uTANGO for your Future!

January 10, 2008 – I don’t know about you, but I have found some very interesting articles recently that all seem to tie back to various elements of the uTANGO program.  For example:

• Time Magazine’s January 14, 2008 article entitled The Boomers Hit 62 written by Justin Fox highlights many of the issues raised in this Blog over the past year, as well as by many other economists who recognize we have a major financial crisis on our hands in the U.S., namely grossly under funded entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid that will force a significant increase in taxes, reduction in benefits and most likely inflation.  Mr. Fox states “something will have to give” and we agree!

• USA Today’s December 4, 2007 article entitled Marriage: Eco-Friendlier than Divorce? Written by Sharon Jayson makes a very interesting observation for how a successful marriage can help save our planet.  It's based on a study compiled by ecologist Jianguo “Jack” Liu, a Michigan State University professor of fisheries and wildlife who researched international data on utility consumption and housing space per capita in married and divorced households.  Bottom line…he found that divorce creates more households with fewer people, using more energy and water and taking up more space.  So, the message is...a successful marriage will help save the planet, and if you’re a uTANGO member you can also earn a Million Bucks too!

• The Seattle Times Pacific Northwest Sunday Magazine’s January 6, 2008 article entitled The Measure of our Worth written by William Dietrich identifies a number of interesting trends/data points.
  - “An estimated 40 percent of Americans don’t have one months salary in savings.”
  - “One reason is that too many of us are better at consuming than saving:  we spend too much to ever get rich.”
  - “It’s expensive to be an American. Mom’s at work but pays for day care.  Health costs are being passed along.  Tuition is crushing.”

We have a saying here at uTANGO that “Life’s expensive, get paid to live it!”  This article not only reinforces the fact that it costs a lot to be an American, but also points out that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer at an ever increasing rate, largely because we shop to live and live to shop.  I doubt that is going to change, so we believe you should "shop smart" and make your shopping pay off by actively participating in the uTANGO LifeStage Rewards program.

uTANGO is designed so that our members can leverage the high cost of living and their propensity to shop towards building an extraordinary cash reward in excess of $1 Million. 

One very interesting point made in this article is:

“The National Bureau of Economic Research here in the U.S. put the value of a lasting marriage at $100,000 a year ($3 million over 30 years), and a divorce as the equivalent of an income depletion of $66,000 a year.”

If that's the case uTANGO increases that amount by over $1 Million to $4 Million!”

Seriously, what have you got to lose?  In my humble opinion, if you’re not already a uTANGO member you should be and if you are then Refer-a-Friend.  I’m sure they’ll thank you and you will receive a $1,000 Referral Bonus too!

September 20, 2007 - As we prepare to launch the uTANGO Weddings section I began to contemplate the challenges young couples face as they begin their lives together.  It's hard enough to pay your bills, let alone think about what your needs will be 30 years from now. 

I hate to be the voice of doom and gloom, and I assure you it’s not just me…almost every economist out there has read the writing on the wall and it spells economic pain and suffering for Americans. For the past 15-17 years we have been enjoying a "Golden Age" where every indicator of economic health that should be up has been up: employment, income growth, stock market profitability. And every indicator that should be down has been down: inflation, interest rates, and unemployment.

Unfortunately, this is all changing and the "Credit Crunch" resulting from the housing bubble is just the tip of the tip of the Iceberg. The dollar is no longer soaring but slumping, as the world engine for growth moves from the United States to the East. Central banks in Europe, China and Japan are responding with rate hikes. As a result stronger growth around with world (e.g. India & China) will portend even higher interest rates.

• Prices will rise.
• The dollar will fall. – In fact, the dollar has plunged to roughly 4 percent just in the past few months and on a trade-related basis is now down some 30 percent from its 2002 peak.
• There is no prospect of these global inflationary pressures easing.

To compound matters our ballooning trade deficit is a function of these global forces. The "Golden Age" has therefore resulted in an immense rise in foreign ownership of all American securities. Foreigners own more than half the federal debt, about a third of corporate bonds, and 13 percent of the U.S. stock market. This represents an accumulating claim on the future output of the United States and foretells an increasing flow of dividends and interest payments abroad. Simply speaking…we will have less money to deal with issues here at home because we have to service the debt to our foreign creditors.

It doesn’t help that Americans save so little. Personal saving rates over the past 15 years have gone from 7 ½ percent to Zero. The average American with an income of about $40,000 saves virtually nothing, while the average Chinese, earning somewhat above $2,000 a year puts away about 20 percent of his income.

