The American Dream is different for every person. In general it’s something similar to – Money, A Beautiful Home, and Perfect Relationships. Today, our topic is Money. We will discuss getting it, and what do with it in order to increase your savings and eventual wealth.

In order to increase your savings you must first have an income. My first suggestion is to do something you enjoy. And, at the very least, do what is legally expedient while seeking something you will enjoy.

Second, set aside at least 10 percent of what you earn and put it in a savings account; preferably one not connected by overdraft to your checking account. Banks push overdraft protection and this has its merits. However, the idea is to organize and keep track of your money so that each dollar-to-the-penny is accounted for. This way – You are your own overdraft protection.

Your 10 percent savings is key. No, it’s crucial. This is the money you will eventually use to invest and increase your wealth. Without this, you will most likely continue to survive pay check to pay check rather than live in the comfort of wealth as I believe we are all intended to do.

After you save 10 percent of your income, that leaves you 90 percent to live on, right? Not quite. Do you have any debt? If you live in America, and haven’t already developed the habit of savings and wealth building, you most likely do. So, your next step is to get rid of your unproductive debt by taking an addition 10 percent from your income for debt relief. This leaves you with 80 percent of your earned income. Now what?

Heard the expression, “Give and it shall be given unto you?” How about “Charity begins at Home.” They are the same. Our home is Earth and our family, other human beings. Therefore, we are responsible for one another just as the universe is responsible for securing us via Sun, Rain, Air, etc. This simply means that our existence is reciprocal and that what we give, we get back in one way or another. It’s really that simple.

So, from that 80 percent of your remaining income, if you want to increase your savings, and wealth – give 10 percent of your income to someone less fortunate than yourself (whether to an organized entity or someone you know or come across who could use the funds). How you do so is entirely up to you. Just try it. You will see. It’s an awesome principle that works 100 percent of the time.

Recapping – You’ve developed a consistent income; Paid yourself first with 10 percent for your savings account; Put aside and/or paid 10 percent toward your debt relief; and Given 10 percent to charity. Now you have 70 percent of your earnings for daily living expenses. This is more than possible to live on. Here are some tips to do so.

How To Live on 70 Percent of You Income…

These tips will get you off to a good start.

1. Take a real inventory of what you spend your money on. It will amaze you. Make a budget. If you find that you simply must have more income, intend it and get a better paying gig.

2. Eat at home – Cook

3. Make coffee at home (Carry your homemade coffee to work in your Starbucks container if it makes you feel better)

4. Entertain at home rather than splurge out each weekend.

5. Buy in bulk at places like Costco, Sam’s Club, Smart & Final, etc.

The process of increasing your savings account seems restricting at first. It is. Developing a new habit of finance is developing a new way of thinking about money and wealth. But remember, you are doing this to eventually amass wealth. Take the time, work the process and begin to change your financial status forever.

According to the latest report on consumer debt put out by the Federal Reserve, the US consumer debt is over $2.5 trillion. Each year the amount of credit card debt in America climbs higher and higher. Why is American credit card debt spiraling out of control? Well, there are several reasons for the yearly increase in the US consumer debt.

One reason Americans are going deeper into debt is because salaries have not increased enough to meet rising inflation. The 2007 Trends in Earnings Variability Over the Past 20 Years report by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) stated that approximately “one-in-five saw their earnings fall 25 percent between 2002 and 2003, and about one-in-seven saw their earnings fall by” a decline of more than 40 percent. This significant decrease in earnings for Americans means while the price of gas, food, groceries, clothes, utilities and other basic necessities goes up, the average salary just isn’t keeping up.

Another reason the US consumer debt is rising is because credit card companies spend billions each year on gaining new customers and increasing rate limits for current customers. The average credit card debt for Americans is over $9,000 and even with the current credit crunch, the continuous stream of credit card offers continues to flow.

However, credit card offers don’t mean the recipients have to sign up. Credit card debt in America wouldn’t be growing at the rapid pace it is if consumers were more realistic with their budgets. The attitude of our society has become “I want it now, though I can’t afford it, so I’ll charge it.” If consumers exercised more discipline in their spending, the credit card debt in America would reverse its current course.

