If we allow ourselves to be perfectly honest, we have to admit that what worked for us financially in the past, doesn’t seem to be effective anymore.  Unemployment is at an all time high, the economy is dismal and the stock and real estate markets have imploded.  You likely know of someone who has either lost a great deal of money in the stock and real estate markets, or is perhaps on the verge of losing their job, or even their home.

Not too many people welcome change.  Most don’t respond well to it and it is very uncomfortable for them when they feel they are being forced to make a change in their lives.  These days, a persons comfort zone actually equates to their failure zone.  It might be difficult to do,  but most of us are going to have to step outside that comfort zone and make some major changes.

Think back to when you were in school.  How much education did you have on handling your finances.  I would venture to say that most of you received no financial education at all.   If you were lucky, you had parents who realized their responsibility and taught you everything they knew. Perhaps they showed you how to balance a checkbook and how to budget your monthly income.  If you did have parents like this, then you were one of the lucky ones.  Because of the strong influence parents have on their children, most kids just followed their parents example in how they handled their money.   If the parents lived from paycheck to paycheck, then the children  probably followed suit.

This limited financial education might have been enough during good times, but the good times are over and you are now probably feeling like you are groping around with a blindfold on, trying to make sense of it all. It seems like it has happened overnight, but for those in the know, there have been warning signs.  Those in the know, are actually able to benefit financially from this economic downturn but they are a very small minority.

However, as the saying goes “it’s never too late to learn”.  You don’t have to have a University education to understand the fundamentals to enable you to take charge of your financial future.

Robert Kiyosaki, the author of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” and “Rich Dad’s Prophecy”, has been writing for over 10 years now, delivering the financial education message as vocally as he possibly can.   He started to learn about the world of finance as a very young child and he is a strong advocate for financial education in the school systems.  He is a perfect example of the fact that it is never too early to start educating our children about money matters.  Even more significantly for most of us, it is never too late to begin our financial education.

I highly recommend that you read these two books by Robert Kiyosaki.  They will be a good start to your journey of learning how to move ahead in 2009, making the right financial decisions that will serve you well in the future.

www.GetAlkalizedWithKangen.com

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The following are some statistics that have been reported in the news media.  If you take this at face value, then you are going to feel that your future looks grim indeed.  Keep on reading, because there is some good news later on.

1. Total consumer debt is growing 23 times faster than the entire U.S. economy;
2. The savings rate in the U.S. has dipped into the negative…something that hasn’t happened since the great depression in 1932;
3. The U.S. Dollar has lost half of its value in the past 10 years;
4. The unemployment rate has taken the biggest jump since 1986;
5. The magazine, USA Today, recently reported that the greatest fear in America today, is running out of money before retirement.

We have always been a three tier society.  We have had the rich, the middle class and the poor with us for as long as we can remember.  However, the experts like Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki are telling us that we are heading for a two tier society.  The middle class will be a thing of the past.

I know this doesn’t sound encouraging, but now for the good news!!

We are in fact headed for a time when during the next 10 years there are going to be more millionaires created that at any other time in history.  Paul Zane Pilzer, who was economic advisor to two U.S. Presidents, is quoted as saying “We’re witnessing nothing less than a millionaire population explosion in the 21st century….”

These same experts tell us that if we want to be one of the new millionaires we should start a home-based business.  The start-up costs are usually quite small…especially when compared to starting a brick and mortar business.  There are literally thousands to choose from.  I have found the one that works for me and I intend to be one of  the the new millionaires that are coming along during the next few years.  Why don’t you join me?

http://www.GetAlkalizedWithKangen.com

http://www.YouTube.com/1jinny

We have been lulled into thinking that we understand our investments and we have been living with a false sense of security.  The Congressional Budget Office has stated that as of October 07, 2008 retirement plans have lost as much as $2 trillion over 15 months. Some of them have lost in excess of 20% of their value.

This has many workers wondering how they are going to be able to retire.  They thought they were going to be set for life when they retired, but now they wonder how they are going to be able to afford to retire at all.  They are realizing that in actual fact, they knew next to nothing about being an investor.

We are headed for a major economical disaster, but we still have time to take corrective action.  It’s not too late to get a handle on your finances and make some intelligent decisions.

http://www.GetAlkalizedWithKangen.com

http://www.youtube.com/1jinny

Continued from previous BLOG

I should just mention that people that are receiving pensions prior to the enactment of ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act…which made 401ks possible) are receiving their pensions under a Defined Benefit Plan.  It defines the dollar amount a person would receive upon retirement and that figure is a constant.  Some lucky people even have a COLA (Cost of Living Allowance) built in and their pension can increase each year, if the cost of living goes up.  These are the lucky ones.  Most of us are now locked into a ‘contribution’ plan as opposed to a ‘benefit’ plan.

Just think about that for a moment!  We are going to have millions of people selling off everything because they have to under the law.  The Government has been patiently waiting for their tax dollars and this will be the time to collect.  We all know that if there are more sellers than buyers, the market has to go down and it is going to drop fast and furious when this time comes.

Most people already know that they are in deep financial trouble but they don’t realize the full impact.  They are still being told that as long as they diversify they will be fine.  They are being told to sit tight and ride it out, because the markets always eventually go back up again.  The financial scene of this world has changed drastically.  Warren Buffet is quoted as saying “Diversification is a protection against ignorance.  It makes very little sense for those that know what they are doing”.

The answer is financial education.  It’s not too late to get a handle on your finances and make some intelligent decisions.  Seek out the education you need to fully undertstand your financial position and that will enable you to make prudent decisions to ensure your future financial security.

http://www.GetAlkalizedWithKangen.com

http://www.youtube.com/1jinny

I am not a financial advisor, but I did have investments that I saw ‘going down the toilet’ and it concerned me greatly.  As a person with very little investment experience, I felt the need to search for satisfactory answers.

I always find it interesting that when you diligently look for something, the answer invariably appears, and so it was with my search.  I was led to a book written by Robert T. Kiyosaki called Rich Dad’s Prophecy.  I had read Rich Dad Poor Dad a few times but that was the only Robert Kiyosaki book I had ever read.  I immediately purchased a copy and what I learned was one of the biggest eye openers I have ever experienced.

We are all aware of the cyclical nature of the stock market.  We expect it to go up, down and sideways.  However, in the long term we always expect to see a gradual incline.  When we look at a graph we can see the little dips but for the most part, we see an upward motion.

A major part of the problem is that by the year 2016, the first of the 75 million baby boomers in the U.S. will be turning 70.   Most of us are aware of the possible drain on the Government coffers but that’s not the whole story.  A great percentage of these people have money in a 401k.  They are going to be obligated to take out their money by the time they reach age 70.5 years of age.  As most of these people have their pension money in a Defined Contribution Plan (a plan where the amount you receive is not cast in stone; the amount in the plan is always fluctuating based on the stock market) it will mean that they will have to sell all the mutual funds or bonds, or whatever they have in their portfolio, lock, stock and barrel.

to be con’t in next BLOG;

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