I have reviewed two other books of Dave Cornford, and I enjoyed them immensely. This book is no different, the first part in a new series he is developing, Cornford uses his financial knowledge to weave relevant, moving tales of people from all walks of life and wallet size and tells their stories; how the financial meltdown and recession affected them, their lives, their beliefs and their families. I have read the three stories contained in this edition before, and after reading them again, I find I like them even more. I enjoy a read that is different and thought provoking, and this book fits the bill. Curl up and have a read, I dare you not to turn your thermostat down or run around the house switching off sockets after reading, to save those all important pennies. 

Rachel Dove, Kindle Book Review 

According to www.dicitonary.com, poverty is defined as the condition or state of having either very little or no money at all, no goods or any means of support. The synonyms of poverty are impoverishment, destitution, pauperism, indigence, neediness, penury, and privation. It can be defined in various ways. There are social and statistical definitions of poverty. In this essay, we shall describe these kinds of poverty.

Poverty is described by some people as a deprivation of essential items for life- such as water, food, clothing, and shelter- required for a proper living. The United Nations World Summit on Social Development passed a declaration, “Copenhagen Declaration” which defines poverty as “a state characterized by harsh deficiency of essential human needs, including safe drinking water, food, health, education, sanitation facilities, and information.” When people do not have anything to eat, have access to health facilities- they are considered poor regardless of their level of income.  This is the social definition of poverty and does is problematic at times as in this regard, most people living in developing and underdeveloped countries of the world will judged as poor. The Statistical definition yields more relevant results on how poverty should be measured. Using statistical measures, two methods are mostly used to describe poverty. These are Relative Measurement of poverty and Absolute Measurement of Poverty. Both of these measures rely on consumption or income values getting information to accumulate statistics on impoverishment much enhanced.

The simplest way of measuring the degree of poverty in individual countries is Relative property measure. By using this method, the whole population is classified in order of their per capita income. Then the bottom 10% is believed to be ‘impoverished’ or ‘indigent’. This method is well for country-wide measurements, but it has some great drawbacks in worldwide use. If, for instance a 10% relative poverty extent was applied in a universal setting, it would appear that both a developed nation, like United States, and a sub-Saharan African country had 10% rate of poverty, even though the situation of the deprived sub-Saharan Africa are much worse than circumstances in the United States. For this very reason, absolute poverty measures are more frequently used to describe poverty on a universal scale.

The absolute measurement fixes a ‘poverty line’ at a definite amount of income or amount of consumption on a yearly basis, relied on the predictable value of a ‘basket of goods’ (shelter, water, food, etc) required for a proper living. For instance, if $5 a day is resolute to be the income poverty line in an area, then any person with an income less than $1860 would be believed to be indigent.  If however, a poverty line based on the level of consumption was used instead, any person consuming goods with a financial value of less than $1860 would be impoverished. Many poor people employ in agricultural jobs. Some of them use farming to survive, and others are hardly able to produce sufficient food to stay alive. Widely used definition of poverty is the absolute poverty line which is set by the World Bank. According to this definition, a person is considered poor if he earns an income of $2 or even less per day, and extreme destitute is set at $1 per day or less. It was first created in 1990 when World Bank developed its World Development Report and found out that majority of the developing countries have set their poverty lines at $1 per day or less. Developed countries are allowed to set their poverty lines at which ever rate they want. For highly developed countries, such as U.S, Japan and Britain, the absolute poverty line has been set as high as $14.40 in the past. Poverty line of 2005 for a single individual in United States is set at $26.19 per day.

Various definitions of poverty have entailed the world from time to time. Together, definitions, explanations (and their interpretations and conversions into measurements) and wider conceptualizations link together to shape policy answers to the phenomena known as “poverty”. The event of poverty has to be comprehended both as a sore reality faced by millions of human beings and also as a building of contending conceptualizations, measures and definitions. The point here is that the definition can only be privileged by cultural and historical contexts. In this scenario, we are able to go beyond a rather sterile argument between relative and absolute definitions of poverty.

