I received this in an email and thought it important enough to share with everyone.

From Glenn Beck

June 17, 2009 - 10:36 ET
GLENN: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona. She writes an open letter to our nation’s leadership: I’m a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you’re willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?

Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:

One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I’m not a racist. This isn’t to be confused with legal immigration.

Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.

Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.

Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.

Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don’t you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!

Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don’t you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don’t trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we’ll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let’s have it. Let’s say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.

Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let’s just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I’m busy. I’m busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don’t want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we’re morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we’re so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn’t ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when hewill rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.

Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don’t care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.

Whether you’ve been laid off, or are just trying to build a new career for yourself, the current near-recession economy we are experiencing may seem like a brick wall for your financial future. But for industrious, creative thinkers there are still plenty of ways to make money during a down economy.

Buy things at a value price. Certainly, the last few months have seen stock prices and real estate prices plunge quickly and severely. For those who are not risk-averse, this represents an opportunity to invest in the future. Buying foreclosed property or undervalued stocks represents a firm belief that the market will rebound – and when it does you will be in a prime position to make a profit off of it.

Become a financial planner/adviser. For many families, the future is looking pretty scary right about now. Everyone could benefit from having a trusted adviser in their lives that will help them best utilize their precious income while still enjoying life (and saving for the future).

Look towards the Internet. Not every business has seen their world come crashing down around them in recent weeks. The Internet Economy is still growing despite economic setbacks that are impacting global markets. And as long as there are investments still being made online, there are opportunities for you. Do some homework and look into online avenues that fit with your skill sets.

Some of the most powerful ways to make money on the Internet include:

Start a Blog – A fun, informative unique blog can bring in tens of thousands of visitors per day. And when potential advertisers see that traffic, they will pay you for the privilege of advertising on the blog. The best thing about a blog is that they are easy to start and relatively inexpensive to run. You can hop over to www.wordpress.com and get all the basics you need for free, including a cool blog design, a place to host your blog, and literally miles of helpful reading from expert bloggers who have made their mark on the industry.

Sell products – If you’ve invented something or bought an overstock of an interesting, useful product, why not sell it online? You can build a simple web site then optimize the page for search engines or buy Pay per Click impressions to bring in the customers. Keep it simple at first, and then as you grow, bring in professional web designers and programmers to enhance the look and functionality of your site.

Publish an eBook – Writing a book, getting published then selling it in Barnes and Noble or Borders can be difficult. However, if you are an expert in your field of work or know your hobby backwards and forwards, why not write a 100 page eBook and put it up for sale online? Regular folks from all walks of life have developed a steady income stream with their “home brewed” eBooks.

Post on Craigslist – There are literally thousands of different ways you can make money from Craigslist. You can post things for sale, offer you services or even buy and sell cars or real estate. And the best thing about Craigslist is that it is FREE to post. So you can experiment with different copy, ad styles or messages until you find the one that really strikes a chord and brings in business.

Sell off the things you don’t need. Many Americans have spent the last several years in a buying frenzy. Too many families are now drowning in debt because of all the unnecessary luxury items they have purchased. Although you won’t get top dollar for them now, if you need capital, selling off extra appliances, gadgets, timeshares, cars and other items can bring in some much-needed income.

Improve your skill set. When things are tight, the individuals who are in the highest demand are those who can perform a variety of different tasks. Look into continuing education programs that will not only help you land a great job, but will also provide benefits if you start up your own business. The investment you make in your education will pay back huge dividends in even the worst economic situation.

Become a freelancer. Corporate layoffs are at an all-time high as businesses look to trim every last dollar they can off of their books. This doesn’t mean that you don’t still provide value to your company – rather it has more likely become too much of a burden to keep you on staff for the entire year. Offer your services to your old company, and other businesses, on a per-project freelance basis. When all is said and done, you could end up making MORE in a year than when you were on salary.

The most important thing to remember when trying to make money in a down economy is DON’T PANIC! These are tough times, yes, but they favor the creative mind and the hard-working individual. Keep reinventing yourself and looking for new, innovative ways to utilize your skill set.

by gbravo @ resourcenation.com

The auctioneer slides the steel door up, and a small crowd at the storage facility steps forward for a peek.

