A Conversation
Let's have a conversation. OK?
Going back to 2008 when I started the Wealth Health Radio shows and even before then when I started my blogs (coming close to five years I've been blogging now), the whole point of all these efforts is to stir up a conversation about money.
Why a Conversation
We have many serious issues we are facing in this economy. There are some tough choices ahead if we want to continue to enjoy a quality of life in the future as good as (if not better than) the quality of life we have today. Each of us is going to make these choices on our own - no matter what somebody else tells us to do. In each case those choices will make the difference between a rich and fulfilling life and one filled with fear, scarcity and pain.
My hope has been to affect many lives in a positive way by constantly promoting this "dialog" - creating conversations about money. These conversations are the only way that I know of to get enough useful information out there in order for those choices to be properly "informed."
Not an Easy Conversation
I know that talking about money isn't easy. It's a very personal subject. I understand that each of us is hard-wired in such a way as to commonly make poor choices with our money - to go for immediate gratification rather than the greatest long-term benefit. As a result, many people are skeptical, untrusting and afraid to engage in those conversations.
Have we been successful? Yes and no.
Yes, hundreds of readers now receive our weekly email (Register Here if you're not one of them). While that is not the thousands that I believe is our potential or the millions enjoyed by people like Mike "Mish" Shedlock or John Mauldin, I appreciate that many of you respond to me each week that you make sure to take the time to read this missive. Considering that your email inbox is blasted with hundreds (if not thousands) of emails each week, I am thankful and humbled whenever I hear this.
Website Success
Hundreds of people view most every article I publish on our websites: RichAndFulfilling.com and AltusWealth.com. I can see the click-through rate and it is healthy. We also know how much time people spend on each visit to the sites and those numbers are respectable, too.
But are we as successful as we could be? In a word, "No!"
Changes We're Making
This brings me to the present and an effort in which I would like your help. I am like my father (guess he raised me well) in that I am always looking to help people realize their potential. That also means that I look to myself to strive towards my own potential with every minute of every day. And when I see results that fall well short of those expectations ... I try harder.
I am doubling down my efforts to engage in this conversation about money and here is where I am hoping you can take a few extra minutes to help me out.
1) We have employed a newer and more robust commenting system on both websites. When you read something here and have your own story to share, please do so.
2) We have beefed up our presence on Facebook (facebook.AltusWealth.com) including the addition of polls and more question/response type posts. If you are on Facebook and haven't yet "Liked" the ALTUS Wealth Solutions page, please do so today. Read through some of the articles and posts ... and leave comments.
3) Ask me questions. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with that one financial question that's been bugging you (I know it's there - we all have them, even me). If I don't have an answer I will connect you to an expert who does. Tell me what you want to talk about when it comes to a conversation about money. How can we make the topic less taboo and easier for people to participate? Let me know.
Here's Where You Can Help
Most people are scared to talk about money. They don't even talk to their spouses about it, much less a professional. And yet we all make financial choices every day - many times to put the power and control in the hands of someone else (boss, government, partner). This deflection of responsibility and control is at the root of our country's financial problems and we could fix it quickly by having a conversation.
So I am asking you to go out on a limb for me and for the general cause ... and I know that if anybody can do it, you are the one. I know this because you know me. We've been together as blogger and reader for a long time. You (hopefully) know that I won't ask you to do something that would invade your privacy or hurt you in some way.
Many of these topics do not require that you divulge any personal information - but your perspective is important. If enough people can start to build a dialog around money issues, then others who are scared will begin to open up.
Eventually people will realize that we CAN solve these problems. We have the tools to do it and we don't have to give up our freedoms or control to someone in Washington DC or Sacramento to make it happen. Maybe this is optimistic (I am an optimist at heart), but the only solution is one where we ALL are an active part.
What do you think? I'm fascinated to hear your opinion.
