Wealth Building Power Strategy - The Walk Up

When you get a raise of 1 %, increase withholding 0 %.

When you get a raise of 2 %, increase withholding 1 %.

When you get a raise of 3 %, increase withholding 1 %.

When you get a raise of 4 %, increase withholding 2 %.

When you get a raise of 5 %, increase withholding 2 %.

When you get a raise of 6 %, increase withholding 3 %.

When you get a raise of 7 %, increase withholding 3 %.

When you get a raise of 8 %, increase withholding 4 %.

When you get a raise of 9 %, increase withholding 4 %.

When you get a raise of 10 %, increase withholding 5 % and so on.

What does this do for you?

You still get more take home pay every time you get a raise.

The money you invest is never in your hands, so you never have to exercise will power to make yourself invest it.

You painlessly walk your 401(k) withholding up to the maximum allowed.

Then, you open an IRA and follow the same “walk up” approach every time you get a raise until your yearly contributions to your IRA are at the maximum level allowed. Edward Jones, Charles Schwab, and other brokerage operators can help you set this up when the time comes.

Then, you set up other retirement accounts after allowed contributions to the IRA are maxed out. You may be permitted to contribute up to a certain amount in other accounts. The contributions each year will probably not be exempt from taxes in that particular year, but the growth of these accounts over the years should be tax free. The law and the contribution limits change on this from time to time. Edward Jones, Schwab, and others can advise you on this. After maxing the 401(k) and IRA contributions, you employ the same painless “walk up” method with every raise until you max out contributions to these other retirement accounts as well.

After maxing out all of your retirement contributions in a few years, you then, with every raise, “walk up” deposits to after-tax accounts, “buy” and “do” accounts, such as mutual funds, so you become a cash-on-the-barrel guy or gal instead of a credit-card-on-the-counter guy or gal.

You, in a sense, do have to exercise discipline whenever you get a raise to make yourself increase contributions in the “walk up” manner shown above, but you also do not have to exercise discipline moment by moment, week by week, month by month, in order to force yourself to make deposits into investment accounts. As long as you are faithful to the “walk up” when you get a raise, the wealth building deposits are automatic the rest of the time.

http://www.HushDoNotTell.com The impossible is made possible! Hold a standard size piece of copy paper up to your chest and you will see that it is not as wide as you are. When you request the free book by going to this website, you will learn how cut a hole in this sheet of paper and pass your body through it without tearing it. You will also learn how to destroy your debt with the money you already make.

Wealth Building Power Strategy - Plummeting to Prosperity

There are certain areas all over the United States or any industrialized nation that are economically depressed. Some of these locales are in breathtakingly beautiful regions. Because of their economic woes, the people in these areas make every effort to improve the recreational resources of the region in order to attract sportsmen and vacationers. They float bond issues and obtain federal grants for this purpose. The efforts applied may have not yet worked their economic magic, but the result is a beautiful area in which to retire with a very low cost of living. Many of these low-cost-of-living areas are recreational paradises with nice golf courses, tennis facilities, boat docks, hunting lodges, lakes developed with fishing and water skiing opportunities, and the most amazingly beautiful scenery.

This is an example of a problem that is also an opportunity. Economic distress of such an area is a problem for those who have always lived there, but it is an opportunity for the person who is trying to accumulate the resources to retire. Prices tend to chase the amount of money circulating in an area so these regions have low costs of living. Property taxes are lower because property values are lower and tax rates are lower. The cost of auto insurance, based partially on the number of accidents per capita in a region, tend to be lower in one of these areas. Houses can be purchased for a fraction of the cost for the same house in a booming area. The equity in your existing house may be enough to buy a house like it for cash with money left over. Imagine that you then pay off your car loan and the two largest components of your debt are gone!

You can retire in such a place with less money than required elsewhere. You may be able to build your retirement nest egg much quicker simply because you need a lot less money to live. This is a way to go up by going down. Ask for assistance in any good library or large bookstore and you will find several books about retirement locations. These books deal with the cost of living and every other factor you would need to consider in deciding on a place to retire. One such book I found, for the USA only, is “Retirement Places Rated” by David Savageau.

