Tag Archives: recession

Be a Market Maker.

15 Jul

Be a Market Maker.
So I came across an interesting article that spoke on the global garage sale.
And in it everyone fit one category based on behavior. Now that wasn’t what got me. What intrigued this entrepreneur was simply that some of us are in a class to lose. That’s right. Your class in this hierarchy may equate to failure or simply a lower status. Now I don’t mean you’re a nobody. What I’m saying is simply that the top is always better than the bottom.

The four types you might fit into are:
The Market Maker
The Fully employed
The Strugglers.
The Bitter bottom.

-The market maker sets the tone. They create the trends and are not only a step ahead but stand to profit the most. They stay ahead of the curve and dictate their terms. This is ideal. It is ultimately where we all aim to be if we want true freedom.

-The fully employed have control of their purse strings. For the most part they can semi- level the playing field and make sure they aren’t rooked. Aka- taken advantage of. They have enough cash flow not to be desperate and enough to beat out the competitors. It is for most an enviable position but in the grand scheme of things I’d say they are closer to paupers than even they realize. You see when you are doing well many people take their eye off the ball. And one calamity is enough to swoop in and cause a life change that they can’t recover from. Something like ninety percent (90%) of Americans are one (1) health-care crisis away from fiscal insolvency. Scary fact right? The sad thing is most people aren’t even aware of this fact. A sadder fact is that most people will succumb to these numbers soon.
Not sure this is where we belong my friends.

-The strugglers are the group of people who are even closer to losing then they will admit. These are the unemployed or underemployed of our great nation. They aren’t lazy or under educated or even lacking skills. They simply are so far back that their skills mean almost nothing. They barely make it check to check and are generally forced to over extend themselves to obtain even the simplest pleasures. They have to pay thirty to fifty percent higher interest just to get in the door for air conditioners, cars and so on. And we all know what 90 credit points can mean on a mortgage: 100,000 dollars over the life of that loan. Yes- one hundred thousand dollars. And that same statistic will apply to all of their purchases if they can make any beyond food and electricity.

-The bitter bottom are those who require the most assistance generally speaking and have the least time and or ability to contribute to costs, and cover their own expenses. For all intents and purposes of this article they can be labeled indigent. They require more help than any other dynamic and require help that they can’t afford, pay for or contribute towards via taxes. Now we aren’t knocking this group or the previous one. I’m merely illustrating the three groups that we all fall in to.

Now at some point we have to literally choose our direction. If you are simply content at your level you will either sustain at said level or sink to a lower one. we all need to rise to the next plateau and then surpass said plateau as well. Life is nothing more than simple challenges and tasks that we must move through and past. I’ve outlined the four basic groups. Now you must ascertain your group and then determine if that is suitable. If not let’s find a way to get you past that point. Even at the top we have to succeed. And we have to thrive. Life is not simply for surviving. It is for making it to the top and then giving back.
Get your mind in gear.
Decide your goal.
Then take the necessary steps to be more than you thought you could.
Seize your existence.
Exceed expectations.

#thriveorsurvive.

“Pain pushes you until a vision pulls you” – Michael Beckwith

Thoughts? Concerns?
Questions? Think I’m wrong?
Let’s chat.
Need ideas?
Want to learn how to invite?
Let’s chat.
Want a mentor or maybe the guy who will bounce ideas back and forth with you?
Let’s chat.

Changeinadvance@gmail.com

@changeinadvance

Or simply reply to this article.

Link

“Dr. Doom” Nouriel Roubini, says the “perfect storm” scenario he forecast for the global economy earlier this year is unfolding right now as growth slows in the U.S., Europe as well as China. Getty Images In May, Roubini predicted four elements – stalling growth in the U.S., debt troubles in Europe, a slowdown in emerging markets, particularly China, and military conflict in Iran – would come together in to create a storm for the global economy in 2013.

9 Jul

Roubini: My ‘Perfect Storm’ Scenario Is Unfolding Now

YOUR JOB IS WORTHLESS.

2 Jul

YOUR JOB IS WORTHLESS.

No seriously. Your job will not get you to a comfy retirement let alone a great income. Now I’m sure many of you are going elsewhere at this very moment insisting to yourself and anyone who will listen that Tony has gone nuts! However let’s go through the facts.

