Check this little peice of information.

The effects of the sunken economy are found in pockets here and there where I live in Orange County, California.  People out of jobs were typically related to jobs or services in the real estate market and especially the  x-mortgage brokers that had the rug pulled out from under them. At least that is how it started. Now we all have brothers, sisters, friends that are lost or have been losing their jobs.

Now it is rippling into every segment of the population and nobody is really immune to it’s effects and fallout. There are many people who are and have been “drinking the president’s Koolaid” when getting their 10 minutes of news when they come home from work and are running their lives as usual.  Then there are the ones like us that read and filter through, understanding that this is not going to go away anytime soon and we all do our part to tighten our belts and also help others. Our stock market is temporarily being propped up, but a downturn is eminent.

The auto industry is the next major one to really unravel.  The silent Giant, Ford has been working away at some very cool and gas efficient models that will probably keep them afloat with the near death of GM and Chrysler.  I have family that is floundering in the auto industry and there are very mixed emotions on where they will be in 6 months or for that matter, 3 months from today.

Those of you who are fortunate enough to have a solid financial life, I urge you to identify a friend or a co-worker that is trying but not making it or is having a time of it. How do you help? Send them a few bucks, make an anonymous bank deposit, make a meal, counsel, pay for something they need as part of their daily lives, get creative, but help. If each of us do our part in our own circle of friends and family, we can really make a difference.

You may be thinking, “how can my help really affect others?” You never know that your encouragement can keep that dad or mom from doing something drastic or having to go without. I am torn between helping others in other countries but I come back right her in our own backyard with people who need our help and attention. It does not take much.

I have been given a gift with the ability to spot a person of family in pain or that needs help. Ever walked by a person that is crying or just looks sad? Do you know what you can do for that person if you asked “are you alright? Is there anything I can do for you?.

Put yourself in their position and it will not be difficult to come up with some ideas you can help others. Ego…? This is not about how good you can feel so keep your blessings to your immediate family and don’t boast of what you have done, it will spoil the gift and sometimes really embarrass the person or family you are helping. Keep it on the down-low.

How does this help you? Indirectly it does because in the process of helping others, it affects how you view the world and others, typically for the better. Get your kids and family involved. If you cannot help financially, help by being there for them, which can make a real difference.

When it happens anonymously  tell me how your helping others affected their lives and how you think you helped them. Don’t use names just speak in generalities.

One person or family at a time.

My heart goes out to the dealers that are being cut out of GM / Chrystler system.  As a Corporation, I understant what the suits are thinking and this is a tough tough position all those dedicated hard working people.

I have worked with a franchise and cannot imagine spending many years building the business and the brand and then getting dumped. This move will add a nail in the coffin to the Brands.  I think they should have given the dealers some alternatives to being immediately out of business…. Like…

How bout they only support them if they have can run on their own and the car dealer sells them cars and does not carry any paper. The dealers may or may not be in a credit position to buy them but at least they have a choice over their own destiny. Charge the dealer a franchise fee so Corporate is not spending money allowing the Dealer to again make choices.

Nobody said it was going to be easy and I am not certain what the financial bleeding gain Corporate will have from these cuts, but I can assure you that they probably far outweight the trust and bad press that will proceed, having the buyers consider a foreign car or , better yet a Ford.

E

Well, i did not have time to make a video but I think that Montyorlee missed the point.  Reply to Monty

I do not think you heard that we closed our account and he is correct about closing the account would affect your equifax and credit rating reports.

Cutting the Credit Cards is part of the process. Take your own test and see how many married and living together couples do not co-mingle their accounts. Each one makes there own finance, most having between 3-10 grand in debt.

The cutting of the cards keeps them on the same financial page. Dave got us to use a monthly review of our expenses to use ONLY cash and to make an emergency and special savings.

With the job and economy crisis getting worse, reality is setting in. Living within your means is what Dave Ramsey is teaching, and having a CC card in your pocket can be hard for many.

Using a CC in hard financial times is like a person that has a eating disorder with lots of food in the fridge. It is almost impossible to do.

Last, Forget any of this advise if you are both not the same spending page and you do not discuss what you spend and save on a regular basis.

e

I know you have heard this before but why again is it we are bailing out the automakers?  If this was business on the street and an investor group was involved, I do not think they would loan them a dime.

