Hi, Cheri, Another great forum you have invited me to! Many people forget that it is not so long ago that it was a matter of course to be self sufficient. There was no social welfare programme. There was no pension for retirement. There was nobody else to rely on except yourself and your family. The universal rule was (I paraphrase Mr MiCawber) -- $1 earned and 99c spent = contentment but $1 earned and $1.01 spent = penury. Look around now. Young people are expected to earn $1,000 a month but live as though they are earning $5,000! Who started that? Who made people feel inadequate if they didn't have the latest, biggest or best? Face it Ladies and Gentlemen - WE DID! The marketers of the world introduced products that people had never before aspired to. They created products to cure problems that people were not aware they had - until the marketers 'educated' them. They used advertising techniques that challenged the virility of a man if his family did not own a solid silver, left hand thread, automatic, universal belly button fluff remover. Let me pass on my father's wisdom in family budgeting. Apart from staples, anything that 'needed' to be bought had to be subject of an appointment when the family was to go and buy it. You will be surprised how many of these 'needed' things did not get bought because, by the time of the appointment, we couldn't remember why we needed it. My father successfully supported a family of three children, a stray child he rescued (you could in those days, just after the war) and our grandparents on the grand total income of less than $9 a week. While I was in the RAF, my allotment from my pay was twice his weekly wage - and he saved every penny of it because there was nothing he needed to buy simply because he had the money. Where did it all go wrong? When did we all become dependents? (Yes. Yes. I can hear the chorus now "Why are you such an old coot?") Regards Arthur

Cheri, Thanks for the invite and vauable article. In the world in which we lives its way too easy to be focused upon the unimportant creature comforts and trying to be competitive with others for all the toys you can collect. Some sage and valuable advice, pay yourself before you pay others has withstood the test of time in its truth factor. Yours in Optimum Health & Prosperity, Dave

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Thanks for the invite, Cheri. FYI, ING Direct is pay 4.75% on savings right now

Cheri, first thanks for inviting me to join your forum. I have always been a saver but things have gotten a bit harder lately. I saved enough to be able to take a yeqar off to do some volunteer work overseas with a medical group but upon returning I learned that the company I had worked fro had downsized and my position was no longer available. I have now been unemployed for a little over a year (this in addition to the one year of volunteer work) and the money is going fast. How do you save when you don't have anything coming in. I am looking for an internet home based business but even those take some sort of investment, ouch. I am getting closer to retirement and it scares me to think of having nothing after working for so many years, we all know that social security is not really security just some spare change especially with the continual increase in the cost of living.