There is an emotional cost to "plummeting to prosperity" that most of us are probably unwilling to pay. A beautiful, low cost retirement area may be far away from beloved friends, children, and grand children. (Of course, the children are probably not ever going to come see you anyway.) You may forfeit the social contacts you have cultivated for several decades in order to "plummet to prosperity". It is, nevertheless, an option to consider as you build your retirement plan. If it is so late in the day for you that your situation (as to preparing for retirement) is desperate, you may decide that you have no choice and must "plummet" even with the emotional cost.

This low cost retirement area might even be the very county in which you grew up. Millions of folks long to get away and go to the big city to seek their fortune. The economic vacuum left causes a region to be financially depressed and this produces a low cost of living and low property values. Then later in life, the same people sometimes long to live in that same place they were so desperate to escape when they were young. It is one of the ironies of life.

http://www.HushDoNotTell.com Impossible made possible! Hold a standard size sheet of copy paper up to your chest and see that it is not as wide as you are. Yet I will show you how to cut a hole in that piece of paper and pass your body through the hole without tearing it. If you understand the feat I am describing, you would have to agree that this is seemingly impossible. This simply shows that there are things that seem impossible that can be done with the right information. I will also show you how to destroy your debt in a surprisingly short period of time with the money you already make.

Wealth Building Power Strategy - Guaranteed High Return

There is a way to lock in a high rate of return that is 100% guaranteed. If you have a credit card, store revolving account, or finance company account that charges high interest, you can “invest” in this account and receive a guaranteed high rate of return. If you are paying 18% interest, you are being hurt and are experiencing a return of – 18% (negative 18%). Your hole, that you are digging, is getting 1 ½% (18% divided by 12) deeper every month.

When you pay extra amounts that reverse this damage by reducing the principle, you are gaining at the same rate of return. If you have an account that charges 22%, you can get a guaranteed rate of return of 22% by paying extra amounts into it. The only way to kill the Debt Dragon is to feed it to death. You stuff it with the junk food it enjoys until you manage to force that last Ding Dong into its mouth and it explodes. Give your self a guaranteed high rate of return by investing in the destruction of your debt.

In fact, the return, if you look at it a certain way, can be even higher than the stated interest charged. If I have an account with a stated rate of 22.9% and I owe just $1830 and I pay an average of $122 a month, I pay 12 X $122 = $1464 a year. $1464 divided by $1830 = 80%. If I paid $1830 to pay off this balance, I would have 80% of that amount a year in extra money to spend or invest. If I can find a way to destroy this debt quickly in a few months, the money I put into its demise will give me a “return” of 80%. (I know I’ll get letters about this. Come on, guys. We’re just having some fun.)

If I have an account with a stated rate of 23% and payments that will average $160 a month and I owe $6880, the “return” for the extra money I put into attacking it is actually 27.9%. (12 X $160 = $1920 divided by $6880 = .279) I am benefited at this rate for every extra dollar I put into eliminating this debt.

http://EzineArticles.com?expert=David_Unger Articles on building wealth and destroying debt.

The Secret Weekly Meeting

This is Why You Need an Emergency Fund

Once a week at 3:00 AM, there is a secret meeting.

The car, the fridge, the stove, the cat,

The roof, the sinks, the thermostat,

All give the secret greeting:

“Down, down,

We break down

At just the perfect moment.

We meet to scheme,

To our owners bring

The utmost trial and torment.”

Every appliance, machine,

Animal and thing,

That you have in your life,

Will here attend

To plan to send

To you the greatest strife.

TV No. 2: “What if we have the cat get sick…..”

Dishwasher: “And the roof to start to leak?”

Roof: “The fridge quit…..”

DVD Player No.1: “The foundation split…..”

Car: “And all this in one week?”

Central A/C: “No, no, if you recall, we did all that last year.”

Toilet Bowl: “If we repeat, then our deceit might to them be clear.”

Hamster: “Could we, perhaps, have the car, mayhaps, run into the cat?”

Cat: “No, we can’t because I ain’t willing to do that!”

They hash it out

And thrash it out

And write it on a chart.

THE OVEN SMOKES.

THE SEWER CHOKES.

THE DRYER SHOOTS OUT SPARKS.

THE LAWNMOWER QUITS.

THE HAMSTER GETS SICK

WITH A MURMUR IN HIS HEART.

Just before sunrise

They all arise

To end the weekly meeting.

TV No.1: “Good work tonight!”

