thewealthpage.com

Yesterday, I needed to get gas for my Jeep; I stopped at a BP station here locally where I live.  I usually pay with my credit card or debit card. However this time I had a $100 dollar bill that I wanted to use to pay for the gas.

I pulled up to the pump, got out and pulled the nozzle from the pump and put it into my gas tank to begin filling.  I pushed the cash payment button and waited for authorization to begin pumping.

While I was waiting I noticed a small sign on the pump that said that the store didn’t take anything larger than a $20.00 dollar bill.  This somewhat annoyed me as I thought that most people pump any where from $30 - $100 dollars of gas when filling up and depending on what they are driving.  My jeep usually takes at least $30 - $40 at any given time.

I asked myself how could they only accept bills of $20 dollar’s or less in denomination?

I decided to pump the gas and pretend like I never saw the sign on the pump.

The pump took an unusually long time to authorize and I began to get impatient waiting. This along with the fact that all I had was a $100 dollar bill to pay with at a store that only accepts bills of $20.00 or less, led me to the decision to pull the pump out hang it back on it’s base and leave.

I continued on my path home and stopped by an independent gas station close to my house.  I pulled up to the pump and was delighted to see that the price of the gas was .05 cents less than the BP Station I just left.

I filled my tank, and rounded up the total to an even $27.00 dollars.  I headed to the store so I could pay the cashier who met outside as I was approaching the building and asked me how much gas I pumped?

I realized this was a different type of station the attendant was more active in taking the money, as one of the pumps was a full service pump so the attendant was used to meeting the customers at their car to collect payment from self service customers.

So I told the guy that I pumped $27.00 dollars worth of gas and pulled out the $100.00 dollar bill from my pocket to pay.  When I handed the attendant the $100.00 dollar bill to my surprise I was given attitude toward my money.

The guy started in on me and said “we don’t accept bills larger than $50.00 denomination.” He went on to ask “didn’t you read the sign?”  My reply was “I am sorry I didn’t see the sign on the building.”

He continued to give me attitude about the $100.00 dollar bill and having to make change for such a big bill.

I told him that “I didn’t see the sign on the building and that there was no indication that this was a policy anywhere on the pump.”  I went on to tell the guy that if the sign on the building was a little bit bigger than the foot and a half square I might have seen it.  However the sign was placed very low on the building and was inconspicuous, definitely not very noticeable.

He kept grumbling as he went back inside.  I followed him in to where he stopped at a desk that had a big drawer on it.  As he opened the drawer, I couldn’t help but notice that he had quite a bit of money in the drawer surely it was enough to break or make change for at least ten $100.00 dollar bills.

It was apparent that this guy just isn’t a customer friendly person with his approach.  If he had simply pointed out in a nice way the sign on the building I may not have been so offended by his grumbling attitude, I would have apologized and let him know I would be better prepared next time.  The sad fact is his attitude totally turned me off to ever returning to his station again.

As someone who is in a customer driven business where I have to make sure I keep my customers happy and always have to keep my attitude positive and customer focused. I expect a lot and this guy didn’t display any customer service skills and created an uncomfortable situation that cost him future sales from me.

I guess where all of this is crazy to me is what is the deal with gas stations placing limits on dollar denominations?  Are they protecting themselves from theft? Don’t they have safes on premises where they can drop off large dollar amounts that are inaccessible?

Am I crazy thinking this way? What happens when gas prices get back to $4 dollars a gallon and people really will be pumping $100.00 dollars of gas to fill up.  Is the gas station going to say “that will be $100.00 dollars, however you must pay with five $20.00 dollar bills, because we don’t accept $100.00 dollar bills.”

I don’t know this just seems like a short sighted policy.

Thanks for reading!

JohnG
www.debt-2-zero.com

As an agent for United First Financial® I work hard to help people get on track to eliminate their personal debt and mortgage debt at a hyper accelerated pace.

I love showing people how to pay off their mortgage and debt payments in as little as 1/2 to 1/3 the time it traditionally takes to pay.  The best thing about the Money Merge Account® that I show them is that it requires little to no change in their current lifestyle and household budget.

Think about that for a minute paying off your mortgage and consumer debt in as little as 1/2 to 1/3 the time it traditionally takes with little to no change in your current lifestyle or budget.

You might be thinking to yourself “this sounds to good to be true” and I like you felt the same way, until I met several people who were living proof that the system is in fact legitimate and was helping 1000’s of people just like you and me save $1000’s of dollars paying off their debt early.

If you would like to learn more about this great company United First Financial® and the Money Merge Account® go to www.joinu1st.com right now and then contact me to discuss any questions you may have regarding this great program and company.

