Isn't it funny how people never think the end is coming? We sometimes see that trouble is happening, but we think it is trouble for "the other guy."

Someone else will lose their job - not you.

Someone else will need savings - not you.

Someone else will have financial trouble - not you.

Don't be crazy. Almost everyone today could end up losing most of what you have if you are not careful. Just because you have a great job today does not mean you will have one tomorrow. Are you okay if you lose your job? Do you know you can replace your income immediately? Unlikely. One of our rules at www.stickyasset.com is: Good things and bad things happen to every one. You must work to minimize the bad (save money in advance) and celebrate the good until someone tells you to CUT IT OUT (then you will know you are successful at celebrating).

So....how do you put this "rule" into action in your own life?

You must have a plan. If you don't have a plan for what could negatively impact your family financially, you may find yourself swept out with the masses caught up in foreclosure because they lost their jobs or bankruptsy because you didn't plan to have an emergency fund.

Rarely do we disagree with Suze Orman at www.stickyasset.com, but we have to raise an alert on emergency savings. Even Suze says the old idea of 3 to 6 months in emergency savings is OUTDATED. She states you should have at least 8 months. At www.stickyasset.com, we recommend you work to save 15 to 18 months expenses in savings. If you're not near this, do not worry. Start making baby steps to get there.

This blog gives you some ideas and more can be found at www.stickyasset.com. Don't wait. That is the most important thing. Start RIGHT NOW. You will be amazed how quickly it will add up. Remember: Automatic savings is the best. Look for ways to cut expenses and put that money into SAVINGS (and not at a bank).

Live below your means. It is the "new" American way.

Make sure you are saving each month. Make sure when you have any additional or windfall money, soak it up into your savings. Look for ways to send money to savings.

You can do it.

Good luck.



www.stickyasset.com

The frightening thing about all of this financial meltdown is that people all across America have fear but they don't think this is trouble like we've never seen. Not really.

Does it seem business as usual?

Banks and all kinds of other businesses that have been around 50, 60, 100 years or more are going under. The FDIC is there for deposit holders, but what about the base economy? Do you see all the "pull back"? Less lending. Higher interest rates for businesses that DO get loans. And for people.

People are losing their jobs. More job loses are likely. Businesses of all kinds are "trimming their sails" to brace for economic impact.

As things tighten up, people will get hurt. That's why we do this blog and www.stickyasset.com. We want to start people thinking about how THEY can move themselves out of harm's way.

Now we are talking about federal debt in the tens-of-trillions. Bailout after bailout. Will it work?

General Motors is faultering. Ford Motor Company is bleeding cash. Will the U.S. Treasury bail them out? Should they bail them out?

Our world is changing, but to what?

70% of our economy is propelled by the CONSUMER. House prices drop. Credit is "pulled back." There's a fear of DEflation.

Where's the bail out for the little guy?

YOU need to join the new middle class financial evolution called The Sticky Asset. Why? Because only the middle class families that pay attention can BAIL THEMSELVES OUT.

Why join our "evolution?" Because we're not about any Sticky Asset - we are about ALL OF US in the middle class rising up and giving OURSELVES a plan to bail ourselves out. The government is not going to do that. The entire purpose of this blog and www.stickyasset.com is to help people determine an individual plan for themselves and their families to SURVIVE this crisis and grow our own family wealth.

YOU MUST HAVE A PLAN. NO PLAN - NO SUCCESS.

YES, you can do it! The biggest crisis most of us face is the fear to begin saving and investing smartly. Overcoming that fear simply takes HAVING A PLAN. You don't have to be overwhelmed.

Start.

That's right! Determine that TODAY you will S T A R T a new way of life. You will be in charge.

Don't be like the millions who will be trapped without a plan. Start moving now.

You don't need to be intimidated. With the internet, you can read other people's experiences. You can learn about the difference between saving at a normal everyday bank or getting better interest rates elsewhere.

You can check out money-saving-blogs that will help you save as a consumer. Get internet COUPONS or COUPON CODES that will save you thousands.

You can read The Sticky Asset from www.stickyasset.com and develop your own plan to get ahead and avoid the traps set for us everyday.

