Sunday, August 08, 2010

Retirement - Social Security is not...

All old Social Security cards had a "NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION" message.
Our Social Security have had that message removed.

Franklin Roosevelt, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program. He promised:

1.) That participation in the Program would be Completely voluntary,


It's no longer Voluntary


2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual Incomes into the Program,
now 7.65% on the first $90,000


3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year,


No longer tax deductible


4.) That the money the participants put into the independent 'Trust Fund' rather than into the general operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program, and,
under Lyndon Johnson's "Fair Deal" the money was moved to The General Fund and Spent


5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.


Under William Clinton up to 85% of your Social Security can be Taxed

Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now nearing the time when we will be receiving a Social Security check every month and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to 'put away.'
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I have never planned on depending on Social Security - it's always been a pipe dream meant for those who have their affairs in order to subsist in times like The Great Depression. As I understand it was supposed to go away in 1968, but was renewed as another governmental income stream.

I just recommend that whoever may be hoping to live off social security will make other plans before they get a rude awakening.
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For me that has been rental homes, even in these tough times people are renting and paying their rent. My rental website is www.robrents.com. I bought primarily around the University of Tennessee, my reasoning was that during good times people send their children to school, during tough times a lot of people go back to school and make it though with school loans and other things like that. The Universities are no longer economical ways to house your students or yourself while you are attending school. I have always loved the area of downtown Knoxville, both North and South, so why not invest in some of the small homes with a ready market.

Investing during the good times has really helped me get through these tough times. I believe that our economy is beginning to pull itself out of this latest "Repression," as I've heard it called. When it does and if government doesn't continue making it nearly impossible for investors to get loans, I recommend you set up your own Independent Security, whether it's rental homes or another self-directed smart small business, it's how my grandparents got through the Depression and it is how we can survive in the future.

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Rain Barrels and the city garden

Lowe's put up this cool little video on Rain Barrels and your city garden. I thought others might enjoy.


Excerpt:

Locating the Rain Barrels

To start, choose a location for the barrels. It should be under a downspout in an unobtrusive area, like the backyard. Select a spot that’s level and a little higher than your yard. If you can’t do that, level the ground and position concrete blocks to elevate the barrels. The barrels will have to be high enough to allow you access with a watering can. If needed, you can also attach a small garden hose to the rain barrel spigot to easily fill your watering can.