Personal Finances Must Be Carefully Calculated

All of the financial details of your life are grouped together under the umbrella term of personal finance.The term of personal finance is used to include not only the various channels through which you acquire funds for your personal use like loans and credit cards; it also includes the process of budgeting, saving and spending.

Let us first look at the various ways which you use to borrow money. When money is borrowed through a credit card cash advance, it is instantly yours, but it is a loan and has to be repaid with interest later. While their use is popular in today's world, you should still be careful with the things you obtain with your credit cards. The interest rates on credit cards can be excessive and when you are ready to make the payments on the balances, you may see where you probably have overspent, as this is something that is easily done. 

Personal loans are borrowed for a particular reason and this type of loan will give you only the amount required to meet that commitment, so you will reduce your chances of overspending. You may use a personal loan for many different purposes, like home loans, auto loans, debt consolidation loans or even to do cosmetic surgery. Interest will be charged on a personal loan and it is essential to make repayment according to the terms of the loan. If you take out a personal loan by providing collateral, you have to be even more careful as there is risk of repossession of assets should you fail to repay. 

Just in case you are wondering how to get the best results from the financial opportunities you have, the answer is easy to track down and it begins with you. The characteristics of prudence, and having an economical mindset and the patience to use unlimited time to research the loan market are all helpful. If you understand your financial limits and ability to pay off debt, you can create a usable budget and maintain the habit of keeping with it. If you can keep accurate records of your expenditures, you will begin to understand your spending habits and where to make the changes you feel are necessary, and you will also be aware of how your credit card is being used.  

Before you finalize any type of personal loan deal, you have to be aware of all of the offers and trends in the loan market. Do not waste any time asking for a loan quote, this is the best way to get an idea of how much the loan will cost. You will know whether you will be able to afford the loan comfortably, so you should also read the fine print carefully for any hidden cost and fees.

The way you live your life and take care of your financial obligations is determined by your personal finances. If you handle it properly, you will have a lifestyle unencumbered with financial worries, but if you don't have complete charge of it, you could be led into a maze of uncontrolled debt. Every one of us has our own particular financial puzzle pieces to arrange into the perfect picture for us.

Personal Online Finances

As the Internet has exploded, many people have begun to rely on computers to assist with budgeting.  

Online personal finance is a multi-billion dollar per year industry; initially it was popular in helping small businesses with budgeting and tax concerns. The computer has become a normal electronic appliance in most American homes; average people have begun to regard the computer as an indispensable tool to their personal financial needs 

One of the first, and most attractive, ways that online personal finance tools can help the average person is through automated bill pay. When an average person today has to take care of a family, and handle the many other stresses of their day to day life, it is a fact that they work more than ever, but they will find that automated bill pay is really quite simple.  

The online personal finance software links a person's checking account to their various monthly expenses. This makes things much easier and it even allows for a person to specify when they would like the bills to be paid. The account will not ever be overdrawn, as the automated payments will be paid the day after payday.     

Fixed expenses such as Internet or cable TV can be paid in this way, because variable expenses can be paid in full or with a specified amount.

It not only makes sure that all of the bills are paid and nothing slips through the cracks resulting in late fees, it also guarantees that the bills are paid before any irresponsible spending takes place.      

The goals of finance are to ensure people that they are living with in their means. Before any money an be spent, the bills must be paid and this will make this a more reasonable goal. There certainly are times when other changes to one’s spending habits need to be made, but this is an important first step. 

Another helpful feature of online personal finance is the built in tax software. Not everyone has very complex taxes; obviously some people don't have a family and don't have a house or any investments and these people's taxes are quite simple to deal with.    

Most people who want to do some budgeting have a more complex situation. A great investment for it’s tax breaks is real estate. By using online personal finance personal software, you can save money by not having to go to a tax professional and it also helps ensure you that there are no mistakes or missed deductions. People who use personal finance software to correct their bad habits often look past the tax considerations. Back taxes are often particularly difficult to deal with and online personal finance software can help in this regard. 

When one has a large family, or a great number of investments, it is possible that they will need the kind of financial software that takes care of tricky taxes.

It makes no difference if you are simply trying to work out a budget you can finally stay with or figure your yearly income tax or simply pay your monthly expenses on  time, you will find that online personal finance software is a very helpful tool of the computer.

Visit JSNet.org for more information on credit cards and One38.org for great auto loans even for applicants with a bad credit history.

Instant Secured Personal Loans – How To Get Quick Personal Loans Fast

If you have immediate financial needs or problems that need to be addresed, you can use instant secured personal loans to solve them. The nicest thing about them is that they are approved quick and easily because of the collateral.

The lenders can be more flexible when it comes to borrowing money if there is some collateral that behaves as security on the loans they give. This is also why the borrower can benefit from them.

In order to get instant secured personal loans, you can use as collateral real estate, houses or other assets that have some value. Some people don't like using these types of loans because they think that they will no longer have possession of the goods they use as collateral until the money are given back to the lender. But, that's simply not true, because only the title is given to the lender, not the possession.

Almost anyone can benefit from instant secured loans as it can be used for anything, from travelling to foreign countries to starting a business, paying for education, taking care of your health, a wedding or just a boat.

These loans can be given to people that have a lot of debts or bad credit score. Another option is to use the money to do debt consolidation, and get rid of your old loans.

Instant secured personal loans vary between £5000 and £75000. Still, you shouldn't abuse it, but be careful instead, as it can lead to loss of collateral and defaults. These loans are made over long periods of time, so the repayments are small. You can take them for periods between 5 and 30 years.

You can find online secured personal loans at loan lenders. By using these sites you can get free quotes that can be compared between them with online tools. Then, you can decide which one suits your situation in the prezent and future (when you'll start repaying the debt).

Reading the terms and conditions is something that should be done after you fill the application form for instant secured personal loans. If you don't understand the terms, you can contact the lender and ask him for details. Once you submit the application form, you only need to wait.

Discover the best site to get cheap instant secured personal loans. Learn how to get bad credit history secured loans online.

How to manage your financial problems

Is debt settlement legal

Life is always throwing challenges your way. Life never fails to throw a curveball our way when we can least afford it. Family crises can be caused a lot of things. Crisis can come to us through our jobs, accidents, health issues and familial relationships.

These things happen and could entail you to spend a lot of money. This isn't your fault but what can you actually do to avoid being in debt or mismanaging your debts in times like these? You have plenty of options, one popular one is negotiating a debt settlement with your creditors to reduce what you owe.

When things like these happen, the first and most logical thing for you to do is to actually determine how you can get by with the type of resources you have. How well have you handled your expenses in the past? You could consider using a debt consolidation loan to help pay your bills. Or you could learn how to legally eliminate debt. If creditors are able to track your type of spending and paying, and track that you are actually a good payer, chances are you will be approved of better types of loans.

The most logical thing to do is to directly contact the creditor yourself even before your first payment is ought to be made. Explain the situation and you will likely find that your creditors will allow you to just make interest payments only and that it will not do any harm to your credit score. This is what you should do first when you notice a problem. This is one way to settle credit card debt.

If your family crisis is going to continue for more than a few months, then you may need to seek some relief through a consumer counseling agency or through a debt management company. You could consider a home equity loan to consolidate your debt.

Whatever course of action that you choose, it is far better for you to initiate it and to do so as early as possible before any damage is done to your credit score.

Get A Raise - Five Steps

You think it's time that you get a raise from your employer, but how do you go about it? Do it wrong and you may make things even worse. How do you do it right? Try the following five-step process.

1. Make sure you deserve the raise.

It may seem too obvious to say that you should do a good job before asking for a raise, but it is also often overlooked. Many employees seem to feel that simply showing up for a year merits an increase in pay. It doesn't. Actually, even working hard doesn't mean much, if you are not working on things that matter. The question is whether you are bringing real value to the employer. In other words, make sure you are not just busy, but doing what needs to be done.

2. Let your employer know you are valuable.

Doing a great job won't help if the person who makes the decision on your pay doesn't know it. Be visible. Leave a memo telling your boss what you accomplished that week, or have associates point out what you are doing. Try to find solutions for any problems your employer is having, and be sure you get the credit.

