Spam is just a wonderful waste of everybody’s time.  I wonder if there are still people out in the world who is taken in by spam?  Probably.  What’s the old saying?  “A sucker is born every minute.”

In this case, very true.  There are actually people out there who will believe the above spam message, “improve your borrowing power.”  In our American culture of debt, we believe that we need good credit so that we can borrow more and more money to buy more and more stuff.  We forget that what we are borrowing is our future money, paid for with our future earnings, usually with heavy interest.  Someone benefits, but it isn’t us.

Rather than improving our borrowing power, let’s improve our earning and saving power.

Improve Your Earning Power

1. Take classes to improve your professional skills.
2. Consider a career change if you are unhappy where you are.
3. Go back for a degree.
4. Take a part-time job or start your own business.
5. Work harder where you are and politely let your supervisors know you are looking for more duties with more pay.

Improve Your Saving Power

1. If you haven’t started saving yet, open a savings account and start with just $50 a month.  That’s pocket change, but will add up quickly in one year.
2. Use a change jar and dump your change in it every night.
3. Move your savings account to one that pays higher interest.
4. Check with your benefits department and join in the company’s 401K or 403(b) plan.
5. Have your money automatically withdrawn from your paycheck every month to go directly to your savings