“Houston, we have a problem.” Apollo 13, 1995
Marion and John are faced with dire conditions;
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~ the stock market is in turmoil and their portfolio is losing value
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~ the housing market is roiling like a turbulent sea during a hurricane just when they are planning to move to a smaller place
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~ the dollar is depreciating and their income is not increasing – at least not as rapidly
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~ fuel prices are rising – the $15 fill-up of three years ago is now $45
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~ the cost of almost everything they buy that depends on fuel for manufacture and delivery is rising too – food, clothing, automobiles, electricity for lighting and air conditioning, and gas for heat, and more.
Those who have wealth great enough to make them celebrities can weather the financial storms that are raging just because they have so much. The pundits that pander to every fashionable financial fad can talk to no end about how their latest strategy will solve your problem, and perhaps that’s what some folks need. Those who follow the practices of Money for Life…in good times and bad are also secure during financial upheavals such as these.
But we Americans have a problem that is systemic. Our financial Apollo 13 has been hit by some economic debris that was engineered by Wall Street’s merchants of misinformation and their financial snake oil sales reps who chant the shibboleths they rely on to keep America dazed and confused. We can, of course, keep on keepin’ on, cobble together a solution to today’s problem, await the next disaster and continue to rely on a personal economy that is engineered by others for others.
The Apllo 13 crew and the NASA engineers had no choice and performed astonishingly well when the Apollo space vehicle was damaged. They also dealt with the issues surrounding the problem to assure it didn’t happen again. Wall Street won’t do that for you. Individuals do not have a NASA to look into the future on their behalf. While NASA is committed to the safety and success of its astronauts, Wall Street is committed to its own success and no other. Noone on Wall Street is going to devise a solution for you.
At the cost of being boringly repetitive, if you manage just four aspects of your finances properly, you will be able to handle almost any money challenge the you face. The foundation of every successful personal economy is money that you control – money that is in your “banks” not Wall Street’s. That means the money cannot be in an investment that Wall Street wants you to buy; and remember, when you buy anything – they call it investing - someone else gets some of the money you spend. They are not paid in kind.
With your “banks” as a foundation, you have to pay attention to only four goals – I call them the Four Pillars of your personal economy:
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Freedom from debt-to-others
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Income you don’t have to work for and you can’t outlive
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Ready money to deal with the surprisingly unsurprising surprises life deals out every day
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A legacy of your wisdom and wealth to pay forward to those you care about
Wouldn’t you feel better if those four goals were in reach? They are and you can learn how to achieve them with the guidance found in Money for Life –> www.TheMoneyForLifeBook.com
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