Thanks for voting!1.
We will spend less than we earn.
Saving a little out of every dollar we bring home is the foundation of independence. Without it, we can't build equity in our home, we can't invest for the future, and we can't be ready for challenging times. We promise to pay ourselves first, always.2.
We will use our home as a savings account.
Besides shelter and comfort for our family, the role of a house in our financial life is to build equity. We will have a healthy down payment when we buy. We'll choose the mortgage that lets us pay down the principal fastest. And then we'll leave that equity safe where it is instead of spending it on things that don't last. 3.
We will take care of our money.
It's not enough to have money in a bank. We will put it where it will grow. We'll keep track of it. And we'll check every account we have every year to protect ourselves against fraud or escheatment. 4.
We will defend our credit worthiness.
Good credit is going to be precious in the years to come. We will pay our bills on time. We'll borrow only when we need to and in amounts we can comfortably pay back. And then we'll do just that. 5.
We will ignore unsolicited credit card marketing.
We decide when we need a credit card, not some marketer. And mostly, we probably don't need another one at all. We won't even open those solicitations. We'll shred them. 6.
We will know the cost of borrowing.
The interest lenders charge us is real money, too. When we buy a mortgage or finance a purchase, we'll figure out what that interest is really going to cost in dollars, add it to the purchase price, and ask ourselves if it's still worth it. 7.
We will invest for the long term.
Futures are built out of patience and prudence, not luck. We will not put off being a saver because we think there's a lottery win in our future, in Vegas or on Wall Street. 8.
We will take care of the things we have.
We work hard for our money, and it's disrespectful to waste it - or the planet - by treating our possessions as disposable. 9.
We will remember what matters.
We are not the things we own. If we have to spend and spend on bigger, more impressive things to keep up with our friends, then they are not our friends at all. 10.
We will be heard.
Our representatives in government and the corporations we deal with need to know that we are paying attention. If we're silent, we're accepting the status quo, and the business practices that got our country into this situation will continue. We are not going to accept that. 
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[...] independent? After you read the Declaration of Independence, read ING DIRECT’s 10-point Declaration of Financial Independence. It’s a great sanity check of how far you’ve come (or [...]
Hi,
well written article, I think our views on The Declaration of Financial Independence « We, the Savers differ a little however you put foward some good points
Thanks
[...] We, the Savers was set up by ING Direct to connect savers across the country. Sign the declaration and use calculators, tools and freebies available on the site. [...]
To day is what we are calling our Financial Independence Day. Today we are Credit Card free of debt. The only debt we have is our home and we consider that our savings plan also. We had to clear out our savings accounts to pay off the Credit Card but at 15 % interest we felt it was worth it. Now it is full speed ahead on savings. We are so excited. We love you ING.
All ten (10) declarations are excellent! Specifically, a good strategy to assist one in making their home a “savings account” (#2 declaration)…if you can and the mortgage servicer has the ability from a systems standpoint…use the “Bi-Weekly” payment option. You make one half of your mortgage payment every other week. By doing this you pay down little (at first) chunks of principal every 14 days. This eliminates the ability of the Bank to acrue interest on the chunk of principal you have eliminated. Over time this Bi-Weekly payment strategy will reduce the term of your mortgage from 30 years down to ~ 23 years. Oh…don’t forget the tremendous interest savings as well…the amount will depend on the original note amount and interest rate. Check it out…I’ve used this strategy on several different properties owned and I’ve discovered the “Bankers Secret”…it worked for me. “Good Savings” to all!
Point #10 is most important. Our representatives need to remember that we only loaned them our power, and we will take it back if they don’t start using it as we intended. Barry MacMurray
I think that this Declaration should be sent to Washington D.C and maybe a few folks there should sign this !!!!
Reducing your expenditures and expecting a dramatic difference within your household would mean many changes in life styles. The best thing in making these changes you may also improve your health and the health of your whole family. 1)Groceries: Shop on line;check off when empty(no canned items; whole foods ;frozen and dehydrated;juice from concentrate,etc; home deliveruy water for cooking,juice,fresh drinks ice. 2) Utilities: Choose your veiwing/families viewing;read a book,go for a walk join health club Aand a social group. Go to a car wash..etc3)Gas: Walk or ride scooter;drive longer distances….4)Party: Creative Gifts;Desserts&Alcohol in moderation or at happy hour; let your friends bring their own poison& your provide the grill they bring an appetizer…..Online info Mag…to save environment & less pkg goods to slow down plastic production,needs…
wow your’s blog wonderful ft,
I am happy with ING. They are the best. The advice given is very good and should be followed if we want peace and no worries. The bank where I have my checking account is very good but I am careful not to do anything that will incur a charge. I am not sure concerning the bank but so far everything is fine. I am having problems with money but it is because of my son and his family. I do a lot for them financially. It is difficult when you want to help and that you are limited.
