This week has been an emotional roller coaster ride for all of us who have investments of any type.  It seems like nothing is safe haven for your money anymore.  Even if you hold your money in your mattress you would lose it due to the high inflation.  The scent of fear is really overwhelming in the air.  I have been really busy at work but I think everyone seems to be frustrated and sobered by what is happening.  It seems that every single day the government comes up with a new scheme to do something or the banks “inject” money into the system.  Here is what it really means and why we as individuals can only go with the flow.

American Dollars and much of modern money is based on a fiat system, which means that the money we earn is a type of credit declared by the United States government to be legal for paying back debts and buying things.  There is really nothing backing the money other than the word of the government.  Central banks around the world control much of the money systems and they can technically  create or destroy money at their whim because they do not need to produce anything to create money.  Since money is basically a legal instrument, banks and governments are intrinsically involved with each other.  It is actually really easy to conjure money out of thin air, all that needs to happen is for a government system to say so.  So when Paulson says that the financial system is sound, what he really means is, “Trust us, we will print more money and make people believe they have wealth to spend!”

The financial industry understands that they are not actually producing anything and they are just playing a giant numbers game so they have nothing to lose.  Afterall, banks are just trading promises between a variety of folks and I really think that intangible quality of money made a lot of people more irresponsible than they should have.  When the numbers game failed and promises were broken,  quite a few banks ended up with actual assets such as foreclosed homes, but most of them find these homes to be a liability because they don’t want to play with actual property, they just wanted to play with balance sheets.

Now money only has value when people are willing to accept it.  I could have a $100 yuan bill in America and people will probably treat it like a piece of garbage, but in China I could buy a bunch of groceries with it.  Why would a grocer in China accept a piece of paper that’s useless in America?  Is he daft? The fact of the matter is that we are all already too deep in this system where we accept a certain currency even though at its core it is just a piece of paper.  This is why the governments and banks want our trust.  They want us to believe that the money they are creating by the stroke of a pen is good and acceptable.  They want us to know that we can continue to work hard and produce goods and be compensated in ephemeral numbers.  They want to continue the game.

Money is an illusion, and I don’t even mean that in a metaphorical way.  It literally can be conjured up from thin air by those in power.  This is also why I’m not too worried about our financial markets.  As long as the banks and governments are in control, they will continue to tweak the game for their own survival.  So pick up an index fund and watch those little numbers swing up and down, but remember that it really means nothing until you have to use it and actually buy something tangible.  This may seem like you should spend everything and go in debt, but remember, most of us are not in power and we can’t make money magically appear.  Most of us still have to pay taxes and debt interest to those who control the global money game, and that can get very frustrating, but that’s life. Don’t worry about your portfolio too much and enjoy the sunshine and don’t be a workaholic because the time you have on this earth is more precious than a few numbers.  That’s all we can do.

So by now I am sure all of you know that Lehman Brothers has filed for bankruptcy and Bank of America purchase Merrill Lynch. Additionally, one of the largest insurance companies, AIG, is in deep financial trouble and was just bailed out by the government. In reaction to the news, the Dow Jones industrial plunged more than 500 points yesterday and regained more than 140 points today. It all sounds quite unsettling and volatile right now, but I really think bad things need to happen before things can get any better, and this is my reasoning.

First of all, I think most of us have had the experience of eating something horribly uncouth and falling ill. What usually happens is a bit of a stomach ache, and then full blown diarrhea, but once the last bit of toxin is out of your body you start to feel better. I think the financial markets is basically in the middle of a cathartic bowel movement right now. As many commentators have said, the debt and mortgage backed securities were “toxic” and these securities poisoned many firms and it is only natural that we’re seeing death and destruction. As a result, the more prudent firms are surviving and becoming stronger. For example, Bank of America has snapped up Countrywide and Merrill in the midst of this, and their position as a financial services company has been strengthened.

