How Do You Know Anyone Can Save Money In 2011?

It is tough to save money consistently and regularly. Still, there are those people who say it is impossible.

Here is one example of why “It is impossible” is a myth that isn’t true. It is a small example, but you can see where commitment equals success in savings.

Over the last three (3) year my wife and I have run an experiment that I think we will continue for a good and long while. We watch the ground for money.

That’s right. We look for “fallen money” or “other people’s money” that they don’t want or simply money that bling blinged to the floor or parking lot so we could spot it and retrieve it just for looking with a keen eye.

If you have been reading this blog for some time, you know that we have a jar in our kitchen that we put our found money in once we discover it. This money adds up each year. A lot of people think, “How much money could you simply find on the ground?” Well, every year we collect the money in our little jar and then use it at the end of the year to open up a 12 month CD.

About this time each year I give an update on what we found in latest year.

Can you save money on any budget? Yes.

In 2010, we found $86.80. That’s $86.80 that other people – that we don’t even know – left to us. They say you hope you get lucky in the New Year. We find we make our own luck by watching what is going on around us.

In 2009, we found $61.47. That money has grown to $62.57 (this is money we are earning on other people’s money).

In 2008, we found a total of $26.95. That money has grown to $27.39 (this is also money we found on the ground; this is money WE are earning based on other people’s money).

No, this isn’t a huge amount of money. But it is an experiment and we are growing savings off of other people’s money. That’s a total of $176.76. And it keeps growing.

What will we find in 2011? I can tell you there are already pennies in the jar this year (and we’ve barely begun).

If you commit, you can begin a regular savings program. This means that you can develop tactics you can find useful in generating regular and irregular savings (and you should make it a goal to have both).

The average family today needs 15 to 18 months of expenses in emergency savings. No worries if you don’t have it right now. Set goals. Brainstorm with the family. Reduce debt and reduce payments (if you don’t know what we mean, look in past blog entries or at www.MiddleClassMoney.com).

This could be your year. Get started. Keep after it.

You can do it.
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. Our people have had “emergencies” all our lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly, and our family is not different than millions of other good American families. 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 have had to learn from my own mistakes over time. 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 or allowing “it” to overwhelm you. 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”) associated with our mission!

It is our goal to encourage everyone to teach our children about money, managing money, and saving regularly (and automatically. Children should receive lessons about compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future before they face the hard choices of adult life while being subjected to the consequences of the high-speed marketing culture we live in. 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 by simply 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. You can get our free e-saver newsletter by signing up at www.StickyAsset.com/blog.

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.

Good luck to you and your children.

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”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

Get Started (Now) Saving Money (And Your Family)

What are you waiting for?

You can’t save money regularly?

People are proving everyday that you can save if you commit to the idea and focus on goal setting and building over the long-term (not immediate gratification).

It’s not easy unless you make it your focus to get-it-done.

What if you started with our “1% Savings Plan.” It works like this:

Next paycheck – multiply the after tax amount by .01. Take the result and SAVE it in ACTUAL savings.

Paycheck after that? Multiply the after tax amount of your pay by .02. Put it in actual savings.

Each time you get paid after that, add another 1 percent until you finally reach .20. Put it in actual savings.

That’s the #1 way to boost regular savings. And it works.

Then, you are cooking. This will give you a steady way to start a real savings program and grow it to 20% savings on a regular basis without “killing your lifestyle.”

Brainstorm with your family members. Focus on goal-setting.

Focus on what you can do and see how quickly your own family members will shock you with ideas that can really add up.

It’s only simple if you start saving and you commit to regular and steady savings.

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. Our people have had “emergencies” all our lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly, and our family is not different than millions of other good American families. 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 have had to learn from my own mistakes over time. 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 or allowing “it” to overwhelm you. 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”) associated with our mission!

It is our goal to encourage everyone to teach our children about money, managing money, and saving regularly (and automatically. Children should receive lessons about compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future before they face the hard choices of adult life while being subjected to the consequences of the high-speed marketing culture we live in. 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 by simply 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. You can get our free e-saver newsletter by signing up at www.StickyAsset.com/blog.

