bill roberts: So What Are You Going To Do About It? by Bill Roberts
- 12/05/19 08:38 AM
You’ve Been Screwed. What Are You Going To Do About It? By Bill Roberts If we take the time period from the end of WWII (that’s World War 2) to the present day, our money has “lost” about 99% of it’s value. The exact calculation is impossible to compute because technology has changed our standard of living to the point that we cannot compare what things cost then with what we have to pay today. However, a loaf of bread or a gallon of gas was 25₵ then. Now it is about $5 (here in San Diego anyway, but maybe less where you … (3 comments)
bill roberts: Trump vs. China, Part V by Bill Roberts, a Proud American
- 09/04/19 02:11 PM
Today China backed down on their demand for extradition upon demand from Hong Kong to mainland China. On the surface it looks like Hong Kong won this one, but if you scratch the surface you will realize, as all the people of Hong Kong must realize, Their future sucks. China will keep pushing their advantage over the people of Hong Kong until they have noth8ing left. Right now Hong Kong is the most expensive real estate on the planet.. How long can that last? Everybody knows that China takes ABSOLUTE control of Hong Kong in less than 30 years. What will Hong Kong real … (2 comments)
bill roberts: Forty Acres And A John Deere Tractor, The Story Continues by Bill Roberts
- 08/26/19 08:30 AM
The Journey Begins It has been an uphill battle convincing my wife that we need a farm but the time has finally come for us to start looking. In a couple of weeks we will be going to Nashville to start our search. I see Nashville as the center of growth for our country for the foreseeable future. They offer everything that Americans want: Reasonably priced land Low taxes Less government intrusion “Right-to-work” Neighborly people Country music I’m sure there are more reasons to pick Tennessee for our farm, but … (17 comments)
bill roberts: Impossible? Or Just Plain Stupid? by Bill Roberts
- 08/20/19 01:49 PM
I’m sure you have heard about all the meat-substitutes currently being offered, such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger. They want to appeal to your sense of eating right and helping the planet. But the question is do they fulfill either of these objectives, or are they just capitalizing on fear and your sense of duty? So what are these meat substitutes really? Basically, they are plant proteins mostly derived from commercially grown soybeans. Commercially grown soybeans are not ORGANIC, which means that they are grown utilizing conventional farming techniques and they are genetically modified (GMO). So what does that mean? It means that the … (37 comments)
bill roberts: Do You Believe In Real Estate? By Bill Roberts
- 06/07/19 10:40 AM
Do You Believe In Real Estate? If you say that, “Yes, I believe I Real Estate,” then why do you have the majority of your “investments” in the stock market? Your retirement account(s) are held by trustees or custodians that can only invest in the equity markets (another name for Wall Street). It isn’t that it is against the law for them to invest in real estate, but rather that they don’t understand real estate, and they don’t have the necessary licenses. They are stock brokers, commodity brokers, and insurance agents. They are NOT Real Estate brokers. They “invest” your money in “things” … (16 comments)
Do you think that the President just pushed us over the edge? That we are going “crash and burn?” Why else all the hysteria on the nightly news and the plunge in the stock market? But, the truth is that the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) only understand strength. Anything less and they will believe that they won. China has been “interfering” in our electoral process by “punishing” farmers, hoping that that will cause Trump to back down. The Chinese are listening to the NEVER TRUMPERS, the elitists of … (10 comments)
bill roberts: Are You Scared? Is Poverty In Your Future? By Bill Roberts
- 02/01/19 08:46 AM
Are You Scared? Is Poverty In Your Future? They say 10,000 Baby Boomers are retiring every day. I don’t think so. Maybe 10,000 are turning 65 every day, but they can’t retire. According to the major custodians of our retirement funds, most of us (about 90%) have $100,000 OR LESS to carry us through our Golden Years. Really? Even with Social Security and a few other investments, that is only enough to carry us for about three years. After that we will be plunged into poverty (if we are not there already). What a scary thought. I used to say we would be reduced to eating dog food straight … (10 comments)
