Money-Magnets.Net

Whether you agree with it or not, in several major countries the governments are giving stimulus money to help stimulate the economy. The idea behind this is that you will stimulate the economy by spending the money and if you’re in the USA then two-thirds on your economy is based on consumerism. However if you are successful in personal finance then you would think twice before spending any stimulus money.  

Australia is one of these countries that has already given out one handout and now wants to give every eligible adult up to A$950 (Household stimulus money bill 2009 ) for them to spend to help the economy. However the first handout was used mostly for savings so will this second handout do any better?

It’s hardly surprising that most people chose to spend the money on savings considering what the media tells us, and the media is where most people get their financial information. What we have to remember is that in most cases the media is selling advertising space, and bad news sells.

People need to work out how to use the stimulus money to their best advantage since it doesn’t make sense to spend the money if you’re already in debt or you’re in fear of losing your job. Successful personal finance isn’t really that difficult. At the very basic level work out your income and your expenses over a month and see what you have left. If you don’t have anything left then you need to one of two things – decrease or spending or increase your income.

Don’t just decide to spend the stimulus money because it’s what the government expects – they don’t know your individual circumstances and you do. No-one actually cares about your money as much as you do which is why successful personal finance is so important.

If you decide to save the money look around for the best interest rate you can get. Even though interest rates are going down there are still some good interest rates around in reliable banking institutions. If you’re in a relationship maybe you can put the money together and open a joint account with more money that may attract more interest.

What would I do with my stimulus money? I would invest in shares but that’s because I’m a share option trader and there are some shares that I’m interested in.

To achieve successful personal finance you could always chose to invest in yourself, to improve your own financial knowledge so that you are not relying on anyone else to look after you no matter what the economy is doing.

This week has seen Business Week interview 4 newcomers in it's list of 50 Most Generous Givers. It's a good reminder at the time of Thanksgiving in the USA that not all the rich are 'filthy'.

Some of the associations we have with rich people are not always good - you just have to look at the some of the saying we have associated with being rich:

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24)

"Filthy rich"

"Money is the root of all evil" whereas the proper quote is "The love of money is the root of all evil"

Now I realise that there are sayings in favour of money and of being rich but it seems to be the ones that are against being rich that are quoted most often.

However money is neither good or bad - it's neutral. It's what we do with it that matters and with the global economy in bad shape more and more organisations are going to rely on wealthy donors as the some people stop giving to charity.

To read the full interview on Business Week see:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_49/b4111056042305.htm

You can see a slide show of the Top 50 American Givers at:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/11/1124_biggest_givers/index.htm?chan=rss_topSlideShows_ssi_5

Some people wait until they have riches until they start giving but we can all give a little right now.

If everyone gave a little then the people who really need it would receive a lot.

Pawnbrokers all over the world are seeing their business increase by as much as 20%. Some areas are getting 10 to 20 new clients a day and the clientele have changed to upper class people who are selling boats, cars, jewelry to make ends meet.

Visiting a pawn broker is often seen as a last resort because people feel that they can't get money elsewhere.  The image is negative of a seedy shop in the rough part of town. In recent years this image has been cleaned up with more pawn broker shops appearing on the high street such as Cash Converters. However one company in the UK has gone one step further and now offers an onlie pawn broker service at Borro. "People are struggling – with middle Britain their options are being diminished. The cost of living has gone up and access to mainstream credit is now very limited. As a result, we are attracting the middle class," said Paul Aitken from Borro.com (quote from The Independent Newspaper).

However while the lending side may be on the rise the retail side may be affected just the same as other retail outlets. Some pawn brokers are reporting that goods in the shops just aren't selling as quickly as they used to. The percentage of loans being repaid is also slipping to about 80% in some stores which means that the store has to sell the valuables. Some stores are now limiting what they will accept since some items are harder to sell on, but of course gold jewelry is always acceptable.

With the recession only just starting to bite the pawn brokers may still have more customers to come.