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.
