George Tak

Month: November 2014

Getting Your Family Safely Through This Economic Mess

Economic Mess Chiara L. Waterman

Debt is out of control. Bankers have run for cover. Credit is super tight and the economy is barely moving.

How does your family get ahead?

With the economy slipping and the employment situation stuck in neutral, you have to be smart about your family. If you have a job today, you must be putting away a percentage of your after-tax income.

20% of your after tax income with each paycheck should be going to emergency savings until you have 15 to 18 months of expenses in your emergency savings. However, that may be a giant stretch for you in the beginning.

We have already entered the deleveraging era. Big and small businesses are moving to push off debt. Households are going into foreclosure. People are cutting expenses by route of stopping payments and more.

If you don’t have a plan to save regularly, let us help you.

Start with our “1% Savings Plan.”

How does it work?

The next time you get paid, multiply your after-tax paycheck by 1%. That’s X .01.

Almost anyone can afford to save 1%.

krize-50228ba578e12Take that amount of money and let that be the first thing you spend money on with this paycheck. Put that 1% of your after tax paycheck in actual savings. Then, the next time you get paid multiply your after tax paycheck by .02. Put that amount in savings. Each time you get paid after that, add another .01. The third time you get paid after you begin this plan, you will take 3% of your after-tax pay and put it in savings before you do anything else with your pay. Continue to do this until you reach .20.

Next you want to put your family at the kitchen table and review your spending over the last six months. Be honest with yourself about money you spend on bills and on spending that you could do without. Make it your family goal to reduce your spending going forward by 12 – 15%. Involve everyone in brainstorming how you can do it.

After that, you will want to see past blog entries here and our other blog at www.BoostMyWealth.Wordpress.com relating to reducing your bills. We show you how you can look at every bill you receive at your house and work with the companies to reduce the expense of those bills while being open about their suggestions on bundling or service reductions that allow you to save 10 – 15% of what you spend on bills. But when you save 10 – 15%, put that amount in savings (and make it the first “bill” you pay every single month. If you make it a bill, you will have steady savings. Between this and the “1% Savings Plan,” your family can really begin putting away money for emergencies – like losing a job or about 100 other things that can get between your family and the economy.

You – and your family – can do this!

YOU CAN CHOOSE

You can choose to take specific and steady actions to change your life, change the lives of your children and change the future of your family tree. Yes, you have the power yourself.
All the corporations, the private equity companies, crooked politicians and rich people can’t stop you if you really have a systematic plan that starts with regular savings and steady investment along with your regular bills.

If you are willing to take the time with your family to make a plan for reducing and then eliminating debt over time, you can gain more control over your finances and you can teach your children how to become wealthy over time.

If you are willing to make people work for the money you spend with them, you can build savings and then wealth.

These things are within your reach. You just have to start and you have to be encouraged.

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!…

Easy To Spend, Easy To Save

Save Money Joy Scuri

What are the ways you can save money?

You can save using coupons or coupon codes FOR THE THINGS YOU NEED. If you use coupons or coupon codes for things you don’t need, you are PARTICIPATING IN MARKETING. So, make your “shopping list” first. Then – always – go look for coupons or especially coupon codes for the things you are going to purchase ANYWAY.

Finally, take the amount of money you SAVE by using the coupons or coupon codes and add it up. Now, take that amount and remove it from your checking account AS IF YOU SPENT IT on the items you purchased. Put that amount in an actual money market savings account. This is a strong way to build in more savings that you think quickly.

28indian-eco1

If you use a debit card, check with your bank to see if they have a program that rounds up your purchase amounts and puts the “extra” in savings. If they do, enroll. Then, make sure you move the money to a money market savings account where it can earn at least some additional interest.

Be willing and committed to NEGOTIATING for everything as a way of life. Make it a game. Be open-minded. Don’t accept that you “have to purchase X at a specific retailer. This is an open and consumer-driven society. If they won’t negotiate at place Y, go to place X. They can sell you the same thing….often for a little less.

When you save through negotiation, make sure you move the amount you saved from your checking AS IF YOU SPENT IT to purchase the item. Put it in money market savings.

Review your cable bill and your cell phone “package.” Tell them you need to reduce your bill by 12 – 15% (companies do this all the time). Be patient. Tell them you really want to continue to be their customer. Be willing to talk to supervisors. Be nice. Be willing to call back again and again. Take the money you SAVE and put it in ACTUAL MONEY MARKET SAVINGS.

Want more examples? Go to www.boostmywealth.wordpress.com or www.MiddleClassMoney.com.

Remember: If you start to brainstorm with your family about ways to save extra money, YOU WILL FIND EXTRA MONEY TO SAVE. You can do this.

