Positive Thinking is the Key to Surviving Tough Times

With our current economic crisis and hundreds of thousands of people getting laid off across the nation, it is troubling to think where we are headed. Our nation is in a full blown depression. The fall of our economy was caused by greed and dishonest people that worked at the top of major corporations refusing to accept accountability. I refuse to buy into the political schemes of these companies that are seeking bailouts. The majority of these bailouts have not been used to recover losses or save jobs. They have been used for the wrong reasons to cover there own ass-ets. There is a way to turn this around. POSITIVE THINKING, and helping others.

I am determined to make the best of my own resources, while educating myself to find creative ways to make money and utilize every resource that is available to help everyone where ever I can. Recently I have posted a job board on my website www.LayZDaisy.com/jobs.htm I hope by having this job board on my site it will help those find a job that needs one. I think when ever we can help someone else, it is this kind of thinking that will turn around our economy. Here are some other tips that will help.

1. Stop the worry and have POSITIVE THINKING. If you worry it will take you ten times longer to accomplish something than if you have POSITIVE THINKING. Worrying is a waste of time. POSITIVE THINKING will get you a lot farther in life and you will reach your goals in less time. POSITIVE THINKING will help you accomplish anything that you desire by attracting these good thoughts everyday and sharing your good thoughts with others. We need to lift each other up and filter out the negetive.
2. Be Creative and find other ways you can make an income with NO investment. Some of these ways can be selling a product or service you can provide through free internet classified advertising. www.craigslist.org
3. Prioritize the things that are most important. By prioritizing I mean prioritizing everything in your life starting with your finances, cleaning your house etc. Prioritizing will also relieve a lot of stress and you will be able to look at everything with a clear picture.
4. Cut expenses and be frugal, you can live with less. When times are tough financially being frugal is way to cut the expenses you don't need without being cheap. If you remember to recycle and reuse this will in becoming frugal. Then when ever you can prepare for the future.
   
5. Share the lessons you have learned with others. Be willing to help someone and share your POSITIVE THINKING. Then if everyone helps someone else it will spread like wild fire.

Something US Auto Makers Have Forgotten

It seems that today many companies and their officers are driven by greed. The Government bailouts are not being used in the proper manner to save these companies from failing. This is disturbing to me that General Motors plans to close 500 dealerships and layoff thousands of jobs. Even more disturbing is that GM officials say that without the second installment of $5.4 billion dollars they will run out of money by March 31, 2009. It makes you wonder what are they doing with all that money that would make them run out? With $5.4 billion dollars you could save a whole lot of jobs. I think this is poor management to get this far into debt and not be able to pay your bills and save jobs.

When the whole auto industry is in trouble, instead of looking at the bottom of the food chain to cut costs, they should start from the top. This rather large house cleaning project should begin at the home corporate offices and look at over spending that is unnecessary, then go down to the branches of the company. Top executives refuse to take a pay cut when there are families that have worked in the Auto Industry for years living from paycheck to paycheck. Chrysler and GM need to take notes from a few competitors take some responsibility for their actions and realize it is their employees that are the core of the company and it’s what makes a company better.

As I was browsing around the internet I found a quote that I think the US auto makers have forgotten about. “There is one rule for the industrialist and that is: Make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible, paying the highest wages possible.” ~ Henry Ford

BMW makes a strong statement that they take responsibility for their actions and they exist to make the world a better place. They wouldn’t be where they are today if it weren’t for the employees that make up the most important part of their company.

The information in the blog is the opinion of the writer, articles were provided from the following sources;

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aEBxMmCfl0xY

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20090121/gm-henderson/

A New Year's wish for Everyone!

It is new years day. A time to start new. Although everyday is a new day. Why not make some new years resolutions that will impact your life as well as the life's of others. This is what I hope to do this year. I am very grateful of what I have. Even though the economy is in some tough times, I wish everyone the very best of New Years to have a great year of good health, prosperity and happiness. This is a great time to reflect on the good things you have in life and remember there is always someone else that has things worse than you do. I think if you smile and be grateful, more good things will come to you.

Bailouts: First the Banks, now the Auto Industry?

