The holidays are great because they really can bring out the best in people. It can be a stressful time for families trying to get everything in order…buying presents, planning events, etc. I think one of the key aspects of the holidays for families is that they get to work together as a team to accomplish the many tasks at hand. Each person can handle the tasks that they are good at. Often we realize that other family members are good at doing things we did not know they were good at doing…baking cookies, shopping for good deals on presents, maybe even shoveling snow. In these instances we each get a chance to help the other members in our family and it makes everyone feel good.
Sometimes the stress of the holidays becomes too much for people to bear. We need to remember to prioritize our tasks. We know that if we push too hard for too long, something important to us is not going to get done. By doing the tasks that are most critical first and maybe leaving a few less important tasks until the end, we are able to reduce some of the stress we experience each holiday season. One thing that is certainly a priority that sometimes gets bumped is vehicle maintenance. Given the weather conditions across most parts of the world during winter months, addressing those warning lights that show up on the dashboard can save a lot of time and money in the long run, and most importantly, keep everyone safe. Warning lights like low fuel, low tire pressure, or the infamous “check engine” light are there to help us.
I thank you for reading and wish everyone happiness and safe driving during this holiday season!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Small Business Development Help
Please visit our blog site at http://www.practicalmanifestations.com/blog.html
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
Part of the Practical Manifestations Project is about starting an online business from scratch and sharing our story with others that can benefit from hearing about our experiences. We are marketing a book through the web site. Having never started an online business before, I like to share information that we come across that could be helpful to others that have businesses of their own. Practical Manifestations uses the Law of Attraction to bring things into our lives that we desire by creating an intent, believing it is possible to achieve, and coordinating our thoughts, words and actions with the intent.
I was researching online the other day for marketing consultants. I see a decent amount of traffic visiting the web page for the book, but I wanted to increase the number of actual sales from people viewing the page. When I looked up Rhode Island marketing consultants, I found a free service offered by Johnson and Wales University called Rhode Island Small Business Development Center. I met with them on Thursday and they were very helpful. We discussed putting together a focus group to take a survey of what they think about the book I wrote and the web site. I intend to give a presentation to the focus group prior to the survey.
The center has a program where Johnson and Wales University students work with small business owners to develop marketing strategies, and work on anything that will help to build the business. They work with the business owner but they do not manage the business for them. The center also offers seminars on various small business development topics. If anyone is starting a small business or manages a small business, I would definitely suggest looking into whether or not a similar small business development center is available in their area.
My first step is to better refine my business plan including an Introduction, Marketing Summary, Operations Summary, Financial Management Summary, and Executive Summary. I’ll keep you posted as the story unfolds.
Link to RI Small Business Development Center www.risbdc.org/
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
Part of the Practical Manifestations Project is about starting an online business from scratch and sharing our story with others that can benefit from hearing about our experiences. We are marketing a book through the web site. Having never started an online business before, I like to share information that we come across that could be helpful to others that have businesses of their own. Practical Manifestations uses the Law of Attraction to bring things into our lives that we desire by creating an intent, believing it is possible to achieve, and coordinating our thoughts, words and actions with the intent.
I was researching online the other day for marketing consultants. I see a decent amount of traffic visiting the web page for the book, but I wanted to increase the number of actual sales from people viewing the page. When I looked up Rhode Island marketing consultants, I found a free service offered by Johnson and Wales University called Rhode Island Small Business Development Center. I met with them on Thursday and they were very helpful. We discussed putting together a focus group to take a survey of what they think about the book I wrote and the web site. I intend to give a presentation to the focus group prior to the survey.
The center has a program where Johnson and Wales University students work with small business owners to develop marketing strategies, and work on anything that will help to build the business. They work with the business owner but they do not manage the business for them. The center also offers seminars on various small business development topics. If anyone is starting a small business or manages a small business, I would definitely suggest looking into whether or not a similar small business development center is available in their area.
My first step is to better refine my business plan including an Introduction, Marketing Summary, Operations Summary, Financial Management Summary, and Executive Summary. I’ll keep you posted as the story unfolds.
Link to RI Small Business Development Center www.risbdc.org/
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
Saturday, December 12, 2009
My Email to President Obama on Job Creation
Please visit our blog site at http://www.practicalmanifestations.com/blog.html
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
START EMAIL
In response to your request to Congress to brainstorm on ways to create jobs and reduce unemployment, I would like to take this as an opportunity to express my own thoughts on the subject. I believe that it is right for the government to reimburse people while they are unemployed, but perhaps paying them full compensation for lengthy durations, sometimes several months or years, is not actually helping them.
