Are You Prepared For You and Yours?

We are living in very volatile times. I believe they are very scary times if you ask me. Not just because of the domestic problems we could face in this country as evidenced in the video clip below, but because of the New World Order that people in high positions all around the world want to impose on us.

China just came out and stated that we need to “De-Americanize the world”. If talk like that isn’t scary then I don’t know what is. This global change will happen through financial meltdown and chaos. It won’t be fought via war (although that could still happen) because America is still by far the strongest military power. But, that could easily change if our currency collapses.

This is meant to wake people up. Many of the problems we face are leviathans and will happen no matter what we do now but there are still things we can do. There are things that can be done to prepare when **** really does hit the fan.

Buy some gold and silver. Buy canned food and water. Buy a generator. Buy extra gasoline. Buy some guns.

Know how to use these items and how to store them. You should have these regardless. Hopefully, you NEVER have to use them because of collapse but what if a natural disaster hits your area?

Are you prepared for your family?

FInancial End Times?

Education Is The Destroyer Of Slavery

This decade is going to prove to be very volatile. The world is teetering on the edge of a cliff. There are things you can do and there is hope!

You MUST get educated! That is the most important thing you can do. No one can tell you exactly what do. Each situation is different and you must educate yourself and devise your own plan.

The world’s demise could be your biggest opportunity!

Why Gold and Silver Are SO Important

This site is run by one of my favorite mentors, Mike Maloney. He is phenomenal at education and informing people about the upcoming storms.

You can find pretty much anything you need to know on his site. Plus he regularly talks about other people he looks up to and learns from!

Enjoy!

The Death Of The American Dream

Financial Education Blog

Why the Impending Financial Crisis is Creating a New America

Posted July 23, 2013  By Robert Kiyosaki

I believe that the American Dream is dying because many of us have lost our moral compasses. Our schools are not fulfilling the educational needs of our students, nor are they being kept safe. We see so many kids, especially from poor neighborhoods, who turn to street crime and violence.

Rich dad often said, “Needy people become greedy people. Greedy people become desperate people. And desperate people do desperate things.”

The greatest gift my rich dad gave me was showing me both sides of the Employee-Entrepreneur coin. He exposed me to the life of an entrepreneur and offered me an environment in which entrepreneurial thinking could thrive. Today, I do not need a job, a steady paycheck, money, bonuses, government support, or Social Security and Medicare.

Financial independence

The Rich Dad Company propelled Kim and me into financial independence. We do not need paychecks. We work because we love our work, sharing what we know so others can also grow and prosper.

While we make a lot of money, most of that money does not go into our pockets. Most of the money is spent on growing the company, investing in new and better technology, more people, and new product development. That is what true capitalists do.

But Kim and I are the exception, not the rule. Today, in America, we have a growing problem. People are becoming increasingly dependent on the government as the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen.

The rich are getting richer

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the increase in incomes between 1979 and 2007 in the United States looked like this:

Poor: Income grew 18% over 30 years
Middle Class: Income grew 40% over 30 years
Rich: Income grew 275% over 30 years

Then in 2007, the bottom fell out when the boom went bust. Today, incomes for the middle class and poor have stopped going up, yet the rich seem to be getting richer faster.

In 2011, the number of Americans living in poverty grew to 46.2 million people. That translates to approximately 1 in 6 Americans who now live in poverty, and that number is growing. When a person has no property, they join the ranks of the poor and become dependent upon the government to take care of them. Oftentimes this leads to increased violence, both on the streets and in our homes.

Students on food stamps

Nearly 47 million Americans rely on federal food assistance benefits (food stamps), a 12-year high attributed to the weak US economy and high rates of unemployment over the last five years.

A lesser-known fact is that college students are among the fastest-growing segment of our economy to rely on food stamps. As tuition fees go up and financial aid opportunities vanish—and parents who were once a source of financial support have lost jobs or homes and become ineligible for college loans for their children—students have had to fend for themselves.

The next poor

Are teachers headed for the ranks of the poor?

In 2011, the California State Teachers Retirement System, CalSTRS, realized it faced a long-term deficit of $56 billion. A deficit is the gap between assets and estimated
liabilities.

