America Saves Week 2009 is Here!

America Saves Week is upon us. In today’s economy, it may be hard for a lot of us to find ways to save money, but we can. There may not be a lot to spend, but you can do things like turn off the lights, turn down the thermostat or stop making repetitive trips in the car (conserve gas). These are just a few of the ways you CAN save money, but by no means all.

Visit the website (www.americasavesweek.org) and make a plan to save and stick to it so that when the next recession hits you will say “What Recession?”

My previous post contains more information on America Saves Week.

I look forward to a very prosperous year for all of us in 2009.

Yours in prosperity in 2009,

Joseph R. Mays

Starbucks to Cut 6,000 Jobs and Close Stores as their Earnings Drop 69%

As if we needed to hear more economic bad news, Starbucks joins other companies with sagging and or negative growth. This has resulted in a move to eliminate 6,000 jobs (layoffs) and close 300 more stores. They join Circuit City and National Wholesale Liquidators. These retailers are shutting down all their stores. Office Depot announced back in December that it was closing 10% of it’s stores. The story link here is from USA Today.

For more information on this story please visit MarketWatch.com.

Yours in economic news,

Joseph R. Mays

Nortel Networks, Another Victim of the Financial Crisis, Files for Bankruptcy Protection

The financial crisis continues it’s hold on the financial world spreading like a plague through businesses around the world. Nortel Networks, one of the biggest makers of telephone equipment has filed for bankrupty protection today. The crisis seems to be deepening and shows no signs of letting up. Their shares dropped on the news of the bankruptcy.

For more on this story visit Reuters.com.

Yours in news and information,

Joseph R. Mays

Financial Giant Citigroup in Talks to Sell Smith Barney Brokerage Unit.

Financial powerhouse Citigroup, in a move indicative of the seriousness and deep scars of the current financial crisis, is in talks with Morgan Stanley to sell it’s Smith Barney brokerage unit. For more information on this story follow this link.

Yours in finances and information,

Joseph R. Mays

America Saves Week 2009 – Make Saving Money a Goal in 2009

Hello readers.

The third annual America Saves Week is scheduled for February 22-March 1, 2009, and early reports indicate that the Week will have more participation and a broader reach than ever before.

Activities for America Saves Week 2009 are being coordinated by the America Saves campaign and by the American Savings Education Council, who are working with a large coalition to promote the savings message and foster better savings behavior. Among the many companies, agencies and organizations committed to participating are the Cooperative Extension Service, WorldatWork and the Department of Defense.

During America Saves Week 2008, over 80 national organizations and over 500 local organizations participated, reaching millions through the press and internet. Over 75,000 people attended over 1,800 events, and tens of thousands joined the America Saves campaign and committed to begin saving.

Yours in saving money and prosperity,

Joseph R. Mays

Let Congress Hear Your Voice in November 2008

Come November 2008, America will usher in a new era. The citizens of the United States of America will shout out to the world that they want change and they want it NOW!

Congressional oversights on incidents like the financial crisis we are currently in has caused too much tribulation in the economy of the United States of America. It has had far reaching and global implications which, if not contained, could spell financial disaster here and abroad.

The story is all too familiar. Executives of rich companies leave their broken companies with generous paychecks while the destitute and out-of-job workers get nothing. Their retirement accounts are depleted and they are left holding nothing. Many with years and years of time AND money invested in something that they once considered rock solid.

A safety net (a golden parachute per se) needs to be put into place to protect workers like these so they can have something to carry with them. They were doing what they were supposed to and were left hanging. (“Sorry, pack your belongings”. “The company is closing down tomorrow”. )

A worker’s financial security (i.e. retirement accounts) should NOT be a negotiating chip in company trades. If a worker invested his or her time in that investment vehicle then they should be entitled to carry out their mission. This means that their account should STILL be in place when they retire unless THEY voluntarily vote to give up their account. Twenty years (even ten years) is too much time to invest money and then find out you have nothing to look forward to and/or pull out to live off of. That creates stress of untold proportions and is not needed in today’s already stressful and uncertain economic times.

So do YOUR part in the United States of America and show up at the polling places and express your displeasure at how Congress conducts it’s business. Tell them you want CHANGE and you want it NOW. Pick who you feel is the best candidate for the job and let your VOICE and VOTE be counted.

Yours in truth, fairness and the TRUE American way,

Joseph Mays

Investor Words – Another Good Resource for You

I was surfing today and came across another good resource site today. It is called InvestorWords.com. It gives you definitions and related links to it. You can look up words you’ve heard about and ones that you haven’t.

Expand your investor vocabulary and knowledge by visiting InvestorWords.com today.

Thanks. Have a wonderful weekend.

Yours in knowledge and success,

Joseph R. Mays

Something else to help you reach you goals

Hello readers. Joseph Mays here again with more information to help you.

I published a post as a draft on July 6, 2008 on my blog at Blogspot. I wasn’t ready at that time to complete it, but I finished it today. It did not go to the front page after I published it as I thought it would. WordPress is different from blogger in that aspect.

It is about making your money grow. I want you to have as much information as possible in that area so we will never run out of money to take care of our needs.

Anyway, without further ado, I want to give you the link to that post so I can share that information with you. Click here to go to that post now.

Yours in community and success,

Joseph R. Mays

Mark It On Your Calendar – America Saves Week 2009

Choosetosave.org sponsors an event called “America Saves Week”. Each year around the end of February and the first week of March the event kicks off. It’s focus is on getting people to save their money so they will have money to tide them over during bad times and enough to live on when they retire.

The upcoming event information is here. Get together with family, friends and co-workers and share this information. The community as a whole will benefit. Less poverty means more opportunities for a healthier and more enjoyable life. It means kids will have more time with their parents who won’t have to struggle mentally, physically and emotionally to make ends meet.

Resources like Investopedia, Choosetosave and Sharebuilder make it easy to come up with a financial plan for your life. Everyone who wants the best for their family deserves the best out of life. I will do my part to help make that happen.

Sincerely,

Joseph R. Mays

Let Us Teach Our Children (and Ourselves) About The Following: (PLEASE PASS THIS ON)

Let us teach our children (and ourselves) about the following:

Net Worth Real Estate Stocks Mutual Funds Interest

Equity ETF’s Bonds Tax-Deferred Capital Gains

OPM Leveraging Business Owner Entrepreneur Corporation

Assets Asset Protection Wills Living Trusts Insurance (types of)

Wealth Building Legacy Estate Home Ownership Financial Freedom

Morals Ethics Values Voting Freedom

Constitution Rights Congress Senate Elected Officials

Polling Place Voter Registration Inspiration Education Motivation

Respect Dignity Integrity Patience Spirituality

History Arts Culture Diversity Recognition

Success Failure Honor Diligence Perseverance

Esteem Pride FICO Score Credit Report Mortgage

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Resources

ING/Sharebuilder.com
www.sharebuilder.com

Money
www.money.com

Wall Street Journal
www.wsj.com

Investopedia
www.investopedia.com

Choose To Save
www.choosetosave.org

Wikipedia
www.wikipedia.com

Forbes
www.forbes.com

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(PLEASE PASS THIS ON)

A better community can burst forth if we spread this information to those in need. We can ALL live better if we have the proper tools (knowledge/education) to make better decisions and avoid (as much as possible) those things that prevent us from being our best. In addition, we can have a better opportunity to live our lives the way we would like and have a better quality of life in the process. I would like YOUR help in making this dream come true, not just for my family, but for YOU and YOUR family/families as well. That… is my dream. A dream not shared is a dream not worth having.

Yours in LIFE and SUCCESS,

Joseph R. Mays