What’s LOVE Got to Do With It

Fine and Dandy

What’s LOVE Got to Do With It

Putting your thoughts on paper is therapeutic when faced with difficult and trying times, so I ask that you bear with me as I express my joy and sorrow. I trust that after you read this your outlook on life as well as your purpose for living will be changed for the better.

I have spent the last 2 weeks in a family waiting room at the University of Virginia Medical Center, waiting and watching as 3 of the people I love the most are suffering. I am blessed with having lived my life under the umbrella of a very close knit family, and now I have to help hold this umbrella up. My grandparents have had more influence on my life than any other persons on this planet, and are loved by more people than I can count. Their daily walk with Christ has allowed them to touch the lives of so many people in their 80+ years on earth, and now that love is being reciprocated by so many people. This has become personal for me these last 2 weeks as I watch a steady stream of visitors come in and out of the waiting room, as well as answering the waiting room phone and providing constant updates of the condition of my personal hero and role model.

Please allow me to introduce you to someone near to my heart who exemplifies the spirit of   giving and has given freely of his time while facing physical adversity.

My uncle, Kevin Ferrier, was born in 1958 with a handicap, as he was born with his umbilical cord around his neck. The lack of oxygen to his brain may have affected his motor skills, but it has not impaired his ability to touch the heart and lives of EVERY individual he meets. When asked how he is doing, he almost always replies “Fine and Dandy”(except when snowed in and unable to help at the Moose or volunteer at the bowling alley), and his spirits are lifted through the giving of his time to others. His work is confirmed through his recognitions and volunteer work throughout the community of Waynesboro.

Kevin graduated in 1978 with the 1st special education class at Waynesboro High School, and began a life of serving others that has continued to today. He has volunteered with the YMCA youth basketball league and was chosen volunteer of the month for his work. He was recognized on several occasions for his volunteer work with the Special Olympics. He ran the scoreboard for the Waynesboro Generals for many years, and still pulls for the “home team”. He kept score for so many little league, farm league, and church softball teams that we have lost count. He is loved and known at the Waynesboro Va bowling alley for his tireless efforts and assistance in their league play. Ask anyone who visits the Waynesboro Moose and they will tell you tales of his work in assisting their fundraising efforts and civic work. Visit the Blue Ridge Church of Christ on Sunday mornings and you will be greeted by Kevin, handed a program, and receive help finding a seat for the worship service. He currently volunteers 4 mornings a week at the Waynesboro library, and is a constant at the Waynesboro Moose Lodge where he serves on the board and has been Legionnaire of the Month on 2 occasions.

When I decided to write about Kevin I had knowledge of his service through my childhood memories of his involvement with little league baseball and church softball teams, but I never stopped to consider how many lives he has touched through his smile and service. There are those people on this earth that have been blessed with the ability to spread this magic through their loving interaction with others. It is this action that makes this world a great place to live, and I am blessed to have witnessed this magic in action through the life of this special person.

Now as we sit in the waiting room awaiting a miracle, my grandparents are faced with the most difficult decision any should ever have to make. To live or not to live, that is the question. You see Kevin has had a recent history of seizures, but the one he suffered 2 weeks ago left him laying in the floor overnight, and the lack of brain activity resulted in a stroke, his liver and kidneys shutting down, a stress related heart attack, fluid on his lungs, swelling and hemorrhaging of his brain and the loss of his right side.

Anyone who knows Kevin (and there are MANY) knows that Kevin never sits still. Even if he is watching his favorite baseball team (NY Yankees) on TV he still flips channels to watch 3+ shows at the same time. If he is listening to his favorite gospel cd, you will hear his feet stomping the floor keeping time to the music. Never stopping, never resting, until now.

Now he lays motionless in a hospital bed, and except for 1 day in which he was awake and alert he has not moved. While the doctors and staff are wonderful, they have no definitive answers, solutions, or long term prognosis. I tell you all of this to get to this.

My countless hours in this waiting room have taught me the most valuable lesson of my life. It doesn’t matter WHO you are, rather what matters the most is HOW you treat others. It matters how you first interact with those you meet, how you continue to treat them, what you do for them, and the WHY must be a core belief that OTHERS matter more to you than you matter to yourself.

Kevin exemplifies Christ in EVERY aspect of his life, every day of his life. This is evidenced in the constant visitation, phone calls from concerned people that we have never met, and the full mailbox everyday when I take my grandparents home. There are so many cards and letters just waiting for Kevin to read, that if one did not know better they would think he was a Hollywood movie star.

Now, I have resolved to live my life in such a fashion that everyone I meet walks away feeling better about themselves, and that they know that God is real and loves them. You see we live in such a politically correct nation that it is difficult or intimidating to express how we truly feel. That is something Kevin never had to worry about, he was always “Fine & Dandy”. I now understand that if you are what you believe that you will never need to tell people how you feel, they will know by your smile, hugs, & hand shake. That example will peak the interest of people you meet and they will WANT what you have. JOY. Do not confuse joy with happiness, as happiness is based in feelings, joy is based in your knowing that God is in control and no matter what happens, he cares for you.

