It really doesn't matter if you are a U.S. citizen, Japanese, European or beholden to any number of other country's debt laden fiscal policies, governments trained by John Maynard Keynes are "kicking the can down the road" by going deep into debt rather than solving current financial problems. This has introduced unprecedented levels of risk and undermined citizens sense of financial security.

So what can you do to protect your own portfolio?

This is a sticky question because every reader's financial situation is different so please do not take this post as personalized financial advice. Instead, it is a guideline pointing a direction where I will share three generalized principles to consider if you become concerned about your government's fiscal health…

1. The first obvious answer is to move assets out of an unstable country into a safe haven currency. The reasons behind this strategy should be self-evident although deciding what currency/country qualifies as "safe-haven" isn't as straightforward as it used to be.
2. Another alternative is to purchase positive cash flow real estate with low leverage, fixed rate, fully amortizing financing (30-60% debt to equity). The income producing real estate provides a real asset that will command revenue that adjusts to currency changes and the asset value will adjust over time as well. The fully amortizing, fixed rate financing locks in your highest cost of ownership creating positive operating leverage to inflation (but also deflation should that occur first) and the low leverage level and positive cash flow increases the odds you will survive the interim volatility and fluctuations long enough to emerge a winner in the end.
3. Gold and related assets (other precious metals and metals producer stocks). In a world where all countries are sacrificing their currency and the question changes from "which currency is best" to "which currency is least-worst" means gold emerges as a likely winner. Just be careful because it doesn't mean gold can't fall 50% between now and then. It is an incredibly volatile asset class and there is a solid possibility that we could experience tremendous asset deflation between now and the time inflation rears it's ugly head. In other words, this is not the slam-dunk that many pundits preach… so walk carefully.

However, with that said, those are the three primary strategies for protecting your wealth in world gone mad with debt and funny financial games at the highest level of governance. The implied assumption is that inflation will be the long-term result, but beware because it is entirely possible for deflation to occur first prior to long-term inflation taking charge. This can cause tremendous volatility and should make you cautious.

You may notice that stocks are conspicuously absent from this list even though they are equity and can benefit from long-term inflation. The reason is complicated to explain in a blog post but in general results from various valuation models that cause stocks to perform poorly in the initial instability caused by inflation and rising interest rates. This is not just a theoretical consideration but in fact exists historically in the data whether you look at Weimar Republic style inflation or more manageable problems like the U.S. in the 60's and 70's – stocks tend to lag before they run.

In summary, if you share the concerns expressed by some of my other readers then those are the three primary strategies to consider to protect your wealth in times of extreme monetary adversity.

Most importantly, I would like to point out the name of the game during adversity is "he who loses least wins". In other words, with all the volatility it is tempting to play it big but the downside risk is equally large.

With that said, there are a couple of strategies from that list that can protect your wealth regardless of the outcome. In other words, you don't have to be a genius forecaster and predict the world economy to preserve your portfolio because a couple of the strategies are relatively safe bets either way. Heads you win – and tails you win as well.

In times like this that might just be about as good as it gets…

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below or share any of your favorite strategies or resources I might have missed so the rest of us can benefit…

You want to believe that trained financial experts know what they are doing. You assume they know something you don't given their credentials and education. After all, don't they have connections to resources you will never be able to access? Aren't they insiders with specialized expertise?

Some of those thoughts may be true, but what overwhelms all those advantages are the conflicts of interest, bias and other problems that can taint the financial advice you receive and make it far less reliable than you might ever imagine.

In the latest addition to the "Featured Articles" section of this website – 6 Reasons Why It Pays To Be Your Own Financial Expert - I explain the hidden problems behind financial advice so that you can protect your portfolio from biased and dishonest financial experts. Below are some of the issues you will learn to overcome in this new article…

• Conflicts of interest.
• Incomplete or inaccurate advice.
• Advice from experts that can negatively impact your critical thinking abilities.
• Financial experts who may be dishonest.
• Financial advisors who may be self-deceived.
• How the whole idea of a "financial expert" is incongruent with the probabilistic nature of investing.