The American car makers have pretty much had their head in the sand watching the “other guys” deliver what the public wants and needs, at a modest price.  Some of the “other guys” sell cars that are purchased at a premium and still we pay for it because of the forward thinking designs they produce, along with ridiculous reliability.

I am a Republican and I think Bush is blowing it by NOT sending the Clear message NOT to make any loan. Yes, there would be some real backlashes in all sectors of life and it could spiral us into a depression, but these guys waste more money and appear that they will to continue to do so.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the people could vote major issues like this? After all, it is our money the President and Congress is spending.

Weren’t we financially in trouble before this all started?

For what it is worth, I have said my peace.

e

I don’t know about you but every day that goes by I hear more and more ways that this 
$ 700 Billion dollar, with a “B”, bailout is being used. It is just another way for corporations to get money back their coffers, write down their debit, and still keep on doing the same thing, in different ways below the radar.

Who is going to regulate it the money at the Macro level?… nobody….. Joe, go back to work… 

I never drank the coolaid on this one when it was first proposed. I want to know what line I have to get into to get a piece of that? Joe The Plumber won’t see a dime of it and he is the one that needs it.

If my company spent money it did not have and made financially unsound decisions, I would go down the toilet and be in the bread line. Not in America at the ”Government – Corporate Level” 

I am certain that more effective placement and distribution of this money could be done. It is too much for one group of “Politician-types” to control and actually spend on Specific recovery related rescues then the “Umbrella” of policies that will direct money to the the wolves and crooks that should not get a second chance. 

Feel free to comment.

Bob Phibbs, www.RetailDoc.com,  a loyal and long time customer of our company, YourHost.com,  sent me this today and I liked it. In this clip, He was spuuuuuuing fresh air in a stale area room.

Imploding? We are imploding because everyone is ducking for cover. Get out from under your desk and take heed.

Check Bob’s Clip out -

E

Well,

As of around September 29th. to date, there are two positions that people are in.

1. Out of the Market Chillin
2. FETAL POSITION

It is looking pretty grim out there. People in the finance banking and real-estate community are acting as if they did not see it coming. A good businessman CFO, CEO, reviews it’s balance sheets and knows what is coming.

AIG really pissed me off. The arrogance of these people. It is clear that nobody is having critical strategy meetings, or “Ritz-Gate” would never had happened. Maybe it was already in the budget and they had a P.O…… kidding.

Next is the pompus arrogance of these CEO’s and Executives that do a bad job and get paid for it. My friend Wayne Slavitt, said it well and quote from his blog. waxingandwayneing.wordpress.com

Quote – “This is really simple to me. If I hire a professional painter to paint my house and the work is shoddy, I get my money back; I didn’t get what I bargained for with this individual. You don’t do your work, you don’t get paid. These executives did shoddy work and now need to pay us back: Matter closed.The second reason I am so irritated at this situation is the lack of remorse of these executives. Have you heard any of them simply say, “I’m sorry”? Have any of these pompous managers issued any apology for what they have done—for the mess they created? If they have, I haven’t heard them.” end quote

No Main Street or ”Joe Six pack” business owner would give a guy a bonus for doing a poor job. Where does this mind set come from? Sometimes the Europeans do it right, for example, Mercedes Executive income is DIRECTLY tied to their sales success, with a $12 million cap. You won’t find any Wallstreet exectives falling over that job position.

As for Credit, families companies do not know how to operate any other way. My suggestion for families is to spend $200 bucks at DaveRamsey.com and get a reality check.

Trivia – As of 1:36 PST – Wallstreet News -
“We’re all watching the windows on Wall Street, Any second now people should start jumping”

For those of you who are worried about your investments, here’s a thought:

1.        If you had purchased $1,000.00 of Delta Air Lines stock one year ago you would have $49.00 left.

2.        With Enron, you would have had $16.50 left of the original $1,000.00.

3.        With WorldCom, you would have had less than $5.00 left.

4.        If you had purchased $1,000.00 worth of beer one year ago, drank all of the beer, then turned in the cans for the aluminum recycling REFUND, you would have $214.00 cash.

Based on the above, the best current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle. It’s called the 401-Keg.

Everyone has this problem and only a few take action. Today…We cut-up every credit card we own to free us of the credit card bondage.