Americans have watched over 2 Trillion dollars in retirement funds and savings disappear in the last few weeks.  Poof!  And what are the “experts” telling you now?

“Don’t worry.  It will recover.  Just stay in for the long haul.”

Well, unfortunately if you’ve already been investing in the stock market for years, there might not be any other good choices.  Taking out your money now means you’re locking in all those losses without any chance of recovery.  But its time to reflect a little on the current state of investing.

Does it really make sense to lock away your money for 20,30, even 40 years and hope that when it comes time to retire the market will be “up”?  What happens if you already are retired and your stocks drop 50% over night?  And just because we’ve had a long peace-time prosperity that has driven the market up overall… doesn’t necessarily mean it will do that in the forseable future.

We have a ticking triple-time bomb with Social Security, Medicare and stock-market retirement funds.  When the baby boom generation begins to withdraw their money instead of put it away… how can stocks NOT continue to drop.  What happens as life expectancy continues to go up, and Social Security benefits have to keep getting paid?

I could go on, but the point is that there is no safe investment for long-term retirement.    The only real investments you can make are in assets with intrinsic value:  real estate, precious metals, businesses that generate cashflow etc.  Invest in a business that generates cashflow, and invest in learning skills to make money at any age (mind money, not physical labor!)

Work at paying off all your debts, even your house, and reduce your cashflow requirements.  And above all else, take heart that we have a God who cares for us and says so in his scriptures.  That no matter what happens to us, he promises us life with him if we believe and accept his gift of salvation.

When the economy goes south, we’re forced to dig deep, cut back on expenses, and look for ways to make additional money.  If I wasn’t watching any news at all, I would know the economy is getting rough just from how many people have approached me with new business opportunities.

That’s a great thing, though!  It’s important to realize that the true path to better financial stability is to have better control over your own income.  You don’t have to quit your job to start something fun & easy on the side (yes, keep it simple & easy!).

The one BIG problem I see is that many who are starting a business for the first time are not aware how much things have changed in the last 5-10 years.  With the rapid and sweeping changes of technology, its very difficult to compete without a little bit of help.  You can be overwhelmed and overrun with all the things people tell you are a “MUST HAVE”!

I’m a big proponent of MLM (aka. Network Marketing, or Multi-Level Marketing) for many people just starting out.  The risks are minimal, especially if you connect with a person who has YOUR best interests in mind, not THEIRS.  I’ve setup an MLM blog called “MLMTruthTeller.com” to help you avoid some of the biggest pitfalls and understand the industry far better.

I hope to see you there, and I hope I can help you in your path towards success and freedom!