MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition Launches Inaugural YouPitch Contest

Definitely worth a shot!  Get your ideas out there!

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110407006338/en/MIT-100K-Entrepreneurship-Competition-Launches-Inaugural-YouPitch

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Gold, silver futures rise on inflation fears Metals Stocks - MarketWatch

Gold, silver futures rise on inflation fears Metals Stocks - MarketWatch: "Gold gains, silver up 2% on inflation fears Silver settles at 31-year high" Interesting article... The Feds printing money causes the dollar t0 depreciate, not to mention our government incessant spending and our increasing deficits also causes the global market to lose "faith" in our ability to repay our debts. No wonder metals are seeing new highs!  But eventually this "bubble" will come back down to earth....

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Just a quick thought of mine...

Just a quick thought of mine….

I’m still a strong advocate for introducing commodity indices to your portfolio in the coming years ahead…in addition to allocating at least 5-10% of your wealth to physical commodities (i.e., gold and silver coins) to have in your possession just in case. The way the Feds are debasing our currency is detrimental to our financial well-being long term.  What I find interesting is during the down-turn we have several individuals rushing to the “safety” of higher education..... Most of these students are a direct product of the recession, meaning they’ve been laid off, or they’re underemployed and need to increase their skills in hopes of making more money. Unfortunately, these individuals are also desperate for loans to fund their educational aspirations – even at a time when tuition is steadily increasing at twice the rate of inflation.

People considering taking out a loan for higher education should ask these questions: Is it worth going to college if I have to take out a large amount of student loans – at a time when unemployment is high? What is the likelihood that I’ll graduate with a job in hand? Are these jobs being currently offered in my city or state? Will I have to move to the city or state offering the jobs? What other alternatives are there besides taking on debt that I’ll have to repay back?

There’s nothing worse to a country and a community that has college graduates who can’t find a job – therefore, becoming somewhat unemployable as their skill set wanes.

We just got out of the mortgage mess that was a result of failures within the private and public sectors and also the Feds guaranteeing every mortgage signed over to some people that should’ve never been anywhere near a house in the first place. Remember when government sponsored entities (GSE) like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed the American people and needed to be bailed out??? I can see the potential for this to also happen in the educational industry – where you have several individuals seeking education and need loans for education and once again, another GSE called Sallie Mae (although they claim to be a private enterprise now) is in place buying up all of the student loans out there. Sallie Mae just purchased $27Billion of Federal student loans from Citigroup in 2010. Déjà vu?

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Show ME the money…

What’s all of this nonsense being debated in Congress about the best way to revive the US economy? If 70% of our economy is driven by consumer spending – then why not give bailout money and tax cuts directly to the consumers??

So far – Congress has given taxpayer money directly to the major banks and big businesses in an effort to either increase lending for consumers/small businesses and to spur employment….or maybe to provide money for bonuses as a “thank you” to the major banks for putting them in office (haha).

But if this money goes directly to the consumers – perhaps the economy wouldn’t take so long to rebound. Now I am aware that the current debt levels of our country are unsustainable, and (logically speaking) there probably should be tax increases AND a severe reduction in government spending to get the debt of this country under control. But if logic were to take hold – the economy would almost certainly reach a downward spiral, which would guarantee a quick replacement of certain politicians currently in office.

Today, our GDP is approximately $14 trillion, but our debts equate to about $13.95 trillion! To better understand this - imagine a family household with an annual income of $40,000…and imagine this same household has $40,000 in credit card debt. How long do you think it will take them to pay this debt off when they’re paying utilities, groceries, student loans and other living expenses? Most families would cut spending, reduce luxuries, and find ways to increase income to solve the debt problem. But our Congress is currently discussing ways to increase our debt ceiling so that government spending can continue! The debt ceiling has been raised at least 10 times under the Bush and Obama administrations. Uh, why do we have a “ceiling” if we keep raising it?!?

Surprisingly, some people still have total faith that the government will take care of them. How much of our retirement has been eroded by the printing presses of the Federal Reserve? How broken and underfunded is our social “security” system?

A country’s currency is only as strong as its government. If the government defaults on its’ debt – then the currency of that government becomes worthless. Do your research – governments have failed since history began. Did the people of Zimbabwe have as much faith in their government as Americans currently do in their government? What about the people of Greece? Yugoslavia? France? Will our fate be similar to these countries?

Nevertheless, there is still ample time for you to get your financial house in order regardless of what Congress does by “downsizing” your American dream.

1. Find ways to increase your income by picking up a part-time job (as the government keeps printing money – 1 job may not be sufficient anymore). Think entrepreneurially!

2. Reduce the amount of debt you owe to others, such as your car note, credit cards, student loans, mortgage, etc.

3. Invest a portion of your dollars into commodities like gold, silver, oil, wheat, corn, etc.

4. Invest in small businesses; and if possible, own a few small businesses

Be in the winning category – be productive and start now to change your financial footing so that you’re more in control of your financial future. There’s a saying that goes “don’t put all of your eggs in one basket”….so do not solely depend on the government and/or family members to save you when it comes to your finances. It can’t hurt to get off your butt and try to stand on your own feet.

It seems as if the more money you make – more money is given to you…or so I’ve been told. Maybe that’s why they say the rich get richer…??

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