References

Bell, Peter. Telephone Interview. 19 December 2005.

McHugh, Kathleen. Telephone Interview. 5 January 2006.

Reddy, Sanjay G. How Not to Count the Poor. Columbia University, 2005.
Gilbert, Geoffry. World Poverty. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO 2004

Think Quest. A Dollar A Day: Poverty Overview. 2006. [ONLINE] Available at:

http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00282/over_whatis.htm

Policy, UK. Defining Poverty: Key Concepts. [ONLINE] Available at:

http://www.polity.co.uk/keyconcepts/samples/lister-chapter.pdf

As the economy appears to have narrowly avoided falling back into recession despite a shock drop in manufacturing output in the first months of 2012, the Bank of England held back from giving the fragile recovery an extra boost. In February, a surprise 1 percent dive in manufacturing output showed that the economy was still on shaky platform after a series of more upbeat business surveys had indicated that a modest recovery was on track. However, the unpredictable market and government measures will determine whether Britain will lapse back into recession or will be able to avoid it in future. <br/><br/>

Two consecutive quarters of falling GDP would be a blow for Chancellor George Osborne who defended his tough austerity plan which aimed at erasing a huge deficit in last month’s budget. In addition, he Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left the total of its asset purchases at 325 billion pounds and kept interest rates at their record low of 0.5 percent, a move that had been unanimously expected by analysts. Since the end of 2011, when many were extremely concerned about an economic meltdown in the euro zone, the short-term outlook has improved. For UK, it seems like a recession may be avoided this year.

Economists suggested that this year, there is no need for bank to expand its quantitative easing programme, and the recent output figures did little to change that view. The Bank along with the government forecasts that lower inflation will bring relief to some extent to consumers and allow more consumption. <br/><br/>

However, a recent hike in oil prices and rising food costs due to lack of rain in parts of England raised fears that inflation which was 3.4 percent in February, will not fall towards the Bank’s 2 percent expectation as fast as policymakers expect. So, economists suggest Britain should return to growth in the first three months of 2012 as the wider measure of industrial output grew in February, thanks to increased energy production. The dominant services sector has also supporting it by been improving. Need funds apply with <a href=”http://www.loansnoguarantor.co.uk/”>loans with no guarantor</a> and get cash with simple terms and conditions. <br/><br/>

According to a data, there is an encouraging sign that some consumers are confident enough to spend more. New car registrations rose by 1.8 percent in March and the domestic demand for new cars is showing signs of recovery. However, the government predicts growth of just 0.8 percent this year which is only a fraction more than in 2011.

Not to brag but even if we dont have anything to put on the table we can still survive even before the recession came. Poverty is not rare in my country. Most likely for those who grew up in this kind of situation or environment we are forced to come up with different possible means to survive each and everyday of our lives. Some would resort to different legal and illegal means. While some would just give up and expects miracles to happen which is not good.

Although we now are part of the working force are wages are not enough to suffice all of our needs and wants. But that is better than nothing.

So what is it that keeps us from fighting everyday? It is the so called hope that one day all is well,literally. That is why for some of us we work so hard to the point of exhaustion. Some would take two seperate jobs while managing their family and kudos to them.

You know it is really hard and when you accept the fact that it is that hard and have done something about it and keeping the hope alive. Then someday everything will fall into place and you can achieve the dream you have hoped and longed for.

If you have failed in hoping then stoped at everything then you’re at a loss. I just pray that someone would talk to their senses that life is like that. We should never lose hope as life is full of trials and surprises.

Having hope in everything we do pushes as to be more responsible of our actions and it lets us aim on what we really want in life. With hope and determination life would be at its best.

Because of the recession, most companies are now allowing executives to travel outside of the country on vacations because the budget can take the strain when vacations are good for production. However, it is scrupulous when executives and politicians use a campaign expense account for an example to fund extra marital affairs.  The government has incorporated stimulus plans that has the purpose to create jobs but no where on the itinerary is there a clause for executives to go on exotic trips on the campaign’s bank roll or an expense account that was not enabled for personal gratification.

