Category: Ubiquity Insights

Crisis? What Crisis?

Andrew Meadows / 7 Feb 2013 / Ubiquity Insights

I did it. I put my house (crisis) up for sale. Now, I’m doing it FSBO for the moment—but I suspect that I will begin getting hit on by every real estate agent within a 20-mile radius. You want a piece of this? Yeah, you do.

One of my goals in 2013 is to get the heck out of debt and to get substantial savings in place. Another is to reduce the amount of crap I have. And that crap includes my underwater, in foreclosure home, which—by the way—could house a family of 8 comfortably. That being said, I am a family of two. We have about 2,000 more square feet than we could possibly need.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! To me.

So far, I’m off to a bangin’ start for 2013. I’ve increased my contribution limit for my 401(k) to 10%. <— What?!? YEAH! That just happened! And with that 4% match from my company, I am feeling good that I am working towards securing my future while NOT leaving free money on the table. I love free money. (You complete me, free money!)

The thing is we are in a totally different America than we were in just seven years ago. Getting a $100K credit line (while being totally undeserving of such a thing) is no longer happening. One does not just waddle out and get a home loan without a soaring credit score. I’ll tell you what—I want none of it. You can take your credit and shove it, Wall Street!

I am reimagining my life.

What do I want to be when I grow up? Not a MORON.

How do I get there? I am embarking on an adventure of discovery; one where I am no longer giving into my “I want, what I want, when I want it, which is now” previous attitude. The house needs to go. My kids are in college. The last kid is moving out in a short 6 months  (booo). That means I need to find an apartment or a house to rent. And guess what—maintenance of said house as far as repairs and appliances and taxes? Not my problem.

My house is a money pit.

My taxes every year in this pit are insane. And maintenance of the beast? Don’t even get me started. What I can save conservatively by finding a place for rent will get me out of debt within this next two years. Maybe even one year. And guess what? My house is not my retirement. My retirement plan that is compounding interest.

Resolutions. Why not?

2013 is going to be an awesome year. First off, the Mayan Apocalypse didn’t happen. But the looming retirement crisis still is—so what are you going to do to make sure your future self is secure and happy?

Congress Has Stolen Your Credit Card! Don’t You Want It Back?

Chad Parks / 23 Jan 2013 / Ubiquity Insights

You have probably been hearing a lot about the ‘Fiscal Cliff’, our national deficit, the need to raise taxes and lower spending, the sequestration (whatever that is), and the debt ceiling (again).

Let me try and put this in easy to understand terms for us.

I recently came across an illustration that we can all relate to. Instead of talking in billions, and trillions, this illustration uses the magic of the decimal point and chops off a whole bunch of zeros.

Basically, this is the national budget; zeros removed to make it look like a household budget:

Household Income: $21,700
All Expenses: $38,200
Difference: ($16,500)

Amount to be charged to our credit card: $16,500

Existing credit card balance: $142,710

Amount the family has agreed to reduce their spending next year: $385

When stated like this, it makes much more sense, doesn’t it? Or no sense at all, depending on your stance.

This is what we are dealing with:

• Accumulation of massive debt over many years
• Earning too little to support our lifestyle
• Spending more than we are earning
• No will to change our ways

We need to declare enough! For the love of our country, our friends and family, we cannot continue like this!

We’ve been using the credit card when we should have been using the debit card!

We have been pickpocketed, and our credit card is in the hands of Congress, who, in what can only be described as a drunken binge, have run up a huge balance, Republican, and Democrat alike.

And there is another problem! Just like the borrowing limit on your credit card, we as a nation have a borrowing limit, and we have hit it – many times!

So what would you do? Rational, sane people would say wow; we really got ourselves in a bind didn’t we, we better work at cleaning this up.

Non-rational, not so sane people would instead call up the credit card company and ask for more credit.

In our national case, our credit card company is mostly China and Japan. How many more times will they be willing to take that call?

And Congress is calling on our behalf, asking for an increase to our credit card so they can spend more.

Not sure about you, but no one asked me if this is ok. No one from Congress has checked with me if I am ok with increasing the amount I have to pay for this party, and no one has asked me if I am ok making the payments on our national credit card.

I am not ok with it, and I want my credit card back.

The time has come to take control of our futures, and for us to care more! This is it, people, it’s not too late. But it will be soon.

This course is unsustainable. Never before in modern history has there been such a complex mix of a demographics, an aging population, a shrinking tax base, and such a lack of foresight. History tells us our empire will fail; we are close to crossing the point of no return.