YOU CAN CHOOSE

You can choose to take specific and steady actions to change your life, change the lives of your children and change the future of your family tree. Yes, you have the power yourself.
All the corporations, the private equity companies, crooked politicians and rich people can’t stop you if you really have a systematic plan that starts with regular savings and steady investment along with your regular bills.

If you are willing to take the time with your family to make a plan for reducing and then eliminating debt over time, you can gain more control over your finances and you can teach your children how to become wealthy over time.

If you are willing to make people work for the money you spend with them, you can build savings and then wealth.

These things are within your reach. You just have to start and you have to be encouraged.

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!…

The Great Deleveraging Era & What It Means For Your Family

The Great Deleveraging Era & What It Means For Your Family

Family Jack William

A huge warning has been sounded.

The world has changed.

Everyone saw the great recession, but did you see the debt clock tick, tock? The debt that everyone thought was fine in 2006 now functions like an anchor around everyone’s neck in 2010 and beyond.

shutterstock-36703882-2Companies are hoarding cash. Everyone is looking to flush debt. Companies are begging out of debt, refinancing and doing strange deals with anyone and everyone to deleverage their debt.

The economy continues to limp along. The U.S. Government is “doing into the hole” with the Chinese as the Chinese are purchasing the world. This will all have a long-term impact on what you eventually pay for any debt and it is also likely to impact the quality of goods on the U.S. market. It could further erode the employment picture for Americans and almost certainly ability to have substantial income.

What does the great deleveraging era mean for your family?

Deleveraging is a business word, but you should be doing what companies are doing now. You should be protecting your family.

It means you should be busy before it is….too late.

It means people with large debt will be in more and more trouble as we get into 2011, 2012, 2013 and beyond. It also means that those without debt will be in the drivers’ seat.

It all begins with telling yourself you can and making sure your focus is on PERCENTAGE of your after tax income that you are ACTUALLY saving.

You must begin by saying two things to yourself and your family:

1. We will find a way.
2. We can build savings and wealth – together.

How bad are things for your family?

You can answer that with these important benchmarks:

1. Do you have 15 to 18 months of expenses in emergency savings (money market savings and certificates of deposit)?
2. Are you regularly paying more than the minimums on any credit card debt?

You don’t have to save 15 to 18 months of expenses all at once, but you must get moving.

Over the last 100+ years the U.S. has had the wind at its’ back. This was created by a strong manufacturing and innovation via technology advantage, but the wind is shifting in a hard way.

For perhaps the next 130+ years, Asian counties will have the wind at their back. We will have to be better than we were with the wind at our back and continue to be more innovative in the future, but families will have to reduce and eliminate debt, save regularly and work together to build wealth to sustain a good lifestyle. This could not be more serious – and the time to take consistent action is NOW. Begin.

And you can do this.

If you want to begin with our “1% Savings Plan,” you can do that by checking out the details in past blog entries or at www.MiddleClassMoney.com.

Bring your family together at the kitchen table and begin with brainstorming that will help your family reduce expenses and apply the savings to….you guessed it….savings.

Establish your OWN plan for regularly saving money (and I mean in money market – away from your checking account).

Come back and check out blogs like this one and find additional ways to save $ by using coupons, coupon codes, negotiation and more tactics to help your family. Be willing to look at options for reducing spending and piling on savings. This is the beginning of your comeback.

Less debt = more savings.

More savings = more wealth.

You can do this.

YOU CAN CHOOSE

You can choose to take specific and steady actions to change your life, change the lives of your children and change the future of your family tree. Yes, you have the power yourself.

All the corporations, the private equity companies, crooked politicians and rich people can’t stop you if you really have a systematic plan that starts with regular savings and steady investment along with your regular bills.

If you are willing to take the time with your family to make a plan for reducing and then eliminating debt over time, you can gain more control over your finances and you can teach your children how to become wealthy over time.

If you are willing to make people work for the money you spend with them, you can build savings and then wealth.

These things are within your reach. You just have to start and you have to be encouraged.

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 …

Smart People Don’t Pay Retail

Retail Chiara L. Waterman

Rich people don’t pay retail. It’s not a joke.

Bright people don’t get embarrassed by negotiating on price. Smart people don’t overpay. They use tools to get the best deals so they can be rich.

Can you use coupons and save money on purchases? Yes, but here are some rules or guidelines and then some suggested websites for you to review for money saving fun.

Rule number 1: Make your shopping list out first. Then, search for coupons.

Rules number 2: No matter how good the coupon or coupon code, stick to the shopping list.

Rule 3: Always take the percentage you saved using the coupon or coupon code and take that amount directly to savings.

If you follow these three simple rules, you will be shocked at how much you truly can save.

