So many people wait to start saving for retirement. If people only knew the magic of compounding and what it can do for their investment and savings accounts, they would be amazed.

So, how young is too young to start investing? You are NEVER to young to start investing. Let’s take the common 23 year old who just graduated from college. If he/she has $1,000 currently saved and they invest $1,000 each year for 42 years (let’s say they retire at 65 years old) at an annual return of 8%, they would have accumulated $353,922.49. Now let’s say this person waits until they are 40 years old to start saving (which MANY people do and often later in life). Let’s take the $1,000 they currently have saved and invest $1,000 each year for 25 years (retire at 65 years old). Let’s give them the 8% interest like in the first example. At the age of 65, they would have accumulated $85,802.89. They would have saved $268,119.60 LESS than if they started saving when they were 23 years old and just out of college. COMPOUNDING WORKS MAGIC. USE IT!

Here is a compounding calculator for you to mess around with: Compound Interest Calculator

Get A Jumpstart On Your Retirement Savings

If you would like to jumpstart your savings, a great place to work some magic is your 401K account at work. Hopefully you have one and hopefully your employer contributes to it. So, if you have a 401K at work, JOIN IT! It’s money that comes out of your paycheck BEFORE taxes so you are not taxed on that amount. It’s simple a smart move. Put away as much as you can afford to put away and still live comfortably.

In 2008, the maximum contribution to a 401K is $15,500. Those over 50 years of age can contribute an extra $5,000 each year to “catch up”. Most people will not contribute the maximum amount of $15,500 or $20,500 if you are over 50 years of age. Let’s take this in another direction though.

Let’s say you run into some money. Maybe you win a smaller sized lottery. Maybe you got a settlement for some cold hard cash. Maybe you received an inheritance. If this is the case, start putting in the maximum amount to your 401K and live off of the money you have received from the lottery, inheritance, settlement or whatever other way you received the money. This will give you a NICE tax break come tax time and will get your 401K up and running. If you are younger, this allows this sudden flow of money to your 401K to compound which will help you tremendously in the long run.

So, it’s simple. Live like you normally would but defer as much of your paycheck to your 401K as possible and live off the secondary source of money you have. When you start to run low on the other income, switch your 401K back to something more manageable.

Happy Savings and Compounding!

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• The One Thing That Can Greatly Impact Your Lifestyle

If you’re like me, then you might be a bit (well, a lot) ticked off at the way major banks and credit card companies are increasing credit card rates for no reason. One day your credit card interest rate is 9.9% and the next day you get a letter from your credit card company saying it’s been increased to 28% for no reason at all.

It’s time we stand up against this crap and start fighting back. The credit card companies and banks are a major reason why America is in such HORRIBLE debt. The situation is only getting worse and there is no end in sight unless we start pushing back.

I set up a site that allows people to submit credit card complaints. If enough people can get together and take a stance on this, maybe something can be done someday to help alleviate the debt that America is in. It’s not going to go away on its own and the credit card companies sure aren’t going to back down as long as we keep on taking it.

You can fight back with us if you have:

• You are fed up with credit card companies and what they are doing to us!
• You can’t make your minimum payments because your interest rates are too high!
• Your credit card rates have been dramatically raised for no reason at all…just because they can do what they want…when they want!
• You are skipping other bill payments because you are overwhelmed with credit card debt and increasing rates.
• You are on the verge or have already filed for bankruptcy!
• You want to help put an end to all of this credit card frustration!
• You simply won’t let them keep doing what they are doing and you want to fight back!

Please pass this link along and submit your credit card complaint. The more people who submit their credit card complaints, the stronger stance we have against them.

Submit Your Credit Card Complaints Now!

Visit: www.LowerOurRates.com

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First of all…Happy Easter! I just read an article that I found awhile back notifying that FICO will be changing the way they calculate credit scores. This will go into effect sometime later this year and they say will likely help more people that it will hurt.

FICO says that they will put more weight into the types of credit people use such as mortgages, car loans, student loans and anything related that’s not a direct credit card. They will also not hold as much weight for delinquent items in the past either so if you made a late payment 5 years ago but since have been good at paying your bills on time, your score should not take such a huge hit. This is not to say if you pay a bill late now, you are fine. FICO talking about weighing less on past history items and not things that you do now so it’s important to pay on time…each and every month.

It’s probably a good idea to check your credit score now before these changes go into effect and then check it once they have been in effect for a few months to see how much your score has either increased or decreased.

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• Make $100 an Hour Cleaning Your Own House
• The One Thing That Can Greatly Impact Your Lifestyle

I bet you never thought you could clean your own house and get paid for it! Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s VERY easy. My fiance and I spent about one hour last night and about one hour this morning and we made $215. How did we do it you ask? We had a garage sale.

It’s once again spring time and it’s time to clean out the clutter from last year and make some more room for this years purchases, gifts and other junk you accumulate throughout the year. You don’t even realize how much stuff you have built up over the year until you actually start gathering things for a garage sale.

