #1 and #2 above.
Skip it.

4. Wealth that stays in not generally made overnight. If you study carefully, you will find that most “overnight successes” were a result of years of hard work. Don’t be fooled by the pretenders on the internet. Learn all you can and invest only in what you know (AFTER you have secured your proper emergency savings fund* and both your steady and automatic 401k investment and either Roth IRA or Traditional IRA investments.

*15 to 18 months of expenses in money market savings and certificates of deposit in an FDIC-insured institution.

You can build wealth over time, but you have to develop your own strategy to grow savings, then long-term retirement first. Time takes care of itself. You must work to develop your own personal strategy and stick to it over time.

Checking in with this blog and others like it can help.

MAKE YOUR MOVE FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR CHILDREN

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

BACK TO SCHOOL SEASON

Are you ready? Little feet are on the move. You just want to do your best for your kids, but it is important to get good deals, too.

Here are some savings websites for back-to-school basics:

1. EducationalWarehouse.com – this is where teachers shop and recommend to others for learning tools and games.
2. Walmart.com – You know these folks. Shop around and then shop Walmart. I know – everyone won’t love this advice, but competition is good. Competition with Walmart can be even better. Always remember to put the pressure on the merchant. Just because X merchant sells it does not mean you have to purchase your “it” from them.
3. ClassroomDirect.com – Discounts on thousands of back-to-school ready items.

Don’t forget about these fun selections for more savings:

Overstock.com Auctions
Craigslist.org
GentlyLovedClothing.com

Remember our rule: If you save 10% on new shoes because of a coupon or negotiation, you are not saving unless you pull the money you would have spent before the coupon or negotiation and put that money in ACTUAL SAVINGS. If you force yourself to do that, you will be putting more of your ACTUAL MONEY to work FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY.
The merchants need you more than you need them. Use it. Keep in mind that coupons are marketing. If you use a coupon for something you already purchase, then you save. If you are purchasing something you WOULDN’T regularly purchase, you are participating in marketing and not savings.
Back to school is hard enough. You can make it a game to see how much you can save and push that money to savings to work for your family the entire school year.

MAKE YOUR KIDS RICH

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

Give yourself a break. Rome is overwhelming if you think about it. You know the saying, “Rome was not built in a day.” Everyone wants to have a great retirement. Everyone wants to be rich. Everyone wants to have no problems at work or with savings or credit cards.

How do you get there?

One brick at a time.

First comes the building of the plan. What do you want? Do you want to pay off debt? Come up with a plan.

Do you want to save money but don’t know how? Start with our 1% plan (see previous blogs) or research different ways people trick themselves to save more of their income.

As you build YOUR OWN PLAN for saving and investing based on what you want to accomplish, be patient and know that money does grow, but you have to be patient.

Use our 6 basic rules as your guide to begin thinking about how to save more and make real progress:

1. You can’t own credit cards – CREDIT CARDS OWN YOU.

2. Your checking account is a money laundering account for other people’s money – use any excuse to push money out of your checking account to savings.

3. Focus on what you keep (save) and not on what you make (earn).

4. Good things and bad things happen to every one – minimize the bad and celebrate the good until someone tells you to “cut it out” (this is not financial advice, but it is some of the best advice you will ever receive).

5. If you save money using a coupon or negotiation and you don’t take the amount you saved and put it in a savings vehicle, you haven’t saved at all.

6. Coupons are marketing. If you don’t ordinarily purchase an item and if you have not compared the per piece cost, you are participating in marketing – not saving.

Hey, you can do this! All the financial planners and rich people on planet Earth put their pants on the same way as we do! Do your research. Put away the proper amount of emergency savings first (see previous blog entries), then add 401k and Roth or Traditional IRA while you reduce and then eliminate debt and then grow assets.

Oh, and keep reading our blogs!

GIVE YOUR KIDS A BREAK

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

There is no time like right now – today – to begin attacking the things that make you unhappy and uncertain about this economy, your stressful job, your future employment, the value of your home and more.

Today you can begin to employ a specific strategy that you can build upon to take your stress almost completely away.

