Remove every credit card from your wallet, including gasoline cards. There’s absolutely no reason you need to carry them around. The only things they do is make it easier for you to ignore prices and buy things you don’t need and can’t afford.

Get a pay-as-you-go charge card, like American Express, if you don’t already have one. Keep that with you in case of emergencies. Since you have to pay the entire bill when it arrives at the end of the month, you’ll soon be cured of any mistaken belief it’s just like a credit card. Start paying cash for your gasoline and you’ll soon discover which station has the lowest prices. (more…)

We have become a nation of spenders and debtors rather than a nation of savers. One recent study found that 20 percent of Americans had no net worth beyond consumer goods. If you ignored real estate, the number jumped to 55 percent. Basically, most Americans have nothing other than the home they live in and the stuff they put in it. (more…)