A lot of people I know want to know “the secret” to saving a substantial amount of money or the “secret” to investing.
So many people in the financial industry seem focused on the slivers of money they want to take from you and not the money they are supposed to make for you.
The big brand companies you know around the world (and perhaps the company you work for today) work hard to identify slivers of savings on purchases they have to make to conduct business.
How should all of this come together in YOUR personal life to help you save more money and invest in the future of your family? That’s a great question. While most people think saving money is impossible unless you can save big amounts, we NEVER focus on big amounts in this blog or any of our personal finance info. We focus on slicing percentages off of your “operating income.” We try to encourage families to start a savings program by looking at their money the same way companies look at money.
1. Reduce your expenses by 12 – 15% on each bill and each expense (yes, they can be different) and put the “savings” in actual savings. You can do this by looking at you expenses over the last three (3) months. Call each company you do business with and tell them you need help. Ask them to reduce your bill by 12 – 15%. Yes, we are serious. Yes, you may have to ask for a supervisor. Yes, you will have to be open minded to their suggestions, but remember: You are looking to build a steady month after month “payment” to savings from your income. This payment should come before you pay the first bill and it should be ROCK STEADY.
2. Think long-term in everything you do. Think lifestyle change. Think: I am going to build an emergency savings fund with 15 to 18 months of expenses in money market savings and certificates of deposit. It’s not 1977 anymore. Do you know how long it will take you to replace your income if you lose your job? Do you know the toll it will take on your finances if you have a serious illness? Build your own plan to save regularly – as a part of your lifestyle – and YOU WILL build this savings fund faster than you thought possible.
3. Once you’ve built your proper emergency savings fund, start a steady investment program. To do this, do your research. Start with your company 401k. Not in it? Go investigate the plan? They don’t offer one? Investigate a Roth IRA or a Traditional IRA. Get involved in saving money for retirement. You will need it later. Slow and steady wins the race here, too.
4. Get your family together and talk about ways you can generate money strictly for investing only OUTSIDE of the money you bring in from your day job. This shows your children how important steady saving and investing is in your life (and their lives). If you do this, your children will be way ahead of where you are right now.
5. When I think about people who help you invest, I think the most important thing for you to think about is: What do I need? Who do I trust? For most things, you can do it yourself….if you are willing to do the research, diversify and keep saving and investing each and every month.
Here’s the bottom line: Build a plan to save regularly and invest regularly and you will get ahead.
I know 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. They have had “emergencies” all their lives. These emergencies always get in the way of saving money regularly. I was not brought up to save and invest regularly and I have made every mistake you can think about when it comes to money. My parents thought they were shielding me from the realities of bills and worry. In fact, they were isolating me. I learned nothing until I had made many of the mistakes they made. I have had to learn the absolute hard way how to get savings on track and make it a part of your life without killing your lifestyle. I have had to learn the hard way how companies mislead with marketing. It is my mission to share what I have learned about regularly saving with my own children and also share it with you. That’s why we have a lot of “free” (blogs like http://www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com and http://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 http://www.middleclassmoney.com.
Thank you for reading our blog and good luck!
Loyd Ford
http://www.stickyasset.com/blog
http://www.middleclassmoney.com
http://www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com
http://www.squidoo.com/boostmywealth
http://www.stickyasset.com
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“Coupons & Coupon Codes”
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“Saving Money”
“The Money Store”
All on Facebook – join. It’s free!
The Middle Class Money Path 