We call this the “Us Plan For Less Stress.”

Here’s how it works:

First, questions to ask:

How much savings do you currently have?

How much debt do you currently have?

How many investments do you have that reproduce some of themselves (like dividends with stocks)?

These are the three areas of focus in the “Us Plan For Less Stress.”

SAVINGS

If you are not already saving money automatically, begin with our 1% plan. When you get your next paycheck, look at the after-tax amount you get paid. Now – the goal here is to adjust your saving over time so it does not shock your lifestyle. Ready?

Take the after tax amount of your pay and multiply it by .01. Take that amount of money (before you pay even a single bill) and shift it out to savings.

Each time you get paid again, increase the amount by another 1% until you reach 20%.

At the same time, use any excuse you can to shift money out of checking. If you don’t know this about us, we believe your checking account is a money laundering account for other people’s money. Get it out, get it out, get it out.

It’s not about what you make – it is about what you KEEP as your own. That is our focus. We want to make it easier on you to keep more of what you earn.

You should have 15 to 18 months of expenses in emergency savings. The old 3 to 6 months is not working anymore. It is taking longer to find a job if you lose yours, and it is taking even longer to replace your income. Don’t mess around. Use our 1% plan to get yourself positioned to build this emergency savings fun.

Then.....ask yourself if you will have less stress with 15 to 18 months of savings in the bank?

DEBT

Look at your debt. Start with any credit card debt. If you have more than one credit card, repeat after us: You can’t own credit cards. CREDIT CARDS OWN YOU. Put yours in a family safe in the closet at your home.

Then, fan out your credit card statements. Look for the highest interest rate card. Write down each interest rate on a piece of paper next to the name of each card and the company that “owns” you. See if you can shift your debt to the lowest possible interest rate.

Call the company or companies and work them to eliminate or reduce your interest rate while you pay off your debt. Don’t be discouraged. Be prepared to call them 100 times. Ask for the supervisor. Do it again and again. Tell them you have been hit hard by the economy and that you don’t want to have to go bankrupt. Plead with them for help.

Then, look at your remaining cards. Arrange them by interest rate. Pay the minimums on each card EXCEPT the one with the biggest interest rate. PAY AS MUCH ON THIS CARD AS OFTEN AS YOU CAN. Even a little extra helps a lot. Pay it off and move to the next highest interest rate.

Debt is the #1 impairment to wealth in the middle class. Work to reduce and eliminate it and focus your children on staying out of it except on major purchases (such as a primary home).

Ask yourself: Will you feel better with reduced or eliminated debt? Don’t worry about time – attack, attack, attack the debt. You will find it will leave you faster than you think if you focus your energies and see credit card companies for what they are: your enemies.

INVESTMENT

This one is the most simple, but it should be worked only after you are well on your way with saving and debt elimination.

Invest in things that reproduce themselves – even with no further investment from you. Stocks that have dividends makes a great example. You want valuables that reproduce themselves.

Look for passive revenue streams or any opportunity to generate income “on the side” or in addition to your primary job to introduce money to investing. In other words – not to spend....to invest in valuables that reproduce their source element.

Will you feel better if you start to purchase Vanguard or some other mutual fund that pays dividends and reproduces more of itself?

I think you know where we are going. It’s called “The Land Of The Wealthy.” There is no reason you cannot attend.

Build your own strategy and make it happen every time you get paid.

NOW SOMETHING FOR YOUR FUTURE

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

Is this you? We hear it all the time:

“The rules have changed. My job is stressful. They are making us do more for less. Unemployment where I live is growing. My house is worth less than it was a year ago and my credit cards are killing me. I know that if I knew more about what to do with money now I could save more and gain some control over my life. I just don’t know where to get the information. I don’t need a bailout. I need to know the secrets of how to get ahead.”

A PROGRAM THAT HELPS YOU DEVELOP YOUR OWN PLAN

Millions of Americans are falling behind on retirement. More than this, millions are experiencing credit stress at the same time they are experiencing job stress and their homes are worth less. On top of this, many Americans are seeing unemployment as a real possibility in their near future and the possibility that they will not be able to replace their income should they lose their job. We’ve had years of inflated credit standards fueling our lives.

