My late mother-in-law used to observe that “It is an ill wind that blows no good for somebody.” While looking for the good in any situation, she accurately observed that most situations are advantageous to someone for good reason. Such is the case with our economic woes.

One of the advantages of any “crisis” is that it focuses the attention. These moments, these inflection points give us an opportunity to examine, sift and conclude. They also give us an opportunity to search for the blessings amidst the bad.

It is interesting to comb through the popular media to get a sense of its take. For example, today’s Denver post reprinted an interesting article by Paul Nyhan of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer with the headline “Financial crisis forcing families to simplify holidays.”

In lamenting our “ongoing economic nightmare,” he notes a trend to simplification and charity. The article is interesting examination of the emotions generated by changes in our perceptions of economic well-being. It talks in terms of honest conversations with children, focus on necessities versus luxuries and a sense of appreciation for others and for low-cost or no-cost activities. There is nothing like looking for the silver lining.

This is no joke though. For years we have heard that America is such a materialist country. What these economic times “force” is not simplification so much as examination. What do we value and why? When times are fat it is easy to overindulge. It has even acquired a disease reference “affluenza.” This is not to say that these times are without genuine suffering. Nonetheless, there are parts of our national value system that have required reexamination for some time.

©2008 Richard B. Wagner.  Reprinted with permission.

Richard B. Wagner, JD, CFP®

It’s one of those “best of times, worst of times” times. Account balances dissipated; hopes and dreams mutated to reflect new realities. Many of us have gone through severe depression ourselves, questioning our skills, our relationships and our profession. Others of us are seriously questioning our career choices -or our career choices are questioning us as bottom lines disintegrate. As one friend noted in his travels across the country, “people are really hurting out there.” Even our Nazrudin conversations have mostly engaged our lack of responsibility for unfolding events as we share tales of client loyalty and understanding. To my eyes there has been surprisingly little conversation devoted to assessing our responsibilities, articulating lessons to be learned or speculating about the skills we might need going forth. The skills you might need going forth. (more…)

Money as Debt

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!
–Rudyard Kipling

This is where thoughtful financial advisors and our friends weigh in on money and our personal and cultural relationships with it.

Those of us who work with people, their money and their choices get to see a lot.  In our own lives and together with clients, we have directly experienced the power of money and the money forces.  This is a place for communicating.  Here, we can talk about money and our observations concerning its strengths, weaknesses and possibilities.

We will be sharing our money perspectives on widely diverse issues from current events, the human condition, history and our various crises and challenges.
As we explore issues ranging from psychology and spirituality to economics, sustainability and social structures, we will address the manners in which money has insinuated itself into our lives.  In turn, you will be given opportunities to provide your own perspectives and ask questions of others.

The blog vehicle gives us the capacity to approach ourselves and our social groupings from an array of perspectives.  This means we can provide “drilling platforms” for people who want to go deep into their subjects without being wedded to a particular “school” or philosophical persuasion.  Or we can network and link different perspectives, skill sets and disciplines.  When it comes to money and financial planning, we don’t need to agree but we do need to work on the improved understandings that can come only through free and open exchanges of ideas and viewpoints.

In addition to our other features, we will be publishing personal blogs for various individuals.  What they have in common is passion for approaching money and/or financial planning issues from unique viewpoints.  This means a lot of freedom and wide-ranging subject matter.

We are committed to keeping InsideMoney.org fresh and inviting.  This will include regular columns and guest blogs for people making one time contributions.
Regular bloggers will have substantial creative freedom to address their topics as they see fit.  The charters are broad.  They should enable huge creativity.

Though, we hold both bloggers and commentators to certain standards of language, spelling, grammar and topicality, content within this charter is essentially up to the blogger.  The mission is to generate ideas and conversations about money in all of its many dimensions.

The worldwide web gives us robust capacity.  We need to move our personal relationships with money from the closet to broader conversations.

Thanks for joining us.

Dick Wagner
Editor, InsideMoney.org