Foreword in German:
Guten Tag, Freunde und Leser!
Ich bin heute geschrieben über Finanzierung, Investition, und Geld, und wie man einen einfachen, demütigen, Person, begonnen zu erhalten, 1/10 seiner oder ihrer Geld-/Pay, neben jedem Arbeitsentgelt -- der Zahltag, und es dann klug investieren! Unser Vater im Himmel will, dass seine Kinder glücklich, fröhlich sein, und wohlhabenden, wenn möglich, aber viele Menschen in Amerika haben Gefallen, und kann nicht mehr zurück holen.... Finanziell! Ich pflegte, Finanzen und Investitionen vor etwa 20 Jahren zu unterrichten, und ich genossen, anderen Menschen zu helfen. Ein altes deutsches Sprichwort lautet: "Wenn man hilft anderen------- Beide sind stark."
Herzliche Grüße,
Thomas G Schuckman
Email: tschuckman@aol.com
Good Day, Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends and Kind Readers !
"Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." --- John 14: 27. Don't worry, folks, I am not going to rant and rave, stand on a soap box and SING, today..... LOL. It's a dreary, chilly day U.P. in the great Northern Woods, even North of the great State of Wisconsin.... but we'll take it and give thanks for another day of drawing the clean, crisp air into our lungs !
Flash ! I was taking a nice shower last night/ evening, and some how pulled the shower curtain down, so I finished cleaning myself, quickly, and was so happy to shampoo my hair and full beard. Working hard and also sweating has been my work ethic from childhood... on up. But I doubt if I could live with out a shower with hot water and soap !! Maybe I am over dramatic but I still consider a great shower -- a sublime luxury, and I love to be squeaky clean all over.
And the next time I go to the store in Iron Mountain, MI., I will buy a few bottles of good German White wine, for my health. From what I have read and studied, Red wine is good for the heart. And White Table wine is good for the brain. Heart disease and Stroke run in my family linage/ history ---- it's genetic. So, millions of other people in the world and USA walk around with similar health factors, but they combat their genetic challenges with positive, herbal, even Biblical, remedies, and live full, happy, productive lives ! However, if my Lord and Master, Jesus, call me "Home" sooner, or the Rapture comes, I would be happy to be in that number, too ! In the story of "Forest Gump," we learn that: 'dying is a part of living.' Wise, old, King Solomon had plenty to say about that subject, too. Please read from the book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3, verse 13, "And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God." And I also like, Chapter 4, verse 9, "Two are better than on; because they have a good reward for their labour." Verse 10: "For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth: for he hath not another to help him up."
Another FLASH !
A quarter of American adults cannot pay their monthly bills.
And 44% don't even have $400., in cash ! Most of you folks that read my modest column know that I have a strong back ground in Finance and Investments. And I used to TEACH many couples sitting at their kitchen tables all about Money, Cash, Saving, Investing, and many other equations, and I ENJOYED helping other people out. I never got rich, but I helped others and myself to crawl out of the hole of poverty, work hard and to BEGIN investing a little bit of their income every month, also teaching them about, "Emergency Funds," Long term funds, etc. etc. The secret is: to grab onto something GOOD, BEFORE other people over load it, crowd it and all of them finally jump on that band wagon.... and ruin it all. To sell high, and buy low, but also about "Dollar Cost Averaging," The "Rule of 72," how not to get screwed or taken advantage of by hucksters, bankers, and Life Insurance Companies !!! It was just so exciting helping others out, and prospering, learning how to help others by GIVING them some money --- NOT Loaning them money. And if you are curious about anything I am saying here, just email me to find out the answer. tschuckman@aol.com
But, Friends, Here is the Warning..... I USED TO give away lots of money at churches to poor people who were crying on my shoulder about their health bills, and dire poverty, so I would give them a "C-note" ---$100 bill. And when I left that church for one reason or another.... sometimes it was just too far away for me to drive, or I broke up a relationship with my wife 2-- years ago.... only ONE of those church members ever even called me to see if I was alive or not !! I NEVER, ever, not once, cheated on my wife, but she was just too independent and went her own way...... but now at least we are on talking terms and we get along fine and help each other ! Smile. She is not an evil creature... and neither am I. We both made mistakes, for which I was so sorry for and I apologized for my sins and mistakes.
