The Great Depression in the 1930’s saw the end of many fortunes and the birth of many newer ones. It was a pause in the economic affairs of the world and many compare the similarities of the Great Depression to the current situation.

With the Roaring 20’s and the 2000’s, the economy was very viable. Many were making money and people jumped on the bandwagon to do what every one else was doing in order to catch some of that good fortune for their own. The seeming good times minimized fears and worries. There was not such an urgency to think differently.

The current situation gave everyone pause. The old way of making money was not viable anymore so there was an abrupt change in the economic climate. Clearly, different ways to make money are called for. With unemployment at the highest it’s been in about 30 years, getting a higher paying job is not necessarily the easy ticket it once was.

Perhaps taking a closer look at a home based business could be appropriate for you now. At least you would know that you wouldn’t lay yourself off.

Technorati Tags: economy, fortunes, Great Depression, home based business, unemployment

Are you suffering from the summertime blues? What I’m talking about is the frustration with what you are doing now. You work hard, put in your time and you don’t have the money to go on the vacation you really want to have. Or, you don’t have work to do and can only spend time on a job search.

The economic news is not good and isn’t promising to get better anytime soon. Some estimate the current unemployment rate will be with us for the next couple of years. It sounds pretty dismal, doesn’t it?

There is good news. The statistics that the experts quote apply to population as a whole and they become meaningless when applied to an individual. The economy as a whole can be in a recession but that doesn’t mean your personal economy has to be in a recession.

Here’s some of the advantages being your own boss.

• You can’t be laid off.
• You determine when you get a raise.
• You can turn travel into a business expense.
• Your economy can boom no matter what others are doing.
• You pick the hours you want to work.
• You pick the location.

It’s not all fun and games. You do have to provide value and you do have to be self-disciplined enough to do the work.

What I recommend is to find something that is flexible and can be done on a part time basis so you can build the business while you are still bringing in a paycheck. The extra income can help you catch up on bills, pay off debt, etc. while you learn to earn.

By next summer, you can be doing what you want instead of wishing you were somewhere else.

If you would like a suggestion on what you can do, get your free CD at FreeRKCDForYou.com.

Technorati Tags: economy, free cd, frustration, job search, money, pay off debt, paycheck, vacation, your own boss

There’s a lot of discontent going on currently. I hear a lot of it about the weather, the economy and the political scene. Here in Texas, we’ve seen more snow this season than we have in the last 18 years – I’m judging by thinking back over my son’s lifetime.

Well, I can’t do anything about the weather and my influence on the political scene is very limited. I can, however, affect my personal economy. My oldest son is looking at several colleges to attend next fall. As anyone in this position can tell you, that’s a big affect on the budget. The question is, how to pay for it while maintaining our current lifestyle.

Most people look at what they can cut out of their budget to save. My thought is that there is only so much you can “cut out” of a budget without severely affecting your quality of life. My philosophy is that instead of cutting things out, what can I increase? I can develop new revenue streams. I can increase the flow from current streams. When you control  your income with a home based business, you determine when you get a raise.

The added advantage of increasing your income is that when the requirements stop, you still have the income. When my son graduates in four years, I will stop paying tuition, fees, books, room and board. That money can then be diverted into creating more assets!

It’s up to you to change your winter of discontent into glorious summer!

Technorati Tags: budget, college, economy, get a raise, home based business, lifestyle, tuition, weather

Recession fears are very prevalent today. When I read the facts, I kind of have to chuckle to myself. The headlines read something like unemployment at it’s worst in the last 23 years. I remember 23 years ago.

Back in the late ’70′s and early ’80′s, the unemployment rate had kind of settled in the 8% range, slightly less than what we have now. A recession at that time pushed it over 10%. People were complaining about tough times but there was nowhere near the Chicken Little pronouncements you see trumpeted in the news today.

What has struck me as so interesting is that the economy has been good for so long, there’s an entire generation of workers who have never seen a recession. It’s been so good for so long that 8.5% unemployment is an economic apocalypse instead of just ‘not so good’ news.

Let me put these numbers in another perspective. Economists say that about 4% unemployment is about as low as you can get. This represents those people who are between jobs. If it gets much lower, the economy suffers because there aren’t enough workers to fill jobs.

So, you subtract the 4% transient unemployment from 8.5% and you get about 4.5% additional employment. In other words, the employment rate is over 95%! Even if you don’t subtract out the transients, the employment rate is over 91%!

In perspective, the depression unemployment rate was over25% at it’s highest. FDR said it best, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself!”

Now that I have talked about what people are fearing the most, how do you protect yourself from it? One of the best things is to control at least a good part of your income with a home based business. If you want to see if this could be for you, I suggest going to FreeRKCDForYou.com and requesting a free CD by Robert Kiyosaki called, “The Perfect Business.”

Technorati Tags: depression, economy, home based business, recession, recession fears, robert kiyosaki, unemployment