3. Gather information.

Before you ask for a raise, you have to know what is a realistic request. Ask for too much, and you may just make the boss think about replacing you. On the other hand, you want to get all that you can. Find out what others are being paid in your company, and what kinds of raises they have received in the past. Visit the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau Of Labor Statistics website (http://www.bls.gov/bls/blswage.htm) to see what the average pay is for your job in your state and around the country. Take notes.

4. Prepare your case.

To get a raise you'll want to make your request realistic based on national norms and on what people in your company make. Start high (but not too high), so the boss can negotiate your raise down to what your actual target is. Also, be clear on what you want. Is it just higher pay, or are you also seeking a better position or benefits of some sort?

Prepare a list of things you've accomplished while working for your employer. As much as possible, link these to some measurable increase in profits, or make a reasonable argument for how they boosted the company revenue. Be as specific as you can be. Don't stretch the truth, but show that you're valuable to the company and you know it.

Plan for contingencies. Consider what you're willing to do depending on various responses. In my working days, for example, I often got what I wanted by threatening to quit. But I really intended to quit (and sometimes did). If you bluff you might lose a job you like, or lose your negotiating power in the future. Think about what you'll say and what you will do if the boss says no, or offers less. You might bring it up again in a couple months. You might look for other jobs. Could you risk mentioning this job search as a possibility?

5. Get a raise.

Don't expect your employer to notice your great work and offer a raise. Now that you have gathered information and planned your presentation, you have to sell your boss on the idea. Make an appointment if necessary, but make it when he or she won't be too distracted, like late afternoon, when lunch is past and work is caught up. Otherwise, wait for a noticeable good mood and just ask to speak with him or her right then.

You have made yourself valuable to the company. You have advertised that fact. You have gathered the necessary information and prepared your presentation. Now smile, go for the close and get a raise.

Homeowners Insurance - How To Pay Less

You probably already know you should get several quotes on your homeowners insurance before buying. The difference in cost from one company to another can be significant, and checking rates is easy either by phone or on the internet. The problem comes in comparing policies that are not quite the same.

This is because different companies have different kinds of homeowners insurance policies. For example, our insurance company requires that the coverage for the contents of the house be half of the value of the house. We don't own that many valuable things, but we have to pay for that coverage regardless. Some companies will also only sell "replacement value," policies. As a result of these varying rules and requirements, you won't always have an easy time making direct comparisons.

What you can do, then, is buy the cheapest policy that meets your needs, regardless of whether it is as "good" as another policy. You buy insurance to cover unexpected expenses, after all, not so you can "win" something extra if your home happens to burn down. Start, then, by determining how much coverage you need for the house, how much your things would cost to replace, how much liability insurance you need to feel comfortable, and what deductible amount you can afford.

With these figures, ask for a quote from each insurance company for whatever policy they can sell that comes the closest to your needs. Then, check the companies for safety. You can type in "insurance company ratings" into a search engine to find free information on this. If the cheapest of the quotes is from a secure company, buy it. You may have "extra coverage" you don't want in some areas, but paying for these and having a lower premium overall is better than paying more to get the same thing minus the extras.

More Homeowners Insurance Tips

Before deciding on a policy, and preferably before calling for quotes, consider carefully how much of a deductible you can afford. Higher is better if you want to save money on the policy. If it makes you feel uneasy having to pay the first $1,000 of a claim, remember that claims are rare, and you can always bank the money saved on premiums until it adds up to $1,000, Then, if you never have a serious problem, you get to keep the money for any other purpose.

Be sure the home is safe. Install smoke detectors, and deadbolts, and any other low-cost items that the insurance company recommends. Have the necessary fire extinguishers. These are things that can get you a reduced rate.

Check with at least one independent agent. He or she can get you several quotes that may save you money or provide a more appropriate policy. Independents are not limited to trying to sell you the products of one company.

Ask about special discounts. Non-smokers may get a discount. You can also get a discount for insuring your home and car with the same company (in this case use the total costs of the two policies when comparing quotes). Security alarms may get you a discount as well. Ask each agent about any other ways to lower the cost of your homeowners insurance.

Retirement Planning Services Help Guide Financial Planning

Retirement planning services are available to help persons make wise decisions for their retirement. Not everyone has a head for finances and for those of us who could use some expert direction these services are there to help. Of course, the final choices to be made are up to each individual. But financial services can use their knowledge and expertise to help you make the best decisions for your financial future and retirement.

Some financial services companies offer this service free as long as your investments and savings are held by their companies others charge a flat fee for helping you put your financial life in order.

A person's finances are very personal and how you decide to handle them is definitely up to you. However it will not benefit you at all to seek the help of a retirement consultant and then not apply the suggestions given. There may be some areas in which they have to be very direct with you about. It doesn't help you at all if your advisor is trying to sugar coat things and make them seem better than they are. It is better to take their straightforward advice and use it to your benefit.

When working with retirement planning services be prepared to answer some tough questions. That is not to say it is OK for them to treat you like a child and brow-beat you with their way of thinking. At any time you an uncomfortable with the way you are being treated, do not hesitate to take your business elsewhere.

Choosing Services Company With Caution

Since your finances are very personal it may be best to seek help from a company that you know something about. It may be good to ask family, work mates or other acquaintances if they have received help from a retirement planning services. If they were happy with the service they received contacting that same company may be a good place for you to start.

Using retirement planning services should involve a personal experience with a person to whom you can call or visit with any questions or concerns. The inability to find contact information about a retirement planning services company will be a red flag to seek advice elsewhere as their retirement plan may be to live on your money.

Do not hesitate to ask for credentials to insure the person you deal with is qualified to offer retirement planning services. Simply having a diploma or certificate of education does not mean they are qualified to offer sage advice and since it is your money and your future, be skeptical until proven otherwise.

Year End Planning: How to Leverage Tax Benefits for Retirement Accounts

As 2008 races to a close, you may be thinking ahead about income taxes.  If you are wondering if there are still ways you can reduce your tax burden before the end of the year, you are in luck.  Below are ways you can still take action to enjoy tax deductions and avoid IRA and 401k retirement plan withdrawal penalties if you act before December 31^st. 

 

IRA Charitable Rollover

 

The Pension Protection Act tax benefit designed for 2007 only has been extended for 2008.  Through this act, individuals 70-1/2 years or older in retirement can make a qualified charitable distribution up to $100,000 directly from their IRA or Roth IRA retirement plans free of income tax. 

 

Contributions must be transferred directly from an IRA account to one or more charitable organizations, and to enjoy this retirement plan tax benefit, the donor must not receive any benefit or value from the contribution.  In the past, direct IRA contributions were included as part of your taxable income.  With this extended legislation, your IRA charitable contributions do not need to be listed as part of your taxable income, and no tax is payable on the donation. 

 

This is also helpful for those who still need to meet their yearly “required minimum distribution” (RMD) from an IRA.  By making a direct charitable IRA rollover, you can prevent penalties on your retirement plan for under withdrawals. 

 

Save Tax on Your Social Security Income

 

You may want to consider withdrawing more than your RMD.  Those in certain tax brackets can withdraw additional IRA income to offset the amount of Social Security Retirement benefit received.  By incorporating this retirement planning strategy, you can reduce the amount of taxability of the Social Security income. 

 

REEP credits

 

Whether or not you are planning for retirement, if you are interested in reducing utility costs and eliminating your carbon footprint, you can receive a Residential Energy-Efficient Property tax credit up to $2,000 for qualified improvements.  The tax efficient investment applies to improvements such as solar energy panels, solar water heating units, or other fuel cell improvements.  Taxpayers are allowed to deduct 30% of the total cost of the property investment up to $2,000, of which any unused credit may be carried over into the next tax year.   To learn more about retirement planning visit www.kenhimmler.com.  

 

Automobile Tax Credits

 

Great for retirement planning and the environment, if you are looking to buy a new car, you can still purchase a new fuel-efficient automobile by the end of the year for a tax credit.  Depending on the make and model, cars such as the popular fuel-electric hybrid can give you a nice tax deduction.  However, you should act quickly.  Many models are being phased out from the tax break, but there are still newer models of Fords and Hondas that enjoy full tax credit if purchased by the end of 2008.