We often become discouraged because things do not go our way. Maybe you did not get the job/ promotion you wanted, your favorite team does not win, your car breaks down…, but if you have JOY none of these superficial and material things matter. If you live your life for the betterment of your fellowman, you will always be like Kevin, “Fine & Dandy”.

So I challenge you to take a good look at yourself in the mirror, & contrary to popular opinion tell yourself that YOU do not matter, rather WHAT you do with your time is most important. Call that long lost friend & see how they are doing, hug a friend or family member for no reason other than you love them, tell your spouse you love them OFTEN, visit a sick or widowed person, take a neighbor to dinner & get to know them, and if you have children; hug them tightly, love them unconditionally, cherish every moment they breathe for tomorrow may never come

God Bless you all.

Things Are Too Tough: I Quit!

What if those words had been uttered by  Christ as He was beaten, battered, bruised and brutally crucified for our sins?

Does life ever get difficult for you? Do you ever find yourself wondering why you are where you are in life?

Maybe you have lost your job and are wondering if God even knows you exist or you wonder if He cares about your circumstances. Maybe you are sick or have lost a good friend or a loved one, and you are asking God WHY, WHY ME!!!

I woke up like that this morning. Saying God why ME, why must I continue to endure these hardships? DO YOU EVEN KNOW I EXIST????

Then feeling sorry for my self I logged into Facebook to read about somebody else’s life as I had become tired of my own. I scrolled down and saw a posting from my dear little sister in Canada, and was a version of the video above. It reminded me that NO MATTER how difficult life becomes, no matter how big my problem(s) seem, no matter how great a miracle may be required; My God is still KING!

Now feeling a little guilty and suddenly tired of my pity party ( I was the only person who received an invitation),  I decided to move on with my day and have my devotions.

Well MY KING had a message that I want to share with you. It is from II Cor 4:6-15

6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. (see http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/our-daily-bread/2010/04/16/devotion.aspx for an explantion)

8 [We are] troubled on every side, yet not distressed; [we are] perplexed, but not in despair;

9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

12  So then death worketh in us, but life in you.

13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;

14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present [us] with you.

15 For all things [are] for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

Now all of a sudden I remember that it is not about me. It is and was because of me that HE endured.

Now because of HIM I can endure.

Don’t quit.

Don’t give up

Keep moving forward

With faith

AND Confidence that HE has gone before you.

Here is a prayer that I wrote sometime back, and one that you may find helpful in your time of distress.

Tonight as I bow on bended knee,

Dear Lord I humbly ask, Please hear my plea,

Thy Mercy, Grace, and Forgiveness I ask,

& if it be Thy will, for this trial to pass.

Not in vain though shall this trial be

For through it my Lord draw me closer to thee.

Amen

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Mortgage rates Are Climbing: How High Will They Go?

The record low mortgage rates we have come to enjoy may be a thing of the past, thanks in part to relatively good economic news and the end of the Fed mortgage securities purchase program.

Last summer, some economists warned that mortgage rates could climb a half to a full percentage point in a hurry if the Fed stopped buying mortgage securities.

But mortgage rates may not rise as much as many think.

Yields on 10-year treasury bonds rose to four percent for the first time since June, while mortgage rates hit the second highest level this year (what causes mortgage rates to move).

The popular 30-year fixed climbed to 5.08 percent from 4.99 percent last week, and now sits firmly above the 4.78 percent average seen a year ago.

Of course, the interest rate on a 30-year mortgage is still very attractive historically, considering 4.75 percent was the lowest rate on record.

So the big question is how high will mortgage rates go?

Well, good economic news generally pushes mortgage rates higher, and if we’re truly recovering, mortgage rates should continue upward.

But home prices in many areas still seem overpriced, considering the shadow inventory and widespread unemployment, which makes you wonder if something must give.

If mortgage rates continue higher, housing affordability will decline, and that could dent the fragile recovery in the process.

Assuming mortgage rates continue to rise, home prices may need to fall to compensate for the reduction in affordability.

For that reason, I don’t see mortgage rates climbing considerably higher. Heck, people aren’t buying even with the ultra low rates and the homebuyer tax credit.

So yes, mortgage rates will probably trend higher, but I don’t see any significant movement until there is real proof of a recovery.

5 Powerful Sales Lessons

Do You want to be GOOD or GREAT?

DO YOU WANT TO BE GOOD OR GREAT? Do you want to be at the top or in the middle?

Every morning prior to beginning work and every night prior to going to bed I listen to or read something motivational and educational. This morning I listened to a CD containing an interview by Dan Kennedy of Tom Hopkins.  I do this because I do not want to be good at what I do, rather I WANT TO BE GREAT, THE BEST!!