The stress is on the bottom line who has to toil everyday with the knowledge that they may not have a job to feed their families and who works pay check to paycheck. It is often said that powerful men sometimes do not heed the consequences of using campaign funds to house a mistress for an example and do not surmise having to account for lost funds. But these executives as of late are having to account for their actions when so many Americans are struggling just to make ends meet.

Executives who goes on trips with the company’s money are doing a disservice to not only the company’s budget that could be fledgling with red tape because of the recently passed government regulation on health care reform but to the hard working bottom line that goes to work every day in fear of losing their jobs because of the economic downturn. But nevertheless the exotic vacation islands are filled with executives who are vacationing when they could have been more of a benefit to their company or business by staying on the mainland and making sure that the company do not have to pay the Cadillac tax that has been imposed on private business entities for an example.

The advancement of technology with the advent of computer teleconferences in the form of webinars also makes it unnecessary for executives to travel as wide spread as before the country went into a recession. Technology mandates that executives are at state side with their computers instead of vacationing at the expense of the taxpayers if government employees. Recently, the head of the Republican National Convention came under fire because of over spending on lavish hotels for business trips when the same hotel facilities were located in Washington D.C. The Republican Party National Convention head also had colleagues who frequented nightclubs while in these exotic locations and all at the expense of the taxpayers. One budget report stated that in arrears of $10,000 was spent in one night on frivolous spending of which the head of the Republican Party National Convention head had to account for in no uncertain terms.

Yet executives in private enterprise continue to go on vacations while the bottom line sweat the so-called small stuff of not having a job to come to the following morning because of a tough economy and rampant joblessness. . The executives at the AIG insurance company came under fire from President Obama when million dollar bonuses were awarded after the government had just bailed out the insurance company. The members of congress decided to tax the bonus at a 90 per cent margin to give the money back to the taxpayers who are mostly the targeted middle class.

But it would seem that executive surmise that they are immune totally because of managerial control of their individual companies from having to answer for squandering the tax payers money with exotic vacations and million dollar bonuses. Few executives some of which have lost their jobs can relate to those workers on the bottom line who are in fear of not being able to feed their families while they vacation on the white sands of the Bahamas for an example. Still other executives who have managed to keep their job without being laid off with the myriad of employees that have been let go since the recession are not in disdain over taking their annual vacation regardless of what is going on in the western economic front.

The economic status of companies in regards to the Wall Street crash that had Senator McCain to thwart the 2008 election to tend to that business in Washington is again employing workers even though the unemployment rate is still high. The employment of thousands of laid off worker who have been called back to work however still does not make it economic feasible for the company executives to use tax payer’s money, and funds from a company budget deficit to vacation in exotic countries while the bottom line of work with uncertainty of another day’s work.

Taj Mahal, India

Don’t get me wrong, I have no objection at all to us helping out other countries, even though we’re in pretty dire straits ourselves here in the UK.  The thing that gets my goat is the fact that India have said they don’t want the money but the UK have insisted they take it!

The good, honest people of India, instead of grasping it with both hands, actually turned down the offer that had been foisted upon them and India’s finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee even went so far as to say it was “a peanut” that wasn’t needed as India’s economy was growing with some speed and would, in all likelihood, overtake our own in the not too distant future. 

Pranab Mukherjee

There are people here desperately trying to make ends meet; homes are being repossessed, our public services and our forces are being cut back, our government benefits are being “trimmed” which means that the less well off members of our society are suffering which, in turn, affects the disabled, lesser paid adults, particularly those with families to support, and the elderly. 

It’s also been revealed that this year we’ve set aside a budget of £8.1 billion for foreign aid in general and this is due to rise to an incredible £11.5 billion in 2015.  We’ve always been inclined to help out other countries in their hour of need but, with our coffers almost down to rock bottom, it’s utterly ludicrous to give part of this budget to a country that’s already said it doesn’t need it, thanks very much.

As you can imagine, the revelation has upset numerous MPs and, of course, us hard strapped tax payers.

