We have a family that is spending $38,200 per year.
The family’s income is $21,700 per year.
The family adds $16,500 in credit card debt every year in order to pay its bills.
After a long and difficult debate among family members, keeping in mind that it was not going to be possible to borrow $16,500 every year forever, the parents and children agreed that a $380/year premium cable subscription could be terminated.
So now the family will have to borrow only $16,120 per year.
If you are a visual thinker, here is different way to look at it.
Government Shutdown Averted – Fiscal Crisis Assured!
I saw this video and thought it made some interesting points.
For a different perpective, you can watch the introduction video released by a new political movement called the Win+Win Revolution.
Passover is this week, so Jewish people are once again getting ready to teach the story of Exodus to their children. This happens during the meal featured in DaVinci's Last Supper.
Part of the tradition is to present the information in way tailored to the audience. For example, the wise child, the wicked child, the simple child and the child unable to ask … each perceive the story and how it relates to them differently.
Coincidently, I just read an interesting book, written by a friend of mine, that weaves the archetypical learners in the Passover Seder into a business fable about communication and persuasion.
The book talks about how you tailor your message to those four personality types. For example, a business might look at creating different messages for wise, cynical, simple and disinterested buyers.
The book's title, "ROAR!", is an acronym for the persuasion model:
Recognize the type;
Observe from their perspective;
Acknowledge who they are;
Resolve their need.
The book also provides a strong approach to bringing empathy and differentiation into your value proposition. This is equally important in an elevator pitch or tough conversation with a stakeholder.
Passover is this week, so Jewish people are once again getting ready to teach the story of Exodus to their children. This happens during the meal featured in DaVinci's Last Supper.
Part of the tradition is to present the information in way tailored to the audience. For example, the wise child, the wicked child, the simple child and the child unable to ask … each perceive the story and how it relates to them differently.
Coincidently, I just read an interesting book, written by a friend of mine, that weaves the archetypical learners in the Passover Seder into a business fable about communication and persuasion.
The book talks about how you tailor your message to those four personality types. For example, a business might look at creating different messages for wise, cynical, simple and disinterested buyers.
The book's title, "ROAR!", is an acronym for the persuasion model:
Recognize the type;
Observe from their perspective;
Acknowledge who they are;
Resolve their need.
The book also provides a strong approach to bringing empathy and differentiation into your value proposition. This is equally important in an elevator pitch or tough conversation with a stakeholder.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average kicked off a new quarter by touching the highest point since the summer of 2008.
A strengthening job market has private payrolls and business confidence surging … and layoffs waning.
Large corporations, which have been sitting on record troves of cash, could be poised to start hiring again. Fifty-two percent of top CEOs said they plan to increase hiring the next six months, according to the Business Roundtable's first-quarter survey. That's up from 45% in the fourth quarter and the highest in the survey's eight-year history.
Results like this imply that corporations are more optimistic and likely to expand.
Does That Mean the Fed Has Met Its Mandate?
* St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said “the economy is looking pretty good” and that the Fed should “see if we want to decide to finish the program or to stop a little bit short.”
Bullard added that “it may be reasonable to send a signal to markets that we’re going to start withdrawing our stimulus, and I’d start by pulling up a little bit short on the QE2 program … We can’t be as accommodative as we are today for too long, we’ll create a lot of inflation if we do that.”
* Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher went even further, telling a European audience that “We’ve done enough” and “we’re at risk of doing too much.” Fisher even went so far as to say the Fed’s dual mandate of controlling inflation and boosting employment should be changed. He wants the Fed to have no responsibility for employment, and to focus solely on inflation.
* Fed Chair Ben Bernanke has the potential to be even more market moving this month, at the April 26-27 Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Not only will this be the first meeting after these more hawkish remarks, but it will also be the first time the Fed holds a post-meeting press conference.
Yes, you read that right … Rather than hide behind prepackaged statements, Ben Bernanke will stand in front of the microphone and explain the Fed’s actions. He’s going to do that several times a year going forward — with this year’s briefings scheduled for April 27, June 22, and November 2.
If Bernanke shows any shift in policy, we could see some real market fireworks. Just something to watch for.
Some weekend reading.