Financial fantasy peddlers hawking their wares ramp up their appeals during tough economic times. Promises of quick-and-easy cash flow, painless credit repair, and effortless wealth building have already begun to increase in numbers.

Buyer beware!

A willingness to buy into the fantasy and denial of financial realities lie at the heart of our current economic crises. No-money-down mortgages, interest-only loans, and esoteric financial products coupled with consumer over-spending and over-debting fueled by the desire to live a fantasy-based dream weakened the financial system’s foundation and has brought it to the brink of collapse.

Now the vultures hover overhead waiting to pick at the bones of financial carcasses. People desperate for relief from their financial troubles gravitate towards offers for financial peace.

Buyer beware!

Careful evaluation and deliberation rather than making impulsive decisions can serve you well. The Internet offers many opportunities for you to think before you buy if you are willing to delay your need for instant gratification.

Follow this simple method to safety:

• When considering a purchase, do a search for the name of the product or the person offering the product followed by the word “review.” Check out what others have said before making your decision. If you use Twitter, ask for feedback from your followers.
• Wait 24 to 48 hours before clicking the BUY button or making the phone call. A good sales pitch will appeal to your emotions and encourage you to “Act Now!” or risk losing some benefit. Ignore the push and wait.
• If you tend to spend impulsively, call a friend and share what you are planning on buying. Get some feedback. Never buy anything when you have that I-have-to-have-this-right-now feeling.
• Make sure that whatever you are considering online offers no-risk guarantee and if the product does not live up to your expectations, ask for a refund.

Humans have amazing creative powers. Look at what has recently been created in the financial world. An elite group of colluding individuals with a similar goal–to make as much money as possible–have managed to fashion a worldwide economic crisis.

The crisis wasn’t the work of some supernatural force or power. Humans did it.

Now is the time for “ordinary” folks like you and me to form our own cartel that allows us to prosper while respecting the rights of others as we work towards a goal for the common good. We have the same creative powers within us as the greedy wall-streeters, but we can decide to work together so that all can prosper.

How to do this? First, think globally, act locally. Band together with others in your community to form co-ops, develop community gardens, offer support to small businesses, and build outreach programs. You don’t need money to do this, just human energy.

Reach out to others across the world to form support groups, partnerships, and joint ventures. When you connect to others your individual power is magnified. Recently, on one of the weekly teleclasses for the Build Your Money Muscles program, participants inspired each other to action by sharing information and encouragement. Feeling connected stimulates positive action for change.

Spend quiet time with yourself so you can connect to your own inner direction and move beyond the fear that seems to be in the air right now. Deep within you lies strength and power that you can use to create a better life for yourself and those around you. 

Arm yourself with knowledge so you can make informed choices. Spend time each day learning about the world of finance and developing practical financial skills so you can make wise financial decisions and not be swayed by advertising messages or slick sales presentations.

On last Friday’s BlogTalkRadio show (10/25), Personal Power expert Jim Bouchard talked with me about how you can develop the skills you need to develop the ability to act effectively in all situations and how this can affect your prosperity. You can listen online or download. The program is now available as an I-Tunes Podcast–just search for Joan Sotkin in I-Tunes.

On the show, Jim and I also coached one of the participants in the Build Your Money Muscles for Financial Strength & Security program about working through shame and overcoming resistance. I hope you’ll listen and learn from Jim’s wisdom. www.BlogTalkRadio.com/JoanSotkin

On my BlogTalkRadio.com show, I just interviewed personal Power expert Jim Bouchard. He defines personal power as the ability or capacity  to act and perform effectively. We examined this and tied it into the current economic situation. Jim is a terrific guest and it was a lively discussion.

Jim also helped me coach a woman who was very aware that shame was limiting her progress. I’m sure a lot of listeners can relate to her.

You can listen to this episode using the application to the left or go to http://blogtalkradio.com/JoanSotkin

The storm continues to batter the world financial systems, causing havoc for many. But you, as an individual, have significant control over your own destiny, even in these tough times.

First of all, you have choices. You can choose to wait until you get clobbered or take steps to behave differently. Instead of spending freely, this is the time to be frugal and actually save something, putting off the “I want” purchases until you have a better idea what’s happening in your life. Cash is king.

You can also choose to maintain a positive frame of mind. The situation that exists is not good or bad, it just is. The situation is neutral. You bring to the situation the emotions that determine whether it is good or bad for you.

We live in a dualistic world and for every up there’s a down, for every positive there’s a negative. Within each situation you can find light and dark. You can choose what you want to see. And those who can find the good, the light, and the positive can grow and flourish. Those who focus on the dark, the bad, and the negative will suffer in discomfort.

Facing the reality of what is going on allows you to examine alternatives and develop a plan of action. If you hide your head in the sand and give in to paralysis, you can’t adjust to these changing times.

