Independence and urgency, good or bad?

For the majority of our lives we hear things from authority figures that make us want to do things on our own and as quickly as possible. Where has this gotten us as a society? In my opinion, in trouble! It has created a society, (myself included) that craves instant gratification and an extreme desire to do things on our own.

20-30 years ago many consumers would walk into a business of something they were either needing or wanting and be able to ask for recommendations from the employees or owners of that business and learn about the products they were looking at, as well as find out the solution that would best fit their needs. They were then able to purchase the item / service with knowledge and understanding. In some instances the product wouldn't be available for immediate pickup and they would have to wait for it to be shipped before they could enjoy it, and in other instances they wouldn't have all of the money to make the purchase immediately so they would either save up, or place the item on "layaway" until they could finalize the purchase. People understood that they couldn't possibly be experts on everything and that some things took a little bit of patience to get so they would have to plan and prepare their time and finances.

Now, I am sure that some business owners or employees took advantage of this "naive" way of consumers to shop but most likely a lower percentage than what we are giving credit. So, what happened to Main Street America, quality capitalism and patience? My thoughts, distrust, negativity and a push for quickness rather than greatness!

What we really have is a chicken / egg first conundrum. I don't know for certain whether people began distrusting businesses first, creating a need for order takers rather than experts, or if employees business owners began to deliver less quality service in exchange for more speed, but the result has been a move of the pendulum to a polar opposite extreme creating personal isolation and cynicism. People now make many purchasing decisions online, with "experts" weighing in with reviews and their opinions of products / services.

Now, I have read and will continue to read many of these reviews, but I take them all with a grain of salt, as I know how easy it can be to rant and rave about something while sitting in front of the computer, whether good thoughts or bad. (Some of you may say this brings out honesty, and I partially agree, but partially I say it creates an environment of anonymity where people say things out of haste rather than logic or thought.)

What America and the world truly needs is something that has always been a struggle but can be accomplished in purchases of goods and services, a balance. Everyone should become educated buyers, do a little research and help create better customer service by asking questions about things, but don't think because you read it online that you are now an expert and can eliminate the need for any local expert's knowledge. This is especially true in industries such as finance, law, medicine and insurance. These are industries that cannot be made into commodities as an "off the shelf" set of products only based on price and speed of delivery. I know at this point you may say to yourself that of course I would say that as I am looking to profit from your business, but trust me on this, those companies spending millions of dollars across the Internet aren't just looking to help you and delivering charity. They have made decisions to move their business model to make the most profit with the least expense for them, not based on needs, but on wants of consumers.

So the question is, because you think you can avoid looking incompetent by asking any "person" questions, and receive your purchase in 15 minutes or less, does it make it a good purchase, or just an easy way out?

Let's all work together to be better, as a community of people. The Internet is intended to make a smaller world, for people to have the ability to communicate with people many miles away, to have the opportunity to learn more about people, products and the world, but not to create isolation and self-pride.

The world at large wants a better life and better communication abilities, yet is hiding behind your computer screen looking up all the advice you think you need better than taking an hour to walk across the road to the neighbors porch and just visit about life and the experiences that have made you who you are and your neighbor to share theirs?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Financial Security - How Secure is it?

Hey everyone, my apologies for the huge lapse of time between my last post. No excuses here, just hadn't gotten to it and then I allowed guilt of being so late to kick in for another couple weeks and hold me off! Procrastination is definitely an issue when it comes to things that are not "required" on a daily basis if there are other things to do (and who is anyone kidding, when isn't there other things to do?)!

Speaking of procrastination, that brings up a nice topic I feel should be shared and discussed! As every one of us has heard, I am sure more than once, one big key to a strong financial future is starting as soon as possible, and I don't think they mean after buying everything you want, but as soon as you start making any money, to budget it and begin to utilize it as a tool for your future. I find this fact best illustrated in this recent newsletter I recieved regarding kickstarting your financial future, best depicted by this point:

 Your assets grow through compounding – It may seem basic, but it's worth repeating – investing early makes it possible for you to double your money several times in your lifetime, thanks to the power of compounding. The longer funds are left to grow, the greater the result. To accumulate $1 million by age 65 (with a 7 percent rate of return), a 25-year-old investor could save $381 per month, while a 35-year-old would need to save $820 a month, a 45-year-old would need $1,920 a month and a 55-year-old would have to put away $5,778 a month to reach the same amount.

Now, this is a very obvious way to see that by procrastinating can be an expensive direct cost to you and your family, such as waiting the ten years from 25-35 will cost you over $110,000 more to reach the $1 Million dollar mark, now that is quite a penalty for waiting and is easily visible as a direct expense to you.

Now think about this, what if at age 25 you begin to save that $381 / month and are doing this faithfully to age 40, when tragedy strikes and you accidentally run a red light because the sun is in your eyes and you cause an accident in which 3 people perish. The average cost of a fatal crash is just over $1 Million / per fatality, and now you are responsible for $3 Million in liability damages. Do you have the proper insurance in place to protect you and your assets or will your financial security now be taken from you indirectly as a result of not being correctly insured? (I know in your mind right now you are thinking that this is a harsh way to prove a point.) I, in no means want to use scare tactics to prove a point, but do want you to understand that accidents happen, and if this were the case, would the auto insurance you have protect you and the assets you have worked so hard to build?

I am not saying it won't, but from experience, if you aren't sure that it will, you should have someone take an evaluation of your insurance for you. Even if you haven't started saving towards that $1 Million, it is important to have the right security in place. Don't procrastinate getting this done as accidents happen everyday and being improperly insured can create insecurities where you were sure you were doing the right thing and building your financial future. Please, share your thoughts on this topic and whether or not you know you would be protected in this type of situation.