 

Pay Your Property Taxes

 

Often tax assessments are billed in installments over a year period, or are assessed toward the end of the year.  You can still pay all of your current outstanding property tax charge before the end of the year to receive full tax credit for 2008. 

 

With the end of year approaching quickly, there is little time to take advantage of tax advantages for your retirement planning.  Your retirement income is important to you, and maximizing your tax benefits can help you keep more income in your pocket.  You can also take advantage of professional retirement planning professionals to secure further tax relief help. 

 

How To Make Money

If you are like most people, when you think about how to make money, you think about the specific jobs, businesses or schemes that will bring in the cash. But while there are many ways to make it, all these ways have their examples of success and failure. Why do some fail at the same things which others succeed at?

That question leads to a deeper understanding of how to make money. An answer is suggested in the following three principles.

1. Trading Values

Many of the late-night television "get rich quick" infomercials cater to people who think there is an "angle" or "secret" which makes it easy to succeed. Of course there are tricks, tips, techniques and tools that will help, but in the end, it is all about value. You have to have something of value to offer others if you want to consistently make money.

A business person who thinks the first question is how to separate people from their money will be tempted to use any means towards that goal. This usually results in dissatisfied customers, meaning less repeat business, and eventual failure. The first question is how to provide real value to people. Serving people well makes them happy to pay you well. This is true whether you are an employee (in which case the employer is your customer) or the owner of a company.

2. Doing What Needs To Be Done

Of course, having something of value to offer isn't enough by itself. You have to also do what is necessary. The first thing which is necessary is committing to a plan and taking action. That means "doing" instead of "trying." Unfortunately, "giving it a try" too often means quitting at the first sign of trouble. A commitment to success means seeing mistakes as opportunities to learn and move on. You don't keep repeating what doesn't work, but you keep doing something.

People who want to make "easy money" are usually not willing to learn what they need to learn. Suppose a man hears that there is good money in roofing, for example. He knows nothing about the business, but instead of learning what he needs to know he pretends that taking the test to get his contractors license is enough. He could have worked on a roofing crew for a while to learn the basics of the craft. He could have asked for help to learn how to run a business from others who had succeeded. He could have bought a book on how to market his services.

But instead of learning what he needed to know, he takes the easy route - which leads to failure, as it usually does. You have probably seen this scenario played out before with friends who think they want to be an actor, or start a business, or invest in real estate. You have to do what needs to be done to make money, and learning what you need to learn is the cheapest, lowest risk part of that.

3. Knowing Yourself

Doing what needs to be done is tough if you hate what you are doing. This is only one of the reasons you need to think carefully about yourself when making decisions about jobs, business and money in general. But jobs and businesses you aren't suited to or ready for won't just make you unhappy. Ignoring your interests, skills and abilities is a sure way to stumble into the wrong way to make money, meaning a way that doesn't work.

Knowing yourself is an important key to how to make money. Even something as seemingly mundane as whether you work slow or fast should be taken into account. Many years ago I picked apples to earn extra income. We were each paid by the box, and though I made $14 per hour, some workers made only $4 per-hour. The lesson? If you're fast and efficient, you might make more money with a job or business where you'll be paid per unit of production. If you're slow and inefficient, an hourly job or a business where you can delegate out much of the work may be better.

What can you do? What skills and abilities and work habits do you have? What things do you enjoy doing? How good are you working with other people? With customers? How much energy do you have? Do you quit too easily, and why? What did you do that contributed to previous failures? Will this job or business keep you feeling motivated? Do you know what you need to do, and if not, are you willing to learn, and then do it? What personal changes do you need to make to increase your odds of success? Honestly answering questions like these may be the surest way how to make money.

Frugality - Three Quick Lessons

What is frugality? The dictionary definition of frugal:  "Practicing or marked by economy, as in the expenditure of money or the use of material resources." People think of it as simply being "cheap," in the fashion of Ebeneezer Scrooge. I see it as the practice of getting the most for one's money, without giving up anything important.

It may surprise people to know that I buy the cheapest t-shirts and yet pay to have someone mow the lawn. But the shirt does the same job as the expensive ones, and my time is worth more to me than what I pay for mowing. That's getting the most for my money, and I sacrifice nothing for this kind of frugality. Of course, I get a good deal on the lawn work too. Here are three ways to spend less and still get what you want.

1. Look For Free Things

I once got free dental x-rays from the dental hygienist program at a local college. Other dental schools will x-ray your mouth for free or at a reduced charge, if you have the patience to sit there while the instructor coaches the student through the process. You then get your x-rays to take to the dentist, saving you the cost of that part of the visit anyhow.

One of the prettiest campgrounds my wife and I have stayed at was Williams Landing, on Lake Talquin in Florida - and it was free for up to ten days. There are free campgrounds scattered across the country. Woodall's campground directory lists most of the campgrounds in the country, including ones which don't charge.

I got my tires rotated for free a couple years ago. I don't recall the name of the chain of tire shops, but this is their normal policy. It is amazing how many things you can get for free if you keep your eyes open.

2. Take Advantage Of Promotions

We regularly use coupons for restaurants in our small town. Several of them have "Buy a meal, get the second one for half off" deals in the paper every week. We eat at these places anyhow, so it is a true savings when we use a coupon to save $5.

Speaking of coupons, if any of the stores in your area double them, here is how you take advantage of it: Suppose you have a 50-cent coupon for dish detergent. If the store is doubling it, you'll get a dollar off. Now, if you buy the 38-ounce size at $2.19, it will cost $1.19, or 3.1 cents per ounce. But if you buy the 18-ounce size at $1.19, it will cost you 19 cents, or a bit over a penny per ounce - a third of the cost. Buy small sizes when coupons are doubled.

Look for any other promotions you can take advantage of. If your favorite shampoo goes on sale, buy enough for the next six months. Stocking up on non-perishables during sales can cut the cost of your household supplies dramatically.

3. Find Alternatives

Often there are cheaper options that can replace what you think you need. Certainly this is true in the case of generic prescription drugs and store-brand foods. But even in area where you think you have no alternatives, look again. Let's use car insurance as an example.

You might have found the cheapest company to buy your insurance from, and so you think that is the best you can do. However, the various companies are not the only alternatives you have. You could still lower the premiums by raising the deductible, for example. After all, if you really can't afford the first $500 of an accident, maybe you should rearrange your financial life rather than pay for expensive ways to avoid the responsibility of setting aside a bit of money. If you pay cash for an older car, you can also decline collision coverage.

Frugality can mean being an opportunist too. This is especially true when looking for alternatives. For example, it almost certainly isn't true that only one specific place will suit you for a vacation, so why not look at the offers and plane fares for several destinations you would enjoy? Then pick the cheapest one. You may spend half as much, have twice the fun (who knows?) and have money left over for other important goals.

Again, frugality isn't about self-sacrifice and miserable "cheapness." It is about spending less, and when you do that, you can have even more of what you truly need and want. Every piece of used furniture we buy, which looks the same as a new piece but costs half as much, means we get the same comfort at home and money left over for another day of travel (you pick what's important to you). That's why we look for ways to save money.

