I was thinking about Conan O’Brien. The hoopla is all over. He has 42 million dollars. Jay Leno is headed back to “The Tonight Show.” However, I was thinking about something Conan said.

It was something like “Cynicism is my least favorite trait. It doesn’t get you anywhere.” He was right.

Sometimes I think we “adults” are just cynical and smart butts who don’t believe in anything. We certainly don’t believe we can win in “this economy.” We don’t believe we can save money “with this job.” We don’t believe we can overcome.

What if you decided to change all of that? What if we left being cynical behind?

What if we listened? What if we started OUTLAWING the “I can’t” phrase? What if we taught our children to ask “How can we?”

If you don’t have a regular savings plan today, you will absolutely run into trouble tomorrow. We suggest you start with our “1% Savings Plan,” but it is fine to start with whatever plan works for you and your family (to find the “1% Savings Plan,” look at our previous blog entries on this blog).

The main thing is this: Start reading up. Use the internet. Find ways to cull back your savings. Did I just use that word? Yes, I did. Check out “The 10 Things” on our www.middleclassmoney.com site. Check out websites that focus on ways you can save more money. While we do NOT endorse any site or product (do your own research), here are some examples to get your family started:


www.wethesavers.com

www.smartaboutmoney.com

www.billeater.com

www.fdic.gov (see if your bank is FDIC-insured)

You will note that we didn’t say purchase anything from any of these people. We actually believe you should be able to set your own plan for saving regularly and investing regularly. We don’t believe you should pay anyone to help you save money.

We also believe that a checking account is a MONEY LAUNDERING ACCOUNT for other people’s money. If you hang out on our blog, you will note right away we are for using ANY excuse to pull money from checking and putting it away in savings (money market savings or certificates of deposit).

How much is a good emergency savings fund in 2010? 15 to 18 months of expenses in savings. Don’t have that? Check out our past blog entries for “The 1% Savings Plan.” That will get you started without killing your lifestyle.

We don’t believe in chasing credit scores here either. The goal should be solid financial footing. That does not translate into A LOT OF CREDIT.

Building wealth is not generally done overnight and not often done through use of credit. Cash is still king and you should find ways to make your cash earn money for you (instead of you working for cash all the time).

A final word for now? You can do it! Get started. Don’t wait.

HELPING YOUR KIDS GET AHEAD

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 to save more by joining the free Facebook group “Coupons & Coupon Codes.” We talk about saving money and how to make the most of coupons and coupon codes. You can share, learn or just check it out.