Sent to me by a friend, this is a good reminder that despite the economic crisis and runaway recession each of us are in control of our own future, if only we agree to disagree

His teachers said he was “too stupid to learn anything.” and was fired from his first two jobs for being “non-productive.”
Thomas Edison’s 1000 inventions came during the Panic of 1873 — 6 years — and the Long Depression — 23 years.

He did not speak until he was four years-old and did not read until he was seven. His parents thought he was “sub-normal,” and a teacher described him as “mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams.”
Albert Einstein survived one Long Depression, three panics and Post WWI Recession.

He failed sixth grade and was subsequently defeated in many elections until he (Winston Churchill) became Prime Minister at the age of 62.

Only a mediocre pupil in undergraduate studies and ranked 15th out of 22 students in chemistry.
Louis Pasteur was ranked 15th out of 22 chemistry students.

It is said this farmer boy could not read nor write, failed and went broke five times. His company has survived 8 Recessions, 1 Oil Crisis and 1 Great Depression.
Hopefully Ford Motors will make it through this.

He was not allowed to wait on customers when he worked in a dry goods store because, his boss said, “he didn’t have enough sense.”
FW Woolworths was founded during the Long Depression that lasted 23 years with a loan of $300 and in 2001 changed its name to Footlocker.

Fired by his newspaper editor who said, “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” He went bankrupt several times before he built the largest entertainment company in the world.
Walt Disney’s creations have since survived 1 Great Depression and 7 Recessions.

After his first screen test, the memo from the testing director of MGM, dated 1933, read, “can’t act, can’t sing, slightly bald, can dance a little.”
Fred Astaire’s career lasted 76 years and was launched during the Great Depression.

School dropout and child runaway, this individual used $105 from his first social security check at the age of 65 and sold his franchise after 9 years of attempts and during two recessions.
The world knows him as “Colonel” Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Trained ambulance driver and later a milkshake machine salesman, this guy took over a small scale franchise and built the company into largest fast food restaurant in the world.
Ray Kroc bought McDonalds during Recession of 1953.

The first time he walked on-stage as a professional comic, he looked out at the audience, froze, forgot the English language and was jeered offstage.
The Seinfeld show will pay Jerry over $250 million.

Decca Records and Columbia Records turned down a recording contract with this group suggesting, “Groups of guitars are on the way out.”
The Beatles delivered 292 performances in one year at a seedy little club in Liverpool before they were discovered!

He handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him “hopeless as a composer.”
Beethoven wrote five of his greatest symphonies while completely deaf.

Is there a message here?
1) Never Quit
2) Everyone has problems!
3) Recessions don’t kill anyone!
4) Do something spectacular.

These are the 32 Words in the Bailout Bill intended To End Our Economic Freedom and Destroy the US Constitution as noted by a friend on my email network.

“Decisions by the (Treasury) Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.” – Section 8 of the Paulson Proposal

Bluntly, this clause was put in the Bailout Bill to personally protect the authors of that bill. Why? Because they know it is a bad bill designed to harm the public while protecting the out-ethics companies and company executives whose money management mistakes got them into trouble.

Did you listen to President Bush’s 12 minute address to the nation on the evening of September 24th? In one breath he stated the economic crisis was caused by too much lending of credit. Then 3 times he stated that the solution to the problem is the Bailout Bill which would make it possible for more credit to be given to businesses and families.

So how can what created the problem also be the solution? It CANNOT.

Did you listen to Bush and watch the politicians and so called “experts” being interviewed about the Bailout Bill? Did you notice that rach one of them used the word “hopefully” more than once? – Hopefully this will help, hopefully the housing market will start to recover, hopefully the government can sell the distessed properties that they are buying that ‘We The People’ have to pay for now. The authors of this bill and our political representatives on Capitol Hill doubt this bill will be the real solution. That’s why the authors of the bill added the clause that protects them personally if it doesn’t work – they are merely “hopeful” and are nowhere near certain.

The Great Depression finally materialized when the amount of credit loaned reached a critical mass and far outweighed the public’s ability to pay. That exact same situation has happened and the public cannot pay the credit debt they have incurred. To extend more credit is to send us faster down the slippery slope toward a long and deep recession.

I am against the Bailout Bill. I am for letting the executives who make millions in salaries every year take the hit for their out-ethics money management that created their companys’ and Wall Street’s problems of greed and financial mismanagement. I refuse to bail them out when I have worked so hard to keep my business and household financially sound and out of debt. I don’t want to be punished as the producer while their non-production is rewarded.

President Bush, Mr. McCain, Mr. Obama and all members of Congress, GET OUT OF OUR WALLETS and pay for this out of YOUR multi-million dollar annual salaries instead, since you are so HOPEFUL that this Bailout Bill is the correct solution. Take the billions in salaries made by the executives of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG,  and Wall Street brokerages. You were elected to serve ‘We The People’. We don’t work for you!

