That’s right. Because worrying is pointless.

I talked about this very thing in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina last month. I was speaking to a whole camp of Middle School and High School students and the main message was “DON’T WORRY!”

I thought it was so important because that’s what Jesus said to do. Jesus said in Matthew 6:25-34:
25″Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]?”

Jesus isn’t telling us not to be thrifty or to plan ahead, but he is saying that this stuff should not cause us to worry!
And tomorrow I will post the rest of what Jesus teaches in this passage.

It is so important because we all worry and we all worry daily. But worry is something that we do not need to have in our lives!
So, if you are interested, read tomorrow’s post to find out why!

Real Estate market. Mortgage. Charlotte Real Estate. Charlotte NC. Charlotte North Carolina. Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate. Charlotte NC Real Estate. Charlotte North Carolina economy. North Carolina. Charlotte economy. Charlotte North Carolina market. Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate market.

This is an ongoing article series about how the economy here in America is affecting YOU right here in Charlotte North Carolina. We all know about how the Charlotte real estate market shifted and how it has affected many in our area. But we will also be exploring how the overall change in the economy is changing YOU! Maybe for good and maybe for bad, but I propose that the changes in the economy are changing many of us for the better! (This series was inspired by a nationwide poll taken by Money magazine.)

Yesterday I mentioned that a Rice University professor said we are in the middle of a pendulum swing. But what does this pendulum swing look like?

First of all, we have a totally new attitude about how to manage our money!
*9 out of 10 Americans say they have changed the way they manage their money as a result of the economic crisis!
7 out of 10 said their priorities are shifting as well.
94% of Americans say the economy will have a lasting impact on the way they handle their money!

WOW! This is major stuff that is shifting the way all of us live. I think they are ultimately good shifts. Anything that causes us to look at the big picture and see that money is not the ultimate priority can be a good thing.

Real Estate market. Mortgage. Charlotte Real Estate. Charlotte NC. Charlotte North Carolina. Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate. Charlotte NC Real Estate. Charlotte North Carolina economy. North Carolina. Charlotte economy. Charlotte North Carolina market. Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate market.

Happy Mother’s from here in Charlotte North Carolina! If you are a Mom, we hope it has been a wonderful Mother’s Day for you!

There are many many young mothers throughout our awesome city of Charlotte North Carolina. There are also many mothers who are older with children who are mothers themselves. Charlotte is such a diverse city.

All week I have been noticing that many of our favorite restaurants which are usually only open for dinner were all opening early for Mother’s day today. Many opened at 11am for an early lunch and stayed open all day. That is smart and I bet they made a ton of extra money today.

We saw that Outback Steakhouse (one of our favorites) was advertising all over the place that they were opening early on Mother’s Day. The same owners own Carrabba’s Italian Restaurants and they were also opening at 11am today.

We took dinner to my mother. My dad made a smoked turkey and we took sides and a dessert and had a really fun time with my mom. Then we took her out for ice cream right in Mint Hill North Carolina.

What did you do today with your Mom for Mother’s Day. Do any of you live in the Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate area? Did you do anything fun in the city that we should know about?

Mother’s Day Dinner. Outback Steakhouse. Carrabba’s Italian Grill. Real Estate market. Mortgage. Charlotte Real Estate. Charlotte NC. Charlotte North Carolina. Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate. Charlotte NC Real Estate. Mother’s Day.

I have posted an inspiring letter from Michael Jordan to the city of Charlotte. You can read it over the last few posts. I think that if Jordan can follow through and the city truly embraces him and the new Bobcats, then it will change the Charlotte North Carolina real estate landscape!

I enjoyed reading the Charlotte Observer’s reflection and reaction to Jordan’s letter. Here is part of their article.

“Michael Jordan’s open letter to city of Charlotte in Sunday’s Charlotte Observer was a testament to accountability. I don’t know who wrote it, but because Jordan’s name is at the bottom, I’ll credit him.

I can tell you who didn’t write it – Bob Johnson.
Johnson, who sold the Charlotte Bobcats to Jordan, made some typically absurd comments Saturday after accepting an award from the Urban Leadership Institute. The comments were typically absurd because they revolve around a central theme. The theme is that Charlotte again failed him.

“Charlotte is a very, how would I call it, close-knit, arrogant, sometimes incestuous town,” Johnson said.