CalSTRS collects $6 billion a year, but needs $10 billion each year to meet its obligations. A shortfall of more than $4 billion a year is a lot of money, especially for government bureaucrats who do not know how to invest or how to make money.

If the California teacher’s retirement plan goes bust, the taxpayers will be stuck with yet another massive bailout. Worst of all, millions of teachers will slide from the middle class and join the poor.

Again, repeating the words of John Bogle: “The whole retirement system…in the country is in, I think, very poor shape and it’s going to be the next big financial crisis in the country….”

The new America

All of these statistics translate to one thing: the American Dream of go to school, get a good job, buy a house, andinvest in a portfolio of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds is dying. Financial crises are creating a new America. Today, the middle class is disappearing and the gap between the rich and the poor is growing.

For some, this is discouraging. Many people choose each day to give up on their dreams and to be increasingly dependent on the government. They give up their freedom for security—though if CalSTRS is any indication, that’s not security at all.

In today’s new America, there are only two options: increase your financial education and learn to create your own wealth by playing by the rules of the rich, or become poorer and poorer and rely on the government and the rich to take care of you.

Which sounds more secure to you?

I fear our financial crises will only continue to grow. The rules of money have changed and you must adapt. Today, I encourage you to first come to grips with the new America and then to resolve to do something about it.

By increasing your financial education and starting a business or investing, you can set yourself up to thrive while others struggle to survive. Start today.

If You Take On Risk, You MUST Get Paid

Debt and risk usually go hand in hand. But making sure you are paid for taking risk is not always something one thinks about.

When most think of investing they think of RISK or GAMBLE.

This is not true with a financial education.

You can begin to see how the more investing and/or debt you use the more wealthy you can get.

By adding good debt (a rental unit that someone else pays the mortgage for) you can begin expanding and creating wealth.

If you are taking on a debt you MUST be paid for it. This is making profit in the acquisition of a deal rather than the sell of a deal. A deal must be profitable right away or it is useless. You cannot hope the market changes or that you might get renters. Everything has to be under control when you buy the property.

Same goes with stocks or any other asset class. Leveraging yourself, infinite returns and insurance on your assets is the name of the game.

Most will not take the time to become educated in money. It’s not important enough to them. If that is you, that is fine. But for those who take it seriously, there is a world of financial education waiting to be had.

The game is stacked against you. You can keep getting the game played on you or you can play the game. It’s your move.

Be Prepared

Preparation is something of a dirty word in certain areas of life, and other areas it is highly applauded – culturally speaking.

If you are buying home insurance or life insurance people will not bat an eye at you. Heck, buying car insurance is mandatory and you are in big trouble if you are found not to have any.

Then you hear people talk about money insurance or food insurance…wait, no you don’t.

Why don’t you?

The people who do talk about these things are often labeled crazy or “preppers”.

First, lets take a look at those terms and what they mean.

Food Insurance: is either storing canned food/dried food and water.

Money Insurance: is converting your fiat currency in to things of value like commodities – gold, silver, rice, grain, sugar, oil, etc..

If insurance is something that our society seeks – Medicare, Medicaid, Welfare, car insurance, home insurance, etc. then why are people who prepare to keep their money and stay alive shunned and labeled “crazy”?

To me, I believe it is something that the media and modern culture have rammed down our throats. They label people as “preppers” and extreme for actions that in the end will either directly save your life or protect and expand your wealth.

I believe we can find our answer in history as well. Government does what it can to seek power. They ALWAYS have and ALWAYS will. The people who generally seek those positions are people who want power and the government is a great way to take advantage of that. Fortunately, now, there are a lot of people who have sought office and will continue to seek office because of a calling to serve the people of this country and return it to the accountable and responsible government laid out in our founding documents.

Roosevelt did it, he sought power and won. Not by winning elections but by confiscating gold from the citizens. He brought the power to the federal government from the states possibly more than any other President in American history. He stole wealth and made people like it. The government increased its money creating capacity exponentially under Roosevelt, not to mention the social programs he constructed which we are feeling the effects of today like Social Security.

This is what government does effectively – steal your wealth and keep you dependent. I truly believe they ridicule gold and silver investors and food savers because they want you totally dependent on them. If everyone is prepared for disasters than who needs government? Government does not want that, that means less money coming in and fewer votes – less power.