That’s part of the reason www.MiddleClassMoney.com was launched. There is a need for a program that makes the secrets the wealthy teach their children available to middle class families. MiddleClassMoney.com and the personal finance blogs associated with the main website (www.stickyasset.com/blog and www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com) are designed to get middle class families thinking about how to develop their own plan for saving smarter and boosting actual wealth over time.

While middle class families can access the free information on the personal finance blogs, there is also a free Facebook group that shares information and encourages people to help one another with ideas and patterns of wealth-building they have found helpful.

You can learn how to set a strategy for reducing debt, building a proper emergency savings fun, avoiding scams and building real wealth so that you have more control over the financial future of your family. However, you won’t find these strategy ideas if you don’t look. Take action today in just a few minutes to begin your own path to financial freedom. Then, teach your own children the secrets of the rich and let them achieve much more for their own family down the line.

REACH BEYOND YOUR SITUATION – TO YOUR CHILDREN

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 our children 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. These are the true secrets the rich teach their children. That’s why the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer.

You can join our free Facebook group (and share it with your children) 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 personal finance blogs into that group so you have resources at your fingertips.

OR GO TO THE SOURCE

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 and good luck!

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

Have you ever felt like Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones with the ball rolling after you at 100 miles per hour or Cary Grant in North By Northwest running away from something that is out to get you. Your bills just seem to pile up. Your kids need unexpected things. They are cutting back at work (asking you to do more for less).

Is there a way out of the flat-out-rat-race?

The gold standard strategy to get out of the rat race isn't get rich quick, and it is also not a new way of making money by not putting in any effort.

The gold standard is simple: Use the resources you have and create a systematic way to keep more of the money you earn in each of your paychecks.

We all know that life is filled with demands - your financial life is no different. There are needs for this and wants for that. Here is a key system you can use to boost your personal savings and develop your own plan to increase your control over life:

1. Start with our 1% saver. That means look at your next after-tax paycheck and take 1% of that amount and put it in savings before you pay even one bill. Then, each paycheck after that, take an additional 1% and add it to your savings. Do this until you reach 20% of your after-tax paycheck. This is a simple way to give yourself savings without shocking your lifestyle.

2. Press down on credit. Call your credit card companies and flat out ask them to eliminate your interest while you pay off your credit cards. Tell them that you are working to avoid going bankrupt. Tell them you are working and want to pay them but have been hit hard by the economy. Keep after them. Ask for supervisors. Don't expect immediate results. Keep calling them back. Tell them you are doing all you can and that you want their help. If you get them to lower your interest rates any, you have won. But keep calling again. Work to reduce and eliminate debt. It is the #1 impairment to wealth in the U.S. with middle class families.

3. Look for ways to create Asset Trains. In other words - look for ways to add additional money to pay off debt faster. Look for and research passive revenue. Do NOT pay someone to give you opportunity. Educate yourself - this is the key to overcoming financial barriers. Find ways to add passive revenue to your life.

4. Get your family involved in saving and investing. Find ways for everyone in the family to pull together to boost family savings. This will help the family and teach your children the importance of money. Not because money is important. Because making sure money works for you. Change how it works in your family. Instead of you working for money - make your money work for you. You can do it.

5. Constantly look for opportunities to purchase assets (these are not cars and boats). Assets grow other assets like themselves.

STRIKE BACK AT THE BIG CORPORATIONS & HELP YOUR OWN KIDS UNDERSTAND MONEY MANAGEMENT

Look for ways you can join other people in ideas on saving and investing for the future. CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT BUILDING WEALTH.

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

We get so caught up in the rat race that it is difficult to see a vision for what you want your life to become. So many middle class families are simply trying to get by. They can't seem to think about tomorrow for today. That is why now - more than ever - your family must have a financial plan. I think we can say that we used to worry all the time about the neighbor. Does he have a new car, a new house, a new toy. This kind of thinking has lead to huge national and personal debt.