In short, we are no longer as dominant in the world’s economy as we once were. Everybody’s lives will be affected by this. That includes both national and individual growth, as well as inflation and interest rates. We are now looking at a period of rising inflation driven in good part by economic success around the world, costly foreign wars, reduced tax revenue and the demands of grossly under funded government entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid.

Question: So, how do YOU, as a single person, engaged couple or newlywed prepare for YOUR financial future?

Answer:uTANGO!

May 23, 2007 - If you’re like a majority of Americans, you probably dream of getting rich by plunking down a few dollars a week on lottery tickets.  In fact, many Americans invest hundreds of dollars a year in chance to win big, regardless of the poor odds.  So many people want a chance to win millions that approximately fifty to sixty percent of Americans play the lottery.  

But what exactly are the chances of picking the right numbers?  Well, some equate the chance of winning the lottery with the chance of being struck by lightening.  Whether that’s true or not, the chances aren’t good by any means, and certainly not worth what most people invest.

According to a demographic study of Texas Lottery players released in January 2005 by the Texas Lottery Commission, people in that state spend between thirty to ninety dollars a month on lottery tickets.  That’s between $360 and $1,080 a year, or between $12,600 and $37,800 throughout a thirty-five year career!  Unfortunately, playing the lottery is a Tax on the uneducated.

How Can Your Lottery Ticket Money Earn You More?  

• First face the fact that you’re most likely not going to win the big lottery prize; no matter how much you spend on lottery tickets or how often you play.  
• Second Join uTANGO for Free and use your Lottery Ticket Money along with other daily spending you do to live and you could earn up to $1.8 Million for being a long-term loyal customer. The key is to stick with the program once you start. 

Can You Become A Millionaire?  Yes you can.  If you join uTANGO, select the $1 Million Rewards Plan, consistently direct a portion of your spending through uTANGO.com, accrue enough Points, remain qualified and in good standing you can receive $10,000 at year 10 and $100,000 at year 20 and $1 Million at year 30.  In total you could receive $1,110,000 over a 30 year period and if you totally maximize the program you could receive up to $1.8 Million. 

It’s easy, uTANGO and we pay.

May 16, 2007 - Social Security is Dead. So, what's next? The U.S. Government doesn't seem to have a plan and near as I can tell won't have one for quite some time. Social Security’s deficit for workers and beneficiaries already in the system grew $2.5 trillion over two years. This is because each generation gets benefits greater than the last, so the program automatically gets more out of balance every year.

We’ve got major problems ahead of us and it will require innovative thinking by private enterprise and government to fix them. Federal, state and local governments have added nearly $10 trillion to taxpayer liabilities in the past couple of years, bringing the total of government’s under funded obligations to an unprecedented $66 trillion ($66,000,000,000,000)!

This figure is six times our country’s annual gross domestic product (GDP). Put another way it is a Category-5 generational storm heading right our way. As a result, American Taxpayers now owe more than a half-million dollars per household for financial promises made by our government, mostly to cover the cost of retirement benefits for baby boomers. That is the equivalent of $510,678 credit card debt for every American household. uTANGO is merely one example of how innovative thinking and private enterprise can help solve this problem.

A majority of the world has finally realized we need to make alternative energy a priority in order to save our planet. Well, we also need to make it a priority to help U.S. Citizens find alternative ways (like leveraging the money they spend to live) to help them prepare for their financial future. Because if we don’t the global financial markets will eventually wake up and the financial gurus in New York, London, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing and Zurich will realize the United States is not immune from going broke and the day of reckoning will come where Bond traders, individual investors and foreign central banks will dump their treasury bills. Interest rates will soar to 20%, imagine what that would mean to our country’s ability to grow and generate tax revenue. It happened in the 70’s when the government had to print extra money to pay our debts for the Vietnam War and in return drove inflation to double digits.

I’m not making this stuff up; there are dozens of books written on this subject. Have you read Boomsday or The Coming Generational Storm? In Boomsday the author pokes fun at the dismal state of the Social Security problem in our county and proposes that any Boomer who "Voluntarily Transitions" (a.k.a. kills themselves) at age 65 thus relieving younger generations of the burden to pay for their retirement will have the Estate Tax repealed and 100% their assets will pass along to their children. Pretty drastic solution, but drastic times call for drastic measures. The Coming Generational Storm pulls no punches about the extreme financial danger we face if these programs are not addressed. Both are worth a read.

Time for a "reality check" – we must think differently about how we prepare for our financial future. Let's face it, if you're under 40 years old you’re basically screwed, as in you will not receive Social Security benefits like your grand parents and parents did. As a result it has become a "free agent nation" when it comes to preparing for ones financial future, but as we all know it is not easy to save extra money for our future when ALL of our money is going to support our cost of living. The answer…make the money you spend to live work for your long-term benefit by leveraging it through uTANGO and our 300 merchant partners. You're going to spend the money anyway, might as well get properly rewarded for it, right?