Fridge: “Good plan! Just right!”

Central A/C: “Let’s close with the secret greeting.”

“Down, down,

We break down

At just the perfect moment.

We meet to scheme,

To our owners bring

The utmost trial and torment.”

Here you are thinking that if you can just make it to 2020 without any new problems, then you will be alright. 2020? There are 5 major disasters already planned for next week!

http://www.HushDoNotTell.com Learn how to set up an Emergency Fund and destroy all of your debt.

Your Wealth is Hidden in the Fragments of your Life: Part 10

This is the 10^th in a series of 10 “fragments” articles. Let’s find the “fluff” and use it to beat our bills to death!

I have noticed that there are at least 7 other individuals or organizations scattered throughout North America that are teaching about the debt destruction engine, although they do not call it the same thing. Since I discovered the debt destruction engine in 1979, I have heard of John Cummuta’s “sequential debt elimination system,” the “Debt Doctor,” the “Debt Wizard,” and Dani Johnson’s teaching on debt destruction, to name a few. I just mention this so you can see that this is not just the bizarre idea of one weirdo speaking out of obscurity. There are confirming voices out there.

I was flipping through TV channels, as the male of the species is wont to do, when I came upon Dani Johnson standing in front of a chalkboard, drawing on it, teaching on the Benny Hinn program. “You watch,” I said to myself. “I bet she is going to talk about the debt destruction engine.” Sure enough, that was where the discussion was headed. She mentioned something she called “fluff.” You realize that you buy a shirt, a pair of shoes, a blouse, a pair of pants, on an impulse, several times a month at Wal-mart or elsewhere. When you get home, you sometimes find the same article that you just bought hanging in your closet. You have adequate clothing for you and your family, but just constantly add to the wardrobe impulsively.

You realize that you have enough groceries in your pantry to live for a month. You could just not buy groceries this month, except for bread, milk, and such, here and there. You identify unnecessary spending, duplicate purchases you make all the time of items that you already have in your bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, and all through the house. This is “fluff” that you could just cut out. Dani Johnson said that some people have told her that they have found as much as $500 of fluff in one month.

What if your smallest bill had a balance of $500 or less? You could wipe out that bill in one month with a fluff attack. Then, imagine the possibilities if you further reduce your living expenses with the LEX Cash strategies we talk about in another article, you cut out the survival crutches, and you change your income tax withholding so that you took your income tax refund throughout the year.

Fluff + LEX Cash (Reduced Living Expenses) + Cut Out Survival Crutches + Change Tax Withholding = All Out Fluff Attack

God asked Moses, “What is that in thine hand?” There is great potential power in knowing what you have in your hand, whether it is a rod such as Moses held or the control of monthly finances that you hold. What is that in your hand? Could it amount to $300, $400, $500, $600, or more? Could you wipe out your smallest bill in one month? Could you destroy your second smallest bill in just 2 more months? Could you obliterate your credit cards, store revolving accounts, and finance company accounts in 21 months, 18 months, 15 months, or less with an all out, insane, going-for-the-jugular, fluff attack?

Then further imagine the possibilities if you become completely radical in this assault by such things as cutting out your cable television, cancelling magazine subscriptions, cancelling gym memberships, stopping visits to Starbucks, cancelling book club memberships, stopping rentals of movies, cancelling DVD club memberships, cancelling newspaper subscriptions, buying MagicJack so you never pay a local or long distance phone bill again for the US and Canada, not feeding the vending machines during breaks at work, and not paying someone else to detail your car or change your oil. You cut out all things extraneous and apply this bonanza to killing bills. Remember, this is just temporary, not permanent. You only do this until the enemy is vanquished and the good guys win.

A Fragment that is Necessary for Your Success

There are 3 books, a mere “fragment” of a library, which I recommend you read so as to equip yourself to find the fragments of wealth hidden in your life. Please read:

“The Wealthy Barber” by David Chilton,

“24 Essential Lessons for Investment Success” by William J. O’Neil,

“Wealth without Risk by Charles S. Givens”.

Please forgive me folks, but I must once again give the following warning.

Do not, I repeat, do not just "haul off" and cancel your life insurance coverage!!!!!!! Read chapter 5 of "The Wealthy Barber," talk to several knowledgeable advisers about life insurance, and make sure you understand what it is that you are going to do.!!!!!