Debt is the #1 impairment of wealth-building for the middle class. Don't get caught up in apples and oranges. There are three (3) simple things you should have as a part of your overall plan for family budget and goals.

In this economy, we must get our mind right. Slow and steady may not look sexy, but it is the most solid way to build wealth over time. If it looks flashy, it is likely trashy. If you think it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Having said all of this, here are the three (3) things you can focus on to turn your financial situation positive:

1. Save money with each paycheck. If you have a job, you should be saving. How much? 20%. Don't panic. If you're not saving that much, look up our 1% plan and start with just 1% of your after-tax paycheck. We show you how to adjust your savings without canceling your lifestyle.

2. Reduce and eliminate debt. If you have credit card debt, START with those. Research the best ways to pay off credit card debt. After all, it's 2009. You should be empowered. If you're reading this on a computer, you can research quick ways to save and to reduce debt - especially credit card debt.

3. Build assets. After you are saving regularly and for retirement, you should be focused on also building some assets. Again, we send you back to research things for yourself. You can do this. One of our recommendations is that you spend about two hours in any given week on internet research on ways to save, ways to pay off debt and ways to build assets.

The most important thing is to have a plan.

Have a plan.

Have a plan.

If you are not a member of our FREE Facebook group “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves,” please join on Facebook. It’s free. Simply search Facebook for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves” and click on “become a fan” for instant and free access to our resources.

You can also check in with both of our free blogs:

www.stickyasset.com/blog

www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com

Get our FREE monthly e-saver by signing up in the e-mail window at www.stickyasset.com/blog.

The only thing we sell associated with any of our free personal finance blogs or groups is “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis.” We only charge $4.95 and it is always available to families who really want secrets the rich use with money at www.middleclassmoney.com.

You can do this! As always, thank YOU for reading!



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

Someone who regularly reads one of our blogs told me the other day that she thinks people fall into several categories:

1. People who listen, take information in and use it to make their lives better.
2. People who say they already knew it, it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work for them or some other excuse.
3. People who refuse to try.

She says she believes this is why some people become wealthy, some people remain middle class or struggle all of their lives and other people fall into poverty.

We still believe anyone can work to build savings and reduce debt first, followed by eliminating debt and focusing on wealth creation through strategy.

People don’t think in terms of little things. Not most people anyway.

Most people think “big picture.” That is why most people think of getting rich, they often think of striking it rich in the lottery or a huge inheritance. People don’t think about the money that slips through their hands day after day. After all, that money is too small.

That is the actual point. Successful business owners often say, “Watch the small money, the big money will take care of itself.” That’s because everyone can quickly see when big money disappears. However, when you are losing pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters, you don’t notice right away.

Using strategy with your “little money” can give you access to big money.

Imagine the difference you could make the in the lives of your own children if you trained them to think about and focus on where the small money is going regularly.

Begin to look at your financial life in percentages and moments of decision. Each choice either puts you closer to poverty or wealth. Don’t think that’s true?

What does one stop at McDonalds cost? One cup of coffee at Starbucks? One drink when you are checking out in the grocery line? Add these moments up and you have a car payment or even a house payment.

Go to your checkbook. This is where a lot of bad things can happen, and your checkbook (and your bank statement) is where you find a lot of evidence that leads to wealth. Review your spending over the last sixty to ninety days. Separate choices into three (3) different columns:

1. Bills
2. Needs
3. Wants

Be honest with yourself about each. Your goal is to look for at least 15 – 20 % of “expenses” you can eliminate going forward. That gives you a cushion of savings each month. Going forward, pull this amount of money (from your wants) out to go into savings before paying any bills. You really can do this – and it will be the beginning of making a huge difference.

If you’ve been reading our blog any time at all, you know we have a saying we love to pass around. “Your checking account is a MONEY LAUNDERING ACCOUNT for other people’s money.” Any excuse you can use to push money out of your checking account….DO IT.