We are going through a major paradigm shift and this level of change is always uncomfortable for those going through it. If you can look towards a positive future, pay attention to what’s happening for you in the moment, and do whatever you can to deal with the stress, you will survive and can potentially be one of the people who actually benefit, in the long run, from what is going on.

Don’t hide. Reach out to others and be authentic about what is going on for you. Invite a group of people to come together to discuss how they are dealing with the situation and to find solutions. There is strength in numbers. You can find power in community.

On Friday’s BlogTalkRadio.com program at noon EST, I’ll be interviewing Jim Bouchard, author of the Dynamic Components of Personal Power. Our topic: The Relationship between Personal Power and Prosperity. I hope you’ll call in or listen to the recording. http://BlogTalkRadio.com/JoanSotkin

From the movement of the DOW and the slight loosening of the credit markets, it feels as if the worst of the fear is over. Although there may be downward movement from time to time, it would appear that we won’t experience anything as bad as we did two weeks ago.

Assuming all goes well on election day in the US, the end of the long election journey should also add some stability as uncertainty is replaced with visible activity on the part of whomever is elected.

Obama is surrounding himself with high-level advisers including Warren Buffet, Paul Volker, and a number of Clinton-era finance people. It has been said that Obama is highly interested in the economic question and goes deeply into issues.

Although there were major screw-ups by those who should know better, they appear to be highly motivated to get the economic train back on track. It’s probably going to be a bit of a long haul, especially in a world that craves instant-gratification, but apparently, we have avoided a disaster.

We’ve all watched the movie: A terrible storm batters a ship at sea. Wind blows and waves build as the audience holds their breath waiting to see if those on board live or die. Sometimes there’s a happy ending as the storm subsides, the rough waters calm, and the ship and it’s passengers survive. Other scenarios end in tragedy.

Right now, the planet is the midst of a gigantic financial storm, and we are collectively holding our breath while the waves toss us about and we wait for the storm to end. Storms always do end, but we can’t assess the damage until it is over.

This is a really big storm, and like hurricanes Katrina and Ike will leave a lot of destruction in its path. We can’t avoid the fact that we will have to deal with the destruction and go through a period of rebuilding. It’s not going to be quick and for many it’s not going to be easy.

How well you ride out the storm depends, in part, on your coping skills as the world around you morphs into something new. You can choose to watch the movie–or not–and either stay detached or get caught up in the terror of the rough ride. 

For many years, I have been learning how to detach and watch the drama. It takes a lot of practice and a determination not to get caught up in the emotions of the moment while being able to empathize with those who do.  

I’d like to teach how to do this to anyone who wants to learn to thrive and prosper no matter what is going on. In the first month, in a portion of my new 6-month program, Build Your Money Muscles for Financial Strength & Security, I present techniques for overcoming financial fear.

And the teleclasses that are part of the program provide the opportunity for people to connect to each other and share solutions.

I’m also going to offer free coaching via a new show on BlogTalkRadio.com, which will take place on Fridays at noon Eastern, 9 Pacific, 7 pm GMT.

I hope you will check out the risk-free program today and listen to the show on BlogTalkRadio.com starting on Friday, October 17.

There was an interview on NPR  with a columnist from The Financial Times who pointed out that during past recessions, most people have held on to their jobs, their homes, and their income. His advice for now, be cautious but don’t panic.

I’ve spoken to a number of people in the last few weeks whose lives have mostly been affected by rising prices and/or dropping value of their investments. For many, this is combined with a general feeling of alienation from the niceties of life and the uncertainty generated by the presidential campaign. It’s difficult to feel grounded and focused.

Generally we’re in a wait and see mode, as we wait to get a glimpse of how the financial chaos is going to shake out. This is a time of caution. It’s not a good time to take great risks in either your business or personal life. Rather, it’s better to carefully consider any purchases or major moves, and if possible, wait. Unless you are faced with an emergency, wait.

It’s also a good time to plan for your future–to ask yourself what you really  what you really want to do with the next segment of your life, and spend time doing the research you need if you want to move in a new direction.

It’s also a great time to start improving your financial literacy and understanding of the financial world so when things do turn around, you’ll be ready. I know people who are poised now to buy things at bargain prices with the knowledge that they will benefit in the future.

Because times are leaner, staying in close touch with your money is a wise move. Now is the time, if you haven’t done it before, to start keeping track of your spending and earning and getting to recognize your own patterns. This is the time to cure your financial vagueness syndrome.

For a basic plan for doing these things, read my book Build Your Money Muscles. For a more advanced “course” in developing practical financial skills and overcoming issues like a not-enough or just-enough financial habit, read about Build Your Money Muscles for Financial Strength & Security.

For anyone who is paying attention, the crisis in the financial markets feels like a dizzying ride. Up and down (mostly down), with no clear end in site. And we keep hearing the words “Worst since the Great Depression.”