They are here to bid on possessions left behind when the people who rented the storage unit on Chicago’s West Side stopped paying for it.

The bidders are barred from entering the garage or touching its contents, so they stand on their toes to see as much as possible. Some shine flashlights inside, hoping to catch sight of a plasma TV or maybe a leather recliner.

The scene is evidence of an unusual opportunity: Business is booming in the sale of belongings that owners can no longer afford to keep at the nation’s storage units. For buyers, it’s a grab bag that can yield either junk or the luxuries of a life left behind.

The troubled economy is reflected in the items being sold — trendy clothes, high-end appliances and other indicators that the owners were, until recently, well off.

“What we are selling now is indicative of higher-income people than what we were selling in the past,” said Rich Schur of Schur Success Auction Services in Colorado Springs, Colo. “Clearly these are people who fell on hard times.”

There’s no specific tally of storage unit auctions, but auctioneers say they are busier than ever. Schur’s company has seen the number of units it auctions jump from 950 in 2007 to 1,250 in 2008. In January alone, the company auctioned 250 units.

“We are hearing from auctioneers across the country that they are seeing an increase,” said Chris Longley, spokesman for the National Auctioneers Association.

Wayne Blair said his Michigan-based business has seen its number of auctions rise about 10 percent in the last year. These days, he’s selling off the belongings of customers who have rented storage space for years and until recently paid their bills.

Neither auctioneers nor bidders are allowed to inspect the items until after the sale, meaning they are often bidding blindly.

The reason is simple: Right up until the auctioneer says “Sold,” the items are legally the property of those renting the space.

And with tougher times, it’s easier to sell the notion that these units could contain what amounts to buried treasure.

“There’s a flock of new bidders that show up that heard from a cousin, saw on the Internet that you’re going to make a million dollars at auctions,” Schur said.

In truth, the dusty boxes often turn up little of value: old clothes, worn-out furniture, worthless documents. Auctioneers continually warn buyers to bid only on what they can see.

Brook Snyder, the auctioneer at the West Side storage unit, said his auctions are typically over in a matter of moments, with crowds ranging from 20 or 30 people to as many as 80.

On one day, a bidder paid $10 for a unit containing a small, old television, a lamp and a few boxes. Another buyer paid $225 for a unit in which bidders could see a washing machine, dryer and lawn mower.

Once in a while, someone gets especially lucky.

“There was one where they bought the unit and moved the boxes and found a Harley,” Schur said. “For $400 or $500, they got a unit with a $10,000 motorcycle in it.”

Not that the bidders want anybody to know that.

Theirs is a secret society. They write their last names when they sign in for the auctions, but when asked, they are “just Curtis” and “Brian from Lake Zurich,” “Rhonda Smith” and “John Smith.”

Most bidders avoid looking at their purchases until they are alone. Instead, they slap their own lock on the unit and return later, sometimes covering items so nobody sees what they are carting off.

Many buyers are concerned about being seen with something the previous owner still might want.

“You don’t want people to see what your wins are,” said Tim Donahue, who followed Snyder as the auctioneer went to nine sites in one day. Donahue has heard of winning bidders who bring strings of large helium balloons to block the view of security cameras as they take their new belongings.

Some of the items can be intensely personal, such as wedding albums, baby pictures or even urns containing the remains of a loved one. Blair said some bidders ask the storage facilities to return sentimental items to the original owners.

“We found an old love letter, a card from 1902,” said Laura Taylor, who drove from her home in western Indiana to Chicago for the auctions last month. “You cry.”

Then there are instances when what appears to treasure ends up being trash.

Blair recalled one woman who paid $65 for a unit in which she could only see a printer, computer components and a few boxes.

The woman “reached in one box, popped the flaps open and there was $44,000 in cash inside,” he said. “The problem was (the bills) all had the same serial number,” meaning they were counterfeit.

She was not as rich as she first thought, but the discovery indicated at least one good thing: The printer probably worked.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Produce the Note: How to Save Your Home From Foreclosure

Author: Michael Rooney

What is “produce the note”? Why is everyone talking about it? Does it apply to me? How can it help to save my home from foreclosure? All these questions will be addressed in this article.