-You fund Your retirement now.
My father has a defined benefit plan. His job offered a retirement based on pay grade and years in service and such. Nowadays this is being attacked as well. My point though is much scarier. Companies and municipalities alike are require more of your income to fund your retirement. And they chip in at most two percent. Wow. Nice. Maybe you get a match of up to six percent but that’s peanuts. You have to fund your retirement now out of your meager incomes and its not helping you that much once inflation and health costs get factored in. The sad fact is you are losing and you agreed to it. Now some of you are savvy investors. I try but I bet my readers blow me away in this category. The sad point here is you are now your future and if your present requires much cash you are stuck.

-Your Healthcare plans are trash now.
Healthcare is under attack no matter what side of the debate you are on. But its safe to say we will all lose something in this shake up. I have excellent care. What they call a cadillac plan. And no matter what happens in the next year and a half or so I’m sure I will lose something. My co-pays are up and my quality of service is down. Not what I signed on for. And your hmo?

-Maternity leave in America is a joke.
Always has been always will be. You can’t change this unless you leave the country or try one simple solution we will discuss later. We get six to twelve weeks. Wow. Thanks. Some countries give two years at full pay per parent. That’s four years to rear your child’s most important developmental stages. Not getting that here I bet.

-Taxes are killing you every check.
Every hour you work a third or more leaves your pocket. And yeah yeah, I know it funds our cities and armies and trash collection- but I’ve seen nothing but government wanting more. So the job being done costs more but the workers are taxed less and like we spoke about- are paying their own retirement. Yikes! Why pay? Because its jail if not. You lose spo much money before you even see it. My good readers I believe you would settle up with Uncle Sam annually and I further believe that you could use said funds better up font to soothe the loss they add up to. Shame Uncle Sam doesn’t trust like I do….

-Your income tax return is a joke that you fund and draws less interest than you could get elsewhere.
You get a few grand if you are lucky. I’m not. I have debt and no home to claim or kids to claim. So Uncle Sam loves me. But I owe every year about two hundred bucks. Why? Because I put my funds to better use and I refuse not to control my dollars. I claim more upfront and as such my cost of living is up and I have less day to day pressure on my cashflow. Are you getting the same or licking your chops at a few bucks that are yours in the first place being given back on someone else’s schedule?

-80 is the new 60.
Aka retirement ages are rising. If I stay at my job I won’t retire until I’m 67 they say. Economy is slowly dying so I bet 80. And so do many economists. Google it people. Do you want to work that many years? I started at 11. Ouch. Yeah we really want to work just to retire. I want to work for enjoyment and a legacy- you?

Now that we’ve covered the bad would anyone like to know the solution to this fiduciary nightmare?
Start your own business. Live your own life.
Its the only way folks. You dictate your terms or you give up. Starting your own business part time is the solution. It will solve every issue we have covered. Increasing your tax returns frees up income. Writing off daily expenses through your business building increases this factor as well. In fact your quality of life can increase immediately by transferring liabilities and wants to your business. The business can pay for trips and automobile leases et al. Also stop using your credit. Why risk it when a business not only does this for you but can shield you from potentially costly losses. And you can get low cost loans and grants to do this! The government encourages it and subsidizes it. Some 60+ percent of all jobs are created by small business. So you are not only securing your freedom but in theory helping your community and country. Sounds perfect right? Also that maternity/paternity leave- if you were the boss you could be there for every first step, word, and kiss. All the soccer games and recitals. Maybe you don’t want kids- fine. Enjoy working your schedule as you see fit. Retire? Why would you. A mentor of mine is approaching 70 and has twin eight year olds. He makes his hours and does every Thanksgiving in Hawaii. He’s my hero. He does as he pleases. Now he’s no slouch, get it right. But he has raised a self made millionaire and has two little ones who are benefiting and seeing first hand what a dad who is free can do.
What are you looking for. I want choices. Freedom. And a Ferrari. I won’t lie. But working for someone else rarely gets you there. Let’s work together to live our dreams and supply dreams for the less fortunate.
You with me?

#thriveorsurvive.

I Have Seen To Much Victory To Believe That Defeat Is Going To Have The Last Word
-REV AL SHARPTON

Thoughts? Concerns?
Questions? Think I’m wrong?
Let’s chat.
Need ideas?
Want to learn how to invite?
Let’s chat.
Want a mentor or maybe the guy who will bounce ideas back and forth with you?
Let’s chat.
Looking for a side project?
I can help.
Changeinadvance@gmail.com
@changeinadvance
Or simply reply to this article.

#thriveorsurvive

Image 2 Jun

Hyperinflation in Germany 1923: woman feeding her stove with worthless currency notes

(Guess numismatics would have been a safer bet)(hint hint)

Link 15 May

Chart of the day: US Real Personal Income Growth

Link

Obama’s ‘Responsible’ Reno Homeowners: Are They? -via cnbc.com

14 May

Obama’s ‘Responsible’ Reno Homeowners: Are They? -via cnbc.com

 

interesting mathematical take on this.