bill roberts: 2018, The Year That Wasn’t by Bill Roberts
- 12/31/18 11:32 AM
2018, The Year That Wasn’t Looking back on this past year is like looking out the window of a train as you travel endlessly across the plains. Nothingness, stretching on forever. My year began with two back-to-back hospital stays, followed up by a couple of months of home rest. And it didn’t get any better as the year progressed. Business was slow. It seemed like I spent the entire year getting “ready.” Even my backyard gardening was a flop. Some critter found his way into my yard and seemed to like everything I was growing. He didn’t destroy the plants, just helped himself to the produce. I … (8 comments)
bill roberts: Merry Christmas – There, I Said It by Bill Roberts
- 12/24/18 08:34 AM
Merry Christmas everyone. As they say, Jesus is the reason for the season. Unfortunately, there has been great pressure to say “Happy Holidays” or even “Season’s Greetings.” But, Thank God, this year it seems we can say Merry Christmas again. Hallelujah Christmas is my favorite holiday. It is my wife’s favorite holiday. It is our whole family’s favorite holiday. And remember, the word “holiday” means holy day. I have been binge watching Christmas movies on Hallmark channel. Even though they are all the same. Chick flicks. Formulaic. Boy meets girl. They become close. Boy loses girl. And in the last few minutes, boy gets girl back. But … (30 comments)
bill roberts: Trump vs. China, Part III by Bill Roberts
- 12/04/18 09:16 AM
Trump vs. China, Part III This past weekend the twenty largest economies (the G20) met in Argentina. Normally, no one pays any attention to these meeting. The world Bank and The IMF think this is important, but very few others share their enthusiasm. But this time it was different. Trump made the difference. Everybody was speculating what he would do. Would he meet with Putin? What about the EU? And what would come of his meeting with Xi, the Dictator (Premier) of China? Everybody watched. China caved. They announced a “truce” on the trade war. Oh yes, it is a war, but we have been … (2 comments)
bill roberts: Real Estate In Small Bites II by Bill Roberts
- 11/30/18 09:11 AM
Real Estate In Small Bites by Bill Roberts Everybody wants to get in on the game, but the admission price is out of reach for most people. It is far easier to just “save” your money in the bank, or even in a money market account with your stock broker. You know that you won’t get a good return on your “investment” but what are you to do? You see people making huge returns on their real estate investments, but you just don’t have enough money available for investing to actually buy something. Real estate is expensive. Even the down payment (if you could … (24 comments)
bill roberts: 40 Acres and a John Deere Tractor, chapter 2 by Bill Roberts
- 11/28/18 01:10 PM
40 Acres and a John Deere Tractor, chapter 2 “OK, Let’s Do It” It is reported that when Frank Sinatra read the script for Ocean’s 11 he said “OK, Let’s do it.” They weren’t sure if he meant make the movie, or rob the casino. I think he got more from the movie than he would have from the casino. Anyway, after I wrote “40 Acres and a John Deere Tractor,” and the conversation I had with my commenters, I said “Let’s do it.” Of course I said it to myself. So, the next step was convincing my wife that this would be good move. We have pretty … (12 comments)
bill roberts: Third Time Is A Charm by Bill Roberts
- 10/22/18 11:26 AM
Third time is a charm, and I am NOT talking about Hillary. I know she wants a third bite at the apple. But that is not what I am talking about. I wrote about the new social media platform (twice before) that will supplant Face Book and LinkedIn for many of us. Why? Well, simply because it is better. If you don’t believe me, please watch the video: https://youtu.be/SKyynIcqJ7E And yes, it will probably replace YouTube for many of us, as well. And I fully expect ActiveRain to add this option to the “share” app on our posts. Do you hear me Bob Stewart ? Or whoever is … (9 comments)
bill roberts: We All Win With Social Media. Really? by Bill Roberts
- 10/05/18 09:06 AM
We All Win With Social Media. Really? All of us here believe in social media. After all, that is why we are here. We call it “organic,” meaning it is FREE. But, is it? All social media platforms need to be paid. After all, they have expenses, employees, and a reasonable expectation of making a profit. They are NOT CHARITIES. Some charge fees to participate (usually a nominal amount), but they make their REAL MONEY from advertising. So, we may “own” our content, but they are making money off our content. You may consider it a FAIR TRADE. I know that I have no problem with this … (2 comments)