This was a rare opportunity for me to learn some amazing things from one of the centuries giants in sales. Tom Hopkins is recognized as Americas #1 Sales Trainer and broke a century long Real Estate sales record of 365 sales in one year and a total of 1,553 in 6 years. “He set records that remained unbroken until this century.” He has published around 13 books on various topics of sales and has published a few Best Sellers.

“Tom Hopkins, bestselling author of How to Master the Art of Selling, is a world-renowned sales trainer. Over 100,000 people attend his seminars every year, and 1 million more use his training videos.”

Here are a few very valuable areas that I learned from my listening and reading this morning.

1. You must internalize your skills and have them ready on reflex

Ever had a time when you tried to remember a technique, and when the time came to use it, it completely slipped your mind or you didn’t know what to do? Not only does this fail in business but almost any other faucet of life. Take for example a time when you first learned to swim, your instructor may have told everything, but the first time you actually tried swimming you probably nearly drowned, a few times, right? Your body wasn’t going to do the necessary things to keep you above water until you made it a reflex. Now days you probably find it hard NOT to stay above water because you’re so used to it.

And like I said, this holds true in all areas of life where achieving some form of mastery is required to perform. Mr. Hopkins said it best, “Everything you do must be done on reflex, if you try to remember it all you’ll drive yourself crazy.” That was my downfall. I read tons of books and then tried to remember all the material in the real world, it was nearly impossible and confused the heck out of me. Of course you need to be alert but if the reflex isn’t there it’s easy to forget. And sometimes the reflex will take over when you weren’t even thinking of it.

Another good example of this is your daily commute to work. Chances are you take the same rout to work every day. But when you have a day off and you decide to meet your friends at a pub, a few blocks from where you work, you might find yourself taking the rout to work if you’re not paying full attention on where you want to go. It’s because it became habit and you almost had to make a conscious effort to do otherwise(meet your friends at the pub instead of go to work). You create your own robot, and it does whatever you do most often.

As much as we like to think we’re in control of ourselves, 90% of our daily behaviors are habits, ones that we’ve programmed into our brain either with or without knowing it. Think of the way you talk, sit down, converse with people, eat, drive, react to people, become mad, or happy. You might have the habit of drinking too much after saying “just going to have two beers”. Whatever your habits are they’re shaping you. Whether you’re a champion at what you do tomorrow or a complete looser, is often determined by your practice, the reflexes you create and your overall commitment to boring but powerful routine.

“People don’t really choose their future, they choose their disciplines and their disciplines determine their future.” – Tom Hopkins

2. Use non-fear producing words

Tom Hopkins said that when you’re working with a potential client, you need to use the right words to bring them to the final decision. Every potential client has a meter on the front of his nose, one side indicates “yes”, the other side “no” and in the middle is a “maybe”. You might hit it up with the prospect really well(the meter pointing to the “yes”) but, for instance, when you say the word “payment”(fear associated word, who likes payments?), his meter might all of a sudden slip to “maybe” or possibly “no”. What if instead of “payment” you used “amount”? How many “amounts” does the prospect have at the end of the month? Probably none! How many “payments”? Probably more than s/he wants to think about. Is the message the same? Are you still offering the same product, with the same benefits and features? Why let one word ruin it for the prospect? If you really believe in what you’re offering why use fear producing words? Why not use the most effective choice of words possible so that the prospect will see the true value of what you’re offering? Hey, if your product/service is fantastic don’t use mediocre of negative words to make it out less than it is.

Cost/ price/Payment-USE–  investment / amount

Buy-USE– OWN

Contract-USE– paperwork/ agreement/ form

Sell/ Sold- USE-get them involved/ helped them acquire

Sign- USE–  approve/ authorize/ endorse/ OK

3. Ask the right questions

Tony Robbins, author of bestsellers Awaken the Giant Within and Unlimited Power, said that questions are one of the most power mind-tools human beings possess. You can instantly change your state just by asking yourself questions. If you want to make your life miserable ask dis-empowering questions like “why me?” or “why am I so dumb?” or “what’s this mean?” or “why was I ever born?”. These are both very depressing and stupid questions, what kind of answers do you expect to get from “why I am so dumb?”, for example, “it’s your upbringing”, or “your mom probably dropped/threw you as a baby.” If your goal in life is to be depressed ask lots and lots of questions like THAT. But if you instead ask yourself questions like, “what makes life great?” or “what could I learn from this?” or if you cant learn something ask, “what’s could I learn from this if there was something to learn from it?” or “is this really a big deal? Do I really care?” or “are there worse things happening to better people?” or “how can I enjoy life today?” or “How can I make a million dollars?” or “How can I do ___, learn from it and enjoy the process” If you don’t get an answer at first, keep asking yourself. Your brain is extremely resourceful, you hold more answers than you think you do. When you ask questions you instantly put yourself in a resourceful state.