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.

Good luck to you and your children.

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”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

Business & Your Family In 2011

If you are like us, you have always looked at businesses you do business with like you look at other people. You think it is your responsibility to treat them the way you would like to be treated.

The problem is that many of these companies have begun to think about you in terms of only how much money they can get from you. In addition to this, they have begun to think in terms of how they can limit their expenses and often their services while still getting the full payment participation from your family.

As a result, we have adjusted our thinking so that we treat them as a negative event in our family budget and we recommend you treat them the same way. What does this mean for you? It means that you should review your services at least once each year and work with them to seek a reduction in pricing.

No, I am not kidding.

Times have gotten more and more difficult for middle class families. On the other hand, big business (especially) in this country are FLUSH with cash. This is because they constantly operate from a conservative position of limiting and reducing expenses while PRESSING for PROFIT.

To meet this challenge you should start this at least yearly process of approaching every business that gets money from your household and PRESSING THEM for REDUCTION in costs.

The process begins with a phone call, but you must learn to be pleasant and firm while being prepared to make multiple phone calls and seek out supervisors multiple times to reduce costs while keeping services.

You start by telling them that you are having financial difficulties and really want to keep their services. However, you should also tell them that you need to reduce the bill you receive by 10 – 12%. That’s where the negotiation begins.

Again – be patient.

Be willing to listen to their suggestions. Be willing to talk to multiple supervisors and stay calm and pleasant as you work your way to a DISCOUNT.

When you negotiate a discount, take the money you saved (in actual dollars from your monthly bill) and add it to your “automatic savings bill.” This will help you establish or expand a regular monthly “bill” that actually goes directly to savings in a money market savings account.

In 2011 you should be working toward having 15 to 18 months of your family expenses in actual savings to have a proper emergency savings fund (correctly funded). Why? Because it may take you longer to find a new job making your current income if you lose your job. You may become a part of a large wave of people who cannot replace your current income if you lose your job. Having a right-sized emergency savings fund for 2011 will be very helpful to your family.

If you do not have this kind of emergency savings fund, we recommend you look back in previous blog entries here and at www.StickyAsset.com/blog to find our “1% Savings Plan” or check it out at www.MiddleClassMoney.com to begin a systematic way to launch and grow regular savings.

We believe it’s us against the world. That means your family must take more control of your money and see companies you do business as BUSINESSES that must be NEGOTIATED with so you get the most value for the least costs.

And always actually save what you save. This is a major key to GROWING SAVINGS.

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. Our people have had “emergencies” all our lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly, and our family is not different than millions of other good American families. 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 have had to learn from my own mistakes over time. 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 or allowing “it” to overwhelm you. 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”) associated with our mission!

It is our goal to encourage everyone to teach our children about money, managing money, and saving regularly (and automatically. Children should receive lessons about compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future before they face the hard choices of adult life while being subjected to the consequences of the high-speed marketing culture we live in. 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 by simply 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. You can get our free e-saver newsletter by signing up at www.StickyAsset.com/blog.

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.

Good luck to you and your children.

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”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

I Want To Help

I want to help people.

I wanted to help me. That has been a big goal for me in writing this blog and www.StickyAsset.com/blog. I believe that you can overcome issues of childhood, issues of job changes, divorces and a variety of other problems that can slow or stop you from saving and investing regularly.

In the past twenty plus years I have made very single mistake a person can make with personal finance. It is the old story of thinking you know everything when you are younger and then growing to the point where you realize you don’t know as much as you thought and helping others can be part of simply helping yourself.

This process of writing a blog (or two) makes you think about how you can learn and use tools against an increasingly corporate world set out to separate us from our money.