But start. START with a plan. Take baby steps. And get moving.

Good luck.



www.stickyasset.com

One of the reasons we sat down to write The Sticky Asset was a fear that our children don't get an education in how to save money, how to invest money, how to be a better consumer and how to build wealth.

Can you imagine your kids growing up, going to college, getting a good job and then being slaves to credit? It's happening to more people than you think. Your neighbors and ours. Think it can't happen to your children? Well, it can, and it might if you don't take action to make sure they know what to do. Make sure they have a plan (see www.stickyasset.com).

Think our kids are alone? The people (us included) in the United States have gone from being a country that saves (like China) to a country that spends beyond our means. Sure, everyone complains about Wall Street in the financial crisis, but what about Madison Avenue? Commercials that glorify credit cards litter the television screen in millions and millions of homes in America. It's a burning fire coming for YOUR KIDS. We believe the most important thing is your credit score.

What? The most important thing isn't your credit score? Well, no, it isn't.

The most important thing is to pay yourself first. However, most Americans don't know how or won't pay themselves first because it is a LOT more difficult that sliding plastic through a credit card machine.

Well, the "easy credit years" are behind us. You'll see ads on television, radio and the World Wide Web that focus on credit score. But if you really want to get ahead, you'll focus on what matters:

Pay Yourself First.

How To Pay Yourself First:

1. Check out sites like www.ingdirect.com or www.troweprice.com (not endorsements). Both of these sites (and many others like them) will allow you to automatically draw as little as $25 per paycheck directly into money market or (in the case of T Rowe Price) Roth IRAs or Traditional IRAs.

2. Focus NOT on your income, but on what you keep. In other words, start looking at your financial wealth or well-being as what you have in savings - NOT CHECKING. Start considering your checking account to be a money laundering operation.

3. See what you can pull out of checking and divert to your savings each time you pay bills. If you are having financial trouble, start with a small amount. Let's say 1 or 2%. Then, increase it each month until you reach 10%. You'll be amazed at how quickly you will build a reserve savings.

Remember: Money in your checking account is earning money for the bank. NOT YOU. That's why we call it "money laundering." That's what checking accounts are today. People who focus on what they earn and not what they save are foolish, but our society has led us to this point. We can WAKE UP and sieze control through making the right choices for our family.

Money in your savings (*Not held at a bank) is YOUR MONEY WORKING FOR YOU.

I know what you are thinking. It is intimidating to think about saving a large amount of money. You owe bills, right? Well, don't think about a large sum. Think about little steps. Those steps become bigger and you CAN DO IT!

It's tough out there. Let's go to work for YOU! If you've not read www.stickyasset.com, check it out. Ideas and thoughts on savings can come from everywhere, but you should have a plan. That's what www.StickyAsset.com focuses on. It's a start.

Good luck!



www.StickyAsset.com

There's a lot to think about today. I just read a story about the "chilling" sameness of 1932 and 2008. We are all crazy to think that history cannot repeat itself; it happens all the time, and financial history could be repeating itself right now. No one can forget to remember the financial history of the early 20th Century.

There is a great quote from Warren Buffett in the new book The Snowball (Bantam Books; available now) that showcases what we think it CRITICAL for your family RIGHT NOW. If you've not read this book, you should go get it. It is a great study is having a single vision and building wealth. As we have talked about before, we cannot be Warren Buffett. However, you can surely learn from him. And the quote below should serve as a warning to everyone on how "IT" is done.

"Anyone who spends less than he earns is accumulating 'claim checks' for future use. At some later date he may reverse the procedure and consume more than he earns by cashing some of the accumulated claim checks."

Notice he does not say save on what you buy and keep on spending. He suggests that truly building wealth is spending less than you make and putting the "balance" of dollars to "work for your future." Save for later essentially.

Isn't it interesting that the world's richest man is saying, "Spend less than you make. Save. Invest for the future. Produce something. Make the world better and profit." Sounds simple, but very few are actually doing it in America. We're telling you - you better teach your children to spend less than they make if you want them to have happy lives down the road.