Jobs for 13 year Olds - -Teen Finance Advice -Income Tips

Did you know this? There are actually work opportunity for teens who are seaerching for employment. It’s not job those part-time jobs, holiday – think Christmas or school break time – summer jobs or the nearby babysitting jobs for 13 year olds or even jobs for teen 14 and up. If you are asking yourself the “who, what, when, where, how and why” of how to use the internet or free job search websites or directory to find a good paying job, here are some tips to help you out. Almost anyone of any age can earn money online. As long as you have the permission of your parent or guardians, why not follow this action plan? A 7-Step Formula For Easy Online Income Having a hard time earning some income from the internet? Allow me to introduce 7 simple steps you can follow to prove to you that anyone - and I do mean ANY PERSON - can make a living on the web. 1. Create an account over at www.clickbank.com. 2. Look for a product you can promote. Each option you will encounter has two critical statistics, which you will come to know as referral percentage and refund rate. The referral percentage is an indication how many items were actually sold by affiliates, versus the volume of sales directly bought from the merchant himself. You should try to find a product with a high referral percentage. The refund rate, on the other side of the fence, represents the number of purchasers who have requested for a return of the cash they have paid for the said product. In simple terms, the refund rate is like a dissatisfaction ratio that be telling of the true value of the product. If you manage to refer a sale, and a refund is later made, you won't gain any commission. You'll want a product with a dignified refund rate. 3. Once you have settled for a product that has the promise to be the most profitable for your endeavors, gather the appropriate affiliate link. In normal situations, you will be challenged to promote this affiliate link the way it is. But countless internet marketing channels strictly outlaw the blatant publication of affiliate links for one reason or another. Hence, you have to create a new link that, when clicked, will nevertheless lead to the affiliate merchant's sales page via your referral ID. You can decide to use link redirectors, or you can buy your own URL and easily change the commands so that it will lead people to your affiliate link. The second option is highly advised. 4. Craft an article important to the niche of the product you have opted to promote. Add a bio box for every article you will write, which will consist of your name or the name of your enterprise, a statement you wish to share with your readers, and your URL. This link should be the link that will guide users to your affiliate link. 5. Enroll your article to big article directories on the web, namely www.eZinearticles.com, isnare.com, and goarticles.com. You can submit to several other directories, most definitely, but previously mentioned websites will be more than enough for our purposes. 6. Prepare and cause the distribution of an article at least thrice every week. Do not submit articles on consecutive days because this will merely cause a cannibalizing effect on your campaign. You are not supposed to do some link building. You're pursuing this to get potential sales from direct traffic. 7. Wait for your commission. These 7 steps are all it takes to profit from ClickBank. Keep in mind that for a few of these services you may have to get an adult to help you with it. But if you are hardworking and ambitious enough to lookup the internet for employment, you have what it requires to start earning income online. You can do it - no doubt, you can! And by the way, if you are actually to be a parent or an older brother or sister searching for jobs for 13 year olds and up to assist your motivated teen relative - that's awesome of you

Should I Consider Foreclosure

Millions of US homeowners are finding it hard to keep up with payments, but there comes a time when those people will have to make the though decision of using up what little money they have left or saving it for themselves. The latter has a high risk of derogatory credit and foreclosure. So the burning question when faced with this dilemma is “Should I stay or should I go" or should I refi my home?

The facts are that many people took cash out, borrowed more than they can afford, took teaser rates, or applied using some form of a stated income loan which would often over inflate the borrowers actual income through the home refinance or home purchase process. Values for most people's homes has decreased which is adding fuel to a crumbling US economy, and now those same people can't refinance or sell their homes. When a borrower decides to vacate the property the bank is just taking the house through foreclosure. Are you making the best move?

I don’t have the right or wrong answer here but I do know that up until the 90’s most people bought a house as a place to live and somewhere to stay and raise a family.I understand that is a safe thought and we all have to realize its a hard truth too.Seven percent a year increase on values for the national average came around in the 90s.  Lending practices began to recover from the S/L crisis and a new way of thinking was born in the lending world. Do you have a heart beat?Do you know your FICO score? Obviously you can afford a house.With that the mid 90's saw lower home prices and stated income was normal and accepted.Now we see the exposure with home values increasing too fast and people tapping equity to purchase luxury items. Most of us took money from our homes to purchase the things we could not normally afford, and this began a cycle of refinancing for the new toy everyone wanted that year.

 

Fast forward about 10 years to 2008 we are all faced with the dilemma should I stay or should I go.You might be thinking that you could just walk away from the house and possibly buy it back.  This is all true you can walk, you could buy your home for less, but do you really want to?Everyone was aware of the loans they were getting into, we don't need a news story to tell us that a pizza boy can't afford a Beverly Hills mansion.   Again You knew what you were doing when you took the cash out home refinance, you knew what you were doing when you bought the home, don’t bring everybody else down even further as somewhere along the line we must just stop this madness.To avoid a depression we all need to keep in mind it is in our power to save our homes and the economy.

Personal Finances - Six Steps To Take Now

You have probably read enough tips on personal finances, and maybe you are still in debt and without a plan for the future. Well, here is simple six-step plan to get you going in the right direction. Of course, like the other tips you have heard, it will only help if you actually use it.

1. Record Your Expenses

For a month or two, write down what you spend every penny on. This process may enlighten you as to where large chunks of your income goes, or show you how little things add up. You might even find that you are spending less by the end of the month, just because you are so aware of the money going out when you track it like this. After the month is over, categorize your expenses and see how much is going to various areas, like "eating out," "renting movies," "electric bills," etc.

2. Find Ways To Spend Less

Using the information you have gathered in step one, start finding every way you can to cut those expenditures. This can mean giving up a few things which are less important to you than your future financial security. On the other hand , it may just mean finding better ways to do things, without sacrificing anything. Turning the heat down while at work doesn't hurt, after all. Look for cheaper insurance, foods that cost less, better restaurants with lower prices, and on and on.

3. Apply The Money Saved To Debt

Now that you are spending less, you should have some money left over from those paychecks. Start applying it to any debts which you have. Always start with those that are at the highest interest rate, and use all "extra" money towards paying those off first. If you have done this right, you are living just as well, but spending less to live that way, and getting out of debt.

4. Find New Sources Of Income

While you are working on step three, start looking for new ways to make some extra income. This could mean an extra shift at work each week or two, or asking for a raise, or even looking for a better job. It also could mean starting a small business on the weekends. Look at the skills, connections, knowledge and things you have. Renting out an extra room in your house could provide an extra $4,000 per year, for example.

5. Start Paying Cash

Everything is cheaper when you pay cash. Not only is it easier to negotiate a better price initially when paying cash, but you also don't pay the interest charges. This means that though you may have to wait and save for some things (like the next car), you live cheaper, or get to buy even more things you want (your choice). If you do use a credit card, pay it off each month.

6. Invest Regularly For The Future

Once you are controlling those expenses, generating new income, and staying out of debt, you should have a fair amount more coming in than going out. Start investing this money for the future. If you are uncomfortable with conventional investments like mutual funds or stocks, at least find the highest-interest bank account you can, and save to start a business.

Most of these ideas are probably not new to you, but if you actually follow a simple plan like this with your personal finances, you'll almost certainly avoid finacial trouble, be more financially secure and more relaxed in a short time.

Used Car Finance - Lessons For Making Money

You might think that used car finance simple involves a dealer, a bank or other lender, and a down payment on the part of the buyer. That is how it works in some cases, but it gets much more creative than that. Let's look at a real life example, and see what lessons can be learned to apply to making money in other businesses.

A friend of mine used to have a used car lot. He teamed up with a creative used car finance company to sell cars to people who had trouble getting traditional loans. I don't recall the name of the company, and I may get a few figures wrong, but I remember the principles very clearly.

A typical deal might have started with the dealer taking a trip to the auction. He would buy a car there for $1,200 (wholesale) which might have had a retail value of about $2,200. But because he is making it easy for somebody to buy the car, he can sell it for perhaps $3,000 after cleaning it up.

How does he make it easy to sell at a high price? By arranging financing for the buyer, who typically cannot get a bank loan. How does he do that? With a very creative finance company that rarely refuses to make a loan.

How can they make loans to people who are a terrible credit risk? By putting much of the risk onto the dealer and charging outrageous interest rates. Specifically, in this case, they would finance the $3,000 car at say 20% annual interest. But they also would only forward half of the loan amount to the dealer. The rest would be paid only when and if the payments from the buyer came in.

In this example, then, the buyer might have to pay a $600 down payment. A young couple can put together a couple paychecks to afford this. Payments on the $2,400 loan arranged by the dealer might be $200 per month. As I recall, weekly payment plans might have been available as well, to make budgeting easier for those with weekly or biweekly paychecks.

The loan would be for $2,400, but the dealer would get $1,200 when the sale was made - half of the loan amount. As you can see, the dealer is already okay, since he has received a total of $1,800 for a car that cost him $1,200. In other words, if he receives nothing more he may be able to squeeze a profit from these deals even after overhead costs.

What about the used car finance company? So far they have only risked $1,200, on a car which is worth that much at a wholesale auction. They collect 20% interest on the entire $2,400 however, as well as some kind of "loan processing fee" up front. This makes their real rate of return over 40% annually.

Of course, these are high-risk loans. I heard through the grape vine that 50% of these loans were in default at some point. But the finance company had an aggressive collection team, which called borrowers as soon as they were a week late, and quickly repossessed cars when necessary.

