It is very easy for any of us to latch on to the news we want to hear. If you are long the stock market you love to hear news that corporate profits might rise. If you are in construction, news of possible increases in building permits brings a good feeling. There’s nothing wrong with rejoicing over good news. The problem is when we tend to tune out news that is not so appealing.

I do not believe the near-term economic future is one that is uniformly rosy. I do believe political forces desire to massage statistics and reports to further political agendas. Good sets of economic data are not easy to come by making accurate forecasting difficult. This is nothing new. This is also one reason why forecasts are all over the place.

But this is not a blog set up to focus on the negative. It is a site, the purpose of which, is to enable participants to succeed financially regardless of what happens economically. And it is my position that one of the best things an individual or family can do is build extra streams of income and learn how to slam the breaks on unnecessary spending. Call it a form of “financial insurance” if you like. If the good news is correct, you’ll have extra cash for a really fun vacation. If the news is really awful, you’ll have extra cash to keep food on the table and your family secure. What’s wrong with that plan? Nothing, other than it does take some time and work.

Let’s get busy.