One of the clients I work with, The Villages, is a sales-centered organization that can honestly say sales are still booming. An article posted this week indicating that, “Through the first six months of this year, 1,206 residential permits were issued in The Villages — 120 more than in the same period last year.”

Wow. Further proof that people are still buying homes.

P.S. Learn about our new home sales training programs.

I remember the exact moment I first got denied a credit card. I was just out of college, making $36,000 a year, and arrogant as hell. So I got a $500 a month car payment and racked up all this debt trying to live a lifestyle I didn’t make enough money for. That credit card denial was the best thing that could’ve happened to me because it made me look at myself, acknowledge that some things were out of order, and make some changes ahead. I made those changes and now my wife and I only have a house payment and a student loan. It was a good thing.

That’s how I see the downgrade of our country’s credit rating. It is like a mirror in front of our faces. According to a Wall Street Journal article, when Canada was downgraded in 1992, the government reviewed spending, reformed taxes, and got their AAA rating back.

This is our chance to get our act together and come back even stronger, just like our neighbors to the north.

Or, we can remain, as Colbert describes: “waffle-eating Kiwis who put mayonnaise on [our] French fries and have serious Hobbit infestation.”