The reason you should care about these problems is simple – they can cost you money if you don't protect yourself. If you don't understand this information you may put yourself at risk of relying on advice that is simply not trustworthy. By learning the inherent problems underlying financial advice you can protect your portfolio from faulty and expensive investment decisions.

I hope this new article helps you improve your investing and grow your financial intelligence to the next level.

Let me know what you think of it…

Further Reading

• 6 Reasons Why It Pays To Be Your Own Financial Expert: Reveals the conflicts of interest hiding behind financial advice so that you can make smarter, more profitable investment decisions.

Below are some educational articles published in the last week that no investor should be without…

1. Forbes published a great synopsis of the government debt crisis both in the U.S. and abroad. This is a very likely catalyst for the problems building in the markets. Remember, CDS rates expanded prior to subprime blowing up in 2008 thus providing the first clues before everything came unwound. Now government CDS rates have begun to expand. Make sure you understand this stuff…
2. David Galland published a great interview with Andy Millerof the Miller Frishman Group providing the inside scoop on why the real estate decline is far from over. It explains the catalysts that could cause the next break and makes clear just how much downside risk remains in both commercial and residential real estate. If you invest in real estate or are considering an investment this is a must read. Even if you don't invest in real estate you will want to know this stuff because its impact will likely affect all markets you do invest in…
3. The Pragmatic Capitalist blog published a brief, two paragraph piece explaining that Investor's Business Daily market model has officially turned bearish as of last Friday. They have a solid record of market calls during all the volatility of recent years using a well-reasoned model so this is not something to dismiss without serious consideration.

I hope you find these insights helpful. I will continue to bring you the best of the web so that you can advance your financial intelligence to the next level and become a more consistently profitable investor. I hope these articles help…

To answer that question we must make a distinction between personal financial advice and investment advice. While they may sound similar, they are actually as different as night and day.

Personal financial advice (insurance, savings, budgeting) is usually uncomplicated. The correct actions to take are well-proven and straightforward with few conflicting opinions. The reason this is true is because the risks, costs, and outcomes are known and fairly predictable. Because the action steps are uncomplicated the conflicts of interest resulting from the advisor receiving a commission are manageable and acceptable. You can do your own research, apply business common sense, and make a reasonably intelligent decision.

Investment advice is different. It is subtle shades of gray because investing is a risky bet on an unknowable and unpredictable future. Five different experts will provide five different opinions – each conflicting with the other. It is a dynamic, evolving process where the quality of your investment returns is dependent on the expertise and decision process of the person managing your assets. In short, it is anything but straightforward making commissioned sales incentives a bad idea.

My rule is to keep things as simple as possible by not mixing insurance sales with investment advice. I have never purchased an insurance product for an investment or an insurance product from someone who sells investments. I don't go to generalists who sell all financial products (investments, insurance, etc.) to purchase specialty products. In other words, I don't mix things up. I keep things simple and straightforward.

If I want insurance I shop for insurance from insurance salespeople. If I want specialized investments I seek the appropriate vendor who specializes exclusively in those products, and if I want generic investments (stocks, bonds, ETFs, etc.) then I shop for brokerage services based on my brokerage needs for that portfolio. I buy only from specialists – experts in their unique fields. I suggest you do the same to minimize conflicts of interest. Don't collapse your various financial needs into one vendor – keep it separate.

For example, the guy I buy my home insurance and auto policies from represents a single company and has sold this one insurance line for his entire career. I am buying the insurance company as much as his expertise in this specific line of insurance. I love the fact that I can call him with any question regarding the insurance products he sells and he knows the answers off the top of his head. He is an expert in his field, and the company is top of the line. He receives a commission on the sale, and I see no conflict of interest because he has no hidden incentive – it is all easy to understand and straightforward business.

