The Richest Man in Babylon 16

OK - moving forward.  For the "next law of gold," Clayton Johnson advises us to "invest in future income."

  In the 21st century, this simply means preparing for your retirement.

    It is pretty much a given as I write this that the idea of retiring at 65 (for most people) in America is a pipe dream.  First, the idea of retiring at 65 was more or less an arbitrary number decided by Otto von Bismark, the German chancellor who developed the modern German state in the late 19th/early 20th century.  The "65" number was accurate at the time it was made since the average lifespan of a person during that time period was about 60, so a person who lived to 65 and beyond was already ahead of the game.  Now, of course, the average lifespan for an American is about 80, which means that any retirement savings must last at least 15 years past the retirement age of a worker.

     Retirement schemes are, of course, a major opportunity for fraudsters.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

NOTE: ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS NOT PLED GUILTY TO A CRIME OR WHO HAS NOT BEEN FOUND GUILTY BY A JUDGE OR JURY IS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY AS PER THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

 

The Richest Man in Babylon 15

One of the best ways to avoid fraud when buying a home is to know if you are financially ready to buy a home.  Although there is no "hard and fast" rule, here is a good checklist:

http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=20740546

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

NOTE: ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS NOT PLED GUILTY TO A CRIME OR WHO HAS NOT BEEN FOUND GUILTY BY A JUDGE OR JURY IS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY AS PER THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

 

The Richest Man in Bablyon 14

OK - we discussed how owning a home was important in the long-term financial scheme of things.  Most financial planners will state this.  However, just because it is a good financial option does not mean that it is the only financial option for everyone.

     In terms of fraud, owning a home and the desire to own a home presents a gold mine of opportunities for fraudsters trying to exploit this desire.  It is beyond the scope of this post (or books for that matter).  The desire for "everyone" to own a home has led to financial disaster, the most recent one being the near-depression crash of 2008. 

    So, although the financial advice is, more or less, sound about owning a house, there are some important considerations to review before making such a purchase.  Perhaps the biggest question is - are you in a financial position to own a house?

   We will look at this later.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

NOTE: ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS NOT PLED GUILTY TO A CRIME OR WHO HAS NOT BEEN FOUND GUILTY BY A JUDGE OR JURY IS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY AS PER THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

 

The Richest Man in Bablyon 13

So, in the last installment, the author advises us to "make thy home a profitable investment."  Why is this a good idea?

     It should be obvious that when a person owns a home, he is not paying money for rent which is, in a sense, money wasted.  All money which is paid in rent goes to a third party and the tenant is not getting anything in return for the rent (aside from the obvious, of course, that the tenant gets a roof over his head).  However, when a person owns his own home, the money is set aside for investment and the purchaser gets the benefit of an investment along with that of a roof.  Most people in America cannot afford to purchase a house outright, but even so, the money paid towards the mortgage is money which is paid towards the future acquisition of the house so, in the end, there is a direct benefit. 

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

NOTE: ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS NOT PLED GUILTY TO A CRIME OR WHO HAS NOT BEEN FOUND GUILTY BY A JUDGE OR JURY IS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY AS PER THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

 

The Richest Man in Bablyon 12

OK - the next rule that the author tells us is to "make thy home a profitable investment."  In other words, it is better to own a house (for most Americans, this means to have a mortgage which eventually will mean the house will be paid off and then the person will outright own his house.

Better than renting, right?

Well, as always, let's explore this topic.

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

NOTE: ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS NOT PLED GUILTY TO A CRIME OR WHO HAS NOT BEEN FOUND GUILTY BY A JUDGE OR JURY IS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY AS PER THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

 

The Richest Man in Babylon 11

At the last post, we asked a good question:

"However, as we discussed on this thread before, a common thread among experienced fraudsters is to get a person "hooked" by making certain that small investors will get good returns so as to entice these small investors to invest more.  This is an old trick.  The real question, therefore, is how to avoid this kind of scam?"

    One way to avoid this kind of scam is to be on the alert when a person who recommended the investment says something to the effect, "OK, I have proven myself to you with this small investment, now I have a REAL one for you!"  This kind of sudden notice that you can now earn a great deal of money despite the first investment making moderate returns should be a warning sign that something is amiss. 

NOTE: THE INFORMATION IN THIS BLOG IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE NOR IS IT INTENDED TO BE LEGAL ADVICE.  IF THE READER HAS ANY LEGAL QUESTIONS, PLEASE REFER TO AN ATTORNEY.

NOTE: ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS NOT PLED GUILTY TO A CRIME OR WHO HAS NOT BEEN FOUND GUILTY BY A JUDGE OR JURY IS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY AS PER THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

http://www.tauskvega.com

 

----------à>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

 

Back from hiatus

To all readers of this blog - I am happy to announce that I will be back to posting as usual tomorrow.  We will continue with our discussion of The Richest Man in Babylon.