The
Nature of the Problem
All
over the world, the "safety net" our parents relied
on - pensions, government support, and living wages that encouraged
savings - has been quietly dismantled. There is no longer
a social contract between employees and employers; the responsibility
for providing for retirement has been almost completely
shifted to the individual.
Meanwhile,
the cost of getting older is escalating at an alarming rate.
Our kids' college tuitions are going up as much as
20% a year or more. Our parents' medical and nursing care
costs are skyrocketing. We're watching our healthcare systems
implode before our very eyes.
And
deep down inside, we know that the recent federal tax cuts
are resulting in budget shortfalls at the local level, which
will trigger tremendous tax increases later on, as
vital services are eliminated and our bridges, roads, sewers,
and other infrastructure crumble for lack of proper maintenance.
We
cringe when we see yet another senior citizen handing
us fries at the drive-through window, knowing they should
be at home having meals served to them instead.
We
cringe, because we know that someday soon, that could
be us. We don't want to think about it, but deep down, we
know that more and more people are simply destined to work
until they die. And there's a quiet, rolling fear building
in our guts.
In
fact, according to the 2008
Retirement Confidence Survey, only 47% of American
workers have even bothered to calculate how much money we'll
need to save by the time we retire - much less formulated
a plan for actually saving it.
Many
of us have gambled on the stock market - and lost. Our paychecks
are stagnant; that is, if we haven't been laid off recently.
The latest refinancing boom has left millions of us with little
or no real equity in our homes, and forclosures are at an
all-time high. (Take advantage of that little reality here.)
So,
for many of us, it's too late to just save our way
out of this mess. If we want to "beat the system",
and escape the trap with our financial lives, we're going
to have to improve
our credit and increase
our incomes - quickly and dramatically.
But is there a way to honestly, legally, and ethically do
so?
 Next
- Part III: A Bold Solution
Millennium
System Course 1: Real Estate Resource Kit
Millennium
System Course 2: Home Business Resource Kit
Millennium
System Courses 1&2: Complete Home Study Kit
SkyVault™
Bookstore
millennium-wealth-system.com:
Helping you create a wealth-based
retirement by combining hi-tech business tools with time-tested,
but
little known real estate investing techniques.
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