• Introduction
• Unit 1: Basic Building Blocks of Successful Financial Management
• Unit 2: Investing Basics
• Unit 3: Finding Money to Invest

• Saving Money to Invest
• Strategies for Saving Money to Invest
• Steps to Breaking Habits
• Comparison Shopper
• Fund Investment Program
• Stretch Your Money
• Summary
• Action Steps
• About the Author

• Unit 4: Ownership Investments
• Unit 5: Fixed-Income Investing
• Unit 6: Mutual Funds
• Unit 7: Tax-Deferred Investments
• Unit 8: Investing Small Dollar Amounts
• Unit 9: Getting Help: Investing Resources
• Unit 10: Selecting Financial Professionals
• Unit 11: Investment Fraud

• Study Guide
• Action Steps
• Monthly Investment Messages
• Glossary

In Units 1 and 2, you learned about building blocks for financial success and basic investment principles. Next we will explore ways to "find" money for investing. Many Americans don't invest because they have little or no savings that can be transferred to investment products. Studies estimate that as many as 70% of Americans live from "paycheck to paycheck," courting financial disaster if their income is suddenly reduced or stopped.

Generally, Americans are not saving for a "rainy" day; they are consuming it all today. The individual savings rate in the United States fell to a negative number (-0.5) in 2005, the first time since the Great Depression of the 1930s. This means that Americans were spending more than they earned. The savings rate has remained at a relatively low level for decades.