The North American Dream that has been chased by the majority of the western world for the past couple generations is much like the Parker Brother's game of Monopoly. Sometimes you get lucky and buy up all the good properties, sometimes you end up in the hospital, sometimes the tax man throws you a curve and takes a bunch of your money, and sometimes you even end up in jail. Every now and again we have all had the pleasant experience of picking up a 'chance' card or even got a little from the 'community chest'. Heck, some of us even know someone who knows someone who happened to land on 'free parking' and got a real windfall.
Most of us have been content to go through life for the past few years rolling the dice and moving from square to square, happy just to 'pass go' and 'collect $200.00' once and a while. As long as most of us avoided bankruptcy and acquired some property we have been happy campers. Through the turns, we have watched as our friends and neighbors have shared the experience, some of them unfortunately not doing so well and having to mortgage their properties to pay their bills while others seem to roll doubles and pick up all the prime real estate at the right time. In the last few years that have went by, many of us mistakenly believed that we were winning the game. Afterall, as long as there are people doing worse then yourself you have the appearance that you are not losing. What we are realizing now though is that 'the banker' has had his hand in the money box and that the rules to the game may not have been completely explained in the beginning.
What do we do now? We are already in the game. Some of us are the little car, some of us are the horse or the shoe, and I heard someone even chose to be the thimble. Tomorrow marks the start of 2009. We are about to roll the dice once more time. Will we 'take a ride on the reading' or 'win a beauty contest'? None of us know what the future holds for us, but we have now all become much more aware of the game we are playing and the consequences that can come from our own decisions and the actions of others. We have all started to watch the money flow a little more closely and to attend to our own assets and finances a little more diligently. We have started to realize that the value of our achievements is not evaluated in comparison to the achievements of others, but in the value they add to our own lives and those close to us.
Best wishes in 2009 to all those in the Active Rain community.
Robert May
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Robert May is the broker and owner of Rainbow Realty of Lethbridge Alberta. He is also a licensed mortgage associate and financing expert with Canada First Mortgage of Calgary Alberta. He has been in the real estate industry since 1993 and offers full MLS real estate services to Lethbridge and surrounding area, as well as mortgage financing, refinancing/renewals, preapprovals, and home equity financing to Lethbridge and Southern Alberta. He can be found online at www.LethbridgeLoans.com
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