Ok so back to the title of this blog post, one of the most frustrating aspects about human nature is their ability to procrastinate or put off doing important things, things that could potentially save them a ton of money.

You see I have two clients on the Money Merge Account® from United First Financial® who purchased the program and are not using the system.  This is frustrating to me because they are costing themselves time and money!

I don’t understand why they are not using the system because it literally shouldn’t take much time each month to keep the program running.  It literally shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes a week to maintain the system and keep it operating at peak performance.

So are these people crazy they spent their hard earned money to purchase the software only to let it go to waste by not using it.  The real problem I have is that there is a 800 number they can call to help them work through any problems they may have operating the system.

There really is no excuse for these people to not take advantage of the Money Merge Account® from United First Financial®

If you would like more information on the Money Merge Account® from United First Financial® go to www.joinu1st.com

Thanks for reading!

JohnG
www.debt-2-zero.com

Ok, last week I posted a couple of articles that mentioned that we as business owners and entrepreneurs should stop tuning into the media and buying into all the recession talk.  I feel that buying into what the media sells, which is mostly negativity, causes us to change the way we see things. It creates doubt and slowly erodes a positive mindset.

Here’s the thing, it is important as a business owner to keep a finger on the pulse of what the economy is doing and how our industry is standing up.  So I realize that you can’t completely shut everything out and just bury your head in the sand.  That is not what I am saying, what I am trying to say is just be careful what information you let absorb into your brain.

If you let the world around you affect what you do on a daily basis because you are paralyzed with fear of what might happen then most likely you will fail.

What we are dealing with in our economy in my humble opinion is necessary; it is a natural correction that is creating a challenge for us as individuals, for business and for government.  The people who find a way to fight through these times and are creative with what they are doing on a daily basis will survive, possibly thrive.  Those of you who get bogged down with excuses and blame will crash and burn.

The old way of doing things may not be effective anymore, it is up to you to create your own economy, avoid excuses and change course if you need.  It is up to you to do what ever it takes survive these times.

Everyone who has success has faced tough times; these people all figured out how to make the most out of their tough times, fought through them and eventually landed on success.

I have heard it said that the only true failure is when you give up trying, what seems like failure is actually a lesson to learn from and grow.  From the seeming failure, success can be born.

Napolean Hill author of the best selling book “Think and Grow Rich says: “in every adversity lies the seed of an equal or greater opportunity.”  I believe this statement to be true and I feel that if we as business owners and entrepreneurs change the way we view our current economic situation we will be rich with opportunity.

Thanks for reading!

John Giammarco
www.debt-2-zero.com

I don’t know about you but I am frustrated with the whole world of banking especially when it comes to the mortgage industry.  I get aggravated when I read articles about the foreclosure rates and how the banks are handling the situation.

I might be totally off base but it sure seems to me as if the banks are not taking any responsibility for the mess they created.  A mess created out of pure greed.  Let’s face it these banks were getting people into sub-prime loans that had no business getting the loan in the first place.

Then you read about how the banks are not willing to take the necessary steps to help alleviate the problem. This is just maddening to me.

A lot of the problem stems from the banks setting up the loans with low introductory interest rates or even worse negatively amortized rates that adjust a few years later, when the rate adjusts the homeowner can no longer keep up with the payment.

Having worked in the credit department for GMAC out of college I know that once a payment slips past the borrower it is extremely hard to get caught up and usually leads to more missed payments.  And so the cycle begins.

This is what is happening right now in the mortgage industry, and it has been a problem for the past couple of years.  People are beginning to get interest adjusted payments that they no longer can afford letting the payments slip and eventually getting foreclosed on.

This is creating a huge mess of inventory; the banks are collecting homes like a young boy collects coins.  This glut of inventory is driving home values down so not only are the people who are losing their homes being affected the homeowners who are not losing their homes are being affected as well with decaying equity values.

I built a home in Michigan that my Mom now owns in 2003, it cost me total to build right around $180,000 - $185,000 dollars to build, at today’s value I would literally have to sell it $20,000 - $25,000 dollars less than what it cost me to build it if I needed to sell.  And at that price there is still no guarantee that it would sell quickly because the number of qualifiable buyers is in sort supply.

My problem with all of this is that the banks just don’t seem to care; they are not willing to help themselves by helping these people stay in their homes.  Wouldn’t it be better for them to keep a person in the home at the low introductory interest rate that the person has been paying than to jack up the rate and payment to a level that makes it impossible for the homeowner to pay which eventually leads to foreclosure?

The bank gets the home back and now have liability issues and increasing inventory so their overhead costs go up with every home they foreclose on.  Am I wrong with my thinking on this?  Isn’t an asset something of value that brings in money? Isn’t a liability something that costs money?

