~Initial Thought~
Nearly all of us find ourselves facing situations of some importance, on an unfamiliar topic that must be embraced. In addition to relying on the skills of someone else in whom we've already placed our trust, it's always best to be really prepared. This means that in addition to simply trusting someone else, we should also bring some knowledge to the table. We might actually know something that our 'expert' doesn't.
Many financial mistakes are the results of a simple failure of the ability to properly evaluate the key factors at the specific point in time. With a conservative estimate of $200 billion dollars in lost consumer disposable income over the past 15 years, clearly, old rules don't always apply. The rules must change with the conditions!
My decision has saved me, so far, almost 25% of my original mortgage balance.
What would that percentage do for your bottom line?
How could you use that as a basis for related financial decisions?
~Interest rates~
How do you evaluate the conditions? By the time we hear the rates/prices on the news, as with gas prices, or ask someone else about the trend, it's usually too late to do anything about it, other than to simply react.
~What if~
What if you already knew what to expect? You might not know what to expect next week or next month, but, what if you knew what to expect in 5 years?
~Perspective~
Why are people standing today on street corners today with signs that read 'We Buy Gold?'
Why were gas prices nearly the same in 1999 as in 1981, and yet, up another 200-300% higher since 1999?
In 2003, I was house hunting. I saw rates fall to 50-year lows one Friday. I locked my rate first
thing on Tuesday morning. Why? Deja vu'! By combining a firm memory of a previous home ownership
experience with critical knowledge that I learned too late for that experience, I was 80% sure of what to do in 2003. Making a very similar decision with the first house would have also saved me tens of thousands of dollars.
History rhymes. History repeats. You just have to know how and when to listen.
Nearly all of us find ourselves facing situations of some importance, on an unfamiliar topic that must be embraced. In addition to relying on the skills of someone else in whom we've already placed our trust, it's always best to be really prepared. This means that in addition to simply trusting someone else, we should also bring some knowledge to the table. We might actually know something that our 'expert' doesn't.
Many financial mistakes are the results of a simple failure of the ability to properly evaluate the key factors at the specific point in time. With a conservative estimate of $200 billion dollars in lost consumer disposable income over the past 15 years, clearly, old rules don't always apply. The rules must change with the conditions!
My decision has saved me, so far, almost 25% of my original mortgage balance.
What would that percentage do for your bottom line?
How could you use that as a basis for related financial decisions?
~Interest rates~
How do you evaluate the conditions? By the time we hear the rates/prices on the news, as with gas prices, or ask someone else about the trend, it's usually too late to do anything about it, other than to simply react.
~What if~
What if you already knew what to expect? You might not know what to expect next week or next month, but, what if you knew what to expect in 5 years?
~Perspective~
Why are people standing today on street corners today with signs that read 'We Buy Gold?'
Why were gas prices nearly the same in 1999 as in 1981, and yet, up another 200-300% higher since 1999?
In 2003, I was house hunting. I saw rates fall to 50-year lows one Friday. I locked my rate first
thing on Tuesday morning. Why? Deja vu'! By combining a firm memory of a previous home ownership
experience with critical knowledge that I learned too late for that experience, I was 80% sure of what to do in 2003. Making a very similar decision with the first house would have also saved me tens of thousands of dollars.
History rhymes. History repeats. You just have to know how and when to listen.