And remember this: the value of coupons is marketing for the business and the savings for you. Don’t get confused about how to use them effectively and who’s side you are on!

Here are some sample websites to get you started researching places that help you save:

www.retailmenot.com

www.mydaily.com

www.parentdish.com

www.couponcabin.com

www.couponchief.com

www.couponsmarter.com

As always, we don’t endorse things. We tell you to do your research. So, get your family together and brainstorm ideas on saving money, using coupons and coupon codes and negotiation (we are big believers in negotiation).

You should be building a proper emergency savings fund for 2010 – 2011. That means you should be building money market savings and certificates of deposit with 15 to 18 months of expenses in liquid reach. This will help you build a true safety net in today’s economic environment for your family. And it has never been more important.

YOU CAN CHOOSE

You can choose to take specific and steady actions to change your life, change the lives of your children and change the future of your family tree. Yes, you have the power yourself.
All the corporations, the private equity companies, crooked politicians and rich people can’t stop you if you really have a systematic plan that starts with regular savings and steady investment along with your regular bills.

If you are willing to take the time with your family to make a plan for reducing and then eliminating debt over time, you can gain more control over your finances and you can teach your children how to become wealthy over time.

If you are willing to make people work for the money you spend with them, you can build savings and then wealth.

These things are within your reach. You just have to start and you have to be encouraged.

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!…

Can You Afford It?

Can You Afford It?

Big Purchase Chiara L. Waterman

Everything in our society is geared toward how you can afford it.

Low payments are the key. If they can just get you to think you can afford it and make it easy, they know you will buy.

But what are you really purchasing?

Life long debt.

Reconsider your life. Think about all the things you have, what you need and your debt. What do you have that is important? Your home? Your car? Check out recommendations on true debt levels on the internet. Remember: These recommendations are likely to be higher than your debt should actually be, but looking at them and calculating the percentage of your after tax income it takes to pay your mortgage or rent and your car note should give you an excellent starting point.

Review all your bills. Look at your spending for the last three (3) months. Put your spending in only these three categories:

Buy-what-you-can-afford

1. Spending I have to spend to live (groceries, et all).

2. Spending I could do without.

3. Bills (that must be paid).

Be honest with yourself.

Ask yourself the most important question: Are you ready to begin an adventure in boosting savings and building wealth on your current after tax income?

Yes, I said it. Start where you are. Begin to build your own plan. Don’t believe you can start where you are? See our past blog entries for our “1% Savings Plan” or check it out at www.MiddleClassMoney.com.

Take a hard line with your bills. Call everyone who sends you a bill. Tell them you are having a difficult time and “want to keep them.” But tell them you need to reduce your expenses 12 – 15%. Ask for a supervisor right away if they give you grief. Be persistent. Call back. Ask for the supervisors’ supervisor. Be patient. Be nice. Ask for help. Be open to their suggestions – as long as it results in a reduction.

Take the money from any reduction and add it to a new spending category. Call it “Essential Bill” and pay it at the first of each month. Take the “essential bill” money and put it in ACTUAL SAVINGS away from your checking account.

Then, come back here and get more suggestions. Why? Because we are at war with the corporate American culture of debt and spending.

We want to be helpful to anyone who wants to put in the work to save regularly. You can do it, too.

TIPS:

You should be saving 15% of your after tax income. If you are not, you need to “make room” by eliminating spending, reducing and then eliminating debt and/or boosting income. And you can. You will be shocked how quickly it can add up.

Your emergency savings in 2010 should be 15 – 18 months of expenses in money market savings and certificates of deposit (FDIC insured). If you start saving regularly – even small amounts – you will be shocked how quickly it can add up.

Your checking account is a MONEY LAUNDERING ACCOUNT for other people’s money. Use any excuse to pull money out and stick it in savings (real savings). You will be shocked how quickly it can add up.

Are you ready? Start right now. Call a family meeting. Time is on your side. We are a consumer society. Take charge because YOU HAVE THE POWER.

YOU CAN CHOOSE

You can choose to take specific and steady actions to change your life, change the lives of your children and change the future of your family tree. Yes, you have the power yourself.
All the corporations, the private equity companies, crooked politicians and rich people can’t stop you if you really have a systematic plan that starts with regular savings and steady investment along with your regular bills.

If you are willing to take the time with your family to make a plan for reducing and then eliminating debt over time, you can gain more control over your finances and you can teach your children how to become wealthy over time.

If you are willing to make people work for the money you spend with them, you can build savings and then wealth.

These things are within your reach. You just have to start and you have to be encouraged.

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 …

Start Your Plan Now

Save Money Joy Scuri

People always have good intentions. Did you ever notice? We all want to be skinny. We all want to be rich. We all want to achieve.