Over this past year many national banks have been in trouble. This happened because of bad investments and bad judgments of people that worked for these banks that did unethical loans. Because of the giant loss of banks across the country, the Federal Government decided to step in to bail out these banks in an effort to save the economy. Unfortunately it wasn’t a very well thought out plan. There were banks that used the money to pay themselves big bonuses and pay for luxury vacations, instead of using the money for what it was intended for. Then there were banks that used the money to pay for new investments, some of these banks didn’t even need the bailout money. Now the auto industry is seeking bailout money from the Government. Should these companies be bailed out? Or should they be held accountable for their actions, and file a Chapter 11 while they clean up their act.

The Government I think is going to go about this in a smarter way this time. Some things to consider are what will happen to the economy if they give the money to the auto industry? What type of stipulations will be enforced? We as tax payers do not have a choice. When ever the Federal Government gives a large sum of money to anyone, we pay for it, and usually the money comes from one of two sources, they raise taxes to pay for it or it comes out of social security.

Here are some additional articles related to this post.

How the Feds will Govern GM and Chrysler

Potential GM Bankruptcy Catastrophic for Economy

Wallstrip: Does the Auto Industry Deserve a Bailout?

Making a Difference in Your Community

We have been faced with difficult times in our economy. Especially this year. The unemployment rate is high and may only get worse with all of the companies going bankrupt these days. Even if your not unemployed many peoples finances are tighter than ever this year. I have been thinking how can I make a difference in these difficult times? Here is a website I came across for additional ideas to make a difference. Charity Guide Even if you don't have money to donate, chances are you have something in your house that you can donate. All of these organizations welcome volunteers you can donate your time.

There are a number of charities looking for things you can donate that can be used items. Some items I never would have even thought of. There are many families living in shelters or apartments that have nothing.

• Big Brothers Big Sisters - This organization will take used clothing, bedding, books, toys, recreational items, motor vehicles, boats, motor homes, airplanes, construction equipment,
  
• Local Food Bank - I have donated food from my pantry. I look at the items in there and if they have been sitting there for a few months and it's not expired than I will give it to the food bank.
• Local Shelters - Many of the local shelters will take clothes, bedding, toys.

Money saving tips in today's economy.

With the the stock market down and the unemployment rate rising, we are now in a recession. There are many things in our future that could be uncertain, and there are many different things we can do to tighten our budget without giving up our way of living.

I have decided to share a few small things that I do that are ways you can save money. You may not all agree with these things but when you implement these things into your daily living habits, the pennies will add up and can make a big difference in the way you spend money.

• Cleaning - Over this past year I have discovered I can make my own cleaning products much cheaper than buying them. My home made cleaners I have found that there are many other benefits as well to using them. The cleaners are organic which means less fumes and I think they work better than what I buy in the store. Some basic household products you might need are; Baking Soda, Borax, Vinegar. To make your own cleaners here is a website that has a few recipes.
  

• Meal Planning - I haven't always practiced this, but when I do I find that I don't spend nearly as much at the grocery store. By making a list of the ingredients you need for meals ahead of time this will eliminate the unnecessary things that you throw into the shopping cart that you don't need. When grocery shopping I try to do enough shopping to last for a minimum of 2 weeks to eliminate the need to go to the grocery store more than 2-3 times per month.

• Shopping - When doing any type of shopping make a list of the things you need to get and plan a budget for your trip so you don't overspend. When your shopping take a look at different brands of items and choose what is the most economically correct thing for you to buy. Most store brand items it doesn't make a difference when you compare to that name brand product. By purchasing more generic items you can often save money, but you should always do what's right for you.
  

Banks in Trouble

In this troubling time in our economy, we have many uncertain things going on right now. Our real estate market is down, and the stock market has crashed. We are now in a recession that may take years to recover from. I am not writing this article so you will panic. I am writing this article to keep you informed in what is going on in the Banks today. This is a follow-up article to the the last article I wrote on September 30, 2008. This is part of the "Is your money safe?" series. With any article I write, I do extensive research, and usually provide some web links to verify my information. This is to ensure that you get the most accurate information that I can give you.

Most Banks are insured by the FDIC, Credit Unions are also insured by the NCUA. What this means is, your money that you have in your bank account located at each Bank and Credit Union is required to insure your money for up to $100,000. Bank watch list as published by The Bank Implode Meter, these are banks that have all been audited and written up for something. More information can be found on each individual bank FDIC, NCUA.

Level 3 watch Bank List.

