Our anemic economy appears to be struggling further still.  By the end of the week, the “soft” stock market became downright cotton candy-ish, plummeting to index lows we’ve not seen in some time. 

The culprit?  Well, there’s a few of them…and they remain the “usual suspects.”  On the mortgage front, we were greeted this week with the cheerful news that a record 9 percent of Americans who have mortgages are now either behind or in foreclosure; almost 1 in 10! 

The jobless rate?  It is now the highest it’s been in five years.  As for oil, sure it’s come down from record prices here recently, but let’s be honest – gas at $3.65 a gallon is still irritatingly high.  In short, things are lousy.

Most people will eventually exit these tough times relatively unscathed, but many will be battered and bruised nonetheless.  Still, once things return to “normal,” it will be tempting for a lot of people to resume the consumer patterns in which they’ve engaged all along, buying and buying, largely with credit, seeking as much house, car, and big-screen TV as they can possibly afford. 

My advice?  Fight that temptation, taking stock of your life and of what we’re going through right now, and endeavor to give yourself the greatest gift money (or credit) can’t buy: peace of mind.

Financial serenity comes about only one way: By living a simpler, less materialistic existence.  Granted, we all like a few creature comforts, but the emphasis in the lives of many has been on creature, as in possessions that tend to devour us in one way or another. 

Take cars, for example.  How much car do you really need?  How big does it have to be?  How many options does it have to have?  How new does it have to be?  The reality is that cars are made so well nowadays that they’re expected to go well over 100,000 miles if properly maintained. 

From a financial planning standpoint, car payments are a colossal waste of money, and yet too many view the idea of always making a car payment a fact of life.  Why?  Why not purchase a solid used car, and when it’s paid off, hang on to it for as long as possible, and investing the car payment you would be making during that time into growth mutual funds? 

Look at this: If you bought a modest used car with the intention of making it last 10 years, spent three years paying it off…let’s assume a car payment of $350 per month…and then took that same $350 and invested it in a quality stock mutual fund for the remaining seven years, you would end up with just under $41,000 set aside (assuming an annualized rate of return of 9% per year).  AND, if your car is still running fine after your 10 year time frame expires…just keep driving it, pushing back the initiation of another loan while continuing to add to your net worth.

I’m picking on car payments right now…they are an easy target for the financially prudent…but what I’m speaking about is applicable to just about any high-dollar consumer good.  What about houses?  We all need a place to call home, but how much house do you really need? 

In fact, depending on the market in which you live, you may well be better off renting now than buying, which is an idea that likely goes against what you’ve always been told.  What about other big-ticket items, like consumer electronics?  I like football as well as the next person, but I don’t need to watch it on a $3,000 TV.  The list could go on and on here, but you get the point.

Those Joneses with whom you’ve been trying to keep up all these years, with their McMansions, new cars, home theaters, etc?  We now know their dirty little secret: They weren’t wealthier than you; just more extended.  Indeed, becoming “stuff-obsessed” rarely adds to wealth, but rather diminishes it instead. 

I’ve heard it said that the less you possess, the less you are possessed.  Given the extraordinary high cost of possessing things at all in these trying economic times, perhaps it’s time we all reevaluate our priorities, dig deep within ourselves to locate that which is truly important, and adopt the best strategy in the world against the high cost of consumerism: avoiding it altogether.

Robert G. Yetman, Jr.  Contributing Editor – www.ChristianMoney.com

Here is the original:
Safeguard Your Money and Your Mind By Adopting a Simpler Life NOW!

The following is the story of how my wife Kim, my best friend Larry Clark and I, began our journey from broke, to rich, to retired in less than 10 years.

When Kim and I started, we were nearly out of money and filled with doubt. We all have doubts. The difference is what we do with those doubts.  In December 1984,  Kim,  Larry and I were on a skiing holiday. 