Everybody is looking to save money in a crisis and spend less for things we buy. However, that's not what we're saying here. We are suggesting that you find ways to spend LESS than you make and move your money to savings. If you read www.stickyasset.com, you will find that we recommend both automatic savings (thru paychecks and thru checking account) and "tricks" to save additional amounts.

For years people have identified with how much money they make. We promise the most important factor is NOT what you MAKE. It is what you keep. Being smart today means not only saving money on individual purchases but taking the "savings" and putting it away for "a rainy day."

Good luck out there.



www.StickyAsset.com

If you have been following this blog any time at all, you know we are big believers in focusing on an action plan and handling what you can control. You can do everything in your power to keep your job. Make sure your performance is not only good...but highlighted for your boss and maybe his or her boss. Reach out to other people within your team or group at work to help them, and reach out into the company-at-large to be helpful and be seen as the "go to person" at work.

The number 1 thing to remember is this: Everyone has a boss. Everyone - at some point or another - has to cut from the team for budget or other reasons during a career. Focus on making your bosses life easier. Get HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE at the library or bookstore. Find ways to make yourself more friendly and - dare I say? - popular among those you work with today. And get busy. Do all you can to increase your look of productivity. Do that and you are likely to go the distance during an economic downturn.

Now, what can you control? You really can't control anything, but you can plan. Plan to get to a better place. YOU can do it! Start today! Get busy building your own plan to:

1. Pay Yourself First (Savings) from your paycheck.
2. Pay Yourself (AGAIN - to savings) from your checking account.

Build a 15 to 18 month emergency savings plan. Don't believe the old 20th Century Plan of 3 to 6 months. It will take you approximately 7 - 10 months to get a new job that replaces your income if you lose your job.

Don't - I repeat - DON'T leave your savings with a bank (unless it is someone like ING DIRECT). Look for the best interest rates.

If you have not read www.stickyasset.com, do it now. Educate yourself on how you can boost your savings to 401K (yes, even now as they tend to be dropping in value - remember that 401k is "code" for longterm. It's not a short term issue at all).

The American people should be angry at the greed and lack of accountability seen in the government today. But do yourself a favor NOW. Bail YOURSELF out by starting your own Sticky Asset plan to save your family.

Good luck.


www.StickyAsset.com

Seriously. How could you and I be like Warren Buffett? He's soooooo rich. Right? People like you and me want to be rich, but how many of us are willing to be like Warren Buffet? I mean, really?

Warren Buffett does not like credit. He does not like to take loans out for anything. He thinks taking out a loan is a MONEY LOSER.

Warren Buffett believes that if you have $50 dollars today, you are really looking at $150 next year. So, he is always encouraged to save, save, save. So, Warren Buffett believes that spending money you don't have to is a MONEY LOSER.

Warren Buffett believes in setting money aside and putting that money to "work for you." He believes if you don't search out ways in your daily life to put your money to work for you, that is also a MONEY LOSER.

Can you follow Warren Buffet? That might be as difficult as trying to be like Jimmy Buffett.

The point of The Sticky Asset blog is to point out that YOU can get ahead by being YOU and saving money. You can get ahead by being YOU and only investing in things YOU understand. You can get ahead only by being YOU and seeking out opportunities in YOUR daily life to put your money to work.

Don't have a lot of money? Good. It's not about a lot of money. The best opportunities come one step at a time. Get started today. If you don't, you are being foolish about your future.

We will probably never be rich like Warren or Jimmy, but we can get ahead and we can build wealth. We just have to free ourselves for self-education (like reading www.stickyasset.com) and making plans to save and invest wisely.

Good luck!

www.stickyasset.com

Are you following along? The stock market is sick. The banks are frightened because they can't read their own books. The retailers are starving for information leading to anything positive for holiday spending. What about your family? What does all this mean for you?

Everyone wants to finger those that put us in this mess. Who did it? Where's the bad guy? Unfortunately, we all look a little guilty. Instead of blame game, this blog is about trying to focus on real family-based solutions to pull US out of the ditch and get us to a point where we have options and a way to defend our family against hard times while trying to build reserve savings and invest smartly without being eaten alive by fees.

