The Black Card - This is NOT an Advertisement

The Black Card – This is NOT an advertisement
Enrage or Motivated

So. I paid off the balance on 2 cars, all my credit cards and all those of my wife’s. Yippee. And recently we were pre approved for two new motor vehicles with interest rates of 3.25%. Wow!! Woe is me, the high interest we were paying for years because of our average credit rating. But that’s not the nature of my story.

After paying off all those credit cards, our credit rating shot straight to top score. We have been flooded with credit card applications. I open about 1 in 5 of those mailers, only to become enraged at the terms of every single mailer. It only confirms my resolve that banks are extremely greedy, self serving institutions, with a mentality of take and raping all they can.

Anyway, one of those mailers was an “Invitation.” The envelope was a flat back color. The return address read only the words, “BLACK CARD_TM”. So yes, I opened it and scanned it for the interest rates and other terms. The paper inside was in large print, on heavy expensive paper. There was a large off white return envelope and half fold large credit card with the application printed in even larger print inside. Kind of looked like a wedding invitation. The front off white card said in the first line, “By invitation, you have been pre-qualified to receive the exclusive Visa Black Card. Limited to only 1% of US residents.” Now, everyone knows that the 1% they imply, are the 1% richest people in the country. Trust me when I say, that is not me.

I continued to analyze the, “Invitation_TM”. It lists other terms & features. The interest rate was only a common, 14.99%, half as much as Discover card’s 29.99%. But hay, Discover card give you cash back. The Black Cards annual fee was $495, plus $195 for each authorized user. Ouch!

You might think that I would be more enraged by the annual fee, which, by its high number, is membership excluding. But I wasn’t. I’m use to excluding memberships like those of many golf courses. It was the implication, that unless my wealth fell into that of the richest Americans, “the 1%”, I would be excluded from membership to the card.

I was enraged enough to write this article. Maybe I should feel motivated?

11-3-11

The High Cost of Procrastination

The High Cost of Procrastination

Habitually putting things off might actually cost you money.

Habitually putting things off might actually cost you money? Consider the potential impact delays can have on your future. Wait to start saving for retirement and you could face a hefty price tag.

The 40 year old who wants to save $1 million by age 65 has to start putting away more than $1,000 a month. But a 20-year-old needs to save only $190 a month.*

Likewise, if you put off doing your taxes until April 14, you'll delay receiving any refund owed to you, money you could put to work promptly in an IRA. Many mistakenly consider the tax return as anticipated income, and use it for a vacation.

So how does one start to make a change? Take some baby steps. Each day or two, do something that increases your understanding about a change you might make. You can use free tools from many websites to help you with some of these things.

Identify shortfalls in retirement savings

Try out scenarios that show how increasing your contributions can affect your retirement

* This example is for illustrative purposes only. Assumes an 8% return on hypothetical investment.

Are Americans As Dumb As We Appear??

Did you see the Diane Sawyer special report? They

removed ALL items from a typical, middle class family's

home that were not made in the USA .

There was hardly anything left besides the kitchen sink.

Literally. During the special they are going to show

truckloads of items - USA made - being brought in to replace

everything and will be talking about how to find these items

and the difference in price etc..

It was interesting that Diane said that IF every

American spent just $64 more than normal on USA- made items

this year, it would create something like 200,000 new jobs!

I WAS BUYING FOOD THE OTHER DAY AT WALMART and ON THE LABEL

OF SOME PRODUCTS IT SAID 'FROM CHINA'.  FOR

EXAMPLE THE "OUR FAMILY" BRAND OF MANDARIN ORANGES

SAYS RIGHT ON THE CAN 'FROM CHINA.'   I WAS

SHOCKED SO FOR A FEW MORE CENTS I BOUGHT THE LIBERTY GOLD

BRAND OR THE DOLE SINCE IT'S FROM CALIF.

Are we Americans as dumb as we appear --- or --- is that we

just do not think while the Chinese, knowingly and

intentionally, export inferior and even toxic products and

dangerous toys and goods to be sold in American markets?

70% of American believe that the trading privileges

afforded to the Chinese should be suspended.  Why do

you need the government to suspend trading privileges?

DO IT YOURSELF, AMERICA!!

Simply look on the bottom of every product you buy, and if it says 'Made

in China ' or 'PRC' (and that now includes Hong

Kong), simply choose another product, or none at all. You

will be amazed at how dependent you are on Chinese products,

and you will be equally amazed at what you can do without.

THINK ABOUT THIS: If 200 million Americans refuse to buy

just $20 each of Chinese goods, that's a four billion

dollar trade imbalance resolved in our favor...fast!!

Most of the people who have been reading about this matter

are planning on implementing this on May 1st and continue it

until June1st. That is only one month of trading losses, but

it will hit the Chinese for 1/12th of the total, or 8%, of

their American exports. Then they might have to ask

themselves if the benefits of their arrogance and lawlessness were worth it.

Siberian Mission - Show of Commitment

LEHI, UT – A few short months ago, a parentless 19 year-old in a remote Siberian city suffered from lack of funds for schooling and a facial deformity called cleft lip that affects eating, breathing and social interactions. Despite these humble beginnings near the geographic center of Asia in Tuva, Russia, the young man, named Salan Solun-ool, was determined to make a better life. Upon a chance meeting with several distributors for XANGO, LLC, a global health and wellness leader in the direct sales industry, Solun-ool became a distributor himself to earn income for college. Little did he know, the introduction to XANGO would not only provide a unique business model for achieving his financial goals but also lead to free, life-changing surgery in nearby Ulan Ude, Russia, during XANGO’s award-winning 2010 Season of Smiles with Operation Smile, for whom the company is a long-time sponsor as part of its core commitment to changing lives.

“Salan Solun-ool’s story in Russia is a microcosm of what we’ve seen throughout the Season of Smiles – the strength of XANGO’s global network and the power that exists when many caring people lend their talent and resources to provide life-changing opportunities for others,” says XANGO Founder Joe Morton. “As a global company, XANGO encourages our employees, distributors and executives each to become personally involved in the ways that most resonate with them, from local volunteering to larger initiatives that reach every corner of the world.”

XANGO’s Russian distributors assisted medical volunteers in performing 55 surgeries for children and youth who suffer from cleft lip and cleft palate facial deformities, including Solun-ool. The mission in Ulan Ude followed similar trips to Tlaxcala and Guadalajara, Mexico, and Chonburi, Thailand, reaching a total of 450 children and youth in 2010. The initiative to provide free, life-changing medical care is emblematic of XANGO’s sense of mission to improve lives. With his surgery complete and a second year of college studies underway, Solun-ool is several steps closer to his dream of becoming a painter, quite a transformation from his days at the Siberian orphanage in which he grew up.

Solun-ool isn’t the only one to take notice of XANGO’s commitment to the greater good: XANGO’s partnership with Operation Smile also led to official recognition via a 2010 Communitas Award from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals in the category of Leadership in Community Service. The Communitas Awards recognize exceptional businesses, organizations and individuals who unselfishly give of themselves and their resources, and those who change how they do business to benefit their communities.

Morton notes, “XANGO is honored to be among the 2010 Communitas Awards recipients and will continue our work with Operation Smile to further our joint mission of changing lives, one smile at a time.” In Ulan Ude, Russia, Salan Solun-ool is smiling brightly as he contemplates his expanded world of possibilities.