What if Glen Beck is wrong?

As I sit and listen to another tirade from Glen Beck about how President Obama has ultimately decided that he is going to take over the world one day at a time, I began to ponder the question... What if Glen is wrong? What if out the clear blue sky, we have somehow come upon that once in a generation a series of events where mankind has decided that we should aim for a change, what if at a grassroots level, people have a whole have decided that we should no longer seek a profit motive in working as man, and we are really asking the question, WWJD? I am sure that Glen, at the very core should be able to honestly ask himself that question. I mean he is a Mormon correct? So he really should, even from a spiritual standpoint be able to view things from a different perspective. In the afterlife that he purports to believe in, that Belivers will be able to rule over their own universe, so ultimately, how intellectually dishonest, would it be to believe that maybe that we should evolve as a society? Over one hundred years ago, how foreign was the idea that we all should be free, even here in America? Or even two hundred years ago? However skeptical he is, I do not believe that he is being honest. And at the very minimum, he should try to walk a mile in someone elses shoes. Certainly, Obama's plan is not perfect, but at the outset, NEITHER was the Constitution, the beloved document that it was/is. Remember, how many ammendments have we had? Instead of criticizing, lets sit down and figure out how we can make this thing called America work.

How to Stop Harassing Creditor Phone Calls

Every body who has had a bill at one time or another has been fortunate or should I say unfortunate enough to deal with a collection phone call or two. I know most every one has often wondered how to make these annoying phone calls stop. Heck, there are even commercials that people see that offer a “service” to get the harassing phone calls to stop. I can give you a sure fire way to stop the harassing phone calls. This can be completed in three easy steps. Here you go.

1.) Answer the phone. I know it sounds a bit facetious, but if you know you owe the bill, talk to the creditor. Often, you can negotiate a payment arrangement that will allow the phone calls to stop and even better you may be able to negotiate a settlement on a debt.
2.) Write a letter. There are certain protections that all debtors are given under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act which states, that if an individual requests in writing, that any future communications from the creditor be in writing only, then the phone calls must cease! Immediately! This is a protection that we all are afforded no matter how far behind we are on our bills.
3.) Send them something. I know it may sound tough, but Dave Ramsey often speaks about the “debt snowball”. A debt snowball is when you pay off all of the smallest bills first, then, just like a snowball rolling down a mountain to create an avalanche, pay off the largest bills last. You don’t know how many times I look at a credit report, and there are 5 or 6 collection bills that are under $50.00!

If you follow these steps, I am certain that the harassing if not annoying phone calls will cease.

Something new… Punt, pass or kick... Oh well I guess I will short sale…

A short sale in real estate is not always a pleasant transaction.
There are many ways to lose a home but signing away ownership in a manner that destroys credit, embarrasses the family and strips an owner of dignity is one of the hardest. For owners who can no longer afford to keep mortgage payments current, there are alternatives to bankruptcy or foreclosure. One of those options is called a "short sale."
When lenders agree to do a short sale it means the lender is accepting less than the total amount due. Not all lenders will accept short sales or discounted payoffs, especially if it would make more financial sense to foreclose; moreover, not all sellers nor all properties will be able to complete such a transaction
Although all lenders have varying requirements and may demand that a borrower submit a wide array of documentation, the following steps will give you a pretty good idea of what to expect.

• Call the Lender

You may need to make a half dozen phone calls before you find the person responsible for handling short sales. You do not want to talk to the "real estate short sale" or "work out" department; you want the supervisor's name, the name of the individual capable of making a decision.

• Submit Letter of Authorization

Lenders typically do not want to disclose any of your personal information without written authorization to do so. If you are working with a real estate agent, closing agent, Title Company or lawyer, you will receive better cooperation if you write a letter to the lender giving the lender permission to talk with those specific interested parties about your loan. The letter should include the following:
o Property Address
o Loan Reference Number
o Your Name
o The Date
o Your Agent's Name & Contact Information
· Preliminary Net Sheet
This is an estimated closing statement that shows the sales price you expect to receive and all the costs of sale, unpaid loan balances, outstanding payments due and late fees, including real estate commissions, if any. Your closing agent or lawyer should be able to prepare this for you, if you do not know how to calculate any of these fees. If the bottom line shows cash to the seller, you will probably not need a short sale.

• Hardship Letter

The sadder, the better. This statement of facts describes how you got into this financial bind and makes a plea to the lender to accept less than full payment. Lenders are not inhumane and can understand if you lost your job, were hospitalized or a truck ran over your entire family, but lenders are not particularly empathetic to situations involving dishonesty or criminal behavior.

• Proof of Income and Assets

It is best to be truthful and honest about your financial situation and disclose assets. Lenders will want to know if you have savings accounts, money market accounts, stocks or bonds, negotiable instruments, cash or other real estate or anything of tangible value. Lenders are not in the charity business and often require assurance that the debtor cannot pay back any of the debt that it is forgiving.