That is why they always want to tax you more. Speaking of that, inflation is a constant tax. The government is stealing your wealth and many people do not even realize it.

America’s problem is our apathy and our memory. Most Americans don’t remember all the recessions our country has had nor do they believe any of these bad things we see happening all around the world can happen here. I hate to break it everyone but they CAN and they WILL if we continue to implement the same failing strategies.

This is exactly why it is imperative that people wake up and become prepared. We are on our way to $20 trillion in debt. Baby Boomers are just starting to retire and the programs they depend on for retirement are already on their way to bankruptcy, not good! The dollar has lost 95% of its purchasing power since Nixon took us off the gold standard in 1971. The Federal Reserve is approving Quantitative Easing (printing money) every month for the foreseeable future. Our credit rating will come in to question again as to whether we can make good on our debts.

The list goes on and on. That list is not good. That list should tell you a few things; you need to get educated and you need to get prepared. Find out what government is doing with the money you give them. Then you need to take action. The dollar will collapse, most likely in this decade.

What will you do about your money? Do you really think that paper assets are the way to go right now?

What will you do if a natural disaster hits or an economic disaster?

These are important questions to ask yourself.

Having car insurance, home insurance, and Medicare aren’t going to matter when you know what hits the fan. Get prepared and educated and start your path toward independence.

Get the insurances that you will really need. You will sleep better now and then!

Blackjack Rule: Playing With House Money

Investing is a mystery to most people. To most it seems like a gamble. When I was younger I know that whenever I would hear the word, investing, I would automatically think gamble.

To most you would be correct to assume that.

To the individuals who study and learn continually and read the books that are available to all of us, you begin to realize its more about control than it is about gambling.

Knowledge is the key to life. And reading is the key to knowledge. Anything you want to learn about is right down the road at your local library and for many of you it’s one click away on your iPad or tablet.

There is a simple rule to live by while investing: play with the house’s money.

You should always be getting something for free or using something for free in any investment deal.

When investing money in the stock market, put your initial investment in and then take it out as soon as your investment grows beyond what you initially put in. This way you are using house money.

When selling real estate make sure you roll that profit in to another bigger and better investment known as a “1031 exchange”. This way you do not have to pay a capital gains tax, you are using the money tax-free for a larger investment.

Using OPM (Other People’s Money) or debt is another way to use house money. When you know how to use credit and loans (OPM) on assets not on liabilities (bad debt) then you are using the house’s money.

There are many ways to use the game and have it play in your favor. It is up to you to study the language of money and find out how to make it work for you.

Making debt work for you and making the tax system work for you are two of the most important things you can do to attain true wealth. Currency is debt now so you might as well get good at making it work in your favor rather than keep you poor paying interest your whole life.

The choice is yours.

A Theory About Cyprus

This may be a month or so after the bank deposit raid that took place in Cyprus but it is STILL relevant because it hasn’t happened here yet, but will in due time.

I believe one of the big reasons it got such little media coverage in the western world is because that is the plan going forward here. The media dictates what they think the public can handle – just like the government gives you just enough money left over for what it thinks you need to live on.

I think the biggest reason for this silencing of the raid was due in large part because the heavy-hitters are not ready to show their cards yet. We are on the “turn” and the powers-that-be are not ready for the “river” quite yet. They are still gathering all the gold and silver they can find and stashing it away while the public blindly believes that the economy is on the road back to recovery. I mean hey look, the Dow is well over 15,000 and continually setting new highs, right?

We have seen ebbs and flows, recessions and depressions before, but we have never seen anything like what is coming in the future; an economic collapse on a global scale.

All the past hiccups were between only a handful of countries. Now, nearly every country in the world minus some African countries are involved in this debacle. Add to that, this is one of the first times the gold and silver market has had such a massive audience.

When things start hitting the fan people will ultimately turn to the world’s only real money: gold and silver. When they do its going to be the same gold and silver we have been trading around for thousands of years. Yes, we have obviously mined more in that time but the quantity still remains fairly low – a little over 5 billion ounces.