People save a lot of things. Stamps. Coins. Signatures. People save what is important to them. Well, the point of this blog is that your FAMILY is important. When it is your family vs. the corporations, I hope your family always wins. That’s why we believe in learning all you can about:

Negotiation

Coupons & Coupon codes (we even have a group called “Coupons & Coupon Codes” on Facebook)

Regular saving

Regular investing

Reducing and eliminating debt

We also believe CREDIT CARD COMPANIES are easily the enemy of your family. For most people, the marketing that credit cards do is problematic. We want to be a source to encourage holding credit card companies accountable, getting you and us to know how our credit cards work and using the rules and extra principal payments to REDUCE & ELIMINATE this kind of debt.

We believe checking accounts are MONEY LAUNDERING accounts for other people’s money. Leave money in that checking account and your money will GO become someone else’s and you will wonder where it went. In other words, you need to use any excuse you can to push “extra” money in your checking account out to personal savings.

Don’t take things for granted. You can save a lot more money than you are currently. You can brainstorm with your family how to save more and make it your focus in terms of building regular savings.

Regular Savings.

You can do this. Need help? Look at our past blog entries dealing with our “1% Savings Plan.” You can find it here or at www.StickyAsset.com/blog or at www.MiddleClassMoney.com.

Don’t kid yourself. You don’t have to do a lot to build savings and eliminate debt – but you do have to establish regular savings, goal setting, debt reduction and belief in your family.

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. Our people have had “emergencies” all our lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly, and our family is not different than millions of other good American families. 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 have had to learn from my own mistakes over time. 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 or allowing “it” to overwhelm you. 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”) associated with our mission!

It is our goal to encourage everyone to teach our children about money, managing money, and saving regularly (and automatically. Children should receive lessons about compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future before they face the hard choices of adult life while being subjected to the consequences of the high-speed marketing culture we live in. 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 by simply 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. You can get our free e-saver newsletter by signing up at www.StickyAsset.com/blog.

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.

Good luck to you and your children.

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”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

Black Friday, Coupon Codes & Real Rules For Saving $

Shopping is marketing if you do it the way you see it on TV.

We are a consumer-based society. You should use your power in the Christmas holiday season. Make your list in advance. Start with a budget for EVERYTHING. For instance, for all my Christmas shopping I am going to spend XXX. Then, split that amount up among all those you are “gifting” to this holiday season.

Make your list down to the product, but be willing to shop around.

Look on the internet for coupon codes for the purchases you want to make.

Stick to your budget. Don’t be embarrassed to walk away. 70% of our economy is produced by results of CONSUMERS. Make your voice heard.

Remember these rules:

Negotiate everywhere.

Be prepared to walk. You don’t have to buy from a specific retailer – you can purchase from the merchant that gives you the best price.

If you really want to make the Christmas shopping season fun, take that amount saved on any purchase (and every purchase) and actually DO SAVE IT in money market savings (as if you had spent it).

Above all, make your holidays about quality – not how many gifts. Gifts with a lot of thought simply mean more.

Tis the season to exploit your power as a consumer. Do it!

You CAN do it.

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. Our people have had “emergencies” all our lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly, and our family is not different than millions of other good American families. 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 have had to learn from my own mistakes over time. 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 or allowing “it” to overwhelm you. 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”) associated with our mission!

It is our goal to encourage everyone to teach our children about money, managing money, and saving regularly (and automatically. Children should receive lessons about compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future before they face the hard choices of adult life while being subjected to the consequences of the high-speed marketing culture we live in. 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 by simply 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. You can get our free e-saver newsletter by signing up at www.StickyAsset.com/blog.

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.

Good luck to you and your children.

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”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

What Motivates Good Savers?

When it comes right down to it, the whole thing is about what motivates you. When it comes to thinking long-term (which is really what developing a steady and regular savings plan is all about), you could start by thinking about the carnage of the last few years. You could think about the jobs situation or how slowly the economy is recovering. I’m not being negative, but it is important to point out that so many experts are suggesting the future will be nothing like the last thirty years.

What can you do?

Just by reading this blog or focusing on people who are interested in saving regularly will be helpful to you.

Brainstorm with your family. Lay out all the reasons that you want to adjust your spending and regular savings. You might be amazed at how good your own family can be at coming up with savings ideas.

