If these actions weren’t so downright dangerous, they might be humorous. Are you making these mistakes with your hard-earned cash?

1. They never figure out how much money they actually need each week to do better than just pay their bills. They don’t have a budget set up.

The correct definition of a BUDGET is: the calculation of the amount of money needed for an area [organization or household] to function and achieve its purpose. If you are satisfied to just  pay your bills, and you don’t pay yourself first into some type of savings plan, you will make other people wealthy and you will stay poor.

Every supplier you pay is in business to make a profit. You should run your business and your household the same way: like a business that is expected to make a profit. The income target must include a profit or the enterprise will go broke and fail.

2. They don’t work out ways to make more money than they currently need, and then do whatever it takes to execute the plan.

By UNDER estimating the amount of money needed to do better than just break even, they typically set their income target too low and lose money by living on credit instead of going into action to raise their income. Anyone can find ways to make more money; it is often the “willingness to do whatever it takes” that is the problem.

There are two classes of wealthy people. The large majority of wealthy people are working all the time. They have a purpose they are pursuing, and it isn’t money. Money is a sub-product they expect from their work. Their goals and purposes are the driving force in their lives.

The small minority is often called the “Idle Rich” and they are bored to death. They have seen it all, and done it all twice over and there is no thrill left in life. Think about it. If you had done everything you dreamed of and owned everything you could possible want, and were spending your days sitting by the pool in some swank hotel nursing a beverage with a little umbrella in it, would you wish you had some productive work to do? I’d bet my next few paychecks you would.

3. They habitually spend more money than they make.

Using money to buy the “appearance” of having more money than you actually have is a dangerous activity. I call this type of spender a Gratification Groupie. This can catch up with you quickly and eventually drown you in debt. This causes constant worry about money and makes for lots of sleepless nights. Money truly cannot buy happiness. But doing something productive and worthwhile and knowing you are appreciated for it can make you feel like a million bucks.

Most truly wealthy people are not interested in appearing to be wealthy, they are too busy having fun helping others in life and making more money as a result of that. Rich people always pay themselves first, have cash stashed in several places, are always interested in being productive and expect their productivity to produce more income. They don’t worry about money, and they sleep well at night.

4. They don’t figure out what they need to buy in the future and then set aside a little money each week so they can pay cash for the purchase later.

Buying something with a credit card that you can’t pay off when the statement arrives is committing your future earnings to the credit card company. You are then working for the credit card company as an economic slave.

The correct way to buy things, especially big ticket items, is to set aside a little each week till you have the cash to pay for the item, and then go out and negotiate a big cash discount. The guy with the CASH IS KING!

I recently did this when I bought my current car. I found the exact car I wanted. It was 2 years old, had 21,000 miles on it and was still under warranty. The dealer wanted $29,500 for the car. I got it for $17,500 and got an extended warranty thrown in on the deal. Don’t buy new cars. The second the front tires move off the dealer’s lot onto the street, it becomes a “used car” and loses about 25% of its value.

5. They buy products and services based on WANT rather than on NEED.

Buying decisions should be based on how your purchase of the product or service can help you produce additional income for you. Honestly, do you want the latest cell phone that offers text messaging and email retrieval because your friends have one, or do you need it to be more efficient because you are out of the office traveling to close the next business deal?

6. They don’t put money into a long-term savings plan so they have it for use later in life.

If you are relying on other peoples’ future production to pay you Social Security payments so you can retire, that is really taking a gamble.

Despite the fact the government says the cost of living is going up 3 – 3.5% a year, the truth is that it is going up 8 – 12% a year. You have to make that much more income just to stay even. Why does the government say it is only 3 – 3.5%? Unfortunately for the senior citizens, it’s because they government has to raise Social Security payments each year by the cost of living increase they quote. The Social Security system is already bankrupt and those living on Social Security are headed in that direction by going in the hole 5 – 9% every year. Are YOU planning on retiring on Social Security payments alone?

7. They never develop multiple sources of income. If one source dries up they are in trouble financially.

The old saying “don’t put all your eggs into one basket” holds true today, especially for income sources. Look for products or services that you can add, or business ventures you can get involved in that are ethical, and have a great chance of producing a consistent income. The best type of income is “residual income” where you create something that continues to generate income for you while you are off doing other things.  For example if you wrote a book and sold it on the internet as a download where potential customers could buy it 24 hours a day around the world.

