Larry Matthews

Counting Our Blessings

Kimmy my daughter who looks after the printing end of our business just informed me that she needed an article from me. Usually I have one or two written in advance for her to use as a filler when she doesn't have enough adds sold to fill up the space in our monthly flyer. This time she caught me off guard and I had nothing prepared. Normally I try and write something to help our readers deal with the day to day problems we all have in common. Something to help them feel better and something that will brighten their day a little. So remember I didn't have much time to think about this and I certainly haven't had too many positive things happen to me in the past few weeks but here goes and please forgive me if I fall a little short this month but I will do my best.

As I seem to be overwhelmed with problems I have decided to focus on something else. Instead of counting my problems (which are many) I am going to focus on counting my blessings. You see by counting my blessings maybe my problems won't seem so overwhelming. What are blessings anyway. Here are the definitions I found.

Blessings

1. The act of one that blesses.

2. A short prayer said before or after a meal; grace.

3. Something promoting or contributing to happiness, well-being, or prosperity; a boon.

4. Approbation; approval: This plan has my blessing.

In this article I would like to focus on number 3 mainly those things that contribute to happiness and well being. How seldom do we really count our blessings and how seldom do we actually recognize our blessings. How about a nagging mother or wife. Someone who really cares about you. Would you really want one who doesn't care ? Not really . Most of us want a mother or wife who cares and worries about us because they love us. Nagging is just what we have to contend with in relation to that blessing. Think about that and you will find the nagging will not bother you as much. You see in my opinion one of the greatest blessings in life is to be loved and have people care about you. This is a blessing often over looked as family comes with responsibility that is often considered a burden.

I want you to think about this. An hour spent with someone you love is more important than a lifetime spent with someone you do not love.

I want everyone to think about that for a minute. The sons who would rather be out with the boys than fishing with the old man. The daughters that would rather be out with their friends than stay home and play scrabble with their mom or grandmother. The older brother who hasn't time for his younger brother. The older sister who doesn't have time for her younger sister. Are you getting my point. Those moments in a lifetime when someone who loves you wants your company are just that moments. Moments that pass away and become opportunities lost . Blessings that we will cherish forever. Blessings that we will regret not taking advantage of down the road.

I have had the wonderful blessing of having my wife and two daughters work with me for many years. I have worried about the struggles I have put them through with my sometimes poor business decisions. (Yes I'm not that bright sometimes) I have worried about my intrusion into their marriages as the demands of the business, I'm sure has created stress in their relationships with their husbands. I have watched them become mothers and still manage to live up to the demands of keeping our business going. Along with their mother they have always been there loving and supporting me. How can you put a value on that blessing. I know that with all our times of struggle they will have the blessing of being able to look back at our times together and the obstacles we overcame together with the satisfaction that comes from accomplishing something together as a family.

I have many more blessings that far out weigh the negatives. What are your blessings ? Do you have people who love you ? A warm place to live ? Food on the table ? Many in this world do not have any of those. Many of us are blessed here in our country and here in Nova Scotia. Let us all count our blessings and be thankful for what we do have in a world where many have so little. Yes it is cold but it is only 53 days until spring and 63 days until fishing season and a day on the lake. Now that is a blessing. In closing remember this as you struggle with life's problems. "All YOU CAN DO IS ALL YOU CAN DO" and all you can do is enough.

Larry Matthews

A Ray of Hope

Hope is a funny thing . You can't see it or touch it but you see it all around us . Many people have so little that all they have is hope. They hope for a better day. They hope they will get better and recover from illness. They hope they will get a job. I could go on and on. All of us seem to hope for a better day no matter what our circumstances . Yes even people with money.

Johnny Cash once said " having money just means having to worry about everything except money ". I'm sure with the present state of the world economy there isn't anyone who isn't hoping things will improve.

I sometimes call Hope God's eternal carrot . Through out life it seems hope for a better day gets us up in times of struggle and keeps us going when there doesn't seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Hope and faith have one very similar trait . That is they are the only two things in life that no one can take from you . By that I mean in both cases you have to make a conscious decision to give them up . Every thing else in life can be taken from us . Our loved ones can die, our money can disappear , we can lose our health and friends can disappoint us or let us down .

As we go through life our youth and enthusiasm are eroded by time and disappointment to the point all we have left is hope and/or faith . We become cautious and wise and our experience can become our handicap . A old gentleman once said. " Young people they go ahead and do things before they realize they can't be done. " I remember when I drew my real estate sign home on my kitchen table and said I was starting a real estate company. Most people thought I was crazy but I was too young to realize it couldn't be done . I had just read the book "Think and Grow Rich" and had enough faith and hope for 10 people. I knew I was going to succeed. Little did I realize that was the easy part .