There are a number of good questions that you can ask to direct the prospect to a final decision. One of my favorite ones is when a prospect makes a wild/off-balance statement and doesn’t give a good reason for what they said, you could say, “Obviously you have a good reason for saying that, would you mind sharing it with me?” Often times people don’t know the reasons behind their beliefs. For example, if someone says “McDonalds sucks!”, you could ask “Obviously you have a reason for saying that, would you mind sharing it with me?”

Here’s another good one. If you can’t close and the prospect keeps saying “no”, ask:
“Doug, I’m truly sorry that I wasn’t able to do my job [today/tonight]. You see, if I would have done my job I would have been able to convince you of the value of [your service] and the [services/projects] we offer. Just so I don’t make the same mistake again, would you mind telling me what I did wrong?”
At this point you have one last chance to close.

Learn the right questions to ask. And use them often. But remember, no one likes being interrogated. Make questions apart of your conversation and make them flow so they’re natural.

4. A top performer practices and masters his/her scripts

I have to tell you that I’ve always had a kind of phobia of the phone. I love meeting people in person, but there’s just something about the phone that puts a jolt of fear down my spine. For friends, family and the like, it’s no big deal–I can talk to them any day. The problem is when I’m calling someone I don’t know I feel like I’m going to say the wrong thing. With the help of a bunch of different mental techniques(including the self-questioning talked about above) and the like I’ve been able to improve gradually. Probably the the largest factor in building confidence to talk to business people is learning scripts. And learning it well! This is something that you CAN’T pass up if you are truly serious about being effective in marketing and selling for your business. There are times when I’ve been totally unprepared to tell people what I do. I know exactly what I do, but explaining it to people is often hard because I was just unable to phrase it in a way that made sense to people. A quick blurp like “I do MORTGAGES OR BANKING CONCEPTS” isn’t very actuate and doesn’t give people the chance to say, “Oh!! Give me your card, My neighbor needs someone to help with her retirement planning.”

Something more along the lines of “I’m a Financial consultant who can ASSIST her in CREATING a DEPENDABLE retirement income.” and then you go from there.

5. Make best friends with rejection, only successful people do.

Tell me, who are the most successful people? The ones who ask for what they want often enough or the ones who are afraid to open their mouths for fear of someone saying “no.” In truth, the most super successful, multi-million dollar earners are the ones who have been rejected more than anyone else. Tony Robbins said that every thing you want is on the other side of rejection, he should know, his gross personal income is over 30 million a year. What’s both funny and sad is, the poorest people live within their safe little comfort zones. These people get taxed more and have to work more. Working smarter means expanding their comfort zones and undergoing some mental and emotional pain to increase their earning and achieving capacity. Comfort-zone-expansion is worth millions, hell billions of dollars. If you don’t think so you should look up the story of Colonial Sanders and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Did Colonial Sanders just up and decide one day to start a restaurant selling chicken? No, Colonial Sanders had to get turned down 1000 times before he found someone who would actually sell his fried chicken recipe. How much is Kentucky Fried Chicken worth now days? Or what about Rocky?

How hard did he have to fight before he actually accomplished the dream he was after all his life? His girlfriend left him, he sold his dog and lost everything he ever had, but in the end got it all back and more.

Every “no” you get gets you closer to a yes. Fact is, you’re going to get more “no’s” than “yes’s”. In order to take the leap learn how to handle rejection. Tom Hopkins said “Do what you fear most and you’ll win every time.” People have a tendency to avoid pain, anything that seems painful they tend to move away from. It’s human instinct. And the truth is, there’s no such thing as wealth or freedom or success without rejection. They’re co-dependent. If there was no such thing as rejection or frustration everyone would be able to push a button and become successful instantly. SUCCESS DEMANDS SACRIFICE, SACRIFICE OF YOURSELF. There are two things you must do to get over fear of rejection:

1)Change your perception of what rejection is. Rejection means you’re getting closer to a yes. Rejection also means you’re being tested, a test few people ever pass and is the reason they kill themselves to stay afloat for the rest of their lives. Associate rejection with something you have a strong attraction for.

2) Don’t sweat the small stuff! Get over it. Don’t let small minded people make you let go of your dreams. Don’t care about what they might say behind your back. And don’t worry about being “that guy/woman”. Just think about how flattened those naysayers will be five years from now when you drive up in your dream car, have 7 figures in the bank and doing things you never dreamed possible. Will that dude with the fancy management position still think the same way about you? This may seem a little pretentious but it’s a powerful motivator and energizes you when nothing else will.

Remember, the people who make you give up your dreams aren’t going to be the losers in the end, you’ll be. And if you don’t give up your dreams, and accomplish them, you’ll make losers out of your naysayers. Never let your ego get the best of you though, you don’t need to prove anything to anyone until you have living proof. I say the proof is in the putting, when you accomplish your dreams the proof will speak for itself. Naysayers have good eyesight, you wont need to tell them, they’ll see it.

“At one point in our lives we were all motived because we had something to prove to someone.” – Tom Hopkins

www.FinancialFreedomFighter.com

How is Money Created (Part 2)

Does Money Grow On Trees?

