Looking to save money, time, retire young and secure your financial future. To do so it all starts with a savings plan. It’s the backbone to taking control of your finances and ensuring you have enough money to enjoy now and retirement.

At first it doesn’t matter how much money you save, although 15%+ is ideal. And for those in debt or experiencing student credit card debt you can use this savings strategy to help dig yourself out.

The key to your finances and one of the top financial education lessons is saving money on a consistent basis. To develop a consistent savings habit that works automatically contact your bank and have them automate your savings plan. Ask them to transfer an amount of money that you choose to your savings account each month. Its best to have them do this the same day you deposit your paycheck - direct deposit makes this a breeze. That way you are paying yourself first and you know what you have left over for bills and fun.

It’s the holiday season for many and often during this time of year we are reminded to show our gratitude. That’s a great thing so go with those feelings; however it’s important you do that the other 11 months as well.

No matter how much or how little you have, by experiencing the feeling of gratitude it will get you into a wealth attraction state. If you have watched the movie “The Secret” you understand how important just subtle shifts of thought will help you achieve whatever results you want in life.

I know sometimes it’s easier to believe that the grass is greener on the other side. However instead of wishing for more, be grateful with what you’ve got because there are a lot of people have survived on a lot less!.

I just received this letter from a friend of mine in the Philippines.

“Thank you for your reply and concern, please tell me what best for me or any advice or help you can offer will be appreciated deeply. Right now I am still single I’m already 30 yrs old, planning to get married next January 08 or maybe this month. I just want to give a better life with my future Family. To have your own house, food and education for your kids. I don’t know much of my future, I just laid some plan a, plan b, plan c and plan d, incase it don’t work for me.”

All he wants is an opportunity to have the opportunity we have in America. Remember that over 30% of the world’s population lives on less than $2 per day. That’s $60 per month, or just $720 per year!

You may not have everything you ‘want’ in life. But if you are eating, sheltered and clothed, you have your “needs” covered, and have plenty to be grateful about.

Cultivate the feeling of gratitude, because the more grateful you are, the more money will come your way, the more people you can help and the happier you will be.

In Spirit! Vince Shorb

The list of the most common money traps continued -Teenage parenting advice online.

How you treat money
Because of the lack of financial education many treat money differently. Moneys …. money right? You have $50 in savings and $50 from your great aunt for your birthday. Why is it easier to spend the $50 that was a gift? Money is money. Will you go out of your way to save $2 for lunch, but pay an extra $2 on a DVD player? We tend to track money in categories, and it makes for some interesting decisions.

The Jonses
Its all about keeping up with the Jonses…many people see their friend with a brand new car and they want one no matter how deep in debt it will put them. (As a side note never buy a new car…a $40,000 becomes a $30,000 car when you drive off the lot…would you throw away $10,000?) Here’s an example. You see the latest iPod in your friend’s pocket and suddenly you want a new one, too. Don’t - not until you think it through. Managing money and kids can mame you want to just blow through these decisions but don’t. Think to yourself - Can you afford to spend that money right now? Would you rather spend that money on something else? Try to avoid jumping head first into rash decisions. Through making smart money decisions you are leading by example. Your friends will benefit financially and respect you because you’re positioning yourself as the person in the group that is the money leader.

Decision making
It is true that the more choices you have, the easier it is to do nothing at all. It is what I call paralysis by over-analysis. Sometimes we just fear making the wrong decision. At other times it seems so complicated that we give up and make no decision at all. That’s a bad idea.

Think back to when you stumble upon a good sale price for something you have been considering purchasing. For instance, you researched one manufacturer of DVD players, and when it’s on sale, you go to pick it up. Right next to it is a brand you are not quite sure of. Both are on sale, so they are both good choices, but the brand you don’t know is cheaper. For most of us, this makes it hard to make a quick decision.

The tendency to fall into indecision comes into play when it comes to investing, too. The problem is that putting off financial decisions - ones that are considerably bigger than selecting a DVD player - can make you miss great opportunities. Worse, you can lose valuable time, and time is your best friend when it comes to investing your money and having it work for you.

Unnecessary risks
As you will learn later, taking a risk after researching everything that might go wrong, and being ready to accept that risk, can be OK; however taking dumb risks can lead to major financial pitfalls. I’ve taken my fair share of dumb risks, too, and sometimes I had to pay the consequences. Managing money and kids can be challenging but do take this teenage parenting advice online and talk to them about the risk facing today’s teenager – DUI’s, car accidents, pregnancy and other challenges that can cost them a lot of financial hardships.

Overconfidence
Most people think they have better knowledge about money management and investing than they actually do. This is especially true after hey experienced success in making money. As we saw with the stock and real estate boom it was easy money for a while. That makes uneducated investors think they have it wired. When things turn around however many people go back to FEAR mode and freeze. They are hesitant to ask for help, and because of that they make mistakes.