The woman I buy my health insurance policy from is a specialist in health insurance – that is all she sells and she is paid a commission as well. She represents many different health insurance carriers and helps me choose the right insurance policy to fit my specific needs. While this could represent a potential conflict of interest to direct me to a higher compensation policy, my experience in working with this individual is that she does represent the client's best interests. The policy she recommended was carefully matched to my needs from the many available, and when we had a problem with the company her staff intervened on our behalf to resolve the problem in our favor. I appreciate her service and expertise, and I would never begrudge her a commission. She earns and deserves every penny.

Notice that each of my insurance representatives are specialists – that is all they sell – and they usually represent a single company or type of product line. They are experts in those product lines and receive commissions on what they sell. I have no problem with a commission in that situation because I shop them based on their expertise and the insurance product they represent – commission included. The incentive to sell me the insurance is overt and nothing is hidden.

That is very different from investment advisors who recommend investments from basically the same menu of choices as other competing advisors offer while also pitching insurance and anything else financial. They are basically "used stock salesman" offering the same stocks, bonds, ETF's and similar mutual funds as everyone else. They are in the "relationship" business where they seek to establish your trust then use that trust to satisfy (sell) all your financial product needs. In this case, you are paying for their relationship and service, but seldom are you getting a true expert in all the financial products they represent. In that situation, a commission is a problem.

Below are some simple guidelines summarizing how to minimize the conflicts of interest when shopping for investment and personal financial products:

• Never mix personal finance product sales with investment product sales because nobody can be an expert at all of them. A jack of all trades is a master of none.
• When purchasing personal finance products always buy from experts who specializes in their specific product line or niche area.
• It is okay to pay a commission for expert service on personal finance products like insurance – just use business common sense and do your homework first so you are a knowledgeable buyer.
• Don't mix investment advice with investment product sales because it is a conflict of interest. Keep investment advice separate from investment product sales by paying for each service separately.

What you will notice in these rules is how they narrowly define the service rendered to match the compensation provided so that conflicts of interest are minimized. The other thing I like about these rules is how it connects me with experts in each narrowly defined niche so that I benefit from a deeper level of knowledge from each vendor.

My concern in your question is you may not be clear about these distinctions causing you to collapse the issues.

Hope that clarifies.

Further Reading:

• How Simple, Free Investment Advice Can Cost You A Fortune
• Learn About The Hidden Conflicts Of Interest Behind Investment Advice Compensation Models
• How To Find Financial Advice You Can Trust

To gain a greater understanding of the ongoing and ever-escalating bank bailout insanity read John Hussman's recent post revealing the latest shenanigans snuck under the radar while everyone was out for the holidays. The title should be self-explanatory – "Timothy Geithner Meets Vladimir Lenin". It is essential financial education for every American voter. 

I've made no secret that I dislike bank bailouts. It violates the very economic principles that made this country great, and it creates negative incentives that will hurt this country for decades to come.

As Vladimir Lenin stated, "The best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency". It appears Timothy Geithner was a student of this philosophy.

Educate yourself, write your Congressional representative and vote your conscience. Something seriously wrong is going on in Washington, and the beginning point is to educate yourself and establish a greater understanding.

As I uncover more quality educational content on these issues I will share it with you in these pages.

Hope this helps.

Look carefully because these are amazing statistics! For the first 400 years of our economic history inflation was benign at under one percent and then suddenly in the last 100 years it jumps dramatically.

Many people may not think a five or 10 fold jump in inflation is a big deal because the number is still relatively small at five percent. However, that difference compounded over nearly 100 years was enough to destroy the purchasing power of the money you carry in your pocket by over 90% – not just once, but twice in the last 100 years. 

That is a VERY BIG DEAL! (Yes, I'm shouting, and I rarely do that!) Think about it for a moment – every dollar held in 1914 is worth just a few pennies today. Just imagine what would happen if you retired in 1914 and were still trying to live off your savings today (I know nobody lives 100 years in retirement, but you get the point.)