But what about the other fake, turkeys at church.... as I call them CHINO's [Christians in name only !]. And for some odd reason my fellow, brother, combat Veterans treat me much better, like a human being, and with respect, as I AM their fellow 'Brother in Arms !' And I care for them too and try to help them if I can.
All I am saying here and now is: "Sitting in a church every Sunday no more makes someone a Christian --- than standing in some garage makes one a Auto Mechanic ! ! !" Please burn that into your brains...... LOL. I am speaking the truth as I see it. There are: False Religions, False Prophets, False Churches, and many FAKE PEOPLE --- all who will have to face the Judge some day, just as I will have to. But here is a question.... We ALL NEED TO BE SAVED, and have the Holy Spirit inside of us, to get into heaven..... Fact. But wouldn't you logically THINK that a so-called Christian would also know his/ her Bible after a few years of reading, studying it, and listening to great sermons at some 'Christian church ??' Now... I know that we are not all endowed the same set of brains and minds, by the Father in heaven, but most everyone can learn a FEW scriptures over a life time !! Too, we can do NOTHING ON OUR OWN to merit Heaven. But at the same time, all Christians are charged, at Matthew 24: 14, to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as best they can ! So ask yourself: What have I done all my life in service to the Lord ?
I also know that many of us only find out about the Lord after we are older in years. But just what have we done for the Lord, and what are we doing NOW ?? Something to ponder, friends and readers.
OK, folks, I am NOT the BOOGEY MAN, who loves to scare people out of their wits, nor do I preach and pass along any "Doom or Gloom." But I do tell and share the Gospel TRUTH per the KJV Bible ! ! I am not afraid to share the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, even if it means my life, disabled Old, Soldier, that I am, and praying for the Rapture.
But now, "In the Meantime," there is NOTHING WRONG with having cash money, silver and gold !! Paul told Timothy that it was the "Love of Money" that was evil and a trap !! [See: 1st Timothy 6: 10] Please remember that difference.... while the heathen world says something different and contrary--- Ha! And they usually get it wrong... just like modern day, "Fake News" from the heathen Liberals insects ! Also, please read, Ecclesiastes 2: 24--26, to set things straight. And then, the whole chapter 3, is where that famous musical band, the Byrds got the lyrics for that special song: "Turn, Turn, Turn." ------ a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. etc. etc. That's back in the early 1960's era, young children.... LOL.... Ha! Smile.
Friends, down below might are many deeper things hard to understand.... but the bottom line is, that things are progressively getting worse and more desperate, sorry. I have studied the "Blue Print," and I know what to expect. I am retired and have that distinct luxury of reading many exciting things on the InterNet, including Finance and Investments, etc. But why not do all this home work for yourself ?? Hey! You and your family might be tired of eating beef stew, but sometime in the future, you will give most ANYTHING for just a sniff of the good stuff ! I kid you, not !
I have not had a real vacation in many YEARS !! If I don't even have a nice, friend with me, to pick me up [emotionally] when I 'fall down, etc,' how or why would I want to spend lots of money on a vacation ?? But taking a nice, lady out to a nice, quiet dinner at a great place, in more my speed, now days. And right now, I happen to have enough on my plate, and plenty of fish to fry. Father God takes good care of me, and so I have some happiness and hope in my life.
Now, here it is already, 2:30 PM, and I have not eaten yet ! But I do have something in the crock pot. Smile. And my mouth is super dry now, too. Time to enjoy what the Lord has provided.