If you decide that you want to replace your whole life insurance or universal life insurance with a term life insurance policy:

Obtain the term life insurance policy from a company with a solid financial rating in the appropriate amount as explained in "The Wealthy Barber" and have the documentation in hand that proves that the insurance on you is in force

Before

You cancel the old whole life policy or cancel the old universal life policy!!!!!!!!!!!

The 3 books I recommend should be taught in our schools. These give a solid education that everyone needs to achieve financial independence. “Wealth without Risk” was published in the 1980’s and some of the data in it is out of date, but a great many things that I mention in my articles will click when you read Givens’ book. A light will go on in your attic, for sure, I promise you.

I know we get weary with the heavy load of information that is thrown at us today, but can you, one more time, dare to believe and dare to invest in …yourself? Can you dare to invest your time in reading 3 books that will help you transform yourself from a leaf floating on the river of life with no control, no destiny, into someone who knows where she or he is going and knows how to get there?

Come on! Reading 3 books won’t kill you!

OK, if you’re a guy, it might kill you, but isn’t it worth the risk?

Take a shot at believing you can do something with your life.

Do not let the prairie chickens tell you that you are not an eagle.

Be an eagle! Bolt up out of the prairie chicken world and soar high!

http://www.HushDoNotTell.com Destroy your debt with the money you already make.

Your Wealth is Hidden in the Fragments of your Life: Part 9

This is the 9^th in a series of 10 “fragments” articles. Now we get down to some serious slaughter. Let’s kill some bills!

If you are a typical citizen of an industrialized nation, your life is a Debt Induction Engine. In the Western World, we tend to view our income as a mold into which we pour our lifestyle. After we fill the mold completely full to the very brim, we crave an even more expansive lifestyle and hock our future to obtain it. As you operate your financial life, it just naturally induces debt. It is like a steam driven locomotive. The engine takes off ponderously slow very gradually gaining speed and momentum. As it runs over the years, you become bound with increasingly greater amounts of debt.

In this article, you are going to learn how to transform your Debt Induction Engine into a Debt Destruction Engine. As this debt-destroying locomotive operates, it moves forward with aggravating slowness. At first, this engine destroys debt at such a snail’s pace that it is hard to find the will to keep it running. It may take the first ³/₄ of the total time the locomotive runs to destroy the first ¹/₄ of your debt. Then it finally achieves enough momentum in the last ¹/₄ of the total time the locomotive runs to destroy the last ³/₄ of your debt. This process is called a Debt Destruction Engine because it starts slow and builds momentum just like an old-time steam driven locomotive until it finally achieves great power and speed.

Just below, we see 8 time payment accounts that do not include vehicle loans or the mortgage. There are 4 credit cards, 2 finance company loans, and 2 store revolving accounts.

Bill 1---Bill 2---Bill 3---Bill 4---Bill 5---Bill 6---Bill 7---Bill 8

To start the Debt Destruction Engine, we add “extra fuel”, which is like adding wood or coal to stoke the locomotive’s “boiler”, every month by paying an extra $25 on the target bill, which is Bill 1, until it is paid off.

Pay Bill 1 plus $25 Extra Fuel also applied to Bill 1.

Pay just required payments on Bill 2, Bill 3, Bill 4, Bill 5, Bill 6, Bill 7, and Bill 8.

The Debt Destruction Engine starts out with wheels spinning, fighting for traction, barely moving. After Bill 1 is finally paid off, add the same “extra fuel” plus the amount you were paying on Bill 1 to the new target bill, which is Bill 2, until it is paid off.

Pay Bill 2 plus amount that was paid on Bill 1 plus $25 Extra Fuel, all applied to Bill 2.

Pay just required payments on Bill 3, Bill 4, Bill 5, Bill 6, Bill 7, and Bill 8.

When Bill 2 is paid off, add the “extra fuel” plus the amount that was paid on Bill 1 plus the amount that was paid on Bill 2 to the new target bill, which would then be Bill 3.

Pay Bill 3 plus amount that was paid on Bill 1 plus amount that was paid on Bill 2 plus $25 Extra Fuel, all applied to Bill 3.

Pay just the required payments on Bill 4, Bill 5, Bill 6, Bill 7, and Bill 8.