I’ll give you some tips on how you can hold a successful garage sale:

1. Don’t hold onto stuff that you have not used in the past year unless it is extremely sentimental. If you haven’t needed it for anything in the past year, it’s highly likely that you will not need it in the year to come. Put a price tag on it and get rid of it.
2. There are garage sale junkies. They do know how to haggle and they WILL haggle. You must learn to haggle back and hold strong on your prices. Learn to negotiate with them. If you have an item for sale at $10 and they offer $5, don’t take their offer. Ask for $9. They they will likely come back with an offer of $6 or $7. You say $8 and it’s all yours. Garage salers are a thrifty bunch so they will do what they can to get an item at it’s lowest value. So, brush up on your negotiating skills before you throw up that “Garage Sale” sign.
3. If a little boy or girl finds something they like such as a doll or toy, just give it to them for free. It will make their day, and really, giving away a little toy is not going to make or break your garage sale. It’s fun to make kids happy for such a simple thing.
4. After someone buys something and if it’s a heavier or larger item, help them bring it to their car or truck. They will appreciate it and it’s just a nice gesture.
5. Make sure you have plenty of single dollar bills and change as people will not always be prepared with exact amounts of money. Many items will be priced very low so quarters and dollars are essential.
6. Offer them coffee or water. This takes so little time to prepare and this might keep them shopping a bit longer until they find the impulse to buy that golf club or slow cooker.
7. When the sale is coming to an end and all of the “junk” items are left, put a sign up offering them for free. This will save you the hassle of having to find a place to get rid of everything.
8. Last but not least…just have fun. It’s only a garage sale. You will make some money and clear up the clutter in your house at the same time.

Happy Garage Saling!!!

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It really is time for people to quit complaining about high gas prices. It could be much worse. I love it when I see someone say, “we won’t be able to go on a family vacation this year because gas prices are too high.” If this is the case, and gas prices are too high for you to go on vacation, then you probably shouldn’t be going on vacation in the first place. The extra $100 you’ll spend on gas should not make or break you and if it does, you are making a bad decision about going on a vacation in the first place. Save your money and go when you are comfortable financially and the extra $100 in gas won’t matter.

Let’s say you go on a family vacation and you are driving 400 miles each way for a total of 800 miles round trip. Let’s say you will be gone for a week and over that week you will put on an extra 500 miles doing things on your vacation. Let’s say your car gets 22 miles per gallon, you have a 15 gallon tank and let’s say gas is at an average price of $2.85. This would mean that we would take 1300 total miles divided by 22/mpg. This would mean that we need roughly 59 gallons of gas for the trip. So, we take 59 gallons of gas x (times) $2.85 and we get $168.15. This is what gas would cost for the vacation is the gas price is $2.85/gallon. Now let’s say gas is $3.20/gallon. We take the 59 gallons you will need for your vacation and x (times) that by $3.20. We get $188.80. That’s a difference of $20.65. Now, if you are telling me that $20.65 is going to make or break your vacation, you SHOULD NOT GO ON VACATION!

Let’s say gas is $4.00/gallon and you need 59 gallons. Your price would then be $236 for the total trip for gas. This is a difference of $67.85. This still should not make one bit of difference as $67 shouldn’t make or break your trip.

I drive roughly 450 miles each week to and from work. Most of this is in bumper to bumper traffic as well. Yes, I do complain about the actual commute but I never complain about gas. This is also definitely over the average commute time. If you are driving more miles that this per week to and from work then you are probably getting some sort of reimbursement for gas because the majority of the population drives much less than this. People that are in their cars a lot are usually road warriors that are in some sort of sales position. In this case, you are likely getting the money back from your employer.

Get rid of that huge freaking truck that takes a gallon of gas just to start it up. Really, what’s the need? You are not cooler because you have a truck that can run over most cars. You are most likely just a 120 pound hillbilly that thinks you are tough because you have big wheels! Get over yourself.

Or you can forget about all of this and just get a Smart Car and hope to not get crushed on the highway by a hillbilly in a huge truck!

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Many people have no idea what their credit score is and many people don’t even know what a credit score is. This is basically your financial livelihood. The higher your credit score, the better rates you will get on loans, mortgages, credit cards and other financial products. Wikipedia classifies a credit score as, “a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a person’s credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of that person, which is the perceived likelihood that the person will pay debts in a timely manner. A credit score is primarily based on credit report information, typically sourced from credit bureaus / credit reference agencies.”

There are 3 main credit scoring agencies and they are Experian, Trans Union and Equifax. All have a little bit different method on calculating your scores. Your credit or FICO (Fair Issac & CO) score usually is in the range between 850 and 300. The higher the score, the better. The lower the score, the more work you need to do to improve it. If you are above a 700, you are safe and are considered to have excellent or very good credit which usually qualifies you for some of the lower rates. Once you dip below 620, you need to start being more careful about your financial situation. A credit score can sink for a number of reasons including late payments, too much credit utilization (using a high percentage of a credit card limit), too many recent inquiries, collections amongst many other reasons. It’s safe to say that you should use as little credit as possible and always make payments on time.

