I have heard many reasons for our recent financial turmoil. Some blame lenders, some blame congress and lax standards, some blame Fannie Mae, some blame the people who took the loans, some blame the people and institutions who repackaged and sold the loans.

Ultimately, I blame myself. Every time I say “I’ll just put it on credit”. Or every time I say “I want it now”. When I fall for the but-it’s-on-sale lie. When I do this I contribute to the problem of living beyond my means. Yes, I always pay off my credit card, but at the expense of saving or paying down other debt. And it is a bad example for my family and friends.

I think it is time we stop blaming others and accept our own responsibility. Which if we really think about it, personal responsibility is what caused the problem.

“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave” (Bible, Psalm 22:7)

“The wicked borrows and does not pay back, but the righteous is gracious and gives” (Bible, Psalm 37:21)

a

Sunday Thought 22

Pride. The only sure thing about it is that a fall always comes. The bubble will always burst. I hope we can keep our pride in check, that we will not have this attitude “Look at me! I am rich.”

The Lord will tear down the house of the proud, but He will establish the boundary of the widow (Bible, Proverbs 15:25).

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling. It is better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud (Bible, Proverbs 16:18-19).

a

Sunday Thought 21

Will try to get back to blogging next week.

a

Brother In-Law Passed Away

Where was all the wisdom, the checks and balances, the common sense? How many bubbles will it take until we know better? I guess at least one more!

I hope you have not been adversely affected by all this mess. Unfortunately, I believe many “innocent” people will suffer because of the foolishness and greed of others.

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel (Bible, Proverbs 12:15).

The prudent man sees evil and hides himself, the naive proceed and pay the penalty (Bible Proverbs 27:12).

a

Sunday Thought 20

Personally, I am not fond of government intervention. But I am afraid that a lot of innocent people are going to get hurt because of what others have recklessly done if nothing is done to shore up confidence in the markets.

At this point, I think I agree with the humorous sentiment that if you must do something now with your financial portfolio, the best thing to do is to turn off the TV, stop the paper, and unplug your computer - that’s probably the best thing you can do for your finances now!

More seriously, I will be doing a few things in the coming weeks and months:

• I am staying in the market, continuing to put money monthly into my 403(B) plan (similar to 401(K) but for nonprofits). I am in for the long haul.
• I will be rebalancing my portfolio to keep it in line with my set financial goals. This is a good thing to do anyway at least annually. I want to make sure my percentage of stocks, bonds, foreign investments, etc. is in line with my targets. I am sure they are out of whack right now.
• I will be building up my emergency fund. It took a few hits the last couple of months because of some small emergencies (car repairs, mower breakdown, etc.). I plan to get it back to where it was, and then maybe increase it a little bit. Now is not the time to be having to borrow money. This crises has made me rethink how much I need/want to keep in this fund.
• Finally, I will keep plugging away at our Home Equity Loan to get it paid off early.

Other than that, I will stay the course and continue to live within our means, which if enough others had done that we wouldn’t be in this mess! I hope you all are doing well and that this crises has not affected you personally. If you get a chance drop me a line and let me know how you are doing and/or what you think about the latest.

a

Vacation and Financial Meltdown!

Enter Money Market Accounts.  The one we’ll talk about today is the M&T Bank eMoney Market Account.  Basically, this account combines the best of both worlds - easily accessible cash and a great interest rate.  You don’t have to worry about not having access to your cash when you need it, but you also get to enjoy a healthy ( and safe ) return on your money.

M&T Bank offers a money market account that currently pays you 3.25% APY.  They even have a nifty calculator so you can see the interest add up - the eMoney Market Account vs the average savings account.  For comparison, ING Direct is currently paying 3.0% APY.  Still a healthy rate, but not quite at the level of M&T Bank.

Money market accounts make the most sense out of any savings account today.  Why watch inflation eat away your money while it’s making 0.2% in your current savings account?  And you don’t want to risk your emergency fund in the stock market ( especially these days ).  That’s where the eMoney Market Account comes in - get the rate you want, without the risk.

a

M&T Bank eMoney Market Account Review

It amuses me when I see people chasing after Hollywood stars and hanging on their every pronouncement. To base your life decisions or give your time to someone whose main claim to fame is to pretend to be somebody else,  I am just not sure that I want to follow their example or advice financially, politically, or really in any other way! And it doesn’t just have to be a Hollywood star- it could be a politician, famous businessman, etc.

Some of the best financial advice I have ever gotten has come from those who are not wealthy, or famous, or powerful. They have just been faithful. I hope you can see past all the glitter and trappings of fame and treat people equally - and be discerning on the advice they give.

“If a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say ‘You sit here in a good place,’ and you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,’ have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?”  (Bible, James 2:2-4)

a

Sunday Thought 20

It was fun to hear them talk about the “old days.” WIth all the bad news about the economy that seems to be around us, it was good to get a little historical perspective. They talked about living through the depression. And even though it was tough, they made it. I learned that times were so bad financially that when my Grandmother and Grandfather were married, and my Great Aunt and Uncle were first married, they all lived with my Great Grandmother and Grandfather. Can you imagine three families (one with a baby!) living togther in a two bedroom house?

There was no debt - who would lend you money knowing that you couldn’t pay it back? It was not even living paycheck to paycheck - they would have loved steady work. It was living meal to meal and day to day. And yet there was no bitterness or complaining. That’s just the way life was. And they made the best of it.

It made me realize how good I have it now, and how “soft” the typical American is today. I worry about investments, they worried about what to eat next. I worry about fixing up the house, they worried about having a roof over their heads at night. I complain about my job, they wished they had jobs.

In some ways I am envious. My Grandmother and Great Aunt are so full of life. They have such wonderful stories of their past. They have a legacy. I hope that I can pass on more than just money to my children.

a

Visit with Grandmother

Love should be shown to people, never to objects or things.

“He who loves moneyh will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity (Bible, Ecclesiastes 5:10).”

a

Sunday Thought 19

What has struck me the most is how when we go through life our world slowly expands when we are born and then it slowly contracts until we die. When we are born - our life revolves around a cradle and our mother. As we grow older, our world slowly shrinks again as we move from houses to rooms, to beds. We start out just needing blankets and our loved ones to care for us, and then we grow older ending up needing blankets and loved ones to care for us.

It is on days like these that faith in God is so important.

Thanks for reading and letting me ramble about non-finances.

a

Sad Day