Unity is all it takes

There is great deal of media chatter going on about the recent suspension of foreclosures by the biggest banks in the country. For the most part all the ‘biggies’ have suspended all foreclosure activities in all 50 states. I think every state attorney general is a bit peeved at the financial community. This action was precipitated by the discovery of less-than-thorough conduct on behalf of over-worked and more than likely, less than qualified staff. In conjunction with all the other bank news’ over the past two years, the nations banking community has a permanent reputation as being a primary player in the destruction of our great country.

If indeed every banker in the country is a fraudster and con artist then why are they still in business? Why don’t we simply scalpel them right off the face of the earth and remove this infectious parasite? As opposed to continuing to enable their existence. Let’s not stop there, let’s head to Wall Street. Aren’t they in the same classification and deserve removal? Did you know, in a latest poll, Wall Street executives are expecting a bigger bonus this year than last? Doesn’t that just make your blood boil? These guys are going to receive another bonus when the people whose lives they destroyed are homeless and suicidal? What gives? Why is this happening?

Well, it will continue to happen, again and again, from generation to generation. Why? Because we continue to participate in their little game!!! Hello!

It takes money to make money. Can we all agree to that, at least as it pertain to banking institutions and Wall Street? Well, then you also have to agree with the fact that these institutions don’t really ‘produce’ anything tangible, they simply collect and/or create new paper and then pass it back and forth. But in all reality they don’t produce anything you can feel, touch, see or smell. So what is the real reason these people can garner so much profit and wealth when they don’t provide anything tangible that will improve comfort or sustain life? If there are no raw materials and machinery to produce such abundance then what is their resource? Ok, they produce money which provides the means to 'purchase' something for comfort or sustain life, I get that. But by whose monetary resource are they using to produce their product; the money?

It’s our money!!!!!!!!!!!! We feed the machine. Without us there is no banks. No Wall Street. Cut off the food supply and you destroy the animal. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Quit using the banks? Pull every dime you have in your accounts and on Wall Street and put it in a home safe? Is that the message here? No, no, no. That would be catastrophic: Financial collapse and hundreds of thousands of people out of work. Not a good idea and ill-advised. We need them to sustain what we have built. The products and services they provide are vital to our economy. Let’s keep them, but let’s work with them, work with what they have to offer, let’s just not do it the way they have been teaching us and in their own minds believe they are doing right by us. And they truly believe they are doing right by us. But lets not crucify them during these troubled times. Let’s not just point the finger and blame the ugly monster for our troubles. We are just as culpable as they are. We, the consumer base of this country are guilty of laziness, apathy and complacency. These character defects are as much to blame for this mess as the financial institutions themselves. Let's practice a little humility and account for our part, but in the same breath commit to changing our bad habits.

The point I want to get to is to soften the vilification of the banking community. I really don’t believe ‘these people’ are intentionally trying to destroy us. I believe everything that has happened over the past few years within the financial castle’s of our country have simply brought to light the realization that the current business model is broken. Bottom line; it is a failed business model. The model has become too big, too convoluted, too greedy, controlled by an under educated staff and directed by visionless, non-entrepreneurial bean-counters. The model is failing and it could be easily redirected if there were people who had an interest and a vision for change. Those people don’t exist in the corridors in which they should. Those who run our financial institutions are just following the herd too. They’re just running in a different herd and are following a trail that has been in existence for decades.

Why should we expect anything new from them?

Here is the real issue at hand: it’s a one way relationship with no reciprocation. This is causing the imbalance. They get more out of us then we get from them. News flash: Free checks, online banking and cookies at the teller window DO NOT constitute a mutually beneficial relationship. And the fear that we are all facing is because our side of the scale, the one all we consumers are sitting on is about to bottom out. Once we hit the bottom there is no place else to go; we’re done. We’ll be sitting in our bottomed-out dish looking up at the institutional side of the scale and watching them having a grand old time counting, spending and investing all of the money we supplied them through deposits, interest and fees. Unfortunately, what they don’t see and the consumers don’t realize is that when the consumer side of the scale bottoms out there won’t be anything left to give to the other side. Unless some of that wealth is transferred back to the consumer we will all perish eventually. That’s what our country’s financial business model has produced; a one-way ticket to becoming a third world country. The ONLY way to stop it is the shift the imbalnced financial weight of each respective dish of the scale.

