Daily Intent

Santa Barbara, CA
Do you consider yourself more of a money maker or a money saver?

Why I ask?  Garage sales seem to be a recent theme and has me thinking about the peculiarity of the act.  The combination of the extra time of summer, fall cleansing, and the suppressing economy, have fellow Santa Barbarans emptying out their closets, garages, and living rooms onto the street.

The passer byers spend hours meddling through the piles, analyzing the details, often walking away with piles of clothes, chairs, and tables for pennies on the dollar.

The economic statement the buyers are making in going through this process is “my time is best used seeking out ways to save money rather than to make money.”  Whereas, the seller is stating, “my time is best used cleaning out, organizing, pricing and selling my items rather than carrying out other money making activities.”

Let’s say for example one can save $30 in the course of one hour of shopping at a garage sale.  They are essentially making / earning $30 in that hour.  If  they only make $25 / hour via their job, we could all agree, going to the garage sale makes economic sense.

This person would be considered a saver.  They often find they are better at saving money through creative ways and keeping expensive tastes at bay.

Contrarily, the money maker is creative in making money.  They can always figure out a way to make extra cash.  They find it necessary to spend money to make money.  They will go out to dinner, buy the fancy car, or latest technology at full price without batting an eye because they don’t consider the time spent seeking out savings to be of high enough value.  They are the opposite of the saver.  They may be able to save $25 by shopping, but they are able to make $30 doing something else.  They, thus, choose to spend less time monitoring their purchases.  This, too, makes economic sense.

Having said that, one is unsustainable without the other.  You can’t save money if you aren’t bringing in any money to save.  Nor can you make money if you are bogged down with so much debt bankruptcy is distracting your time.

The takeaway here is to know at which you tend to be better and leverage it.  Save money if this is what you are best at, but be sure to align yourself with someone that is good at making money.  Or if making money comes easy, align yourself with someone, a spouse, friend or financial planner, that can help you save. 

Let’s retire young by leveraging our talents and building wealth via savings / earnings. 
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Catalyst - Meeting of the Minds - “Tapping global resources, locally”
Robert TenEyk, CEO of Ideocore Corporation. Marketing focused.  September 10th. Next Thursday. 12pm.  Tickets will be available by week’s end!
 Visit http://www.catalystsb.org/meetingoftheminds
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Buzzword: Computer
“According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word “computer” was first used to describe a mechanical calculating device in 1897. Although the word existed previously, it had been used to describe “a person who computes or performs calculations.” -www.usefultrivia.com

A machine was named after a person.  What tasks are we performing today that will ultimately be taken over by a machine?   May it be useful and life enhancing.

  Six Points to Ponder:

   1. Markets. Nervous Nellies are slimly winning out this week - The Dow is trading down at 9400, S&P 500 at 1011 and the Nasdaq is at 1992.  Oil is down $6 on the week, $69/bbl.  Pending Home Sales up 3.2% nationally.
   2. Disneyland Superheroes.  Disney solidified a deal to purchase Marvel Entertainment, the comic book giant who owns Spider Man, Iron Man, and 5000 others comic book characters.
   3. California Fire Season.   15 miles North of Los Angeles is up in flames.  53 homes have been destroyed and thousands evacuated from their homes.
   4. Japanese Opposition Claims Victory.  50 years of waiting is over.  The opposition party took control via this week’s election.
   5. FDIC’s Risky Business.  The FDIC saw their fund contract to $10.4Bn in June.  This fund protects more than $4.5 Trillion in US bank deposits.
   6. Breaking Wind, 599.  32hrs later Team 599 strutted across the finish line of the largest relay in the world, the Hood-to-Coast relay.  12 fearless runners combined to cover the 197 miles.  LLWS - Chula Vista, from California, came from behind to beat Taiwan, solidifying their year’s world domination.  

Positives:

    * Though the markets took a small step back to start the week, numbers are still holding strong.  The main morning data point was US Factory numbers advancing for the first time since January 2008.  This sector, manufacturing, is believed to be in growth mode as the its index topped 50.  Oil prices slid back to $69 this week.  This is good news for those driving during Labor Day.  Moreover, pending home sales were up 12.1% in the West in July in comparison to June.
    * Disneyland and Disney World in the next 5 to 10 years could have a new look or at least additional rides and characters!  Superheroes in the Happiest Place on Earth!  They may need to consider placing our California Fire Fighters in this category.
    * The old guard, the Liberal Democratic Party, had not performed for over 20 years in Japan.  Any new perspective will be a good one for the country struggling through a recession lasting more than a decade.  Many want a revolution.  The new party sold them on this premise.  It’s on its way as the Democratic Party won two-thirds of the seats in parliament.
    * No injuries for the Bochsler / Lydon HTC team.  Humor was abundant.
    * The US has won only 3 meetings out of 20 when encountering Taiwan in the Little League World Series Finals.  This year was, thus, a huge success.  Chula Vista took home the 5th straight title for the U.S.

Negatives:

    * While manufacturing is expanding, construction spending took a step back as it contracted in July due to commercial woes.  The price index came in 10pts higher than the month before, supporting those concerned with inflation.  Reasonable inflation is believed to be less than or equal to 2%.  Use this as a gauge for when future results come out.
    * Many lives and memories are in danger of being destroyed because of the recent fire outbreaks.  Our very own Phil Faulding is down fighting the fire alongside many of his comrades.  Clients and friends live close and are having to be evacuated.  Keep them in your thoughts and extend a hand as you see fit.
    * The numbers for the FDIC reserve fund doesn’t seem to quite workout.  $10 Billion in comparison to $4 Trillion.  This is exactly why a FDIC claim can take up two to three years to receive payment.  Research your bank.   Know your risk levels. 86 banks have failed in 2009.  The good news, the FDIC can borrow as much as they need.

Local:

First Thursdays - Emily McBride’s Paintings on Display
Where: Live Culture
When: Thursday.  6pm - 9pm.
Cost: Free
Why:  Art and Community.

Live and Be Well,

Jeff Bochsler