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One of the sad problems many people are facing today is the valuation of life in terms of money. It`s the key reason the US (and much of the world) is in the economic condition we`re facing.

It doesn`t matter much whether a spouse does or doesn`t "get it" in terms of entrepreneurial ventures and self employment. I think what`s far more important is whether or not the partner/spouse understands the basics of economics.

With a platform of essential economic knowledge it isn`t all that difficult to predict what`s coming in terms of traditional, corporate employment or employment in other fields such as retail, real estate, health care, entertainment, aviation, logistics, and so forth.

The main argument I`d suggest would be economic. Point one would be the bankruptcy (and nonexistence) of social security. Point two would be the downward glide path of the Dow-Jones average and what that means to capital investment and expansion.

Just those two would be compelling, but point three would be the $50+ TRILLION debt (with only $8 trillion being "visible," and SS and Medicare/Medicaid not showing).

The closer should be that we have a window of opportunity today, where entrepreneurs are still ahead of the tidal wave of employees losing their jobs and looking for emergency income.


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Craig Landes
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Defining the undefinable. "There are 10 kinds of people in the world---those who understand binary numbers and those who don`t." - Unknown

International Society of Curmudgeons

What a great topic! I am a "mompreneur" and launched a business last year around the kids, house, dogs, and oh yes, hubby. The hardest part of the launch was convincing my husband to take a chance with me on the business. I had been a stay-at-home mom for 10 years, and now that the littlest had started 1st grade--he thought I should get a "real job". Perhaps part of the problem is that when he does come home from work (and by the way, he works his ass off and we have lived off his one income for 10 years) dinner is ready, house is clean, laundry is done, you know....and he doesn`t understand all that goes into that for him.  We took part of my 401K (I know, I know) and used that to fund part of the business and have accrued some debt this past year--but I feel like I`m focused and ready to push forward this year.  I probably still won`t make a profit, but am hoping to at least pay off some more of the debt. I am home with the kids, still, yet pursuing my dreams. Many of us moms at home lose ourselves--and when we finally come up for air--we have no idea what we are supposed to do.  Find your passion and figure out how to make money doing it.  Thanks for the post, Anne Murphy, Decadent Delights, www.annesdecadentdelights.com

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Anne is decadently delightful

Hi Anne :-)
We had a topic just a little while ago about a woman who was gradually building a small ecommerce business selling a few things. I can`t remember if they were craft items, but it was a small startup.

Her husband had a fine job, and things were going along fine. Then suddenly, he was laid off. Suddenly they had NO income other than the "little business" she`d been working on. This kind of thing is happening more and more frequently.

There`s nothing like losing one`s job to focus the mind on possibilities.

On a secondary topic, you shouldn`t feel concerned about accessing the 401k. There are starting to be some rumblings, deep down at the moment, but gaining "legs" as they say. It seems that the government is starting to look with a drooling anticipation at the massive number of dollars "just sitting there" in IRAs and 401k plans.

We may wake up in the not-so-distant future with an "executive order" of confiscation, under the guise of "borrowing" your retirement funds. It`s already happening with pension funds, being either under-funded (illegal) or simply stolen and wiped out.

With no Social Security money at all, an incredible amount of debt, "fiat money" that`s worthless, and a falling productivity to the GDP, we`re going to have to come up with money somewhere. It seems to me that a working small business is a far better "risk" in terms of having a way to live in chaotic times.

Here`s an interesting article on 401k plans from Catherine Austin Fitts.


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Craig Landes
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Defining the undefinable. "There are 10 kinds of people in the world---those who understand binary numbers and those who don`t." - Unknown

International Society of Curmudgeons

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Greetings WebJunky
Let me put another spin on your question and comment. Society mentally has couples with families thinking that they do not have enough time and life now centers around employment. The question that needs to be asked is why does life and all its activities center around employment...The answer is MONEY. Everything that would make life a little easy and stress free is about having or in most cases not having enough money. To bring balance back into our lives we will need to begin to build relationships with "like minded" people working cooperatively together as a team in support of creating a different economic reality that is a "win-win" opportunity for everyone on the team.

Njideka "Queen of StressFree Living" Olatunde





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Only 150 years ago, people could fairly easily survive with only their hunting-gathering skills. They could homestead land, start a farm, raise some livestock and poultry, and barter for tools.

Those days are pretty much gone in the US and other First-world countries. Instead we`ve replaced self-survival skills with a social structure, technology, and a much denser population. So money is key today, just as hunting or farming were then.

Back then, if you owned a horse you had transportation. That horse was so important, that a "horse thief" was punished to the level of today`s grand-theft auto criminal. Today, a horse won`t cut it excepting in the most rural areas. Everywhere else mandates either a car or public transportation.

Without money, you can`t get a car or use public transportation. That`s why money is so important.


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Craig Landes
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Defining the undefinable. "There are 10 kinds of people in the world---those who understand binary numbers and those who don`t." - Unknown

International Society of Curmudgeons

well said and very true

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Anne is decadently delightful

As with many community members, we don`t always get the conclusion to the story. So I have no idea what happened to the lady with the laid-off husband. :-) Sounds like a murder-mystery novel title!

Like you, I`ve been out of work a long time, and that`s relative to work I did after I`d already been a self-employed musician for most of my early life. I`ve heard a great term, lately that applies to me: "psychologically unemployable!" LOL!

With your husband in the medical industry, particularly on the front lines with nurse management, the odds are slim that he`d be laid off. There are nursing shortages from what I hear.

As for going back to work, I doubt it would be an option for you or me, or for many others. The solution is some sort of self-employment. Taking your business seriously, and looking at is as the only means of income is a good start, though. :-)


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Craig Landes
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Defining the undefinable. "There are 10 kinds of people in the world---those who understand binary numbers and those who don`t." - Unknown

International Society of Curmudgeons