It is a little known fact that more millionaires were made during The Great Depression than in any other era in U.S. history. Want to know how that happened so you can cash in on the economic crisis looming on the horizon?

I did a lot of research work to find the real facts, not just the historical data we are spoon-fed by the media about how hard the depression was on the masses and how hard the President worked to turn the U.S. economy around. It takes digging through piles of research documents including the copyright and patent office files and the Library of Congress to find a lot of the data. However, you can also find a lot of information on the internet if you dig deep enough.

There is one golden nugget in this history lesson that can enable you to make tons of money when our country is in a recession (like right now) because a recession is exactly the same thing as a depression except it doesn’t last as long and the damage is not so bad. So bear with me while I give you a short history lesson that contains this golden nugget.

It is important to know that the Great Depression actually started a few years before the 1929 stock market crash and lasted until World War II brought the country out of the Depression.

In the years before 1929, as more and more credit was extended to businesses and individuals the economy was tipping over the edge from available cash to way too much credit debt. When the amount of extended credit reached a critical mass and companies could no longer pay the credit bills, the companies crashed (the 1929 debacle.) When workers lost their jobs they could not pay their credit debts and the housing market and banking industries crashed.

All the business enterprises that were bought and sold during the depression by people with liquid cash are too numerous to mention, but because of the war effort, those with liquid cash who bought land, homes, companies, or invested in the stocks of the companies that made products that were in demand by our government for the war effort made millions. These industries included such products as:

1 – Metals: steel, iron and aluminum
2 – Communications: radios and parts
3 – Transportation: Aircraft, Tanks, boats and vehicles (and their parts)
4 – Armaments: Guns and munitions
5 – Boots, clothing, belts, backpacks, hats, blankets, tents and cots (and the textiles to make them)
6 – Containers
7 – Shipping – Truck Transportation – Railways
8 – Oil and petroleum and stocks in those oil wells (the Texas oil boom was a biggie!)

A few of the well known companies that changed hands during that period were John Deere, Douglas Aircraft, Reynolds Metals, Ericsson, and even the Goudy Gum Company – they were the first gum company to issue baseball cards with gum.

Some of the oppressive laws that our government passed during the 1930s were an effort to take money from the large number of people who had liquid cash and were using it to buy companies (or stocks in companies) as well as property. The government wanted to take it away from the people who had been smart enough to stash away liquid cash and not get into credit debt, and use it to fund the war effort as well as re-distribute it to the destitute families.

A word of caution here – Be careful to protect your cash. There are many banks that are in trouble, and while some have failed, many are on the government’s “likely to fail” list. How safe is your bank? You owe it to yourself to find out.

While your bank probably won’t reveal their rating if you ask, you can find out for yourself how safe you bank is by signing up to get my FREE Bank Ratings Report right here.

These laws were later ruled unconstitutional, but the point is that the people with liquid cash were spending it in way that made them millions, especially in industries necessary to the war effort. Yes, the stock market crashed, but the stocks could still be bought at undervalued prices and those with cash invested at the bottom of the market.

The tactic to be learned from this is a simple one that the people who use my Money Management Software implement right away. They stash cash. In case you missed it, here is THE GOLDEN NUGGET: When it comes to money, the only thing you have to fear is having no liquid cash to get you through an economic crisis.

It is a great time to buy property, but there are many people who have too much of their money tied up in non-liquid investments. They are worth lots of money on paper, but can hardly pay their bills. And there are those who have lost a lot of their money invested in semi-liquid investments like the stock market and have little liquid cash that they could get their hands on within 30 minutes if an emergency presented itself. The frightening shape our current economy is in today has the same indicators that heralded the depression of the 1930′s. Not enough cash savings, too much corporate and personal credit debt, banks failing and having to be bailed out  and the mortgage crisis / real estate crash.

What should you be doing? My clients are getting rid of their credit debt and stashing liquid cash like crazy. They are sleeping well at night and will make it through whatever comes. As martin Weiss recommends, they are “protecting their cash like a junk yard dog.” Does that mean you should sit on your cash and do nothing to recover the losses you may have sustained? Absolutely not!

I highly recommend you buy and read Martin Weiss’ book:

The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide: Protect Your Savings, Boost Your Income, and Grow Wealthy Even in the Worst of Times
 

The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide

Find out how safe your bank is.

Learn where and how to buy gold and silver, and why you should.

Discover which small companies Martin thinks are the best to invest in and what price you should pay.

Get his book today and look to the future with confidence that you can weather the storm.

What are you doing to protect yourself in the economic recession / depression that is already underway? Leave a comment.

Worried about the possibility of The Great Depression happening again? Are you trying to figure out how to protect yourself in an economic crisis? Here are some things you can do.

The first thing you need to understand is what the word ‘economics’ means in terms of thinking about your personal or company finances, and how you can use what it means to your financial advantage.

