In case you haven’t heard, the market is actually up! Surprised? You shouldn’t be, unless your only source of information is found between the hours of 5:00-7:00pm on one of the three doom and destruction….I mean….quality news networks. Seriously, when is the last time you watched the local or national news and heard more positive stories about the economy, people, and cultures than you did about the bad things taking place? More than likely the answer is never. I’ve heard that “if it bleeds, it leads.” Unfortunately that phrase is all too true from the majority of today’s media outlets.

So if you’ve only been listening to all the garbage (IE. ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN’s “news cast”) coming out of the tube, here’s a quick reality check of what is actually taking place in the local and national scene:

1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is up to 8,500.00 and climbing. This is an increase of 29% from the market low just 3 months ago, and it’s up 6% in past 30-days!!! Where’s the news on that story? Even if the market didn’t move an inch up or down until March 2010, the annual return would 29%, and yet we still have another 7 months in the year to take advantage of the low market prices!
2. There 304,059,082 people out of 304,059,724 in America that are not infected with the Swine Flu (there are only 642 confirmed cases in the USA as of today, and only two people have actually died according to the CDC). In case you’re still concerned that you may become infected with the “world-wide pandemic of the decade” and you’d like to know your chances of catching this new flu bug, here you go….you have a .00000211% of a chance. If you happen to catch this little bugger you should buy a lottery ticket the same day because you must be one of the luckiest people alive according to the numbers!
3. Mortgage interest rates are near 50-year lows, meaning you can get a 15-year fixed rate mortgage at 4.5%, or a 30-year fixed rate mortgage under 5.0%. If you avoided the stupidity of interest only, “arm” loans, and other terrible mortgage products that we’re being offered everywhere during the past few years, then you’re in a great position to go buy that first home. (PS – There’s plenty of inventory to pick from, especially if you’re fond of Phoenix, Detroit, or anywhere in Florida!)
4. The Seattle Mariners are actually leading the American West by half a game and it’s May (Hey, it’s my blog so I can be proud of my hometown teams if I want to be).

With the media pitching story after story about government bail-outs, financial market meltdowns, and the end of the economy as we know it, it would easy to start believing that our only hope for a financial turn around is the government. DON’T DO IT! The government (or it’s involvement) is not the solution to the financial messes that we’ve made, or Wall Street for that matter. It comes down to personal choices. Small choices that add up little by little into financial success or failure. If the latter is where you find yourself, then your personal choices have got to change starting now. As in today!

Start doing something different than the way you’ve been doing it so far. Start living on less than you make. Start paying off your debt instead of accumulating more of it. Start saving for a rainy day and retirement. Start thinking for the long-term (like where investments will be 10, 20, or 30 years from now….not just a week from now). Start making decisions based on long-term, historical, and practical terms. Quit believing the propaganda that says “government is our only hope for financial survival”, because it’s not. It never has been. And nations that have tried to become that end up hurting the people far more than they ever help (remember the Soviet Union…aka communism!). Anyone who believes that the government is better equipped to run every area of your life is spewing socialism. It doesn’t work.

What does work is rolling up our sleeves and getting to work and living a responsible life. The kind of life where we take responsibility for our actions, good or bad, and we live with the consequences of those actions. We don’t point the finger towards someone else when we were the one that made the mess. Instead, we get busy cleaning up the mess and make better decisions next time. It’s not easy to live this way I know, but it’s the only way to live if you want lasting success.

If I asked you to name someone you know who has experienced an unexpected financial “crisis” in the past 5 years, you could probably think of them within a few seconds. Most of you have been there yourself. The transmission in the car dies and needs to be replaced. A son or daughter gets injured and you are faced with a large medical bill. Work slows down and your income decreases. Perhaps you get injured and you can no longer perform your job at work and must look for new employment. Whatever the situation may have been they don’t have to become a “crisis”. The reason these situations become a crisis is because people aren’t prepared for them. I read a statistic that 90% of people will face a major financial crisis every 10 years!

Ignorance would handle this by imitating an ostrich and burying its head in the sand, acting like things will be fine as long as I’m not looking. The better approach would be to take the advice found in Proverbs that says to store up in the summer to prepare for the winter. Storms will come in life. Financial, relational, emotional and the rest. The key to these storms not becoming a crisis is to prepare in advance for them. You won’t typically know when a storm is coming but you can make sure that you have a dry place to wait it out when it comes.