Have you ever wondered just what impact the so called Credit Crunch is having on the current US and Global economies?  Are you wondering why so few jobs are being created and why the Government is on a spending spree?

In the first part of this series we discussed the early history of money and its origins. In this part we are going to begin our discussion on the current financial system used by the United States, known as the fractional reserve system. This discussion is not meant to be a tell all about the state of the US economy, rather in lay mans term explain just how money is created.

The fractional reserve system and its integrated network of banks backed by a Central Bank have now eliminated a gold backed currency in the United States as well as in the rest of the world. The fractional reserve system has become the prevalent money and lending system in the world today, and paper currencies as well as digital dollars have replaced the use of gold and silver.

In the past paper currency could be traded for a fixed weight of gold and silver, but now in the present a digital dollar can be exchanged only for another dollar or digital dollar. In the United States privately created bank credit is converted to our fiat currency, the US Dollar. Fiat currency is money created by government fiat, or decree, and legal tender laws declare that citizens must accept this fiat money as payment for debt or else the courts will not enforce the obligation.

So the question that can now be asked is, “Just how much money is in existence if the banks and government can just create it”? Remember that in the past the amount of currency in existence was relative to the amount of commodity on which it was based. For example, in order for new currency to be created more gold and silver had to be found, dug out of the ground and “coined”.

In today’s system money is literally created from debt. New money is created when you obtain a mortgage for a house; obtain a loan from a bank to buy a car, obtaining a credit card, or even a student loan. The result is now that the amount of currency is only limited by the amount of debt that can be obtained. Can you begin to see why the current “Credit Crunch” is having such a huge impact on the US and Global economies?

“That is what our money system is. If there were no debts in our money system, there wouldn’t be any money.”

~Marriner S. Eccles, Chairman and Governor of the Federal Reserve Board

This is where the Fractional reserve system comes into play as the government places statutory limits on the creation of new money. These limits are known as fractional reserves. The fractional reserve system is no longer based on a standard such as gold, but rather is limited by the ratio of new debt money to existing debt money on deposit in the bank.

Today, banks reserves consist of 3 things:

• the amount of government-issued cash that the bank has in its vault
• the amount of credit it has with the central bank
• the amount of already existing debt money the bank has on deposit.

“This is a staggering thought. We are completely dependent on the Commercial Banks. Someone has to borrow every dollar we have in circulation, cash or credit. If the Banks create ample synthetic money, we are prosperous; if not, we starve. We are, absolutely, without a permanent money system. When one gets a complete grasp of the picture, the tragic absurdity of our hopeless position is almost incredible, but there it is.”

~ Robert H. Hemphill, Credit Manager of Federal Reserve Bank, Atlanta, Georgia

A new bank solicits deposits from new members, obtains credit from the Central bank in order to begin creating new debt for its account holders. To illustrate just how this works lets use the following example. Salley customer wants to buy a new car that costs $10,000. Salley obtains a loan from New Bank in the amount of $10,000, and the account representative types in $10,000 right out of nowhere. Salley writes a check to John Seller, and he deposits that money in his bank.

Now at a ratio of 9:1 John Sellers bank can now create a new loan for $9,000, and if a third party deposits that $9,000 a new loan can be created for $8100 and so on and so on. All of this new money is simply being created by debt without any actual currency being printed or exchanged.

It is because of this system that banks need to show that is has more in deposits than it currently has in debt. This is why the banks provide a real incentive to you to deposit your money. The need for deposits was the real purpose for the recent financial scare, so it leaves you to wonder just who is profiting from you keeping your money in the bank and you not spending it. Now I am not advocating spending in any way, just simply asking if you noticed how many people flocked to the bank to “save money” in the recent past. Also have you ever wondered why banks charge such high overdraft fees? That fee is another dollar in their account as well as the interest on the loans they receive.

In reality the fractional reserve is much higher than 9:1, and for some types of accounts can be 30:1 or even 40:1!!!

The simple truth is that without the creation of debt, the bank would have nothing to lend. We often think of our relationship to the bank in terms of the bank lending our deposits, but in reality it is much bigger than that. Have you ever wondered how everyone… governments, corporations, small businesses, families can all be in debt at the same time and for such astronomical amounts? Have you ever questioned how there can be that much money out there to lend? Now you know. There isn’t. Banks do not lend money. They simply create it from debt. And, as debt is potentially unlimited, so is the supply of money.

“One thing to realize about our fractional reserve banking system is that, like a child’s game of musical chairs, as long as the music is playing, there are no losers.”

~ Andrew Gause, monetary historian The Secret World of Money, 1996

Now this is where it gets a little scary,

To Be Continued…….

How is Money Created (Part 1)

How is Money Created (Part 1)

So you think money grows on trees do ya?

“The study of money, above all other fields in economics, is one in which complexity is used to

disguise truth or to evade truth, not to reveal it.”