By all accounts, the Indian economy is growing by 10% a year and, within the next 10 years will overtake that of the UK.  In fact, India has set up its own aid budget to help out struggling countries so presumably in a couple of years time India will be helping to dig the UK out of a financial hole!

The International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell, has said, in defence of the “donation” to India  “there are states the size of Britain where half the children suffer from malnutrition”.  That may well be true, but if the Indian government have stated they now have plenty of money in their bank vaults I’m assuming some of this will eventually find its way to support lesser well off people.  If that isn’t the case, then rather than pump more money into an obviously financially stable government, wouldn’t it be more sensible to filter some of the money through to charities such as the Red Cross, Oxfam, Save the Children, Age Concern, etc etc so that they can actually get the money direct to those people that need it most?

When did he ever have to scrimp and save a every penny to make ends meet?.He has nothing in common with the some of the people he claims to represent.According to www.direct.gov.uk:Your human rights include:

the right to life.

The right not to be discriminated against in respect of these rights and freedoms.

The plain and simple truth is,there are not enough jobs to go around and/or people lack the necessary skills in either maintaining or retraining in their jobs.I myself am unemployed and at 41 it seems like there is no hope,all i seem to do is fill out endless job applications where it seems there are 30 persons also applying for the same job.In some cases it would seem to be either over qualified for a humble position in a company or too old to be retrained,of course this is never disclosed to you as it would come under discrimination.My recommendation is to cut all this inadequate red tape questions at interview.’Why do you want to work here?’.'What are your strengths and weaknesses?’. ‘What can you bring to the company?’. Amongst other nonsensical questions.I do understand that companies have to know certain things about you but some of the questions i have been asked at interview by a 22 year old who themselves have been in their job for a short period borders on stupidity.

Today’s Britain is far from what is was when my father was working and mother was a housewife.You could only have what you could afford and that went for food,appliances etc;.

In today’s culture people want it now and they don’t care how they obtain it (in some cases).

I am sorry if i have gone a little off topic it’s just my opinion.

Thankyou.

Although the Treaty of Versailles was meant to prevent Europe from entering any future warfare, it was instead used by the Allied Powers of France and Britain to take revenge upon Germany. The Allied Powers spread propaganda against the Germans excessively during wartime. Germans were portrayed as complete monsters, rapists, barbarians, etc. It was no surprise that Britain and France of the Allies wanted revenge against Germany, who was pinned the blame of the thirty-five million lives lost throughout the war, more than half which were civilian deaths. Ferdinand Foch, a prestigious French Commander during the First World War, said “This is not peace. It is an armistice for thirty years,” after he analyzed the Treaty of Versailles (Foch’s prediction was almost perfect, as the WWII occurred about twenty years and almost a month after the Treaty of Versailles). George Clemenceau and David Lloyd George, the French Primer and British Prime Minister, respectively, disagreed with many of the fourteen points and wanted Germany to sign the War Guilt Clause of the Treaty of Versailles, meaning the War was the Germans’ fault (which was not, as the was erupted after Austria blamed Serbia on the assassination of Austrian Prince Francis Ferdinand and his wife, causing other countries of the two alliances to join the War). Furthermore Germany was forced to pay reparations to the Allies amounting toward thirty-three billion dollars, further intensify the country’s deep debt, and was stripped of an active military. Land was taken from Germany, a large territory forming Poland as well as a small but valuable mining territory becoming territory of France. Although Wilson’s League of Nations was formed, it did not possess as much power as the United Nations in which we have today: it was not politically influential, had no active military, and did not pay attention to the guidelines of the Treaty of Versailles, as when Adolf Hitler avoided all of the Treaty’s appeasements, forming a large and active military. The biggest flaw to the League of Nations was that the United States did not join it. The U.S., now with the potential to become a world power, returned to becoming an isolationist country, leaving Europe to cope with a nation-wide post-war crisis.