To put that in to perspective, we are about $17 trillion in debt as a country alone. Then you look at the world and we are on the hook for quadrillions of dollars in derivatives. See, governments can print money, they can’t print gold and silver.

When it all comes crashing down you are looking at nearly the same quantity of gold and silver being ravaged by a consumer base hundreds of millions of people larger than the last bubble in 1980.

Talk about a bidding war.

We are going to see prices in the stratosphere for people who want to preserve their wealth and not be totally wiped out by the reset that WILL take place.

And it WILL happen.

We are printing $85 billion a month, have been for years and will continue to do so for another 2 years. This makes the money you have worth less and less each day, don’t believe me just watch:

What has the price of gas been since 2008?

What has the price of milk been since 2008?

What has the price of sugar, wheat, rice, etc. been since 2008?

This isn’t something that happened because of which President came to power in the last few years. I mean some helped more than others. But George W. Bush and Barack Obama were focused on bailing the “too-big-to-fail” guys out while you were footing the bill.

This really started once we created the Federal Reserve in 1913 (Woodrow Wilson) and compounded it with Social Security (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and Medicare/Medicaid (Lyndon Baines Johnson) and then ultimately coming unhinged when the U.S. (Richard Nixon) took the world off the gold standard.

This is when savers became losers and debtors began to win.

Financial education will help you through this mess and give you a fighting chance to survive the decade or two of turmoil we have ahead of ourselves.

 

Some recommended books to start off your education:

“Why ‘A’ Students Work For ‘C’ Students and ‘B’ Students Work For The Government” by Robert Kiyosaki

“The Creature From Jekyll Island” by G. Edward Griffin

The Market & Cycles – Why We Must Crash & Burn

Well said…let’s hope the young ones can figure it out in time.

Armstrong Economics

One Response regarding this problem that we must crash and burn states that this “is somewhat of a paradox though, see some people, not so conflicted by their personal conscience (against obedience to authority / control ), but influenced by their uncertainty and/or lack of confidence. obviously, not all people are the same. Guess for the higher circumscribed step, to a world Government, should always pass through crash and burn stages, as history dictates, can never take the step smoothly:) ?

ANSWER: This is what makes cycles function. (1) there is the overall cycle of the economy such as the ECM, (2) then there are the cycles of individual markets that each has its own unique frequency like DNA, and finally (3) each of us has a personal cycle of life through which we pass, mature, and hopefully learn from our mistakes.

We all have our individual cycle of life…

View original post 169 more words

You Are Being Screwed: Currency vs. Money

Until a couple of years ago I had no idea what the difference was between these two things; currency and money. Can any of you tell what the difference between the two is?

After months upon months of studying I finally realized the difference. The difference is; one is screwing you and the other is not. Simple as that.

The better question is, ‘who is screwing you?’ I bet you will NEVER guess. No, wait, you probably already answered correctly. Yes, the government is screwing you over. Hard to believe, heh? That same U.S. government that is nearly $17 trillion in debt is the one stealing your wealth. Couldn’t be, right?

The U.S. Dollar has lost about 95% of its purchasing power since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913. Fractional reserve banking and the credit/loan system we have set up is the governments way of stealing your wealth away from you without you even batting your eye. Heck, we have $17 trillion in debt and single digit approval ratings in congress yet we still vote the EXACT same people in over and over again. So why would you notice the government stealing away your money?

Most have their money sitting banks thinking they are collecting interest; have their money in CD’s or mutual funds which give them rates well below inflation. YOU ARE LOSING MONEY AND LIKING IT. That’s what the bank is telling you and you sit there and take it because you don’t know better. It’s not totally your fault; you weren’t taught this in school and your parents didn’t teach you. This is why 96% of the people make 3% of the money. It is up to YOU to educate yourself. Why would you give your money away to someone else to take care of it for you? You are the only one who cares the most about your money.

Knowing the cycles of wealth – real estate, stocks, commodities – will give you the ultimate freedom. Trusting that your government is going to take care of your money and provide your retirement is the surest way to collapse. You will find yourself in the end, caving on your principles because you are so desperate for a decent living from the government. We saw it in the Weimar Republic in Germany which gave birth to Hitler, and we could see it here if we keep down this path.