Regardless of the reason you may be in credit card debt, you need a solid debt reduction option. Credit card debt consolidation and debt consolidation loans are similar methods of debt relief that can benefit consumers with good credit. Debt settlement and bankruptcy are viable debt reduction options for consumers with bad credit.

US Public Debt in 2008

The US Public Debt (from the federal government) has been increasing for decades. The gross federal debt has increased greatly from $909 billion in 1980 to an estimated $9,575 B in 2008. (The federal debt was about $9,509 billion in July 2008.) In these 28 years the increase has been about $8,666 billion or about 10.53 times for an increase of around 953%. (Source: U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Budget of the United States Government, Historical Tables, annual.) In 2008, we find ourselves facing a federal deficit of from $560 billion to $900 B. (The official figure will be closer to $560 B for political and business reasons.) How much more will you owe if we only spend another $600 B than we collect in US federal taxes in 2008? If you divide $600 billion by 100 million workers then you get $6,000 per worker. If you divide a federal deficit of $600 billion by 160 million workers then you get $3,750 for each worker. The population of the US in mid-2008 was roughly 300 million citizens. Dividing $600 billion by 300 million equals $2,000 for each US citizen, including children under the age of 10 and people over 90.

Some of the increases in our US public debt (US national, federal debt) between 2003 and 2012 will be due to our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, if the battles continue through 2012. What will be the costs? While hard numbers are hard to find and estimates are often off by 50% or more, the costs of these wars in 2007 was roughly $200 billion. This $200 billion for 10 years would equal $2,000 billion or $2 trillion. Since there were few years since 1965 that we paid off any national debt, we will probably not be able to pay off this $2,000 billion during the next 10 to 15 years. The interest on $2,000 billion at 6% for one year is $120 billion. Now you can begin to see the scope of the problem. The costs, including interest, from these wars could easily amount to at least $3 trillion from 2003 through 2022. The $3 trillion or $3,000 billion divided by 300 million equals $10,000 for each US citizen. Expensive wars for over 2 or 3 years tend to bring very large amounts of new debt to the US government and US citizens.

The US trade deficits are another huge source of increases in the US public debt. The following table is data from the US Census Bureau Web site (www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/historical on July 15, 2008):

Annual Trade Balances

Year US Trade Percent

Balance of previous

in $ billions year

1994 -98.5

1995 -96.4 98

1996 -104.1 108

1997 -108.3 104

1998 -166.1 153

1999 -265.1 160

2000 -379.8 143

2001 -365.1 96

2002 -423.7 116

2003 -496.9 117

2004 -607.7 122

2005 -711.6 117

2006 -753.3 106

2007 -700.3 93

2008

Jan. -57.9

Feb. -60.6

Mar. -56.5

Apr. -60.5

May -59.8

Figures are seasonally adjusted.

Average per month for 2008 is -59

First 5 months annualized for 2008 $ -709 billion

You may notice that the foreign trade balance has increased from a deficit of -98.5 billion in 1994 to -379.8 B in 2000 to a projected trade deficit of around $-709 B in 2008. The total increase from 1994 to 2008 is likely to be around 620%! It is amazing that in about 14 years the US trade deficit will be greater than 7 times the amount in 1994. If inflation increased by 5% during 14 years then the factor would be only about 2 times.

According to the US Treasury (http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/NPGateway ) the US national debt on July 3, 2008 was about $9,492 billion or roughly $9.49 trillion. The national debt on July 3, 1998 was roughly $5.53 trillion. So in 10 years it has increased by about 72%. While the interest rate is unknown for the next 12 months, at 5% interest the dollar interest on the US national debt would be about $0.475 trillion or $475 billion. Dividing $475 billion by 100 million taxpayers equals $4,750 for each taxpayer. (I use the number 100 million because it is one-tenth of a billion so you can multiply an amount in billions by 10 and get the number of dollars per individual, and probably not more than 100 million individual taxpayers could afford to pay off things like interest on the national debt and trade deficits. So Dividing $475 billion by 100 million taxpayers equals $475 x 10 = $4,750 for each taxpayer.)