If the banks purpose is to make money why are they being so stubborn with helping people stay in their homes?  Why are they collecting these foreclosed homes without any attempt to help the people who are living in them and with out helping themselves?

If in fact an asset produces money and liability costs money, it seems to me that the more homeowners they can modify the loans to keep in the houses the more assets they will have on the books creating profits. Or they can foreclose on these homes collect a bunch of inventory and create liabilities that cost them profits.

Which scenario would you rather have as a business owner?

I just read an article on Yahoo by Brian Grow, Keith Epstein and Robert Berner who mention that many banks are working with these distressed homeowners with loan modifications which sounds promising at first however when you continue reading they mention that 53% of the people who have had their loan modified default again.

They cite this high rate of defaulted modified loans is caused by the fact that the modified loan often is adjusted to a higher payment than before.  They go on to say the reason the modified loans are higher is because the banks tack on late payment fees, past due payments, uncollected taxes and fees to modify the loan.

How is this helping solve the problem?

The banks created the problem in the beginning because of Greed; they are perpetuating the problem through stubbornness and stupid policy.

This problem isn’t going to go away until the banks figure out that helping some of these distressed customers will actually help them.  It is sad that they can’t see it.

Thanks for reading!

JohnG
www.debt-2-zero.com

P.S. if you would like to learn how to pay off your mortgage in as little as 1/2 to 1/3 the time it traditionally takes with little to no change in your current lifestyle or household budget go to www.debt-2-zero.com

The other day, I was talking to a friend of mine, more specifically a new friend I was recently introduced to through a mutual friend.  We were eating a Japanese buffet, I am not much of a sushi person, raw fish just isn’t my thing. While we were eating and talking about the food our conversation shifted from the sushi to finances.

The conversation was centered more on mortgages and home loans.  My new friend explained that he was trying to get rid of his PMI or private mortgage insurance payments.  He said that he was paying somewhere around $75.00 dollars a month in PMI.

I asked him if he thought he had accumulated enough equity in the house to have 80% Loan to Value on the house.  He said he did as he had been paying extra principal on the home and that he has had the home long enough that it has appreciated a little despite the current market conditions.

I of course get excited talking about these types of scenarios because I am a licensed real estate agent and have been practicing real estate for over eight years. Also because I am an independent United First Financial™ agent and if there is ever an opportunity to talk to someone about reducing their mortgage in 1/2 to 1/3 the time it traditionally takes, I want to talk about it.

None the less I started asking questions about how my friend was going to go about getting the PMI off his mortgage note.  We talked a little about the process of getting the PMI off and I was more than happy to offer my opinion on how the banks go about removing PMI and what the process requires.

As our conversation continued I asked “if there was a way to reduce your debt including mortgage debt in a time frame much faster than you ever thought possible would you want to learn more?”

Well like most people, of course he said yes, we were already on the subject of mortgages and debt, anyway, so it was natural for me to introduce the United First Financial™ Money Merge.™

I began discussing how the program works and how it is mechanism to leverage simple interest loans against compound interest or amortized interest loans.  Basically it is using money like the banks use our money to make money. It is a system to maximize the growth of money while we are in possession of it.

Maximizing your discretionary income is a key aspect to the U1st®  Money Merge account.™ Utilizing a budget and using your money that is most advantageous to you and less advantageous to the bank

I love the Money Merge Account™ from United First Financial™ and talking about it to people.  I love how it is helping people accomplish financial freedom with little to no change in their current lifestyle and or household budget.

So you can imagine how easy it was for me to talk to my new friend about his mortgage.  As the conversation progressed, more and more information was presented and  discovered, it turned out that he would be ideal for the Money Merge Account™ and that he could save quite a bit of money doing so.

He hasn’t committed yet but I will keep talking to him in a non threatening way until I can run an analysis and show him exactly how the program will help him.

The Money Merge Account™ from United First Financial™  is one of the best debt elimination tools available and it is helping 1000’s of people achieve financial freedom at a hyper accelerated pace.  It can help my friend and it can help you too!

Thanks for reading!

John Giammarco
www.debt-2-zero.com

P.S. If you would like to see if you qualify to use the Money Merge Account™ from United First Financial™ go to www.debt-2-zero.com today.

Is your web presence anemic or totally non existent?  If this question describes your business’s web presence you might want to reconsider your position on this topic.  It is becoming more and more important that offline businesses develop some sort of web presence.

Even if you would prefer to steer clear of online sales it is important to have a web site so your customers and clients can find you.  There are many reasons for a business to have a web presence online even if you are not interested in online selling.