Another major cause of World War II was the frustrations faced by people throughout the world after the First World War ended. In France, Germany, and a small area of Russia near the eastern front, many farmers who began to plow their crops once again after the war became accustomed with the corpses and bones of deceased soldiers that fell victim to the war. In France, Germany, and Britain, ten percent or more of the population in each country were casualties. It was no surprise that every person was affected by the war in losing family members or friends. Because young men were enlisted, many families lost sons, and because young men were important to industry, manufactures and large businesses of Europe faltered. Europe and most of the countries including the U.S. entered a recession not soon after the War. While the United States managed to return to it’s feet in economy in 1922, entering a period of U.S. History called the Roaring Twenties, a period of new culture, entertainment, and lifestyle in America, Europe continued in the road of economic distress. Germany fared the worst of all European countries: once a major economic powerhouse, but it now faced nationwide debt and a possessed a weak government, called the Weimar Republic, which possessed a Parliamentary Republic instead of the once-powerful Imperial government, the German Empire (Deutsches Reich). Under the Weimar Republic, Germans faced economic inflation, meaning the worth of German currency, the Marc, was worth less than before the war, due partially to the war reparations. American loans that the Germans received in order to help the German economy was helpful for a short amount of time. Unemployment was on the rise; in 1926 unemployment was ten percent but in 1932, only 6 years later, unemployment rose to thirty percent. Like the Depression faced by the Americans, the Germans faced psychological stresses. Many Germans lost faith in their nation. People gave up their jobs in exchange to simple pleasures such as alcohol or prostitution. To make matters worse, Britain and France refused to trade with Germany after the war because of anti-German sentiment that lasted after the war. Many Germans began to form radical parties, leading often violent anti-Weimar demonstrations. Adolf Hitler was the a World War I veteran and a key member of the German Workers’ Party, a radical nationalist group. He was imprisoned after a failed coup d’eat, and wrote a memoir that were based of of his nationalist and prejudiced views. After he was released he gained widespread support for his promise to the German people to have jobs and future success. In 1933 Hitler, along with the Nazi Party (National Soicalist Workers’ Party), the successor to the German Workers’ Party, managed to successfully coup d’eat the Weimar Republic, replacing it with a single-power totalitarian dictatorship government, a nation under complete power of Hitler and the Nazi Party. Similar to the Nazis’ Socialist and Totalitarian government, Italian radicals were disappointed by their threatment in the Treaty of Versailles and their failing economy. The Kingdom of Italy faced a coup ‘d’eat by Benito Mussolini leading the Nationalist Fascist Party in 1922. Likewise, the Japanese general Hideki Tojo, favoring fascism, easily influenced the Taisho Imperial Family as well as the parliament-like government and shaped the nation into a militarist-expansionist government. These countries, desperate for lives to return to former glory or to find new opportunities, turned their heads to powerful and militant figures that promised them hope.

The formation of the new political powers that rose in Europe and Japan became a threat to the rest of the world, and issued a number of terrorist acts and battles that forced European nations as well as the United States to respond with force. The three new world powers consisting of Japan, Germany, and Italy, eventually formed the Axis Powers, an alliance unlike the Central Powers of WWI. Although the League of Nations should have intervened because the Treaty of Versailles as well as the fourteen points stated that Alliances would not be formed, the League merely warned the Axis and sent ambassadors. A french ambassador, André-Francois Poncet commented on Hitler: “He was a ice-cold realist, a profoundly calculating person (Quotes About Hitler)”. While the Axis Nations appeared to be thriving from hard work, the nations were actually building their military (something the Treaty of Versailles had forbid Germany from doing). Adolf Hitler had redefined the once depressed Germany and offered the nation jobs in industry and manufacture. A majority of the German industry was military production. In the late 1930s and the 1940s Germany was the world’s second largest war industry, next to the United States. In 1944 Germany spent more than four hundred billion dollars on arms production. The Japanese, too planned for war– in 1937 the Japanese invaded the republic of China. In 1936, Germany invaded the Rhineland. Later in 1939, Nazi Germany unexpectedly invaded and occupied Poland, which according to Adolf Hitler was had belonged to Germany’s Reich. This action, similar to Germany’s occupation of Belgium, triggered the immediate outrage of Britain and France. The Germans used an advanced form of warfare called “Blitzkrieg”, literally meaning lightning war. It took advantage of all terrain vehicles, tanks, and airplanes in order to quickly overwhelm unprepared armies. The Nazi’s occupation stretched to North Africa in 1940 and France in 1944. Fearing further Nazi influence, a new Allied Powers not unlike the allies of World War I was formed led by Britain, France, Poland, as well as Australia, Canada, South African Union and the Soviet Union (who left the Axis powers after Hitler occupied parts of Russia). Eventually the United States, which now faced a nationwide depression was persuaded to join the war after President Franklin Roosevelt announced his proposition to leave isolationism because of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the nation’s fear of fascism affecting the state of Democracy as well as Capitalism.