Expecting everyone else and the government to take care of you is not what made this country exceptional. What made this country exceptional was citizens finding a better way and trusting in the themselves, not in their government. What we see now is the American people giving up on themselves.

Just as in school, in life, you MUST do your own homework. The government only tells you what you want to hear. You must sift through the garbage being told to you everyday. YOU are the only one that can look out for yourself and your family. Government CANNOT do that. They will NEVER be able to. The Boston Marathon attacks should once again be proof of that. You must take responsibility for your safety, your finances, and your future.

In the end, we must not get caught up in the “money” lie. We use fiat currency, known as dollars. “Money” is only gold and silver, that’s it. It is unconstitutional to have notes that aren’t backed by gold and that is exactly the situation we find ourselves in. Governments all around the world do this and the currencies they use ALWAYS fail. They have a 100% failure rate throughout history. The dollar WILL collapse – most likely this decade; and I would bet during Obama’s Presidency. Anyone who tells you differently either is talking blindly or they are up to no good.

There is a pattern all governments go through and the United States is NO different. To not think so is to ensure your demise. We are no different from any other country/government in the world. We used to be different, but we haven’t seen the likes of that in over a century. Looking at this list will give you an idea of where we are in the progression of the decline of empires.

Scary. Time to get studying.

The seven steps to collapse of societies:

1) Government starts with good money backed by gold and silver

2) Government grows, takes on more burdens (social programs, etc.)

3) Funds a massive military

4) Involved in wars, expenditures explode

5) To fund wars, government steals people’s wealth (fiat currency)

6) Expansion of currency with massive inflation, money printing, loss of faith

7) A move from currency to metals, currency collapses, wealth transferred to those who prepared

“Nanny State” – Coming To A Government Near You…Unless You Have The Answers!

It is astonishing to see liberal talking heads back Obama’s jobs bill, and more specifically the tax hikes on “rich people”. Has anyone looked up the definition of Socialism lately?

so·cial·ism

[soh-shuh-liz-uh-m] -noun

1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the

means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.

3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by

the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

WOW! This is right out of the playbook.

Controlling the production of capital: This is exactly what happened with the Solyndra scandal. Government is not a venture capitalist and when it becomes one, it always fails. Pushing through loans and trying to make a company work is not something governments can do because they have no vested interest. They use taxpayers’ money and have no accountability for the share holders. On the other hand, an investor wants his company to succeed so he/she doesn’t go bankrupt. So he/she will take the necessary steps to make the most product at the least cost. This is how Capitalism works, and why it has worked so well for over 230 years.

It is so beyond scary to see so many news anchors, commentators, union leaders, political leaders, and Presidents back this idea of taking from the rich and redistributing the wealth to the poor. It has been tried in countless countries and failed each time. No, I take that back. It has succeeded overwhelmingly at its intended purpose; overthrowing governments and giving the power to emerging dictators – see #3 on definition of socialism.

Also beware of people like Stephen Lerner who advocate unrest and overthrow of our systems.

You have heard Obama claim that all Americans need to pay their fair share of taxes. Well what exactly is the fair share? Does one man have the power to decide whats fair? A quick look at the data from 2008 – not much has changed in two years – and you will notice that the top 1% of taxpayers earn about 20% of all the adjusted gross income but pay nearly 40% of the taxes. While the bottom 50% of taxpayers earn about 12.75% and pay just under 3% of the total income taxes. While the bottom 47% or 48% DONT PAY ANY FEDERAL INCOME TAXES. Doesn’t that seem reversed? In the business world you want incentives to make more, not make less, so you can pay less taxes. This is where our country is distorted. There isn’t as much incentive to do well because so much of your money is taken and given to people who don’t work as hard and educate themselves. Many know they can just float through life, be a bad student, bad worker, etc., and have the government (high income earners) pay their way through life; in the form of welfare, unemployment, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Most importantly, the means to become rich are so strapped by government rules and regulations, the American Dream is just that; a dream.

—–

I think that Churchill said it best.

“We contend that for a nation to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.” – Sir Winston Churchill

On that note, once you have identified the problem you need to lay out a solution. This is again where you will hear many media personalities claim that Republicans have no plan – even though they have submitted multiple this year alone only to be shot down or tabled in the Senate, or threatened by the President to receive a veto. Most famous were the Cut, Cap, and Balance plan and the Paul Ryan budget plans; reforming many plagued government programs.