WE (the collective community of American citizenery) can change the financial landscape of this country because we are the shoulders by which the economy rests. Try this; stand in the middle of the room, send your shoulders to one wall and your legs to another. Succeed? Of course not, without unity and balanced alignment between all compnents there is no moving forward. Well, this is exactly what is happening in this relationship we have with the financial institutions of this country. There is no unified effort to move forward because the current model requires a winner and a loser. The winner has us to beleive current practice is in our best interest and actually has the majority feeling like their lives are improved because of the relationship. The loser, you and me, blindly follow along and perpetuate the imbalnce of the financial scales. We will always be on the losing side becasue we continually succumb to the winners insatiable need for more of our resources. And as we continue to be the ultimate enablers to their addiction we will continue to weaken under their strain. There is no mutually beneficial exchange going on between us. This has to change if we expect future generations to enjoy life as it was intended.

Change will come from the bottom up; from the consumer base that feeds this financial machine. Change will occur when there is a commitment to a new direction in financial education and consumerism. Change only occurs when there is a real desire to alter the current path. If that desire exists then analysis and investigation come next. Analysis of the current model; is it really working for you or us as a country? Just because it is the only model you have ever functioned with in, just because you are comfortable with the current model that doesn’t directly translate into being the right one. Investigating other options outside and within the current model needs to take place. Thorough analysis of the discovery must be conducted. The results of analysis must be viewed and assimilated through a clear lens; “yea, but” rebuttals can not be part of the decision process. The numbers and the results, at ALL levels for all participants must be the determining factor. Through this process you might ultimately discover the truth in what I am saying here; the imbalanced relationship you voluntarily participate in with your financial institution is indeed the predominate component dictating the outcome of your financial future.

Only after implementation and long term execution of a new, more efficient model will the results reveal the benefits of change. It might be difficult to start because it takes effort and enduring the discomfort of change, but in the end the ship will alter its path and set a course that benefits all parties. Now, if you multiply your individual results under the current model by hundreds of thousands of American citizens just like you, you will quickly understand why the financial balance of power, at the street level is so institutionally dominate and our position of strength is about as weak as you can get. That balance of power needs to, has to shift if we are to right this ship and get on a course of mutual and equal financial footing.

From this balanced position of coexistence we become unified in our direction. We become unified in the division and use of resources. Unity in practice, and practical application of efficient means and methods will eliminate this hierarchical tree of wealth, power and financial prowess and bring this country back to the dream our forefathers had when they gave us this great republic.

The balance of power can shift. We can coexist on a balanced foundation. WE THE PEOPLE currently possess and control the power to facilitate change. We just need to recognize it and use it, not to stick it to the 'evil empire', but unify the community as a whole. Let’s not quit because it’s too hard or too uncomfortable. Let’s act upon our desire to change. Let’s make a commitment to the generations to follow. The balance of power can shift; it has to. Unity and community is all it takes.

The Truth is in the Proof!

Americans are bad savers????

We’ve all heard this before: “Americans are bad savers.” Have you ever heard ANYONE say they don’t want to save money? Have you ever heard ANYONE say; “ah, saving money is for the birds?” Probably not: so why are we not good at saving our money like we should be? Maybe it’s because THERE IS NOTHING LEFT AT THE END OF THE MONTH TO SAVE! Why is that? Is it because you don’t make enough money? Is it because you spend too much money? Or do we listen to the pundits that say you are just fiscally irresponsible? Maybe you aren’t building a ‘rainy day’ savings account because you are contributing as much as you can into your 401(k) or IRA. It’s funny how those accounts are not really considered savings vehicles. They are considered your “retirement” accounts. Maybe it’s because you can’t have that money without paying exorbitant penalties prior to reaching a government-determined-appropriate age to make withdrawals.

You don't have to live a life of scarcity to save and get ahead. You can live a life of abundance, which you derserve, if you do it right.

I have seen the financial profiles of literally thousands of Americans and I can tell you exactly why Americans are not good savers; diversification of debt. That’s right. If you look at the economic profile of most Americans in this country their mortgage debt, credit card debt and vehicle debts are scattered throughout the land with just as many lenders as there are debts. One or two mortgages, both with different interest rates and different terms of repayment. One to three credit cards, all with different interest rates, no terms of repayment and monthly payment demands factored on the monthly demands of the card issuer. Vehicles are the same; a couple car loans with different interest rates with varying payments based on repayment terms (5-7 years these days). Each one of these debts takes their own piece of your monthly pay check. Combine that with the average monthly requirement for basic needs, approximately $2500 per month and you end up with a few nickels dropping out of your wallet at the end of the month. Get the picture? Is this you?