If you’ve been reading our blog for any amount of time, you know we believe in negotiation. But we also believe in soaking up spending reductions and making them a part of regular savings.

In other words: Save 12% on your grocery shopping this week using coupons or purchasing “buys”? Take the 12% and push it into a very real savings account as if you had spent it. That’s savings.

Talk to your cable company and reduce your monthly “nut?” Take the amount you saved and add it to what I call “The 1st Bill.” That is a bill you “make-up” and put in the payment column of your family budget each month. The “1st Bill” can be used this way:

Save money by reducing your spending on a bill? Add that amount saved to the “1st Bill.”

Save money by refinancing your mortgage? Take the amount you reduced in your mortgage and add it to the “1st Bill.” This “bill” will increase as you find additional ways to save (or when you get a raise). This increases your regular monthly savings.

But don’t stop there. Brainstorm with your family. Keep a keen eye on ways to save. You will be shocked how quickly you can develop serious savings.

It’s worth it. And you can do it.

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. Our people have had “emergencies” all our lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly, and our family is not different than millions of other good American families. 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 have had to learn from my own mistakes over time. 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 or allowing “it” to overwhelm you. 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”) associated with our mission!

It is our goal to encourage everyone to teach our children about money, managing money, and saving regularly (and automatically. Children should receive lessons about compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future before they face the hard choices of adult life while being subjected to the consequences of the high-speed marketing culture we live in. 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 by simply 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. You can get our free e-saver newsletter by signing up at www.StickyAsset.com/blog.

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.

Good luck to you and your children.

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”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

How Many Licks Does It Take To Get To The Center Of A Blow Pop?

It’s tough to live in what I call “the hard middle.” By the time you reach “middle age,” you are grinding it out with multiple priorities of family life, job, debt and a variety of things that only come with the words middle age.

But do you remember when you were a kid? Do you remember those ads for the Blow Pop? You know, “how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Blow Pop?”

Most American families are struggling with the power of the great recession and the pull backs by corporations and small businesses who are allowing fear to drive business decisions. You can’t blame these companies. After all, we have seemingly been to the edge and everyone is watching the decision makers in politics and economics to see how or when they can get the U.S. economy back on track.

How can you add true savings to the mix of family priorities and bill paying even if you may face a no raise environment (or have suffered from a reduction in pay over the last several years)?

Steady and regular savings should not be optional in any family that wants to survive and thrive in the next two decades.

You can begin by calling a family meeting and simply brainstorming about current and past spending for the purpose of reducing expenses now and in the future.

If you don’t have a savings plan in place today, go to past blog entries to see our “1% Savings Plan.” It may knock your socks off and it can absolutely increase your steady savings without killing your lifestyle.

Look at all the money you spend for any reason. Take your cue from the major corporations: Reduce your expenses across the board by talking to EVERY company that sends a bill to your home. Negotiate with them to reduce your bill with them by 10 – 15% each month. Be open-minded to their suggestions and be consistent and relentless. If they say no, ask for a supervisor. Tell them you really want to remain a customer of theirs, but tell them you need help. It may take multiple calls, but you will be happy when they give a little breathing room. Any percentage they give to you, you must add to your REGULAR and STEADY monthly savings from that point forward.

Think of it this way: The money you make is only important until you pay for your very basic food and shelter for the family. The real IMPORTANT and KEY money that flows to your family IS ONLY WHAT YOU SAVE & INVEST.

This is 2010 (almost 2011). We must become more aggressive about steady savings and investment. Focusing your family and including everyone in this will be a powerful friend to help you build wealth.

In 2010, you should have 15 to 18 months of your expenses in emergency savings. Don’t have it? Don’t worry. Just get started. It will build faster than you can imagine.

Slow and steady really does win the race. Put it to the test. You’ll be glad you did.

You can do it.

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. Our people have had “emergencies” all our lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly, and our family is not different than millions of other good American families. 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 have had to learn from my own mistakes over time. 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 or allowing “it” to overwhelm you. 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”) associated with our mission!