John
Solutions start with a conversation - as difficult as it is to have - which I think should have a few key points: (1) There is NO amount of good inflation. (2) We can't afford all the perks we've given ourselves (including Social Security and Medicare) so we must cut back. (3) Each of us being fiscally responsible on our own (but working together in support of each other) will work better in the long run than looking to government to solve the problem by pitting one faction (the rich) against another (the poor).
Can we do all this without riots and and complete misery by the masses? That depends on how it is presented and perceived ... and how successful we are at developing this conversation rather than running away from these challenges.
As to your points
1) It will be massive inflation or massive deflation, take your pick. Oops, the FED has chosen for you. There will be no deflation. Ben is not done throwing trillions into the black hole that is our financial system. He has staked his reputation and career, as well as his doctorial thesis, on it. What we get in return is stagflation. But Ben promises its all "transitory". This coming from the man who said there was no housing bubble. Until the system is cleaned, nothing changes.
2) Good Luck. Last month our politicians told us that they cut $38B from the budget. In actuality, it resembled a top end of about $5B. Yesterday the CBO said the April agreements will actually end up costing the taxpayers another $4B. We went from a cut of $38B to a cost of $4B. Hard to believe I didn't hear that one on the news. And guess what, neither did the majority of the population. Politicians lie, daily. Job one is get reelected. Job two is payback those who paid for my reelection. Job three is stand the party line. Somewhere down the list is the rest of us. The Citizens United case has relegated the population to the bottom of the ladder.
3) We have bred at least one generation where 90% of citizens value their wealth by how much debt they have. The other 10% value there wealth by how much the 90% owes them. If the banks opened the spigots today, most would jump right back in line to buy another new car, new home, new flat screen they did not need. Don't think for a minute we have learned our lesson. Remember, its those damn speculators that cause all the problems, not me.
There will be no presentation, no honest analysis, no education offered. Just a lot of finger pointing and political BS. We may rearrange the deck furniture, but the ships sinking. I tell this to family, friends, etc. They look at me like I have two heads. I keep plugging, trying to open as many eyes as I can.
Ben has recently told us that QE2 is over. The result will be a nice round of liquidity drainage and short term deflation. The markets will tank (they are all liquidity driven anyway), home prices will fall further, commodities will tank and bonds may see a brief recovery as the world will once again see US bonds as the least dangerous place. This will be short lived as the market will demand higher rates as US debt is increased and the Fitch's of the world downgrade our debt ratings. Ben will quick to point out the error in his ways. He never should have turned off the pumps. Politicians coming into an election season will throw the book at it. Anything to please the population long enough to get reelected. QE3 is a certainty. As is QE4, 5, etc. There is no room for rate increases. ZIRP is here to stay. Even a 1% rate increase will destroy us.
Rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Yep! We're going in the water so we better start trying to figure out how each of us is going to make it into a lifeboat.
Where I differ from you is that I believe somewhere along the line enough of the masses WILL realize they've been listening to wrong people. The emperor has no clothes and eventually they will see it. Call it faith in mankind, but I believe our country doesn't have to have all it's citizens in riots before they start to figure it out.
If we do get to riots - I live in a quiet rural area. I am investing to make my living space independent of the grid. I know all my neighbors well and we will make do with what we have. That's called planning - it's what we do with clients - although I hope we never have to use any of it.
Take a credit card addict. Do they one day stop purchasing? No. They have the credit cards cut off. Its the creditor that stops them, not the debtor. They have lived a life denying their addiction. Know the next step in the stages of acceptance? Anger. Take a look at any country which has attempted austerity. Not a pretty scene.
We have a whole society addicted to easy credit, living beyond our means and government handouts. This will not end pleasantly.
We do not have the fortitude required to do the right thing, in congress or at home. Kicking the can is all we know. Austerity will not come to America. Our creditors may not like it, but QE is here to stay.
By the way, glad to hear your making plans to be independent of the grid.
Somewhere in all this type we've posted should be a few very good blog posts. I'd also be very curious to also hear some of your "investing" ideas.