A web presence gives your business credibility, it allows your customers or clients to locate you get your contact and location information.  Not to mention it is a source of direction for those who are not sure how to get to your location.  If you have multiple locations it is a greet way for interested people to find your business location that is closest or most convenient to them.

Check out http://tinyurl.com/ch4kr4 if you would like to begin working with a professional to get your website up and running.  This website is designed to give you anything and all that you need to develop a website for your business.

If you are a do it yourself type of person you can get a low cost hosting plan and develop your own website with RVsitebuilder.  This is a great way to develop a website on your own.  It is a template based design application geared to help the do it yourselfer get a website up in running quickly.  In fact when you visit http://tinyurl.com/ch4kr4 and find this package they will tell you that it is totally possible to get a website up and running.

If you are to busy to go to the do it yourself route you can check out the list of options available.  The owner of the site has developed many different options and pricing strategies designed to meet your specific needs.  Click here to find out more http://tinyurl.com/ch4kr4/.

Visit this site http://tinyurl.com/ch4kr4 to get access to full service website design, website development, logo design, e-commerce, product development, database programming, brand marketing and search engine optimization (SEO).

If you need anything that deals with website development or design visit http://tinyurl.com/ch4kr4 today!
Good luck with your business’s website design and hosting.  Bring your business into the 21st century by developing your business’s web presence.

Thanks for reading!

JohnGiammarco
www.debt-2-zero.com

In the last post I talked about tuning out the media and their doom and gloom take on the economy.  I mentioned that the best way to avoid all the negative news the media is currently spinning on the economy is to just tune it out, turn off the T.V. quit reading the newspapers and stop talking to people about the economy and or recession.

I also said that as a business person it really is up to you to create your own economy and to avoid getting sucked in to the negativity that everyone seems to be talking about.

One way to avoid this is to go where the money is.  If you think about it even in the great depression people were making money.  Money flows and right now it is flowing differently than it has ever done before.

Put yourself in front of the money and you won’t have to worry about the economy, recession, the negative media or any of that crazy stuff designed to make you depressed.

There is a group of people who are not affected by the recent shift in our economy. They are spending money and have the money to spend.

This class of people are in good shape financially and are ready willing and able to spend their money without worry.  This class of people is considered the new spending class affluent, more particularly the affluent boomer class.

This is a class of people who have money and are not affected by our current economy.  They have money and they will spend it to make their lives easier and better.  The affluent boomers want products that make their lives easier, save them money and of course they don’t want to be ripped off.

If you can create a product that they want that fit these three specific needs you can avoid all the trouble that many small business owners are facing with the economy right now.

If you think this is a crazy notion consider this: 70% of U.S. households are comprised with boomers earning incomes of $75,000 and have investable assets exceeding $200,000

So what are boomers most likely to spend their money on?

Health and wellness people are living longer and quality of life issues are very important to the boomer client or customer, health and wellness will certainly be a hot business section that boomers will seek out and gladly pay to feel and look younger and healthier.

Boomers want Conglomeration of services and will pay for one stop shopping.  Businesses that put together packaged services that cater to the lifestyle of the boomer will fare well and will profit nicely for doing so.

Boomers want to make their lives easier so if your business currently offers one product or service it would be wise to locate other opportunities to capitalize on the boomers desire to have all in one products or service.  For example an insurance person could or should also be offering financial services.

Boomers are Nostalgic for the good ole’ days and they are willing to pay for Experiences that take them back in time or helps them reminisce about the “good ole’days.

They also want and are willing to pay for these remarkable experiences which may include traveling on cruise ships, RV’s and hotels resorts and casinos.

They are also interested in purchasing businesses or starting their own businesses.
They are retiring however most understand that they still have so much to contribute to society that many of them will purchase a new business or get a part time job just to keep them occupied and busy.

Find a way to market to the affluent boomer and you will surely recession proof your business.

Thanks for reading!

JohnGiammarco
www.Debt-2-zero.com

Try as you might, turn a deaf ear, look the other way but the reality is that it is just too hard to avoid all the negative news the media spins on the recession and how our slumping economy is killing our nation.

You can’t turn on the television or pick up a newspaper without hearing of another mass layoff, or business closing its doors for good.  There are once solid businesses that have faced and overcome tough times in the past now threatening to close their doors.

Let’s face it we are faced with scary times, if all you do is read the newspaper or watch the evening news it is hard to think any other way.  That is why it is important to work hard to tune out all of the negativity and begin creating your own economy.

The reality is yes times are tough however tough times create opportunity and if you look around there are a lot of people creating opportunity, ignoring what the media is saying about the poor economy and making things happen.  In essence they are creating their own reality, their own economy.

