Most people think: Get rich quick.

Let’s win the lottery.

Maybe I will inherit money. My life will be fixed if I can just become RICH!

The truth is a lot more simple. True value is generally built OVER TIME.

The economy goes up and the economy goes down. The challenges of employment, your children, bills and more keep most of our attention. Most of us are subject to disappointment over politics one way or the other (or both) and the time wasting television (hey, people need to relax, right?)! Life pulls at you and you think about instant relief. What if I was rich? Ahh, that would make it all better.

Let me repeat: the good news for you and me is that value – real value – is generally built over time. This means that by establishing a pattern of saving regularly and investing regularly, you can and will get ahead. The biggest trick is to NOT get overwhelmed. You have to know in your heart that real value is created over time. As long as you develop your own plan, grow and learn in ways you learn to save more and invest better, you will be amazed how quickly you can grow savings and get on the path.

If you don’t have a plan right now and you are not saving right now, START (it’s the most important secret). Check out our “1% Savings Plan” on past blog entries.

We like a few guidelines:

Checking accounts are like money laundering accounts for other people’s money; use any excuse to pull money from checking and push it to savings.

Credit card companies are your enemies. They are the enemies of your family. Two words for these people: Reduce and eliminate debt (see our past blogs about how to deal with credit card companies).

If you save money using coupons or negotiating over price but don’t actually put the money you save in savings, you ARE NOT SAVING.

Regular savings is not optional. If you want poverty, don’t save money with every paycheck you get. You’ll get there.

The current guidelines for EMERGENCY SAVINGS are 15 to 18 months of expenses in money market savings and certificates of deposit. If you are using our “regular saving and investing guidelines,” you will build savings a lot faster than you think.

You can help your family by involving them in developing the family plan for saving and investing. It can be more important than their formal education.

You can get ahead in this economy. You can save money regularly. START – it is the most important thing.

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 saving 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”