During the late 80’s I was a college student with a large portion of my investments in Savings and Loans. Having spent much of my time working and managing small businesses during my college career, I understood some basic principals of finance. Therefore, I could not understand why banks loaned money to people at over 100% of their home value.
Recognizing this lending practice as a problem, I decided it was time to discontinue investing in Savings and Loans. Then the S&L crisis hit and I was glad to no longer be involved in the market. Since most of my money was in cash I was able to purchase stocks and other products at a much lower cost.
The savings and loan crisis was an important experience for me because I learned a valuable lesson. Recessions allow those with money in the bank to buy at bargain prices. Recessions are similar to clearance sales where you can buy businesses, cars, or homes at a big discount.
Using a simple principal that tells me to only invest in what I understand, I was able to get out of the stock market during the dot com bust and the current economic down turn because I did not understand either market. Some of you have been caught in the current economic downturn, and I would like to share with you simple financial principals which helped me increase my net worth over 10 times in the past 8 years, including the current recession.
1. Self Reliance
First, the best person to rely upon for your financial success is yourself. You are the one who determines your wealth and your income. If you make proper choices and take action, you can turn an economic slump into a financial boom for your personal finances.
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