My suggestion is to compensate people in full for up to six weeks while they search for a new job. After six weeks the unemployed person would be switched to a different program. The new program would be a job-placement program. I think a lot of people that are unemployed are actually able to find jobs, but the jobs they find would pay them less than they were getting paid at their former jobs, forcing them to lower their lifestyle. The new job-placement program would help to place the unemployed into new, but perhaps lower-paying positions. The program would then reimburse the new employee for the difference between what they earn at the new, lower-paying job and the amount they would be getting if they remained job-less under our present unemployment reimbursement program. The overall length of time they collected money from the government would remain the same, but the bottom line of the amount collected would be far less.
As an example, if someone earned $20 per hour at their former job and they could only find a job that paid $10 per hour, they would probably remain on the government’s unemployment list for a long time. The government would not pay them unemployment if they started working and the amount the government would pay them, say 75% of $20 per hour is more than the $10 per hour they would earn at the new job. With the proposed program, the person would start earning $10 per hour at the new job and the government would only pay the $5 per hour difference.
The savings to the government would be great. I would suggest that the savings be used toward further reducing the unemployment rate. One place the savings would need to be allocated is in training people in the proposed program for their new position. Another place may be relocating a person to a place in the US where their expertise is desperately needed, and perhaps they could earn a salary comparable to that of their former position. The rest of the money could be used for education, construction, police, fire, rescue, etc.
I thank you for taking a moment to read my suggestion and I look forward to your response.
END EMAIL
To send President Obama your own comments, please visit the White House web site Contact page at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
START EMAIL
In response to your request to Congress to brainstorm on ways to create jobs and reduce unemployment, I would like to take this as an opportunity to express my own thoughts on the subject. I believe that it is right for the government to reimburse people while they are unemployed, but perhaps paying them full compensation for lengthy durations, sometimes several months or years, is not actually helping them.
My suggestion is to compensate people in full for up to six weeks while they search for a new job. After six weeks the unemployed person would be switched to a different program. The new program would be a job-placement program. I think a lot of people that are unemployed are actually able to find jobs, but the jobs they find would pay them less than they were getting paid at their former jobs, forcing them to lower their lifestyle. The new job-placement program would help to place the unemployed into new, but perhaps lower-paying positions. The program would then reimburse the new employee for the difference between what they earn at the new, lower-paying job and the amount they would be getting if they remained job-less under our present unemployment reimbursement program. The overall length of time they collected money from the government would remain the same, but the bottom line of the amount collected would be far less.
As an example, if someone earned $20 per hour at their former job and they could only find a job that paid $10 per hour, they would probably remain on the government’s unemployment list for a long time. The government would not pay them unemployment if they started working and the amount the government would pay them, say 75% of $20 per hour is more than the $10 per hour they would earn at the new job. With the proposed program, the person would start earning $10 per hour at the new job and the government would only pay the $5 per hour difference.
The savings to the government would be great. I would suggest that the savings be used toward further reducing the unemployment rate. One place the savings would need to be allocated is in training people in the proposed program for their new position. Another place may be relocating a person to a place in the US where their expertise is desperately needed, and perhaps they could earn a salary comparable to that of their former position. The rest of the money could be used for education, construction, police, fire, rescue, etc.
I thank you for taking a moment to read my suggestion and I look forward to your response.
END EMAIL
To send President Obama your own comments, please visit the White House web site Contact page at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
Monday, December 7, 2009
Law of Attraction Investment Strategy and Shengchang Bioenergy
Please visit our blog site at http://www.practicalmanifestations.com/blog.html
Below is a video from CNN on what Shengchang Bioenergy in China is doing with peanut shells, tree bark and dead corn stalks to create home heating material. Not only do they process the peanut shells but they also manufacture the furnace used to burn the low-cost material. Much of China still uses coal to heat homes. This is a greener and less-expensive alternative plus it is paying the local farmers. They figured out how to make a profit out of what others might consider garbage.
From what I can tell, a company such as this would make a great investment and is a good application of the law of attraction. It is one way to make the world more eco-friendly, decrease poverty, all while making a profit. The gains from such an investment could be put into another company doing similar work. This is how I would think the law of attraction would be applied to one's investment strategy.