1. Fifth Third Bankcorp 11-06-08 (crashed, waiting on implosion)
2. UBS Bank 11-04-08 (crashing)
3. Mitsubishi Financial 10-27-08
   
4. Citigroup 10-16-08
5. Merryl Lynch 10-13-08 (may still come out alive)
6. Bank of America 10-07-08 (settlement, not in the clear yet)

Failed Banks/ Credit Unions List.

1. Security Pacific Bank, CA 11-07-08
   
2. Franklin Bank, SBB, TX 11-07-08
   
3. Freedom Bank, FL 10-31-08
   
4. Alpha Bank & Trust, GA 10-24-08
5. National City 10-24-08
   
6. High Desert Federal Credit Union 10-17-08
7. Meridian Bank, IL 10-10-08
   
8. Main Street Bank, MI 10-10-08
9. HBOS PLC 10-09-08
10. N & W Poca Division Credit Union 10-03-08
    
11. Watchovia Bank 9-29-08
12. Washington Mutual (WaMu) 9-24-08
13. Ameribank, Inc., WV 9-19-08
14. Interfaith Federal Credit Union 9-17-08
15. Lehman Brothers 9-11-08
16. Silver State Bank 9-5-08
17. Integrity Bank, GA 8-29-08
18. Columbian Bank and Trust, KS 8-24-08
19. First Priority Bank, KS 8-1-08
20. First National Bank of Nevada 7-26-08
21. First Heritage Bank N.A. 7-26-08
22. Indy Mac Bank Corp 7-11-08
23. First Integrity Bank 5-31-08
24. ANB Financial 5-09-08
25. Carnation Bank 5-09-08
26. St. Luke Baptist Federal Credit Union 5-07-08
27. Hume Bank of Hume, MO 3-10-08
28. Douglas National Bank 1-28-08
29. Huron River Credit Union 1-19-08
30. Green Tree Federal Credit Union 1-19-08
31. Metropolitan Savings Bank 1-19-08
32. Miami Valley Bank 1-19-08
33. Net Bank 1-19-08
34. Sharebuilders Federal Credit Union 1-19-08
35. Freemont General
36. Bear Stearns
37. Northern Rock PLC
38. Coast Bank

Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 11:27 AM Posted by LayZDaisy.

Economic Crisis: How low is the market going to go?

The announce of the stock market crash on September 15, 2008 marketed the largest crash since 9-11, 2001. As most of us know the stock market has continued to crash everyday since. What most people don't know is the bailout plan was the government's way of placing a band-aid on a very large wound already in progress, to hopefully prevent a recession. If that happens, the depression would be larger than the great depression of 1929. Once a recession starts it usually takes many years to recover. This makes you wonder how low is the market going to go? I think unfortunately a recession has already hit. Many people are in denial. With Banks collapsing among other businesses. This leaves the next five years very uncertain. We need to figure out a better way to prepare for the future. Now in our country there is a record number of foreclosures, billions of people have no retirement and thousands of people are currently unemployed. This gives you some things to think about doesn't it. Here is what other people are saying about our economic crisis.

A Pastoral Strategy for an Economic Crisis

Declaring War on the Meltdown

Economic Crisis

Web Exclusive: Economic Crisis

Bank Watch List

This is a follow-up article on the the last article I wrote on July 28, 2008. This is part of the "Is your money safe?" series. With the crash of the stock market, as everyone knows there are even more banks introuble.

Banks are supposed to be (FDIC) insured by the federal government, Credit Unions are also insure (NCUA). 90 bank watch list as published by The Bank Implode Meter, these are banks that have all been audited and written up for something. This list keeps getting longer. The government with the current bailout plan proposed will not be able to save all of these banks in trouble.

Level 3 watch Bank List.

1. Fifth Third Bankcorp 9-30-08 (crashing)
2. National City 9-29-08 (crashing, waiting on implosion)
3. Morgan Stanley 9-26-08
4. Bank of America 8-14-08
5. Merryl Lynch 9-15-08
6. HBOS PLC 9-19-08
7. National City 9-04-08
8. Bank of America 8-14-08
9. Citigroup 8-07-08
10. Sun Trust 7-22-08
11. JP Morgan Chase (near level 3)
12. Goldman Sachs (near level 3, may still come out alive)

Failed Banks/ Credit Unions List.

