PLAN NOW TO COUNTER INFLATION

An old tale is told of inflation so high that a farmer had to push a wheel barrow of money to the nearest store in order to buy a loaf of bread.  Finding he couldn’t take the wheel barrow into the market, he left it for a minute to enter and look for the bread.  Ready to pay, he hurried outside for his money only to find that someone had dumped the useless inflated money on the road and stolen his wheel barrow.  Amusing?  Thought provoking?

As of March 2012 the U. S. inflation rate was reported as 2.7%.  That figure, however, omits food and gasoline, two major necessities.  Anyone who pumps gas or buys groceries is well aware of the rapid escalation of those prices yet government calculations of the inflation rate do not include them.  If they are included in the mix, the U. S. inflation rate today is close to 7%.  And most financial managers and advisers predict rapid, astronomical inflation by late 2013 or early 2014.  (Source: Dan Celia, financial manager for over 30 years, heard six days a week on AFR Talk, www.afr.net)   

Suggestion:  Meet with your financial adviser/planner NOW to get his or her opinion and advice so that you can prepare for this financial challenge.  And don’t forget to adjust your fees regularly, at least annually, to stay ahead of the inflation curve.

THE LAW OF CONSEQUENCE

One’s life is colored, influenced, changed, improved, damaged, happier, or gloomier---take your pick of words---by the choices one makes.  And every choice has consequences.  As it says in a Biblical truth found in Galatians, “…A man (woman) reaps what he (she) sows.”  We cannot escape the consequences, good or bad, of the choices we make.  You have the power to choose right or wrong.  You are not simply a pawn of happenstance or luck.  Our choices affect others as well, benefitting or hurting them.  “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent…” as John Donne, English poet, lawyer, and priest wrote.  Donne’s words ring as true today as when he penned them in the 16^th century.   With every significant choice you make, weigh consequences for yourself and others important in your life.

OLD ELECTRONICS---CHECK BEFORE TOSSING

At last count, 25 states now have laws about disposal of old TVs, computers, keyboards, monitors, video game consoles, fax machines, VCRs, DVD players, satellite receivers, etc.  Instead of throwing such devices in the garbage, these states say they must be recycled at approved drop-off sites.  To check your state’s e-cycling law, go to www.electronicsrecycling.org and click on the “Laws” tab.  Reminder:  patient information is confidential, so wipe the hard drive clean before recycling.