He added: “If you come to this town, and you look like you’re one of those people that might break some glass … it’s going to be tough for them to relate to.”

Johnson was tough to relate to. He expected our accolades and our dollars simply because he was here.”

I will continue posting thoughts from this article in tomorrow’s post. But for now, what do you think?

You can read more at = http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/21/401312/jordan-letter-to-charlotte-a-good.html#ixzz0maxfdUvk

Real Estate market. Mortgage. Charlotte Real Estate. Charlotte NC. Charlotte North Carolina. Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate. Charlotte NC Real Estate. Charlotte Bobcats. Michael Jordan.

(This is part of an ongoing series about how YOU, a resident of Charlotte North Carolina or any other place in the country, can become debt free and experience FINANCIAL FREEDOM using a simple plan and process known as the Total Money Makeover. You can review the previous posts to catch up on everything you have missed. There are seven simple baby steps.)

Baby Step #2 = The Debt Snowball: Lose Weight Fast, Really Fast. (continued…)

Here are some great words of wisdom from Dave Ramsey:

“To build wealth, YOU will have to regain control of your income.”

I’ll be wealthy after I’m rid of my debt.

Don’t put any money in your 401k during the debt snowball… even if it’s a match.
Focused intensity is more important!
*Now, I will be the first to admit that this was really, REALLY hard for me! And if I am being totally honest, I will have to confess that I did not follow Dave’s advice on this one point. (This is probably the only advice I have not followed from Dave Ramsey!) The match was like free money to me and I just did not want to give it up!

If your 2nd mortgage is less than ½ of your gross annual household income it becomes a part of this step #2. I included this advice because we fell into this category and it worked beautifully for us!

* “Consider refinancing your 1st & 2nd mortgages together if you can lower both interest rates. Then put the total on a 15 year mortgage.” That is probably the wises thing you could do.

Financial freedom. Real Estate market. Charlotte Real Estate. Dave Ramsey. Baby Steps. Total Money Makeover.

Another great thing about living in Charlotte North Carolina is that (like I have said many times) there are always a lot of things going on in and around the city. You never need to be bored!

There are constantly free “events” that you can go to.

For instance, this week there are two great events that I would love to attend but am not able to because of schedule conflicts!

First of all, on Monday night Shane Claiborne came to speak at Davidson College! Davidson College is just north of Charlotte North Carolina. It is only about 20 minutes from my house. Davidson College is of course famous nationwide now for its cinderella run deep into the NCAA tournament a couple years ago with Stephen Curry! Stephen Curry now plays for the Golden State Warriors, but when you think Davidson College, you still think Stephen Curry.

But Shane Claiborne spoke at Davidson on Monday night this week and the event was free and open to the public. I heard Shane speak a few years ago and would have loved to hear him again. He is the founder of “the Simple Way” which is in one of the roughest and most dangerous neighborhoods in Philadelphia.

Some people call “the Simple Way a “new monasticism”. Shane and his friends live in a house in that neighborhood and they are totally transforming it in the name of Jesus. Broken lives are being put back together by God using Shane and his friends opening up their home and giving of themselves.

Did anyone happen to hear Shane speak on Monday? Possibly more on these speakers in Charlotte in another post.

Shane Claiborne. The Simple Way. Davidson College. Charlotte North Carolina. Davidson North Carolina.

Today will be the final post about the Charlotte Bobcats for a little while. We have been discussing their success for the past few days. It is relevant to the city because they are our only pro sports team in action at the moment.

I found an interesting article recently written in light of the Bobcats recent success. It addresses some issues that are no doubt on Coach Larry Brown’s mind!
Here are some of the author’s thougths:

Three subplots to follow over the second half of the NBA season:

1. What about the road? It’s no coincidence the Bobcats rose to fifth in the Eastern Conference during a six-game home stretch. No NBA team has a wider gap between how they perform at home and on the road than do the Bobcats.

They’re hoping those back-to-back victories in Miami and Cleveland – that’s what started this hot streak – is an indication of getting their act together away from Time Warner Cable Arena.

Coach Larry Brown said the next two weeks – seven of eight on the road – is the toughest stretch of the season.

2. Chandler’s status: Center Tyson Chandler has missed 13 games with a stress reaction in his left foot, and the Bobcats are 10-3 in that span. That suggests to some he’s superfluous, but Brown disagrees.