• Copies of Bank Statements

If your bank statements reflect unaccountable deposits, large cash withdrawals or an unusual number of checks; it's probably a good idea to explain each of those line items to the lender. In addition, the lender might want you to account for each and every deposit so it can determine whether deposits will continue.
· Comparative Market Analysis
Sometimes markets decline and property values fall. If this is part of the reason that you cannot sell your home for enough to pay off the lender, this fact should be substantiated for the lender through a comparative market analysis (CMA) or comps as you hear real estate agents call them. Your real estate agent can prepare a CMA for you, which will show prices of similar homes:
o Active on the market
o Pending sales
o Solds from the past six months.
Now, if everything goes well, the lender will approve your short sale. As part of the negotiation, you might ask that the lender not report adverse credit to the credit reporting agencies, but realize that the lender is under no obligation to accommodate this request. But be sure that a short sale is a way to cope with difficult real estate in today’s market, with out totally killing your credit.

Should we recycle friends?

As I sit towards the end of every year I start to get more and more introspective in the way I look at my life over the past year, and I persist on making the next year better than the last, I begin to thumb through my cell phone book and I think. Which people did I try to connect with over the last year, and either did not connect with, or this person is currently not trying to grow personally, and should I try and take this person through the next year of my life with me. I wonder am I the only person that does that? I realize that friendship is essential to the soul, but I also realize the age old mantra, "I could do bad by myself!"

I had one friend in particular, at least someone who I thought was a very good friend, is someone that to say the least has had a pretty bad year. I have tried to be there for this person,. be a shoulder for them, be a sounding board, but I began to think that I was enabling this person more than I was helping them. Now granted, this person was an excelent person for me to be around with and was a good friend for a season, but like that old pair of jeans, that just doesn't fit anymore, I think that persons time and resources as a friend would be better suited for someone else at this time. And, like that old pair of jeans, maybe in a couple of years, they can be repurposed. Is it bad to think like that?

I periodically try ( at least I think I do) to touch bases with everyone in my rolodex at least 12 times a year, and as we get closer to the end of the year, I find myself leaving the message, " Hey so and so, this is my last attempt to reach out to you, I would love to hear from you, but if I don't, hey it's been nice knowing you." I see that as a way of decluttering my life and letting them go. I do not know if that is some passive agressive b.s. that I picked up from my mother, (lord knows we all have something that we have, but that is another story...) but it seems to work for me. As I begin to do that, I wonder, am I the only one that does something like that, or is that something that is picking up,like paying backwards. And if it has not picked up, would I be a new trendsetter for something new. Well that is all I have for now, let me get back to recycleing. Peace.

Darrin

What makes a hero?

I have been watching CNN for the past weeks, and they have been talking about these hero awards that they are going to be giving out. And I started to wonder, what makes a hero? Is a hero someone who can survive a great deal of hardship, and not give up and die? Is a hero some one that can make a positive difference in some one elses's life? Is a hero someone that is totally altruistic in their actions? Or do we take the Ayn Rand approach and see that person who is a hero is someone that is totally selfish in all of their actions and we fail to see their selfishness, and damn that selfishness, or do we truly see and respect their selfishness in our subconscious and applaud it by giving them awards of some type.

Whenever I see things like that, I really start to question heroism, and what is true heroism, and I question my motives at the very foundations of my actions. I know I want to be a hero. Who really would not want to be a hero? Who really does not want to make a difference? I believe that part of the human condition is realizing that life itself is a series of decisions, and every decision has a direct effect upon the next series of decisions and outcomes that are laid out for us. I only hope, no, I pray that I can make the best decisions in my every day life that has the best possible outcome for everyone involved.

Why now the best time to start a business…

I have been in an ultra super doper grind mode lately. What does that mean? Well it means I have been working very hard. I have been starting businesses left and right, and so far all of my startups have been extremely profitable. And I can give you five reasons why they will continue to be profitable.

1. Conventional wisdom teaches us to acquire assets when they are at a discount, and sell when they are at a premium. (What is an asset? An asset is something that makes you money, i.e. employees, billboards, computers, trucks, rental income properties, etc.) With unemployment reaching record highs, finding high quality part-time help is becoming easier and easier.
2. Cash is at an extreme discount for borrowing. Word just came out from the Federal Reserve that they expect interest rates to be at 0% in late January!!!!! (get ya credit together!)
3. Vendors are discounting their prices to increase business. For example, on a property I purchased last week for $3,000.00, I am able to get that property repaired and rentable for under $2,500.00! And get that property up to Section 8 standards, netting me $750.00. So the property will be completely free and clear in less than 8 months of receiving revenue!
4. With gas prices dropping daily, transportation services companies are looking to partner with owner operators for hauling freight.
5. With a new administration coming into office, their will be even more incentives to hire, and insure yourself and employees.

Now, I am not recommending going out and quitting your job and go new business starting cold turkey, but what I am recommending is that you should not be afraid to realize that we all have some degree of ingenuity, and that now is the perfect time to seek out opportunities to utilize our GOD given gift of creativity to feed and take care of ourselves.

Paying it backwards… A way to get our economy out of the hole.

Today while driving in my car I was listening to CNN and I heard the most interesting story. Apparently at a Starbucks out in Oregon, customers are paying for the person behind them in line at the drive thru. Now this phenomenon is catching on nationwide. While listening to this, I was in the drive thru at a Subway, and the person in front of me paid for my sandwich!

After experiencing getting paid backward, I decided that I had to pay it backward for someone else. Economic theory leads us to believe that the only way to get out of a recession is to spend. Conventional biblical wisdom also teaches us to that if we give that we shall receive. What a novel way to get out our current recessionary mess, by giving. I wonder that if we all began to give a little more instead of taking, how much better off we would be over all?