Financial Education 101

A significant number of people struggle with mortgage payments and the complexity of buying a home. One in every 10 Americans with a mortgage, or roughly 10 million adults, report being late or missing a mortgage payment in the past year. Adding more stress to the current housing market, almost one-quarter of Americans say they do not know enough about owning a home to consider buying one.

Millions have serious difficulties paying bills each month, most notably those in generation Y. Only 59 percent, or roughly 23 million, of the young adults in generation Y (ages 18-29)pay their bills on time every month. That translates into millions of tomorrow's leaders, those who will drive the engine of our economy for years to come, who are not practicing a most basic financial principle. And the previous generation of consumers, those between ages 30 to 49, don't appear to be modeling good financial behavior either.

Only a minority keep close track of expenses/spending. Financial experts generally agree that having a household budget is sound financial management. But only a minority of Americans say they keep close track of their typical monthly expenses. And although a majority of the public has at least a somewhat good idea of where their money goes each month, nearly two in 10, or roughly 40 million adults, keep little or no track at all. Contrary to some stereotypes, how closely Americans manage their money does not vary by gender, age, income. Women continue to be as likely as men, younger people as likely as older people and lower income households as likely as higher income ones to keep close track of what they spend.

Savings and emergency funds are lacking. A majority of the public does not have a sufficient emergency fund, defined as three to six months of income saved. More than one-third, or roughly 76 million adults, say they don not have any nonretirement savings. And though a majority are currently saving for their retirement, more than one-quarter are not.

Few have ordered their credit report. Financial experts recomment that consumers check their credit history at least once a year. Yet, only a minority of Americans has ordered their credit report in the past year, in spite of the fact that it can be free. And one-third, or roughly 72 million adults, readily admit that they don not know their credit score.

Americans worry about future income growth; the midwest has greatest concerns. And matters are not likely to improve. Only one-quarter expect their income to outpace inflation. And more than half of all Americans believe their income will shrink, not keep pace with inflation or stay even.

Source: The 2008 Financial Literacy Survey, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International on behalf of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling Inc. and MSN money.

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Hard Lessons Learned

"In the best-seller The Millionaire Next Door, authors Thomas Stanley and William Danko revealed that a majority of people who have amassed great wealth did it slowly and steadily. The authors discovered that millionaires tended to have several common characteristics, including living within their means, and striving for financial independence rather than buying fancy cars, houses and lots of stuff.

These are lessons United First Financial co-founders Skyler Witman and John Washenko learned early in life. They were friends as far back as they can remember, and their bond of friendship was cemented when their families suffered similar fates - overwhelming debt left them both homeless, facing a despair nearly impossible to overcome.

As the repo truck backed up to their home to collect his family's belongings, Skyler Witman remembers thinking, "Why us" Why does this have to happen?" It left such an indelible mark on his childhood that it still affects him today. It's what drove him to succeed in business - so he could help others avoid his experience.

"As I got older, I realized that my parents' problems were due to debt," Skyler says. "debt is not always bad, but mismanagement of debt can be debilitating." Together, the boyhood friends vowed to change their course for the future and to help others do the same."

"Debt has been ripping apart families in increasing numbers - especially in recent years. Having built their own successful Utah-based mortgage company, Accelerated Equity & Development... countless hours were spent scouring existing financial systems from around the world. UFirst's co-founders picked and chose the best attributes of the most successful plans and sought the help of an aeronautical engineer to compile them into a tidy software package."

And here we have the Money Merge Account System. Not only does this system help you pay off your mortgage and other debts, but it also is an educational tool and a financial dashboard that helps you track your financial goals.

Exciting news...

United First Financial has been featured in the magazine, Success From Home.NFCC statistics show that millions of people have serious difficulties paying bills each month or are struggling to pay their mortgages.
UFirst can help...

Ufirst knows that perhaps more important than anything else, we can offer hope with the Money Merge Account program. Hope for a better way. Hope that financial freedom is attainable and is much closer than they ever imagined. When you plug in all your numbers in the Merge program, then you can see within a few seconds that the computer has calculated a 10-or 12 year payoff of all your debts, including your 30-year mortgage. It's motivating to see success become attainable and the progress you can make in a relatively short time add up right in front of your eyes.

You can go to our Ufirst page and get a free analysis to see how the program will work for you. Click here, you are closer than you think to being debt free.

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