People all over the country are choosing to move their money out of bigger banks and into smaller, community-oriented financial institutions that generally avoided the reckless investments and schemes that helped cause the financial crisis.

Fueled by the personal initiatives of thousands, it’s a grassroots effort that has the potential to shift power in the financial system away from Wall Street and to Our Street.  Keith Olbermann of MSNBC got behind the Move Your Money campaign on his show.  He believes: “It’s time to make those Too Big To Fail banks just a little bit smaller by moving your money to a local credit union or community bank.”

Stephanie Frost decided that she had been mistreated at her big bank for too long and enough is enough — she’s switching to a small financial institution.  She filmed herself going to close her account and posted the video to YouTube:

The Move Your Money Movement
…For the people, by the people…

Dr. Reynaldo Anderson, my fraternity brother posed this question on Facebook: What would happen if churches got behind this movement?  As I pondered that question, I estimate church goers give BILLIONS to their churches each year.

Additionally, I’m sure most of it is deposited into bailed-out banks – the same banks that refuse to lend to our members & their small businesses.  Imagine what would happen if Protestants, Catholics (net worth estimated @ $1 trillion or more), & all other religions were to band together and MOVE OUR MONEY!  I guarantee they’ll call us in for a congressional hearing.

Rey, I’m on it!

Michael Moore’s next film, Capitalism – A Love Story explores the root causes of the global economic meltdown and takes a comical look at the corporate and political shenanigans that culminated in what Moore has described as the biggest robbery in the history of this country – The massive transfer of U.S. taxpayer money to private financial institutions.

Personally, I can’t wait to see Michael’s new movie.  It’s time for people to stand up against greed and hypocrisy and let their voice be heard.  Thanks Michael for keeping the heat on!

“It was the best of times, the worst of times…”

The opening sentence of A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, referring to the time of the French Revolution describes the economic reality of today.  The question that’s on everyone’s mind, but, seldom asked is: How are you doing?  The answer depends on your individual circumstances, of course – but also on your perspective.   The glass is either half full or half empty for many of us today.  This morning when I woke up, my first emotion was profound gratitude. Even though my financial worth had been decimated by the events of the last three months, I realized that nothing could touch the things that are most valuable to me.

I also realized that I have a choice: I can focus on what I have lost or I can focus on what I have. I started making a mental list:

1. I have my health.
2. I have a loving wife, who is also my best friend
3. I have three wonderful children.  “I am particularly fond of each of them,” as Papa says in The Shack.
4. I have several profound friendships that encourage and challenge me.
5. I have meaningful work that I would do even if I wasn’t getting paid.
6. I have incredibly competent co-workers whom I truly love and respect.
7. I have a church that grows dearer to me with each passing year.
8. I have a relationship with God that is endlessly fascinating and fulfilling.

And the list goes on. I could name a hundred more things, but you get the idea.

My guess is that the Economic Downturn is going to get worse (I pray I’m wrong) before it gets better.  You and I have very little control over what happens in the external environment.  But we do have control over what happens inside our hearts.  It all depends on our mental focus.

Question:
What do you have that the Economic Downturn can’t touch?

FYI – I want to thank my friends from Facebook for sharing their tips.  If you would like to read more, please click here.

AM I THE ONLY ONE COMPLETELY FRUSTRATED RIGHT NOW?

According to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the chief proponent of the big bank bailout, flooding the banks with taxpayers’ money was supposed to get them to start lending freely again. And that, in turn, was supposed to stabilize the markets and prevent the downturn from being worse than it otherwise would be.

Given the way, that is, that Paulson had decided to use the first installment of the $700 Billion bailout money to recapitalize banks instead of buying up their toxic securities, which he had then sold to Congress and the American people as the best and fastest way to get the banks to start making loans again, and help prevent this recession from getting much, much worse.

(Stowers Translation: give banks back the money they lost

through greed, corruption, arrogance, & incompetence)

HERE’S THE BANKING INDUSTRY’S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET:
THEY HAVE NO INTENTION OF USING THE BAIL OUT MONEY TO MAKE NEW LOANS OR HELP PEOPLE IN FORECLOSURE.

The real issue is that banks continue to refuse to lend money to consumers who so desperately need it and who just bailed out their greedy rear ends.  Instead, it’s business as usual.  The level of greed, stupidity and arrogance is stunning for a bunch of people who just drove the rest of the world to the edge of financial oblivion. You can’t get 10 cents from a bank right now.

HERE’S WHY:

I personally believe the banks that had received money are holding on to most of it so they could buy out other banks that might fail down the road.

GREED…GREED…GREED

Personally, I feel sorry for President Obama because his administration is left to clean up a HOT MESS!  Please continue to pray for our President and his cabinet.

The national economy, battered by the mortgage housing crisis and sky-high fuel costs, is starting to take its toll on all houses of worship.  As wallets get thinner, people face increasingly difficult choices between paying the bills and supporting their congregation.  In short, this downturn is hurting everybody.  I crafted a short survey to get your input on this important matter. Thanks for participating!

Often I run across information that I believe to be vital for church leaders.  Since I believe in the "learn & return" principle, I plan to share information that I believe would help church leaders lead their respective churches, ministries, & organizations.

THIS WEEK'S GEMS:

Churches
need to establish a three month emergency fund of cash reserves to be
used during a financial crisis. The church’s emergency fund will allow
the church treasurer/financial secretary or finance committee time to
develop a course of action when a financial crisis occurs. <Read More>

More important than theological orientation is the religious character
of the congregation and clarity of mission and purpose, the survey
highlighted. Growing churches are clear about why they exist and about
what they are to be doing.  <Read More>

WHY PEOPLE DON'T ATTEND CHURCH

Compared
to regular churchgoers, the Unattached are: more likely to feel
stressed out; less likely to be concerned about the moral condition of
the nation; much less likely to believe that they are making a positive
difference in the world; less optimistic about the future; far less
likely to believe that the Bible is totally accurate in its principles;
substantially more likely to believe that Satan and the Holy Spirit are
symbolic figures, but are not real. <Read More>

Today, I had the privilege to participate in my final conference call with a few multi-millionaires and guess what, they think very differently about money, life, and relationships. 

Have you noticed that some people
struggle with money for years and even
decades and others seem to experience
continual success?  Even when successful
people experience tough times it is
usually just a short time until they are
right back on top. The reasons for this is not rocket
science, it is a simple matter of
their beliefs and the actions they take. 
I discovered millionaires become millionaires because
they believe truths about money and take
actions to build wealth.

Additionally, I also discovered the #1 reason people are in
financial bondage is because they
believe lies about money.  Your beliefs control your behaviors
and your behaviors determine your
results. In order to achieve better
results in your finances you must work
on your beliefs.

A multi-millionaire explained how society is broken own into 5 groups and each thinks differently about money and life:

1. The Very Poor think day to day – their goal is to survive
   
2. The Poor think week to week – their goal is to survive as well
   
3. The Middle-class think month to month – their goal is comfort
   
4. The Rich think year to year – their goal is freedom
   
5. Millionaires think decade to decade – their goal is total freedom
   

So, what do you think?