I'm proud to say uTANGO takes a highly innovative approach to helping our Members earn up to $1 Million towards retirement. We have created a revolutionary LifeStage Rewards program that allows future generations to leverage their spending to provide LifeStage cash rewards of up to $250,000, $500,000 or $1 Million. Think about it, instead of having to take extra money out of your pocket each month to invest you simply take the money you’re already spending (approximately 70% of your take home pay) and direct a portion of it through uTANGO merchants. Provided you stay loyal, stay on plan and stay married you qualify for an extraordinary cash payout up to $10,000 at 10 years, $100,000 at 20 years and $1 Million at 30 years. This is essentially Free Money! You can use it to pay down debts, subsidize college expenses and mitigate retirement costs, etc...

Don't get me wrong, we hope Social Security gets fixed and we want all of our Members to be responsible investors and we'll provide resources and expert advice through our e-Magazine LifeMatters to help our Members put together a sound financial plan. However, in the event that Social Security doesn't get fixed and you can't afford to take an extra $200.00 out of your paycheck each month to invest in your 401k or IRA at least you'll be "TANGOing for your Future" by putting the money you spend to live to work for your future.

It's simple; Life's Expensive. Get Paid to Live it!^TM

January 25, 2007 - I recently read an article in USA Today (Tuesday, January 23, 2007) that talked about how seniors are becoming the face of the indebted and that seniors 65 and older represent the fastest-growing group seeking bankruptcy protection. This is crazy! I thought the idea was you work hard, raise a family, invest wisely and retire to enjoy your golden years. Not anymore.

As the first of the 77 million Baby Boomers begin to retire there debt problems are likely to swell too, that's because many are having their cycle of expenses later in life because they postponed marriage and children and are thus resolving expenses later.

The saddest thing I read was that some seniors will pay off their bills at the expense of their health and well-being suggesting that they often have to choose between do I pay my bills, buy my medication or buy food? Social Security just isn't enough to cover the mortgage, utilities, food and medical costs.

Soaring healthcare costs are hitting seniors along with cutbacks in employer sponsored medical and pension benefits. There's got to be a better way, right?

Unfortuately, it's not that easy, our society encourages us to "keep up with the Jones's" at the expense of preparing and investing for our future. We just have to have that new 1080i Plasma TV, etc... Well if you have to have it at least buy your new Plasma TV through uTANGO.com and leverage your spending to "keep up with the Jones's" towards a future cash reward up to $1 Million for retirement.

This way you won't have to sell it when you retire to buy your medication because you will have "TANGOed for your Future" and hopefully received $250,000, $500,000 or $1 Million in LifeStage Cash Rewards to help prepare you for retirement.

Bottom line...uTANGO, we pay. Pretty simple.

Thank you for choosing to visit uTANGO.com.

November 14, 2006 - It is with great humility and optimism that I write this note regarding the launch of uTANGO. I believe the quality of the advisors, investors, employees and merchants uTANGO has been able to attract is a major testament to uTANGO’s potential to deliver extraordinary value to our members and merchants. We have been very fortunate.

Shortly after I got married six years ago, I conceived the idea for uTANGO. As a newlywed and new father, I quickly came to realize the toughest job we will “really” ever have is being a good spouse and good parent. Yet that achievement is rarely recognized as a success in our society. I was also frustrated with the fact that I had been a good, long-term loyal customer to many merchants yet I never felt my loyalty was ever properly rewarded.

I wanted to find a way to provide extraordinary cash rewards of up to $1 Million for being a long-term, loyal customer. And I also wanted to recognize the hard-work couples put into making their marriage work. When the two ideas came together, uTANGO was born.

I understand that you may be thinking that “uTANGO is too good to be true,” and that there must be a “catch.” The “catch” is that Members are required to shop through uTANGO merchants and remain married. By doing so, Members will be able to leverage their everyday purchases towards their future.

The uTANGO LifeStage Rewards Program provides a sophisticated and structured way for Members to “TANGO for their future” and earn extraordinary cash rewards at 10, 20 and 30 years of marriage. Granted not everyone will make it all the way through the program, but those Members that do will have demonstrated extraordinary loyalty, achieved great personal success and will be properly rewarded for it!

I believe uTANGO is off to a great start; we promise to do everything we can to earn your trust, to invest the uTANGO Rewards Fund responsibly, to make sure we have the best merchants, the best experts and the best people to run the uTANGO program. In return, we hope you will decide to join uTANGO and “TANGO for your future!”

With great respect,

Jim Miller

Founder & CEO

Do uTANGO?™