Please note that this post does not suggest that people start investing in foreign countries instead of their own, but rather that an investment can bring an investor far more than just financial gains. Whatever one's native country is, their local businesses need their support to survive. Finding businesses that function according to one's values brings fulfillment on all levels. As a US citizen, I would like to find more US businesses that adopt practices similar to this Chinese company.
We can compare this strategy to the one the US uses whereby we actually pay farmers to not grow food. It is good that the farmers are being helped, but there may be more effecient ways of doing it. According to the Washington Post (see link at the end of this post) between the years 2000 and 2006, the US government paid farmers 1.3 Billion dollars to not grow food. This artificially keeps the price of food from falling through the floor.
Link to Washington Post article http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/01/AR2006070100962.html
Article from NextBillion.net http://www.nextbillion.net/blog/2007/11/14/shengchang-bioenergy-a-company-aspires-to-build-china-s-biomass
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
Below is a video from CNN on what Shengchang Bioenergy in China is doing with peanut shells, tree bark and dead corn stalks to create home heating material. Not only do they process the peanut shells but they also manufacture the furnace used to burn the low-cost material. Much of China still uses coal to heat homes. This is a greener and less-expensive alternative plus it is paying the local farmers. They figured out how to make a profit out of what others might consider garbage.
From what I can tell, a company such as this would make a great investment and is a good application of the law of attraction. It is one way to make the world more eco-friendly, decrease poverty, all while making a profit. The gains from such an investment could be put into another company doing similar work. This is how I would think the law of attraction would be applied to one's investment strategy.
Please note that this post does not suggest that people start investing in foreign countries instead of their own, but rather that an investment can bring an investor far more than just financial gains. Whatever one's native country is, their local businesses need their support to survive. Finding businesses that function according to one's values brings fulfillment on all levels. As a US citizen, I would like to find more US businesses that adopt practices similar to this Chinese company.
We can compare this strategy to the one the US uses whereby we actually pay farmers to not grow food. It is good that the farmers are being helped, but there may be more effecient ways of doing it. According to the Washington Post (see link at the end of this post) between the years 2000 and 2006, the US government paid farmers 1.3 Billion dollars to not grow food. This artificially keeps the price of food from falling through the floor.
Link to Washington Post article http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/01/AR2006070100962.html
Article from NextBillion.net http://www.nextbillion.net/blog/2007/11/14/shengchang-bioenergy-a-company-aspires-to-build-china-s-biomass
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Spending Money Will Improve the Economy Part 3: Applying the Law of Attraction
Please visit our blog site at http://www.practicalmanifestations.com/blog.html
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
Links to previous segments can be found at the end of this post
How can we apply the Law of Attraction to the state of the economy? I think the key here is that everything that is going on in our world is affected directly by our own thoughts and actions. I was listening to a radio show today and the radio personality touched on this very subject, it is not what they (the politicians, big business, etc.) are doing, it is what we are allowing them to do, it is our own actions. We are the ones that put these people in power and designate which companies receive our money. When we see so much corruption and bias in the world it is because we put it there. Granted it was probably there before we showed up, but it has also been running rampant for as long as we have been alive.
For example we look at the US national deficit. It continues to grow at an alarming rate and we complain that the politicians keep allowing it to happen. In this case the politicians are actually carrying out just what we ask of them. When they are campaigning, they tell us they are going to bring more jobs to our state, better schools, tax cuts, and so on. We elect them into power because it will bring more money into our own pockets and benefit us in a lot of ways. On the other hand, the money needs to come from somewhere. Once in power the politicians bring us some of the things we ask of them and the price is another increase in the national deficit.
I believe a lot of what we are seeing around us is a direct result of our own thoughts and actions. Some of the things we are wishing and hoping for actually conflict with our real intentions and goals. The conflict runs very deep in society starting right with the food we eat. We want to be fit and healthy yet we sustain ourselves with cheap processed foods. We want to be healthy yet we sometimes take medications to mask the ailments instead of learning about the cause and finding a solution.
So where is all of this going? I think that the law of attraction sometimes requires action, sometimes requires only intent, but usually requires some combination of the two. As we come to recognize the corruption within ourselves, we can correct it. We are then more likely to recognize the corruption in the rest of our environment and in the world and know what steps we each can take to correct it. We notify our representatives, write blogs, contribute to charities, and give our business to worthy businesses. But it all started with that initial intent and that intent followed through in almost everything we thought, said, and did. I say “everything” because no one is perfect. We all do some things that are not in alignment with our intentions, but overall we made great strides toward improving the world.