But as one last parting, "Gift," --- I tell you [financially] to "Pay Yourself, First !]. That means, every time you get paid for work, cut 10% off the top --- and that is YOUR MONEY ONLY ! Then either hold it in your house, hidden somewhere, but do not put it into the bank, please, or you will soon "Lose It !" And then, when you have a few hundred dollars saved up, invest it all into Silver, at a special, trustworthy company called: MMX --- MoneyMetalsExchange.com
FREE Expert Consultation: 800.800.1865
---When you get it delivered to your own house and you have to sign for it, count nd HIDE it in a secret place and tell NO BODY !! Except you wife ---- IF YOU REALLY TRUST HER. Continue to due this, and you will then have an "Emergency Fund," and also start stocking canned food, and pure drinking water. Read and study your Bible often. You will be much better off than all of your neighbor, I promise.
Warm Regards,
Tommy Schuckman
Email: tschuckman@aol.com
Seeing...and Being Seen
A Quarter Of American Adults Can't Pay All Their Monthly Bills; 44% Have Less Than $400 In Cash
by Tyler Durden
May 20, 2017 11:41 PM
There was some good news and some not so good news in the Fed's latest annual Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households.
First the good news.
The report, based on the Board's fourth annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking conducted in October 2016, presents a "picture of improving financial well-being among Americans", at least according to the report (read on to see if this is merited). Overall, 70% of the more than 6,600 respondents said they were either "living comfortably" or "doing okay," up 1% from 2015 and up 8% from the first survey results in 2013.
Not surprisingly, the highest percentage, or 92%, of those who responded they were "living comfortably" was among the group with more than $100,000 in family income. For Americans making less than $40,000 the breakdown was almost evenly split with 49% saying they are "just getting by." According to the same study, 28% of respondents said that their income in the last 12 months was less than $25,000, and 40% report that their income was less than the key $40,000 cutoff, which suggests that roughly 4 in 10 Americans are "finding it difficult to get by."
The improvements in well-being as reported by the survey respondents were concentrated among high-income adults, with at least some college education, and prompted the WSJ to write that "U.S Household financial health improved in recent years." Even so, most of the changes reported in the survey were relatively modest, "reflecting a slowly improving economy and an unemployment level at or below 5% throughout 2016."
Now, the not so good news.
Nearly eight years into an economic recovery, nearly half of Americans didn’t have enough cash available to cover a $400 emergency. Specifically, the survey found that, in line with what the Fed had disclosed in previous years, 44% of respondents said they wouldn’t be able to cover an unexpected $400 expense like a car repair or medical bill, or would have to borrow money or sell something to meet it. Troubling as this statistic remains, the overall share of adults who would struggle to come up with $400 in a pinch has declined by 2% from the last survey conducted in 2015, and down 6% since 2013.
Of the group that could not pay in cash, 45% said they would go further in debt and use a credit card to pay off the expense over time. while a quarter would borrow from friends of family, and another 27% just couldn’t pay the expense. Others would turn to selling items or using a payday loan.
The breakdown was largely by education attainment: 79% of those with at least a bachelor’s degree said they would still be able to pay all of their other bills in full if hit with a $400 charge. Just 52% of those with no more than a high school diploma said the same.
Just as concerning were other findings from the study: just under one-fourth of adults, or 23%, are not able to pay all of their current month’s bills in full while 25% reported skipping medical treatments due to cost in the prior year. Additionally, 28% of adults who haven’t retired yet reported to being grossly unprepared, indicating they had no retirement savings or pension whatsoever.
The median out-of-pocket cost for an unexpected, major medical expense was $1,000, and 42% of those with such an expense in the past year either had debt relating to that expense or unpaid balances. The Fed reported that 24 million adults are in debt from medical expenses incurred over the previous year. As a result, many respondents went without some type of care, dental care in particular, because they could not afford it, though the 25% who reported such a situation was down from 27% in 2015.
