Hoboken, NJ (June 2013)?For many of us, summertime is sacred. It's the time of year for fun and relaxing with family and friends. And so, every year we try to make the absolute most of these warm months, and more often than not that means spending money we don't have. Beach vacation with the entire family? Put it on the credit card! Country club pool membership? Just take money out of the rainy day fund! New shades and other summer duds? Whip out that plastic again! Unfortunately, notes John Vento, this spend-now-worry-about-it-later mentality means severe setbacks when it comes to reaching overall, long-term financial goals.

"Naturally everyone wants to make the most of their summer, so many folks tend to go a little spending crazy," says Vento, president of his New York City-based Certified Public Accounting firm, John J. Vento, CPA, P.C., and Comprehensive Wealth Management, Ltd., as well as the author of the new book Financial Independence (Getting to Point X): An Advisor's Guide to Comprehensive Wealth Management (Wiley, 2013, ISBN: 978-1-1184-6021-4, $40.00, www.ventocpa.com).

"Rather than living within their means, they start living the high life and very rarely can they afford it. It's one of the biggest financial mistakes people make. If you want to become financially independent, you must live within your means, and that means carefully controlling and budgeting your spending over the summer."

As Vento writes in his book, living within your means requires that you live on less than your take-home salary and any other resources you receive, such as income from an annuity or a trust. Living within your means does not mean existing from paycheck to paycheck. Living within your means does not mean living on credit or on loans. It means not only figuring out how to pay for your needs and wants, but budgeting your income so that you still have a little money left over. It also requires that you save money.

"That's right, 'living within your means' includes not only such necessities as shelter, food, utilities, and clothing," notes Vento. "You must also pay into your personal savings. Ideally, that payment should be 10 percent or more of your gross pay. And all of that can't go out the window when summer rolls around and you want to go on a nice vacation. The good news is that when your entire family works together, you can easily adopt several summer savings strategies. Think about it this way: If you can implement a plan this summer that helps you save just $20 a week and then you keep it up for an entire year, you can tuck away an extra $1,040."

Read on for a few of Vento's tips excerpted from Financial Independence (Getting to Point X) on how you can save $20/week or more this summer:

Stay cool without breaking the bank. Hot summer days mean your AC is practically running non-stop, which means your summer power bills can sometimes break the bank. But you can allay some of these costs by using a programmable thermostat to minimize your utility use and cost or by installing ceiling fans to allow you to use less air conditioning. "You should also make sure your home?especially your attic?is sufficiently insulated," notes Vento. "If the insulation in your attic is less than 6 inches thick, you are under-insulated. Insulation of 12 inches thick can lower your heating and cooling costs by 25 percent in a year."

Save on gas. A great way to cut back on how much you're spending on gas each week is to trade in your car for a bike. "If you live close enough to your work, enjoy the warm weather by biking or even walking to work," says Vento. "If biking or walking isn't an option, organize a summer carpool or start taking public transportation. Of course, if you're able, these are great changes to carry over into the fall and winter."

Wash your own wheels. It can be tempting to just zip into a local carwash and pay someone else to wash your car. But depending on the level of care you're paying for, you can spend anywhere from $5 to $30. Get outside and enjoy the weather by washing your own car. You'll save some money and will probably even do a better job on your own.

Shape up... Insurance companies take into account your physical health. Therefore, people who smoke, have high cholesterol levels, have high blood pressure, are overweight, and have other problems (including depression) will usually have higher insurance premiums than a person who is in good physical shape and health. "Use the summer to make healthy life choices," says Vento. "Clean up your diet. Stop smoking and start exercising."

...but forgo the gym membership. "Bathing suit season" as it's often called will probably have you focusing a little more on your fitness. But rather than throw out a bunch of money on a membership to a gym you might not even end up using that often, think of all of the ways you can workout outside for free. Walk, run, or bike local trails. Use workout videos. Or attend donation-based classes that allow you to pay a much more reasonable amount for your workouts.

Have fun for free. Check out "free events" offered in your neighborhood. Many towns offer free concerts and movies in the park or at the beach during the summer. Or take the family to the park for a Saturday afternoon or evening picnic.