8. They get stressed out about how little interest their bank pays on savings accounts while they are getting killed with much higher interest debt by carrying balances on their credit cards.

If you have substantial credit debt, you are better off using excess cash to reduce the debt and stop the high interest payments instead of trying to earn interest from the bank. As you pay off your debt, you should also keep enough cash on hand to cover a few months of living expenses and the unexpected emergency.

Once the debt is gone, or will be soon, then start investing the excess money where you can get real growth. I use a Certified Financial Planner to invest my money for me so I don’t have to do all the research and trading actions. I let the expert do what he does best while I am busy making more income.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think investing in real estate is great if it provides more cash flow in than what you have to pay out. The truth is that any real estate is a liability as long as you have to make payments on it. Only when it is paid off does it become a true asset.

9. They worry about “the economy” in general.

I’m amazed that people are actually more worried about “the economy” than they are about their business or household failing financially. They worry about what the media is reporting about “the economy” which is something they can’t control, while never looking at how they are can affect the economy of their own business or household, which is something they CAN control.

A rise in unemployment is no reason to worry. Small business creation of new jobs far outweighed the loss of jobs in big corporations, according to the latest ADP report. A failing bank is no reason to panic. Banks get bailouts from the FDIC and other investors. No one is standing by to bail out your failing business or household. That is entirely up to you. So stash some cash in a safe, in a bank, or better yet, a tax deferred retirement plan, and sleep well at night while the bad news about “the economy” rages around you.

10. They expect to survive financially without taking full responsibility for controlling their financial future.

There is a very simple solution to money problems. Cut expenses, increase your income, and correctly manage what income you do get. It’s not only about how much money you make, it’s what you do with your money that determines your financial condition.

Correct money management is something educational institutions don’t teach. People get false information and bad advice about how to handle money. Then they make these silly mistakes, get into trouble, try to solve the problem using credit, create more trouble, and then go looking for debt relief.

Fortunately there is a proven, inexpensive, easy-to-install, easy-to-learn, easy-to-use money management software system that can reverse all the money management mistakes a person has made in the past, and keeps them from making those same mistakes in the future. It is an old-school system that your great grandparents used before the days of credit cards. Very wealthy people know and use this system today.

Sandra Simmons, President of Money Management Solutions, Inc. specializes in helping business owners and individuals manage their money to achieve financial freedom. For more information about her system, claim your complimentary copy of the Debt Reduction Solutions Guide.

© 2008 Sandra S. Simmons. All Rights Reserved.

Here is a way to get rid of the IRS and never have to file another income tax return; or corporate return for that matter! Every dime you earn would be in your paycheck; no taxes withheld. It’s within your power to make it happen!

There is a tax bill before Congress right now that would abolish the IRS and get rid of income taxes, corporate taxes, death taxes, estate taxes, etc. It is called the FairTax Act and I am here to tell you it is not only fair, it would solve our country’s economic problems overnight. Here’s a snapshot of how it works.

First I do want to say that The FairTax is resisted by a vocal minority precisely because it will do what it claims in eliminating the IRS, the more than $300 billion in tax return filing costs, and the corruption of the current system. Make no mistake, that adjustment will be hard for tax lawyers, special interest groups, lobbyists who make millions from our current tax system and those in Congress who see the current tax code as a way to get your campaign contributions to buy your votes.

What is the FairTax?

The FairTax is a retail consumption tax that is charged when you buy something new. It is a transparent tax. That means that the tax will be on your receipt in plain English so you can see it.

Right now you are paying those taxes when you buy something, but they are hidden in the cost of the item by all of the goods and services that go into making that item from raw materials to packaged product. Those are called embedded taxes because they are hidden from your view. Under the FairTax Act, you would be paying the same price for a loaf of bread but the loaf would have a lower shelf price and the tax would be added at the cash register and printed on your receipt.

Is the FairTax actually fair?

Yes, the FairTax is fair. In fact, it is really much fairer than the current income tax. You can control how much tax you pay simply by deciding what items you are going to buy.

