From Long Island N.Y. And Serving THE WORLD!

Nothing to fear but fear itself!

Former President Roosevelt used those words when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Today this statement is just as important. We are living in very unique times with a lot of uncertainty of what the future holds.

A tremendous amount of our economic troubles are based on fear. Fear of loosing our homes, jobs and money. Banks fear lending because of poor judgment in the past, people fear spending their money because they're not secure about their job and investments. Small businesses are fearful that they cannot get a credit line to help them stay afloat- even for the short term. With all this fear we will paralyze ourselves and never get out of this mess.

I am not saying that we should not be responsible about handling our money or not to be concerned about what the future holds. But if we continue to watch, listen and read all the doom and gloom fed to us everyday by the media, we will be so negative and never move forward. What is driving a lot of this downward spiral is fear-especially in the stock market and financial sectors. Mistakes have been made and the damage has been done, now it is time to look forward, learn, adjust and move on.

There are positive things we can do during these uncertain times. If you are facing foreclosure many lenders, if you let them know that you are having difficulty, will work with you to keep you in your home. It is better for them to help you out then to foreclose and sell the house at auction, they will lose a lot of money. To stay employed, do more on the job to help out. Do not be a clock-watcher or strictly a 9 to 5 person.

Most important we must live within our means. Have a household budget, pay down our credit card debt. Maybe getting rid of our credit cards altogether. Most important we must become financially literate. With our investments as individuals we need to learn about the stock market, hedge funds, money market funds, annuities and more. We need to know what they are and what will work for our individual situations. This way financial experts cannot take advantage of us. You cannot trust someone else to handle all your money, you need to do this to protect your future and those you love.

If you have lost your job, take advantage of unemployment benefits and during this time update your resume. Maybe even consider updating your job skills or try something totally new.

We know that we need to live sensibly during these unparalleled times, but that does not mean we cannot enjoy our life as well where possible. Instead of going to the movies, have family night at home. Instead of going out to eat, have friends over and everyone brings some food. Brown bag instead of buying lunch every work day.

My point with all this is yes we have to be accountable and in the know, but we cannot live in fear. This will stifle growth and bring down the economy even further. We need to hang out with positive people, think positive thoughts about the future and know that this too shall pass.

There will be sacrifice and some pain. As I said earlier  it is a period of adjustment, to learn from our mistakes and help those who are less fortunate.  Where possible to press on through because I believe on the other side there is a brighter time to come. Remember "You have nothing to fear but fear it self"

Finally my prayers are with all of you.. Together we can get through this and be a better nation for it!