Don't splurge on vacation. Of course, there's always a lot of build up around the yearly summer vacation. "But if you don't have the money to spend, you should absolutely look for more cost-effective options," recommends Vento. "Instead of going on expensive vacations, traveling first class, eating at the most expensive restaurants, going on all the most expensive tours, and going to overpriced five-star hotels, fly coach, cook in the hotel if possible, and go to a safe, fun, cheaper hotel."

Go green and save. Summer is a great time to make an effort to "go green" and start making more environmentally friendly choices. "A great way to do this is to refill your cleaning product spray bottles with less expensive refill bottles, instead of buying another more expensive spray bottle," says Vento. "Or replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). These use more than 70 percent less energy and last much longer, which will save you money on the cost of light bulbs and on your electricity bill. And of course, you should always turn off the lights when you leave a room and take advantage of all the natural light you get during the summer."

Hang it out to dry. Instead of running your dryer during the summer, hang clothes and other laundry outside to dry. This saves money on your utility bills as well as wear and tear on your clothing.

Become a thrifty foodie. First, give up junk foods completely: Not only are they expensive, they are unhealthy. Second, plan your meals. "Doing so can save you money and time," says Vento. "When grocery shopping, you will know exactly what you need to buy so there is no excess food thrown out at the end of the week. Take advantage of readily available, in-season fruits and vegetables by cooking more at home. Then brownbag your leftovers for your lunch at work the next day. And finally, buy in bulk or use grocery store rewards cards."

"Creating a summer of fun should not leave you worse off financially than when the season began," says Vento. "Be sure to discuss and share your family financial goals with your entire family so that everyone can commit to taking these easy, responsible steps toward saving and building on your financial stability. When you make these smart choices, it makes reaching long-term financial goals all the more achievable."

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Rock Island - An alternative development plan for the historic Audubon School has been identified. Joseph L. Lemon, Jr., developer of the historic Abbey Station event center in Rock Island and the Abbey Center in Bettendorf, IA has announced his interest in pursuing a project that would be a "win-win-win" for the community, the Rock Island/Milan School District and the City.

"Our development team has successfully brought many buildings back to life. Audubon School is a community resource that has great re-use potential," said Mr. Lemon, whose family has ties to the school. "We see economic opportunities for residential or other uses that could fit within the existing building. We have some work to do, but we are confident that there are alternatives to demolition."

The site is currently under an option agreement between Fareway Stores, Inc and the School District that expires on August 1. On Tuesday, June 4, the Rock Island City Planning Commission will consider a proposed rezone that, if approved by the city council, would lead to Audubon's demolition. Neighborhood groups are actively opposing the project.

Victor Panagos, an adjacent property owner said "The City Council said they would have considered retaining Audubon's Landmark Designation granted by the Preservation Commission if there were development alternatives. Now we know that there are. As a community, we must have a vision that includes preservation of our historic resources. People like Joe Lemon can help us fulfill that vision and still achieve the city's fiscal goals."

For details and updates, go to https://www.facebook.com/SaveTheAudubonElementarySchool/

Calling for a Change of Course at the Country's Largest Company,

Calls for Good, Safe Jobs at Walmart Stores and Suppliers and an End of the Attempts to Silence Associates Echoing Nationwide

IOWA - Today, striking workers from Davenport will be walking off the job and rallying with community supporters before getting on a bus to take their concerns to Walmart executives and shareholders in Bentonville, Arkansas. They will join workers who went on strike in California, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Washington State earlier in the week. With community leaders rallying in support of workers at their stores and online, the strikers will join the nationwide "Ride for Respect" to Walmart's annual shareholders meeting.

In the spirit of the civil rights movement, the "Ride for Respect" is a weeklong, nationwide caravan during which workers and supporters will be voicing the direct impact that Walmart is having on their lives and our economy - on the road and online.