As each target bill is paid off, add the total amount that was being paid on the previous target bill to the new target bill. Keep doing this until all 8 accounts are destroyed. The larger the “extra fuel” is at the beginning, the faster the process of debt destruction. This extra fuel version of the Debt Destruction Engine with only $25 of “extra fuel” could take as long as 5 years to destroy this group of accounts.

Your usual time payment accounts (not including here the vehicle loans and the mortgage) can be destroyed in from 2 years to 5 years depending on the size and nature of your debt with this “extra fuel” attack. This version of the Debt Destruction Engine is slower than 2 other versions of the Debt Destruction Engine: Inherent Momentum and Inherent Momentum with Extra Fuel.

Inherent Momentum

Debt can be destroyed without adding “extra fuel” to the Debt Destruction Engine. Debt has a powerful residual inertia that can be focused against itself. This form of the Debt Destruction Engine operates even faster than its extra fuel cousin as it annihilates debt with its own inherent momentum.

We will use the example of the same 8 accounts that were employed in the previous discussion. The total of all the required payments is $1,300. We do not add “extra fuel”. We apply the same block payment of $1,300 until the 8 accounts are destroyed.

1^st Month

The total of all the payments is $1,300 in the 1^st month. We start by just paying the required payments on each of the 8 accounts.

2^nd Month

The total of all the required payments is $1,296 in the 2^nd month. The credit card and store revolving account balances have declined ever so slightly which causes the required minimum payments on these accounts to go down just a tiny bit.

In this 2^nd month, you subtract the total required payments of $1,296 from the block payment you started with of $1,300 and you get $4. You add this $4 to the target bill, which is Bill 1.

So, in this 2^nd month, you pay just the required minimum payment on each of Bills 2 through 8. On Bill 1, you pay the required minimum payment plus $4.

In the very beginning, Inherent Momentum moves slower than the Extra Fuel Version of the Debt Destruction Engine. Inherent Momentum catches up quickly, as you will see, and then runs far ahead.

3^rd Month

In the 3^rd month, the total of all the required payments is $1,291. When you figure this, you get $1,300 - $1,291 = $9.

You pay the required payments on Bills 2 through 8. On Bill 1, you pay the required payment plus $9.

12^th Month

In the 12^th month, the total of all the required payments is $1,210. $1,300 - $1,210 = $90.

You pay the required minimum payments on the bills other than the target bill.

On the target bill, you pay the required minimum payment plus $90.

24^th Month

In the 24^th month, the total of all the required payments is $900.

$1,300 - $900 = $400.

You pay the required payments on the bills other than the target bill.

On the target bill, you pay the required payment plus $400.

36^th Month

In the 36^th month, the total of all the required payments is $450.

$1,300 - $450 = $850.

You pay the required payments on the bills other than the target bill.

On the target bill, you pay the required payment plus $850.

42^nd Month

By the 42^nd month, the 8 accounts are totally destroyed.

When you see how this works and see the TV ads for credit counseling services, you realize that these folks are using Inherent Momentum. They talk about a single block payment as in the example we just discussed. These “services” are doing what you could do yourself.

There is an inherent momentum that just naturally resides in debt itself. As long as there are no new purchases on these accounts, the total of all the required payments will constantly and relentlessly diminish. You continue to apply the total “block amount” that you employed at the beginning. You subtract the total of all the required payments from this block amount and apply the difference to the target bill every month.

You can destroy your debt without any extra fuel. Your debt will implode on itself with the weight and power of its own inherent momentum. This version of the Debt Destruction Engine works especially well for those with a lot of credit card and store revolving account debt.

Inherent Momentum with Extra Fuel

In this variation of the Debt Destruction Engine, we simply add “extra fuel” to the block payment at the beginning. If the total of all the required payments is $1,300 and we add $25 of extra fuel, then we start with a block payment of $1,325.

In the 1^st month, you pay the required minimum payments on each of Bills 2 through 8.

On Bill 1, you pay the required payment plus $25.

In the 2^nd month, the total of all the required payments is $1,291.

$1,325 - $1,291 = $34.

On Bills 2 through 8, you pay the required payments.

On Bill 1, you pay the required payment plus $34.

Each month, you add up all the required payments to get a total. You subtract this amount from the beginning block amount. You then add this difference to the required payment on the target bill. On the other bills, you pay just the required minimum payments. You are simply using a higher block payment and this causes debt to be destroyed even faster.

