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This
edition of Footsteps Along the Path was initially issued by Clear
Path Financial Education Services which has now become Kuehn
Financial Education Services LLC. For more information about
Kuehn Financial Education Services LLC, please email 
or visit www.kuehnservices.com.
Clear
Path Credit Consultants believes:
If you build on your own skills,
Rely on your own abilities,
Increase your range of knowledge,
And get help when you need it,
You are the investment that will succeed above all others.
Welcome to the ninth edition of Clear Path Credit Consultants' Footsteps
Along the Path. The goal of this newsletter is to provide relevant
and succinct information on financial management to consumers and
small business owners. It is designed to build upon previous issues,
developing a clear path to financial freedom. Reader feedback is encouraged.
Please feel free to forward Footsteps Along the Path. If you have
received this from a friend or colleague, and wish to be added to
the newsletter distribution list, simply provide a response E-mail
with this request. The same applies if you do not desire further contact,
your name will immediately be deleted from the list. 
In this issue:
*Article: "A Look Back: 2003's Economic Foibles and Follies"
*Being a Knowledgeable Consumer is a Powerful Thing: A compilation
of news, views & reviews
*Holiday Cheer: Quotes to make you smile
*Topic for the next issue of Footsteps Along the Path
Happy Holidays! This edition of Footsteps Along the Path is dedicated
to the economy. It is the big picture that impacts what happens in
our personal finances. Life is full and hectic. Sometimes managing
our household budget consumes all our energy. However, being aware
of what is going on outside the four walls of our homes allows us
to financially plan with added confidence.
2003's Economic Foibles and Follies
Foibles exhibit bad habits and follies indicate foolishness. Depending
on your opinion, our government's economic decisions may or may not
be full of foibles and follies. Nevertheless, we may have our own
foibles and follies. It depends on if a bad habit to digest news without
scratching the surface of the information, called "being spoon
fed" exists along with the foolishness of accepting the report
without considering the spin on it. Paraphrasing Maya Angelou, we
need to know better so we do better.
The following is a synopsis of 2003's year end fiscal picture regarding
jobs and economic growth. The format is news blurbs taken from media
sources accompanied by analysis.
The Unemployment Rate
* October 30, 2003 statement by Secretary Evans: "We are growing
the American economy and soon we will be growing more jobs."
http://www.commerce.gov/opa/press/2003_Releases/October/30_gdpgrowth_stmt.htm
* December 6, 2003 Arizona Republic headline: Jobless rate falls to
5.9%
* Scratching the surface: Due to the growth in working population,
150,000 jobs need to be created every month! Therefore to decrease
the jobless rate by only one percent 300,000 in a month need to be
available. Pres. Bush's Jobs and Growth Plan revealed this summer
indicated an increase of 306,000 new jobs monthly. This has not occurred.
January 2003 the national unemployment rate was 5.7%. The lowest rate
of the year. Thus in reality the government is celebrating a .2% increase
in unemployment for 2003!
* Personal financial action: Create an emergency fund of liquid savings.
Know what variable expenses can be cut in case of a job lay off.
Economic Growth
* November 25, 2003 statement released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis:
" Gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 8.2%
in the third quarter of 2003..."
http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/newsrel/gdpnewsrelease.htm
* December 1, 2003 headline from National Review: "Third Quarter
Pounder, a meaty economy gets supersized" http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_buzzcharts/buzzchart200312010924.asp
* Scratching the surface: What follows are excerpts taken from December's
issue of The Progressive http://www.progressive.org/dec03/com1203.html.
"The Commerce Department announced the economy grew an amazing
7.2%* in the third quarter. In fact, much of the growth in the third
quarter was in response to feverish refinancings that have now chilled.
Also the child care tax credit boosted spending over the summer."
(*Note: The Progressive used an advanced estimate of GDP. The Bureau
of Economic Analysis revised this figure to an actual 8.2%.)
"The high rate of growth 'is great as far as it goes,' says Max
Sawicky, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute. 'But you shouldn't
gloss over all the damage that's already been done: the bankruptcies,
the mortgage foreclosures, people going without health insurance,
evictions, repos-all the things that happen when you run out of money.'
"
"Military spending, it should be noted, is an inefficient way
to stimulate the economy. A dollar spent on building bridges or repairing
schools has a bigger multiplier effect than a dollar spent on a new
bomb. And if a lot of those military dollars are spent in Iraq itself,
the benefits to the U.S. economy will diminish accordingly."
* Personal financial action: The government will misguidingly attempt
to correlate an increase in GDP with a rise in consumer confidence
and spending. In addition to creating a budget and emergency fund,
calculate your net worth and pay off current debt before you start
to spend. Also, do not extract your home's equity. It makes you poorer
since homes represent the largest portion of wealth accumulation for
many people. Your money should flow to what you value.
____
Being a Knowledgeable Consumer is Powerful
These newspaper headlines for 2003 tell the financial story.
"Refis' hot, pulling out equity is not"
--Kenneth Harney, Washington Post
"Credit counselors not all legitimate"
--Sandra Block, USA Today
"AmeriDebt expects FTC action, Firm is accused of false portrayal,
defrauding clients"
--Associated Press
"Bankruptcy Personal filing soar"
--Associated Press
"Foreclosure Homeowners in too deep"
--Glen Creno, The Arizona Republic
_
Holiday Cheer: Quotes to Make You Smile
If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that
money can't buy.
--Author unknown
Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they
don't want, to impress people they don't like.
--Will Rogers
When you know better, you do better.
--Maya Angelou
Promotion should not be more important than accomplishment, or avoiding
instability more important than taking the right risk.
--Peter F. Druker
We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often
discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably
he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.
--Samuel Smiles
Forecasting is very difficult, especially if it involves the future.
--Casey Stengel
Condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
There will always be rocks in the road ahead of us. They will be stumbling
blocks or stepping stones; it all depends how we use them.
--Author unknown
Not being able to do everything is no excuse for not doing everything
you can.
--Ashleigh Brillant
Being a knowledgeable consumer is powerful!
--Deborah Kuehn
Deborah A. Kuehn is the sole proprietor of Clear Path Credit Consultants,
a financial management education service. Clear Path Credit Consultants
teaches people to reach their financial goals and create a solvent
and credit worthy lifestyle.
"Clear Path Credit Consultants: Helping you sleep better at night."
PH: 623-580-9293
Thank you for taking the time to read Footsteps Along the Path. Your
feedback on it and support of Clear Path's vision is immensely appreciated.
Seasons Greetings. -- Deborah Kuehn
Written by Deborah A. Kuehn, MBA
All rights reserved
Clear Path Credit Consultants is a registered trade name
Issue IX
December 12, 2003
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