Posts from — February 2008
Winning Your Race
What a great Super Bowl game! Eli Manning sure quieted the critics tonight. I am not fan of either team but I was rooting for the Giants to win. There were two big reminders for me tonight. The first would be no matter how hard you work, how hard you train, how many games or battles you win, if you do not take home the prize, all is lost. The New England Patriots had the opportunity to continue in the history books and lost in the final seconds.
When working a financial plan, I see all sorts of folks go out of the gates leading the race and somewhere along the line things seem to fall apart. Working a plan is a long and arduous process. It’s crucial that you are in constant contact with your coach (financial planner) and stay on course. Its very easy for folks to get “tired” in the 2nd and 4th quarters.
No one expected the Giants to win. They were underdogs according to every sports poll, broadcaster and viewers. Not only did they not expect the Giants to win but some expected the Pats to win pretty easily. After a lackluster finish last year, Tom Coughlin was on the cusp of losing his job. After the first two games of this year Eli Manning was about to be taken out and be stoned. EVERY publication and news show was telling him how bad he was a quarterback.
The second thing I was reminded. That everyone has the same opportunity to be successful in life. Every morning we get up and put our clothes on just like everyone else. So what separates the successful from the unsuccessful? Beliefs. What limiting beliefs are holding you back from achieving what you want most in life?
February 4, 2008 No Comments
Should I Refinance My ARM?
I received a call Friday January 25th, 2008 from a freelance reporter in Los Angeles named Marcie Geffner who was doing a story for a well known bank website called BankRate. She wanted to interview me to get my opinion on whether those with adjustable rates should take advantage of the lower fixed rates and refinance.
You can see the whole Bank Rate article here.
This interview led me to some important points that I want to make. It’s not a marketing secret that scaring the crap out of consumers is a pretty useful sales tactic. People buy on emotion and make emotional decisions and the news media and advertisers sell products that way.
I have been pounding the table since May 2007 that the Federal Reserve would start to lower rates in the fall of 2007; you can see my Blog post. So this big whoop la comes as no surprise.
What needs to be understood is that mortgages just like any investment should be managed. Just like investments, different loan products “perform” better during certain periods and working with a Certified Mortgage Planner allows customers to take advantage of changes in market sentiment and conditions and save $10’s of thousands of dollars.
Managing a mortgage is not about getting the lowest interest rate. It’s about matching the mortgage to the client’s financial goals. When you match the mortgage to their financial goals rates do not matter. The loan program that you have is meeting a certain financial need of the borrower.
This is part of wealth creation I explain to clients. In this business I have meet many people who have achieved great wealth by aligning their mortgage (s) to their financial need. I have never met one that achieved great wealth because they received the lowest mortgage rate. [Read more →]
February 1, 2008 2 Comments