You see our family had always been poor . I thought if I could get a business going I could help my family become better off . When I started my business I was 27 years old . My father had died when I was seven . We lived in a little house in Nine Mile River and Mum received $80 dollars a month widows allowance. Mum had 4 boys and I believe her rent was $40 a month . No power , plumbing and just a wood stove. Mum married again and when I was 19 our step father died and now there were 6 boys . My 5 younger brothers were ages 17, 11,8,3 and 2. As the oldest I became responsible along with my mother for my brothers upbringing. I loved my brothers dearly and have wonderful memories of those years.

I married my wife Peggy when I was 22 and my brothers were a big part of our lives the years flew as they do and Peg and I had two daughters of our own . My first adult experience with losing hope and narrowly clinging to faith was when my brother Brian was killed in a car accident . He was only 13 and like a son to me . My mother never got over this tragic event but life doesn't go away. We moved on . I tell this to outline some of my background and life experiences to help you understand the back ground of this story. You see I learned early in life that faith and hope are all you can rely on to get you through this life . It started for me when I was 7 when my father drowned and my grandmother took me in her room and explained why I had to have faith and go on with my life. I lost my mother in 1996 and although hard my faith carried me through . I didn't realize my biggest test was yet to come . In June 2003 my brother Ron only 48 went into a coma and as a result had brain damage and required 24 hour care. My wife Peg and I kept him at home for 3 years hoping and praying he would get better but he didn't and is in the hospital and as his guardians we are fighting a heartless bureaucracy that only cares about money. I didn't realize how hard it would be to look after someone you love and hope for a recovery that doesn't come. Then the last straw I lose my brother Rog . He calls me Thursday evening and his last words to me were "I love you Luke with all my heart " . The next day he's gone. Also gone are my faith and hope . I'm not sure how I can continue to function . I operate in a fog running my business and carrying out the motions but I'm dead inside . My brothers were my best friends. All through life we had been there for each other. I was consumed with guilt. I would sit alone and cry uncontrollably . Nothing was making sense . In my mind I had failed miserably at life and any business success meant nothing . I was a failure and my spirit had been broken .

I decide I have to get away alone and think . I go to our cottage to spend the night. Alone I read my bible and pray for help. In desperation I cry out . "Rog let me know if you're okay . Knock three times if you hear me like this. I knock three times on the table and wait . Nothing happens and I pray some more and go to bed . The next morning I hear a knock and then two more . I get up and go to the door and nobody is there. I look at the clock and it's 6am. Then I realize . Roger always got up at 6am. I thought. I must have been dreaming but I feel better. I go home and tell my wife the three knock story and she agrees I must have been dreaming. That night I go to bed at home . The next morning again I'm awakened by a knock at the door. Three of them . I get up and go downstairs and no one is there. I look at the clock and it's 6am . Was I dreaming . Was it real . It didn't matter I had found my ray of hope and my faith was restored and I was okay. You see you have to have faith . Even with all the bad economic news I'm hoping 2011 will be a better year and I have faith it will.

Larry Matthews

I have operated my own business now for almost 33 years. This is my third recession and although I do not claim to be any kind of business expert I have survived and have learned from my mistakes.(there have been many). I felt I should write this article to perhaps provide some insight to other small business people to help them avoid some of the mistakes I have made and to provide some hope and encouragement at a time when the whole world may seem to be against you. Some important points I want to emphasize.

1. An economic downturn is not your fault . Some of the best business people in the world can not survive in tough economic times. So do not blame yourself. Do not let hindsight torture you . By this I mean by thinking the if only. If only I hadn't expanded, if only I hadn't hired more people , if only I hadn't bought this or that etc . Recessions are very seldom foreseen and nobody has a crystal ball. You are where you are at and it is what you do from here on that will determine your survival .

2. The team you have surrounded yourself with can move very quickly from being helpful and supportive to being a direct cause of your inability to survive . This includes your lawyer , accountant , banker , insurance agent and employees. Why do I say this ? Your lawyer is concerned with doing what is lawful not moral . You are concerned with surviving. Your accountant is more concerned about proper tax returns. In a recession the tax man can wait. Your banker is an employee more concerned about his job than your business survival. Your Insurance agent is more concerned about the company he/she represents and collecting the premium you owe than your business survival . Your employees are concerned about their jobs and pay cheques and you can be sure your competitors have already approached your best and you know you can't depend on your worst.