Even though it can be argued that World War II could have been avoided if the Treaty of Versailles could have been in more acceptable terms for Germany, but that was not a reality as France and Britain would never accept, because what they wanted was to blame Germany for World War I. Although today is is generally accepted that World War I was not caused by any individual country, it is often agreed that it is that the Second World War was Germany’s response to the mistreatment they faced in the Treaty of Versailles. However it was not only the Germans’ militarization that caused the War. Because the Axis Powers were a severe threat to the livelihood and economy of America and the Allies, especially France which had been occupied, the Allied countries had to defend themselves in order to stop the Nazi Party from gaining control over too much of Europe.

Unfortunately, most folks never make that transformation. In truth, most stay unfulfilled of their job every single year. As spending so much time actually seems easier than thinking hard! We somehow feel “secure” within our workplace, although we know inflation is raging, unemployment is rampant, and down-sizing might happen whenever you want in our workplace! Listen, each one of these things add up to one undeniable fact: The next step is to do this, to start planning your throw off your insecure job, from your demanding bosses who would like an increasing number of within you, laying off your co-workers, and adding their workload done to you.

Sure, it is just a scary proposition, knowing you’re liable for attracting the money for food, clothing, the mortgage, car payments, etc, without that steady paycheck. I realize, I have already been there. But you don’t know scary until you have been “down-sized.” When the cold realization sinks in, it’s like you’re immersed in freezing water, your heart pounding in your chest, your lungs gasping for breath! Man, that’s scary! Do not let it arrive at that. The current recession is real, it is often real for a long time and it’s going to take years to get better.NOW is the time to see everything you can, Learn any girl, Practice all you are able, and Ready yourself to the greatest independence you may ever know, Self-Employment. This is what “STUCK” within a job felt prefer to me…

1. Getting up early every morning, hating the noise of the alarm.

2. Studying the morning routine, stuck in traffic, hoping to get moving promptly.

3. Considering, and perhaps, dreading, my upcoming day.

4. Doing pretty much exactly the same thing for eight approximately hours until quitting time.

5. Driving range in that miserable traffic, having dinner, catching just a little TV before bedtime, getting up only to begin anew.

Sounds pretty routine, even boring, doesn’t it? Yes I realize, because I lived that routine for several years. It’s what I knew, and I was expecting to learn moving forward. Then I discovered an advertisement within a publication and was intrigued through the world of self-employment. And even though system advertised wasn’t personally, it spurred me to do this. On that day something stirred something inside me and i also made the transformation from spending so much time to working smart.

This is what the “TRANSFORMATION” was choosing to me…

1. Standing up early everyday and jotting down killer test blog some ideas precisely to become self-employed, before leaving for work.

2. Being placed in my car at lunch break, expanding on my ideas.

3. Working hard at my job for hours on end; I might feel guilty only spent ALL my time at work thinking about my future.

 4. Running through new ideas i believe for my first business venture while driving home.

5. Cutting long ago on my TV time so I could spend 3 to 4 hours, nearly every night, on my computer researching niches, documenting my ideas and finding out how to create my projects.

