Better News from Lowe's

There was some encouraging news from home improvement retailer Lowe's today.

Well, I guess you could say that the news wasn't "as bad" as some were expecting. And in today's economic climate this qualifies as good news.

• "2nd quarter net income dropped only 7.9% to $938 million, or 64 cents per share, beating analysts projections by 8 cents," said Lowe's.

• Also, "sales rose 2.4%... and revenue rose for the first time in 3 quarters."

• Analysts believe that tax rebates played a large role in the slight uptrend.

Now I'm not here to do a detailed analysis of tax or economic policy for you because there are online publications that do a great job of that... though I do have my opinions.

But the contrarian in me does see something positive here...

Saving and investing in yourself - by building a pool deck for example - is one of the best things you can do in any economic climate. Especially now.

Inflation and credit concerns are very likely to be big issues for awhile...

But, if Lowe's is doing a "little better than expected", i.e. less bad, then perhaps others are starting to realize the importance of saving and investing in yourself.

Building a deck around your pool is a productive venture.

You're using resources, many of which could be from here in the US... especially if you're using lumber... to build something that could possibly increase the value of your home.

Or these days maybe it just softens the blow...

Nonetheless, this is far different than borrowing against your home equity to purchase miscellaneous consumer items that depreciate... which is basically like recycling money to foreign banks for a negative return on investment and higher interest owed.

If you borrow against your home equity to build a pool deck or do any other home improvement - or if you pay out of your cash savings - you're borrowing or saving and then spending with the goal of being productive. Thus, making your own little infrastructure improvement.

This also benefits other productive ventures here in the US - like timber for example - and leads to increased domestic and personal savings... and this helps lead to more capital investment, production, and a rising standard of living.

This type of activity is the road to prosperity for the US and yourself. High levels of debt and over consumption of depreciating goods is not.

I can't tell you how to spend your money or credit.

But, if you're building an above ground pool deck or just thinking about it then pat yourself on the back.

You're not only doing something good for yourself and your family, but you're also an example of what independence and an appreciable standard of living is all about.

As always, enjoy your pool!

Regards,

Paul Ottaviano
Createyourdeck.com