Money, Debt and Taxes

Well, maybe not the sky. But with the Dow Jones Industrial down 23% in just a week and a half it sure seems like it.  World financial markets are reeling, banks are failing, and the US government must think that money grows on trees, because the government’s response to the problem is to throw money at it. One question I have for all the Senators and Congressmen, “Where do you think all this money is coming from?” Either the printing presses are rolling and you are printing more money, or you expect to take it out of my pocket.  I don’t like either option.

The news media is busy feeding the flames of panic. I quit watching. I just couldn’t stand another breathless, busty  blond, eyes wide with excitement, telling me about the future horrors if the current crisis is allowed to continue without someone doing something.  Oh yes honey, the horrors. You probably won’t be able to get a new Lexus this year!  You might even have to go to only once a week manicures! Whatever will we do! And what really gets my goat is the amnesia the media seems to have.  It doesn’t seem all that long ago that the crisis was rapidly rising oil prices. Yesterday it was reported that adding to the crisis, is the rapidly falling price of crude oil. Hmmm?  Seems to me that should be a good thing.  I certainly don’t mind that it is costing me $5 less to fill up my tank than it did just a few months ago.

I’d like to inject just a little bit of sanity into the mix.

continue reading…

This is the first post in a series that will explore how you can become debt free, and stay debt free forever. Future posts will talk about when you should and should not use credit cards for purchases. Why you should care about your credit score, how to save money on every day expenses, will credit repair companies help you or hurt you and much more. Make sure to subscribe to our feed so you don’t miss a single installment of this series.

The United States is in a debt crisis. A 2.57 trillion dollar crisis in 2007 according to the Federal Reserve. The average American household caries $8,565 in credit card debt. What makes this particularly scary is that many consumers are not getting over the heads in debt from frivolous spending. As salaries and wages haven’t kept up with rising costs, consumers are turning to their credit cards to make ends meet.

Many people are aware of the problem and would like to become debt free. But they don’t know how. Schools don’t teach finances, and with the amazing amount of both good and bad information on the internet it is hard to know where to turn. In fact, it is easy to get ripped off and end up even worse than before.

In this series I am going to give you a basic financial education and step by step directions that will help you get debt free, and stay debt free forever. You won’t need to buy anything, you won’t need to hurt your credit rating or declare bankruptcy. Each post will talk in depth about a specific credit or money topic. Then I’ll give you an assignment to work on. Stick with me, and you will become debt free forever!

Now here is your first assignment.

Assignment One: Make a Commitment
Let me be honest. This isn’t going to be easy, and you are going to make plenty of mistakes along the way. So you need to make a commitment. A strong commitment to do what it takes, and to keep doing what it takes, until you reach your goal. So today I’d like you to set the goal of becoming debt free, with the commitment to do the assignments exactly as they are assigned. And if you make a mistake and fall off the wagon, make a commitment to get right back up, brush yourself off, and get back with the program. Making a public commitment makes you more accountable, so feel free to post here if you will work with me to become debt free forever!

Everyone wants to be a millionaire, right? To join the ranks of that exclusive club, whose members have proved to the world that they have made it. Well, maybe not so exclusive. According to CNN.com the number of millionaires in the world has grown to over 10 million! And the worldwide number of super-rich, those with more than 30 million dollars in assets, has grown to over 100,000.

Most of the new millionaires are coming from countries with fast emerging economies, India, China and Brazil. But the United States is still home to the highest number of millionaires.

But of course, a million dollars isn’t what it used to be. Thanks to inflation, a million dollars today is only equal to $783,000 in 1998 dollars, and a pitiful $568,000 in 1988 dollars.

It is interesting to look at where the millionaires are putting their money today. For the most part they are not investing in Forex, Real Estate, or other fast money schemes. With today’s economy millionairs are putting 40% of their assets in those “save and boring” investments, money market funds, bonds, and preferred stocks.

Would you like to join the millionaire club? You are most likely to get there not by winning the lottery or finding the perfect get rich quick scheme. The best way to get there, make saving a priority, spend less than you earn, own your home, and avoid consumer debt.