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I have a new book called Making Money Work: A Christian Guide For Personal Finance (www.MakingMoneyWork.us) which explains saving and many other financial concepts.

The book comes with a CD ROM that has calculators to help you analyze, plan, and achieve your financial goals.

MAKING MONEY WORK

Beat the Odds -- Look to the Future

By Bill G. Page
Author

CBN.com – The U.S. personal savings rate fell to 0 percent in June, only the second time since the Great Depression that Americans have spent as much as they earned in a month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. People in other industrialized nations such as Canada, France, and Japan save 11 to 15 percent. Just as your individual standard of living will decline in retirement without adequate savings, future generations of Americans will see their standard of living decline if the U.S. economy loses ground against global competition. It requires the efforts of individuals, families, corporations, and government to increase America’s savings rate.

In Aesop’s fable about the grasshopper and the ant, the grasshopper ignored the potential for future difficult times and starved. The ant saved some food for the winter and was able to survive because of his foresight.

Saving money means accumulating funds for emergencies, seasonal expenses, short-term goals, and long-term goals. Like Aesop’s grasshopper, you can use up all your resources now and have nothing later, or you can save for the future by spending a little less today, investing the savings, and then being able to spend a whole lot more in the future. Most Americans can do with less. According to Dr. Gregory A. Boyd in his book Letters from a Skeptic, Americans “make up about 7 percent of the population of the earth, but we consume over half its resources!”

After tithing/giving, your first order of business with your finances should be building your cash reserves for a bare minimum of three months living expenses for emergencies such as a job loss, unexpected medical expenses, repairs, and automobile maintenance. Six to nine months living expenses as an emergency fund is even better. Keep your emergency fund in an easily accessible liquid account. In fact, money you will need within five years should be kept in safe investments such as bank CDs, money-market funds, treasury bills, or mutual funds that purchase top-rated bonds maturing in one to three years. Money that you will not need within five years can be invested in the stock market. Saving and investing gives you comfort and a sense of security. Being in financial distress can create mental anxiety. Even if you never have to use your emergency fund for a “rainy day,” it will provide funding for a “sunny retirement.” Saving helps you to feel more secure about tomorrow, which makes you feel happier about today.

Saving should be considered a spending priority. The number one rule of saving for retirement is to begin saving immediately. The sooner you start saving, the longer your money will work for you through the magic of compound interest. Every pay period, pay yourself by saving. Regardless of the amounts, savings should become part of your normal routine economic habits. Saving consistency and discipline are keys to achieving good results. Automatic savings plans are a great way to insure your financial future. Automatic payroll deductions from work into your company’s savings and investment plan or automatic payroll deductions sent to a credit union or other savings vehicle removes the temptation to spend the money on things other than savings. Avoiding having the money sent to you in the first place is the easiest way to save.

“The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets”—Proverbs 21:20 (The Living Bible).

I have a new book/CD ROM called Making Money Work: A Christian Guide For Personal Finance www.MakingMoneyWork.us. It includes lots of suggestions on savings plans along with information on many other financial concepts. The book comes with a CD ROM that has calculators to help you analyze, plan, and achieve your financial goals.