How To Protect Yourself From The Coming Financial Crisis

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

How To Protect Yourself From The Coming Financial Crisis - by Dick Kazan (posted with permission)
http://www.saneramblings.com

How crazy has America become, and why is our dollar sinking?

In a cynical attempt to avoid a politically devastating election year Recession, President Bush and Congress quickly signed a "Stimulus" Bill. As a result, in May, most U.S. taxpayers will get $600 -$1200 plus $300 more per child, an estimated $168-billion giveaway. So what's wrong with this?

1st, We don't have the money, so we'll borrow it, putting our nation deeper in debt. From endless vast government overspending on its military, we are already confronted by far higher taxes in the next few years and if we don't make peace with the world and get our finances in order we face a potential future U.S. government bankruptcy or devastating cuts in Social Security and Medicare.

2nd, Mr. Bush and Congress want the money spent ASAP. But most goods are foreign made, and we import far more than we export so we finance the shortfall. Our trade deficits are so high, we can only sustain them because others finance them. This will run up our foreign debts even more.

3rd, many people will buy items costing more than $600 - $1200 and will borrow the difference. Our credit card and auto financing debt and defaults are at record levels as huge numbers of Americans teeter on bankruptcy.

As a friend of mine said, Mr. Bush and Congress have driven the car off the cliff and they want you to rush out with your stimulus check and buy shock absorbers so the crash might not be as bad.

Under these circumstances, may I suggest you take your check and pay down your credit cards or put it in an FDIC insured savings account. At least you'll have the money when you need it. And my friend I'm sorry to say you'll likely need that money as will many of the rest of us.

But the good news is we are all in this together, and together we can solve our problems before they overwhelm us. And as a nation, we can become far more caring for the problems of others and help them to find solutions rather than threaten them with annihilation or to militarily occupy them.

http://www.saneramblings.com

[NMDemDist2]

1. if you work for a living.....

5) If you work for a living, preferably be employed by a dynamic company in a fast growing field, whether in medicine, computers, debt collection, energy or other choices that play to your skills.

Also military contracting and law enforcement will provide a strong base of employment for a long time to come.

geez what a great group to choose from eh? I think he should have listed 'green jobs' too

[monktonman]

2. I for one will be writing "return to sender" on my check

yes I could use a few extra bucks but I'm just gonna
pay it back next year anyway.
Why take a loan from myself I cant afford?

[doni_georgia]

5. I'm going to put mine in the bank and earn interest on it

I'm certainly not going to spend it.

[rhett o rick]

3. Pay your debits. Another suggestion is to buy food for the food banks. nm

[doni_georgia]

4. When Dubya got reelected in 2004 we started paying off all debt

We knew the economy was going into the tank. Anyone who hasn't paid off their debt needs to. It sounds easier said than done, but pick one debt at a time and pay what you can extra. As a family, we cut out all extra spending over the past four years - not taking vacations (except visiting the parents in Florida and South Carolina) not eating out, not going to movies, etc. The money we saved on these things allowed us to pay off credit cards. Another area where we save a lot is by shopping at consignment stores and Goodwill. I recently purchased my teenager a new wardrobe at Goodwill - everything was name brand and most still had price tags. My kids are glad to shop this way, because they know it's better for the environment.

[Warpy]

6. And fourth, the people who would be most likely to go blow it

on some gadget they've wanted for a long time will either use it to catch up on bills that are in arrears or stick it in the bank for a few months because they know they're vulnerable to offshoring, downsizing, or other corporate violence against working people and they'll be in arrears sooner or later and they'd like to keep a roof over their heads as long as possible, thanks.

[Javaman]

7. Take the rebate and invest it in Euros. nt