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This is how to help!

Thinking about a patriotic investment? The Senate approved the issuing of War bonds to pay for the war against terrorism. These won't make you rich, but considering the state of many other investments over the past year, the investment is definitely sound.

Purchased for face value, they collect interest for the next thirty years or until you cash them in. Interest is calculated two ways: a fixed rate and a semi annual inflation rate. The fixed rate is determined every six months between May 1st and October 31st, or between November 1st and April 30. This rate stays the same for the entire life of the bond.

The semiannual inflation rate is also announced each May and November by the Treasury Department. The semiannual inflation rate is based on changes in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban consumers (CPI-U), which is reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The semiannual inflation rate announced in May is a measure of inflation over the preceding October through March; the inflation rate announced in November is a measure of inflation over the preceding April through September.

The combination of these two numbers determines the return for that period. They start earning immediately upon purchase, and the best part of all, earnings are exempt from state and local income taxes. You will have to pay federal taxes although but not until you sell.

There are restrictions to sales of these investments before five years because the government wants you to buy and hold them for the long term. Currently though they look pretty darned attractive. With the S&P down over 21% for the year, five year cd's topping out at 4.55% and the best money market paying just shy of 4%, the 5.92% yield is not too bad.

If that isn't enough, they have some cool American on the face of the eight different denominations:
$50 - Helen Keller - Noted author and advocate for people with disabilities; responsible for Braille becoming the standard for printed communications with the blind.
$75 - Dr. Hector P. Garcia - Physician; leading advocate for Mexican-American veterans' rights; activist in Latino civil rights movement and founder of the American G.I. Forum.
$100 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - Prominent civil rights leader; minister; Nobel Peace Prize recipient.
$200 - Chief Joseph - Nez Perce Chief; a great Native American leader.
$500 - General George C. Marshall - U.S. Army Chief of Staff during World War II; Secretary of State; Secretary of Defense; Nobel Peace Prize recipient.
$1,000 - Albert Einstein - Physicist; author of the Theory of Relativity; Nobel Prize recipient for Physics.
$5,000 - Marian Anderson - World-renowned vocalist (contralto); first African-American to sing with the Metropolitan Opera.
$10,000 - Spark Matsunaga - U.S. Senator and Congressman; World War II hero; obtained redress for survivors of World War II internment camps.

For more information click here.

Order your copy of Building Wealth in a Paycheck-to-Paycheck World by Paul Petillo. It is packed with safe, proven wealth-building strategies that cover all the major components of a balanced financial plan, including: