We started off this decade with a nation wondering who they had elected president. We ended it with the nation sending a very clear message of who and what they want in politics. In between a lot of things happened, and the world changed forever.
A few of my memorable points follow below:
- After days of wrangling ending in the US Supreme Court, George W. Bush was our President.
- Terrorists knocked down the World Trade Center Towers, and hit the Pentagon.
- America invaded Afghanistan and toppled Saddam's Iraq,
- Facebook and Blogs are born, and what is xBox?,
- Ipods arrived and phones that do more than talk are born,
- The Internet got fast enough to use,
- The world figured out what most use the Internet for :)
- Everything you buy now has a microchip in it, making even toasters smart,
- People got more sensitive, and then less sensitive,
- Leno quit then got his old job back,
- Conan got hired and then fired,
- Aliens, asteroids, ice, fire and volcanoes destroyed the Earth on the big screen, while almost the same thing happened in real life,
- California was the place to live, now the place to leave,
- Bigger was better until the world collapsed then smaller was better,
- Credit was everywhere, and then nowhere to be found,
- No money down and 0%, then all down or 30%,
- Wall Street went from riches, to rags and back to riches in one year,
- Home prices doubled, then doubled again in places, only to collapse and are still falling,
- Everyone owned a home, now everyone is past due on a home,
- We have several hundred less banks in the world,
- Banking became automated, then a friendly face and no automated phone systems became king,
- We doubled the size of our deficit & added trillions to our debt,
- Patriotism swelled, and then pacifism returned,
- Tax payers became Tea Partiers,
- The White House & Congress got a "shellacking" by voters,
Some things don't change; how a smile affects someones day, the feel you get when you know someone has your back, tearing up at a good movie, the cuteness of babies, the meow of a kitten, the unconditional love of your pets, the warmth of friendship, and falling off to sleep knowing that the sun will always rise and reset a troubled day into a new one full of hope and promise.
Happy New Year,
D
It's Christmas Eve Morning. It just snowed. As I sit here waiting for noon to come when banks call it a day and all bankers head off to their various Christmas Eve family gatherings I realize time passes whether you recognize it or not. I've spent most of this year focusing on all that's bad in the world. But now I take time to reflect on all that's good.
I'm going to watch my favorite Christmas Eve story tonight, as my tradition goes; the movie "It's A Wonderful Life". If you haven't seen it you should, in all its black and white glory. Jimmy Stewart said for years the movie was a flop and it was his worst performance. But really it's a timeless classic. It tells the story that we all so desperately need to hear in these troubling times. A few times I've said, "Hey, I feel like George Bailey". In fact I was getting lost just as he was at his Bailey Building & Loan.
America is still the greatest place on Earth to live. Americans are by far the world's most giving and generous nation. We are the Great Equalizer of the World. We add comfort and stability in every corner of the globe. We respond to every disaster, no matter where it is. We help those in need, even if they care not for us. It is truly the way God intended a loving and giving society to be. I feel good about all that we give back to humanity. You may debate how we go about it, but nevertheless our intentions are good and just.
As many know, a kitten fell into my world recently, at only 2 weeks old. He fell out from the underbelly of our bulldozer in 40 degree weather, supposedly born there. He was less his mother, completely healthy and unharmed. No siblings. No Mom. No sign or trace of family. Just little Lucky, as we call him now. After several weeks of sleep shortened nights due to bottle feeding, and eating cookies and milk at 3 am, Lucky has grown to a flash of black and white as he zooms from room to room. Bottle feeding? Yes. Sound familiar? Yes. It took me back to those days when I did the same with my wife for our two boys, who are now 16 and 21. I loved it all.
Lucky has fallen again. This time into my heart. I'm glad I took the time to stop the day my gift was delivered to accept something so precious. Lucky has made me stop many times recently, right in the middle of a bad day, and realize just how lucky I am as well.
Merry Christmas to you all. Give yourself a gift. Stop for a brief moment. Take it all in. If possible, gaze through the eyes of a child. A view of Christmas full of awe, wonder and overflowing joy as they focus on the bounty of gifts and the reality that Santa didn't pass them over this year. That view illustrates the reality of what we all have, and have been given. It's that first gift of Christmas, that we all need to open every year.
As Tiny Tim said, "God Bless us All, Everyone."
D
We've long heard that banks and credit card issuers check your credit score in the loan approval process. But did you know that your homeowners and auto insurance companies check it as well? It's true. Sources say that your credit score can somehow reflect on the risk a company takes to insure you, and how likely you are to have a claim. There is a new wave of change crashing over the credit industry and it's based on secret enhancements to systems that generate your credit score. And if yours isn't good be prepared to get a quick "no" or pay a lot higher interest rate.
The latest to enter this fray is none other than the good ole USA. Through the now government owned Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, who by the way lost $8.5 Billion in the third quarter this year, have released news of a impending new policy to add a "surcharge" interest increase on home mortgage offerings based solely on your credit score. There are three credit rating agencies and they take the lowest score of the three. Then, based on that score, they will add between 1/4% and 2.75% to your interest rate. A 5% rate could become almost 8% just based on your score! It doesn't matter how much you make, how much you have, or how nice your home is. Just that number.
Check out:
http://www.get-my-credit-reports.com/
While I am not advocating any particular site, this one does offer a lot of information for free, with the normal pay service offerings there as well. There are many good sites to Google to help you work on managing and fixing your credit.
Credit scores, as I have said for sometime, should be more coveted than our social security numbers. We should protect them as if they are gold plated. Payments should always be made a day early, instead of a day late if possible. We don't know how the software operates to generate your score. We do know a few items of it though: like the number of times you let credit cards, and car dealerships pull your credit hurts you. Your payment history is probably the biggest one, followed by how much debt you have, even if you are making your regular payments on time. Lastly, credit scores fall quickly, and getting them to come back up is like climbing Mount Everest.
Please keep this in mind as you enter the new year. Be mindful of holiday spending. Check out LifeLock online, and have them lock your credit so no one can pull your credit without your written authorization. Sign up with a qualifying account for our Business or Personal Finance Works at Mainstreet, which is currently free. Its as easy to make a budget and manage your finances on our site as it is to swipe a card, but much more profitable to you for years to come.
D
