Business in Science and General Truth

Groceries are a great place to start to save money.

We all need to eat nutritional foods that are well balanced, but you can do that for cheaper if you take the time and plan some meals, especially when money is tight. Start by allowing at least 1/2 hour to sit down, when you are not hungry or stressed, and come up with some simple meals for the week.

Depending on your family schedules, this can be done if you plan ahead. Make a calendar for your fridge that you can write your meal plans on for the week, and can erase and start again for the next week. I use one of those dry erase board calendars.

Think of foods that can be bought in bulk, that can make two meals, by just changing the flavor. For example, get a large package of extra lean ground beef. You can make chili one night and have some left over to use in spaghetti sauce a couple of nights later. Get a chicken you can roast, have it roasted for one meal, and have a cold chicken salad for another with the leftovers.

Try to make a shopping list, with all the ingredients you will need, and make your ingredients multi-task!. Try to stay away from pre-packaged foods, as much as you can, as they are more expensive.

If you plan some meals, find great recipes at the library or through friends or borrow some simple cook books to get some refreshing ideas, you can bring some leftovers for lunches, and therefore stop all eating out, especially when money is tight.

In the month of June 2009, the job loses records were at 467,000 in the United States. The perception that has been built on the peoples’ minds is that they must shut down some of the borrowing and remain with the most important projects’ borrowing. There is more liquidity within the financial institution that borrowers have shied away from applying for.

The economic stimulus injected in the United States economic dimensions has seen some impacts. It is expected that the year 2010 may see an economic recovery process. A company that embraces on proactive measures in its management is at a better competitive edge than its competitors. Financial companies must realize that borrowers have developed fear of borrowing since they have been hit so hard by the economic recession. To be well positioned for the recovery, financial institutions should focus on influencing the borrower behavior.

Influencing the borrower

Clients have been ‘riding’ on a rough financial path way and they would not want to borrow immediately on the onset of the recovery. Financial companies have to begin early to set the pace for the recovery process. The unemployment rate hitting a staggering 9.5 percent in June 2009 is considered high though not higher than the highs of 600,000 recorded in November 2008 in the United States. The financial stimulus applied has begun yielding results and financial companies should begin preparing their clients to borrow. The perception already instilled in the borrowers mind need to be changed through preparing clients apprentice programs to create a sensitization on the need to embark on borrowing.

At the same time financial companies have to start advising clients not to borrow heavily at the beginning of the recovery. An exponential borrowing is advised. The effect of economic slowdown has been so deep that an economic tension has been created virtually in every sector of the US economy.

Borrowing heavily on the onset of recovery would be cooling a hot metal with cold water and this would destabilize the financial status of the clients. Financial companies and advisers should inform the clients to practice a healthy borrowing after the end of the economic recession. A company that advises its clients creates a trust and confidence among its clients which in turn develops customers’ loyalty.

Financial institution should not rush to subject their borrowers to high loan acquisition only to begin struggling with the loan repayment amidst a slow recovery process. The clients will be prepared to increase their borrowing as the economy grows so that they do not stall their future loaning programs.

A free market is a market where buyers and sellers arrange for prices of goods and services. America is such a market. One business that operates inside this market is the business of payday loans. There is a debate as to whether payday loan services are predatory. Many people believe that high risk, desperate people utilize these services without fully understanding the ramifications of their actions. As such, payday loan services charge astronomical interest rates as a means to make money off of the poor. Additionally, many of these payday loan centers have “insurance” so to speak by requiring that the borrower leave a post dated check with the payday loan center. As such, there is no reliance on promises to pay back the money. The check is cashed and if a problem arises, the borrower’s credit is attacked. Even though all of this may be true, do this mean that this business is illegal or against the capitalistic ideals of American wealth? The short answer is “no.”

There is no question that this practice is legal. I am unaware of any laws that have been passed that make payday loan services an illegal business (this may change in the future). As such, payday loan service, although morally questionable to some, regulate well within the boundaries of the applicable laws. As such, a legal business is consistent with the ideals of our free market society. Additionally, because this legal business offers a product to the public of which the public does not have to utilize (in other words, the public has a choice (which in turn makes the product legal) as to which service they want to use for loan purposes), the free market ideals are upheld.

The problem that many people have is that they believe that due to the morally questionable practices of these centers, that these businesses offer nothing to society. This is simply not true. These business pay taxes and provide a service to people that may actually need it. Although the interest rates are high, people have a choice. It is that simple. Additionally, making money off of less advantaged people is not a novel idea in American business culture. You are kidding yourself if you believe that this business is the first to arguably take advantage of poor people. That is part of the free market system. There is no rule that businesses can sell products only to people that have the financial means to purchase them. If this were the case, the entire capitalistic structure of America would crumble.

I know that it is a harsh reality, but businesses depend on more than the just the financially secure. Until there are laws that better regulate (according to society’s opinion) or outlaw the practices of payday loan centers, their practices are no different than any other business that markets its products to the less than financial stable sector of the public. This is the result of a free market. And although this may be morally irreprehensible to you, as long as a market exists where borrowers are willing to pay the fees and interest rates charged by these payday loan centers, there will always be a place for such a business in a free market.