It is our goal to encourage everyone to teach our children about money, managing money, and saving regularly (and automatically. Children should receive lessons about compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future before they face the hard choices of adult life while being subjected to the consequences of the high-speed marketing culture we live in. 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 by simply 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. You can get our free e-saver newsletter by signing up at www.StickyAsset.com/blog.

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.

Good luck to you and your children.

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”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

Baby Steps That Lead To Wealth

The first step to generating a path to wealth is to begin to take in and focus on people you want to emulate. Look for people who build wealth and study them. What are they doing as habits that make it easier for them to build real wealth over time? What makes them different than those that appear stuck int he rat race? We must recognize that quality and value are not built overnight, but you can achieve goals by working toward them. Study people who are successful at saving money. Educate yourself and emulate those people.

As they say, you become what your vision is or you go where your eyes lead you.

Talk to your family members. Get everyone together at the kitchen table and have a family conversation about budget, saving money and let everyone know that you are seeking their ideas on keeping more of the money that your family makes and putting it to work for the future.

No Emergency Fund?

If you don’t have emergency savings, you may start with our “1% Savings Plan.” You can check that out in past blog entries here, www.StickyAsset.com/blog or at www.MiddleClassMoney.com.

Baby Steps

Open a savings account. You can do this at your local bank, or you can utilize an on-line bank like INGDIRECT.com. However, the basic idea is to identify a place where “YOUR MONEY” goes. A checking account is not truly your money. We say a checking account is a money laundering account for OTHER PEOPLE’s MONEY. That’s because CHECKING ACCOUNTS leak. Once you have a place identified for your EMERGENCY SAVINGS (your money), you are starting a life of growing savings.

We do recommend that you set a goal of saving regularly with every paycheck until you have 15 to 18 months of your expenses in money market savings and certificates of deposit. Once you achieve this goal, you can branch out into other areas of generating investment. Even slowly building this amount will develop faster than you think, but this is the ultimate secret of saving money and building wealth:

You must begin and you must save regularly.

People say this all the time, but you must PAY YOURSELF FIRST. This is the hardest thing to do because people constantly worry about their bills. To set a schedule and strategy to gain more control over your money, you must begin by saying, “I will have an artificial bill each month that goes directly to savings.

Remember: The money you make is only important to house and feed your family. The money you keep is what really determines what is yours and what you are really building. Make that a priority and you will increase your family wealth perhaps for generations to come. You can divert some of your paychecks through direct deposit to a specific savings account by amount each time you get paid. This is an excellent way to build savings regularly. See previous blog entries to find out how you can shave money off of what you are currently making and even spending to self-generate savings beginning today.

If you use a debit card and your bank has a program that rounds up purchases and pushes the “extra” to savings, do it. You will always be shocked how much and how quickly you can save by using a few tricks. I am for anything that makes you save more money.

When you talk to family about budget, spending and saving, brainstorm on how you can put more of your money in savings regularly. Don’t hesitate to use coupons and coupon codes (and put the difference you save in real savings). Always consider negotiating on anything. We live in a consumer-based society. Use your power. And always put what you saved in REAL SAVINGS.

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. Our people have had “emergencies” all our lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly, and our family is not different than millions of other good American families. 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 have had to learn from my own mistakes over time. 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 or allowing “it” to overwhelm you. 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”) associated with our mission!

It is our goal to encourage everyone to teach our children about money, managing money, and saving regularly (and automatically. Children should receive lessons about compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future before they face the hard choices of adult life while being subjected to the consequences of the high-speed marketing culture we live in. 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 by simply 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. You can get our free e-saver newsletter by signing up at www.StickyAsset.com/blog.

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.

Good luck to you and your children.

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”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

Areas Where You Can Save Immediate Money

If you are reading this, you have opportunity to begin a new adventure in handling your personal finances in a way that will end up putting more wealth into your family over time and perhaps change the path of your family in future generations.