What does that mean? As an example, suppose a buyer ran into trouble and stopped paying after the first eight payments of $200. The principle amounts had been forwarded to the dealer, but the lender would have already collected about $400 in interest and fees. When they took the car and sold it for $1,100, they might net $800 after the repossession fee and other costs. In other words, they broke even on the deal. When you make a 40% return on the good deals, you can break even on a lot of the others, right?

Used Car Finance Lessons

One dealer who had used this finance company was still receiving checks for principle years after he retired, so he liked the arrangement. Despite the high interest rate, the buyers now had a car to get to work in, so they liked the deal, or at least found it better than all other options. The owners of the used car finance company were happy making money where nobody else dared to loan. It was very creative all around, so what specific lesson can we learn to apply when making money in other businesses? Here are three:

1. High-markup products allow for more creativity in marketing and selling.

2. Making it easy to buy allows you to charge more for your product (or service).

3. Finding a way for everyone involved to "win" helps you make money.

There are other lessons in this story of used car finance, of course. For example, in the case of the lender you can see that going where others fear to go opens up new opportunities. Sharing the risk is also a useful way to make things possible that otherwise might not be. Of course, the buyers out there might see the lesson that you pay a lot more when you finance things, and especially when you have bad credit.

How To Buy A Used Car For Less

You buy a used car to save money, and there are two basic ways to do that. It isn't just that you pay less to buy initially. The research shows a four-year-old car can cost 40% less over its lifetime. That's including the costs of gas, oil, repairs, insurance - everything. This is why almost half of the millionaires in the United States buy used cars, according to  Thomas Stanley and William Danko, authors of "The Millionaire Next Door."

Buy The Right Used Car

The first approach to buying a used car for less is to look for the cheapest "type" of car for your purposes. Some cars just cost more than others, both to buy and to operate, so look for the lowest-cost one that will do what you need. In other words, whatever your negotiating skill, a four-year-old Jeep Wrangler is still going to cost more to buy and run than a  four-year-old Ford Escort. So if you don't need the four-wheel drive or space of the former, consider the latter.

Here are some of the factors to consider when looking at the overall cost of a vehicle:

- Price. You can look in one of the popular auto "blue-books" or price guides to see what used cars are selling for. The accuracy of these may be suspect, but they do give you a good idea of the relative values, so you can compare various models.

- Repair costs. At a public library you can find a copy of the Consumer Reports auto edition. They have ratings for all the major systems and parts of different models, and usually an average annual repair cost for them as well.

- Mileage. You can ask an owner about the mileage he or she gets, and try to gauge their honesty. Alternately, there are websites like fueleconomy.gov where you can find fuel economy figures for used cars. If you drive 20,000 miles per year, the difference between 20 miles-per-gallon versus 34 MPG is an extra 412 gallons per year, or $1,240 at $3 per gallon.

- Insurance. Some cars cost more to insure. Ask your insurance agent about the cars you are considering, to see if there is a big difference in costs.

- Resale value. If you intend to drive the car for just a few years, you have to consider what you will lose in value. Two cars may cost $8,000 each used, but one may be worth $6,000 a couple years later while the other is only worth $4,000. You can research resale value online, or study a used-car price guide to see which models have retained the most value over the years.

Get The Right Price

The second part of buying a used car for less is to negotiate a lower price. You don't have to be a master negotiator to do well, but there are a few tricks you should know. The first is to have a good idea of what the car is worth. Get out that car price guide, and look for the wholesale cost. Make your first offer lower than that. What else can you do?

- Spend some time looking at the car. If you are interested, spend some time with a car and owner or sales person. Negotiator refer to this as "time investment." The more time the seller has invested with you, the more they want to sell to you, so as not to "waste" that time. It has been shown that you can get a lower offer accepted if you first take more of the sellers time.

- Hint at the problems. Look at the engine and under the car, even if you aren't sure what you are looking at. Point out any problems you see politely, but never contradict or insult the seller in any way. You want the seller to like you but start to doubt the value of his car.

- Be ready to walk away. Unless you really need a car today, always be ready to say, "I'll think about it," and leave. This is one of the oldest and surest ways to get price concessions. Sales people in particular know that when people "think about it" they rarely return. They will usually make their best offer at this point.

- Have a mechanic look at the car. If you can't bring the car to your mechanic, have a friend with some mechanical knowledge come with you to look at the car. It isn't necessarily cheap if it breaks down a week after you buy it. Also, everything that your friend or mechanic finds wrong is a negotiating point that may result in a lower price.

Quick review: To Buy A Used Car for less, look at the right cars - the cheapest for your needs - and  then negotiate the lowest price you can. To learn how to get Cheap Car Insurance, and to get a free newsletter on Unusual Ways to Make and Save Money, visit Unusual Ways To Make Money .com.

Year End Planning: How to Leverage Tax Benefits for Retirement Accounts

As 2008 races to a close, you may be thinking ahead about income taxes.  If you are wondering if there are still ways you can reduce your tax burden before the end of the year, you are in luck.  Below are ways you can still take action to enjoy tax deductions and avoid IRA and 401k retirement plan withdrawal penalties if you act before December 31^st. 

 

IRA Charitable Rollover

 

The Pension Protection Act tax benefit designed for 2007 only has been extended for 2008.  Through this act, individuals 70-1/2 years or older in retirement can make a qualified charitable distribution up to $100,000 directly from their IRA or Roth IRA retirement plans free of income tax. 

 

Contributions must be transferred directly from an IRA account to one or more charitable organizations, and to enjoy this retirement plan tax benefit, the donor must not receive any benefit or value from the contribution.  In the past, direct IRA contributions were included as part of your taxable income.  With this extended legislation, your IRA charitable contributions do not need to be listed as part of your taxable income, and no tax is payable on the donation. 

 

This is also helpful for those who still need to meet their yearly “required minimum distribution” (RMD) from an IRA.  By making a direct charitable IRA rollover, you can prevent penalties on your retirement plan for under withdrawals. 

 

Save Tax on Your Social Security Income

 

You may want to consider withdrawing more than your RMD.  Those in certain tax brackets can withdraw additional IRA income to offset the amount of Social Security Retirement benefit received.  By incorporating this retirement planning strategy, you can reduce the amount of taxability of the Social Security income. 

 

REEP credits

 

Whether or not you are planning for retirement, if you are interested in reducing utility costs and eliminating your carbon footprint, you can receive a Residential Energy-Efficient Property tax credit up to $2,000 for qualified improvements.  The tax efficient investment applies to improvements such as solar energy panels, solar water heating units, or other fuel cell improvements.  Taxpayers are allowed to deduct 30% of the total cost of the property investment up to $2,000, of which any unused credit may be carried over into the next tax year.   To learn more about retirement planning visit www.kenhimmler.com.  

 

Automobile Tax Credits

 

Great for retirement planning and the environment, if you are looking to buy a new car, you can still purchase a new fuel-efficient automobile by the end of the year for a tax credit.  Depending on the make and model, cars such as the popular fuel-electric hybrid can give you a nice tax deduction.  However, you should act quickly.  Many models are being phased out from the tax break, but there are still newer models of Fords and Hondas that enjoy full tax credit if purchased by the end of 2008.

 

Pay Your Property Taxes

 

Often tax assessments are billed in installments over a year period, or are assessed toward the end of the year.  You can still pay all of your current outstanding property tax charge before the end of the year to receive full tax credit for 2008. 

 

With the end of year approaching quickly, there is little time to take advantage of tax advantages for your retirement planning.  Your retirement income is important to you, and maximizing your tax benefits can help you keep more income in your pocket.  You can also take advantage of professional retirement planning professionals to secure further tax relief help. 

 

How To Save Money On Anything

When you want to save money on something, your first thought might be to look for a better price. That is one way to spend less and still get what you want. Let's take a good look at that before we move on to the second way.

Save Money With A Better Price

There is more than checking out another store when it comes to getting a better price. This is especially true with larger items, where negotiation is more common. Here are some of the ways you can find a lower price.

 - Ask. I once bought a new book for half-price at a regular bookstore. It was a slow day, and the owner was behind the counter. I simply said it was worth half the cover price to me, otherwise I wasn't interested. You never know unless you ask.