What It Is: Produce the note is a defensive strategy that you can use to fight foreclosure and force the bank to prove that you owe it any money at all. In courts of law, the plaintiff has a “burden of proof”, meaning that it has to put forth evidence that shows everything it says is actually true. However, when the plaintiff makes claims that the defendant does not challenge, then the court usually accepts the Plaintiff’s claims on face value on the basis that you had a chance to contradict them and didn’t.

When you say “produce the note” what you are doing is challenging the bank’s assertion that you owe it money, that it has a mortgage on your house, and that it has the right to foreclose on you at all. One attorney has estimated that nearly 50% of mortgages have been lost or destroyed in the carnage of all the selling, pooling, servicing, tranching, and defrauding that went on in the years from 2001-2008 in the American Secondary Mortgage Market. 50-50 is pretty good odds of YOUR note coming up missing.

When Its Used:

Generally, during the discovery phase of litigation is the best time to employ “Produce the Note”. That is, after you have sued the bank (say, for Quiet Title), or the bank has sued you (i.e., foreclosure). Discovery is the process by which each side of a pending lawsuit gets to ask the other side for all of the pertinent information with which it intends to prove its claims. For example, if you sue the bank for Quiet Title, then both parties have a right to request all the evidence in the other party’s possession. The most basic piece of evidence here would be a “Note”, which is the financial term for “mortgage” or other debt. Without a mortgage, then there is no document proving that you and the bank have an agreement, and therefore, the bank cannot prove its foreclosure claim against you.

Some proponents of “Produce the Note” suggest that ANYTIME is a good time for “Produce the Note” - even if there is no lawsuit going on. In some cases it may work, but the problem here is that there is no right to discovery outside of litigation. therefore, if you are not in foreclosure and you want to get the bank to have to produce the note, then find an attorney to evaluate your case for a quiet title case against whichever entity has a mortgage recorded against your home. Chances are, if the mortgage was sold more than once, SOMEONE forgot to make all the proper recordations, and you may just end up with your home free from any outstanding liens.

Third, an alternative used in bankruptcy, is to file Chapter 13 and list the bank note - NOT AS SECURED DEBT - but as UNSECURED DEBT. Similar to the discovery tactics above, this puts the bank of having to PROVE its mortgage in order to get the bankruptcy court to treat the debt as secured rather than unsecured debt.

How To Do It Right:

As hinted at above, if you want to get the most out of Produce the Note, you will wait until your guns are fully loaded: i.e., you are a party to an ongoing case, with a due process right to discovery. Send a “Request for Production of Documents” to the lender or servicer and demand examination of the original mortgage note at a place of your choosing. If the bank hasn’t complied within 30 days, file a Motion to Compel Discovery. In your motion, refer the court to your proper Request for Production of Documents and to the bank’s responses. Point out the bank’s failure to comply with your request for it to produce the mortgage which it claims gives it a right to record a claim against your title, and ask the judge to compel discovery. If the bank has lost the note, then it will further fail to comply. At that point, file a motion to dismiss the bank’s foreclosure action or at the very least to bar any evidence of a mortgage note as penalty for failure to comply with the court’s order. It will be impossible for the bank to win. In the alternative, in a quiet title action, if the bank cannot comply, then you will be primed to win.

Word to the Wise: DO NOT rely solely on “Produce the Note.” There are MANY possible claims and defenses that may come up in each case, and if you put all your eggs in one basket, you may get a rude awakening if your bank actually HAS your note. See an attorney, know your rights, and have a back-up plan.

The above article is not intended as legal advice, and is for informational use and entertainment only. If you are in need of legal advice or counsel, consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction who is competent in the area you need.