Generations ago people in your family and ours went through this in a so far much worse depth. It changed them. They understood the value of money and how difficult it was to earn and save.

What can we learn from "the greatest generation"? They believed if you could not buy something outright, avoid it. Do without. I know; that does not sound like America today, does it? Hmmm. You know the saying, right? "Experience is the world's greatest teacher. It ought to be; it cost the most."

This generation had fear from the Great Depression that trailed them their entire lives. This made them more reluctant with investing. However, they didn't have the opportunities we have today. Now we have mutual funds that can serve us instead of pure stock investing. But we seem to be at a point where we start to question if the Great Depression II. is upon us.

So, we would be well served to strike a balance between "the greatest generation" and their strong belief that you don't buy it unless you can afford it and saving enough money today for an emergency fund (you know if you have read www.stickyasset.com that we recommend 15 - 18 months of expenses).

The single biggest thing you can do for yourself is to NOT GET OVERWHELMED or to think you cannot do it. Apply "tricks" to generate savings. If you don't know what these tricks are, we recommend you read The Sticky Asset. If you are not doing some form of automatic savings today - no matter how small - you are making mistakes.

If you have been following The Sticky Asset, you know we are not believers in credit score as the chief basis for judging how you are doing. The big guys want that to be your focus. We make it clear: Your focus should be on:

1. Paying yourself first.
2. Where you put your savings to earn the most "safe" interest (not a bank).
3. Live below your means.
4. Find ways to generate passive revenue for your family in the 21st Century.

The Super Investor is not better than you. They are no smarter. They have been doing it longer. You can get ahead by saving, living below your means and putting your money to work. This is the new era we live in today. If you listen, you can make things better for your family.

Stick around and learn with us how to give your family the best leverage for the future. We don't claim to know all the answers (at all). BUT....we are seeking ways to help ourselves move ahead.

Good luck!


www.StickyAsset.com

If you believe that self-education is important, we couldn't agree with you more. You can find classes at the local community college or read on the internet as well. However, two really good sources that are really inexpensive are Money Magazine and Kiplinger. Even with these though The Sticky Asset will recommend that you search the internet for coupon codes or "best deals" on subscriptions. There out there.

Remember: It is all about the little tricks to saving money, but saving money is not enough. Say you find a way to save $5.00 off of a subscription to one of these magazines. Take the $5.00 you saved out of your checking account as if you spent it - and spend it by SENDING it to your savings. Do this consistently every time you save money and you will be STUNNED how much you will save over time. If you continue to drop this "saved money" into your savings that earns high interest rates (remember to avoid the banks), you will be SHOCKED at how much your saved money now MAKES YOU MONEY!

We focus on many ways to save and invest in www.stickyasset.com. A penny saved is a penny......well, you know.

www.StickyAsset.com

I'm watching all the activity. Bailout for the banks. Bailout for the major corporations. New president. Lack of controls or "strings" on the billions and billions leaving the treasury. When is the anger going to rise up?

Yesterday Mr. Paulson said that the financial crisis is essentially a total evaporation of any savings by Americans. This is a truly frightening time in American Middle Class History.

A friend of mine said the other day, "It is clear to me that people are not getting ahead. Forget about the big cats and banks. The average guy is not making it. They can't get ahead."

We must rise up together and we must start by working to "pay ourselves first."

People can often see examples in other people. So, let's have one.

Take the United States and China. One country saves. The other country purchases on credit. One country believes you must work hard, save and work together for the common good. One country believes in individualism and utlization of credit to get ahead.

The United States is jettisoning manufacturing. China is using it to gain access to new markets and grow their econmy.

No, we are not pro-China at www.StickyAsset.com. We are afraid they will control our future if we don't find ways to pay ourselves, live beneath our means and come together to improve OUR country.

Investigate sites on the internet like ING DIRECT and T ROWE PRICE. Look at other sites that will help you save money automatically from your paychecks (before you see the money) or as a draft from your checking (if you read www.stickyasset.com you will find that we think of a checking account as a money laundering operation and YOU don't benefit).

