I am so glad I’ve hedged my bets and only told 28 people about this blog (actually I told another friend about it earlier this week, so I should start saying 29).  I really had no idea that staying motivated to writing a single posting per week would present a challenge. 

Perhaps it is my desire to shy away from any subject or comment that could breach the privacy of family members or be misinterpreted by colleagues or my employer (all of which I’m sure I’ve already violated accidentally).

Perhaps it is because I wanted to spend the first few months posting personal items just to get them off my chest while I learn the “ropes” of WordPress.

It might also be because the pace of work has been incredibly hectic for the past 6-8 weeks and I haven’t made time for much else.

Nevertheless, I haven’t allocated enough energy to do more than list hundreds of future topics that I hope to eventually tackle in this forum.  I will stick with my intention of starting fresh in January, but for now there are more pressing matters!

It seems this year is more difficult than prior years in getting into the “spirit” of Christmas.  While I promise not to impose on others religious beliefs, I can share a little tidbit of how some transitions don’t always come easily.

Those that know me well also know I am Christian and thus celebrate this holiday season in a special manner.  Not unlike every other religious holiday around the world it means something different to each of us.

Following a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration that has historically been a family reunion of sorts for most folks, December 25th comes close behind and since it includes the commercialism of every retail establishment, you can’t escape it.

The challenge, however, is to keep this holiday in perspective and not let it get lost in the process.

The best reflection of the God I know is revealed in the feeling of giving.  Finding, making or providing a gift to someone you love is a terrific way to celebrate the ultimate Gift from God.  As a Christian, this is a time of celebration.

In reality, however, a celebratory mindset requires preparation.  My experience has shown you must take the time and energy to prepare yourself.  When things around us work AGAINST a celebratory mood it means we must spend even more energy to do this correctly.  The economy, your job, your relationships with family & friends, your disagreements, your dreams & aspirations, your school work….virtually every part of our lives impact our ability to focus, keep things in perspective and control our mood.

Take time.  Make time for yourself this Christmas season.  Don’t let anything stand between you and this celebration.

Now, I’m off to heed my own advice.

Merry Christmas!

PS:  My New Years Resolution posting is next.

I’m just testing the ability to embed a pdf file into a posting.  This example is still a bit too hard to read (type is too small) but you can download it from the page link above on “futuring“.

12/31 edit:  It was too small to read, so I added a download copy for you to read from here.  Enjoy.

One small (but noteworthy) benefit of this period of economic downturn is what we learn about creative financial events. For those of us in Michigan, we’ve clearly learned more about corporate bankruptcy than we probably wanted to know.  I’m also not talking about TARP loans or other government bailout issues (I try to stay out of politics, but we have certainly seen all sides of the creative financial maneuvers of Wallstreet).

I’m really talking about personal creative finances. During unique periods, it seems, we also find a greater willingness to consider options we might have previously dismissed.

I have heard from dozens of friends here in Michigan that have shared concepts with me that I’ve never heard of previously.  Granted, I’m not in the banking business….but I’ve bought and sold 8 different homes in almost as many States and I’ve never imagined some of the creative financial maneuvers I’ve learned about this year.

Everything from mortgage “short sales” which are allowing thousands of people to walk away from homes that they owe more for than they are worth to credit card “cancellation of debt” negotiations which are allowing unemployed/under-employed family write off debt, there are multiple alternatives that I never knew existed for families to consider.  It seems that anything is possible and we shouldn’t be constrained in our curiosity for solutions.  Talking with your banker might yield more than you think. It’s not the “all or nothing” philosophy I’ve grown up to believe.

There is also a changing landscape with our banking institutions. Not to mention the fact that mortgage rates are at historic low levels (I am hearing that banks are now actually writing more loans after a lengthy dry spell)….people are restructuring their debt loads to levels they never thought possible.

The downside to low mortgage rates, however, is also low investment rates.  These days it doesn’t pay to save (outside piece of mind to have liquidity)–making debt reduction the name of the game.

Anyone who has tried to renew a bank CD in the last 18 months have come to the shocking realization that the ANNUAL interest rates for them have been near or under 1%.  Saving at a rate less than inflation won’t get you very far.

One growing trend that I personally hope thrives in this next generation is the formalization of personal lending (peer-to-peer loans). I can’t think of any better by-product of difficult times than the closer union of family members and/or friends through direct lending.  Why shouldn’t we match family (or a small group of people) with money to invest with family wanting a loan?

Use a third party to facilitate the transaction (online documentation, EFT funds transfer, year end tax reporting, etc).  There are many, but I found one that is simple to understand called CircleLending.com (now it is VirginMoney.com).  Quite simply, it facilitates skipping the middle men (banks, agents, etc) and uses electronic fund transfers to handle the transactions every month.  As long as there is full transparency, documentation of all the “particulars” and annual statements provided, these 3rd party companies serve a terrific void in the market.

Note:  I found this company when researching options for someone with rental properties that complained about losing a good tenant who bought another home down the street from the one they were renting.  It seems to me that holding a mortgage for 30 years would be better than finding 10-15 tenants over the same period (the house is paid for).  At any rate, it is worth considering as an investment alternative for the right people.