THIS IS WHY AMERICANS ARE BAD SAVERS…CONVENTIONAL PRACITCE AND CONVNETIONAL METHODS OF PERSONAL FINANCE ARE KILLING OUR ABILITY TO SAVE!!!!!

So what’s the solution? Consolidate your debt into a financial vehicle where there is only one interest rate, one monthly payment demand and terms you have control over.

Let’s assume your debt is diversified like most everyone else and to service those debts on a monthly basis it costs you $3000 to keep everyone happy. Now let’s assume you could consolidate that debt into a more favorable environment and your monthly servicing obligation was only $1000. This would improve your cash flow AND your ability to save by $2000. Would you not take a serious look into this new environment?

Wait a minute…this proposed environment is new. It’s not being offered by our trusted banker or any other bank or mortgage company in the country. It sounds too good to be true and nobody you know is doing it. If it isn’t main stream then it must be a scam. Is Bernie Madoff involved?

Let me bring you back to the real world…YOUR WORLD.

You have a 30 year mortgage that will pay the lender well over what you originally borrowed and you won’t actually own your home for 30 years. Not to mention, everything you have paid back goes into their tightly guarded coffers. (A 15 year mortgage is just as destructive.) Who is scamming who?

You use a checking account. Within the next 5 years you will deposit $100,000 - $500,000 or more into this account. You will just pay your bills from this account, but the bank is going to invest the majority and return to you virtually nothing. Who’s getting the short end of the stick here?

Your credit card company, much like your mortgage holder, will continually take more in finance charges out of your payment then principal. As well as, change rates, features, etc at their will. Who is controlling who in this environment?

So what is the point of this rant? If you want to save you HAVE to break the status quo. You have to come to the realization that just because we’ve been “instructed” to live our lives this way DOES NOT make it the RIGHT way. You need to challenge the status quo. You have to challenge the mortgage culture and the banking culture. You have to put yourself in a position to win, to put yourself in a position to save if you want to save. Here’s a little hint: Your home is the BEST savings vehicle you have. You just need to learn how to use it to your advantage.

If you want to improve your financial condition without sacrificing your lifestyle, your relationships or the life you have spent a life time trying to build I recommend you investigate a new model. You can’t get there by continuing to play the same old game.

The Truth Is In The Proof!

Is Debt Really The Problem… or is it something else?

Mainstream media, the Government and consumers themselves vilify debt as the root of the consumer’s financial plight and the root of a weakening country. Debt is not the problem; it’s the management of debt and the way debt is structured that is creating the problem not the debt itself. Unless you win the lottery, invent a cure for cancer or get adopted by Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, debt will be something you will have to face somewhere along the course of your adult life; it’s a natural component of our society.

In today’s economic environment hard working American’s are experiencing a level of fear and financial uncertainty they have never been faced with. This is keeping them up at night wondering how they are going to sustain a life they have worked so hard to build. Americans are also wondering why those we have trusted for all these years; the banks, money managers and politicians, are thriving financially, but don’t seem to be contributing anything of real value to the public? Today, the predominant questions being asked by the American public as it relates to their financial future are; what am I going to do, what can I do, how am I going to do it? We all work way too hard to be faced with these questions. The answers to these frightening questions are right in front of us. The answers lie in the use of the financial resources we use every day. You just need to know how to use them to your advantage.

The crux of the problem for consumers and the country alike lie with misaligned, improper or a shear lack of education on the use of the banking tools we use every day. The three banking tools that we use every day; checking accounts, credit cards and loans are simply being used improperly. The solution lies in educating consumers and institutions to use these tools in the proper sequence and function to manage debt properly, regain control of income and possess the authority to control the repayment of debt. It’s as simple as that. By exposing the failed business model of conventional banking and borrowing practices, realigning them into a model that actually helps consumers get more out of what they own and what they earn, we can once again grow individually, as a society and a nation.

The Truth Is In The Proof.
TruthInEquity.com