At night we would discuss our plans for the future. Kim and I were on our last few dollars and Larry was in the process of building another business. On New Years Day, we tried to set some goals. Larry wanted to do more than just set goals for the coming year, he wanted us to set goals that changed our lives.

“Why don’t we write a plan on how we can all become financially free?” he urged.

I had talked about it and dreamt about it. But the idea of being financially free was always in the future, not today.

“Let’s write it down,” Larry said. “Once we write it down, we have to do it, and we’ll support each other on the journey.”

Kim and I looked at each other doubtfully. “It’s a good idea but I think I would rather just focus on surviving for the next year.”

“Come on,” said Larry. “Let’s go for freedom. I don’t want to spend my life working just to pay bills. I want to live. I want to be rich. I want to travel the world while I’m young enough to enjoy it.”

I recalled the words of my rich dad: “The biggest challenge you have is your own self-doubt and your laziness. It is your self-doubt and your laziness that define and limit  who you are. It is your self-doubt and laziness that deny you the life you want.”

It was time to choose. “OK, let’s set the goal to be financially free.” That was New Year’s Day 1985. In 1994 Kim and I were free. Larry went on to build his company, which became one of Inc. Magazine’s fastest growing companies of the year in 1996. Larry retired in 1998 at the age of 46 after selling his company.

How did we do it?

It’s not about how we did it. It’s about why we did it. From 1985 to 1994, Kim, Larry, and I focused on rich dad’s three paths to great wealth:
-  Increasing business skills
-  Increasing money management skills
-  Increasing investment skills

The why is because I wanted to challenge my own self-doubts, my laziness and my past. It was the why that gave us the power to do the how.

My arguments against Larry’s idea were things like: “But we don’t have any money”; “I can’t do that”; “I’ll think about it next year, or once Kim and I get settled”.

Rich dad had told me: “Whenever someone says something like ‘I can’t afford it’, or ‘I can’t do it’ to something they want, they have a big problem. Why in the world would someone say ‘I can’t afford it’ or ‘I can’t do it’ to something they want? Why would someone deny themselves the things they want? It makes no logical sense.”

My own whys
I was fed up with being broke and always struggling for money.
I was tired of being average.
My parents had struggled under a mountain of bills.
Most painful of all, my beautiful wife Kim was in this financial mess because she loved me.

Things got worse for us before they got better. Kim and I lived in a car for about three weeks after our money ran out. So things did not get better just because we made the decision to retire rich, but it was the reasons why that kept us going.

Rich dad used to say: “If you want something, be passionate. Passion gives energy to your life.” Passion is a combination of love and hate. “If you want something you do not have, find out why you love what you want and why you hate not having what you want. When you combine those two thoughts, you will find the energy to go get anything you want.”

For example, I would create the following list:
LOVE
Being rich
Being free
Buying anything I want
Expensive things
Having other people do what I don’t want to do

HATE
Being poor
Being required to work
Not having what I want
Cheap things
Doing things I don’t want to do

So sit quietly to find and define your loves and hates. Then write down your whys. Write down your dreams, goals and plans on becoming financially free, retiring early and retiring as young as possible. Once it is in writing, you may want to show it to a friend who will support you in achieving your dreams. Take a look at this paper with your dreams, goals and plans on a regular basis. Talk about it often, ask for support, be willing to continually learn, and before you know it, things will begin to happen.

I have heard many people say: “Money doesn’t buy happiness.” That statement has some truth to it. But what money does do is buy me the time to do what I love and pay other people to do what I hate doing.

Go here to read the rest:
Become rich and retire young

I have been laid off for seven months and am having trouble making my mortgage payments. I’ve seen a lot of ads from companies that offer to help with mortgage restructuring. Are they legitimate?

Maybe. Maybe not. Crooks respond to headlines and trends. When it became apparent that many Americans were having trouble paying their mortgages, the scam artists seized the opportunity to offer their own form of “help.” But instead of getting homeowners out of mortgage trouble, these crooks take your money and run — or may even take your home.