Some readers may try and argue with the stats above claiming inlfation is closer to 3% since 1914 or try and shave hairs off the stats prior to 1914. Save your breath because it is not relevant to this discussion. My point is inflation was benign prior to 1914 and escalated dramatically after 1914. No manipulation of the statistics is going to change that point.

If you save, invest and build your wealth then inflation is your number one enemy. It dramatically effects how much money you need to retire, how much you need to save for your kids education, and how to invest your savings. In short, it effects every major financial decision you will make. Again, it is a very big deal. And the inflation problem grew dramatically after 1914.

So what caused the sudden and abrupt change in inflation? What occurred beginning around 1914 that would instantly change 400 years of relative monetary stability? Simple – the Federal Reserve bank was established.

As Milton Friedman once said, "Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon." And who controls monetary policy? The Fed (or to be a little less U.S. centric – the central bank).

(Brief sidenote: another great saying is that inflation is a monetary phenomenon, but hyper-inflation is a political phenomenon. I agree, and that is why it is so important to keep a strong boundary between the Fed and Congress. Allowing the administration and Congress to encroach on central bank independence any more than already exists would be an extremely dangerous precedent and something to worry about.)

Getting back to my main point, why should you care that inflation has jumped dramatically since the Federal Reserve came into existence? Because inflation is how the government taxes savings, and my readers are savers and wealth builders so you should care. It makes every dollar you acquired worth less.

The government doesn't have the political will to directly tax wealth so it does it in an underhanded way by destroying the value of the currency that the wealth is priced in. They spend money that isn't theirs thus destroying the money that is yours.

Always remember, the goal isn't just nominal wealth, but real wealth (inflation adjusted wealth). It is not how many dollars you have, but what those dollars purchase that matters. Unfortunately, the Federal Reserve maintains policies that destroy the purchasing power of your dollars over time. They are the enemy of your wealth.

Let me be ruthlessly clear: the government literally steals your savings through a monetary policy that allows them to spend what they don't have thus causing a high rate of inflation. The henchman for this financial bludgeoning is the Federal Reserve (central bank). Don't take my word for it – just look at the statistics. Results never lie. You don't need to get caught up in all the details of esoteric economic theory – just look at the results.

Before the Federal Reserve existed inflation was mild: after the Federal Reserve was established inflation went wild (maybe that is a little dramatic, but you get the point – it grew by multiples). The gold standard existed both before and after inflation accelerated so that wasn't the cause. It is a monetary phenomenon, and the central bank is responsible. 

How Inflation Changes Everything…

The whole inflation reality is so ingrained in the Amercan psyche that we hardly even notice it. Like the frog that is comfortably lounging in water slowly brought to a boil until he finally dies, Americans have watched the value of their currency erode with such consistency it feels almost natural. But now things are starting to get uncomfortable. People are taking notice that something doesn't seem right in the world of banking, and of course the key player in the middle of it all is the Federal Reserve.

I recently had an experience that woke me up to how ingrained the inflation assumption is in my own thinking. I asked myself the simple question, "How would my life be different if every dollar I have today would still be worth a dollar when I am 90 years old, and worth a dollar when my grandchildren are 90 years old?" I was stunned by my response! It would change everything (financially speaking).

Inflation and an unstable currency cause most of the financial uncertainty, volatility, and risk that I currently must plan for. Financial planning could be so much simpler. Just imagine calculating the amount of money I need to retire without having to compensate for inflation's destructive power over a 50 year time frame. Imagine investing without having to speculate in an effort to grow capital faster than inflation destroys it. In short, a stable currency and non-inflationary environment would change almost all financial planning. 

It is that big of a deal. It is shockingly huge.

Try it yourself, you might just be amazed. Really, don't just gloss over this. Try it right now. Close your eyes and imagine a world where the dollar you have today would still be worth a dollar 200 years from now. The purchasing power of your savings does not decline with time but holds constant instead. Now consider how all your financial planning is affected by that reality. You will be amazed how much easier your financial life could be than it is right now.