The problem I see with the current situation is the string of bailouts being handed out by the United States government. Last week it was the bailout of Fannie and Freddie, and today AIG just got an emergency $85 billion loan and the government will be receiving a 79.9% equity stake. This pretty much means that the United States government is now the largest insurer in the world. The problem with this is not only that the government is throwing good taxpayer money after bad, but that the United States is taking on enormous amounts of financial risk.  If the government left these companies alone and let them perish or be gobbled up by competitors, then the resolution to their failure might come quicker and the government will not have to borrow countless amounts of money that have to be paid off for decades.  Right now we are seeing policies that mirror and that’s what’s truly frightening.

So in conclusion, I guess I am saying that 500 point stock market drops do not really bother me all that much because I am a long term investor, but these hundred-billion dollar bailouts are really disconcerting.  How many of these bailouts can we taxpayers really afford?  How many years will America be slave to its lenders?   It is hard to know the future, but Washington should really let the financial markets work itself out without prolonging the current pain.  I hope that people would remember what happened to lead up to the current financial crisis, and learn something from it, but unfortunately I think history  tends to repeat itself over and over again.

Today I read an excellent article called .  The author pointed out several things married couples could do to improve their relationships with themselves and their money.  I should summarize them here with my personal experience.

free viagra for unemployed – The hubby and I are pretty different in terms of our money management, but I think I am converting him into a saver.  We have talked quite a bit about retirement and having kids, and we generally agree with each other about what we want in the future.  Communication is definitely important in a marriage.

free viagra for unemployed-  I keep a running spreadsheet of our incomes and expenses for each month and give the hubby a report at the end of every month just to let him know how we are doing.  This has worked fairly well for the past year.

free viagra for unemployed – We are very supportive of each other’s careers right now.  We both have pretty good jobs as engineers.  If either of us had a great job opportunity elsewhere I think we would both be okay with a move.  free viagra for unemployed

free viagra for unemployed- We spend our fun money mostly on and   The hubby also loves games and gadgets.  As I wrote over a year ago, we where 2% of our income goes to entertainment.  That has and we still have a surplus in the entertainment fund.  As I wrote in my from yesterday, there needs to be a balance between pleasure spending and saving, and I think we are doing fairly well.  free viagra for unemployed

free viagra for unemployed – Fortunately, the hubby and I haven’t really had fights about money, but we’d probably use our parents as mediators if we did have some unlikely scuffle.

free viagra for unemployed-  Both the hubby and I have credit cards, bank accounts, and investment accounts under our own names.  We also have a joint checking and investment account.  This is important because I think we should maintain our own credit histories. Also, we can’t have joint retirement accounts anyway.   So even though we are married I think we are both pretty financially independent.

free viagra for unemployed- The hubby and I spend A LOT of time together when we are not working.  Sometimes it feels like too much, but that may change when we have kids.  We are definitely not workaholics and we like playing games and watching TV together quite a bit.  free viagra for unemployed

Since many couples split up because of financial issues,  I feel that money management is an extremely important part of a healthy marriage. However, love and respect needs to come first before a couple can compromise on their money.  For example, I know that the hubby made a lot of concessions on the things he wanted to buy in the past year because he loves me and respects my saving ways. He also started to use coupons, FatWallet and subscribed to SlickDeals on his own (I am really proud of him).   On the other hand, I have also made compromises with the hubby and enjoyed spending more money and time with him.   He acknowledged that I am not as cheap as before.   Marriage is about becoming one single unit, and our attitudes toward money simply manifested how we balance each other.   I am having more fun with the hubby and  he’s glad that I am dealing  with the finances he  dislikes so it is a win-win situation.  So finally, I’d like to say that money management skills are able to be acquired, and if a couple really wants to fix their finances together then they can definitely do it, but if a couple do not care for each other enough to manage their money in a positive way together, then that may not be so easy to fix.  So my conclusion is that money management is much much easier than marriage management, and there is no reason not to tackle it first.

Last week I read an article on CNN titled .  In this article, law professor Lauren Willis argues that financial education is a waste of time and money.  Here are my thoughts on this matter.