3 Types Of The Debt Destruction Engine You Can Run

Type 1 has Credit Cards, Finance Co. Accts., Store Revolving Accts.

Type 2 has Credit Cards, Finance Co. Accts., Store Revolving Accts., Vehicle Loans

Type 3 has Credit Cards, Finance Co. Accts., Store Revolving Accts., Vehicle Loans, Mortgage

3 Versions Of The Debt Destruction Engine You Can Run

Extra Fuel

Type 1 with Extra Fuel Version takes 2 to 4 years.

Type 2 with Extra Fuel Version takes 3 to 5 years.

Type 3 with Extra Fuel Version takes 5 to 10 years.

Inherent Momentum

Type 1 with Inherent Momentum takes 1¹/₂ to 3¹/₂ years.

Type 2 with Inherent Momentum takes 2¹/₂ to 4¹/₂ years.

Type 3 with Inherent Momentum takes 4¹/₂ to 9¹/₂ years.

Inherent Momentum with Extra Fuel

Type 1 with Inherent Momentum with Extra Fuel takes 1 to 3 years.

Type 2 with Inherent Momentum with Extra Fuel takes 2 to 4 years.

Type 3 with Inherent Momentum with Extra Fuel takes 4 to 9 years.

Your Wealth is Hidden in the Fragments of your Life: Part 8

This is the 8^th in a series of 10 “fragments” articles. We will need all the fragments we can find here so we can stock up our Emergency Fund and pile up all the ammunition we can get so we can do some serious bill killing in the last 2 articles.

Higher income folks can usually just cut out the survival crutches, described in a previous article, and find enough money to invest and attack debt. Lower income families may not have as many survival crutches to cut out because they just flat do not have the money to "rent" these crutches. Lower income families and individuals then may need another place to find cash to invest and/or attack debt. This place is LEX Cash (Living Expense Cash), which is money freed up by reducing living expenses.

The LEX Cash strategies that I give are all optional. Choose most or some or none. Build your own Lex Cash approach with these ideas or others far more brilliant that you come up with. These suggestions also help you live on cash and avoid taking on new credit.

Run several layaways throughout the year for Christmas and other special days. For example, you could run a layaway in February and March, one in April and May, another in June and July, yet another in August and September, and a final layaway in October and November. You budget this expense through the whole year and avoid using credit at the last minute.

Try generic grocery equivalents. Some are good. Some are bad. Chew the good. Eschew the bad.

Try generic over-the-counter drugs. These have exactly the same ingredients as brand names and cost several dollars less. You can also ask your doctor for the generic equivalent when she/he writes a prescription.

Use coupons. My wife has transformed herself from a very bad grocery shopper to a very good grocery shopper by focusing on coupons, generics, sales, and other clever tricks she has discovered. She is, I believe, the best grocery shopper on the planet and could give seminars on skillful shopping. She miraculously changed herself from worst to first in this category. My Dad told me how much he spent for groceries and my wife spends less per person now than my father did in the 1960's. And this is not using the dollar's value in terms of the 60's purchasing power and allowing for inflation. This is in terms of actual dollar amounts then in the 60's and now! She is the Master Shopper of the Universe.

Buy used appliances that have been reconditioned such as washers and dryers. They usually look and run like new. Look in the phone book and you will probably find several of these shops where you live. They will usually deliver and install it for you. The previous washing machine we had cost $85 and lasted for 7 years. I did repair it one time with a part that cost $48. The total cost of the machine for the 7 years then was $133. We just bought another one for $100. The price went up $15 from $85 to $100 in 7 years. That blankety blank inflation!! I could have repaired the old one with a $45 part and got another 3 to 4 years out of it. We generally get 10 to 12 years out of one of these used machines. I just got lazy and bought another one.

Repair your own appliances, when possible, by consulting a do-it-yourself appliance repair shop. There is a do-it-yourself parts house in Dallas called “Adam the Answerman” with a lady on staff that can tell you how to fix anything from central air conditioning to the refrigerator to the washing machine. There are shops like this in every major metropolitan area. I am Mr. Badwrench, but I have repaired our appliances on numerous occasions. There are other times that I blow it off and let someone else do it. As I get older, the "blowing it off" happens much more than in the past.

