Keep in mind that most of these stats exclude millions of jobless who have given up looking for work or are employed only part time. It also does not include the homeless and those no longer on benefits.

The real unemployment in the US alone is likely between 17-20%. The unemployment in California alone is estimated to be a real 22%.

Most of these people are either bankrupt or reeling in debt, soon to be bankrupt, and have no way out.

Many will be facing even larger financial challenges.

You may be thinking that this won’t happen to you. But, don’t you think it’s time you protect yourself and your family from the possibility of experiencing these hardships?

There is a way out but it needs a diverse and practical approach.

Most people don’t realize this but there are thriving sectors of the economy while some sectors collapse.

For example, take the internet.

There are about 2 BILLION active users with ONE MILLION NEW users log on to the net each day. That means 300 million new users joined the internet revolution in the last 10 months.

Amazon paid out 4 Billion in commissions to its affiliate s.

Google paid out 8 Billion.

ClickBank has 110,000 affiliate s and as of this writing has paid out over 1.6 billion USD to its clients. This is not counting a similarly large sum paid to its affiliate s. Then there is ClickBank’s profit. I estimate that CB must have done over 3 billion in sales to have been able to pay this amount to their clients.

Affiliates are not just making a couple of hundred extra a month. Some are making incredible incomes. I know of one super affiliate who made 2.4 million last year selling other people’s eBooks and products. He didn’t even need his own website. I know people making $3000 a day. I also know of people making more humble incomes in the neighbourhood of a $1000 a week. Regardless, there are people making good incomes on the net and their incomes are getting better not worse.

There is another 26 year associate who in about 4 years has topped over 7 million in income.

These are the new millionaires and they are growing in number by the day.

However, before any of this becomes possible people must learn how to ‘mind their money’. Money made on the net can evaporate as fast as it comes in if you don’t understand some basic principles of money management.

As a MoneyMinding advisor I teach people to get their basic financial house in order by following a simple 12 step plan of action.

Step One: Take note of your present blessings. Be grateful for what you have. 40% of the world lives on less than $2 a day. If you reading this you are likely not in that category. That is one thing to be grateful for. There are many more. List them.

Step Two: Understand where you want to go in one year, three years, five years, and ten years down the road. Be specific in describing to yourself your goals. Rather than ‘I want a house’ write down on paper that ‘I want a 3000 square foot straw bale rancher on 5 acres within 5 miles of downtown Santa Cruz’.

Step Three: Clarify where you are now. Be specific. What are your liabilities and assets. What is your income and expenses. Lay it out.

Step Four: Implement the systems that will fill the gap between where you are today and where you want to be in the future. You will start by getting a handle on your credit, understanding credit use and how to leverage it for wealth building. You will also learn how to manage your credit for cost effectiveness. You need to learn what your liabilities are and the cost of carrying them.

Step Five: Develop saving and giving habits. This starts with defining WHY you are seeking financial independence in the first place. What does financial independence really mean to you? What are your life’s desires? What is your ideal ‘budget’ keeping in mind that a budget does NOT mean cutting back on what you want in life. It is about expansion not contraction.

Step Six: Work on your INCOME. Most advisors get you focused on trying to make a million dollars to retire. Well, I am sorry to inform you but even a million dollars in the bank today at present interest rates will not provide you with much income. $40,000 a year is about what you might see from that sitting in the bank. If lucky you could see up to $100,000 a year. However, in 20 years this may not buy you much.

Step Seven: Ask questions and build relationships with bankers, lawyers, accountants, bookkeepers, investment advisors, wealthy mentors, financial planners, insurance agents, real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and so on. This will help you build your ‘dream team’.

Step Eight: Ensure adequate insurance and emergency funds and make sure you have up to date wills and powers of attorney set up. This is ensure that everything is taken care of in your passing. This is for younger people as well. Many younger folks think that this is something to think about when they are old and grey. Well, it is really something to consider when you are young because no one knows when the lights will go out.

Step Nine: Clear the clutter, develop supportive relationships, get your time management under control, and clear away obstacles. One of the obstacles may be your attitudes around debt. In this step you will learn to develop wise credit habits and understand the difference between good credit and bad debt. Using credit can be your friend. The rich are very good at using credit but call it OPM (Other People’s Money). You need to understand the difference between excessive debt for doodads and toys, though they may give you much pleasure, and credit that can build cash flow to enjoy your doodads without the burden of uncontrolled debt.

Step Ten: With your debt under control you can then move on to Step Ten where you start to invest in assets that can produce for you a positive cash flow. This can be from real estate, income producing stocks, businesses, FOR.EX, and so on. Part of this process is understanding the language of investing, understanding your investment personality and risk profile, and being able to evaluate risks and upside potential.

Step Eleven: Start to invest for long term growth and financial independence. After creating a positive cash flow you now have something to build an investment portfolio with. This is where you start to work with your advisors on choosing long term solid investments that will build and grow into something substantial over time.

Step Twelve: This step all about diversifying into shorter term, diversified, and more volatile, or creative investments. Because you have built, or are building, a strong financial foundation you can now afford to step out of the box a little. At this stage you can explore investments that can turn anything from 30% a year to 6000% in a year (if you hit it lucky!)

Some of these kinds of investments might include:

1. The Forex market (trading, managed accounts, private Forex clubs)

2. Internet based business or investing

3. Venture Capital investments

4. Options trading

5. Penny Stock trading (must have a system!)

6. Real Estate ventures

7. Presold Commodities Contracts

Then I focus them on THREE main pillars of success:

1. Increase Passive CASH FLOW by increasing their assets (cash flow producing assets that is)

2. Manage Debt Intelligently (using it to create assets not liabilities)

3. Creating Business Cash Flow by using powerful advertising on the net to bring business to their online or offline business. Every business needs customers. Everyone should also have a business for better tax planning and because businesses provide a far better return on your money than leaving it in the bank. There are many low risk business investments online and offline to achieve this very quickly.

It is important to understand that this is a time when the economy is not dying but rather transforming. There is one of the largest transfers of wealth going on right now and your financial literacy will be the key issue as to which side of that transfer you are on.

When 63% of households are tossing their Yellow Pages in the trash and ‘Googling it’ instead, we have to rethink.

When newspapers and radio stations are going belly up, we have to rethink.

When more people are on the net at prime time than the TV, we have to rethink.

When alternative technology and green technology are making investors millions while oil stocks and prices plunge, we have to rethink.

There are sinking ships and golden ships. We need to disembark from the Titanics and board the new ships which are leading the way to the New Economy.

All this boils down to being able to see the trends and be financially literate enough to navigate the stormy waters that will prevail until about 2015 when the economic ‘Spring’ in will come.