Thanks a lot, Federal Reserve! Thanks for the uncertainty and difficulty you cause through a monetary policy that results in inflation. Thanks for methodically stealing my savings.

And please share your comments below. How does the reality of inflation effect your thinking? How would your life be different if we returned to monetary stability?

Related Articles:

• Bank Bailouts Are Wrong: Pay particular attention to the quotes in this post from Thomas Jefferson, etc.
• Jim Rogers On The Government Bailout: Why inflation is the inevitable outcome once this deflation has run its course.
• Ultimate Retirement Calculator: Use this free retirement calculator to quickly and easily estimate your retirement savings needs under a variety of economic assumptions.

In fact, the recent stock market crash, real estate decline, and banking panic has left many people in the same position. And if the recent financial crisis wasn't enough to take you down, it seems many people found their way to financial disaster through more traditional routes like divorce, overspending, medical bills, or bankruptcy. The reality is more people than ever face serious financial difficulty today.

Regardless of what caused your financial setback, your path to recovery and prosperity will require a common set of action steps. You may believe your situation is unique but many have walked this path before you. The road to financial recovery is well worn and the steps to come back after financial disaster are well proven. So let's get started with the six step process that will help you recover from financial disaster…

Step 1 – Accept Your Situation: The starting point for financial recovery is to stop wallowing in your misery and accept reality. Yes, it is a bummer. Yes, you are likely the victim of somebody else's wrongdoing. Yes, it is devastating – but most important of all – none of that matters now. What's done is done and there is no turning back.

Resisting what is already a fact is futile so don't waste your energy - accept reality. Living in the past only makes forward progress more difficult. Instead, accept the setback, let go of it, and commit to forward movement – not because it is the right thing to do, but because it is the best way to help yourself. As long as you waste your energy wallowing in your misery you will have that much less energy to dedicate to solving the very real challenges you face to move forward in life.

The best defense is a good offense so get out of defensive mode and get started on the road to recovery with a clear offensive strategy.

Step 2 - Take Inventory: The second step to financial recovery is to take inventory of your current situation. You must know what resources you have and what liabilities you face when developing your plan to come back from catastrophe. You have to know where you're at now before you can develop a realistic plan to get where you want to go in the future.

It is no different than using a road map to plot your path to a destination. In order to plan the route to reach your goal you must first locate where you are now on the map. It is the same thing financially – you must define your starting point based on what is true today…

• What are your remaining assets?
• How much money do you owe?
• How much income do you bring in each month?
• How much do you spend?
• What is your credit score?
• Are they any long term implications to the financial disaster (alimony, health issues, I.R.S. liens) that must be included in your recovery plan?

The objective at this stage is to take an inventory of your current situation. You want to know everything that will effect your financial recovery plan so that you are ready for step 3.

Step 3: Define Your Goal: The third step in your financial recovery plan is define your objective or goal. You must determine where you want to go financially?

Staying with our road-map analogy this step is akin to locating your end destination on the map. Once you know where you are (step 2) and you know the end destination (step 3) it is simply a matter of plotting the course to get there (step 4). Setting your end destination is the same thing as setting a goal.

The "S.M.A.R.T." goal setting system provides helpful guidelines:

• Specific: There must be a clear and definable end result. For example, "I want to make more money" is too vague and general, but "I want to have $10,000 per month residual income after taxes by January 5th, 2015" is specific and points a clear direction.
• Measurable: You must have some way to measure your progress toward the goal. In the example above the measurement is dollars of residual income per month. I also encourage you to add interim goals along the way to break big goals into more realistic chunks. For example, how much residual income should you have one year from now? Three years? Five years?
• Attainable: There is a fine balance between setting a goal that stretches your ability while still remaining within reach. If you set the goal too easy then you're not challenging yourself, and if you make it too hard then you're setting yourself up for failure. A properly designed goal achieves that razor-edge balance that stretches your comfort zone without breaking out of reach.
• Realistic: If you're deep in credit card debt and filing for bankruptcy it probably isn't realistic to set a goal of becoming a millionaire in 12 months. Enough said?
• Timely: A goal without a deadline is just wishful thinking. You may want $10,000 per month residual income, but unless you include a date for this to occur by it does not qualify as a smart goal. It is just wishful thinking. Give yourself a deadline.