Of course, we believe now is a better time than ever to engage your 401K if you company offers one, and we believe everyone who qualifies should have a ROTH IRA.

For more tips to save and invest wisely, check out www.StickyAsset.com.

Thank you for reading. Spread the word. We don't want to beat China because their bad. We want to improve our savings and investing because it's good for us.

www.StickyAsset.com

Every Country Has Economic Crisis

Isn't it funny how people are always looking for the quick fix or the "secret" to get ahead without working or to become wealthy in a flash? Oh, if it were only that easy?

Every nation goes through financial crisis or economic ups and downs. We have seen cycles of this throughout history, and the U.S. economy is certainly not able to escape the push and pull of the basic rules of economy. In fact, some might argue that our economic system and our way of life in the U.S. makes the potential for these ups and downs more pronounced and faster in cycle if not managed correctly. Of course, we are seeing some of the results of not managing regulation effectively right now.

But what about the average family? Isn't that what this blog is all about? The past is littered with millions of people and thousands of families that have believed in superstition. It literally controled people and their ability to pull themselves up from crisis or move ahead with what really matters: knowledge. That's my point in today's blog. Knowledge is the key to helping your family to move ahead financially and grow.

We are encouraging you to learn more about how to put your money to work for you. In the town where you live there is probably a community college. There are courses you can take on budgeting, saving and investing. If you are unaware, Dave Ramsey (the radio talk show host) has a Christian-based class on debt reduction. And - of course - there is in internet. As long as you are careful about the sites you trust, you should be able to find huge resources to help you understand fundamentals about saving, investing and putting money to work for your family. Be careful to check what you find with other resources and remember one of our mottos: With everything, balance.

The most important part of trying to gain control of your financial situation is to START. We recommend you start with self-education. Reach out and learn. Find ways to learn and encourage yourself past the "superstitions" of fearing the control of budgeting, saving and investing. Knowledge is power and YOU can do it! It is the way to begin.

And good luck.



www.StickyAsset.com

Being Negative Won't Help - Finding Ways To Boost Savings Might

Nobody knows what to expect. Don't kid yourself. Obama does not know. The titans of Wall Street do not know. Investors themselves certainly don't know. This is not a political blog, and I am not being negative. Certainly there is fear and uncertainty ruling the day (but not all of the future). We all know that things will get better. If you study history of the markets, you know this is true.

More people are concerned about mainstreet, and this blog is concerned about the "people who do most of the living and dying and working around here" (a reference from the Jimmy Stewart movie "It's A Wonderful Life").

It's clear that some bad habits have developed since the mid-1980s that are giving our economy fits. While we don't know what 2009 will bring, it is clear that certain "unoffical" groups among the wealthy and political are going to have to work together to solve some of these problems and "move the country ahead."

Here's my two cents: We - in the middle class - should also work together but individually to help protect our families, teach our children how to save, invest and be hardcore consumers while avoiding the traps this blog thinks the corporate greedy set for us on a daily basis.

This is why we launched www.StickyAsset.com. We think that we are in the most critical time to help others develop a plan for themselves and their families to generate savings and protect their families. We know much can be done, and we believe it is important for someone to point out that almost everyone in the United States can begin today to move to a more secure future through the development of their own plan.

We urge you to study ways you can save money on the internet. At the same time, we want to spread a philosophy that any money you leave in your checking account is only money laundering and how you are doing is NOT determined by what you make.

It's what you keep.

We want to encourage the ways you can "trick yourself" into saving more.

Today's tip is totally crazy. No matter what you do for a living, we recommend you separate one (1) hour of your time five (5) days a week before or after work to "work for yourself." With that one (1) hour, your goal is to identify additional ways to save money through searches on the internet. That's it. One hour each day.....work for yourself.

Try it for 30 days and see how many ways you can save money as a consumer and dedicate the money you have saved to your personal savings account.

Good luck from your friends that know that savings is much more important than what you make.



www.StickyAsset.com

WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR BUT INACTIVITY ITSELF


A lot of people have it.

Fear.

Fear of what is going to happen. Fear of rising prices. Fear of potentially losing a job. Fear of not being able to survive financial crisis.