#thriveorsurvive

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As part of his “To Do List,” President Barack Obama visited Val and Paul Keller on Friday. The White House described them as “responsible” homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than their Nevada home is currently worth.

They owe $168,000 on their mortgage, but their Reno home is currently valued at $100,000.

The president is doing so to, “help demonstrate a concrete and tangible example as to why this broader push [to refinance] is so important not only for millions of Americans but for our economy,” said Shaun Donovan, secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in a conference call with reporters before the event.

During that call, Donovan used the words “responsible homeowners” more than a dozen times, in describing whom the administration’s proposed refinance programs should help.

It is not the Kellers’ fault that home prices in Reno are down 52 percent from the peak, right? The Kellers bought their house 14 years ago, and they have not been late on a mortgage payment, according to Donovan. They were able to take advantage of the newly expanded government refinance program through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for severely underwater borrowers, and they are in fact putting some of their savings on the monthly mortgage toward paying down principal.

But were they responsible?

The Kellers bought their home before the height of the housing boom. The trouble I’m having understanding this whole scenario is that the median home price in Reno is actually 7 percent higher today than it was 14 years ago. If the Kellers had a “responsible” loan, that would be a 30-year fixed, in which case they should have paid at least some principal on the loan over the last 14 years. And didn’t these “responsible” borrowers, the Kellers, put some money down on the home?

 

We went looking: According to Washoe County records, the Kellers purchased their home in June 1998 for $127,000. So why do they have, according to the White House, a $168,000 mortgage?

White House officials now confirm to CNBC that the Kellers did a cash-out refinance in 2007, when their home had appreciated to $250,000. Again, it’s not illegal, but are these the “responsible” borrowers that the administration is looking to help? They took out a $178,000 loan, using the $51,000 to pay down debt on the family construction business, so Paul could retire. Had they not taken that money out, and continued paying on the original mortgage, they would not be underwater today.

“This is a family, first and foremost, that has met their responsibility, remained on time with their mortgage and used their equity in their home in a way that so many Americans do, to send their kids to college, support a small business or save for retirement,” said Donovan, whom we contacted after learning of the refinance. “They deserve the chance to benefit from these record low interest rates because they have met their responsibilities.”

 

 

Another administration official familiar with the Kellers’ case says the couple were responsible because despite the incredible runup in home prices, they did not take all the equity out of the house. “She did not use her home as an ATM in the sense that we saw during the crisis, because she didn’t cash out all of the equity leaving her no cushion. She had a 71 percent LTV (loan to value ratio), or 30 percent equity in her home. That is by almost any definition a very responsible position to be in,” he added. In the past, Obama has criticized borrowers, who at the peak of the housing bubble, pulled money out, referring to it as using their house as an ATM.

LTV, Donovan and the other administration official claim, is not a minor issue. So it seems they are defining “responsible” as a borrower who maintains an equity cushion in the house, even when that house price has nearly doubled in just eight years.

“This was truly 100 year flood, and so lots of people who had 20, 30, 40 percent equity in their homes now find themselves underwater,” says the White House official, who also commends the Kellers for not walking away from their mortgage.

 

Video 14 May

http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=NPc85z9uhJQ

Address to the People of California: Governor Brown Discusses 2012-2013 State Budget (by GovernorBrown)

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So Cali, the land of fair and great is falling fast and faster….

Any thoughts on how to save them?

How about we work on saving your personal economies?

lets chat- changeinadvance@gmail.com

Mortgage rates fall to new lows again – USATODAY.com

11 May

Image

http://www.usatoday.com/money/story/2012-05-10/mortgage-rates/54872986/1#.T60oKTG0Pig.tumblr

Cheap mortgage rates have made home-buying and refinancing more affordable than ever for those who can qualify.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on 30-year loans ticked down to 3.83%. That’s the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s. And it’s below the previous record rate of 3.84% reached last week.

 

Link

Cheap mortgage rates have made home-buying and refinancing more affordable than ever for those who can qualify. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on 30-year loans ticked down to 3.83%. That’s the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s. And it’s below the previous record rate of 3.84% reached last week.

11 May

Mortgage rates fall to new lows again – USATODAY.com

Link

Over the last decade and a half, Americans’ expected retirement age has slowly risen to 67 from 60, according to a new Gallup survey.

5 May

Economix: Retirement, Slipping Farther and Farther Away

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