An Emergency Fund is a storm shelter for your financial future. A solid emergency fund is 3-6 months worth of your monthly expenses. This means that if your monthly expense budget including home mortgage and rest is $3000, you would need to have $9,000 to $18,000 set aside in a separate savings account. Determining where you fall in the 3-6 months takes looking at your income source(s). If you are 100% commission based or have large swings in income you should lean towards the 6 months. If you have a good salary in a long-standing company, you could lean towards 3 months. However, for most people the closer to 6 months the better. This money should be placed out-of-reach of your regular expenses, but accessible enough to get at in real emergency’s. A good place for these funds would be a money market account with check writing ability. This would earn you a little interest on your money without it being tied up in a stock, CD, or other type of savings that may have a penalty for touching it. A strong emergency fund will cause what may have been a major financial “crisis” to be more of an inconvenience.

There are a few other items to address to become fully protected from storms like Disability Insurance, Term Life Insurance, and a Will among others. I will address each of these in an upcoming post. For now, get started on your emergency fund.

I can’t remember when it started but at some point in my childhood I became fascinated with the idea of becoming a millionaire and retiring by age 30. At the time I’m sure I thought that 30 was “old” (I’m 27 now). A million dollars seemed like a huge number and I figured it would take me getting started immediately to make it by my projected completion age, so I started my first company: Gabe Incorporated. Seeing how I was 12 years old I figured I could do just about anything I wanted. I remember taking this large bulletin board sized paper and writing all the services that Gabe Inc. would offer the hungry public: lawn mowing, weed-eating, car washing, car cleaning, house repair, house cleaning, pool boy, and on and on the list went. Finishing the list I realized my new company had so much business potential that I would need employees, so I interviewed and hired two neighbor friends.

After my first CEO’s address to the corporation’s employees it was time to market our services. It took knocking on 5 doors before our company solicited its first victim…I mean customer. It was a complete car was and detail of a pickup. After two hours of meticulous cleaning by an 11, 12 and 13 year old the customer was satisfied enough to pay us our asking fee of $20 (very generous considering the finished product)! A rush of satisfaction came over me and I knew I was my way to a million dollar neighborhood enterprise. However, the rush ended as soon as I had to pay my “employees”. Twenty dollars doesn’t look as attractive to a 12 year old when split 3 ways, so I did what any good CEO would do with a successful company needing a bigger piece of the profits…I downsized. That’s right, after my first day I slashed expenses by lying off my workforce and converting my corporation into a sole proprietorship!

What a life for a 12 year! I had a lot of fun coming up with business plans and negotiating deals with my neighbors. It taught me a lot about working hard for other people and standing behind what I do. I actually kept three clients (I did their landscaping each week) for four years. While I haven’t hit my first million yet I am still convinced it’s obtainable before my 31st birthday. Thirty doesn’t appear as “old” as it does when you’re 12, and retirement has taken on a new meaning. The term I use now is financially independent. I enjoy working because I have a joy for what I do and a purpose for doing it. I love to give and be a blessing to my family, church and friends. My new dream is not just to become a millionaire for the sake of having a million dollars, but to have the capacity to give in a huge way every year. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

“YOU”…

“YOU” have the ability to do whatever you can imagine possible. “YOU” have the opportunity to accomplish great things. “YOU” can become a huge asset to your company, your church, or your family. “YOU” could help change the world or decided to leave it the same.

The only thing that limits how effective “YOU” are in this life is “YOU”. “YOU” decide each morning if “YOU” are going to wake up and exercise and live healthy. “YOU” decide if your children are raised with quality Biblical teaching and sound characteristics. “YOU” decide if “YOU” are going to practice what “YOU” preach in the marketplace, the grocery store, the church, and home.

“YOU” determine how you will live financially. “YOU” determine if “YOU” pursue that promotion at work. “YOU” determine if “YOU” will out work and out hustle your competitors. “YOU” determine if “YOU” will look at a dozen extra properties to find the perfect one for that hard to please client. “YOU” determine how each dollar that “YOU” make gets spent.

“YOU” have the opportunity to live like no one else. “YOU” have the opportunity to do what nobody else can do. “YOU” have the opportunity to reach people that nobody else can reach. “YOU” have the opportunity to become the kind of person “YOU” desire to be.

“YOU” have the a choice today. “YOU” get to determine who “YOU” are going to be. Have “YOU” made “YOUR” choice today?<