Commenting on the report's concerning findings, Fed Governor and Hillary Clinton supporter Lael Brainard said that "the survey findings remind us that many American households are struggling financially, including fully 40 percent of those with a high school diploma or less. More broadly, 44 percent of all respondents could not cover an unexpected $400 emergency expense or would rely on borrowing or selling something to do so. The survey also shows that many adults have no savings for retirement."
The findings also underscore themes apparent during the presidential election, namely the growing gap between the elites and the broader population. Of whites with a bachelor’s degree or more, 85% said they’re doing OK or living comfortably, compared with 62% for whites with a high-school diploma or less. Blacks and Hispanics have similar but narrower gaps in response to that question when sorted by education.
The biggest differentiator appears to be education: the Fed reported that 82% of adults with a bachelor’s degree or more in education said last year they were “living comfortably” or “doing okay,” up from 80% the year before, as well as 69% of those with some college or an associate degree, up from 66%. Furthermore, 79% of those with at least a bachelor’s degree said they would still be able to pay all of their other bills in full if hit with a $400 charge. Just 52% of those with no more than a high school diploma said the same.
Americans’ sense of economic health also varied among racial and ethnic groups. Of the respondents with no more than a high-school diploma, a greater portion of non-Hispanic whites—20.5%-- reported being worse off than a year before than did non-Hispanic blacks, at 18.6%, or Hispanics, at 20.2%.
Asked to comment by the WSJ on the latest annual study, Jonathan Morduch, a New York University professor of public policy and an economist said that “everybody on the low end feels like they’re in a different situation, almost like they’re in a different America than those with a bachelor’s or more.” He added that “The combination of instability and illiquidity are really hurting at the low end,” he added.
That's the same "end" that had such an outsized impact on the latest presidential election.
So based on the latest set of Fed results presented above, the solution to America's wealth problem would be to force every American into a college education. Well, sure... just make sure it's debt free, because as even the NY Fed's Bill Dudley admitted in early April, student debt and default are a “headwind to economic activity" noting that "rising student loan debt in the United States could ultimately hurt
overall home ownership and consumer spending and erode colleges' and
universities' ability to elevate lower-income students."
Here are the disturbing findings from the latest NY Fed study on America's student debt crisis:
First the good news.
The report, based on the Board's fourth annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking conducted in October 2016, presents a "picture of improving financial well-being among Americans", at least according to the report (read on to see if this is merited). Overall, 70% of the more than 6,600 respondents said they were either "living comfortably" or "doing okay," up 1% from 2015 and up 8% from the first survey results in 2013.
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The improvements in well-being as reported by the survey respondents were concentrated among high-income adults, with at least some college education, and prompted the WSJ to write that "U.S Household financial health improved in recent years." Even so, most of the changes reported in the survey were relatively modest, "reflecting a slowly improving economy and an unemployment level at or below 5% throughout 2016."
Now, the not so good news.
Nearly eight years into an economic recovery, nearly half of Americans didn’t have enough cash available to cover a $400 emergency. Specifically, the survey found that, in line with what the Fed had disclosed in previous years, 44% of respondents said they wouldn’t be able to cover an unexpected $400 expense like a car repair or medical bill, or would have to borrow money or sell something to meet it. Troubling as this statistic remains, the overall share of adults who would struggle to come up with $400 in a pinch has declined by 2% from the last survey conducted in 2015, and down 6% since 2013.
Of the group that could not pay in cash, 45% said they would go further in debt and use a credit card to pay off the expense over time. while a quarter would borrow from friends of family, and another 27% just couldn’t pay the expense. Others would turn to selling items or using a payday loan.
The breakdown was largely by education attainment: 79% of those with at least a bachelor’s degree said they would still be able to pay all of their other bills in full if hit with a $400 charge. Just 52% of those with no more than a high school diploma said the same.
Just as concerning were other findings from the study: just under one-fourth of adults, or 23%, are not able to pay all of their current month’s bills in full while 25% reported skipping medical treatments due to cost in the prior year. Additionally, 28% of adults who haven’t retired yet reported to being grossly unprepared, indicating they had no retirement savings or pension whatsoever.