Consult with repair nuts. There are people in your community, who happen to be skilled at repairing certain things. One, for example, may be able to replace a car's broken windshield as well as a professional shop for far less than you would normally pay. You have to be careful because sometimes these nuts really are nuts. You find them by putting out feelers and just asking around. You develop the discernment to distinguish between the repair nut and the real nut. Some shade tree mechanics can actually only repair trees.

Get a debit card and transform your credit card habit into a debit card habit. Here is a helpful tip. When you pay with the debit card at the gas station, push the "credit card" button. If you press the debit card button, a larger amount than your actual purchase is often held. If your balance is running low in your checking account, this hold can cause problems for you. Press the button as if your debit card is a credit card and just run the card through the reader like normal. I have never had a problem doing this. The actual amount of the purchase is taken from your account with no additional amount held.

Buy from discount businesses (grocers, clothing stores, miscellaneous sundry stores like Dollar General, furniture stores, gas stations). Virtually everything is sold in some kind of discount venue. Big-ticket discount venues like "furniture barns" have layaway plans.

Brown bag lunches for work.

Do your own minor maintenance on your car such as oil changes and detailing. A regular oil change religiously done right on schedule without ever missing one, whether you do it or have it done, is one of the most important items in your wealth building plan. You want to drive that sucker as long as you can before you have to buy another one.

Do your own minor repair jobs around the house such as fixing plumbing problems. The discount home improvement shops have people who can tell you how to repair anything. You may have to grab one of them to get their attention and make them listen to you. After you do, they can explain how to do any home repair.

Do your own laundry if you have been having this done by someone else.

Drive a used car. The wealth transfer that takes place while paying for a car from a new car dealership is staggering. I have made the mistake of letting my cars get too old. The two cars we drove once were 14 and 15 years old. We had just started living the way I describe in this article. Everything ran well for 2 ¹/₂ years until both cars broke down at the same time and each one needed a new engine. Ideally, the used cars should be from perhaps 5 to 9 years old. You can buy a repo or late model used car at an auction. This can be tricky. I have never done the auction thing myself, but have heard of others who do this successfully. Get a knowledgeable mechanic, friend, or relative who is a good judge of horseflesh to go with you.

Find an honest mechanic. Next to doing regular oil changes, this can be the most important aspect of low cost living. I have found one honest mechanic in my life. He tells me exactly what is wrong and tells me how to fix it myself. He tells me what parts to buy and gives a step by step description of how to do the repair. If it is something I do not want to mess with, I let him do it. This gentleman's shop is, unfortunately, only involved in front end repair, tires, brakes, and related work. I am still looking for an engine mechanic and a transmission repair shop that I feel like I can trust. (See! Even though I am writing this article, it is not like I have arrived nor have it all together! But, Buddy Bubba, I'm gettin' there!)

Cut back on the Blockbuster expense. Rent movies less often than before. Most of us have a large collection of movies at home to watch. I know we are getting kind of Spartanesque here, but hang with me for a moment. Imagine that you are doing a debt destruction engine that does not include the vehicle(s) or the mortgage. This smaller version of the debt destroying locomotive is aimed at the credit cards, the finance company accounts, and store revolving accounts. You can take it really easy and knock it out in 5 years or go after it in a gung-ho fashion and kill it in 4 years.

With a little bit of "Blockbuster Restraint", you might annihilate it in 3 years or even less. You still rent movies, but just not as often. You still go to the favorite burger joint, but not as many times a month as in the past. You still take the family to Braums or your favorite ice cream parlor occasionally, but just not as often as in the past. You still frequent the favorite restaurant, but just not as frequently. Some nights, you stay home, when you would have gone out in the past, and grill burgers in the back yard, watch movies that you already have, and have ice cream from your freezer.

You cut back on the "convenience factor" of your life ever so briefly to obliterate this portion of your debt in 36 months or perhaps even as little as 24 months. The "sacrifice" of "Blockbuster Restraint" is not unbearable because it is short lived and produces a clear and wonderful objective.

Do whatever it takes to stop the "Reciprocation Contest" aspect of Christmas. When you are standing by my graveside at my funeral or I am sitting in that chair by the coffin at your graveside at your funeral, are we going to remember or even care who gave whom what? In the overall galactic scheme of things, does it matter if my pride is damaged because I give you something that cost $30 and you give me something that cost $60?