bill roberts: Do You Belong to Facebook or LinkedIn? by Bill Roberts
- 09/14/18 10:31 AM
Do You Belong to Facebook or LinkedIn? It seems that we cannot exist without social media, but who is really benefitting from our involvement? Sure, we can stay connected to our friends, colleagues, and clients, but who is getting rich? Quite simply, it is the social media companies. Google is poised to become a TRILLION DOLLAR COMPANY. Their products are invaluable to us, but very valuable to them. You BELONG to them. I’ve resisted advertising on those platforms. I know a lot of you do. Where does the money go? Does it flow into your pocket? Or does it just make the social media platform … (10 comments)
bill roberts: Forty Acres and a John Deere Tractor by Bill Roberts
- 09/07/18 01:15 PM
Forty Acres and a John Deere Tractor After the Civil War it was said that the freed slaves would get 40 acres and a mule. I don’t know if any of them “collected” that or not, but it was a good idea. They could make a living doing what they had always done – FARM. Actually, most of us could benefit from the modern-day equivalent: 40 acres and a John Deere tractor. Forty acres of farm land FREE AND CLEAR and a paid-off tractor is all that most families would need to survive. Maybe you wouldn’t be able to buy a new car every other year, or … (34 comments)
Thinking about retirement is a good beginning, but you need to do something about it also. You need to do something about it NOW. The very best place to start is by setting up a Self-Directed ROTH IRA. I realize it is a little more difficult than just calling Fidelity and saying you want to roll-over your 401(k) into an IRA. Sure, you could do that. And it would be easy, but it won’t get you to the finish line. The Finish Line So what is the Finish Line? It is enough wealth accumulated so that you have enough money to enjoy your retirement. This is going to … (2 comments)
bill roberts: Trump vs China, Part II by Bill Roberts, Proud American
- 08/15/18 04:38 PM
Trump vs China, Part II Well, the battle is on. Trump just wanted to stop China from dumping steel and aluminum, but China thought he was just another weak American politician. They put tariffs on grains and products from the mid-west. Trump was supposed to cave. Surprise! So Trump upped the ante. Now he is proposing hundreds of billions of dollars of tariffs on all manner of Chinese goods. China is either going to cave to Trump’s wishes, or they are going to collapse. Their economy is in free-fall. Their stock markets have lost a huge percentage of their wealth. Their banks are highly leveraged and ready … (12 comments)
bill roberts: This Is My Story, and I'm Sticking To It by Bill Roberts
- 08/08/18 07:11 AM
Back in 2012 I was wondering what I could do to get some extra cash each month. My wife had a friend that was doing well in her network marketing opportunity. Irene (my wife) talked me into going with her to a presentation with her friend. It was Melaleuca. I had never heard of it, but my wife wanted to try. OK. The products were good, but a little pricey. They needed enough profit to pay everybody involved. We bought enough every month to qualify for commissions. We did this for about six months. The stuff was beginning to pile up in the house. We … (5 comments)
bill roberts: Building For Your Retirement by Bill Roberts
- 07/12/18 09:35 AM
Building For Your Retirement Whenever I teach Baby Boomer Retirement Planning I start at the beginning. And that is “How much does it cost you to live each (and every) month? And then I explain that when you retire it will cost you more. About 20-25% more. Why? Because when you retire “every day is Saturday.” So the problem is having enough income coming in each month to cover all your expenses. How do you accomplish this? Work until you die? That is the solution for most Boomers, but it isn’t the only solution. Residual income is the answer. And a good source of residual … (18 comments)
Everything that the "Baby Boomer" needs to make sound financial decisions regarding real estate investing and retirement planning. Business Opportunities, self-directed IRA retirement plans, and mortgage strategies.
You’ve Been Screwed. What Are You Going To Do About It? By Bill Roberts
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