1. Watchovia Bank 9-29-08
2. Washington Mutual (WaMu) 9-24-08
3. Ameribank, Inc., WV 9-19-08
4. Interfaith Federal Credit Union 9-17-08
5. Lehman Brothers 9-11-08
6. Silver State Bank 9-5-08
7. Integrity Bank, GA 8-29-08
8. Columbian Bank and Trust, KS 8-24-08
9. First Priority Bank, KS 8-1-08
10. First National Bank of Nevada 7-26-08
11. First Heritage Bank N.A. 7-26-08
12. Indy Mac Bank Corp 7-11-08
13. First Integrity Bank 5-31-08
14. ANB Financial 5-09-08
15. Carnation Bank 5-09-08
16. St. Luke Baptist Federal Credit Union 5-07-08
17. Hume Bank of Hume, MO 3-10-08
18. Douglas National Bank 1-28-08
19. Huron River Credit Union 1-19-08
20. Green Tree Federal Credit Union 1-19-08
21. Metropolitan Savings Bank 1-19-08
22. Miami Valley Bank 1-19-08
23. Net Bank 1-19-08
24. Sharebuilders Federal Credit Union 1-19-08
25. Freemont General
26. Bear Stearns
27. Northern Rock PLC
28. Coast Bank

Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 10:47 AM Posted by LayZDaisy.

Stock Market meltdown, planning for the future.

I have been writing about the banks in trouble. I wrote my first article "Is your money safe?" On Monday, Wall Street had a huge market crash of over 500 points. This hasn't happened since the Stock Market Crashed on 9-11. This should be a wake up call that our economy is in trouble. One of the major losses was AIG. AIG has been one of the leading companies for retirement funds. They are going to be bailed out. What does this mean for you and me? This means that ultimately we will be paying for this through our taxes. Why should we have to pay for this? It is not our fault. Between bad investments and bad judgments of other parties that work for these companies that lose your money, they should be held accountable. A loss of this scale the Federal Government has decided to step in to bail out all of these companies that have made bad investment choices. We as tax payers do not have a choice. If your wondering where the Government gets this kind of money, it usually comes from one of two sources, they raise taxes to pay for it or it comes out of social security. At this point my Dad is at retirement age, his retirement has already been lost by bad investment choices of others, he cannot live on social security when it has already been cut. More and more senior citizens these days are looking for work just to make ends meet. The cost of living has forced many people out of retirement.

Today you can’t count on the Stock Market as a reliable way to invest your money. This is why it is so important to plan for the future. Many American’s live from pay check to pay check, it’s hard to put any money away. Saving money and having a reserve supply of food storage that will feed your entire family for a year, can be done. Looking at your budget you can cut back things you don’t really need and put away that money you would normally spend and use it towards a savings plan. You can cook more and go out less, stay in and rent movies instead of going to the theater. To save for food storage it’s not as hard as it seems. When you go the grocery store, you can buy one extra item a month to add to your food storage. When you need to use items from your food storage before it expires, replace it with the same item that is newer. Eventually you have enough items saved up for your family to live on for an entire year. It is very important now more than ever to stick to a monthly budget and set limits for yourself. This is one of the keys to becoming financially independent.

Bank Watch

This is a follow-up article on the original article I wrote on July 16, 2008 "Is your money safe?" This is an update of whats happening with banks. Many of these banks were not previously on the list.

Banks are supposed to be (FDIC) insured by the federal government. 90 bank watch list as published by The Bank Implode Meter, these are banks that have all been audited and written up for something. After doing a little research I found most of the banks on the watch list, many of the banks on this list are still in good standing. The ones that you will need to keep an eye on are the banks on a "Level 3". These are the banks that are in serious trouble.

Level 3 watch Bank List.

1. Washington Mutual 7-27-08 (waiting on implosion)
2. National City 7-24-08
3. Fifth Third Bankcorp 7-22-08
4. Watchovia 7-22-08 (waiting on implosion)
5. Bank of America 7-21-08
6. Merryl Lynch 7-11-08
7. Lehman Brothers 7-11-08
8. Bank of America 7-08-08
   
9. Citigroup 6-28-08
10. US Bancorp (near level 3)
11. National City (near level 3)
12. JP Morgan Chase (near level 3)
13. Wells Fargo (near level 3, may still come out alive but not in the clear)
    

FDIC Failed Bank List.

