Wealth
Accumulation
Is America Still The Land Of Opportunity?
A
recent Survey of Consumer Finances conducted
by the Federal Reserve Board revealed
these statistics about the state of
America’s finances.
Do
any of these facts hit home with you?
- The
typical American family earns about
$45,000 per year. From 2001 to 2004,
family debt increased 33% (adjusted
for inflation). Surprisingly little
of this debt stems from unnecessary
spending. Instead, credit is being
used to pay for necessities like
housing, household expenses and
health care, particularly in low-
and middle-income families.
- Average
net worth, which grew rapidly during
the boom of the 1990s, rose only
1.5% between 2001 and 2004 for the
average American family. In other
words, for most of us, the worth
of our investments is not keeping
up with the inflation rate.
- The
middle class is being squeezed more
tightly than ever. Among the wealthiest
10% of Americans, net worth
rose to $831,600, or a 6.5% increase
from 2001. Meanwhile, the net
worth of those in the bottom 25%
fell 1.5% to $13,300.
- More
than a third -- 36% -- of those
who owe more than $10,000 on their
cards have household incomes under
$50,000. 13% who owe that much have
household incomes under $30,000.
The percentage of disposable income
used to pay debts is near record
highs.
The
report doesn’t point out these
more unsettling statistics:
- In
February, 2007, the US Commerce
Department reported that the personal
savings rate for 2006 was a negative
1%. The rate for 2004 was a negative
.4%. For comparison, in the midst
of the Depression in 1933, the PSR
was -1.5%. If 2007 figures show
a decrease similar to those of 2006,
we’ll have a worse record than
during the Depression. (Source:
Associated Press)
- “The
US is becoming less of a meritocracy,
where skill and intelligence determine
success, and becoming more of a
class-bound society, where economic
background, including the better
education money can provide, matters
more. There are still many rags-to-riches
stories. But there's stagnation
in the underclass.” (Source:
Christian Science Monitor)
- According
to a new Federal Reserve data-based
economic analysis commissioned by
the Consumer Federation of America,
“...more than half of American
households (56 percent) are behind
where they should be in saving for
a comfortable retirement.”
A related CFA public opinion survey
found that 59% of Americans do not
expect to maintain their current
standard of living in retirement.
Does
this sound like a nation of people who
believe in and are profiting from the
American Dream—or simply a nation
of people who want to live the Dream
lifestyle without really being able
to find a way to finance it? In fact,
we have to ask...
Is the American
Dream still alive and achievable?
Defining
the Dream
The
immensely popular 19th-century author
Horatio Alger is largely credited with
defining the American Dream as well
as the means to achieve it. His books
told the rags-to-riches stories of people
who succeeded because of the opportunities
they had in the Greatest Nation on earth.
It didn’t matter who they were.
No matter how hopeless their situations
seemed, his characters found wealth
and success through determination and
hard work—and of course, because
they believed in the American Dream.
The
Dream Today
We
believe the American Dream is alive
and well. The 21st century continues
to offer incredible opportunities. Escalating
wealth is mostly a matter of finding
the right opportunities and having the
determination and guts to follow them
through.
The materials and methods for accumulation
of wealth have changed, but the opportunities
are greater today than at any other
time. One simply needs to learn
about the new materials and methods!
So
Many Things Have Changed:
Dealing With Fear and Uncertainty
The
events of September 11, 2001, permanently
changed our country and its citizens.
Our assumptions that we are safe in
our own land faded to fear and uneasiness.
Maybe you used to enjoy travel, but
now airports make you nervous. Perhaps
you dwell on the possibilities of another
terrorist attack. We’re all dogged
by an unstable job market where mass
layoffs and outsourcing threaten our
livelihoods. The future is fraught with
uncertainty about whether we’re
making wise investments, whether the
CEO will abscond with the pension funds,
and whether Social Security will be
there for us.
Even weather patterns are unstable,
taking lives with devastating hurricanes,
tornadoes, tsunamis, heat waves, and
blizzards. Fear can make you want to
simply maintain the status quo and not
take any chances—yet that is exactly
what you must do to avoid becoming a
victim of fear, because fear is the
only thing that can prevent you from
taking advantage of all the possibilities
that are open to you. FDR’s famous
statement still applies: “The only
thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
But think about this: All kinds of fears
have always held people back from trying
to improve their lives. We’ve used
fear as a convenient excuse not to get
on with the lives we’d like to
live. It’s so much easier to stay
where we are, complaining that we’ll
never get ahead.
The opportunity is there for the taking,
but you must be prepared to leave your
comfort zone, summon up your strength
and determination, and set a course
towards wealth accumulation. While money
isn’t everything, it can certainly
do a lot to alleviate uncertainty and
to enrich your life and the lives of
those you care most about.
Worrying about the future doesn’t
change it. No one has ever been able
to predict what will happen, or when,
or why. You only have today and the
lessons you have learned from your past.
You can take charge of today’s
reality and make it sing with tomorrow’s
dreams.
Accumulating
Wealth:
The Opportunity Has Never Been Better
Horatio
Alger may have been right in the 1800s
when he claimed that anyone willing
to work hard could succeed. Today, the
picture is different. It is painfully
possible to work very, very hard and
not get ahead. If you
live from paycheck to paycheck and worry
constantly about how you will meet your
financial obligations, you’re living
in a world of stress. You don’t
even have the luxury of worrying about
the stock market, because you’ve
got nothing to invest.
Yet more people are amassing wealth
today than at any other time.
True,
the financial picture for many of us
doesn’t measure up to the rosy
pictures we hear of a growing economy.
We worry about the war on terror, how
we’ll afford gas to get to work,
and whether our jobs will still be there
for us tomorrow.
Yet you can begin your journey
to financial success today.
Instead
of the dubious prospect of accumulating
wealth working for someone else, you
can take control of your finances by
owning your own business. It is much,
much easier than you can imagine because
you can do it with your own home-based
business.
Did you know that two thirds of all
American millionaires are self-employed?
Think about it. Who makes the most money?
The restaurant manager or the restaurant
owner? The car salesman or the dealership
owner? Owners are self-employed, and
they are much more likely to be wealthy
than the people who work for them.
We’re not suggesting that you buy
a restaurant or an automobile dealership.
It isn’t necessary to take that
kind of risk or put in that kind of
work. You own home-based business can
be every bit as lucrative and much less
stressful than a bricks-and-mortar business.
You probably already have the only equipment
you’ll need—a computer and
a telephone. That’s all! Now
all you need is the information that
has transformed so many people’s
lives.
Take
Control
Don't
let someone else decide your future
for you. Take the first step today toward
assuring a secure financial future for
you and your family. And don’t
wait until it’s too late. Today
is the time to get started in an
extraordinary business that has already
changed the lives of so many, freeing
them of fear and worry and showing
them that they can live lifestyles they
thought were meant only for others.
When you accumulate wealth, you generate
a steady residual income that pays you
every day. Are you ready to discover
how you can begin to build that kind
of income-producing resource? Then you’ve
come to the right place.
Simply fill out the form below, and
I will get back to you with additional
information.