The median out-of-pocket cost for an unexpected, major medical expense was $1,000, and 42% of those with such an expense in the past year either had debt relating to that expense or unpaid balances. The Fed reported that 24 million adults are in debt from medical expenses incurred over the previous year. As a result, many respondents went without some type of care, dental care in particular, because they could not afford it, though the 25% who reported such a situation was down from 27% in 2015.
Commenting on the report's concerning findings, Fed Governor and Hillary Clinton supporter Lael Brainard said that "the survey findings remind us that many American households are struggling financially, including fully 40 percent of those with a high school diploma or less. More broadly, 44 percent of all respondents could not cover an unexpected $400 emergency expense or would rely on borrowing or selling something to do so. The survey also shows that many adults have no savings for retirement."
The findings also underscore themes apparent during the presidential election, namely the growing gap between the elites and the broader population. Of whites with a bachelor’s degree or more, 85% said they’re doing OK or living comfortably, compared with 62% for whites with a high-school diploma or less. Blacks and Hispanics have similar but narrower gaps in response to that question when sorted by education.
The biggest differentiator appears to be education: the Fed reported that 82% of adults with a bachelor’s degree or more in education said last year they were “living comfortably” or “doing okay,” up from 80% the year before, as well as 69% of those with some college or an associate degree, up from 66%. Furthermore, 79% of those with at least a bachelor’s degree said they would still be able to pay all of their other bills in full if hit with a $400 charge. Just 52% of those with no more than a high school diploma said the same.
Americans’ sense of economic health also varied among racial and ethnic groups. Of the respondents with no more than a high-school diploma, a greater portion of non-Hispanic whites—20.5%-- reported being worse off than a year before than did non-Hispanic blacks, at 18.6%, or Hispanics, at 20.2%.
Asked to comment by the WSJ on the latest annual study, Jonathan Morduch, a New York University professor of public policy and an economist said that “everybody on the low end feels like they’re in a different situation, almost like they’re in a different America than those with a bachelor’s or more.” He added that “The combination of instability and illiquidity are really hurting at the low end,” he added.
That's the same "end" that had such an outsized impact on the latest presidential election.
So based on the latest set of Fed results presented above, the solution to America's wealth problem would be to force every American into a college education. Well, sure... just make sure it's debt free, because as even the NY Fed's Bill Dudley admitted in early April, student debt and default are a “headwind to economic activity" noting that "rising student loan debt in the United States could ultimately hurt
overall home ownership and consumer spending and erode colleges' and
universities' ability to elevate lower-income students."
Which is understandable with a record $1.44 trilion in student loans outstanding as of March 31, surpassing even the $1.1 trillion in US auto loans.There are "potential longer-term negative implications of student debt on homeownership and other types of consumer spending," Dudley said."Continued increases in college costs and debt burdens could inhibit higher education's ability to serve as an important engine of upward income mobility, (and) these developments are important and deserve increased attention."
Here are the disturbing findings from the latest NY Fed study on America's student debt crisis:
It only took the Fed about 6 years to figure out what was patently obvious to everyone else. Alas, that does not help solve the core underlying problems discussed above because absent a world in which US colleges hand out diplomas to everyone - which will never happen - the vast wealth gap will only get bigger. And that "prediction" does not even take into account the fact that the US is now about 2 years overdue for a major recession...our analysis shows that for any given level of educational attainment, those with student debt are less likely to own a home in their early thirties than those who completed their education without taking on as much—or any—debt.To the extent that the statistical associations we uncovered reflect a causal impact of debt on homeownership, they have important implications for the housing market and future spending behavior.Homeownership represents an important means of wealth accumulation, with housing equity being the principal form of wealth for most households. So, changes in the way we finance higher education, with an increased reliance on student debt, may have important implications for the housing market and the distribution of wealth.
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