The average large business today is pulled back on expenses. In other words, they are holding cash. They are doing this because they have concerns about the economy, consumers and spending. It creates a situation where they are being harder and harder on employees. Cutbacks are everywhere. Cuts in wages. Cuts in hours. Cuts in expenses.

What does that leave for you?

Little….or nothing. The major corporations are trying to separate you from your money all the time and they use powerful marketing to do it. So, it’s you and I against them. And we can win.

The U.S. economy is not going to bounce back anytime soon. It will be a slow movement curve up (if we are lucky). We are a consumer-based society. In order to win, we have to use our power.

If you want to survive and thrive, you must work to make regular savings a part of every paycheck that you receive.

You can begin with the “1% Savings Plan” in previous blog entries or at our website www.MiddleClassMoney.com.

To jump start savings, look at your expenses. Call every business that sends you a bill and tell them up-front that you are in financial stress and need to cut your bill with them by 12 – 15%. If they won’t help, ask for a supervisor. Ask how you can reduce your bill and be patient with them. Be prepared to be open minded and be open to their suggestions.

Every dollar you “save” or get these companies to “reduce” in your bill you should add up and put into an “official bill” that you pay each month from now on. In other words, soak up the savings and use it for SAVINGS.

For instance, let’s say you find a way to save $10 on your cell phone bill per month. Take the $10 and put it in your budget as a “bill” you pay each month to your savings from now on. Then, let’s say you save $32.50 off of your cable bill by bundling or through reduction in channels. Take the $32.50 and add it to the $10. Now you have a bill at the beginning of each month that is $42.50. Keep going. Any reduction you get in your monthly billing should go to this “savings bill.”

Areas where you can really push expenses down:

- Cell Phone Plans (shop, compare and review the minutes you use vs. the minutes in your plan).

- Car Insurance/Home Insurance (compare at least once per year; if you have not done this in awhile, call at least three insurance companies and YOUR OWN to compare coverage and price. Make sure you compare apples to apples for the exact coverage you have today).

- Grocery shopping (if you are not shopping at Walmart or one of the big discount retailers, you may be spending A LOT more than you should).

- Book stores, malls, high-end stores (Check out Amazon, Ebay and Craigslist instead).

- Christmas or holidays (Yes, you can use Craigslist to get amazing deals on perfect gifts that those you love will love themselves. And you’ll save tons).

The # 1 thing you can do for your family is see things as they really are:

Big corporations are after your money and using powerful marketing. The more you can learn and focus on saving, the better off you will be. When you save money using a coupon or reducing a bill, add that money up and make it an “official bill” that you pay at the first of each month. You will be shocked how quickly it adds up.

You can do this!!!!

GET SERIOUS ABOUT AVOIDING POVERTY ISSUES

If you have two (2) incomes in your family, the single best thing you can do is work to reduce your expenses and lifestyle over time until you can live on one income and both save and invest the other income for success between now and retirement.

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. Our people have had “emergencies” all our lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly, and our family is not different than millions of other good American families. 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 have had to learn from my own mistakes over time. 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 or allowing “it” to overwhelm you. 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”) associated with our mission!

It is our goal to encourage everyone to teach our children about money, managing money, and saving regularly (and automatically. Children should receive lessons about compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future before they face the hard choices of adult life while being subjected to the consequences of the high-speed marketing culture we live in. 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 by simply 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. You can get our free e-saver newsletter by signing up at www.StickyAsset.com/blog.

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.

Good luck to you and your children.

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”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.

Is Your Middle Class Family Slipping?

Your family might be in more trouble than you might think financially. Things could appear good, but risk is lurking for all middle class families in 2010.

We talk in this blog and our other blog (www.stickyasset.com/blog) about the costs associated with living and how to reduce debt (the #1 reason middle class families are falling behind and, in many cases, out of the middle class) and increase regular savings and investing.

We are NOT making up huge reasons you should develop your own plan for regularly saving money.