You can go to each scoring agency separately (Experian, Trans Union and Equifax) to get your credit report and score but it’s much easier to go to myFICO.com and get all three at once for one low price. You can check everything online and you can also print off copies for your own records. Right now you can get 25% Off on all myFICO products. This is a great way to find out where you are financially especially if you are looking to make a major purchase such as a car, home, boat or anything that will require you to apply for credit.

It’s a very good idea to check your credit report and score periodically to make sure you are not a victim of credit fraud or identity theft. If you have been or would like to prevent identity theft, it’s a good idea to contact a company like LifeLock Identity Theft Services.

Best of luck with your financial well-being and don’t forget to check your credit report and scores and get 25% off.

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• What Is The Best Investment For The Turbulent Stock Market?

If you’re are having trouble picking winning investments in this turbulent stock market, you are not alone. The state of the economy is shaky at best and the term recession is lingering closer each day. Picking a good investment is extremely difficult as Americans are facing fear and hesitation as to what the future economy will bring. With this said, there is one investment that remains a great choice even in the toughest of markets: Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares (VFINX).

If you are not familiar of what an index fund is, it’s basically a mutual fund that tracks a stock index. In this case, the Vanguard 500 Index Fund tracks the S&P (Standard & Poors) 500 Index. This fund benchmarks itself against the S&P utilizing large-cap stocks.

To open up the Vanguard 500 Index Fund, you must deposit an initial $3,000. The typical investor for the Vanguard 500 should be a long-term investor who wants a low cost entrance into the stock market.

As of January 2008 here are the top 10 largest stock holdings for this index fund:

1. ExxonMobil Corp.
2. General Electric Co.
3. Microsoft Corp.
4. AT&T Inc.
5. The Procter & Gamble Co.
6. Bank of America Corp.
7. Johnson & Johnson
8. Chevron Corp.
9. JPMorgan Chase & Co.
10. Pfizer Inc.

Since the Vanguard 500’s inception in August 1976, it has a return of 11.75%. In a market like we are currently in, people would kill for this rate of return. You can purchase this index fund through Vanguard or by opening an online brokerage account such as TD Ameritrade.

Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor and this is not investment advice. It is merely information about an index fund that has performed well over the past few decades.

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• Fund Your Education Without Student Loans - Student Loan Crunch Coming
• The Best Recession Proof Career

If you are one of the millions of students who rely on student loans to fund your education, you might want to consider alternative methods soon. According to The coming student loan crunch by Liz Pulliam Weston, a student loan crunch is on it’s way. This is a sign of our economic state and a sign of the upcoming future of educational funding.

Students trying to get loans in the near future might run into:

• Higher loan costs.
• Fewer lenders, which could mean tens of thousands of college students scrambling at the last minute to find money.
• Tougher standards that could prevent some students from borrowing at all.

This is not good news if you are an upcoming student or plan to further your education in the near future. But, there are other methods of funding your education.

1. Work out a payment plan with the college or university. Many colleges and universities have payment plans that you can sign up for that allow you to pay your tuition on a monthly, quarterly or semester basis. This can be a very manageable option if your tuition is not sky high.
2. Use a low interest credit card.Federal loans generally have low interest rates but if you opt for a private loan, these rates are often higher than what you would see on a credit card and you will be overwhelmed with interest payments just like a high interest credit card. If you choose this option, make sure you read all the terms of the credit card and make sure you pick the right one for your situation. Once again, this option is probably best suited for lower tuition costs.
3. Borrow money from a friend or family member. Just like a student loan agreement you can borrow money from friends or family and draft a re-payment agreement to make it a bit more formal. This can be a great option as family members will be more trusting that a bank if you are a responsible individual. This can also be a great way to learn money management skills.
4. Start a business. If you are business savvy, you can start your own side business to put yourself through college. Many students now pay for their own education by creating Internet start-up companies that provide online revenue. There are a world of Internet related businesses you can start and many you can get off of the ground with very minimal cost. For example, if you are a web developer or designer, you could do side website projects to pay your tuition or you could create a website around one of your interests that place affiliate advertising on it to create revenue. The possibilities are endless.
5. Join the work/study program at your college or university. This is a great option for paying college tuition and fees. You will work a set amount of hours per week or month and in return, all or part of your college expenses will be paid for.
6. Break into that mutual fund or stock stash. Many college bound students have mutual funds or stocks that were given to them as gifts while growing up. It might be a wise investment to sell these off and take the cash to fund your education. Be sure to check if there are any early withdrawal penalties and also the tax implications.

There are many other options as well. You can also combine a few of these methods to create enough cash to pay for school. Just think out of the box and you might find your solution to pay for school without having to take out student loans.

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