by Alexandra Grose

Created on: May 24, 2008

The golden rule for financial prosperity is to pay yourself first. You pay everyone else, why not pay yourself? You make sure everyone else has their money, but you don't give yourself any money for your own future. Even if you save just $10 a week, that $10 will add up over time. You say you can't afford $10, so mow your neighbors lawn. You may even get $25 for that. Walk your neighbors dog. There are a number of ways to earn a few extra dollars for yourself.

Ideally you should aim to save ten percent of all incoming money. Realistically this is very difficult for most people to achieve. However there's always something you can cut down on, to put a few dollars away. Or you could work an extra hour overtime and save that. Perhaps don't buy that morning coffee or lunch. Cut out non essentials from your grocery shop. You know you've heard all this before. That's because it's what you need to do.

You have always worked for your money and most likely there's never been enough of it. The funny thing about money, is that the more we earn, the more we want. Not understanding money and how money works is what gets people into trouble. Now is the time learn about money, to understand how to make money work for you, rather than you working for your money.

First you need to save something. Even if it is just $5 or $10 a week. Then you need to take that saving and pay off your debts. Once that's done you'll have more of your income to save. Invest the savings you make. If you're a cautious investor, or an investor without a lot of knowledge on where and how to invest, perhaps you could invest in a bank which offers daily compounding interest.

Compounding interest grows more rapidly than other types of interest, because they earn money daily. The interest you earn today, starts earning more interest tomorrow. Investing isn't as difficult to manage as you might think. You don't need a lot of investment skill to invest your savings, you just need to compare interest rates and work out which is paying the best rate. And don't invest in anything you don't understand.

In the long run you want to achieve multiple streams of income. Seven income streams isn't unreasonable, particularly if they're passive forms of income, income where you don't actually have to work for your money. This is where you're money's working for you.

Turn your hobby into another income stream. Find other ways to make money. Once you start, you realize it's a lot of fun to find ways to make your money grow. It's fun to save and invest. The satisfaction you get in watching your money grow, the ease with which it's done and the security you feel as you watch your account grow, makes it all well worth the effort in the end.

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