Many people do ask why we recommend you build a plan that includes an emergency savings plan of 15 to 18 months of expenses in money market savings and certificates of deposit. This blog entry addresses that with some facts. (By the way, you don’t have to build this all at once. You CAN boost savings over time with some specific strategies).

What about some serious hard numbers? Okay. Here are some numbers everyone in your family should know. This is based upon a family of four (4) in the United States (average family of four) from 1970 to 2007).

Here is what Americans are spending MORE in the 21st century (research based upon 1970 – 2007):

# 1 = Mortgage (up 76%)

# 2 = Health Insurance (up 74%)

# 3 = Cars (2 cars; used to have 1 – 24%)

# 4 = Childcare (up 100%)

# 5 = Taxes (up 25%)

In case you want to know, Americans are spending a lot less on clothing and food than they did in 1970. Most people think the reverse of these numbers. They don’t think about how much larger the mortgage and cars cost today. However, these are stark facts about what middle class families are PAYING today.

You should always keep an eye on your money.

According to income, by the time the two (2) income family pays all of their regular monthly expenses, they have LESS money than their parents did with one (1) income (on average in 1970).

Consider this: New housing today is primarily being built for the top 20% of the general population. The people purchasing homes from 1970 until now are paying more and more for housing and the housing is more expensive per house (and not necessarily for bigger houses either). Does this strike you as crazy?

If you have read “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” you know that they reference that middle class families purchase liabilities and think they are assets. By the way, we are NOT against home ownership, but we do believe you should select the size and cost of your home and mortgage very carefully.

*The information statistics in this blog are sourced from Elizabeth Warren and a presentation she gave on “The Coming Collapse of The Middle Class.”

If you seriously look at these numbers, you can clearly see how the middle class is under extreme stress. The expenses that have grown are less controllable than those that have gone down (clothes, food for example).

GET SERIOUS ABOUT AVOIDING POVERTY ISSUES

If you have two (2) incomes in your family, the single best thing you can do is work to reduce your expenses and lifestyle over time until you can live on one income and both save and invest the other income for success between now and retirement.

People don’t want to hear “change your lifestyle.”

People don’t want to cut back lifestyle, but for many Americans will face poverty if they don’t have a short and long-term strategy to regularly save and invest.

If you don’t have a savings plan today or don’t feel like YOU or your family can save with your income today and your bills, check out our “1% Savings Plan” in past blog entries or at www.MiddleClassMoney.com.

Check out our info on how to save with negotiation and coupons or coupon codes (and how to use coupons).

Don’t just accept that you can’t get ahead. Use our tips on creating savings within the restrictions of your income and your bills and spending. In many cases, you will create additional savings by opening up with your family members and brainstorming about ways to create regular savings. You will also find that focusing on saving money will….save you money.

We do have some basic things we believe and try to encourage in others. We believe that your checking account is a MONEY LAUNDERING ACCOUNT for other people’s money and you should use any excuse to push money from checking out into savings as often as possible. We believe that you should set out to create an “asset train” so that you are building something for the future – no matter how small (and an asset train pays dividends). We also believe that the only part of your money that is important (past providing the essential basics of food, shelter and clothing for your immediate family) is the money you set aside on a regular basis to reduce and eliminate debt and build emergency savings and/or invest. And you can do it.

YOU can do it. You simply must start. You must develop your own plan. You must do your own research. You must engage your immediate family members to bond together in your quest to reduce and eliminate debt, build savings and investment and TEACH YOUR KIDS how to become wealthy.

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. Our people have had “emergencies” all our lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly, and our family is not different than millions of other good American families. 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 have had to learn from my own mistakes over time. 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 or allowing “it” to overwhelm you. 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”) associated with our mission!

It is our goal to encourage everyone to teach our children about money, managing money, and saving regularly (and automatically. Children should receive lessons about compound interest and steady investing for a long-term future before they face the hard choices of adult life while being subjected to the consequences of the high-speed marketing culture we live in. 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 by simply 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. You can get our free e-saver newsletter by signing up at www.StickyAsset.com/blog.

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.

Good luck to you and your children.

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”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free.