About the Author:

Michael Patrick Rooney, Esq., is a writes consumer protection articles and teaches regular seminars on the mortgage meltdown. He practicing California attorney and real estate broker with his office located in San Francisco. His primary practice is as a predatory lending attorney and California mortgage modification. For more, visit: http://mikerooneylaw.com.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/produce-the-note-how-to-save-your-home-from-foreclosure-704621.html

Just try reading this without laughing till you cry!!!
Pocket Taser Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife. A guy
who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Taser for their anniversary
submitted
this:
Last weekend I saw something at Larry’s Pistol & Pawn
Shop that sparked my interest. The occasion was our 15th anniversary and
I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie. What I
came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized taser. The effects of
the taser were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse
affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to
safety….??

WAY TOO COOL!  Long story short, I bought the device
and brought it home.  I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and
pushed the
button.   Nothing!
I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I
pushed the button AND pressed it against a metal surface at the same
time; I’d get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between
the prongs. AWESOME!!!
Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on
the face of her microwave.

Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking
to myself that it couldn’t be all that bad with only two triple-A
batteries, right?

There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on
intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and
thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood
moving target.  I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a
fraction of a second) and thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat.
But, if I was going  to give this thing to my wife to protect herself
against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as
advertised. Am I wrong?

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with
my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose,
directions in one hand, and taser in another.  The directions said that
a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a
two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of
bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your
assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. Any burst longer
than three seconds would be wasting the batteries.
All the while I’m looking at this little device measuring about 5′ long,
less than 3/4 inch in circumference; pretty cute really and (loaded with
two itsy, bitsy triple-A batteries) thinking to myself, ‘no possible
way!’

What happened next is almost beyond description, but
I’ll do my best…?

I’m sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her
head cocked to one side as to say, ‘don’t do it dipshit,’ reasoning that
a one second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn’t hurt all
that bad. I decided to give myself a one second burst just for heck of
it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and . . .
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD . .
. WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION . . . WHAT THE HELL!!!

I’m pretty sure Jessie Ventura ran in through the side
door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the
carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my
side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet,
both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm
tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs?

The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard
before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace,
obviously in an atempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all
over the living room.

Note: If you ever feel compelled to ‘mug’ yourself with
a taser, one note of caution: there is no such thing as a one second
burst when you zap yourself!  You will not let go of that thing until it
is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor..
A three second burst would be considered conservative?

SON-OF-A-BITCH, THAT HURT LIKE HELL!!!

A minute or so later (I can’t be sure, as time was a
relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had
left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were
on the mantel of the fireplace. The recliner was upside down and about 8
feet or so from where it originally was.  My triceps, right thigh and
both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up
with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. I had no control over
the drooling. Apparrently I shit on myself, but was too numb to know for
sure and my sence of smell was gone. I saw a faint smoke cloud above my
head which I believe came from my hair. I’m still looking for my nuts
and I’m offering a significant reward for their safe return!!

P. S. My wife loved the gift, and now regularly
threatens me with it!

‘If you think Education is difficult, try being
stupid.’

To estimate the cost of a solar power system for your home:

1. Find your daily utility usage by dividing the kilowatt-hours  (kWh) used on an average month’s utility bill by 30.

2. Divide that number by 5 (the average number of peak sun hours in the U.S.) and multiply by 1.43 to account for system losses. This is the size of the solar system, in kilowatts, that you will need to take care of 100% of your electrical needs.

3. Multiply that number by $9,000 ($9/watt installed) for a good ballpark estimate of the gross installed cost.

Related FAQs:

1. Can state rebate incentives take a chunk out of the cost estimate I come up with here?  Go to www.dsireusa.org to find out what grants or incentives are available in your state. For instance, in California, you can multiply your gross installed cost by 0.65 to account for rebates and tax credits. In New York or New Jersey, multiply by 0.5.

2. What ongoing savings can I expect?  Whatever you’re paying your utility company for electricity now could change to $0 (service charges will still apply), depending on your system design, how much sun you get where you live, and what percentage of your total electricity usage is offset by your solar system’s output. Many Gaiam Real Goods Solar customers have seen in the neighborhood of 75% savings off their previous electric bills.