- Be an opportunist. If something you buy regularly is on sale, stock up. This works well for paper towels, batteries and canned food, among other things that can last a while in your cupboards.

- Try several stores. You can even do this by phone if it is just one or two larger items you are looking for. Call in the early afternoon, when it isn't too busy.

- Learn to negotiate. I once read a true story of a man who bought a new refrigerator for 25% off the retail price. How did he get such a deal? By spending two days, an hour each time, with the salesman, and then making a low "ultimatum offer." The salesman just didn't want to lose the sale after all that work. This is called "time investment," and is just one of the secrets of good negotiators.

Save Money With Alternatives

We tend to be too specific in what we think we need or want, and then look only for ways to get a better price. It's a very limiting approach. Often, there are many great alternatives that cost less. Why not look around and see what they are?

For example, you might think you really want to take a summer cruise along the coast of Alaska. If you are flexible, though, and you explore the alternatives, you might find that it costs half as much to go in September, when the cruise lines have a hard time filling their rooms. You may have just as much fun in September as August, or even more if you get to extend the vacation and still spend less.

What do you really need? There is almost nothing you buy that you need. Oh, you need categories of things, like food and clothing, but not specific foods or specific brands of clothes. Keep that in mind as you shop, and you can save a lot of money. If, for example, instead of just buying the fruits that catch your eye, you bought apples when they are cheap, oranges in season, and so on, you might eat the same amount of each fruit and vegetable in the course of a year, yet spend half as much.

Don't forget the ultimate alternative to buying something: to just say no. That doesn't sound too inspiring, but sometimes there are things we don't really get much value or pleasure from, which we buy out of habit. For example, you might find that you feel even better at work if you skip the stop at the coffee shop - at least once the caffeine withdrawal is over. You might not watch most of the channels in your expanded cable package. Remember that everything you don't buy frees up money for the things which really are important to you.

Finally, to save money on almost everything, put these two basic ways together. Start by looking for the cheapest alternatives that will give you what you need and want. Then find or negotiate the lowest price you can for these. There are hundreds of more specific ways to save money, but they all involve either paying less or finding alternatives.

Planning for Retirement with a Retirement Planning Consultant

The thought of retirement can scare the daylights out of many people, especially when they realize that by the time the stop working they will likely be in financial trouble. Many of these folks could use retirement planning consultant services, or retirement planning advisor to help ensure they are prepared for the end of their work life.

While many of these same companies work in financial planning, their ability to help soon to be retirees out of a projected monthly deficit can be a blessing for those with little financial understanding.

Consider that for many of those approaching retirement age, their lives were focused on living the good life while they were earning a decent living. Most figured they would follow in their parents footsteps and live on Social Security and the employers retirement fund once they hit the magic age. Unfortunately, if they plan to maintain their standard of living, they will need retirement planning consultant services to help them figure out how to save enough money to make that dream a reality.

Many parents who lived through the Great Depression became extremely tight fisted with their money. Now some of their children are getting closer to their golden years. Perhaps after the frustration of living with such financially conservative parents they swore they would be different, not holding on so tight to every penny. That has left many with very little savings for retirement. Retirement planning services can help a person rethink his attitude about spending and saving.

Counsel Only Helps If Applied

Consultants will give direction and suggestions for building a good savings for retirement. No matter how good their counsel is, however, if a person does not apply it they will not benefit at all. So many take the time to seek help from a consultant and then afterwards disregard everything the consultant says. They will reap the consequences of this unwise choice down the road.

Of course your financial future is more important to you than it is to anyone else. That is why no matter how great a consultant, or a retirement planning advisor you have it is still important to keep an eye on what how your retirement investments are doing so that you can make needed adjustments as necessary.

Find the retirement planning consultant services that is a comfortable fit for the client and the company and then trust the suggestions. Do not go on blind faith alone, but there has to be an element of trust to let them do their job.

Why it is Important to Plan for Your Retirement

Because Americans are living longer and healthier lives than ever before, properly planning for retirement has become especially important. Many aging individuals desire to remain independent during retirement years, preferring to live on their own and have the financial means to support themselves. However, without proper retirement planning, these individuals may have to rely on their adult children to provide elder care and services.

 

While aging individuals do not wish to be a financial burden to their families, lack of adequate retirement savings could create exactly the type of situation many older adults try to avoid. Retirement planning is most effective when undertaken by middle age, but many times individuals fail to implement retirement plans until much later in life. Even if an individual is near retirement age, it is not too late to set retirement planning in motion.

 

Retirement living costs money regardless of whether you live at home or in a retirement community. Basic expenses such as food, clothing, prescription medications, medical services, and housing costs must all be considered. Retirement living communities consist of: active adult communities, assisted living communities, independent living communities, Alzheimer’s care facilities, nursing care facilities, and continuing care retirement communities.

 

Continuing care retirement communities (CCRC) may be an excellent option for you as you age, since they provide a spectrum of retirement living options. As the your needs change, you can move between services, and CCRCs provide services and living arrangements ranging from independent living to assisted living to nursing home care.

 

A retirement planning calculator can help you determine you current financial status and translate that into future retirement savings. Retirement calculators can assist you in determining the best investment strategies based on the your current income and savings and can show you how a savings program can prepare an you for retirement.

 

Retirement planning calculators take into consideration your current age, expected retirement age, life expectancy, current income, retirement savings, average return on investments before retirement, anticipated return on investments after retirement, and Social Security benefits among other factors. Using this information, retirement calculators can help an you determine how much savings will be available at retirement age, when your savings will run out, and how much debt the you may leave behind. It is also important to consult with a financial advisor who can assist with important information, visit www.iamllc.biz.

 

If you are striving for financial security during retirement, while optimizing your investments and protecting your assets and income, you can find advice and guidance at www.kenhimmler.com.

 

Don't Wait Until Age 65 to Think About a Retirement Plan

Planning early for your retirement is one of the best things that you are ever going to be able to do for yourself in your lifetime. The earlier you start planning for your retirement the more educated you are going to be, the more ready you are going to be for your retirement, and the more money you will have set aside thereby allowing you to maintain the same lifestyle you are living now, if not better.

Where to Begin

There are a lot of different variables and factors to consider when planning for your retirement. Some people feel a bit overwhelmed when they think about it. It is hard to know where to start. That feeling is understandable. There is a lot to consider. The first thing that you need to do is determine in your mind where you want to be from a financial standpoint when you reach retirement age.

Money for your retirement should be set aside from your income before you spend a dime on anything else. That money should be invested for future use.

Even if you feel as though you have enough knowledge in this area that you will not have any problems, it is always best to hire a financial planner to help you out here, as they are educated specifically in the field of retirement and will be able to help you every step of the way here.

A financial advisor will help you maximize your savings by guiding you to the best investments for you. They will instruct on tax laws and how these will affect your investment. Because they are the experts there are investments available that you may not be aware of. They can help you find these and invest wisely. You will find planning for your retirement less challenging with expert guidance.

No matter what your age you can start planning for your retirement. You are never too old or to young. But the younger the better so start now. Remember to use good logic and good judgement when planning for your future. It is one of the most important things you will ever do.

You can never obtain enough information about retirement plans and you can never be too prepared for your future. Stick with these suggestions and continue to learn about how you can create the best retirement plan possible for you.

What if You DO Get Rich Overnight?

Lotto Winner

Most of us fantasize at some point about sudden wealth. What if we won the lottery, or a big-money contest, or inherited untold riches? Well, it does happen; what if it happens to you?

If you win the lotto your life is never going to be the same again. Not only your life, but your friends' and relatives’ lives will also change, and the change may not be very nice. Amazing things have happened to people who have suddenly attained the status of being a lotto winner.

No matter how you have won the lotto, whether you drew the winning numbers yourself or used the windows lotto pro software, the fact is that you will be richer by tens of millions of pounds or euros, and things will start to change almost overnight.

Winning a record prize of £ 11 million, Mark Gardiner thought that all his problems were a thing of the past. However, though his present problems vanished, Mark found himself with new ones that he was not capable of or trained to handling. With his friend and business partner Paul Maddison, Mark won the jackpot. Together the two won a record £ 22 million and Mark got his share of £ 11 million. Paul turned away from the limelight; he retreated into the background while Mark decided to have some fun.