Step 4 – Develop Your Plan: Now that you have your goal for financial recovery and you've assessed where you are at today, the next step is to develop a plan that bridges the gap between where you are now and where you want to be. Staying with our map analogy, you need to figure out the most efficient path to get from point A to point B.

It is important to note that you must balance offensive and defensive strategy at this point to keep the process fun and fulfilling. For example, one mistake I often see people make when paying down debt is to do nothing but pay down debt. The problem is that's not very fun or very rewarding for most people. One solution is to balance paying down debt with adding a little tax deferred retirement savings or other assets. The reason is to experience some emotional satisfaction so that you feel rewarded by the asset growth which increases your odds of staying with process long-term. We are not robots: our emotions are part of the process and must be honored.

Step 5 - Take Action: The fifth step – taking action – sounds obvious when reading but for some reason it eludes many people in practice. The reason it is important is because a plan for financial recovery is nothing more than wishful thinking until it is converted into action. Nothing happens until you take action. It is where the rubber meets the road. Action is the fuel that converts goals into tangible results. A lot of people dream about improving their financial situation but few take consistent action, and that makes all the difference. The ability to consistently and persistently direct meaningful action toward achieving a goal is what separates successful people from those who are not.

Step 6 – Correct And Adjust: As you take action the one result you can be certain of is you will learn from your experience – and mistakes. You will improve your skills and become more knowledgeable as you take action. That is why you should never try to perfect your plan from the beginning. Instead, just get started with a reasonably intelligent approach and correct course as you learn more.

The wise goal achiever knows that perfection is impossible but correction is desirable; therefore, he just gets started as best he can then adjusts along the way to achieve his goal more quickly and efficiently. Seldom (almost never) will your first plan be your best plan so don't waste the effort trying. Starting immediately is more important because you will have plenty of time to correct course later.

That's it – six simple steps that can help anyone turn the corner following a financial setback. Now that you know what to do maybe a financial coach might help you stay focused.

And if you have any other tips I left out please add them in the comments section below. What did I forget to discuss that might help someone recover from financial disaster? What other suggestions should be added? Please contribute to the discussion in the comments section below… 

At the risk of standing on my soapbox, I believe those who took the risks and benefited during the boom are the rightful owners of the losses when the bubble bursts – not the taxpayer – and it irks me to see it work the other way.

I understand the logic that allowing the failures would create more public pain than preventing them, but I disagree with that logic. The government can't spend its way to prosperity, and it makes no financial sense to try and solve a problem caused by excessive credit and leverage by creating more credit and leverage and transferring that burden to the public sector.

The alternative is to allow a normal and healthy economic response that includes asset values declining to realistic valuations that are supported by the underlying fundamentals – not by government intervention and easy money policies. If failures occur along the way then so be it – that is the natural result of taking excessive risks and poor management. New companies will rise up to replace them.

Let me be clear – this asset deflation will not end until asset values decline to the point that their cash flows support valuations. This is basic investing and economics. Any governmental attempt to re-inflate values by incurring debt on behalf of the taxpayer is a waste of your money. It is merely transferring value from you (who never benefited from the speculative excesses) to bank bondholders and corporate shareholders. It is economically foolish and morally wrong.

