savings bankThe point of building a successful Clickincome website is to make money, right? Let's face it. People don't go into business with the desire to lose money. "I think I'd like to spend thousands of dollars and never get anything back just for the fun of it," is just not a phrase you'll hear most entrepreneurs say!

You opened an ecommerce website with Clickincome, or some other service, for a reason. You wanted to make money on the web. We talked about that, last time - the idea of making money. Making money is only half the story, though. You want to keep the money you make.

If you're every going to build any real wealth, you've got to save your money. I'm not kidding. A study done by Thomas Stanley and William Danko, revealed in their book The Millionaire Next Door, confirms this. One of the main reasons America's millionaires are millionaires is they save money. It's so simple it's crazy. They have money because they don't spend it.

For years I've heard all kinds of people in my life tell me, "Live within your means." You've probably heard that phrase, too. Guess what? It's a lie. You'll never gain wealth is you live within your means. You've got to live below your means.

"What do you mean?" my friends will ask. "I make $5,000 a month. I live within my means." Yeah. You do. But then you turn around and spend $5,000 a month.

Mentally, living below your means can be hard. It seems like every time we get an addition $5.00 we're ready to spend it. "Hey, I've got some extra cash. I'll take myself out for lunch at Burger Flopper." You've got to retrain your thinking.

Create a savings plan. I don't care how you do it. Take 10% out of each and every paycheck and stick it in a savings account. Better yet, put it in a higher yield investment, like a money-market account. Don't like those options? I don't care. Stick under your mattress if you have to. The point is you've got to save a portion of the money you make. How can you build wealth if you keep spending it?

Some of you may be thinking, "Oh, yeah. Sure. I only wish I could do that. I've got too many bills to save anything." Trust me on this. If you save just 10% each paycheck, you'll still have enough money left over to pay your bills. You really will.

Instead of avoiding a savings plan, let's look at all the other bills you're paying, instead. Do you really need to have all of those cable and satellite TV channels? Do even need cable or satellite TV at all? My wife and I got rid of our cable service years ago and, to be honest, I don't miss it one bit. Not a bit. Sure, sometimes my friends will talk about a great TV program they saw on TV that I don't have access to, but so what? I don't pay for all the bad TV programs that I don't want to watch anyway, either.

Think about how much time you'd save if you killed your TV? Think about how many wasted hours of your life you'll get back, and the amount of money you'll save.

What about your cell phone? Do you really need all those different lines? Do you really need to access the Internet on a 2 inch screen? What about your kids? Do your teenagers really need their own cell phones? Sure, there can be some "security" benefits that parents talk about but, let's face it. The vast majority of what your kids are going to do on their cell phones is what's going to get them into trouble in the first place.

What about all the other expenses you've got? Do you really need that expensive double latte from Starbucks every day? Think about the money you'd save if you brewed your own coffee at home. If you smoke, you ought to quit. Not only will it help you be healthier, think about all the money you'll save by not feeding that pack-a-day monkey on your back.

It's the same thing with going out to eat, or to clubs, or movies, or whatever you spend money on. Do you really need to consume quite so much stuff?

Think about it this way. Has having all of these things really made you happier? If you said "yes," think about it this way. If it was making you so happy and fulfilled in the first place, why did you have to go back and buy it again?

Be frugal, people! Save 10% of everything you earn. Live below your means.

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