3. Accept the fact you are on your own. Expect sympathy from no one . Complain to no one. Cut all unnecessary expense and overhead . Analyze your labour and decide at what point you will have to consider reducing your labour costs and who will be laid off first .Then start reducing your dependence on those individuals in an effort to be prepared for the worst case scenario.

4. If you are working with a line of credit (short term credit) replace it with long term credit that can't be called and access additional credit to have available if needed. If long term financing is not an option do not depend on one lender. Open up a second operating account and when possible deposit some money to build up some cash should your existing lender shut you off . (take away your line of credit) If your lender calls your loan never continue to deposit money in that bank . Any money deposited will be applied to your operating loan and cheques will be sent back NSF. Managing your cash flow will be crucial and switching banks will mean all automatic withdrawals (payments) will not be honoured . That is okay. Contact them and advise you have switched banks and will send them a cheque. It is important to protect your credit score and there are some things you should know here about managing your cash flow and protecting your credit. As small business people most of our credit is personal or consumer credit. As of this article (in Canada) Business loans and mortgages do not show on a credit check. Just personal credit (credit cards, car loans, utilities etc.) In a recession managing your cash flow means no automatic withdrawals and you pay those bills first. That protects your credit score. A wise business person once said to me." The number one rule in business is never let anyone else spend your money. If you have a book keeper implement a policy where by all checks have to be cleared by you and all purchases have to be accompanied by a purchase order.

This is just the tip of the iceberg in recession proofing your business and covers the basic minimum requirements to survival based on my years in business. Last but not least are receivables. Move immediately towards a no credit policy a recession is not a time to be carrying receivables.

There is much more I could write about protecting your assets and renegotiating your loans but that is another article. I apologise if I've offended any of the professionals mentioned but tough times call for tough statements based on my own experience. That does not mean I do not respect and appreciate many of the professionals who have helped me over the years.

Larry D Matthews

Jan 16^th 2009

Life in the military is challanging and demanding on family life as couples are forced to spend many nights apart. Today both Dads and Mums can be away from the kids for extended periods of time. I joined the military when i was 19 years old. I had been with my girl friend Peggy two years. We were apart a lot. All through my basic training and then my trades training as an armed forces photographer. Often while on base in my bunk my thoughts would turn to Peg and long for her company. Memories of those times inspired me to write this poem. I dedicate it to all those in the military apart from loved ones tonight and God Bless you all for the sacrifices you make every day for our freedom.

Good Night My Love

To lovers apart

Good Night My Love

Good night my love, I think of thee
As I dream my soul will flee
Through the clouds oh so free
Your lovely face I hope to see.

Over land so far apart
But always close here in my heart
As I dream in slumber's cart
My spirit has a trip to start.

To take my love like golden strand
And wrap your heart with gentle hand
Music plays like Heaven's band
As our spirits frolic above the land.

Lonely can seem so far away
Thinking of you every day
But at night let our spirits play
As so in love we both will stay !


By Luke http://www.larrymatthews.com

Refinancing and Debt Consolidation

Refinancing and consolidating debt can be one of the smartest financial moves you can make for a number of reasons. Managing cash flow is the single most important aspect in relation to protecting your personal credit. I see many couples with substantial equity in their home fall behind on credit card payments. Refinancing at this point may be impossible due to a bad credit report. Debt consolidation the best solution is no longer an option. Proper cash flow management should include adjusting quickly to any anticipated change in cash flow requirements before your credit is affected and your ability to borrow restricted or possibly eliminated.

Let us assume you have $10,000 in credit card debt at 18%. That is costing you $1800 per year in interest charges. Rolled into your mortgage at our current 3.79% rate that would cost you $379 in interest. With your credit card your minimum monthly payment might be $200. Rolled into your mortgage it would be approx $50. These are approx amounts but you can see the advantages to consolidating your debt by refinancing your mortgage.

The purpose of this article is to tell you to not wait until it is too late and your credit has been affected. Many of us struggle with not enough month at the end of the money. Tapping the tax free equity in your home can be key to smoothing out those fluctuations in cash flow that many of us experience.

Money in the bank can mean peace of mind when unexpected cash flow problems arrive. Remember this old saying " Never go the the bank on a rainy day for money for an umbrella" . The best way to get money from a lender is to convince them you don't need money. Refinance your mortgage when times are good and before cash flow problems arise. Take charge of your financial affairs. Don't let your financial affairs take charge of you. For more information on mortgage financing feel free to contact me.

Larry Matthews http://www.larrymatthews.com