3. How can I shave dollars off the cost of the solar system I’ll need?  Your first step should be reducing your load — the amount of power your household uses. Conservation comes first, for more reasons than one. In the case of off-grid solar, it pays for itself by a factor of five. That is, every dollar you spend to conserve will save you $5 in system costs. The cost to purchase an off-the-grid solar system is about $3.20 per watt or $3,200 per kWh (kilowatt-hour). At $3.20/kWh, a solar electric system for an off-grid American home with average electricity usage of 18 kWh would be $58,000 before rebates, incentives and tax credits.

But by reducing the load your solar system has to produce, you can reduce your cost to solarize and do your part for resource conservation at the same time. Let’s take light bulbs as an example. If you replace 30 of the 60-watt incandescent bulbs in your home with more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs that run for an average of five hours per day and use only 15 watts each (but put out as much light as a 60-watt incandescent), you’ll save 6,750 watts per day (45 watts each x 30 bulbs x 5 hours), which equates to a $21,600 savings on your solar system.

You can also lighten your power load in many other ways in an existing home, including:

• Add insulation and/or heat barrier in your attic

• Choose more energy efficient appliances

• Replace or repair drafty windows

• Be diligent about maintaining calking and seals around windows and doors

• Dry laundry on a line outside vs. in an electric dryer whenever possible.

The point is: always conserve first and build your renewable energy system second. The money you save by shrinking your solar-system output requirements will more than pay for longer-lasting, energy-efficient appliances!

This weekend while I was at an auction I bought a 1972 Schmid Snoopy Music Box with Snoopy and Woodstock on it that plays The Impossible Dream. I didn’t think to much about it, I knew it had some value but didn’t know exactly how much. When I started researching, it I could not find any information on this particular music box, no pictures , no web sites that had it, just nothing. I finally decide to put it on eBay to see what it would do and within 1 day I had an offer for $100 that I took. Not bad, I turned $15 into $100 overnight. I estimate that the music box is actually worth around $175-$250 to a true collector, however I did not have the desire to sit and wait for that 1 person to find it.

Few people realize that getting rich does not just happen by using mathematical and business skills. There is definitely more to that in creating wealth. If you want to get rich, you have to make changes. And the first changes you need to make will be those that focus on self-improvement.

Contentment sometimes represents the easy way out
Sometimes people deliberately deceive themselves by feigning contentment in order to avoid working harder and taking more risks to go for what they really want. Dont try to fake being contented when you’re not. If you want to dream, dream big. If you need to create goals for yourself, make them big enough to incorporate what you want in life. It is okay to start with small steps, but plan goals out far enough to incorporate really big dreams, too, if they are what you want.

1.) Time is Gold

Many people have been taught this adage from day one, but a lot of people are unfortunately not able to appreciate it. Time is precious, and the truly wealthy don’t waste this precious commodity. Instead, they do their utmost to make the most out of their time. If you want to join them at the top, you need to adopt the same attitude.

2.) Get Your Priorities Straight

Decide what you think is most important; do you spend a day at the spa or attend Mandarin Chinese lessons? Create priorities that will help you create wealth. Be honest with yourself and decide which tasks are important and which ones are not. Then prioritize them so that you take care of the important ones first and which can wait if need be.

3.) Start Planning Ahead

Having clear-cut goals and priorities in life is necessary to help you create wealth, but these alone will not do the job. They will only help you if you go on to figure out the next step: As exactly how will you create wealth?

4.) The Only Failure in Life is Failing to Try

Life is complicated, as everyone knows, but don’t let that stop you from getting what you want, which in this case is to create wealth. Of course, you will likely encounter obstacles that may stop you from reaching your goal temporarily, but the only time you will truly fail is when you don’t try at all. You also have to make sure that you try hard enough and that you keep trying even in the face of failure as long as it is feasible.

5.) Give and Take

Be prepared to both ask for favors and give something in return. If you are used to being self-reliant, that is great. But if you are determined to create a business, you need to understand that you will need to work in cooperation with others at least some of the time.

6.) Do not be Too Proud or Stubborn to Take Advice.

If the suggestions and advice offered by others have merit, then go ahead and give the advice a try. Never presume that you know everything or that you can’t learn from someone else. There will always be something new to learn. This lesson can not only help you get rich, but it can help you stay rich and become richer as well.