Furthermore, as we create a balance within ourselves, we are more likely to be in sync with the rest of the world, including the economy. We are then able to buy when the prices are low, which is probably a part of an economic downswing, and sell when prices are high, in an economic upswing. We are no longer fighting the tide but rather recognizing the cycle and coordinating our efforts with the cycle.
Link to Spending Money Will Improve The Economy Part 2
http://practicalmanifestations.blogspot.com/2009/12/spending-money-will-improve-economy_05.html
Link to Spending Money Will Improve The Economy Part 1
http://practicalmanifestations.blogspot.com/2009/12/spending-money-will-improve-economy.html
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
Links to previous segments can be found at the end of this post
How can we apply the Law of Attraction to the state of the economy? I think the key here is that everything that is going on in our world is affected directly by our own thoughts and actions. I was listening to a radio show today and the radio personality touched on this very subject, it is not what they (the politicians, big business, etc.) are doing, it is what we are allowing them to do, it is our own actions. We are the ones that put these people in power and designate which companies receive our money. When we see so much corruption and bias in the world it is because we put it there. Granted it was probably there before we showed up, but it has also been running rampant for as long as we have been alive.
For example we look at the US national deficit. It continues to grow at an alarming rate and we complain that the politicians keep allowing it to happen. In this case the politicians are actually carrying out just what we ask of them. When they are campaigning, they tell us they are going to bring more jobs to our state, better schools, tax cuts, and so on. We elect them into power because it will bring more money into our own pockets and benefit us in a lot of ways. On the other hand, the money needs to come from somewhere. Once in power the politicians bring us some of the things we ask of them and the price is another increase in the national deficit.
I believe a lot of what we are seeing around us is a direct result of our own thoughts and actions. Some of the things we are wishing and hoping for actually conflict with our real intentions and goals. The conflict runs very deep in society starting right with the food we eat. We want to be fit and healthy yet we sustain ourselves with cheap processed foods. We want to be healthy yet we sometimes take medications to mask the ailments instead of learning about the cause and finding a solution.
So where is all of this going? I think that the law of attraction sometimes requires action, sometimes requires only intent, but usually requires some combination of the two. As we come to recognize the corruption within ourselves, we can correct it. We are then more likely to recognize the corruption in the rest of our environment and in the world and know what steps we each can take to correct it. We notify our representatives, write blogs, contribute to charities, and give our business to worthy businesses. But it all started with that initial intent and that intent followed through in almost everything we thought, said, and did. I say “everything” because no one is perfect. We all do some things that are not in alignment with our intentions, but overall we made great strides toward improving the world.
Furthermore, as we create a balance within ourselves, we are more likely to be in sync with the rest of the world, including the economy. We are then able to buy when the prices are low, which is probably a part of an economic downswing, and sell when prices are high, in an economic upswing. We are no longer fighting the tide but rather recognizing the cycle and coordinating our efforts with the cycle.
Link to Spending Money Will Improve The Economy Part 2
http://practicalmanifestations.blogspot.com/2009/12/spending-money-will-improve-economy_05.html
Link to Spending Money Will Improve The Economy Part 1
http://practicalmanifestations.blogspot.com/2009/12/spending-money-will-improve-economy.html
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Spending Money Will Improve The Economy Part 2
Please visit our blog site at http://www.practicalmanifestations.com/blog.html
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
For the previous segment, please scroll to the end of this post for the link as well as a link to a previous post on corruption and transparency.
The next thing I would like to look at is how the economy got to this point in the first place. I like to keep things simple for the sake of discussion, and I can only offer my own opinion on everything. A few years back the economy seemed to be in a recession/depression and the government decided to lower interest rates. If the government wants to boost the economy they basically have four options:
A) First is to lower the federal interest rate, the rate for loans between banks. Lowering the interest rate can put you in danger of increasing the rate of inflation, especially if you lower the interest rate drastically. Doing anything drastically will probably have major side effects as well as boosting the economy. The effect of this could be that you make only 1 or 2 percent interest on your bank savings account. You can also borrow money at a low interest rate, which has an impact on things like the housing market.