Thank you for this updated information. I have been with ING for over 8 years and am very happy with your service. Item #10 on your list for financial independence is the most important one to me because we have to let our appointed officials know if were are happy or unhappy with their performance. Are they are using their power to serve the people, not themselves.
ING puts more effort in customer education & involvement than any financial company I have see!
Thank you for this declaration- it reminded me of what power I really have over my finances!
I especially like declaration #8. It is something that I try to teach my children. Money is too hard to come by to waste it. It is a constant battle in this day and age, but definitely one worth fighting to teach them what true value is.
[...] We, the Savers was set up by ING Direct to connect savers across the country. Sign the declaration and use calculators, tools and freebies available on the site. [...]
Take a good look at your mortgage situation and then call IngDirect and look at what they have to offer. The banks are up to their old tricks of “padding” your account “JUST IN CASE” you miss a payment!
IngDirect beats all of these crooks every time. Straight talk with great advice to rid you of your mortgage debt ASAP. DO IT!…and put those credit cards through the shredder. That was the smartest financial move I ever made.
It took us ten years but we finally got our credit back to top tier and rid of cc debt after bankruptcy due to the misfortune of unanticipated job loss (him) and medical expenses (me).Over time we used most of the strategies in ten point declaration but what really lead us to bankruptcy in in first place all those years ago was cc debt and no savings!
Now after re-fying our house and car, just in the nick of time, at the very best rates, I was really looking for a way to save. The old saying, “a penny saved is a penny earned is still true, though we had to learn the hard way.
ING to the rescue! WE will never be in that place again. I now have a way and all the support to make my savings and retirement goals real. Now to get the husband on board! Shouldn’t be too hard.
GOOD PLAN FOR THE FUTURE OF NOT ONLY OURSELVES BUT OUR FAMILY
I use the biweekly payment option but I have noticed on my quarterly statement that every other payment is not broken down as to principal, interest and escrow. Does that mean they do have the use of that money and it is not applied as I thought it would be?
It is not how much you have, but what you do with what you have. This is what I live by and it seems to work. We are debt free….. have been for years…..
It is not what you have, but what you do with what you have… This is my philosophy, it seems to work. We are debt free have been for years.
I have a Wells Fargo checking account that I’ve had for over 10 years and and I used to get fairly good (2%-3%) interest every month but now due to the “bad” economy I only get around 1/2 % interest a month. But, my ING DIRECT account interest for two months is more than as my Wells Fargo account for an entire year, but—-I have 40 times as much more money in my Wells Fargo account!!!! It works for me….
When refinancing for a lower interest rate and the temptation to cash in some of your equity emerges, keep in mind that you are not cashing in equity, you are borrowing money. Having equity puts you in a position to borrow more money.
If it were your money there would be no need to borrow. If you decide to sell for more money than you owe, then the difference is your money.
Save BEFORE you spend.
Squido
I will do it.
Good luck.
Here’s a suggestion for another resolution for those of us with children:
“Our children will not dictate how we spend our money.”
Our youngest is now 29 but at a very early stage, before high school indeed even b4 middle school, we taught them that they did not need everything their friends had. As parents we provided for their needs and many of their wants they had to do without or earn themselves. We gave them a spending budget and if they did not have the cash to buy what they thought they needed ( the latest this or that ) they had to save until they could pay for it. Funny how easy it was for them to learn that lesson once they realized it was now their money they were spending.
They learned a few valuable lessons about money and also how to withstand peer pressure,
ten great idea’s I will try to follow
Saving money is like anything else that you are not used to. It’s hard at first but once you start doing it on a regular basis it becomes easier and seeing the bank account grow is more rewarding than anything else. If you are a fellow Christian, then you know God wants us to be free from the love of money and to be content with what we have (Hebrews 13:5 NIV). But that doesn’t mean we should hoard what he has given us under a mattress and not let it work for us. The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-28 describes 3 servants whose master gave them each 5, 2, and 1 talent (a talent is equal to more than a thousand dollars) respectively. The first two servants invested their talents and doubled what the master gave them. To these two servants the master then gave more. The last servant was so afraid of losing the talent that was given him that he hid it in the ground. The master was so disappointed that he took that servants talent and gave it to the first servant. He then asked his servant why he didn’t at least put the money in ING DIRECT so he could collect the interest (okay maybe it wasn’t ING DIRECT, but he did say a bank!!). We can’t let money run our lives, but we can be smart with what God has given us and turn it into more.
Words to live well by!!
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Very timely info in a shaken financial world. We need to manage our finances well. Let us get any help we can get and do any thing we can do to achieve our goal of becoming debt-free individual. Save and invest should be our goal. For investors, there’s a tool to hep you better manage your investment portfolio particularly for municipal bonds investors. You can get it here in this site http://www.bondview.com/