This is a rough list of the ideas I have to spur economic super-growth in the private sector. The area where real prosperity is created.

1.) Cut taxes for everyone. Institute a flat tax, if you were to have an income tax, of say 15%. You then broaden the tax base to include the 50% of the country paying no federal income tax. Everyone pays 15% federal income tax. This would drastically increase “revenue”, which the Democrats talk about all the time now, as a cover for tax hikes. That would probably get rid of all the “unfair” talk we have going on between the President and the country, don’t you think?

2.) Better yet, just get rid of the income tax. This is a Keynesian approach, to bring down the skilled worker and redistribute the wealth to the poor; originally implemented as the 16th amendment by super-progressive, Woodrow Wilson, as a tactic to pay for war.

3.) Get rid of capital gains, property, and estate. These are worthless taxes that take from the wealthy and have proven to grow government. Capital gains are the taxes put on earnings from things like stocks and are already taxed through income initially, so that’s a double tax. Property taxes are taxes you pay on your land. The government forgot that the Founding Fathers meant for the people to own their land, not the government. By taxing you on your land, the government is telling you that you don’t own it, you just are leasing it from them. Estate tax, or the death tax, is land/house taxed that is inherited or given to someone through a will when someone dies. Just another way for government to corral your money.

4.) In getting rid of the federal income tax we would implement a small national sales tax that would tax all items being sold, except vital goods like food/commodities. This would incorporate everyone in the entire country; every single person taking something from the pot, is also contributing to it. Every person getting paid under the table, illegal immigrant, or tax cheat; is now taxed when he/she buys items at the store. Fair share, right?

5.) Stop some tax loopholes for corporations that give companies, like GE, the ability to pay ZERO taxes and stash their money in overseas accounts.

6.) Stop printing money (audit the Federal Reserve) – This stops inflation and gets rid of the secret tax. The secret tax is hidden everywhere, all around you. Every good and commodity goes up in price but your wages don’t. You pay more for each product, effectively lowering the purchasing power of the green you have; forcing you to hand away more bills for the same product.

7.) Get rid of much of the regulations and red tape hamstringing small business. Which leads in to the biggie…

8.) Repeal Obamacare. The national healthcare law the Democrats shoved down our throats while in full control will destroy job growth. Not to mention when it takes effect in 2013 it will bring more tax hikes. The ills of Obamacare are long and many. This is something I will cover in the near future. This post is long enough and may be easily doubled if I begin to explain the negatives that will come along with it.

9.) Stop bailing companies out – This is counterintuitive. no one is too big to fail and sets a horrible example for companies and citizens. Bail outs are counter to free markets and free enterprise.

10.) Institute tort reform – Ridding the judicial system of many frivolous lawsuits. The component added would be a loser-pays system. If you file a frivolous lawsuit and lose then you pay the costs. See Texas for the success of this policy.

11.) Reform entitlement programs – Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security need serious overhauls. They are colossal burdens on our taxpayers. The big three take up nearly 50% of our federal budget without enough taxpayers paying in to the system to keep it upright, which we are beginning to see the repercussions of now.

12.) Reform unemployment – You have to work for charities or a company and get job training. There should also be an allotted time period that you are eligible for payments.

13.) Reform welfare – You should be drug tested while receiving welfare checks. If you test positive you are immediately off and you have to pay for the test. If you test negative, then you are refunded your test money. You should also have an allotted time period before your checks stop; say 18 months.

14.) Re-work base-line budgeting. Every time there is 1% increase in spending, there should be a 1% increase in the budget. Right now we have a budget that increases automatically each year. For example, say the budget increases 9 percent each year. If you only spend an extra 5% that year the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scores that as a 4% budget cut. With this system, real budget cuts will never be attainable. The budget will continue growing uncontrollably. To put it in relative terms: its like being dragged to a store by your friend when you have no money, buying something on sale, and telling yourself you just saved money.

Just a few things that can be done to immediately relieve the burden on the American economy. This should get the ball rolling – as there are still, many things we could do that are not mentioned above.