Her first argument that financial education doesn’t work because financial product companies “spend billions drowning out well-meaning messages to consumers from nonprofits or government agencies.”  This is certainly true. I am sure people are more likely to know lines from the  MasterCard “Priceless” commercials rather than their own credit card interest rate.  Also, she says that financial products change all the time so it is hard for educators to teach a subject that is constantly in flux.  That is also true, but some basics stay the same.

Next she argues that teaching the basics of finance is a waste of money because sending people to class gives them the illusion that they are educated in the ways of finances and they  don’t change their financial behavior.  I’m not sure if I agree with this because just listening to the basics of budgeting and getting out of debt can be really helpful.  It may be that people who are forced to take classes in personal finance do not change their behavior, but people who want to learn and change can certainly benefit.

Finally, she believes that the government should spend more money on regulating the financial industry rather than trying to educate consumers about the dangers of certain financial products.  I agree that there needs to be regulation on deceptive business practices, but an informed consumer is more able to use the wide variety of financial products to his or her advantage. People do not need to have the knowledge of a professional financial planner to understand some arithmetic  and figure out what is best for them.  Indeed, some financial companies make the math more complicated than it really is, but I think  the basics of budgeting and interest rates be understood by any  human being with average intelligence.

To close the interview the professor stated that parents should continue to teach their children about money and finances because families can educate their children better than the government could.  That may be true, but if the parents have no financial knowledge, then it would be the blind leading the blind.   Financial education has to start somewhere, and blankly stating that it is a waste of time and money does not help the fact that many people are clueless about how to manage their money.  I know a lot of people want to learn how to manage their money better, and those who seek the education voluntarily are more likely to benefit from it.

Some of my friends have asked me things along the lines of, “aren’t Christian women supposed to be stay at home moms?” I have never really been taught this idea in the churches I have gone to, but I know some Christian groups do  support the idea that Christian women should not work for a living and the man of the house should be the one bring home the bacon. So is it wrong for Christian women to earn money outside of the home? Well, ultimately I think the Bible should answer everyone’s questions on this issue.

The book of Proverbs ends with an acrostic poem describing a virtuous wife. This is actually a very long section focused on one single topic, and that’s pretty different from the rest of the book where various short phrases of wisdom are written in sequence. It begins with, “An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels(rubies).” Prov 31:10. Then it goes on to describe the various things a good wife does, and interestingly enough a lot of things she does are related to business and finance. Here is what I read:

free viagra for unemployed- “She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard” Prov 31:16

free viagra for unemployed – First she produces: “She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.” Prov 31:13 Also later in the passage she sells the goods: “She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.” Prov 31:18 “She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant.” Prov 31:24

free viagra for unemployed – “She opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy.” Prov 31:20

free viagra for unemployed – “She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.” Prov 31:21 “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.” Prov 31:25 I think both of these verses show that she is prepared for the things to come, and I think that being prepared for snow implies that the good wife is financially prepared for a non-fruitful season.

free viagra for unemployed – “She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. ” Prov 31:27 I think this verse conveys the message that a good wife is not lazy, and she is very aware of what’s going on in her family. Finances is a big part of family affairs, and a wife that knows what’s going on with a household’s money would be much better prepared for disasters.

free viagra for unemployed- “She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.” Prov 31:14-15

free viagra for unemployed – This is the final point of the passage. “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” Prov 31:30

So from this book, I think it is fairly clear that a Christian woman is never required to be a stay at home mom and in a way the Bible actually encourages a wife to earn income and provide for her family. In my church there are all types of families. There are dual income families, and there are stay at home moms, and there is a pretty cool stay at home dad, too. Everyone knows that the guy is a stay at home dad and he was given a rose for Mother’s day. I think all of these family structures are totally acceptable as long as both people in the marriage agree with it and they trust each other and God enough to make it work.

I hope this post clarified the position of the Bible on women and working for income. I think that all women should be independently enough so that their husbands would not have have to worry about them very much. Finally, I believe that Christianity is a religion that gives women a lot of freedom compared to many other religions. We can choose to be a stay at home wife, or work outside the home. We do not have to hide ourselves and we can honor God in our own way. That is liberating.