When it comes to money, are you on the winning team? To know, all you have to do is answer two questions. Is money interfering with the quality of your life? And, are you worried about your financial  future? If you answered yes to either question, then you’re in the majority. 85% of Americans are being negatively effected by the vast financial corruption and the flawed system of money management that has dominated for decades now.

Last week on my radio show I began a 4 week series on how incredibly corrupt our system of personal money management has become, and what you have to do to beat this corruption and win when it comes to managing your money. This subject is the primary reason for my show, for my website, and for the book I wrote.

I maintain that most American’s do not fully understand the corrupt games being played against them. I find that while many may think they do, the unfortunate real world results show that they must not. Here we are, the richest country in the world, and yet most Americans are now in really bad shape when it comes to money. 61% of families now live paycheck to paycheck and money has become the leading cause of unhappiness and divorce. Average family net worth is back to what it was 30 years ago, and 50% of those now turning 65 can’t retire.

These disheartening statistics are no coincidence. They are the result of widespread corruption and a deeply flawed system of money management. The only way to turn them around is by getting the facts, and taking charge of your finances.

My goal is to help people do just that. I call it do-it-yourself money management, and I suggest you start right now.

To manage your money successfully you need do three things well: spend really smart so you can save more, invest successfully, and create a successful financial plan that eliminates financial  problems and pressures and gets you where you want to go with your life.

On last week’s show (click for podcast), I started by describing how to invest while avoiding corruption. In the weeks to come I will address other areas of corruption as well as buying a home, spending you money smart, and education, with blogs to follow each show.

When it comes to investing their money, most people have relied on the advice of the Financial Services Industry and financial media for the past 30 years. In every aspect of investment, and especially when it comes to investing in the stock market, the vast majority of American’s have been mislead. They have been told that they cannot do it themselves, that it’s just too complicated, and that its best to get professional help because the experts can do it better.

As an ex-insider on Wall Street, I can tell you that this is flat out not true. Not only can everyone quickly and easily learn to invest their money successfully, once they do they’re very likely to get a far, far better return on their money that any expert is likely to get for them. The truth is that the vast majority of all of these alleged investment experts in the media, and in your hometown, are only trained at and competent at–very competent at–selling you the idea that they know how to invest.

They are trained in sales and directed to sell fee-ridden funds as frequently as they can. When it comes to actually investing, over 95% of them are flat out incompetent and have contributed to the greatest destruction of wealth and the greatest rip-off in history.

I know this sounds extreme, but it’s really not. On my website I share the results of two monster studies that prove the truth beyond question.

So, if you’re among the 85% of Americans that have not gotten what you deserved from your investments, here are the steps I recommend you take at this time:

1- Look at the results of the two studies and read the two articles about each of these studies.

2- Read my blog about index funds, the only stock  market investment most people should ever make.

3- Fire your financial advisor unless he or she has either a) had you in index funds all along b) had you out of the stock market completely for the last 10 years or c) can show you a complete written record that proves he or she has invested people’s money successfully for at least the last 10 years or more.

4- Listen to the podcast of last week’s show.

5-Sign up for Smart Alerts so you know the latest on when and where to invest and are periodically alerted to significant financial changes.

6- Tune into the shows and blogs of the next 3 weeks, where I will cover the many financial games and corruption out there and tell you what to do when it comes to buying a home, spending your money smart to save more, and how to deal with our corrupt and overwhelmingly incompetent education system.

Be a financial winner. See to it that money adds to your happiness, instead of talking away from it, and ensure that you really do get to live the life you’ve worked so hard for. Also remember, time can be your greatest friend or worst foe, so don’t wait. Start now.

Ted Hunter