Most people won’t start.

If you don’t have a steady and regular savings program, you could be in more trouble than you think. However, it is easier to save regularly than you might think and you don’t have to save a huge amount of money to get on the right path. When you save regularly (with each paycheck), savings builds faster than most people think.

I like the saying, “We overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in ten.” Why? Because it shows how easy it is for us to give up. Once you understand that long-term is the only way to focus for higher success, your short-term progress will build faster than you think.

Consumers are pulling back on long-term purchases and the savings rate in the U.S. has gone up quarter after quarter, but it is starting to drop again. Why? Maybe it is like one of those diets where you try to lose (or save) a ton of weight. Doing too much at once causes rebellion.

Here’s the bottom-line:

You don’t have to save so much. You just have to do a steady and regular job of saving money. Start with our “1% Savings Plan” if you want to begin slowly. If you are unfamiliar with this, check it out in previous blogs here or at www.BoostMyWealth.wordpress.com. Or you can check it out at www.MiddleClassMoney.com.

It’s almost 2011. 2011!

Time to BEGIN a regular savings plan for your family.

What if you lose your job? What if you have a health issue? How long would recovery take you in an economy with almost 10% unemployment?

You should work to build 15 to 18 months of expenses in emergency savings today. Don’t have that? Don’t worry. Set goals. Start with our “1% Savings Plan.” Brainstorm with family about ways to save money. Look at every expense and work to reduce it by 12 – 15%. When you get a reduction in a bill, apply the money you “saved” or reduced to a steady savings program.

It will add up faster than you think.

YOU CAN CHOOSE

You can choose to take specific and steady actions to change your life, change the lives of your children and change the future of your family tree. Yes, you have the power yourself.
All the corporations, the private equity companies, crooked politicians and rich people can’t stop you if you really have a systematic plan that starts with regular savings and steady investment along with your regular bills.

If you are willing to take the time with your family to make a plan for reducing and then eliminating debt over time, you can gain more control over your finances and you can teach your children how to become wealthy over time.

If you are willing to make people work for the money you spend with them, you can build savings and then wealth.

These things are within your reach. You just have to start and you have to be encouraged.

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!…

Option # 5 To Save More Money

Money Jack William

What can you do to save?

How about buy the things you always buy just like always? Yeah, you can do this. Do the things you have always done – but use a specific strategy to BOOST your savings at the same time.

Now, what is the strategy?

It should be pointed out that we are discussing items you ordinarily purchase on a regular basis. If you use this strategy to purchase things you do normally purchase, you will be participating in marketing only. That’s not our goal here. Our goal is to use your normal and ordinary purchases to boost your savings power.

First, make out your shopping list when you go grocery shopping or clothes shopping. Then, go to the web and use every resource you have to source coupon codes and coupons. Shop around and check prices on the web and compare. Remember that we live in one of the most marketing-based societies in the history of Earth. If you want a product, it is unlikely you have to purchase that product with a specific merchant. This goes for everything from groceries to a dress.

If they don’t offer a coupon code or coupon, be prepared to walk.

Okay. So now we are seeking out coupons and coupon codes. You can do that easy, right? But how do we turn it into actual SAVINGS?

Save-more-money-this-yearTake the amount you saved between what you would ordinarily spend on items you NORMALLY and REGULARLY purchase and shift that money to actual savings. This might be .50 or $12.00. But it represents a constant way you can seek additional savings and harness the power of this over time to blow the doors off your savings!

We also believe that you should negotiate to bring your power as a consumer to the front stage of your life. And put the amount you save in ACTUAL SAVINGS.

Here are a few sites for you to begin your journey:

www.couponmountain.com

www.promotionalcodes.com

www.retailmenot.com

www.offers.com

www.ebates.com

www.couponcabin.com

www.currentcodes.com

www.qponcoupon.com

www.couponcodes4u.com

As always, we are certain to tell you to do your own research and use it as an opportunity to have a game with family members to see who can find the best sites and best deals.

You can also join our little group on Facebook called “Coupons & Coupon Codes.” Share with others what you’ve found. And good luck.

Get in it to win it! You can do it.

YOU CAN CHOOSE

You can choose to take specific and steady actions to change your life, change the lives of your children and change the future of your family tree. Yes, you have the power yourself.
All the corporations, the private equity companies, crooked politicians and rich people can’t stop you if you really have a systematic plan that starts with regular savings and steady investment along with your regular bills.

If you are willing to take the time with your family to make a plan for reducing and then eliminating debt over time, you can gain more control over your finances and you can teach your children how to become wealthy over time.

If you are willing to make people work for the money you spend with them, you can build savings and then wealth.

These things are within your reach. You just have to start and you have to be encouraged.

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!…