For the last few Christmases, we have done away with the Reciprocation Contest aspect of the Yuletide gathering with my father, stepmother, and my brothers and sisters. At a recent Unger Family Christmas, everyone brought just one gift for $5 for a round robin gift exchange. Then we had a craft-making party using kits obtained from the Oriental Trading Company (www.orientaltradingcompany.com). The parts for the craft projects had been punched out and were put together in plastic sandwich bags as little craft kits. You could make really neat Christmas ornaments by gluing the pieces together and there were several different kits to choose from.

I know this sounds lame to older kids and men, but it really was a lot of fun even for the older kids and men. You had the usual bit of the men being mostly klutzes with hilarious results. There were the mishaps of fingers glued together, some of the kits being put together upside down and inside out, one finished craft glued to another, and hands being hot glued to the table! Then in another year, we chipped in to a gift fund that supplied one gift for everyone at $3 to $5 each and had another round robin gift exchange. We did the same craft-making session and the older kids and men were actually looking forward to it! We had non-traditional food that was easy and inexpensive to fix at both parties. The cost on both of these parties was miniscule and my stepmother has said she had more fun in those two Christmas gatherings than any others in the 18 years she had been in the family.

Another Christmas approach is to "draw names" with each family group and buy just one gift for one person in each family group and set a low dollar limit, rather than buying something for everyone and worrying about matching each others generosity. With some thought, the hard feelings and pride issues of gift giving during the holiday season can be eliminated. This helps everyone to avoid a debt load from shopping and makes the time together more focused on enjoying each other.

Barter your skill to obtain a needed skill. You repair air conditioners, but are a schmuck under the hood. Clyde is a world class auto engine mechanic, but does not know an evaporator from a condenser. You give your skill and time when Clyde's air conditioner is under the weather. Clyde gives his skill and time when your car is mobility challenged. When you pay for a service with work and time, you free up your money to be invested in your future. To find people to barter with, you do a very strange thing. You get out and walk around in your neighborhood and actually talk to people.

When you buy, negotiate for a better price. Never accept the first price on a big-ticket item. They will come down for you rather than lose the sale.

Apply weather-stripping, insulation, heat barrier, and/or attic ventilation fans as necessary to reduce energy costs.

Change your income tax withholding so that you get little or no refund. What? We let the government hold our money for a year with it earning no interest. Then we jump up and down for joy when we get our own money back! I would rather invest the refund in my life throughout the year. You will have more cash in hand through the year and this will help you build the emergency fund since you will not be relying on survival crutches anymore. If you do this, make certain that enough is still withheld to pay taxes.

Another withholding strategy is to go the other way and increase it so that your taxes are paid with 9 months of withholding through September. At the end of September, change the tax withholding again making it much lower than normal or even nothing so that you have more money in your paycheck to use for Christmas and thereby avoid credit.

Organize a "Blessing Day" that occurs one day every month at your church, temple, synagogue, or mosque. Those with skills, such as car repair, roof repair, air conditioning repair, plumbing, etc., bless those in the membership who are struggling such as single mothers, the terminally ill, and widows by doing repairs that these folks cannot afford. In Proverbs it says that when you give to the poor (those who are struggling), you are actually "lending" to the Lord. He will repay. If you bless these folks, your attempt to live a low-cost life and attack debt will in turn be blessed.

These are just suggestions. You can use or refuse any of these ideas. There are many other ways to save money that I am sure you can devise on your own. This is all just a matter of what you decide to do. For example, I used to do my own roof repair. There are complete instructions on the side of each bundle of shingles that tell you exactly how to put a roof on a house. I no longer get on roofs and I no longer do my own oil changes. I am old and fat and I am not going to get on a roof or under a car.

If you save just $50 a month by reducing living expenses and invest this tiny amount in an aggressive growth stock mutual fund from age 25 to age 70, it should grow to over $1,750,000 in your lifetime. It is possible to find much more than $50 a month in LEX Cash if you decide to really work at it.

Even in your everyday living expenses, your wealth is hidden in the fragments of your life.

http://LittleCashGiant.wordpress.com Wealth building wisdom for the "little guy", the "big guy" and the "inbetween guy".