View Point

A lot of folks are experiencing distress as a result of the financial meltdown. Loss of a job, home or business are traumatic events and most disheartening. Yet if we pause to think about it, folks living in America have so much to be thankful for. Consider that upwards of a quarter of the worlds population lives in poverty and a third lack access to the basic necessity of safe drinking water.

The way we look at things really does make a difference. The media knows bad news sells so most of their focus in on the negative. Our nation has survived and prospered in the face of Revolution, Civil Divide, Economic Depression and World Wars. Thus the challenge is one of shifting our attention away from negative events toward uplifting thoughts and positive actions in our daily lives.

                                                       Roger L. Caron

Financial Fantasy

The odds against winning the lottery are astronomical, yet a lot of folks plunk down hard earned cash in hopes of instant riches. Single state lottery odds are about 18 million to 1, and multiple state lotteries have odds as high as 120 million to 1. Even so, as many as one in three people in America think playing the lottery is the only way to become financially independent.

In reality there is a greater chance of being struck and killed by lightning, or meeting one's demise in a commercial airplane, than winning a lottery jackpot. Spending a buck or two on occasion for entertainment is one thing ... viewed as the  means to financial salvation is fantasy.

                                                      Roger L. Caron

Perspective

What you see as you drive down the street in an up scale neighborhood can be illusory, due to debt. A lot of people who live in those expensive homes don’t really own them. They may be indebted for the house, the furnishings and automobiles in the driveway. If their income were disrupted, even briefly, it would all disappear. While the residents may enjoy substantial incomes, they are frequently burdened by high expenses. The point being ... “It’s not what you make that matters, but rather what you keep that counts.”

                                                      Roger L. Caron

Money & Matrimony

According to Bride Magazine, the average total wedding cost in 2010 was $19,000. An amount viewed as reasonable or outrageous depending on a couples resources, and who is actually paying the bill. Special occasions can and should call for reasonable expenditures consistent with means. That said ... getting hitched can be an expensive proposition in more ways than one.

Assume a couple pares their wedding expenditures by a modest ten percent. Then redirect the savings toward long term investment where it could morph to a sum many times greater than the initial expense. The point is not about being pecuniary, but rather to illustrate how minor adjustments can render major outcomes. For in a real sense the true expense of the union, sans a bit of discretion, could run to six figures ... taking into account potential lost opportunity costs.

                                                           Roger L. Caron

   Save and Grow Rich 

According to Thomas Stanley's book, The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy, only 20% of millionaires inherited their money. Most millionaires didn't get their wealth overnight when a rich relative died … they worked for their money. The other 80% are first generation millionaires. More often than not regular folks who lived within their means, saved and invested long term, to achieve financial independence.
                                                                                              Roger L. Caron

Secret to Wealth

"There is no secret ... wealth comes to those who plan, save and invest. It doesn’t happen by accident. There are only two ways to make money: people at work and money at work. When you save a portion of your income, you begin to reap the rewards of money at work. The key is to earn interest ... not pay interest! Very few people become wealthy overnight. There are no shortcuts, it requires both discipline and time."

                                                             Roger L. Caron

Credit Card Barrage

According to a recent report, American households received 640 million credit card offers by mail during the second quarter of last year. An 83 percent increase over the previous quarter when lenders sent out 349 million offers. With some major banks tripling mail solicitations.

The report went on to say more than One Billion credit card offers were sent out in a recent six month period. 71 percent of the solicitations contained an introductory offer of some kind. The highest percentage in the 22 years the data has been tracked.

                                                                          Roger L. Caron