Others to read about:

http://www.lendingclub.com/home.action

http://www.prosper.com/

http://www.kiva.org/ [facilitates lending to low income entrepreneurs]

Clearly, there are multiple silver linings in economic downturns…some of them are even financially related.  Creativity, innovation and character are all entering a period of explosive growth during these times.  Don’t be shy…encourage those around you to find these upsides to an otherwise lousy recession.  The road ahead will be so much more enjoyable.

Another potentially positive offspring  of a substantial economic downturn, which is closely associated with the opportunity to reshuffle our priorities, is the chance it provides us to redefine fun and to seek more of it with our spare time.  It is almost embarrassing to realize that prior to this “great recession”, we allocated so much of our time and energy to activities that simply weren’t much fun and didn’t include those who mean the most to us.

With new found “free time” on our hands and the pressure to preserve financial resources, we naturally seek out alternative pastimes.  The silver lining in this often includes having fun with family and friends over casual gatherings.  We suddenly begin to take stock in simple pleasures and appreciate what we already have available.

During our late summer cleaning this year, we even discovered long forgotten “toys” that still bring us great pleasure.

Believe it or not, I think my kids actually had a few hours of fun RAKING the LEAVES this year!  (ok…maybe that’s a stretch)

Fun is all around us…when we focus on it.  I use to think it was a silly saying that “happiness is a choice”, but it is especially contagious and transferable once it starts.

I believe we can actually achieve higher quality of life in a downturn because we are often forced to make more quality time available.  I think a slower / more manageable pace helps facilitate spontaneity and perhaps we can feel better about the quality of fun we are having with minimal cost.  While it can often happen without much effort, it is easier to simply make plans to give it a try.

There are a number of ideas worthy of consideration:

- Try an old fashioned “game night” with another couple or with your kids

- Family movie nights are always popular (this time with popcorn–just like the theater)

- Connect with distant friends/relatives via social media–actually posting photos and stories on facebook for others to enjoy.  I am still a bit lame in this regard, but I am getting better.

- You may find that nothing is more fulfilling than volunteering for that role in your Church that really needs attention

- I’ve heard from several colleagues that have also submerged in their kids school activities and/or sports and the added bonus of stronger bonds with their children

- Time to go back to school yourself?  Even online self-improvement classes or learning modules can be fun (ie finally learn how to really use Excel…or start a foreign language)

Any other ideas?  What recommendations would you have for someone to instill more FUN in their lives without using significant financial resources?

[Note:  I am intentionally breaking this post into multiple entries this week.  It was far too long, and I'm not skilled enough to be succinct.]

Start with Priorities:

This “Great Recession” we are experiencing will certainly have many lessons on life for at least another generation.  From learning to save for rainy days like these, to taking charge of your career, to creating the lifestyle that you can afford, to simply re-aligning our priorities; difficult times can provide terrific opportunities for learning and fresh starts for each of us.   I want to share a few revelations of my own as my focus these days has been on the silver linings of difficult events.

Nothing is more unsettling than learning for the first time that the rock solid institutions you once believed would always prevail are forced into bankruptcy (or the proverbial “mergers of equals” – Takeovers).  When the first couple occurred it was easy to rationalize them (Enron, K-Mart, etc), but when the massive wave of unexpected foundations crumbled (GM, Chrysler, Lehman, Fannie & Freddie, WAMU, etc) it finally awakened the reality that no fixed business is sustainable by design.  This state of fluidity is now the norm and has multiple positive by-products if we embrace it.

As I’ve mentioned, one of the most obvious positive outcomes is the ability for each of us to realign our priorities.  Chasing something we don’t really value is silly, yet we’ve all been guilty (at one time or another) of unnecessarily increasing our debt or frivolously spending what we’ve earned  which ultimately restricts our ability to achieve what we value most.

I once thought it would be easy to sit down and FORCE RANK all of my priorities.  I was wrong, it is an incredibly difficult task. Go ahead–give it a try.  The more you write down, the more more difficult it will be to justify and rank.

Start by listing all the things you like to do rather than all the bills you pay.  It will be easier to identify the things that you are passionate about and value most.  Include things you’ve never done, but always wanted to do (and believed you would do one of these days).  The list will be long, but that is ok.  If you stick with this exercise (it will take you a couple of weeks if you’re like me), you will start to categorize the list in separate buckets and ultimately start to see a few trends or ideas arise that might surprise you.

Once you’ve successfully listed all of the things you value…force rank them.  This is kind of impossible (it’s akin to saying you love one person more than another), but it will force you to make decisions that must be made.  For me, it reinforced the importance of enjoying every opportunity (events, days, family gatherings, etc) rather than just looking forward to the next “big thing”.  When you have 20 something #1 priorities, like I had when I first sat down to do this, you will come to realize no one is in control.

It is painful to come to terms with the fact that we often allow life to unfold around us when we could have made different choices that may have resulted in outcomes closer aligned with our real priorities.  Knowing and ranking our priorities is the first step to correcting this inequity.

Bankruptcies allow companies to make a fresh start (sort of) without the encumbrances of debt. It allows them to redefine or re-engineer their mission, plans, priorities and strategy.  As painful as it is during the process, it facilitates a second chance.  We all deserve and have this same opportunity even without the financial protections this process affords.  It simply starts with a personal list of ranked priorities.

Happy Listing.

My apology for this brief technical interruption.  I am attempting to verify my blog feed and claim the blog with Technorati before we get started.

Claim token

9T6C52EA69RQ

We will return to our regularly scheduled routine tomorrow.