Why Are We in This Situation

A wise man once said, “You can oft times learn more by your failures than you can your successes.” It is important to reflect on the areas that we struggled in so that we can lean from it. There are a few things that I have found can get people into a bad situation financially. There are a few key items that I believe contributed significantly to the dilemma that we are in today. One is the fact that we seem to love impulse buying. We are like kids in a candy store WE WANT IT NOW! This type of mentality puts the family finances at risk. Before you make any purchase are you asking yourself the question, will this purchase help my finances and my family finances or will it hurt it?
Not taking responsibility for your money is another big problem. What I mean by that is not tracking your expenses. Not shopping around when you buy things or not buying on sale. As I was talking to one of my students she made the comment that it is important to fight for your money! If we are fighting for our money we don’t just give it away! We look at all the alternatives so we can give away as little as possible. Having too much credit card debt has also been a huge problem. I think that credit cards can be helpful and used for convenience when used properly. When they are abused they will definitely get you into the poorhouse. Buy a home that is not too elaborate. Buy a home that will fit your families needs, there is no logical reason to buy a home that is larger than what your family will need. Get what you need and only what you need and pay it off as quickly as possible. Never take the full 30 years to pay off a mortgage! These are a few of the mistakes that many have made. If we learn from our mistake, we will grow from them. Take time to evaluate decisions you have made with your finances and make sure you are learning from your mistakes.

Overcoming Fear

Everywhere you turn these days, you hear and see negative things. These negative things promote fear in each of us. One of the things that has hurt the economy is fear. This effects our personal economy as well. These fearful thoughts provide us with no benefits. All they do is stop our progress in our personal and financial lives. Fears often disguise themselves in what most of us consider reasonable thoughts. Worry, concern, excuses are the most common forms of fearful thoughts that we experience on a daily basis. “I’m going to wait until the economy improves.” or “So many people I know are out of work, am I next?” or “I don’t want to call my clients in the evening because that is family time.” These statements are reasonable, but they all explanations of why something can’t be done. A good exercise for you to do is to write down all of the obstacles that are in your way of accomplishing your financial goals. Look for those things that are born out of your fearful thoughts and then let the fear go. Re-write those statements and transform them into positive goals for the future. You’ll find life much easier and more rewarding to deal with when you active in overcoming fear.

ETFs—An Investment Option
Some students have had interest in Exchange-Traded Funds. It for this purpose I am writing to those students today. Many recognize my view on mutual funds. I feel strongly that are one of the greatest investment options available because of the diversification aspect within them. However, they can be expensive including fund fees, potential load fees, 12b-1 fees, and other fees. To remedy this I have proposed Index Funds because they can accomplish the objective of diversification and fulfill the concept of Modern Portfolio Theory, while reducing the cost of investing. Well, another option also exists; it is an Exchange-Traded Fund. The fund is cheaper than an Index Fund and still can satisfy all the required the objectives described.
An Exchange-Traded Funds are holdings of securities mirroring a market index, i.e., S&P 500. They are classified more like an open-end company or Unit Investment Trust (UIT) with a few exceptions:

• They trade exactly like a regular stock.
• They are sold in large blocks know as “Creation Units.”
• The Creation Units are generally purchased by instructional investors.
• The Creation Units are bought with baskets of securities that generally mirror the ETFs portfolio.
• After purchasing a Creation Unit, the investor has the option of splitting it up and selling the individual shares (i.e., equity or bond shares) on the secondary market.
• Investors have two options when selling the ETF: 1) Selling the individual shares to other investors on the secondary market, or 2) Retain the structure of the Creation Units and sell it back to the ETF.
• The redemption of Creation Units is generally provided with securities comprised within the portfolio.
• Because of the limited redeemability of ETFs, they are not considered to be a mutual fund.
Again an ETF can mirror an index, like the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500. As a result they are powerful investment securities because they contain the elements of modern portfolio theory and diversification. ETFs may also be attractive because of their low costs, tax efficiency, and stock-like features.
Some popular ETF options include:
• S&P Depositary Receipts “Spiders,” which track the S&P 500 (Ticker Symbol SPY)
• “Cubes,” which tracks the Nasdq 100 (Ticker Symbol QQQ)
• Vanguard Index Participation Equity Receipts “VIPERs,” including Vanguard Energy VIPERs, Vanguard Financials VIPERs and Vanguard Mid-Cap VIPERs.
• Vanguard Total Market Index Fund (Ticker Symbol VTI)
For further information, please contact me at Prosper 800 748-5199 x6048.

This week Lorin share's another inspirational testimonial from a student.

It is time to go back to what made America great! I know that sounds like the introduction of a politician’s speech, but it’s not. What I mean by that, is, it is time to change our financial ways! Are you sick and tired of living paycheck to paycheck? Are you tired of putting off that vacation to Hawaii? How long have you dreamed of firing your boss, but you have not been able to because of your financial situation? How long have you been putting off getting your finances in order? Today is the day! Make a decision here and now that it is time for you to gain control over your finances.
Credit cards have put far too many people behind the eight ball financially. During these hard economic times we are seeing the true colors of these financial institutions. Many people are struggling now so what do theses credit card companies do? They raise your interest rates and decrease your limits. This is like kicking someone while they are down! It is time to tell your friends, your family, and all those that you love that it is time to do things differently. It is time to start making yourself wealthy instead of the banks. You have paid them enough! It is time for you to be able to do what you want when you want to do it.

This weeks Industry Update is brought to us by Kory Koontz.

Finding a niche market for many is a daunting task. It truly can be like finding a needle in a hay stack. I would like to offer a few suggestions that may help you find a niche in your desired market. The first step is to find a product that you feel you would enjoy selling. This may be a product that you currently use. Brainstorm at least 20 products. Once you have thought of 20 products the next step is to narrow it down to 5. Once you have your top five products the next step is to find the supply and the demand for your products. What you want to do is find a product where the demand is really high for the product and the competition is very low. There is a specific formula that we use to determine this. To find the formula listen to last week’s conference call in the e-library titled “Finding Your Niche Market.” Once you have your niche the next step is to find suppliers and get things set up officially. Most people starting out selling things online will go though a drop shipper. You can find many drop shippers at wholesalematch.com.
To review, start thinking about the goods that you use in your everyday life. Is there something that you use that you would enjoy selling? If so, it is time to run the numbers to make sure that you do have a real niche.
Once you have found your product the next step is to get ready to sell. One of the fastest ways to get started is to sell on eBay. Setting up an eBay store front can be very cost effective. You can learn some of the basics of setting up an eBay store in eBay 101 and eBay 102. Finding a niche can be hard work, so stay focused on what you are trying to do, and do not give up until you have found what you are looking for!