Wealthy people spend more money on more expensive items than other individuals. The FairTax taxes them on these purchases. Tourists and illegal aliens, who pay no taxes now, would be paying their fair share every time they buy something. Someone who deals in cash and never reports it on an income tax return would now pay taxes on their income when they spend it at the cash register.

And yes, the government would still get as much tax revenue as they do now, but it would cost us a lot less to run the government. In addition your Congressional Representatives who spend millions of your tax dollars to buy the votes of special interest groups by voting for insane programs, like studying the mating habits of wooly wingas, would stop. (A wooly winga is a made up name for an animal in case you were wondering.)

The FairTax would have a positive effect on the U.S. economy.

With the penalty for working harder and producing more removed, American businesses will experience a new era of economic growth and business expansion. Hidden taxes are history, Americans are able to save more, and businesses invest more. The FairTax, as proposed, would bring U.S. companies back home as it would no longer be an advantage to have U.S. companies in foreign countries hiring workers for low wages that Americans should be doing here at home for a fair wage. In addition, other international investors will want to invest here to avoid taxes on income in their own countries, which would further spur the growth of our own economy.

The FairTax would have a positive effect on wages and prices.

Americans who produce goods and earn wages are currently required to pay significant tax and compliance costs under the current federal income tax. These taxes and costs both reduce after-tax wages and profits and are then passed on to the consumers of those goods and services in the form of price increases.

When the FairTax removes income, capital gains, payroll, and estate and gift taxes, the pre-FairTax prices of these goods and services will fall. The removal of these hidden taxes may also allow wages to rise. Exactly how much prices will fall and wages will rise depends on market forces. For example, in a profession with many jobs and too few to fill them, wages will likely increase more than in fields where there are too many employees and not enough jobs.

Workers would bring home what they earn.

It would put more money in the pockets of every U.S citizen by eliminating the income tax. There would be no deductions from what you earn to pay federal taxes, Social Security or Medicare. If you earned $100 you would get paid $100. Business would no longer be burdened with paying additional taxes on employee wages for Social Security/Medicare.

The FairTax has a positive effect on Social Security/Medicare.

Under the FairTax Act there would be plenty of money available for both these programs. Like all federal spending programs, Social Security would operate exactly as it does today, except that its funds come from a broad, progressive sales tax, rather than a narrow, regressive payroll tax.

Employers would continue to report the wages they pay to each employee to the Social Security Administration simply for the determination of benefits. The move to a reformed Social Security system is eased while ensuring there is sufficient funding to continue promised benefits.

In the meantime, Social Security/Medicare funds are no longer triple-taxed like they are under the current tax system: 1) when payroll taxes are initially withheld; 2) when those withheld payroll taxes are counted as part of the taxable base for income tax purposes; and 3) when the promised benefits are finally received.

The FairTax protects low-income and lower-middle-income families and individuals.

Under the FairTax Plan, poor people pay no net FairTax at all up to the poverty level! Every household receives a monthly prebate check that is equal to the FairTax paid on essential goods and services [groceries and medicine], and all wage earners are no longer subject to the most burdensome tax of all, the payroll tax.

The FairTax protects senior citizens.

Seniors do very well under the FairTax. Low-income seniors are much better off under the FairTax than under the current income tax system. Some people incorrectly believe that people who live exclusively on Social Security pay no taxes. They may not know it, but they are paying hidden corporate income taxes and employer payroll taxes whenever they buy anything. Under the FairTax, seniors pay $0.23 out of every dollar they choose to spend on new goods and services. Plus, seniors, like everyone else, receive the monthly prebate check, in advance of purchases, for taxes paid on the cost of necessities.

Yes, The FairTax CAN really be passed into law!

Do you have the right to vote in this country? Passing the original 16th Amendment and the income tax wasn’t easy, and repealing the income tax and the 16th Amendment won’t be easy either. That is why the FairTax has undertaken to build a grassroots movement and grassroots alliances to support the effort. But this will only happen when the American people rally behind the effort, throw off the yoke, and demand that their congressional representatives correct 90 years of wrongs done by the income tax.

What you can do RIGHT NOW to make sure this bill gets passed.

