Thrifty Thinking: Can You Answer These Questions?

Many Americans lack basic skills in areas such as making calculations, managing debt, and building assets, Pamela says. For instance, can you answer these questions?

• If you buy a $20 stock that goes up by 40 percent, how much money did you make on that stock?
• How much of the value of your savings will be consumed over the next 35 years if you pay fees of 1 percent per year and your returns average 7 percent per year?
• Since 1929, how many market crashes have there been in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average took at least 16 years to return to pre-crash levels?

Pamela shares the answers plus tips to help people become savvier about personal finance and more competent in handling money and making wise decisions, such as her6-Step Action Blueprint:

1. Acknowledge the problem.
2. Increase your savings by 1-2 percent every year.
3. Don't underestimate how long you'll live.
4. Don't underestimate the impact of inflation.
5. Don't plan on working longer to make up for your savings shortfall.
6. Prioritize building an emergency fund equal to two years of your household income.

Pamela advocates a proven method more than half a million Americans are using to build savings without the risk and volatility of stocks and other investments. The Bank On Yourself wealth-building strategy has never had a losing year in more than 160 years.                            

About Pamela: Pamela Yellen is founder of Bank On Yourself, a financial investigator, and the author of two New York Times best-selling books, including her latest, "The Bank On Yourself Revolution: Fire Your Banker, Bypass Wall Street, and Take Control of Your Own Financial Future." Pamela investigated more than 450 financial strategies seeking an alternative to the risk and volatility of stocks and other investments, which led her to a time-tested, predictable method of growing wealth now used by more than 500,000 Americans.