B) The second option is for the government to pump money into the economy. Drastic measures of this sort will probably have major side effects too. The money that the government uses to pump into the economy has to come from somewhere. They can raise taxes or borrow more, but this increases the national debt. Raising taxes can dampen the boost the economy experiences. Borrowing more money may seem like a great solution in the short term because the government only needs to pay interest on the borrowed money rather than come up with the full amount up front. However if more and more money is borrowed, that payment on interest can become quite large and begin to paralyze the government’s spending power and cause it to raise taxes or borrow more money. Similar to option A, option B can be quite dangerous. Unlike option A where the effect and side effects are more immediate, option B’s effect is rather immediate, but the side effect of becoming paralyzed by payments on interest, may not be felt until generations later. It is for this reason that politicians are tempted to use this option. Many people are not so concerned with the national debt as they are about their own finances, so they are not as likely to complain so long as they have money in their pocket, but it is at the expense of their children and their children’s children
C) The third option is for the government to do some sort of redistribution of government spending to allocate funds to areas that need it most. Like raising taxes, this can make the politicians that are making the moves very unpopular, particularly with the people affected by the government taking money away. There will most likely be lobbyists, unions, corporations and rallies all to voice people’s discontentment with the change. It can be very difficult for politicians to determine which areas of spending can be decreased because often some of the politicians are directly involved with said areas. Other politicians will be directly involved in the areas receiving the money, so to come to an agreement can be very difficult. This, along with option D, can be a government’s best tool. This option can be exercised quickly and eliminate a lot of waste if done right. The politicians making the decision will probably hear some complaining, but if done right, the overall effect will be very positive and there will be more people cheering than complaining. If done wrong, the politicians may have no friends left. I would put things like creating government aid plans and the like in this category as well as general government spending cuts.
D) The fourth option is for the government to change legislation. This is usually a much slower process because the government needs to give the involved parties time to conform to the new rules. If done right, over time it can help to assist people and businesses that need it most. If done wrong, it will only make the rich richer and the poor poorer or possibly have no effect at all. This is a broad category because it can include anything from improving emission standards to placing restrictions on big business. In the end it is going to cost people some money so you will hear some complaining. Like option B, it can be tempting to politicians to use this option if they design the legislation to have the most impact several years after making it government policy. It can be very helpful to giving entities like small businesses a slight advantage over large businesses to make the playing field more fair. It also could be used to increase tariffs on imported goods, which would increase the cost of imported goods to the customer, giving local businesses and workers more of an advantage.
A government may decide to apply any of these options, any combination of these options, or maybe try something I have not thought of here...or do nothing at all and take a “wait and see” approach. Each of the options will probably work if applied in the right area to the right degree. I say “probably” because the X factor is corruption. Corruption in business and in government is what turns all of these helpful tools into harmful weapons. We’ll continue this discussion in a following blog analyzing how we got to this point today of increasing government spending because of our actions a few years back where we drastically lowered the interest rate.
Link to previous segment: http://practicalmanifestations.blogspot.com/2009/12/spending-money-will-improve-economy.html
Link to "Corruption Versus Transparency" http://practicalmanifestations.blogspot.com/2009/10/corruption-versus-transparency.html
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
For the previous segment, please scroll to the end of this post for the link as well as a link to a previous post on corruption and transparency.
The next thing I would like to look at is how the economy got to this point in the first place. I like to keep things simple for the sake of discussion, and I can only offer my own opinion on everything. A few years back the economy seemed to be in a recession/depression and the government decided to lower interest rates. If the government wants to boost the economy they basically have four options:
A) First is to lower the federal interest rate, the rate for loans between banks. Lowering the interest rate can put you in danger of increasing the rate of inflation, especially if you lower the interest rate drastically. Doing anything drastically will probably have major side effects as well as boosting the economy. The effect of this could be that you make only 1 or 2 percent interest on your bank savings account. You can also borrow money at a low interest rate, which has an impact on things like the housing market.
