Debt is the #1 killer of wealth production for the middle class in America. Forget about almost everything else for now. Our society has been taken over by corporation marketing and a real conspiracy to boost consumerism to the tune of the corporate profits machine.

We have gone in the U.S. from being a value country to being an entitlement country. We have also gone from a country that buys things on a cash basis to a country that focuses on a credit score. Oh, my, what will happen if you can’t borrow a lot of money? YOU WON’T BE IN HEAVY DEBT.

Still, they’ve got most of us trained that cash is out of favor and credit is king.

The results have been staggering: super large debt everywhere you look and smaller savings. More and more people look to government to bail them out, but they are busy bailing business out.

When it comes right down to it, you and I will have to bail ourselves out even when unemployment continues to be officially high and unofficially really high (the defined difference between unemployed and underemployed).

You must begin by looking at your expenses and removing 12 – 15% of your expenses by calling everyone who sends you a bill and asking for help to reduce your costs. Be open minded to their ideas as well as persistent with your own ideas. Ask for a supervisor. Expect to hear no. Keep asking. Tell them your family has hit hard times and you want to pay your bills, but you simply must reduce your expenses by 12 – 15% immediately.

Sit down at the kitchen table with your family, including your kids. Tell them you are reviewing all spending and you need everyone’s help to begin building regular savings and investment. Involving your kids won’t protect them from “adult stress.” It will help make them wealthy over their lifetime. It will give them more options and allow them more control.

Talk about ways you can reduce debt and increase savings and investment on a regular basis. You may be surprised at who comes up with the best ideas.

Review all credit cards. Credit card companies are the enemy of your family. Find out the interest rates you are being charged on each card you have. See if you can consolidate these cards into a low-interest rate card. If you can, make sure the new card is covered under the new financial regulations. Don’t trust credit card companies.

What happens if you can’t consolidate? Pay the minimums on every card EXCEPT the one with the highest interest rate. Pay as much as you possibly can on that one card until it is PAID IN FULL. Then, move to the next highest interest rate and continue. Do this until you have no credit card debt.

Keep this in mind, too: Your checking account is a money laundering account for other people’s money. Use any opportunity you can to take any extra money out and push it to savings where you won’t spend it so easily.

Brainstorm with your kids on how the family can earn some new dollars only for investing. You may be shocked at how much extra money you can find or earn to invest month after month.

What will this do? It will show your kids it is important to be responsible with money. It will also show them that they can empower themselves and their family when they have kids to grow savings and boost investment all the while growing wealth.

How would you like your kids to do better than you?

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. 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 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!