Recruit and encourage others to save money from each pay check to provide for recurring expenses such as Christmas, Insurance, Retirement ETC.

The prediction of an economic callapse has been out there for a very long time. In recent days we have seen so many economic stories of woe. I remember many years back reading a book by the late Gary Burkett. He talked about the what he thought would be the coming econimic crash of the economy and I will never forget his main point of advice. “Get rid of your debt!” When the country is in tough times economically the last thing any of us needs is debt on top of it to burden us even more.
I am so looking forward to our last payment on our house and that will mean I am debt free for the first time in more than 20 years! I am thinking back and I consider my indebtedness started when I went into college. Student loans and then we got married and several years later got a home etc… We have paid many things off in those years but of course there has always been somthing that we had payments on. The mortgage was a constant over many of those years of course.
I hope that my words are taken correctly in that I share them for the purpose of convincing all of you that it is possible! If I can do this anyone can! We all have different scenerios of course, but whatever the situation you can get out!
Here is to a future of responsible spending and using our finances for the betterment of ourselves, our families and ultimately to the society in which we all live.

I was encouraged by John Lee to start this “thing” and invite others to participate. The idea was rto plan for expenses… this came from discussion about Christmas in particular but it could apply to just about anything. For example I see John Lee has a goal to attend the 2012 Olympics in London. Sounds like a great time! What plans have you made for it? Yes it is 5 years away but what a better time to plan and set aside funds?
The common sense is what I try to use. How much will it cost to travel.(Best guess by current prices as we don’t know what those costs will increase to) How much for lodging food, tickets etc.. then once you have an idea of cost then a savings plan can be initiated.
Preparation is key!
My wife and I are working on our #1 Thing and personal challenge of being 100% debt free so we are directing as much of extra money as possible to paying off Mortgage. This is very doable by end of year. We are looking towards this and some other things have been put on hold to do it.
we still are putting money aside each paycheck for Christmas funds. We just do this ourselves, as in transfer it to savings and use Quicken to seperate the funds into a “savings goal account.”
I have automatic allotments come from my check for various things Such as Savings Bonds, An amount each check to pay Auto Insurance that goes into savings account, Percentage goes into my 401k plan.
SO there are lots of tools and options on how to set aside and save money!
One of the keys or principles is delayed gratification. the thought process of I will just use credit card and pay it off in the Next _ (amount of time) on payments is a faulty one at best. You will be paying ridiculous interest that I am sure we could all use for our own expenses.
What I have written is not rocket sciene, just application and follow through can make it useful.
What say you all on this subject?

Looking forward to our discussions and the learning from you that will inevitably happen.

Have a great week!

I have been asked to start this goal in the endevour to encourage others to save all year long for things like Christmas expenses, Insurance payments, putting Money into savings accounts… etc.. I would encourage anyone to examine there finances especially in light of the most recent Christmas season. Will Late January/Early Februrary bring a credit card bill(s) that you will be paying off from months to come into the new year? What would it be like if all you had done with Christmas shopping is pay out of money you saved each paycheck all year and there was no bill looming in your future for the celebrations of this wonderful season? Would that be somthing that sounds appealing? I have done this for many years and I don’t ever have to worry about a huge credit card bill to come.
I made a statement to someone who was rejoicing they had finally paid off their credit card debt. I said somthing to the fact of “I have only paid interest to a credit card company once.” That is true! I made two payments one time in my life and thusly had to pay interest. Other than that I have not. I belive you should keep your money not give it to the credit card companies!
I am no expert by any means but I would be glad to share with anyone who wants to know how I have managed my finances on various issues and would be glad to offer advice, recomend books etc for the proper use of ones money. The definition of “Proper ” use will vary from person to person but I beliueve there are solid principles that can guide us all.
I would love to discuss and talk about various aspects of personal finance with anyone who has a mind to. Plese join us in doing so. I know we can all benefit from each others experiences and wisdom!