B) The second option is for the government to pump money into the economy. Drastic measures of this sort will probably have major side effects too. The money that the government uses to pump into the economy has to come from somewhere. They can raise taxes or borrow more, but this increases the national debt. Raising taxes can dampen the boost the economy experiences. Borrowing more money may seem like a great solution in the short term because the government only needs to pay interest on the borrowed money rather than come up with the full amount up front. However if more and more money is borrowed, that payment on interest can become quite large and begin to paralyze the government’s spending power and cause it to raise taxes or borrow more money. Similar to option A, option B can be quite dangerous. Unlike option A where the effect and side effects are more immediate, option B’s effect is rather immediate, but the side effect of becoming paralyzed by payments on interest, may not be felt until generations later. It is for this reason that politicians are tempted to use this option. Many people are not so concerned with the national debt as they are about their own finances, so they are not as likely to complain so long as they have money in their pocket, but it is at the expense of their children and their children’s children
C) The third option is for the government to do some sort of redistribution of government spending to allocate funds to areas that need it most. Like raising taxes, this can make the politicians that are making the moves very unpopular, particularly with the people affected by the government taking money away. There will most likely be lobbyists, unions, corporations and rallies all to voice people’s discontentment with the change. It can be very difficult for politicians to determine which areas of spending can be decreased because often some of the politicians are directly involved with said areas. Other politicians will be directly involved in the areas receiving the money, so to come to an agreement can be very difficult. This, along with option D, can be a government’s best tool. This option can be exercised quickly and eliminate a lot of waste if done right. The politicians making the decision will probably hear some complaining, but if done right, the overall effect will be very positive and there will be more people cheering than complaining. If done wrong, the politicians may have no friends left. I would put things like creating government aid plans and the like in this category as well as general government spending cuts.
D) The fourth option is for the government to change legislation. This is usually a much slower process because the government needs to give the involved parties time to conform to the new rules. If done right, over time it can help to assist people and businesses that need it most. If done wrong, it will only make the rich richer and the poor poorer or possibly have no effect at all. This is a broad category because it can include anything from improving emission standards to placing restrictions on big business. In the end it is going to cost people some money so you will hear some complaining. Like option B, it can be tempting to politicians to use this option if they design the legislation to have the most impact several years after making it government policy. It can be very helpful to giving entities like small businesses a slight advantage over large businesses to make the playing field more fair. It also could be used to increase tariffs on imported goods, which would increase the cost of imported goods to the customer, giving local businesses and workers more of an advantage.
A government may decide to apply any of these options, any combination of these options, or maybe try something I have not thought of here...or do nothing at all and take a “wait and see” approach. Each of the options will probably work if applied in the right area to the right degree. I say “probably” because the X factor is corruption. Corruption in business and in government is what turns all of these helpful tools into harmful weapons. We’ll continue this discussion in a following blog analyzing how we got to this point today of increasing government spending because of our actions a few years back where we drastically lowered the interest rate.
Link to previous segment: http://practicalmanifestations.blogspot.com/2009/12/spending-money-will-improve-economy.html
Link to "Corruption Versus Transparency" http://practicalmanifestations.blogspot.com/2009/10/corruption-versus-transparency.html
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Spending Money Will Improve the Economy
Please visit our blog site at http://www.practicalmanifestations.com/blog.html
to subscribe to our blog updates via email or to view our entire archive of blog posts (searchable by keyword).
I was listening to a radio personality the other day talking about how the economy would improve if people would just spend more money. I found it rather ironic because I think a lot of people are in dire situations because they have actually spent too much money. Now their buying power is very limited because a lot of their pay check goes toward paying off all the debt they have accrued. When someone has a lot of debt and continues to spend money, their options become more and more limited and may end up in bankruptcy or foreclosure on their house.
It is true, the economy works by people spending money. If no one spent money, there would be no economy. I think we need to be careful when we tell everyone to just spend more money because a general increase in spending could actually worsen the situation, leading us all into more debt, which will cause even more people to default on their loans, which will lead to more government bailouts. The people we need to spend money are those that have not already maxed out all their credit cards and taken the equity out of their homes. There are still people out there that are not in debt up to their eyeballs. Those people can probably afford to be a little more carefree about their spending and be reassured that the economy is simply in a downturn but will eventually thrive again. There are plenty of good deals out there for people in this category.
On the other hand, a lot of people are in the category where they already have a lot of debt and they are waiting for the light at the end of the tunnel. Somehow all this debt has built up and they are not sure how to change things. For these people, we need to decrease spending money that goes to supporting our lifestyle, try to pay off the debt, and look at investments that will have a greater return than the cost of interest on the debt. Of course every person is different, so one person may benefit from buying a house while another may benefit from investing in their 401K. A lot of people that owe money are paying interest rates between 10 and 20 percent. For these people, the best thing is probably to transfer to a lower interest credit card or loan that has a fixed rate for the life of the loan.