What can you do to overcome these fears?

If you are not saving any part of your income, you can help yourself today by beginning a plan to develop 12 to 18 months of living expenses. Of course, we know a lot of people say you can't save 12 months (much less 18 months) of expenses today. That's okay because we are not suggesting that you save that today. You will be surprised how quickly it adds up.

We challenge you to find simple ways to save. Perhaps your bank offers a savings program tied to your debit card. I know at least one bank offers a savings program that rounds up what you spend with a debit card. They take the round up and put it in a savings account for you. If your bank does have this kind of program and you use your debit card, you should enroll in the plan. Then, you should check the rules to see how quickly you can WITHDRAW the savings. That right - WITHDRAW it. If they allow you to withdraw it, you should do so once a month and put it in a high interest account with someone like ING DIRECT (we're not endorsing ING DIRECT, but we like them). ING DIRECT allows you to open a savings account with no minimum amount. They also offer you easy ways to save with your paycheck, checking account or other means. I like easy. Don't you?

What is wrong with banks? Nothing if you like earning almost nothing on savings. Regular banks don't offer good savings interest. In fact, their rates are insulting and horrible. And if you are going to hang out with our little Sticky Asset blog, we are going to preach again and again that you don't leave money in banks. Banks earn money from you. You want your money working FOR YOU.

You should educate yourself by looking for high interest rates (but vehicles that are safe). You can do it. You found this blog on the internet. Seek out and educate yourself on information. Our rule is simple: If I don't understand it, I don't do it. It's a good rule.

IT IS SO HARD TO SAVE - "WE CAN'T"

We hear this a lot at The Sticky Asset Blog.

Our family started - believe it or not - looking for money on the ground. We did that on January 1, 2008 and currently have about $25.00 that we have FOUND ON THE GROUND. (I'm not making this up). We save it. At the end of 2008, we will open a high interest CD with ING DIRECT and call the account FOUND MONEY CD.

You can save if you make it your mission. See our other blog entries on saving money slowly. Go to www.StickyAsset.com to see other ways you can save money as a consumer, in your paycheck and other ways to get ahead.

We're committed to the idea that it's not over for the middle class. "We" built this country. The bigwigs didn't. But we have to save ourselves because the politicians and the bigwigs are in it for themselves.

SET YOURSELF FREE

You are to be congratulated for reading this blog. Keep digging for ways to save. You will be surprised how fast it adds up. The only people who will help you are looking at this computer screen. Educate yourself. Learn how to make your money work for you - it really is something YOU can do.

Good luck out there.


www.stickyasset.com

People don't remember the Great Depression. You know what they say. If you don't learn from History, you are doomed to repeat it. There are many concerns today that people have not learned from the Great Depression.

Of course, so many Americans were not alive during the Great Depression. But, let's think about it. How is that different than what is taking place in the 2000's?

People borrowed money they could not afford to borrow to purchase stock in the late 1920's.

People borrowed money they could not afford to borrow to purchase houses in the mid and late 2000s.

The 1920s offered a decade of fast living and carefree attitudes. But you always have to pay the piper.

If the 70s were the "me" decade and the 90s were the dot-com-bubble decade, I do think people will look back at this decade as the "fake decade." Weapons Of Mass Destruction, Reality Televisions (anything but), Dr. Phil.

What is the coming decade?

Maybe the responsibility decade?

1. Living below your means.
2. Saving money.
3. Attempting to live and build your personal security.

That will mean a return to hardcore negotiation as consumers. We will stand up for our rights at retail and demand that businesses negotiate to gain our business. We truly have the power if we take it. You hear this all the time: The U.S. Economy is 70% consumer-driven.

Let's take back our place at the table by negotiating on every thing. The money you save WILL be your own.

If you want to see how serious we are about negotiation, you should check out www.stickyasset.com and get the real hardcore scoop on how to save when buying a car or a house. However, we believe you can apply this reality of negotiation to any purchase you make. It's like a game, but you win every time.

It's time for us to take our true power back every single time we purchase anything. You'll be glad you did.

Sincerely,


www.stickyasset.com

11/04/08 | Posted by author | Category General

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