~ John Kenneth Galbraith , economist, author

The creation of money is one of the biggest and best kept secrets in American culture. Personally I believe more people know who shot JFK than know how Money is actually created. As I poll and survey people from all walks of life the common answer is that money is created by the Federal Reserve or Treasury. This could not be further from the truth, and in reality only a very small amount of money is actually created by the Federal Reserve. After having spent the last 10 years of my life in the Banking and Finance Industry working with numerous people from different socioeconomic back grounds I have noticed that virtually 100% of the people believe the same myths that I was taught growing up.

These myths come in many different shapes and sizes, and it wasn’t until I took a deep long look at where I spent most of my money that I began to ask myself the question of “Why and How is money created”. You see most of us believe that money is created by the government and that we the hard-working middle class trade hours for dollars to pay our monthly bills. Most of us believe that banks lend out money that has been entrusted to them by depositors. Easy to picture, But not the truth. As children we are taught to place the money that we earn in the bank so that it can earn INTEREST! I have vivid memories of opening my first savings account (joint with my parents), and remember the value that I placed on my bank savings book. I was 13 years old, and believed that I was on my way to riches from saving my money. Now fast forward many years later and I now know how much that money was really worth and I will demonstrate to you in a series of articles,  just How Money is Really Created.

“The process by which banks create money is so simple the mind is repelled.”

~ John Kenneth Galbraith, Economist

To understand money and the mystery as to how it is created it is important to take a look at the early beginnings of money and currency. Currency evolved from two basic innovations: the use of counters to assure that shipments arrived with the same goods that were shipped, and later with the use of silver ingots to represent stored value in the form of grain. Both of these developments had occurred by 2000 BC. Originally money was a form of receipting grain stored in temple granaries in Sumer in ancient Mesopotamia, then Ancient Egypt.

Gold and silver were attractive, soft and easy to work with, so some cultures became expert with these metals. Goldsmiths made trade much easier by casting coins, standardized units of these metals whose weight and purity was certified. The goldsmith soon had another problem, that of a place to store and protect his gold. Hence, the first vault was created. Solving the problem of security and storage presented yet another problem, his fellow merchant friends and townsfolk were asking if he could assist in storing their valuables. It wasn’t long before the goldsmith had rented every inch available and began to profit from his small rental business.

It did not take long before the goldsmith realized that the people to whom had rented space rarely came in to check on or remove their (deposits), and further they NEVER all came at once. The reason for this is actually the beginnings of currency. This currency was a promissory note issued by the goldsmith based on the amount of precious metals deposited in his vault.  This currency provided the goldsmith (aka banker) with a brilliant idea, as the depositors had found the promissory note a much more convenient method of trade. (HEY can you imagine carrying a cow or bag of coins around today, vs. the credit card you presently carry!! ) The goldsmith began to lend out gold, charged interest, and he began to PROFIT greatly from other peoples money.

Now, this is where the story takes a wide turn. You see the towns people began to notice mister goldsmith driving around on a nitro charged camel, living in a 3 story home, and wearing custome designed robes made of the finest materials. In other words the gig was up!!! Rather than putting a stop to the whole sha-bang they decided it was time he cut them in on the profit. Well the goldsmith was a little reluctant to cut others in on his profits, so he devised a BOLDER scheme to compensate for paying off the townsfolk. He began lending more than he really had in his vault, and it wasn’t long before his idea went BOOM!!!

So you see this could be considered the first run on the bank. The people began demanding gold instead of the promissory notes he had issued. Now we have the beginning of regulation. Credit had become such an important part of European growth that it had become vital to the economy (sound familiar). Bankers agreed to abide by limits on the amount of fictional loan money that could be lent out. The limit would still be a number much larger than the actual value of gold & silver in the vault. Quite often the ratio was 9 fictional dollars to 1 actual dollar in gold.

Now we have the beginning of the Fraction Reserve System of lending.

To be Continued……………

RodFerrier@FinancialFreedomFighter.com

The Trying of your FAITH worketh PATIENCE

Sometimes when it RAINS it POURS

The Trying of your FAITH worketh PATIENCE James 1:3. I have read that verse so many times over the last 5 years of my life, and its meaning becomes clearer to me after each trial that I am blessed to endure. Often times we endure hardships in life and after we weather the storm we seldom stop to look back from where we  came. I learned that it is important to take a look back at your journey so that the next time you are faced with a trial you can TRUST that God will be by your side.

You see there is a great difference between FAITH and TRUST. You cannot truly see FAITH, rather you see the evidence of it. Faith is the SUBSTANCE of things HOPED for, as described in Heb 11:1. Trust is visible though, and can be seen. For example, when you get on an airplane you trust that Pilot. When you tell your child to go down the slide, they TRUST you because you are standing there at the bottom.

The trials with which you face are there for a reason, and even though they are tough one should not discount them as a useless part of life. Without them we could not grow. Without heat steel could not be shaped, iron could not be hardened gold could not be purified, water could not boil (gotta have my coffee), and food could not be cooked. Well that HEAT is necessary in our life as well. Trials are God’s way of making us uncomfortable so that we listen to Him, trust in Him, and become confident that He truly cares about us and our problems.