In 1929 when the Great Depression hit, there were a lot of people who lost everything; many got hit so hard they killed themselves instead of face the hardship of their loss.  Despite all this negativity there were many people who realized opportunity was still there it just didn’t come in the same package or form.
People, found ways to create success they realized that the money didn’t just disappear it moved in different ways.  Much of what we are seeing today is similar to depression era times.  The money isn’t drying up or disappearing it is moving in different patterns. It is spreading itself out differently than in the past.

It is up to you as a business owner to get out in front of it and capture as much of it as you can.

We are faced with new times; the way of doing business in the past is gone.  We are much more of a global economy than ever before, product and distribution channels have changed. With this change comes a shift in how money flows in the economy.  The smart innovative people and businesses that understand this are the ones who will be left standing, succeeding, and prospering.  Those of you sho wallow in the media mire will be left behind.

It is up to you, make your decision today to put yourself in front of the money shift and quit following old worn out techniques that will leave you broke in the new economy.

Stop today…just quit reading the newspaper turn off the tv and stop listening to the media so you are not affected by the day to day negativity.  Seek out information that makes sense and defies all of the negativity the media is trying to sell you.

There are great examples out there of people who are succeeding despite all of the negativity that surrounds them.  All you have to do is open your eyes and ears and tune in to the good and tune out the bad.  If you search for it you will find it. Check back here on this blog, I will share only positive stuff here. I don’t give a rats ass about the economy I will survive good times and bad.

Be sure to check back here in a few days, as I will be talking about a market segment of the population that has not been affected by the slumping economy, in fact if you position yourself correctly you will put yourself in a great position to create your own economy and find a nice little pocket where money is still flowing.

Thanks for reading!

JohnG
www.debt-2-zero.com

Fellow Entrepreneur,

Imagine there was a tool that rolled contact management, web meetings, and a marketing system all into one. Think that would help your business? You bet it would.

But if such a tool existed it would have to be to good to be true. Right?

That’s what I thought at first. Boy was I wrong!

This tool is so unbelievable it will change the way small business owners do business. I didn’t believe it at first myself, but after I visited www.johng1.com I was blown away!

You don’t want to miss out on this!

I strongly suggest you go check out this video. It’s not long & it could change your business. I know it’s changing mine!

So go to www.johng1.com right now. You can thank me later!

Sincerely,

John Giammarco

P.S. It’s not too late to put 2009 on track to be your best year ever. Go to www.johng1.com today and find out how easily you can do it!

I just left a great website you should be aware of if you are an internet marketer and you haven’t been to www.yourbiztrack.com than you are missing out on a great resource.  I told you about my friends website www.yourbiztrack.com in the last post and I wanted to continue to tell you a little about what you will find on this great website.

My friend John Morgan is a master at landing interviews with people of influence and knowledge.  Generally speaking John interviews business and marketing people.

For instance, John has talked to Than Merrill from A & E’s Flip this House fame; you won’t want to miss this interview as Than doesn’t just talk about flipping houses and being on a famous television show. He delivers the goods when it comes to developing marketing and success strategies that any business owner can use.

Ok, so maybe Than Merrill isn’t something you are interested in, maybe you want something more relevant to your business, which I will tell you the Than Merrill interview is appropriate for any business but if that isn’t your thing check out John’s great interview of Marketing Genius Andrew Lock.

This is great interview and Andrew shares a ton of great information for you to use and profit from.  For example Andrew lays out a step by step plan to generate leads from eBay that is guaranteed to help you generate more business.

Still not satisfied Check out John’s amazing interview with Kristi Frank from Donald Trump’s Apprentice Kristi talks candidly about how to balance a professional life with a work life.  Listen in as she discusses the differences in traditional marketing vs. direct response marketing.  This interview will shed some light on how to create opportunities and maximize them for the best results.

If you are not using a blog to promote your business or enhance your online presence once you listen to John’s interview of Yaro Starek you will have a whole new perspective on blogging and how important they are to internet marketers.  Listen in to Yaro as he explains how he makes over $10k a month with his blog.  If you don’t get any money making ideas from this interview than you were probably sleeping thru it.

Ok, if that isn’t enough here are a few more interviews John has done,

Henry Pellerin talks about The Strategic Selling Process, Cameron Johnson talks about starting small and taking massive action to become successful, and Gerald Romine holds nothing back when he discusses with John what it takes to really succeed and why most peoples marketing sucks.

You won’t want to miss these interviews go to www.yourbiztrack.com right now and see what John has to offer.

Thanks for reading!

JohnGiammarco
www.wealth-achievers-mastermind.com