Forget what the media says about ‘economics’ when they report on the gyrations of the stock market, product shortages and demand increases, price increases, banking industry mortgage defaults and unemployment statistics. Those are ‘economic representatives’ that guage an area that is bigger than you can personally control.

What you do have control over is your own business and household economics. The definition of economics I am using is the original one; meaning ‘the art or science of managing a household or business.’ And those are things that you, as an individual, can control.

Managing a business or household is an art. It requires specific skills and abilities, like putting in organization so things run better. There is a science of managing a household or business, especially in the area involving money. Here is what you can do to guarantee that the economics of your household or business are strong and unshakable, despite the fact the general economy may be on the slippery slide to disaster.

1 – Use CASH Not Credit

Each time you buy something using lines of credit or credit cards because you don’t have the money to pay for it, you are promising your future income to the the credit card company. Those future earnings will undoubtedly be needed to pay your regular household or business operating expenses. That’s when you end up in economic slavery known as the credit trap.

The only exception is buying property that increases in value, like buying a home instead of renting, or investing in a commercial building that puts more income in your pocket. Using your money to make more money is smart money management.

Tip: Be sure you negotiate a big discount when you pay with cash. When the rest of the world is on the downhill run to economic disaster and credit is difficult to obtain, the guy who has the cash is king. In addition, figure out how to purchase items wholesale instead of paying retail prices to keep even more of your hard-earned money.

2 – Don’t Spend More Than You Earn

Learn from your grandparents who earned little, but managed to live well. Reduce expenses to a rate that is less than your income. The most direct route to financial disaster is spending more than you make. You can keep a good quality of life while reducing optional spending. This can be accomplished by acts such as buying used equipment rather than new, and eating less often in restaurants. Don’t buy something because you only want it, but don’t really need it. It’s just a plain good money management practice.

3 – Money Must Be MADE Before It Gets Spent

If there is some future large purchase you need to make, begin by setting aside small amounts of cash in a savings account for that purchase and keep that up until you can pay for it with cash.

On a household level, if your child will be entering college in 10 years, then figure out what the tuition costs will be and work out how much moneyyou have to set aside every week to have the full amount just before they graduate from high school. Plus turn in applications for each student financial aid package, scholarship and student grant you can locate.

On a company level, if you will need to purchase or upgrade a equipment for your office , then figure out what the costs will be and work out how much moneyyou have to set aside every week to have the full amount the month you will need to make that purchase. Plus look for each place you can locate to get the best deal possible.

4 – Put Away Some Cash for Emergencies and Living Expenses

You will sleep much better at night with the financial security of knowing you have money stashed away in a savings plan for emergencies like needing to repair the car or an office machine, having to have some unexpected dental work or experiencing a big drop in income. When you have a cash cushion you can get your hands on immediately, then magically, you don’t even worry about money, and your focus returns to living life and enjoying it, and earning money suddenly gets easier.

The only thing you have to be afraid of in a great depression is not having some cash reserves tucked away in a savings plan you can immediately get your hands on.

It might interest you to know that the Great Depression in our recent past created more millionaires in the U.S. than at any other time in history. Want to know how that happened? In that time, the economy bottomed out, the stock market dropped like a rock, inflation drove prices sky-high, the unemployment rate shot up like a rocket as companys shut down, and people who lost their jobs also lost their homes.

Those who had cash stashed away were able to purchase houses, land and whole businesses for pennies on the dollar. They became overnight millionaires because they had enough cash to weather the storm called The Great Depression.

Out of every bit of income that comes in the door, immediately set aside 10% and stash it in an interest bearing account that you have designated for your cash cushion. Perhaps you’ll have to cut expenses AND work an extra job to build your cushion of cash. No, no moaning about how you can’t, JUST DO IT! As the weeks and months roll by you’ll find you are sleeping better and are walking through life with a lot more confidence knowing you are on your way to financial freedom and have protected yourself from The Great Depression looming on the horizon.

 
A word of caution here – Be careful to protect your cash. There are many banks that are in trouble, and while some have failed, many are on the government’s “likely to fail” list. How safe is your bank? You owe it to yourself to find out.

While your bank probably won’t reveal their rating if you ask, you can find out for yourself how safe you bank is by signing up to get my FREE Bank Ratings Report right here.

Why is controlling the flow of your money so important? It is the energy and life blood of a household or business. It is vital to channel some of it through the income producingareas first to keep it running smoothly, and also to save some of it for future survival. Everything runs better when adequatecash is available. Our Money Management Software guides you towards making the best possible decisions of how to use your money to reach your financial goals.

Sandra Simmons, President of Money Management Solutions, Inc. specializes in helping business owners and individuals manage their money to achieve financial freedom. Claim your FREE Debt Reduction Solutions Guide

© 2008 Sandra S. Simmons. All Rights Reserved.