About Renee

Hello Everyone,

My name is Renee Olson. I have three boys, 2 little ones at home with me and one that is off on his own.  I was born and raised in the city of Chicago, IL. USA

I’m old enough to know what it was like to get our first microwave. Our television still required us to get up and change the channel. My phone was attached to the wall in the kitchen and privacy was achieved by going out the kitchen door to the gangway. FYI, a gangway is the space between two homes.

I’m also old enough to remember, when I was a kid, most families had a parent at home. Going out to eat or to the movies was a special occasion. Kids were allowed to play outside without having a parent within 20 feet of them. And organized sports were certainly not the norm. Kids just played on any corner or lawn that was available. The first computer I brought home with me was a Kaypro. It was a giant box that showed orange letters on the screen. My first Internet experience was with dial up prodigy. Did I mention my first cell phone came in a portable box about the size of a shoe box. Imagine the technology changes I have seen.

I am old enough to have lived through the evolution of the first at home internet service all the way to  Web 2.0, today. My how things have changed. Times have changed. The ECONOMY has changed. People are broke and afraid and unemployed and worst of all… There aren’t any jobs out there.

You’d be surprised to know that my husband, Jeff and I are pretty similar to most of you. We didn’t escape the brutal attack of the economic downturn. As a matter of fact, we even lost a store. Pretty tough to sell high end furniture and interior design when many are losing their homes.

So what do you do? Change! Change the way you live. Change the way you plan. Change the way you buy. Most importantly, change the way you think. Things are going to get worse. People are accustom to needing a TV in every room. Just wait… Soon you might be hearing your kids say, “I’m going to Tommy’s house, they have satellite TV.”  Seriously, maybe you’re not going to be in a desperate position, but we will all feel the heat of this one. I’ve been waiting for the fallout since November of 1998.

My former profession was that of a mortgage loan officer. You better believe I worked in a time period when the word ”denied,” was incomprehensible. I don’t think there was a loan officer out there that really knew what denied meant. Getting loans through underwriting was a piece of cake. I’m not even going to go into some of the most ridiculous loans that were approved, but what I will tell you is why I left the business.

I left the mortgage business because there didn’t seem to be an ounce integrity left. Lenders came up with the most unheard of loans. How about  that 125% loan. I always cringed when someone would ask about a loan like that. It would just make me sick to my stomach. Lenders had no business dangling money around like that. They are a direct contributor to our economic problem, today.

Lenders intentionally convinced the public that it was OK to borrow more than their house was worth. Lenders would make loans to people that were just about ready to lose their homes to foreclosure, by giving them enough money to pay off their outstanding debt and refinance the current mortgage. Sounds good doesn’t? NOT! The loan officers, as well as the lenders, would charge exorbitant fees to do the loan and charge extremely high interest rates which would usually adjust higher or balloon for the full payoff in a short period time. Thus leaving the family in worse shape than before.  They still lost their home along with any equity they might have been able to get out.

I quit the mortgage business. How could anyone not see the writing on the wall. This is not an insult to my fellow loan officers who had families to take care of, but I do question your common sense. Unless of course you wrote your own loan under the same program you would for your customer. Then you screwed yourself too!

I started this blog for many reasons.

1. I have a family that needs to be protected from the hostile economic future.
2. My only source of income is from our remaining commercial programming business.
3. In 2001, we saw our retirement savings get cut in half, so we decided to invest in real estate. The thought was it’s [real estate] not as volatile as the markets. Well you all know how well that thought worked out for us. We own two homes and have a mortgage on both. Oh yea… neither of them is worth the amount we paid for them. And the retirement accounts that finally recovered… well in 2008 got cut in half again!
4. My sister moved to Kansas, very far away, because she lost her home and couldn’t make it here.
5. My brother is laid off.
6. Another of my sisters, is dodging the collector. Knowing that unemployment is around the corner.
7. Friends and family are out of work and soon won’t have a place to live.
8. I am a PRO ACTIVE person.
9. This blog can be copied by anyone who needs to help their family. This is my contribution to try and make your life a little easier.
10. I want this blog to be a place of hope and production. Take what you need to HELP YOURSELF.

I promise to provide you with REAL information. Practical information. Information you can copy to make some money on the Internet. You’re not going to find millions of dollars in my presentation, but you will find enough money making ways that will allow you to keep what you have. This blog will help you find a way to get through the financial and emotional trauma that’s right around the corner. Perhaps, you’re looking at it (financial disaster)dead in the eye, Right Now!

I can help you!

This blog tells all.

No hype.

Just truth and hope. Take action before it’s too late.

Looking towards brighter days,

Renee