How does this affect you? In several ways; it would take a book to explain them. A few of the ways are the following:

There is a lot of Free Money available in the the form of a Government Grant but you need to know were to look. If you are trying to get debt relief then a Government Grant can help you eliminate any personal debt that you may have. It seems like it is becoming harder to make ends meet because of the rising price of oil everything from gas to groceries keeps going up.

To keep up with the rising price of all things that we use it seems that it get us further into debt every day because we are charging the things we need because we do not have the money to just pay for them. Although the price of everything we use on a daily basis keeps going up our salaries are not going up to keep up with these high prices and it is causing us to have an alarming amount of debt.

Seeking a Government Grant to eliminate this debt can be a great alternative to consolidating your debt into one loan payment. The advantage you will get by getting a Grant is that the money you receive to pay off your debt will not have to be repaid. This can be a big advantage because even a consolidation loan you will have to pay back and the interest alone can make it difficult.

Remember that when in debt you can get a Government Grant to help eliminate your personal debt and get you on the road to financial freedom.

When looking to pay off credit card debt, one of the most overlooked options many people have are government grants. Many people do not look into these grants because they simply do not know about them. However, the government sets aside billions each year just for this purpose, to give them away. If you are one of the millions of people who are suffering from credit card debt, you definitely want to consider applying for a grant from the government.

Government grants are available, the key is finding them. If you are looking for debt relief, you should understand that there are ways to get out of this debt and it is up to you to seek the help you need and deserve. We all get into trouble now and then with our financial situation, however, if the help is available, why not take advantage of it.

Why do these grants make more sense when it comes to credit card debt elimination? Simply put, these grants are far easier to obtain than traditional loans. Traditional loans may require some form of collateral or security deposit, grants do not require these because they are provided by the government.

The key to grants is to be creative. The government is willing to jump-start the economy by providing small business grants. If you apply for and receive a grant for several thousand dollars, you can eliminate your debt by using the money earned in your business to pay them off.

In order to get the grant the people accepting your application will need to review your situation. In other words, they will be looking at many things. First, they will be looking at if you have the ability to pay the money you currently owe, then they will take a look at the debts you currently have, and finally your financial ability to repay what you owe and still maintain your current debt. If you can prove that you cannot pay back this money, the grant will likely be yours.

Government grants can do many things for you. First, they can provide you with the money you need for debt relief without having to provide security or collateral. Second, these grants can save you from having to file for bankruptcy. Third, no repayment is necessary, this is type of financial aid, and it cannot be taxed and does not accrue any interest. Finally, it can instantly make you debt free, which cannot be said about other types of debt relief solutions.

Overall, obtaining a government grant just makes sense when you are swimming in debt that you cannot get out of.

I recently had the privilege of discussing credit card counseling with a local banker. Among the things he mentioned one of them stood out in the report. After review it became know that people in debt are seeking credit counseling programs to seek debt relief.

The problem however is the long time frame associated with the programs. The monthly payments remain the same as well causing the same issue to arise being the strain of the monthly payments on household budgets. Many people have even enrolled in CCCS programs paid the fees and then dropped out. This is where the problem lies.

Ethics should come into play in this scenario. When dealing with an indebted consumer many credit card counseling companies act like debt collecting sharks to gain enrollments. Pushing the consumer by pointing out the non-profit status of the company to enroll in the program. After this shaky enrollment process they deduct the first monthly payment that goes entirely to fees for the service.

If the next month the client fails to make a payment there is no follow up done to see why. The reason being that the credit counseling company is paid for and sponsored by the credit card companies themselves. The IRS has done much research into the non-profit CCCS programs but have had little success with completely eradicating predatory credit counselors. Additionally the credit counseling firm is paid a “fair share” usually between 7-12% of the debt directly back to the credit counseling agency.

Consult with a banker or an attorney to see if credit counseling or debt settlement is best for your financial needs.