Other messages can be downright confusing. Monday, just as the stock market closed down 777 points, I heard a number of financial commentators say things like, “What we need is less regulation and cutting corporate taxes,” which is what the house Republicans want and why they blocked the bailout bill.

This tactic is part of the “trickle down” theory that states that the market will regulate itself and more freedom on the top will trickle down in the form of profits to the bottom… We see how well that has worked.

What’s the average person to do? Hopefully, if you have investments in the stock market, you also have someone who knows more than you do who you can talk to and get advice. From my point of view, things started getting a bit dicey six months ago and that seemed like a good time to get out of the market.

For those of you who function at a just-enough level, you are probably in ok shape, assuming you haven’t used a lot of credit. Just enough means you’ve had enough to cover your bills and financial obligations. You are the ones who can take a big sigh of relief–no debt, enough to pay your bills. This is not the time to take any chances.

If you function at a less-than-enough level, you’ve probably been borrowing over an extended period of time and may have paid some of your cards late or are maxed out on your cards. This will have compromised your FICO score, so you better stop using credit right now and do whatever you need to do to pay down some of your debt. The good news for you is that you may be forced to get your finances in order so you don’t have to go through this again.

If you are worried about the price of basics, losing your job, or any of the other potential fall out effects of this crisis, worrying isn’t gong to help. It never does. Take a deep breath and spend more time than usual meditating and tuning in to the part of you that sees a bigger picture and can lead you to solutions that will work for you.

Since you haven’t got any control over what going on around you, take control of your home environment. Create order out of chaos, if that’s what you have. Review your financial habits and decide what you are going to do differently.

This is a great time to analyse your past behaviors and decide what’s not serving you and what you want to change.

Here are some resources that can be helpful
Basic Meditation Instructions
Economist Paul Krugman’s column
Some levity at JibJab.com
And a bit more at The Daily Show

According to Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vermont) who was interviewed on the Thom Hartman Radio Show on Air America (9/26), during the Bush administration 400 of the richest Americans increased this wealth by a total of $670 Billion. That’s an astounding concentration of wealth.

The news is not all good for the uber-rich because the value of their assets are decreasing during the current economic crisis. But their lifestyles probably won’t be affected.

The people most affected by the market downturn are apparently those who are retired or nearing retirement who depend on their market holdings as a base for their reitrement income. Some have to go back to work, others who don’t have that option, are scared and struggling.

There’s no way of knowing if the rescue package is going to stabalize the market or not. Clearly traders are jittery. And because the financial crisis is global, no one can predict the eventual outcome.

I heard a quote yesterday (don’t know who said it)–Everything is going to be ok in the end, and if it’s not ok then it’s not the end.  We’ve got a long way to go until the end.

In the meantime, we can’t wait for someone to save us. It’s up to us to educate ourselves about the financial world and develop stellar financial management skills. Doing this can help us straighten out our own finances and make rational financial decisions for ourselves.

If, Instead of giving into the fear you take action, you can find your own way out of your fianncial mess, if you have one. Count your money, don’t use credit, create a rational spending plan, cut back on non-essentials, work with othes to find local solutions.

Personally, I think that it is important, at this time, to get beyond the fear and spend time being still so you can let your intuition be your guide. Times are tough for many, and we all have the opportunity to come out of this stronger, wiser, and much better at managing our finances.

It’s also crucial that you understand the economic policies of the presidential candidates. Find out who their economic advisors are and what they believe are the solutions. It’s the advisors who will affect the judgement of the person who is going to be in charge. Paul Krugman has an excellent column on this topic.

In 1975, when I was doing a lot of intense healing and meditation, I had a strong vision–actually, it was something I “heard.” The gist of it was that we were headed towards a period of great chaos on the planet, that many people would leave, and that the violence in the middle east would get so bad that people would ask, “How can a benevolent God allow this to happen.”

The second part of the message was that people were being trained to act as points of peace in the midst of the chaos in order to help those who would become befuddled and scared.

I’m fully aware that messages received in this manner are not infallible–our humanness can get in the way.  Even so, I have spent the last 30 years or so learning how to detach and watch the drama while holding on to a faith that whatever is happening is ok. It’s not good or bad, it’s only what is.

It looks to me like we have moved from the outer edges of the chaos and are now moving towards the eye of the storm. Because of the speed (or lack of it) with which universal events take place, this could take years.

From my point of view, it looks as if a viable strategy is to find a place of peace within ourselves in order to cope with the chaos and uncertainty. Easier said than done, I know, but well within the range of possibility.

It looks to me as if we have two choices. We can either get caught up in the fear and chaos, or not. Each of us can choose which direction in which we wish to move and we can take action to go there. 

Lots of people have already chosen the path of peace and we can surround ourselves with those who eschew judgement, hate, and violence and embrace acceptance, love, and peace. For me, that’s what prosperity is all about.