Take action. Take control. Stop outsourcing our futures to 535 people in Washington who crave instant gratification, at all costs. Because, like it or not, we are all in this together, and if we do not take serious measures today, this party will be over – one and done.

What do you think about this? Do you get it? Are you pissed?

Ph.D., Scientist, Teacher, Author, and Entrepreneur: Dr. Michael Finnegan

Siân Killingsworth / 14 Jan 2013 / Ubiquity Insights

I meet with the convivial Michael Finnegan, Ph.D., Scientist, Teacher, Author, and Entrepreneur and throw him the ice-breaker, “Can gratitude prepare you for the future?” To which he jovially replies, “Yes it can.”

We exchange some ideas about gratitude and mutually agree that gratitude is a shift in perspective that considers a bigger picture, which leads me to ask him why he co-founded www.quantumcamp.com with Ryan Nurmela.

M: The school was started out of some responses I had to previous jobs in teaching where I saw what was going on with the children and the lack of teaching. I had this new job in a pretty rough public school in West Oakland. I saw all the things that pundits say is wrong with education in America. It was no longer an abstract idea. I was in the classroom.

V: I know you have a unique philosophy, which is the DNA of Quantum Camp, a school that teaches advanced concepts to people you wouldn’t expect to receive those concepts – children!

M. The foundational idea is all grand ideas that define science and math today, that define society, at some point were not known. There’s a moment where an idea was discovered and entered into the consciousness of humanity.

The pedagogy or teaching practice of Quantum Camp asks, “what were the series of events that led up to that discovery?” Usually the answer is decades or centuries of experiments, with their failures and successes. We have the children/students redo those experiments. Lo and behold, in the final few days of any course what dawns on them are these grand ideas which they rediscover and now own for themselves. They can sort of go forth with this quiet confidence.

V. Do you find that children’s ability to critically think becomes awakened after taking your courses?

M. Most students are trained to say, “Is this the right answer? Am I doing this right?” The teachers at Quantum Camp will respond, “You tell me. Your data probably has the right answers. Look at your data.” When you force them to look at their own work, that’s when critical thinking starts to happen. They are not looking for the answers elsewhere, from a teacher or smart person or authority that somehow magically knows.

V. You’ve been in the workforce for long time: you know that thinking critically is not a skill a lot of people have. I think that’s really affected our society, our nation. There seems to be a connection between education and the national well-being.

M. Yes. The greatest source of wealth, if you want to relate it to economics, is human capital. If you want to improve the economy of any society, you invest in your people.

Conversations with Generations: Ellie

Siân Killingsworth / 3 Dec 2012 / Ubiquity Insights

My name is Victor Rose and I love stories and conversations with generations; I created this blog with the intention of listening to different people of disparate ages tell me their timeless truths. I wanted to hear what someone from the upcoming generation, the Millennials, might have to say about retirement and the future. Born after 1981, they represent a youth that has experienced so much cultural, political, technological and economic change. They were born into interesting times.

Ellie Ridge is not your typical 16-year-old. I met her at a Philz Coffee in North Berkeley, CA. At 16, she was working 2 jobs, in addition to attending community college full-time. She also just came back from a self-funded European summer adventure.

Victor: So Ellie what is the first thing that comes to mind when I say the word “Retirement”?

Ellie: Not having to work. Living a comfortable life. I guess I would hope that when I retire, I would be able to live the same life that I lived when I was still working.

Victor: When do you think you’re going to retire?

Ellie: I want to retire when I’m 65 but I know that people have to retire a lot later now.

V: What types of behavior do you think could help you in that goal?

E: Putting money away and making investments, like buying a home. Not having to pay a mortgage when I’m older.

V: I’m very impressed that you know that!

E: I just want to have everything settled so that the only money I have to be spending is on maintenance.

Where did Ellie get all her wisdom? Who taught her about saving?

“Nobody taught me.”

Ellie described that she’d witnessed people around her make poor financial choices. Those choices created hard-felt consequences.

“I never want to be like that when I grow up. I don’t, on the one hand, want the value of my life placed on money. I don’t think your value is in your money or money will bring you happiness, but I know that money brings you ease and comfort.”

Wow.

If Ellie represents the next generation if the next generation can learn from others’ mistakes and misfortunes, if they can think ahead and plan and act now, then we have a bright future ahead of us.