Low Confidence
The polar opposite of being cocky is being shy about financial matters and managing money and kids and your wealth. Since they don’t teach financial education in high school or college it is important you learn form somewhere. Books, seminars, teenage parenting advice online, and videos are all great ways to learn financial education. Also you will get a high quality financial education if you aren’t to shy to ask successful investors to give you financial advice. Many people lack confidence in their decisions. This lack of confidence often stems from lack of knowledge on financial matters. When your managing money and kids it is important you know all you can and give yourself a practical financial education before making any financial decision and so you can pass this personal money management tips to your children.

Emotional spending
Advertising messages surround us and bombard us with urges to buy on emotion alone. Don’t get me wrong; I like my gadgets, but there is a limit. I believe that our consumer-based society makes it incredibly tough for those people who use shopping as entertainment and, worse, shop to get an emotional lift to boost their day. This is one reason that some people overspend – shopping is a drug to them and high credit card debt is a symptom, this can be even tougher when managing money and kids.

Even small purchases, bought without much thought, can add up to big debt problems. This is how college debt, credit card debt and student loan debt add up. And if this habit is supported by a credit card, the end will come soon. In my own life, it wasn’t charge cards that got me into credit trouble, but I know what it’s like to screw up your credit history. Word to the wise: don’t.

To avoid debt and by not falling prey to emotional spending, you need to learn how to create a budget, and practice living within it. If you are still living at home, now is the time to make a few mistakes and get your skills sharpened for the adult world. Keep your college debt to a minimum and enjoy life without a large credit card debt hanging over your head.

Faking the Appearance of Wealth
You will find as your life experiences increase that many people exude the illusion of wealth. They drive the nicest cars, have the latest fashions, live in plush homes, and appear to be doing well. Some of these people are as wealthy as they seem, but others are living way beyond their means (that is, in serious debt). They have nice homes, several cars, the latest toys, college debt and high credit card debt.

I have seen people driving a brand new BMW, new Range Rover, living in a million dollar condo at the beach, flat screen TVs in every room, eating nightly at nice restaurants, and taking first class trips around the world; however, they are one paycheck away from getting into dire financial problems. The debt that they are accruing now will haunt them for years.

Don’t get caught up in the credit card debt game and avoid faking the appearance of wealth. Live as comfortably as you can afford to, at this moment and time.

Financial education helps people avoid potential pitfalls (like debt) and regularly take inventory of their thoughts and actions to ensure they avoid negative consequences. Take this teenage parenting advice online and use it to help you in managing money and kids. People that lack a practical financial education consistently find themselves caught up in “debt traps” and are left struggling to get out.

All the best! Vince Shorb

Many of the decisions we make about money we learn from our environment. Public high schools don’t teach ‘money’ so most of us learned about money form the school of hard knocks. Some parents try to teach their children about money but after talking to over 20,000 about their personal financial situation I can tell you most people lack the basic financial education needed to teach their children properly.

Many of us – myself included for many years - fall into the same common traps. The most common money traps include overspending, lack of retirement planning, poor credit decisions, no or poor investment decision making ability, and most importantly they have negative mental associations to money. People’s core attitudes come into play, making some of these traps more dangerous for you than others.

After personally diagnosing the financial health of over 10,000 clients over the years, I have found some common “money traps” people find themselves in. Many of these potential pitfalls are caused by their own thoughts and actions. Be wary of these money traps—they are inherent in day-to-day life!

Young adults today not only need a practical dollars and cents financial education but a ‘mental financial education’. All the experts agree yet for some reason the mental financial education component is forgotten. In the next two postings I will address the main reasons why a ‘mental financial education’ training needs to be taught to all high school and college age youth now more than ever

Greed
We’ve all experienced this – greed. Being consumed with money, obtaining money or material possessions at any cost, are symptoms of greed. It’s great to work hard to obtain the things and lifestyle you want, but it becomes unhealthy when you cross the line into greed. A mental financial education would help young adults recognize this feeling before they make a pooor investment decision.

Fear of loss
Most of us get really nervous if there is a chance that we may lose money. We feel the loss of $100 more intensely than if we got a windfall of the same amount. The fear of loss has a negative effect on our decision-making ability. We become focused on not losing money instead of staying on course with our financial goals. In later chapters you will learn that it also affects our decision-making for investments. I have been able to help people out of major credit card debt however they get frozen by fear and make poor decisions. Many people don’t make tough decisions that may cause short term loss but would help them achieve long term gains in the long run.

Word games
It’s all in how I pose the question… At this stage of your life, you probably have some amount money coming in; you may work, or still receive an allowance from your parents to get by. So you have income and you have to live within that. (At least that is what you will learn from this book!) Now, if I asked you if you could save 20% of your income, what would you say? What if I asked if you could live on 80% of your income?

If you are like most people, you quickly said “no” to the first, but answered “yes” to the second. Isn’t it all the same? The lesson here is to be aware of how a positive or negative presentation of the same situation can sway your thinking.

These are just a few money traps people get into please post some of your own and I will be adding to this list shortly.

All the best! Vince Shorb