Whether or not you are a Christian you have endured hardships in your life. The death of a loved one or friend, a divorce, the loss of a job or maybe you have struggled with your own health issues. I write this as a Christian now, but there was a time in my life that I did not believe in God and journeyed through life feeling alone and empty. I came to know God through the trying of my Faith, and while I am not attempting to write a sermon I am going to tell you that Faith placed in anything other than Christ Himself is useless.

We in America are so blessed that even our poor people are wealthy when contrasted with the rest of the world. We as American Christians rarely live truly by Faith, and without Faith it is impossible to please God. This can be dumbed down to mean it is a waste of time. What I am saying is that no matter your circumstances, whether it is a loss of your job, your car broke down and you cannot afford to fix it, your child needs medical care, you just found out that you are being layed off in 3 months, or any other of life’s curve balls, is that the ATTITUDE with which you CONFRONT your HARDSHIPS is YOUR CHOICE.

You can choose to have FAITH or you can choose to FAIL. Whatever the outcome may be it is soleley your choice on how you deal with it.

As for me I choose FAITH in the ONE who created me. I honor God through my success, not my failures and HE gives me power to overcome. Phil 4:13

How To Get Rich and retire Wealthy

So Rod you ask, How Do I Get Rich? How do I live comfortably, not live paycheck to paycheck, never worry about balancing my checkbook, purchase what I want when I want it, Pay for private school and college, AND RETIRE wealthy?

So the title has your interest and you are now thinking I am going to tell you something profound like invest your money in medical stocks, contribute 20% to your 401(k), buy Real Estate or if you want to Get Rich Fast- rob a bank. Well no not exactly and I certainly do not recommend robbing a bank even though robbing a bank is just as risky as investing in stocks. I do advise that you invest in something that provides a guaranteed rate of return (15%), no risk of loss to principal, and full control over your money with no penalty.

Anthony Robbins has some good advice in the above video, especially where GOLF is concerned, and if you are like me you are tired of the same OLD advice given by Banks and our “so trustworthy” Government. SERIOUSLY, have you thought about who you spend most of your money with and what you spend it on. TAXES and INTEREST to the Banks and the Government. Aren’t they the ones always telling us how to spend our money?

Okay to the point. Let me start with introducing you to the 5 Laws of Gold from “The Richest Man in Babylon”. A must read!!

1. Gold cometh gladly and in increasing quantity to any man who will put by not less than one-tenth of his earnings to create an estate for his future and that of his family.

• If you start putting $100 a month away when your child is born @ 15% interest, continue to do so until he/ she is 19 and DO NOT TOUCH IT  by the time He/ She reaches age  50 they would have $9.6 million,  by age 60=$39.2 million, or by age 70= $158 million.

2. Gold laboreth diligently and contentedly for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment, multiplying even as the flocks of the field.

• Invest your money where YOU HAVE NO RISK OF LOSS to principal, AND a guaranteed RATE OF RETURN. (Hint: not stocks, bonds, or 401(k)

3. Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advice of wise men in its handling.

• Anyone who tells you that RISK= REWARD IS NOT WISE

4. Gold slippeth away from the man who invests it in businesses or purposes with which he is not familiar or which are not approved by those skilled in its keeping.

• You SHOULD invest your money in YOURSELF and YOUR FAMILY as you LIVE. ( I can show you How easy this can be)

5. Gold flees the man who would force it to impossible earnings or who followeth the advice of tricksters and schemers or who trusts it to his own inexperience and romantic desires in investment.

• This INCLUDES ALL STOCKBROKERS, most financial advisers and planners as well as most bankers, and CERTAINLY The Government

In conclusion I  advise that you invest in A VEHICLE that provides a guaranteed rate of return (15%), no risk of loss to principal, and full control over your money with no penalty. Most Financial advisers do not know that this can be done, let alone THE AVERAGE EVERY DAY JOE.

To learn more visit www.FinancialFreedomFighter.com OR CONTACT ME @ RodFerrier@FinancialFreedomFighter.com

Is It Time To Retire The 401(k)

Are you tired of the 401(k) roller coaster, and the turmoil caused by seeing your retirement funds disappear?

I recently read an article from Time Magazine entitled “Why It’s Time To retire The 401(k)” by Stephen Gandel, and it took me back to the moment when I was first was first introduced to this retirement vehicle by my father. As a young man I had concerns regarding this “savings plan” in which there were no guarantees on your  growth, no idea on tax rate at retirement, and there was a risk of loss to the principal.

After reading the article several times, I thought that I would share some excerpts with you, as I am sure you are looking for a retirement plan that will not “retire” before you are able to enjoy it! While I agree that it certainly shows worse case illustrations, we can also agree that considering the current economic times we all know someone (maybe you) whose retirement has been diminished considerably. Please keep in mind that I am sharing and commenting from a view point that considers volatility and taxes when considering retirement planning. I do not consider HOPE a viable PLAN when planning for my long term future. So let’s start with a brief background by Mr. Gandel on the 401)k).