Whether the economy is in an upswing or a downswing, there are advantages and disadvantages to the educated investor. In an upswing, your income is higher, but so is the cost for products and services and the interest rate on money you are borrowing. You try to mitigate the cost for these more expensive items. In an economic downswing, your income is lower, or maybe even non-existent. In turn the cost for products and services is much lower due to the decrease in demand, since not as many people can afford them. The interest rate on money you are borrowing may also be very low. It is at these times that great investments like residential and commercial property can be acquired at much lower prices.
There are many loopholes people fall into such as crashing their credit score by defaulting on loans or losing their job. Falling into a loophole can keep people from taking advantage of both an economic upswing and downswing. Often something, or several things, happened that was out of their control, like medical bills or company downsizing, that lead to the default. Whatever the cause and however sever the consequences, we need to remain steadfast in our approach.
Money woes bring a lot of stress to us and any relationships we are maintaining, so perhaps we will need to incorporate counseling into our recovery strategy. Depending on the situation, we may also require legal advice or services to correct the situation. But like with all of life’s challenges, we do our best to remain balanced and focused on our goals.
In closing, spending does help the economy. But we want to make sure that we are investing our money properly, not just spending it to keep up with our neighbors, so that when the economic upswing comes around…we are able to enjoy it as much as everyone else.
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
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I was listening to a radio personality the other day talking about how the economy would improve if people would just spend more money. I found it rather ironic because I think a lot of people are in dire situations because they have actually spent too much money. Now their buying power is very limited because a lot of their pay check goes toward paying off all the debt they have accrued. When someone has a lot of debt and continues to spend money, their options become more and more limited and may end up in bankruptcy or foreclosure on their house.
It is true, the economy works by people spending money. If no one spent money, there would be no economy. I think we need to be careful when we tell everyone to just spend more money because a general increase in spending could actually worsen the situation, leading us all into more debt, which will cause even more people to default on their loans, which will lead to more government bailouts. The people we need to spend money are those that have not already maxed out all their credit cards and taken the equity out of their homes. There are still people out there that are not in debt up to their eyeballs. Those people can probably afford to be a little more carefree about their spending and be reassured that the economy is simply in a downturn but will eventually thrive again. There are plenty of good deals out there for people in this category.
On the other hand, a lot of people are in the category where they already have a lot of debt and they are waiting for the light at the end of the tunnel. Somehow all this debt has built up and they are not sure how to change things. For these people, we need to decrease spending money that goes to supporting our lifestyle, try to pay off the debt, and look at investments that will have a greater return than the cost of interest on the debt. Of course every person is different, so one person may benefit from buying a house while another may benefit from investing in their 401K. A lot of people that owe money are paying interest rates between 10 and 20 percent. For these people, the best thing is probably to transfer to a lower interest credit card or loan that has a fixed rate for the life of the loan.
Whether the economy is in an upswing or a downswing, there are advantages and disadvantages to the educated investor. In an upswing, your income is higher, but so is the cost for products and services and the interest rate on money you are borrowing. You try to mitigate the cost for these more expensive items. In an economic downswing, your income is lower, or maybe even non-existent. In turn the cost for products and services is much lower due to the decrease in demand, since not as many people can afford them. The interest rate on money you are borrowing may also be very low. It is at these times that great investments like residential and commercial property can be acquired at much lower prices.
There are many loopholes people fall into such as crashing their credit score by defaulting on loans or losing their job. Falling into a loophole can keep people from taking advantage of both an economic upswing and downswing. Often something, or several things, happened that was out of their control, like medical bills or company downsizing, that lead to the default. Whatever the cause and however sever the consequences, we need to remain steadfast in our approach.
Money woes bring a lot of stress to us and any relationships we are maintaining, so perhaps we will need to incorporate counseling into our recovery strategy. Depending on the situation, we may also require legal advice or services to correct the situation. But like with all of life’s challenges, we do our best to remain balanced and focused on our goals.
In closing, spending does help the economy. But we want to make sure that we are investing our money properly, not just spending it to keep up with our neighbors, so that when the economic upswing comes around…we are able to enjoy it as much as everyone else.
To comment on our blog posts, please visit our forums at http://www.practicalmanifestations.freeforums.org/
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