1. First National Bank of Nevada 7-26-08
2. First Heritage Bank N.A. 7-26-08
3. Indy Mac Bank Corp 7-11-08
4. First Integrity Bank 5-31-08
5. ANB Financial 5-09-08
6. Carnation Bank 5-09-08
7. St. Luke Baptist Federal Credit Union 5-07-08
   
8. Hume Bank of Hume, MO 3-10-08
9. Douglas National Bank 1-28-08
10. Huron River Credit Union 1-19-08
11. Green Tree Federal Credit Union 1-19-08
    
12. Metropolitan Savings Bank 1-19-08
    
13. Miami Valley Bank 1-19-08
14. Net Bank 1-19-08
15. Sharebuilders Federal Credit Union 1-19-08
16. Freemont General
17. Bear Stearns
18. Northern Rock PLC
19. Coast Bank

Some interesting facts about the oil industry.

With gasoline currently at $4 per gallon (higher in Utah) have you ever wondered how much the oil companies are making? Big oil companies claim they are not the big winners. The average proffit margin for oil companies in 7.6%. Currently the oil companies are saying that the demand is exceeding the supply, which is why gas prices continue to rise. Independently owned gas stations are only making a few cents per gallon. The federal government is currently making .18 cents per gallon. State Government is making .22 cents per gallon. Distributors make .28 cents per gallon. Refineries make .36 cents per gallon. Oil producers are making $2.96 per gallon. When you add all of that up it calculates to $4.00 per gallon without the independently owned gas stations taking their cut.

Some good news!

Today I recently found 2 gas stations that recently lowered their prices from last week, which was $4.17 a gallon for reg unleaded. Their prices are now $3.94 for regular unleaded. Even the local Sam's club that is usually supposed to be .05 cents cheaper, is currently $4.13. These prices are very good news considering how our economy has been going.

(Salt Lake City Area near point of the mountain)

Exxon Located on Bangerter Highway and west of I15
711 Located on Bangerter Highway and west of I15

The Power of Positive Thinking

We have lots of bad news going on in the world today. How you deal with that information is completely up to you. We may not be able to change the world, but we can always make the best of the situation by having a positive outlook and finding out how you can make your life or someone elses better. Positive thinking is one of the greatest powers that a human has. Negative thinking can only bring you more misery. With the power of positive thinking when things look hopeless to someone else, you have the power to think outside the box to find a solution. To create something better and to think of a better way of doing things. I firmly believe that the power of positive thinking can get you through anything. It's that one small thing you do for someone else that can change someones life.

Is your money safe?

I have never been the type of person that got involved in politics before. I feel the widespread panic going on in our nation is caused by our economy along with the monopoly being played with oil. I have a very big and new concern. Is your money safe? Banks are already in trouble. Are we headed for a recession as big as the 1920's? This is what I read on the front page of the morning paper. Look at today's headlines.

Stemming a Bank Crisis: Regulators, Banks Try to Calm Nation

Seeing Bad Loans, Investors Flee From Bank Shares

Economic angst: Could your bank be the next to fail?

Recession Watch: 5 Reasons Banks Face More Trouble

Banks are supposed to be (FDIC) insured by the federal government. 90 bank watch list as published by The Bank Implode Meter, these are banks that have all been audited and written up for something. After doing a little research I found most of the banks on the watch list, many of the banks on this list are still in good standing. The ones that you will need to keep an eye on are the banks on a "Level 3". These are the banks that could be headed for serious trouble.

Level 3 watch Bank List.

1. Merryl Lynch 7-11-08
2. Lehman Brothers 7-11-08
3. Bank of America 7-08-08
   
4. Citigroup 6-28-08
5. Watchovia (near level 3)
   
6. US Bancorp (near level 3)
7. Washington Mutual (near level 3)
8. National City (near level 3)
   

List of Failed Banks.

1. IndyMac BankCorp
2. Carnation Bank
   
3. First Integrity Bank
4. ANB Financial
5. Hume Bank of Hume, MO
6. Douglas National Bank
7. Miami Valley Bank
8. Net Bank
9. Metropolitan Savings Bank
10. St. Luke Baptist Credit Union
11. Huron River Credit Union
12. Green Tree Federal Credit Union
13. Sharebuilders Federal Credit Union
14. Freemont General
15. Bear Stearns
16. Northern Rock PLC
17. Coast Bank