Isn't it funny how the second after you
get engaged, everyone starts offering you
free personal advice?

"Never go to bed angry..."

"Wait a couple of years to have kids..."

"Communication is the key to a happy marriage..."

(Yes, I heard all the same things too!)

Well, as your friend and trusted advisor, I'm
here to offer you probably the most VALUABLE
piece of marriage advice there is:

START SAVING YOUR MONEY NOW!

It's a well-documented fact that "money problems"
are the #1 source of conflict in marriages today.

Ironically, they're also the most preventable.

You want to get YOUR marriage off to a great
start, don't you?

Well then, getting in the HABIT now of putting
money aside for your future will pave the way
to a happy, fulfilling life together...

A life where you have the power to make your
DREAMS a REALITY.

"SAVING money???" You may be shrieking...

"But Stephi, I'm SPENDING every cent on my
centerpieces and my caterer and the deposit
for the band...

WHERE am I supposed to find leftover money
to SAVE???"

It all starts with your mindset.

Many people mistakenly believe that they can't
afford to save much money 'right now' so it's
just not worth bothering...

OR that it's okay to wait until some future day
when they're making more money before they need
to start saving...

Well they couldn't be more WRONG!

Unless you develop a "Saving Mindset" (versus a
spending mindset), you'll never save no matter
how much money you make!

I happen to be reading a great book right now
called "Smart Couples Finish Rich," by David Bach
which does a good job of explaining all this...

One of the core principles Bach talks about is
how, every day, we WASTE MONEY on
"little things" and we don't even realize it...

He calls this "The Latté Factor," (referring
to the $5 you spend here and there - on a latté
at Starbucks, a movie rental, whatever).

And NO, this doesn't mean you have to give up
drinking your daily Latté if that's what you
enjoy most in life...

The concept is just that when you take a
CLOSER LOOK at the money you're spending on
"little things", you're sure to find something
you won't mind doing without...

And you won't BELIEVE what can happen when
you SAVE that money instead!

For example, I played around with this cool
savings calculator I found online and figured
out that if you SAVED JUST $2.64 A DAY ($18.50/wk),
in only 5 years you'll have socked away $5000! 

Now, $2.64 a day doesn't sound so intimidating,
does it?

Well, did you know that you can actually set up
a savings account to AUTOMATICALLY transfer
money from your bank account on a regular basis?

My husband and I do this monthly and, trust me,
automatic withdrawal is the ONLY way to go!

Once you set it up, it just happens like
clockwork and you barely even notice the money
being safely transferred and saved.

If you want to learn more about the concept of
automatic saving, I recommend another one of
Bach's books called: "The Automatic Millionaire." 

And if you're really feeling ambitious, there's
a classic little book written in the 1920's called
"The Richest Man In Babylon" by George Cleason
that shares some great wisdom about saving and
investing in an easy to understand way.

Ok, so now you're PSYCHED to save but you're not
sure where to start...

There are lots of great options, so feel free to
inquire at your local bank to see what they offer
in terms of a savings accounts, CD's or an IRA.

I personally recommend an Orange Savings Account
from ING Direct - I've been using one for a couple
of years now and my experience with this company
has been nothing short of AMAZING!

You see, ING is NOT like other banks (they're like
the Amazon .com of banks).

They do business online, over the phone and by
mail and without the overhead and high operational
costs of other banks, they're able to pass on the
savings to their customers (my kinda bank!).

Not only do they offer one of the highest interest
rates in the nation - 4.40% (which is eight times
more than the .55% my regular bank is offering
right now!)...

But they have NO FEES and NO MINIMUMS to
open an account (you can start with as little as $1!)

And you don't even need to change banks because
it's a "piece of cake" to link your ING account
to your regular bank account and then set it up to
automatically transfer any amount of money you want
to SAVE in weekly, bi-weekly or monthly intervals.

Money Magazine says the Orange Savings Account is
"the best money market account in the country" and
they're probably right.

I can't believe how much Drew and I have been able
to "sock away" in just four short years WITHOUT
even thinking about it (or pinching pennies!)...

I just love it!

But honestly, I don't care how you do it (sock your
money away under your mattress for all I care), just
do something to start saving now.

Okay, I gotta run...

Here's to making all your dreams come true, one Latté
at a time!

If you'd like to learn more about ING, go here:

http://www.stephisuggests.com/ING


I'll write you again soon!

Your friend,

- Stephi





Stephi Stewart Weddings, Inc.
311 N. Robertson Drive - Suite 114
Beverly Hills, CA 90211