You may find them by reading a compelling ad or receiving a convincing phone call. Their tactics are varied and clever. Sometimes they search through the government’s public foreclosure documents and send you a personalized letter offering to help you save your home. The scam artists may offer to negotiate with your lender — then run off with your money instead.

In some of the worst cases, they may deceive you by claiming the documents you’re signing are to restructure the terms of your existing mortgage, but instead you unwittingly transfer the title of your house to the scam artists. Another ploy is to ask you to surrender the title and remain in the home as a renter, then buy it back over several years — but the contracts include outrageous buyback terms that make it nearly impossible for you to get your house back. Or they offer to find a buyer for your home and share the profits with you, but only if you sign over the deed and move out.

Beware of companies or individuals that charge a fee to enroll you in a government program to help you with your mortgage. You can do that yourself for free. Some may be out to steal your money; others are looking to gather important information to steal your identity.

Housing-related scams have become such a big problem that federal and state agencies started working together to crack down on the crooks. The Federal Trade Commission recently surveyed online and print advertising for mortgage-foreclosure rescue operations and identified 71 separate companies running suspicious ads, and states have brought more than 150 enforcement actions against mortgage-rescue companies. The FTC recently warned homeowners to avoid businesses that:

• Guarantee to stop the foreclosure process — no matter what your circumstances.
• Advise you not to contact your lender, lawyer, or credit or housing counselor.
• Collect a fee before providing any services.
• Accept payment only by cashier’s check or wire transfer.
• Encourage you to lease your home so you can buy it back over time.
• Tell you to make your mortgage payments directly to the business, rather than to your lender.
• Advise you to transfer your property deed or title.
• Offer to buy your house for cash at a fixed price that is not set by the housing market at the time of sale.
• Offer to fill out paperwork for you.
• Pressure you to sign papers you haven’t had a chance to read thoroughly or that you don’t understand.

But don’t despair. There are many sources of legitimate help. First, tell your lender that you’re having trouble making payments and find out if you can negotiate a new payment schedule. If that doesn’t work — or if you’re just nervous about approaching your mortgage company — contact a housing counselor approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, says Ted Beck, president and chief executive of the National Endowment for Financial Education. “Talk with them first so that you can get comfortable. They can give you guidance on how to get your information together and what assistance you might be eligible for — so you have a good, vetted source of information.” You can find a HUD-approved housing counselor in your area at the HUD Web site, or you can get help through the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (at www.995hope.org or by calling 888-995-HOPE).

For more information about the government’s new refinancing and loan-modification programs — including a valuable tool to help you see if you’re eligible for this assistance — go to MakingHomeAffordable.gov. This site also includes a lot of resources for people who don’t qualify for these government programs, and it provides alerts about recent mortgage-rescue scams. And check the FTC’s Scam Watch for information about all kinds of scams and how to report potential problems.

Keep in mind that the legitimate forms of help can take time. “Don’t assume this is going to be done over you lunch hour,” says Beck. You may need to prove hardship, prove your income and prove that you’re eligible for some of the government programs. “But if you can get all your information together, there may be some real potential for you if you qualify.” Be suspicious of anyone who promises otherwise.

Read the original post:
Mortgage Crisis Fuels Scams

Robert & Kim Kiyosaki will be appearing live in Sydney on 30-May to 1-June.

If you cannot or will not pay $600 to attend, at least we can get this “Wealth Accelerator Toolbox” for free.

It consists of 3 audio tracks and 3 video, with total running time of 3 hours.

If you’ve seen the billboards and visit www.richdadgift.com.au, you’ll be asked to register your personal details to access the goods. I have done that and it seems like the stuff are located in an open webpage.

So I thought I’ll post it up here so that no one else needs to register.

>> http://www.richdadgift.com.au/toolbox.php  <<

Just send me a ”Thank-You” note in the comment if you find this gift valuable.  Cheers.

Read the rest here:
Free Gifts : Robert Kiyosaki’s Wealth Accelerator Toolbox