Do You Have a Financial Professional?

New Survey Shows Main Street Families Need Help!!!

Primerica and the Consumer Federation of America recently co-sponsored a survey about the financial health of Main Street America titled "The Financial Status and Decision-Making of the American Middle Class." According to the new report, the financial condition of most middle class families is challenging, yet they are reluctant to seek help from a financial professional.

• Two out of three adult Americans say they have made at least one really bad financial decision, with average loss costing $23,000. Yet large majorities of those surveyed believed their ability to make sound financial decisions is "good" or "excellent." 
• In 2010 the typical middle class family had financial assets of $27,300 - including retirement savings but not pensions - which was 28% less than the $37,800 held in 2007.
• For "saving and investing", only 15% said they would rely on the internet, publications, or TV for the information, yet another 17% said they "wouldn't seek any information or advice, and just make a decision." However, for this kind of decision, 45% said they would use information and advice from a financial professional.

It's What You Know

When it come to your finances, how much do you know? Are you one of the ones who have made a "really bad financial decision?" Are you willing to seek out financial education from a professional - or just wing it? If you want help from a financial professional but don't know where to start, Primerica is the answer!

"This survey shows what we really know. Main Street families have too much debt, not enough savings and no protection. But when you get to the bottom line, people think that, despite all their mistakes, they know enough to be able to take care of it themselves. Families spend more time planning a vacation than their financial future. They stuff all their financial decisions in a drawer, ignore it and hope it will get better. The biggest impediment to getting financially independent is procrastination." ~ Primerica Co-CEO John Addison

You probably have a trusted professional to take care of your car or even your hair...  but what about your financial health? Do you have a dedicated mechanic and hairstylist, but not a personal financial professional?

Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today. When it comes to your financial health, every day counts.

Alejandro Simon

Independent Representative of Primerica

"I'm not telling you it's going to be easy - I'm telling you it's going to be worth it."

I want to begin this blog with some quotes from Art Williams. This was a man who showed the world how you could win in America doing what is right for the people 100% of the time:

 "I'm not telling you it's going to be easy - I'm telling you it's going to be worth it."

"I don't believe people die from hard work. They die from stress and worry and fear -- the negative emotions. Those are the killers, not hard work. The fact is, in our society today, most people don't understand what hard work is all about."

"You can give in to the failure messages and be a bitter deadbeat of excuses. Or you can choose to be happy and positive and excited about life."

"Winners just do it. But what do they do? They do whatever it takes to get the job done. They do it – and do it – and do it – until the job gets done. And then they talk about how great it is to be somebody they’re proud of. They talk about how great it is to finally have achieved something unique – how glad they are that they didn’t quit like everybody else – how wonderful it is to finally make a difference with their lives. We need leaders in America who can “Do It!”

"My dreams kept me trying when I could have quit."

"I believe you can overcome every problem in life but an attitude problem. I've spent a lot of my adult life studying men and women and why most of them lose and only a few win. It took me a long time to really understand what a big part attitude played in success."

"A total commitment gives you the extra ounce of courage that it takes to win."

"Life is 10 percent what you make it and 90 percent how you take it."

 "Most people can stay excited for two or three months. A few people can stay excited for two or three years. But a winner will stay excited for twenty or thirty years...or as long as it takes to win."

"People won't follow a dull, disillusioned, frustrated crybaby."

"More than 90% of winning is being excited."

"Crusaders commit to something bigger than their business."
 
"If you don't have a big dream, you're dead."

"Inch by inch, it's a cinch."

"What's popular isn't always right, and what's right isn't always popular."

"A great leader always gives his people credit for his success."