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.
Sincerely,
