5 Easy Ways to Save and Build Wealth

School Contribution to Growth in Prosperity

Homepage | Add to Favorites

Related Links

Featured Articles

Hot or Not -- Prom Trends for 2004
Prom: it's loaded with expectations. For some, it's merely a dance. For others, it means that first great step into adulthood, while savoring one's position at the top of the grammar-school food chain. And for some, it means a night of pure...

Gifted Children
There has been much discussion on the difficult child. Let’s look at the gifted child. Not to imply that gifted children aren't difficult ... as a matter of fact, I hold the belief that most difficult children are probably gifted and therein lies a...

Meeting your Russian Lady for the First TIme
No matter how fraudulent and inefficient the industry maybe, they have perfected one thing – “marketing”. Marriage agencies have gone to great lengths to present an image of beautiful, feminine, marriage-minded and desperate women who will do...

Tips On How To Conduct Background Checks for Nanny Services
Hiring a nanny is a sophisticated process that involves searching, interviewing, checking references and extending an offer to the right candidate. When the nanny has accepted your offer, the final step is conducting a criminal background check....

5 Easy Ways to Save and Build Wealth

1. Pay off high-cost debt. The best investment most borrowers can make is to pay off consumer debt with double-digit interest rates. For example, if you have a $3,000 credit card balance at 19.8%, and you pay the required minimum balance of 2% of the balance or $15, whichever is greater, it will take 39 years to pay off the loan. And you will pay more than $10,000 in interest charges.

2. Buy a home and pay off the mortgage before you retire. The largest asset of most middle-income families is their home equity. Once these families have made their last mortgage payment, they have far lower housing expenses. They also have an asset that can be borrowed on in emergencies or converted into cash through sale of the home.

3. Participate in a work-related retirement program. Many employees turn down free money from their employer by not signing up for a work-related retirement program such as a 401(k) plan. If they did participate, with a dollar-for-dollar match they would likely receive an annual yield of greater than 100% on their investment.

4. Outside of work, save monthly through an automatic transfer from checking to savings. These savings will provide funds for emergencies, home purchase, school

tuition, or even retirement. Almost all banking institutions will, on request, automatically transfer funds monthly from your checking account to a savings account, U.S. Savings Bond, or stock mutual fund. What you don't see, you will probably not miss.

5. Calculate your risk and return. If you earn 4% interest, your money will double in less than 15 years; at 7% it will double in about 10 years and at 10% it will double in 7%. Use Asset Allocation to reduce your overall risk.

Cindy S. Morus (www.phelps-creek.com) is a Certified Financial Recovery Counselor specializing in showing women and their families how to achieve financial well-being and peace of mind. She is also a Certified Credit Report Reviewer and Get Clients NOW!™ licensee. Contact her at 541-387-2995 or cmorus@phelps-creek.com She is also the publisher and editor of "Financial Fitness", an internet gazette dedicated to helping people improve their financial fitness no matter what decisions were made in the past.

cmorus@phelps-creek.com