Before he could believe it, Mark blew half of his winnings. As he gave to friends and relatives, bought expensive cars and houses, married and then divorced, his problems never seemed to end. His family disowned him as if he had committed a crime. Finally, now wiser, Mark regained his bearings and remarried his first wife, a childhood sweetheart, whom he had divorced when he was penniless.

However, not all stories are as heart breaking as the one mentioned above. There have been countless people who have made good on their fortune and while remaining grounded. Student Ianthe Fullagar won an amazing £ 7,055,142. After the customary screaming in disbelief she settled down and called her family, and her boyfriend, and shared the news with them. Ianthe intends to share her new found wealth with her near ones and to continue to pursue her law degree. A new car was the only new thing she planned to buy.

An anonymous winner donated his winnings of $3 million to his church without batting an eye. The church has decided to not only expand its facilities to accommodate a growing congregation, but to donate some of the money to charities as well.

The point is as a lotto winner you are in an enviable position to do a lot of good to yourself and to those around you. Your community will benefit too -- if you maintain a cool head and spend the money wisely. It's always a good idea to plan ahead -- just in case.

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Yes You Can Get Involved In Early Retirement Planning

There are so many people who work hard day in and day out for 40 plus years only to end up frustrated and depressed because they retired with little or nothing to show for their years of hard work. Early retirement is something to be considered if you would rather not still be working when you are 65 or maybe even older.

To plan for early retirement you have to think beyond the regular full time job that you have and even beyond the 401K you are working hard to build. There are other avenues of saving for your future so that you can enjoy retirement at an early age.

These avenues can really help your finances grow so that you will be able to stop working well before you reach the age of 65. And even after you reached your financial goal you may find it easy to continue following the same pattern and continue to build on your savings.

The first key is to not rely on the government for your retirement and to realize that saving your income in a pension plan or a 401k is only setting you up for disaster. Social security is drying up and stocks are crashing literally every 10 years now so those two methods are useless. So how do you do early retirement planning? You invest.

The Possibilities Are Endless

What should you invest in? Real estate is the surest investment you can make. Though it may be a sure investment it is not one to be jumped into without educating yourself through courses and books that are available.

There are always advertisements out there telling you how you can make millions in a day. To learn how to avoid the frauds and find the real investment opportunities you have to educate yourself. With a little know how you can find properties to invest in that have real potential for huge value increases.

You can buy property, fix it up, and sell it for a profit. Or you can invest in rental property and sell when it is time to retire. Any way you look at it investing in real estate is a solid way to secure your financial future.

Financial Management Software Can Help Ease Your Money Management

business financial management

For those who have the entrepreneurial spirit and who intend to start and run their own business someday, some of the best and most beneficial knowledge you can acquire will have to do with the foundational principles of business financial management. In addition, it is now almost as important to also learn how to use and make the most of the financial management software that is designed for handling the financial aspects of any business, regardless of size.

When business owners, managers and accounting personnel make financial decisions for a business, it is important that they have the most complete, organized and accurate business financial management reports that are available. It is also important that these reports are as up-to-the minute and current as possible, especially in today's volatile economic climate, and good a good software program in financial management is the best way to generate these kinds of reports.

Financial management software packages for business will have a number of modules that incorporate various money management tools, reports and other functions needed for proper accounting. These tools not only include the ability to create the crucial reports needed for decision making, but they also make it very easy to generate the required reports at tax time.

The software packages that are available today for business finance money management are typically "all in one" solutions that include many modules for different aspects of business accounting. These various modules all work together and are designed to easily share information so that financial data only needs to be entered into the system once. This reduces the chance of errors that are often created when data has to be reentered numerous times.

Money management for businesses, whether small home-based businesses or large corporations, all come down to the same principles, so these software programs are essentially the same regardless of the size of the business. In most instances, the primary differences in software for business financial management for small business, as opposed to those for corporate financial management, is the potential limitation on the size of the database, the number of users who are allowed to access the software, and the networking capabilities of the program.

However, the basic functions of any good money management software program will include all of the basic accounting functions. In addition, there are personal money management software solutions on the market as well, which allow the user to have more control and better insights into their personal financial situation and which can also prepare personal tax reports and forms. This level of software can often be very effective for the person who is starting up a small home business.

Some of the more extensive and complete financial management software suites for businesses include modules that are able to deal with payroll, check writing, financial risk assessments, and cash management account issues. Because it is so important to have good, complete and proper money management in companies, it is also very important to research any financial software program to be sure that it meets the needs or the organization and to be sure it is from a publisher that will stand behind their product and will provide customer support, if needed.

Home Loan Owner Personal Secured – Pros and Cons Of Personal Homeowners Secured Loans

Do you own a home and you need money for unforeseen situations? Home loan owner personal secured loans can help you in that regard. If you're looking for a loan, then having a home with your name on it can bring you some extra dividends. Having a house can always help you get better loans, with competitive conditions and terms.

Eligibility domain:

As long as they own the house, people can ask for a home loan owner personal unsecured. These loans are of the secured type, and just as the name says, your house is the collateral.

General features:

Being of the secured type, home loan owner personal secured will have interest rates that vary, depending on the home equity. When I say equity, I mean the value of the house on the market, minus the mortage that is on it. Depending on this, the loan can vary between £5000 to £75000. The period during which it can be repayed will vary between 5 and 25 years.

Anyone can get a home loan owner personal secured. Applying for it is accessible both to people with good or bad credit score. Even in the case of bankruptcy, IVAs, arrears or CCJs, you can still apply for it.

If your credit score is bad, you will still earn credits if you pay your home loan owner personal secured at the times specified. This way your credit score can improve.

There are a lot of places where these loans can be taken. Private moneylenders, financial institutions or banks, these are all good options. Another good option is looking for them online.

But, be careful, as you can lose your house if you don't repay your loan in time. That's the only problem with home loan owner personal secured. But, if you plan it properly, you can get all its benefits and avoid the problem.

Learn where to get cheap secured loans for homeowners at my cheap personal secured loans site.

The Best ID Theft Prevention For You

The crime of ID theft is a great and rapidly growing issue. With tens of millions of identities being stolen in the last 12 months, you must ensure that you do not become identity theft's next victim.

There are a few steps that you can take to reduce the probability of becoming a victim of identity theft. Probably the easiest thing to do is to just use your good judgement. Make sure you protect your valuable personal info and do not give it out unless there is a good reason to do so.

You need to check your credit bureau report on a regular basis to ensure that there hasn’t been any credit opened in your name without your authorization. If you know what should appear on your credit bureau report, then it is simple to tell if there has been any criminal activity with your social security number.

You can also use identity theft insurance to limit the risk to the possibility of having your identity stolen. ID theft protection is a speciality of a few trustworthy companies. identity theft protection companies use a identity theft alert so that you are alerted whenever anyone tries to open up credit using your personal information.

These ID theft solutions also eliminate a lot of junk mail, which includes offers of new credit. Mail theft is one way criminals steal your identity, this takes away this easy avenue.

Also, ID theft solutions watch the black market and the Internet for any unauthorized use or selling of your valuable information. Thieves typically will trade your valuable information, such as your social security number and name and address, which is used to steal your identity.

With identity theft affecting one out of every four houses in America, you need to do what you can to make sure you are protected. When you use an ID theft prevention service, you are doing a lot towards making sure you do not fall victim to ID theft. To find out more about these companies, you can read about TrustedID.

What To Consider When Thinking About A New Mortgage

There are many different types of mortgages available so you want to be sure that as you are choosing a program you are choosing one that will truly meet your needs, and one that will provide you with the satisfaction that comes from having just the right mortgage. The first thing that you have to do before you decide on a mortgage is know a little something about mortgages in general. This can help you make sure that the one you choose is perfect for you.

The first thing that you have to make sure you know is that a mortgage is going to be a loan that you can take out to pay for your home. The mortgage will allow you to buy a home because you take out a loan and use the loan money to pay for your home. This way you can be sure that you are giving yourself every chance to be a homeowner. Once you have figured out a little bit about the mortgage process, it is time to choose which one of the mortgages is best for you. First of all, you want to be sure that you are choosing one of the mortgages that can full pay for your property. Therefore, you first must know how expensive the property is that you are looking at purchasing. Then, you want to be sure that you choose a mortgage that can fit this amount.

