• msgen.com - article about "Teach Your Child to Save Day"
• napfa.org - find a financial advisor

How addicted are you to e-mail? According to Information Week, three-quarters of people say that e-mail is essential to their lives. When asked what that means, 40-50% say they prefer e-mail to chocolate, coffee and TV. And, 60% spend more time sending e-mails than they do on the phone. Even more worrisome, 15% say they would rather lose their spouse than not have access to e-mail. Now, that is just sad. Text messaging is just as addictive and pervasive. In fact, Washington state has made it a crime to DWT – Drive While Texting. California is planning to do the same next year. How important is e-mail to you? Tell us in our latest poll.

There is a day to honor just about everything in America, and today is one of those days. Clark wouldn’t normally name each day, except for the fact that today happens to be “Teach Your Child to Save Day.” It’s very hard to teach kids about money and the importance of investing and saving when they are so young. The challenge is much tougher these days because money isn’t really present; it’s all about plastic and credit cards. Kids start to think plastic pays for everything. They are not going to learn about money unless you teach them. Clark is a big proponent of the “Three Jar” system, whereby parents set up jars with red, yellow and green lids. Green is money that’s available for spending; yellow is money being saved for something important and meaningful; the red is for charitable giving. The idea of the red jar is that it’s from the heart. It has worked well in households across the country. And, try to keep plastic out of the hands of kids. Banks are targeting “tweens” as the next big group to influence credit card buying. So, as parents, you need to learn to say, “No.”

Have you ever gotten a solicitation in the mail to join the “Who’s Who” list of some organization? If so, Clark hopes you’ve thrown it away immediately. Sure, it may be flattering. But it’s a hoax. There are dozens of these outfits that claim you have been named to these exclusive lists. But, there is a publication deadline you must meet in order to be included. That’s the hook. It’s not a scam because you must respond, but it is certainly a ripoff. And, it’s not just the book anymore. Now, you can get a “Plaque of Achievement” impressive-looking frames, leather bound volumes and more. Don’t let your ego get the better of you with this one. Toss these mailers right away. It’s all about making money off of you.

Clark is getting lots of calls about Vonage these days. People who have loved the service are upset that the company may go under. Clark says it’s highly likely that the company will go bust. Not only is Verizon attacking the company in court, but Vonage has also done a poor job of satisfying customers in recent months. You probably want come up with a back-up plan for when the company shuts down, and Clark recommends sunrocket.com. Sunrocket has a different business model, whereby you pay for a year up front. It’s $199 a year, plus junk fees, and you get unlimited calling. It works out to about $17 a month. The one unknown is how people will port their numbers once Vonage goes bon voyage. The company won’t be concerned with helping people port their numbers to another company once they’ve gone under. So, you probably want to make the switch now. Other VOIP services are Packet8 and Lingo. Check them out.

Over the years, Clark has always preached about saving a dime on every dollar you make. If you want financial security and freedom, that’s what you need to do. Simple as that. But what if you are older and you’re trying to “catch up?” A study published in the Journal of Financial Planning shows that adjustments must be made based on your age and income. Some people just can’t take a dime on a dollar as the automatic answer. If you’re making between $25,000 and $35,000, you don’t have as urgent a need to save. That’s because social security benefits will still be meaningful to you. People who earn more won’t be able to depend on social security benefits, so will need to save more. Typically, the goal is a dime on a dollar if you start saving in your 20s, 15 cents on a dollar is you start saving in your 30s and 20 cents on the dollar if you start saving in your 40s. Another way to look at it is if you’re 30 and you make $40,000, you will need to save 10 percent to have a comfortable retirement. If you’re 30 and making $80,000, you need to bump it up to 15 percent. If you're older than 50 and you haven't saved a dime, start saving as soon as possible. And realize that you may have to work a little longer than expected.