Every day I get emails and questions from users of my S.O.S. System about specific problems they face and how they are attempting to deal with them.  As you may know if you have already written to me with a question, I try answer each and every one.  Some we post in the S.O.S. Membership section, others are published in our Newsletter and even the questions we don't feature still receive an answer directly from me.  I try very hard to be responsive because we are all in this together and I am here to help you.

I bring this up because some of the questions I recieve are absolutely heartbreaking.  If I had to sum up what I am hearing from folks every day it is that they worked hard, played by the rules, and now through no fault of their own they are literally, well, screwed!  Oh sure, if you want to be a moralist you could say some of them should have better managed their debts and spent less - but that is with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.  Easy to say, but when you have a great job, your 401k is growing like wildfire, and your home value is zooming upward it is hard - if not impossible - not to get a little caught up in the euphoria. Even though it is hard to remember, that is the way things were until about a year and a half ago!

Here's the thing; this recession is unlike any other before.  Old cycles of recovery and a 100% return to prosperity for the country as a whole are unlikely to repeat – but they will get better.  As you know if you read my blogs regularly, I am predicting a tough year, perhaps even longer.  So, you cannot fall back on traditional remedies and expect a good result.  Tradition from now on is out the window! We have to be real, even if that means amending our thoughts, actions and expectations – for all that has happened, we still have it pretty damn good!

And the good news is that  people can get rich, even in a Depression, if they don't do what everyone else does.  That is how I give my advice.  I don't care one whit for what has always worked. I only care about what is going to work now.  That is what makes the advice you get here unique to anywhere else.

I was watching the "Today Show" this morning and they had some advisors on taking calls from
around the country.  It all revolved around debt and they were essentially urging what tradition
would dictate - which is pay it off as you can and/or negotiate terms if you need more time.  That
is great advice....in the last century!  Now it is all about building cash as fast as you can and making a realistic assessment as to whether or not you should pay your debt at all.  Things could get a lot hairier from here, so cash equals security and security equals choices.  Paying off debts,  while noble and great if you can afford it, is a terrible idea when you have no large cash reserve.

This is just one example of thinking out of the box and not worrying what other people are thinking about you.  I know that intentionally ignoring an obligation is potentially unethical, but here is my question:  If things get worse and you are out of options, will the creditor extend more credit to you if you do the so-called right thing or will you and your family be on your own? You may already know the answer to that one!

As the Zen Master said, "There is no truth, only perspective."  Keep that in mind as we move forward together - to not only solve your problems, but conquer them and prosper when others are failing.  My pledge to you is to be on your side and give you a unique perspective and well-informed advice.  You need only pledge to listen and then act.  Together we are going to beat this thing!