WHO: OUR Walmart Strikers, Community Supporters

WHAT: Rally and send-off event for striking Walmart workers

WHEN: Thursday, May 30 at Noon

WHERE: UFCW Local 431

1401 W. 3rd St.

Davenport, IA 52802

With community supporters echoing their calls nationally, the Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart), a national organization of Walmart employees speaking out for a stronger company and economy, has been calling on the country's largest employer to create better jobs. With more than $16 billion in annual profits and executives making 1,000 times more than the average Walmart employee, a growing number of associates and supporters nationwide are calling for the company to provide full-time work with a minimum salary of $25,000 a year so that workers at the country's largest employer don't have to rely on tax-payer funded programs to support their families.

Despite Walmart workers' struggle to support their families, plummeting customer service ratings, weak store sales due to understaffing, and preventable tragedies in the supply chain, Walmart has attempted to silence these voices through illegal retaliation, meritless lawsuits and even firing workers. Meanwhile, support for these calls for change has grown since the historic Black Friday strikes and protests at 1,000 Walmart stores last fall.

In a sign that Walmart is hearing these concerns, the company made an announcement on scheduling in April on the same day that hundreds of workers and supporters confronted store managers at locations nationwide. Still, even as the company spends millions of dollars on an ad campaign about jobs at the company and OUR Walmart members try to ensure newly proposed policies are implemented quickly and effectively, a new survey shows Walmart employees are largely unhappy with their employer and many longtime employees are not getting the hours they need. At the same time, Walmart's reactions to dangerous working conditions at warehouses and supplier factories in Bangladesh and across the globe have been met with empty promises that continue to put workers at risk.

Follow the caravan on Twitter at #WalmartStrikers.

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By Jason Alderman

My trusty Volvo wagon served our family well for 13 years, but after 106,000 miles it finally gave up the ghost. My wife just completed graduate school so we weren't ready to commit to a new car payment. I rented a car at first, but at $500 a month, that soon got old.

Then I came across a concept new me: assuming someone else's car lease. Initially I was skeptical, but after considerable research I took the plunge. It took many emails and phone calls and a month-long wait for the paperwork to clear, but I now have a one-year lease on a quality car whose monthly cost is about a third less than the stripped-down model I was renting.

With the caveat that car lease assumption is not right for everyone, here's how the process works:

People need to get out of their car leases for a variety of reasons but it's notoriously difficult to do so - you usually must pay the outstanding balance plus an early termination fee.

One way around this, if your finance company allows it, is to transfer the lease to another party for the remainder of its term. Many people use online lease assumption services like Swapalease.com and LeaseTrader.com. I went with Swapalease.com.

These companies match people wanting to unload their lease (think of them as "sellers") with so-called "buyers" interested taking over the remainder of someone's lease. Among the potential advantages for buyers:

• No down payment.
• You can secure a shorter-term lease.
• Sellers will generally offer or agree to financial incentives to unload their lease.
• Newer cars are usually still under warranty.

However, be aware of the many fees involved on both sides of the transaction:

• Sellers are charged a fee to advertise their vehicle on the websites (generally $50 to $150), and a transaction fee if a lease transfer is initiated ($100 to $150).
• Buyers pay a registration fee to obtain contact information for sellers (around $40 to $80). Some sites charge buyers a transaction fee as well.
• Buyers must file a credit application with the lender which can cost up to several hundred dollars; the fee typically isn't refundable if the credit check deems you aren't creditworthy.
• The leasing company itself will typically charge the buyer a lease transfer fee (typically $50 to $600).

A few additional suggestions and precautions:

• Inspect the car and note any damage. You may also want to have a mechanic inspect it.
• Ask whether the lender will remove the seller's name from the lease - some won't.
• During negotiations, ask the seller to pay the application and lease transfer fees. It doesn't hurt to ask and you're still saving them a ton of money.
• Don't expect a lot of customer service from the swapping website.
• Make sure there's enough mileage left on the lease to suit your needs.
• You'll have to pay DMV registration fees and sales tax may apply.
• Your insurance company will need to provide the leasing company with evidence that you have adequate coverage.
• Know that it can take several weeks or more for the transaction to fully close. For me, that meant an extra month's rental.

All in all, if you're flexible about what kind of car you're willing to drive and not in a big hurry, assuming someone else's lease can be a viable option. Just make sure to do your due diligence.