Home
>
Wealth Building
>
How To Be the Ultimate American Consumer

How To Be the Ultimate American Consumer

Feel like a lemming lately? Ready to follow the crowd into the great plunge of Ultimate American Consumerism? Just in case you need a little help, here is a tongue-in-cheek look at how to continue the process of becoming the Ultimate American Consumer!

1. Always spend right at the level of your after-tax earnings. Having surplus dollars is troublesome. It's difficult to know exactly what to do with them.

2. Forget having 3, 6, or even 12 months of basic living expenses tucked into a liquid account such as a money market or CD. Why bother?

3. Purchase repeatedly, often, and preferably on credit, items that rapidly depreciate such as cars and consumer goods. Why pay all cash for something when you can use OPM (Other People's Money)?

4. Maintain at least $7,000 to $12,000 of revolving credit card debt ? preferably on store credit cards ? and avoid reading the monthly statements.

5. Eventually revolving debt becomes a bit of a burden. Once that happens, take out a Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC) to alleviate monthly payments.

6. Seek out, and take advantage of get-rich-quick opportunities. They offer simple, easy wealth accumulation plans ? with little effort, of course. Leave honest hard work to others. They don't know any better.

7. Spend at least half of your allowable IRA contribution each year on Christmas and holidays, preferably on credit.

8. If you have an investment or asset plan, don't review it too often. This can be tedious, boring and rather dull. Once every 6-10 years should be fine.

9. Where possible, avoid the toilsome task of creating asset accumulation strategies. Instead, have more dinners out with friends, or fun vacations. After all, you only go around once!

10. Invest in insurance. Wrap yourself in insurance protection from disability, death, dismemberment, accident and ill health ? you just never know when you'll need it. Insure your pets as well!

11. Only buy new automobiles for their quality and reliability. Used vehicles can cost as much as $150/ month in long term average maintenance.

12. Regular financial plan setting? Don't do it!

13. If you have a home mortgage, refinance every couple of years to capitalize on low rates. Just think, you too can own your house for 20 years ? and still have 20 to 25 years remaining on whatever debt is there at the time.

14. Don't bother with financial coaches and truly objective advisors. They may assist you with your money plans, but those busybodies should find something better to do.

These 14 steps are a sure way to reach the rank of "Ultimate American Consumer". Along with the title, you will reap all the privileges and benefits that this provides. All the best in your quest!

Eric Johnson is a regular contributor to the Investor's Value View newsletter. To learn how to reach Mr. Johnson for comments or to subscribe to the Investor's Value View newsletter, visit http://www.valueview.net

best cleaning company Highland Park ..

In The News:

Smart home hacking fears overblown? Expert reveals real cybersecurity risks and simple protection tips to keep your connected devices safe from hackers.

MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

How To Be the Ultimate American Consumer

Wealth Building