First, go to the website www.FairTax.org and sign the petition to let Congress and the President know that you want this bill passed into law.

Second, while you are on the website, look at the congressional scorecard to see whether your state congressional representatives support this bill. If they don’t, write them a letter and tell them that you think they should vote for it and that you will be watching this scorecard to see how they stand come election time.

Third, buy The FairTax Book: Saying Goodbye to the Income Tax and the IRS by Neal Boortz and Congressman John Linder. Read it so you understand what this bill actually says. The book is easy to understand. Then give it to a friend to read and ask them to pass it on.

Fourth, if you hear anyone, especially a politician, saying that the FairTax Bill will hurt the poor, or help the rich, or hurt senior citizens, then politely tell them that they either (A) have not read the FairTax Bill and understood it, or (B) they are intentionally misleading the public, so they must have a personal vested financial interest in keeping the current tax code in place.

Fifth, pass this article on to everyone you know and encourage them to join the grassroots movement to get this bill passed into law. Remember, our politicians serve us, we don’t serve them.

Sandra Simmons, President of Money Management Solutions, specializes in helping business owners and individuals manage their money to acheive financial freedom. Claim your FREE Debt Reduction Solutions Guide

© 2008 Sandra S. Simmons. All Rights Reserved.

So you want to be broke, have no money,  and stay in the economic trap? Here are the top 7 actions you can take to insure you have NO MONEY and are living in poverty.

1. Spend every dime you make and deny yourself nothing; buy stuff whether you need it or not.

2. If you have any money in the bank or room on your credit cards, go out and spend it. Don’t worry about emergencies that may come up. When they do, borrow more money to handle it.

3. Work to make just enough money to barely pay your bills and be sure to spend your free time out spending money. Don’t stress over the yearly increase in the cost of living.

4. Use your credit cards to pay for essential items like gas and groceries, and to do impulse shopping for things you want but don’t need. Max out those credit cards.

5. Pay only the minimum payment required on your credit cards each month, and don’t worry about the extra charges for paying late or spending over your credit limit.

6. Never put any money in savings, and if you do, feel free to tap into those funds when you can’t pay your bills.

7. Rely on the Government and Social Security to take care of you when you can no longer work.

These actions will guarantee that you are being controlled by the money and are broke and living in poverty.

If you don’t care that you’ll constantly be worried about money and plagued with money problems, then you’ll be able to spend those sleepless nights out spending more money on credit cards or shopping on-line on the computer for entertainment. Heaven forbid that you should be working on ways to take responsibility for your own financial survival instead of relying on someone else to take care of you financially. Isn’t that what friends, family and the Social Security system are for?

Now that I’ve given you all this advice about how to live broke and die penniless, I should also tell you that there is a money management system that you can use to control your income and debts to get on the road to financial freedom. Just in case you change your mind and decide you want to take responsibility for improving your own financial condition, you can read some of my other articles on my Money Management Solutions Blog.

Sandra Simmons, President of Money Management Solutions, Inc. specializes in helping people manage their money to achieve their money management goals, so be sure to claim your FREE Debt Reduction Solutions Guide

If you would like to know just how bankrupt the US is – with future committments for medicare, medicaid and Social Security for the 78,000,000 baby boomers who will start tapping the system starting January 2008 – you’ll want to check out these 2  short videos by David Walker, Chief  Comptroller for US General Accountability Office.

According to the video, between 2000 and 2005, the US incurred 26 trillion (yes, trillion) additional future debt. No wonder why the Dollar is falling hard against foreign currencies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXr_Ga_n0pY&feature=related

Lastly, if you have always wanted to get de-mystified about the Federal Reserve Bank – and how a small group of private individuals have bankrupted America – you won’t want to miss this video featuring Ron Paul:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5232639329002339531

“It is well enough that people do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.” – Henry Ford

Wake up America! Your personal financial survival is at risk. Your Constitutional rights are being violated, and you are being robbed of your financial freedom.

Sandra Simmons, President of Money Management Solutions, Inc. specializes in helping business owners and individuals manage their money to achieve financial freedom. Claim your FREE Debt Reduction Solutions Guide

© 2008 Sandra S. Simmons. All Rights Reserved.