My concern is the banking establishment has demonstrated way too much government connection by passing legislation favorable to its needs (at taxpayer expense) during this crisis. Our government representatives running the Treasury and Federal Reserve Banks appear to be unduly influenced with many coming directly from Wall Street firms (i.e. Government Sachs)

But who cares what I think? I'm just a small fish in the big pond of life. Let's see what some people with credentials far greater than mine have to say on this subject…

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs." Thomas Jefferson

Whoa! That is one powerfully relevant quote from one of our founding fathers. Hmmm, maybe there is some problem with banking influence in government. Here is another interesting quote… 

"Paper money has had the effect in your state that it will ever have, to ruin commerce, oppress the honest, and open the door to every species of fraud and injustice."  George Washington

Hmmm, it appears these issues were well understood by the earliest American politicians. They warned us, yet we stepped into the muck anyway. Let's see what some of the great economic minds of history have to say about bailing out the banks and corporations while putting our currency at risk…

"Lenin is said to have declared the best way to destroy the capitalistic system was to debauch the currency… Lenin was certainly right. There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million can diagnose."  John Maynard Keynes

Wow! Did I hear that right? The father of Keynesian economics espousing sound money practices. Can anyone say "quantitative easing"? Has anyone looked at the growth of the Federal Reserve balance sheet and examined the quality of the assets?

"With the exception only of the period of the gold standard, practically all governments of history have used their exclusive power to issue money to defraud and plunder the people." Frederic Bastiat

No surprises there, but thank you for the history lesson, Frederic. It appears our government is attempting to follow a well worn path. Since the creation of the Federal Reserve system the resulting currency inflation has destroyed 90% of the purchasing power of the dollar not once – but twice. In the 200 years prior to the Federal Reserve system there was no persistent inflation. The results are undeniable. I wonder how the captains of industry view our banking system?

"It is well that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning." Henry Ford

Enough said?

Again, I deeply dislike the government bailout of the banks and major corporations. It is the wrong path to travel and is taking us into dangerous territory. Learn more on this subject and maybe you can be part of the revolution Henry Ford talked about.

…but who cares what I think.

How do you sort quality financial advice from dangerous half-truths? How do you separate fact from fiction? That is the subject of a new article I just published titled How To Find Financial Advice You Can Trust. In this article I provide 12 questions that will help you separate legitimate mentors from false prophets:

1. Is the financial advisor already doing exactly what he advises you to do?
2. Is the advisor still "walking the talk" or is he just "marketing the talk"?
3. Will the advisor provide actual proof that his financial advice works?
4. What is the advisor's background, education, training, skills, and experience?
5. Has the financial advice been successfully tested through multiple market cycles?
6. Does the advisor disclose both the positive and negative?
7. Does the financial advice oversimplify an inherently complex subject in an effort to make a sale?
8. Is the financial advice factual, or is it merely opinion?
9. Does the financial advisor provide a complete strategy or a half-truth?
10. Is risk management the primary focus or just an after-thought?
11. How is the financial advisor compensated and what conflicts of interest exist?
12. Is the financial advice generic or custom designed to fit your specific needs?

When you find financial advice that can pass these 12 questions then you have discovered the gold-standard in financial advice. To learn more read the full article here.

Oh, and by the way, I would be remiss if I didn't point out that my financial coaching services pass these 12 questions with flying colors. Maybe it is time for you to consider a financial coach…

http://www.foxbusiness.com/video-search/m/22033358/rogers-how-china-s-surviving.htm#q=jim+rogers

Jim Rogers takes Fox Business News to task and makes mincemeat out of the reporter. What I liked about this interview is how it shows the clear separation between how financial experts view the government bailout policy and how the media is spinning the whole process. The two viewpoints are as different as night and day. During the interview Jim makes a couple of points worth noting:

• You can't spend your way to prosperity.
• Our national debt is a bad thing, and growing it further is a really bad thing.
• The banks we are trying to bail out are already dead so the primary affect of the bailout is to protect bondholders and investors at taxpayer expense. That violates economic principles, is immoral, and is bad business.

I could go on and on but Jim Rogers says it more succinctly and with greater entertainment value than I can. He speaks clearly for all of us who are deeply frustrated by the government's response to the global economic crisis.

I hope you enjoy this quick interview.