Wizards of Wealth

What does Lehman and Merrill and AIG and Fanny and Freddie have in common?

They all know how to lose money big time.

Some, it seems are too big to fail.

How about you, what size are your debts?

You may be eligible to get propped up like some of these institutions if you are saddled with obligations in the nefarious underworld of inter-twined and financially complex derivative markets. If not, it’s likely that you will be on your own.

I hope you are doing well; the government continues to step to the plate on our behalf. As taxpayers,they expect us to assume the financial responsibilities of these mismanaged companies that have made bad investment decisions.

The recent manipulations this past week are like a band-aid on a badly severed limb.

The real estate industry has enough headaches already, but without adequate capital, it is difficult to imagine the housing situation improving anytime soon.

As housing goes, so goes the country. Let’s see what the “rtc” model has to offer before we draw any conclusions.
Can’t shrug this one off, Atlas.

The credit markets have made it clear that risk is now the enemy.

How many people have you helped recently?

At Wizardz of wealth, we are always fascinated by the many paradoxes we encounter as we stumble through life. If you have followed us for awhile, you will remember that embracing “paradox” is one of the major themes discussed by Michael Gelb in his classic work on daVinci .

Let me ask you a question:

What’s more important, helping your self or helping someone else?

It seems to me that many wealthy people have discovered how to resolve this conundrum. The rest of us still get in our own way.

The other evening I watched a TV show that was star-studded and loaded with winners. Collabaratively, they were all helping thousands of others.  Bud Selig was speechless, and Steven Kimmel was not.

Again I ask the question, what comes first, the chicken or the egg?

The theme of “When we help someone else, we are helping ourselves” makes perfect sense, and is preached by many.

Staying in the game long enough is the key, and Robert Shemin talks about the need to help ourselves FIRST. The paradox of course, is that we are all taught that it is selfish to think of ourselves first.

We have tried to ilustrate this concept simply through our principle, the flat tire syndrome. The more we become, the more we have, and the better able we are to help others.

Making that choice is up to us.

Here  are a few bright men who have figured out a whole lot of people, and they are extremely wealthy.

I got a new computer the other day, and a few parts were in disarray. I used their invention to resolve my issues within minutes. I bet they have helped you in some way also recently.

How many people are you intending to help?

For those of you who love real estate let me give you a hint.

There are a lot of people hurting right now.

The next crop of millionaires are being grown, and they are figuring out how to help a lot of people like this.

Will you be one of them?

Juan is a good friend of mine in the Naples Florida area. He is a real estate broker as well as a mortgage broker,and he has some insights into the plight of the current dismal real estate market.

With prices plummeting @ 25% already in the past three years, and no end in sight,he knew he had to change his business model,or else he would become a victim of the severe downturn himself.

I asked him how business was doing, and he said great.

When business dried up, he decided to take control and do what he could to improve things. He investigated loan loss mitigation and credit repair services, and now his activity level is thriving, adding prepaid new clients every day.

In the old days, if Juan was a maker of buggy whips, he would have been the first to embrace selling parts for the horseless carriage.

It seems easier to operate in a normal market, but there are some entrepreneurs like Juan and Daniel who take adversity, look it in the eye, and reinvent themselves.

How about you; have you let go of your ideas for the improved buggy whips yet?

Negativity permeates the real estate atmosphere these days.

It is an important topic, since so many people have much of their wealth tied up in their homes, and some have chosen to finance them with an adjustable rate mortgage.

Broadcasting gloom and doom sells copy these days, and certainly we hate to add to the destruction of the American psyche.

It seems to be doing well enough on it’s own without our intervention.

How could so many people have gotten it so wrong?

What can be done now if you are in over your head?

First, remember to keep your cool.

Next, decide, from a practical standpoint, what needs to be done.

Third, set your plan in motion, and fourth, do it.

Don’t complicate your life with the excess baggage of emotional hand-wringing if you built your house on the sand.

And finally, remember what true wealth is all about.

No McMansion can ever substitute for the traditional values of a loving, caring self-nurturing family.

In the material world, however, remember that wealth is constantly changing hands.

Our purpose is to help you discover how to prosper, and then help others to do the same.

Resolve to learn from the experience, and reassert your vows to your spouse that “for better or for worse” you will get through this experience.

Is buying a house as a personal residence a profitable way to increase your wealth?

Best selling author Robert Kiyosaki of the popular Rich Dad Poor Dad series doesn’t think so.

While he feels that purchasing real estate investment property is one avenue to build wealth, he is not an advocate of owning your own home. (He feels it costs you money, so it is a liability rather than as asset.)

What’s your opinion?

Please post your response of success or failure of owning your own home as a vehicle for enhancing your wealth.

In a future blog, entry our team will share with you a few of our thoughts on this important subject.

I am currently homeless. Assuming I could afford to buy a home:

When do you think it would be a good time for me to buy a home?

• This year
• Next year
• Within 3 years
• 3 to 5 years
• Other______

Should I:

• Obtain Fixed rate mortgage
• Obtain Variable rate mortgage
• Get seller to finance
• Pay cash

Down Payment:

• 0%
• 2-5%
• 10%
• 10% +

Please feel free to submit your responses to this informal poll.