He needs Chandler healthy to defend pick-and-rolls. In the meantime, the Bobcats are treating the injury conservatively to avoid a setback.

3. Ownership: This team is still for sale and managing partner Michael Jordan could still end up buying majority control from Bob Johnson. If not, there are others – including former Houston Rockets CEO George Postolos – who could assemble a bid to buy control.

Things could get interesting down the stretch. I just hope we can stay healthy and make a run in the playoffs!

Charlotte Bobcats. Charlotte North Carolina. Charlotte. Time Warner Cable Arena. Raymond Felton. Larry Brown. Stephen Jackson.

It really is a small world here in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here’s why.

A couple weeks ago on a Thursday night - in fact, it was the Thursday night that the Miami Dolphins came to Charlotte to face the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium for Thursday Night Football - I was at the Starbucks in uptown Charlotte.

I go there somewhat regularly to do some work. It is the Starbucks directly across from the Bank of America building and right at the center of the city = near the corner of Trade Street and Tryon Street. It is actually on Tryon Street.

I had been sitting there working for a few hours and also looking out the window at all the Panthers fans (and a few Dolphins fans) passing by the window decked out in their jerseys and hats and excited about the game.
I also had headphones in so most of the noise around me was blocked out. But I still noticed someone standing right next to my chair and then it was obvious they were saying something to me.

I took my headphones out and looked over… and it was one of my old friends from college! And I went to college way down in Florida. A long way from here in Charlotte.

This friend was a senior when I was a freshman, but we played soccer together that year we were there toghether and then I haven’t seen him in I guess about 7-8 years. (He looks just the same though.) The last I knew he was living in Washington, D.C.

It turns out he and his wife are living in an apartment just around the corner from Trade and Tryon while trying to sell their house in Mint Hill. And he works at Bank of America just across the street from where I was.

What a small world. You never know who you might meet in the Starbucks there in uptown Charlotte!

Uptown. Downtown Charlotte. Charlotte North Carolina. Starbucks. Bank of America. Carolina Panthers.

(This post is part of an ongoing series that many of you will find interesting discussing building custom homes in our wonderful city of Charlotte North Carolina.)

We have been writing about securing financing which is a very important step in the process, but in the next few posts we will be talking about signing the contract! That is a very exciting time! It is so exciting because after the sales contract is signed, it is time to begin construction on your brand new custom built home here in Charlotte North Carolina!

All building contractors have their own versions of the custom home building contract and you must read and understand all the obligations of the contract BEFORE you sign it. Clear, thorough communication is never more important than when signing a contract.

In respect to contract preparation, it is important for agents to advise clients well while remaining mindful of their prohibition from the unauthorized practice of the law, which includes the drafting of contracts.

While, agents will help guide you through the custom home building process, it is important that you are fully aware (as your agent will instruct you) that you should consult an atorney in regard to preparation or review of a custom home building contract. Your agent should advise you to seek the advice of an attorney if any special language needs to be included in the contract.

Tomorrow I will continue writing more tips on signing your contract.

Charlotte NC. Charlotte NC Real Estate. Charlotte North Carolina. Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate.

Everyone thinks they know about the timing of this recession. When it will end, when it won’t end, etc… Well, I don’t pretend to know anything about it’s duration, but I do enjoy reading other peoples’ guesses.

Today I read that America’s biggest banks expect the economy to recover from this deep slump by late summer but still remain weak until next year. That’s not bad and I bet a lot of people would take that! That is only like three or four months until late summer!

“The economy will return to growth but not to health,” Bruce Kasman, chief economist for JP Morgan Chase & Co. and chairman of the American Bankers Association’s Economic Advisory Committee, said in an interview today.

This committee includes economists from Wells Fargo & Co., PNC Financial Services Group, Morgan Stanley and some others as well. They expect the gross domestic product to increase 0.5 percent in the July-September quarter, after falling a predicted 1.8 percent in the April-June period.

Ben Bernanke, who is the chairman of the Federal Reserve, also says the economy could recover by the end of this year. That is pretty optimistic talk. I hope they are not setting people up to be heartbroken. But I also think there is a lot to be said for being optimistic.

We will see if these prognostications come true when September rolls around. I am still reading on this issue. There are things written about it everywhere, so I will probably post more of my findings tomorrow.

Charlotte NC. Charlotte NC Real Estate. Charlotte North Carolina. Charlotte North Carolina Real Estate.