Congress was trying to close a loophole on executive bonuses when it  created the 401(k). Most companies intended 401(k)s — which were originally called salary-reduction plans but then renamed for the portion of the tax code that makes them possible — to be a perk for highly paid executives, not a pension replacement. That’s because lower-paid employees probably could not afford to defer a portion of their paychecks. So companies held on to their pension systems even as they added 401(k)s, which by law they had to make available to all employees. When the market took off in the 1980s, the rank and file clamored to get in.

With a 401(k), contributions came out of your pay but were not taxed, and you had control of them. Contributions could be added or suspended. Best of all, when you left your company, your 401(k) traveled with you, removing a penalty for switching jobs that had been built into the pension system. On the corporate end, a change in accounting rules made the growing cost of pensions more apparent to shareholders. Cutting the pension was a guaranteed way to improve the bottom line. The rise of the 401(k) began.

SO we can see that the 401(k) is simply the area of the tax code that allows your retirement contributions to be deducted pre-tax thereby allowing you to reduce your taxable income, and delaying payment on those income taxes until a later date. Now I could write a whole article on this, but want to give you one thing to think about, “Do you think income taxes will go up, or down in the future”? Please consider the ever increasing costs of social security and Medicare in your thought process. SO let’s look at what Mr Gandel says about potential problems with the 401(k).

In theory, 401(k)s should provide much more of a retirement cushion than they do. A 2007 study from the National      Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) estimated that, on the basis of historical returns, by 2040 the average 401(k) of a near retiree would grow to an inflation-adjusted $451,944. That money, spread over 30 years, could replace at least 50% of the average retiree’s income. Add Social Security and even highly paid workers will probably earn more than 80% of their preretirement income. “The only reason these accounts haven’t lived up to their potential is that they haven’t gotten enough time,” says James Poterba, president of the NBER, who co-authored the study.

In practice, 401(k)s haven’t been nearly so rewarding. When Boston College’s Munnell looked at the returns 401(k)s have actually produced compared with the projections, the difference was sobering. The average 55-to-64-year-old should have a 401(k) balance of $320,000. In fact, at the end of 2007, the average 401(k) of a near retiree held just $78,000 — and that was before the market meltdown.

Why don’t these accounts amount to much? Munnell found a number of reasons. Some people don’t contribute as much as they should — essentially ignoring free money from company matches and tax relief. And, as the original engineers of the 401(k) suspected, the less you earn, the less you are likely or able to contribute. For most employees, the maximum contribution to a 401(k) is $16,000 annually. She found that just 5% of people earning $80,000 to $100,000 maxed out, compared with 30% of those making $100,000 or more.

Additionally, to get the hypothetical higher returns over time and avoid investing disasters, you have to hold a diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds. Many of us don’t. Munnell found that 14% of workers held no stocks at all, leading to weaker-than-average returns. On the opposite end, more than a quarter of all 401(k)s were 100% stocks, exposing those accounts to big losses when the market dropped.

Earlier this year, mutual-fund company T. Rowe Price tried to determine the optimum retiree portfolio — the mix of stocks and bonds that would produce the highest returns without the risk of the nest egg running out. To do this, the analysts ran something called a Monte Carlo simulation, which mimics the real-life ups and downs of the market. Most of the time, the market goes up slightly. But some years — ka-pow! — stocks and bonds do spectacularly poorly. What T. Rowe Price found should  frustrate anyone who has spent time wondering if 25% of a portfolio should be in international bonds or small-cap stocks. No portfolio is 100% safe from disaster.

So what does all of this mean? When you are considering your retirement plan remember that taxes and market  volatility can have a significant impact on your retirement future. This article goes on to give examples of people who have seen their retirement portfolios drastically reduced. For me, I do not need to read this article to meet people who can no longer afford to retire as I am related to or know numerous people who have been affected. I can no longer continue to base my personal long term plans on HOPE, or place money in a vehicle that is so volatile and in which your tax liability is not known.

I also understand that some people reading this letter may have a difference of opinion and I sincerely welcome your thoughts and feedback. I have read many articles, comments and books by the so called “media experts still recommending that you continue to put money in your 401(k), and find their recommendations to be alarming, as they still believe the 401(k) to be a good retirement vehicle. MMM, “stupid is as stupid does, jenny”. I will end with the following quote from Mr. Gandel’s article, “The market fell in four of the nine years since the beginning of the decade. That means anyone retiring this decade had a nearly 50% chance of leaving work in a down market. In fact, your chances of retiring into a down market are even greater than that: forced retirements spike in recessions just as the stock market is tanking.”

Should HOPE, Volatility and Taxes not be desired components of your retirement plan, Please call me today to  discuss what you can do to plan for your long term future.