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.
