With all the advice out there encouraging you to start saving for your future as soon as possible, it’s incredible how many people still don’t understand how important it is to actually follow through with this advice and start putting money aside.

There always seems to be an excuse for why now is not the time to start saving. My friend Lora Georgieva, from Northwestern Mutual, showed me how the average person reasons themselves out of saving. And I had to share it with you…

Age 21 – 30

I can’t save now. I’m just getting my start in life, I don’t make a lot yet, and I’m entitled to a little fun while I’m young. There is plenty of time. Wait until I start making a little more. Then I’ll save.

Age 30 – 45

I can’t save now. I’ve got a growing family on my hands. Children and a house cost a lot of money. It takes all I have to keep them going. As soon as they  are a little older, it’ll cost less. Then I’ll save.

Age 45 – 55

I can’t save now. I’ve got two children in college. It’s all I  can do to pay their expenses. In fact, I had to borrow for their tuition last fall. This is the most expensive time in a person’s life. I can’t save a penny.

Age 55 – 65

I can’t save now. I know I should. But things aren’t breaking like they did. It’s not easy for a person my age to step out and get a better job. I’ll have to ride along with where I am. Maybe something will break.

Age 65

I can’t save now. We’re living with my son and his wife. My check from social security doesn’t go far. I wish I had started saving 20 years ago, but it’s too late now. You can’t save when there’s no income.

Don’t end up in this situation. Make a plan and start putting aside whatever you can afford. If it’s $10 a week, fine. Just start saving.

If you need help getting started or figuring out a plan for your financial future, give Lora a call and she’ll be more than happy to get you off on the right foot: http://lorageorgieva.nmfn.com/.

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It’s mid February, and that means, a majority of Americans have already given up on their New Years resolutions.

I don’t want that to happen to you, so here’s a little reminder of of a few things you can do to get back on track with your financial resolutions.

1. Track your spending
2. Create a budget
3. Set some financial goals
4. Get your credit report
5. Pay down debt
6. Put money aside for savings
7. Reach out for help

Don’t worry about doing all 7 of these things at once. Alone, each one shouldn’t take more than an hour to complete, or to set up a plan for how you’re going to accomplish it over time.

Just think, if you work on one thing per day, you’ll be done in a week. And in that one week, you’ll put yourself way ahead of most of Americans who need to get their financial priorities in order, but never take any action.

Some are saying that it’s time for the United States to move on and leave the dollar in the dust. I’m not sure what to believe, but this video is pretty interesting. What are your thoughts?

[Discover how to avoid the pitfalls most people make when it comes to their financial future. Get my FREE Report here.]

A while back, Bill Gates gave a speech at a high school about 11 things the students would NOT learn in school. He talked about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this same concept set them up for failure in the real world. I thought it was only appropriate to share those 11 things, especially since I might be one of those people with no concept of reality. Enjoy!

Rule #1: Life is not fair – get used to it!

Rule #2: The world doesn’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.

Rule #3: You will not make $60,000 a year right out of high school, and you won’t be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule #4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss.

Rule #5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping – they called it opportunity.

Rule #6: If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule #7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes & listening to you talk about how cool you think you are. So, before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent’s generation, try delousing the closet in your room.

Rule #8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the slightest resemblance to anything in real life….

Rule #9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

Rule #10: Television is not real life. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to their job.

Rule #11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

What are your thoughts? Though the speech is obviously dated, do you think the 11 rules still apply?

[Discover how to avoid the pitfalls most people make when it comes to their financial future. Get my FREE Report here.]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/trushu/

The economic world is crumbling around us, no one knows what the hell is going on, and millions of Americans are trying to survive until their next paycheck.

If only people understood the principles of finance, all this could have been avoided.

Knowing how to manage one’s finances is the most important thing anyone could ever learn. It’s more important than knowing how to read. More important than knowing who our founding fathers were. And more important than coloring inside the lines.

So, what’s the solution? Teach personal finance in school.

WRONG. That could be the most devastating decision ever. Noble, yes. But stupid.

Here’s why…

1) Let’s look at the other life skills we’ve entrusted to our education system: reading, writing, and arithmetic. How well has that turned out? 14% of Americans are illiterate and 58% can’t do basic math (and depend on a calculator to figure out a tip). Good job US education system, you have failed.

2) The government doesn’t even understand the principles of basic finance. When faced with a financial problem, their answer is to increase spending. We’ve seen this through tax cuts, cash for clunkers, and the $8,000 housing stimulus. Yes, the government had only the best intentions in mind, but unfortunately, intentions are not what matter. Increased spending never solves any financial predicament, that’s finance 101.

3) The national debt is over $12,000,000,000. Need I say more? Asking for financial advice from the biggest debtor on the planet is like asking a coke addict how to go clean.

For years, I hoped the government would put together a comprehensive financial program to teach the future leaders of America how to effectively manage money, however, as hard as the US government tries, it keeps screwing up.

I love America and everything it stands for, and that is why I cannot support a government regulated curriculum incorporating personal finance.

What do you think? Should the government be responsible for educating its citizens on how to manage their money? or should the responsibility lie elsewhere?

[Sources: Literacy %, Innumeracy %, US Debt]

[Discover how to avoid the pitfalls most people make when it comes to their financial future. Get my FREE Report here.]