SPEND SOME TIME ON THE INTERNET INVESTING IN YOUR FAMILY

After you have a family meeting to talk about spending, saving and investing (because you want to positively influence your children’s lives; including them in these conversations will help them understand how to use money wisely), Ask members of your family to join you in a “game.” This game will be about unique ways to save money. Ask them to help find ways to save more money by volunteering for “internet duty.” Everyone in your family can compete to see who can find the best coupons and coupon codes or additional ways to save and make money. You know there is more than one way to skin a cat (so to speak). By spending just two hours a week on the internet looking for ways to:

1. Save money (this is different than getting discounts; we tell people all the time if you are not actually saving the money you “save”….you are not saving).
2. Bring more money to your family (this can be passive income or something family members can do in “off time” to boost income specifically for saving and investing).
3. Get Discounts (we call this “get discounts” because we don’t want confusion with the words “save money”). Getting discounts could simply be finding unique coupons or coupon codes that saves your family money. Remember to use coupons or coupon codes ONLY on things you already purchase regularly or actually need. Otherwise, coupons and coupon codes are MARKETING. Marketing is the “other team.” Remember that companies offer coupons because they have opposite priorities from your goal of saving actual money for the family.

Like our other philosophy on the 1% plan, we also believe you should take the percentage saved with coupons, coupon codes and negotiation and push that amount of money to saving or investing. It will boost your opportunity to create wealth, and you will be glad you chose to do it!

HELP YOURSELF & THEN HELP YOUR CHILDREN

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

Sometimes people get confused. They think that our blogs are only about saving money. It is true that we like to encourage families to save money, but everything we do is focused on these three (3) things:

1. Saving money – We mean actually getting discount and taking the money that you would have spent and putting that in a savings vehicle so it can begin to earn “other money for you.”

2. Reducing and eliminating debt – The #1 impairment to building wealth is debt. The worst of this is credit card debt. We encourage families to get creative about paying off debt and isolating high interest credit card debt. As we always like to say, “You don’t own credit cards. Credit cards own you.

3. Building assets – We call this building your own “asset train™.” We also have a very hard definition on what an “asset” actually is. In other words, unless it can absolutely increase in value or grow more of itself, it is not really an asset.

We also notice that there is a difference in “saving with coupons” as marketing and actually saving. When you “save with coupons” as marketing, you are purchasing based upon the coupons you come in contact with. We recommend that you use coupons for actual savings. Here’s how that works:

1. Don’t use just any coupon. Many people do that. Only use a coupon to purchase something you regularly purchase. If you don’t ordinarily purchase and use the product, resist purchasing it because you have a coupon.

2. Always calculate the unit price and compare. You don’t always saving just because you have a coupon. Keep them honest. After all, it is marketing. Always calculate the unit price of what you are purchasing and compare. If you are not saving per unit, you might have been better off at Walmart without a coupon.

3. Apply what you save to “actual savings.” This is a simple rule that will help you build assets at a faster rate. It will force your savings to boost almost constantly. I’ll make this simple: If you save 20% on an item that you ordinarily purchase when grocery shopping because you have a coupon, calculate the 20% you “saved” and put that amount in savings. Get it out of your checking account and into an interest earning savings “situation.”

We want to encourage all families to save money, be watchful of scams, reduce and eliminate debt and build your own “asset train™” (because trains actually go places). We also encourage you to eliminate the idea that your financial worth is about what you make. It isn’t. What you make is not important. What percentage you save of what you make is the key. And remember: Your checking account is a money laundering account for other people’s money. Use any excuse you can to remove money from your checking account and get it in savings or investment.

If you are not a member of our FREE Facebook group “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves,” please join on Facebook. It’s free. Simply search Facebook for “Live The Lifestyle Your Family Deserves” and click on “become a fan” for instant and free access to our resources.

You can also check in with both of our free blogs:

www.stickyasset.com/blog

www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com

Get our FREE monthly e-saver by signing up in the e-mail window at www.stickyasset.com/blog.

The only thing we sell associated with any of our free personal finance blogs or groups is “How To Survive Any Financial Crisis.” We only charge $4.95 and it is always available to families who really want secrets the rich use with money at www.middleclassmoney.com.

You can do this! As always, thank YOU for reading!



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