So, cruising into speech # 9 I was building some much needed stage time consistency. On January 16, 2007 I went back to my bread and butter - finance - and talked about how money affects our closest relationships. Let's read on...

How do you build a solid financial foundation for yourself? I’ll tell you. Good, basic banking practices are the basis of wealth building. You’ll never reach the point of creating a solid retirement plan or have extra funds for private investing if you don’t know how to balance your check book. Why is this? Because you’ll never really know what you’re working with if you can’t track your resources accurately. And that’s not to mention the banking fees you can avoid for bounced checks or debit card purchases processed against insufficient funds in your checking account. So, here is how you set that solid foundation.

I’m a personal banker. Among other things I open checking and savings accounts for individuals and couples. A combination of these accounts is the most effective way to begin to build wealth over time. The checking account is what you live on. The savings account is what you build on to use for a rainy day.

The checking account is used to write checks to pay bills and make purchases. You can also use your debit card for daily living – shopping and gas for instance – and for online purchases or online bill paying. Your checking account can even be used to automate your financial life. Use it to direct deposit your check from work. Then automatically transfer a set amount to your savings account a day or two after your check is deposited. This will guarantee that your savings account grows consistently. Take advantage of technology to simplify basic transactions like this. It will save you a lot of time for the other important matters in life.

The savings account is used to accumulate savings – period! It is not to be touched unless an emergency arises or you’re making a significantly large purchase that you don’t want or need to buy on credit. (To paraphrase Dave Ramsey, avoid credit like the disease it is. Learn to save and pay by cash instead of going into debt). You can guarantee the growth in your savings buy automating the process as mentioned earlier. Just take yourself out of the picture so that you can’t make excuses for not getting to the bank on time or risk blowing your money on something frivolous.

As I said before, if your employer gives you the option, set it up so that your check is direct deposited into your checking account. Then designate a specific amount for your bank to automatically transfer to the savings account. Whenever the need arises for a major purchase or the unexpected emergency happens you can handle it either of two ways. One option is to transfer the necessary amount of cash from savings to checking and write the check for the expense. If your bank offers online banking, like most do these days, then make the transfer yourself. The other way is to have your bank issue you a bank/cashier check for the amount needed directly from your savings account. Again these are only options if you’ve developed the saving discipline in the first place.

Never go more than two days without balancing your check book. Whenever you make a deposit, withdrawal or purchase, whether online or in person, with your debit card or a check, write it down in your check register as soon as you make the transaction. Do your addition or subtraction right then to keep up with your running balance. Do not throw away your receipts or save them to write them later. You won’t remember to do it which means you won’t keep track of your balances and you’ll write a check or make a debit card purchase with money you don’t actually have. Then an avalanche of overdraft fees is sure to kick in.

Now, how does any of this save your family? By eliminating the number one reason for divorce - financial illiteracy by one or both spouses. Money problems are the main marriage killer. No - cheating is not it. Late bills and negative balances caused by reckless spending are the major culprits. So get it together and keep your home intact.

For single people I would encourage you to develop excellent fiscal habits now. It will prepare you to have a solid household in the future when you meet Mr. or Mrs. Right. Just in case you marry someone who can blow a $1,000.00 just as easily as $1.00 and thinks they have money just because they have checks, you will be the voice of reason that keeps the household in good monetary shape. Whatever your family situation may be currently or in the future, discipline yourself now to put in place the immediate life you desire and to structure your long term dreams.