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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.
Sincerely,
Simon Haggard
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+61 (7) 3040 1144 Office for Australia |
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+1 (928) 257-1501 United States |
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+64 09 889 2140 New Zealand |
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E-Mail: info@lifestylebiz.com.au |
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Skype: simonhaggard |
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