Now, look closely at the two situations. In reality, they aren’t too different, could they be? I didn’t quit my job without delay; not until my new income grew bigger than my 9 to five, I still worked a complete day. I became capable of motivate my brain to be more creative when I began to figure out how to use time more wisely. All I truly did was make first baby steps to success. After I first commenced, I resolved to reach your goals, but success was a vague goal. I didn’t leave my old job until I had been making more around my online marketers, and yes it wasn’t that long until I used to be making twice that amount! Then, six figures 1 year, sure, low six figures to begin with, nevertheless it just keeps getting larger when I work smarter — not harder. I also had no idea what few hours 7 days I might need to invest to help keep my great living.

Now I wake up while i desire to — no noisy alarms. I’ve a leisurely breakfast, or brunch!, then spend a few moments checking on money which came to me when asleep. Yes, almost all of my businesses are powered by auto-pilot and produce money 24-7. Next, I may work towards a fresh project or watch the big game. Mostly I enjoy work on my businesses late in the day or shortly before bedtime — quite simply Very often find when I want to, because I’m working smarter not harder. We eat out often, and often take vacations impulsively. My businesses do not require my daily input, in case something requires my attention, I could get online from anywhere. I live a lifestyle I never dreamed I’d achieve when I was stuck in this old job. However it happened because in a single Second I decided to vary my thinking and check out a new challenge. That is the step many people never take.

May I ask, do you think you’re spending so much time or working smarter? Have you been employed by your individual gain, or for somebody else? The sure way to beat any recession is always to rely only on you for ones financial well-being. Only then are you considering capable to create income while you demand it. Beneath the thick concern yourself with layoffs, or recessions. The true secret for your success is usually to take that initiative and transform the method lab certification blog that you think. There’s a PATH to your financial freedom, and as importantly, the freedom of your time for everybody. Why don’t you start taking on your path today. I wish you much success and we do hope you look for a relaxing, rewarding lifestyle within your future.2011 Ed Aslinger

In June 2006, the real estate market in my home town took a nose dive.  It looked a lot like an airplane falling from the sky, ready to crash land into the ground and burst into flames.  Oh, is this too dramatic a picture?  After all we are talking about real estate, not air disasters. 

Many will say it was unexpected.  More will say “it had to happen; the real estate bubble had to burst”. Few were prepared for how much and how hard the world would fall.  I too thought it would never hit this hard.  After all the press always blew things out of proportion.  I went to sleep one night in 2006 with a great, but frustrating job, lots of pay, a new software in development which was my husband’s path to our future and woke up 18 months later with that same job paying 60% less, no investors in our software company, up to our eyeballs in business debt, a house 60% upside down and our lives totally out of control!

What do you say when things like this happen?  You say WOW; we must work on a different path.  We say, let’s try it on our own.  Let’s try swimming upstream.  Honestly, I don’t even know how we navigated those next five years.

Many people in my community, in communities around the country spent the last five years in a daze.  Did we know where the next bit of work would come from?  Did we know if we were improving or getting worse? Some turned to their faith for answers, others to “the government will be my savior”, others to whole new career paths.  I just went back to basics.

The big question is “did we learn from this experience?”  Some will say yes.  I am now saving 10% of everything I make, no matter what (read “The Richest Man in Babylon”).  Some say no, as soon as they were able they started charging up new credit cards that replaced the old ones.  What do you say?

I say what a wakeup call.  I really didn’t expect this to be more than 5 years worth of worry and stress and discovery.  I wish I had all the answers, even now with all the lessons on the table, I am not sure I have learned all that I need to move forward.  I do know that it’s time for my spirit to return.  It is time for my inspiration to build and for my writing to return.

There are many out there that have lived through this last five years and are so much better for the struggle.  What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger!  I have heard that before and I do believe we are given the tools to make us stronger; we just have to use them.

So this is the first chapter in a very long path.  I could say “back to who I was,” but that would be a mistake.  I think it’s a path to who I can be.  So if you would like to join me on this journey, just keep an eye out for the next chapter. 

If you like, comment to me on your journey and we can move forward together.  Certainly 2012 has potential?  What do you think?