Then, you want to be sure that the mortgage has the right kind of interest rate for you. You also want to be sure that you will be able to make the right types of monthly payments when you are dealing with your mortgage, so be sure that these are all covered as well as you can. For more information on how to save money on travel thus allowing you to pay off your mortgage earlier, visit http://www.featuredholidays.co.uk

Negative Equity And How You Can Avoid It

Negative equity occurs when you owe more on your mortgage (and in secured loans) than your home is worth. This usually occurs due to falling house prices, and with the UK housing market seemingly on the downturn, the problem could become widespread in the near future.

A recent BBC report estimates that 23,200 people with 100% mortgages (in which no deposit is put down) could face negative equity in the next year.

Even homeowners who have put down a deposit are at some risk – the smaller the deposit, the bigger the risk of falling into negative equity.

Negative equity is a particular problem if you are looking to move home. It means that you couldn’t pay off your mortgage by selling your home – and that makes moving up on the housing ladder very difficult.

How can I avoid negative equity?

There are a few things you can do to avoid (or lessen the impact of) negative equity:

Put down a higher deposit when you buy
The higher your deposit, the more (positive) equity you have, and the less chance you have of falling into negative equity.

For example, if your home’s value falls by £15,000 but you had only put down a £10,000 deposit, you will have £5,000 of negative equity. If you had put down a £20,000 deposit, you would still have £5,000 equity.

Pay more towards your mortgage (repayment mortgages only)
The faster you pay your mortgage back, the faster your equity grows, and the lower your chance of falling into negative equity.

While mortgage terms vary, the vast majority last between 15 and 40 years. The shorter your repayment period, the faster you pay the mortgage back – and the faster your equity grows.

Also, many banks will allow you to make overpayments: a good way of increasing your equity more quickly without committing to the higher payments of a shorter repayment term.

Convert your interest-only mortgage to a repayment mortgage
Interest-only mortgages are particularly vulnerable to falls in house prices. Because lenders expect the full mortgage amount back when the house is sold, any fall in value would need to be accounted for by you – potentially landing you in debt.

Interest-only mortgages are tempting due to their lower monthly payments, but you do not gain equity through making the monthly payments, as the actual value of the house is not paid back. Consider a remortgage – often, repayment mortgages are not much more expensive, and the growing equity could be invaluable if house prices do fall.

Make home improvements
The right home improvements could increase your home’s value, meaning the market value would have to drop further before your home would go into negative equity.

However, be aware that certain home improvements do not return as much in value as they originally cost – in which case it would be better to save the money!

Learning About Budgeting And Money Management Is Vital To Avoid Financial Disasters

personal financial management

Anybody who has ever stressed, worried and fretted about the state of their personal finances has likely gone to great lengths to do their best with budgeting and money management. Good money management skills are an important part of being able to enjoy a life that is not in constant turmoil over the flow of money into and out of the family coffers.

Learning the ins and outs of personal financial budgeting and management is something that is ideally taught to youngsters at an early age so that they can develop good money management skills right from the start. The later someone begins to take financial management seriously, the more potential there is for them to get into personal money management problems and even into serious financial straits that can be difficult to recover from.

Learning budgeting and money management as a child or a teenager will help to establish good spending and personal finance money management habits that can stay with a person throughout their lives. Without the proper understanding of credit and cash management, it is easy for young adults, who are just starting out in life, to squander their cash and rack up a great deal of debt very quickly.

There are many people who enter adulthood without having learned about budgeting and personal financial management. They find themselves exhilarated at the money they make at their first full-time job, and often such exhilaration leads to overspending and a lack of preparing for the future, of not being prepared for emergencies and of overusing credit cards and other credit vehicles that can soon lead to serious debt.

If a person sinks deeply into debt when they are still in their twenties, because of immaturity and poor money management abilities, then they can end up spending the next twenty years, or more, trying to dig out of the hole of consumer debt that they put themselves into. Even worse, poor money management and significant debt can also lead to bankruptcy all too easily and this is a blemish on a person's credit record that lingers for over a decade.

The ramifications and consequences of bankruptcy are more than just a matter of clearing away excessive debt and having your credit damaged. There are many other underlying issues that arise and filing for bankruptcy can affect your ability to get a good job, affect the insurance rates you pay, affect the interest rate on a mortgage, auto loan, and other types of loans, and can be an embarrassing thing to have to try to explain every time someone needs to pull your credit report.

The fortunate thing is that people who make the effort to learn about budgeting and money management will stand a good chance of averting personal finance money management disasters, such as bankruptcy. Indeed, it is never too late to start improving financial management in your life, yet starting sooner rather than later is always recommended.

Using Cash Management Services For Improved Business Money Management

cash management products

For anyone who is responsible for financial management duties, whether on the level of a major corporation, a small family business, or just the family finances, one vital component is managing the cash that flows in and out of the accounts of the group. Cash management services can be especially important to have in place in situations where a business or company deals in a great amount of cash on a regular basis, such as in restaurants and bars.

Banks provide many different types of financial management services, financial management solutions and financial management systems to their customers of all sizes, but especially to businesses who typically rely on the more sophisticated and powerful business financial management offerings. Business cash management is one of the many essential services that are offered.

Making use of cash management services is one of the best ways to make sure that any type of organization that relies on having cash on hand in order to do business is able to do so and to function smoothly and properly. This all helps to make sure that businesses can operate as needed and that the customers are kept happy so that they will return again and again.

At the same time, the financial services that banks offer their business customers help to make their routine banking needs simpler, faster, more efficient and cost effective. Making the business financial management solutions and systems easy to operate and manage helps to assure that business owners and managers can focus their time and attention more on running their businesses effectively and profitably, and less on dealing with the business financial management issues.

Cash flow is crucial to a smoothly running business operation and so the purpose of these financial services is to make sure that the cash that is required for the daily business operations is properly balanced. This means having enough cash on hand each day in order to conduct business as needed and yet also minimize the amount of cash that is in use so that the maximum available assets can be invested to earn a return.

There are a number of different cash management products and systems available these days from banks and other financial services companies. These various financial services and solutions vary widely and the best solution will primarily depend on the particular business, the industry it is operating in, how the business overall is being managed, and what the business financial management goals are.

Many companies go to great lengths to carefully keep track of cash flow, both incoming and outgoing, and providing that cash flow data to one of their financial managers. This person, in turn, can then take this information, analyze it and generate accurate predictions about the future cash needs of the business and pass these findings along to the cash management services in order to produce the best business cash management plan possible.

Credit Scores And Their Facts

To people who are not familiar with the term credit score, they often assume that this is the score that we get in our credit cards for the number of purchases that we have made every year. Although nothing can be further from reality. Credit scores are actually the grade that you get depending on how reliable a person is in paying their debts and credits.

Credit scores are determined by a lot of factors, how much your outstanding debts is, how regular do you pay for it, how much you spend and how much you earn. It will also be determined by your past credits and how were you as a borrower. These are all being gathered and recorded by credit bureaus and credit reference agencies like Equifax, TRansUnion and Experian.

So if you think, you are the only one who knows that you owe a credit card company a big amount, think again because they do keep records and what is more, all the credit transactions that we get are being filed for future reference of every credit and financial institution in the country.

Credit scores is important because it can mean being accepted or rejected for a loan. It may be difficult for those with a bad credit score to secure a car loan, house loan, or a credit card. With a poor history of credit, it's unlikely you will be able to borrow money. As an added salt to the injury, it is not only credit card companies, lending companies and banks that do get information from the credit scores.

Even private companies and government agencies use this to look to FBI background check a current employee or a potential employee. You see, a credit score will determine a person’s financial savvy and sense of responsibility. This will also show just how much a person is willing to face up to a problem instead of running away from it.

This is accurate for those employees who are being hired for jobs that involve money. A credit history and a credit score is important in determining if they will be able to handle the finances well. So as you can see, using a personal background check for an employee is a good idea.

Mobile phone companies and credit card companies also use credit scores to determine the clients that they should target. People who have good credit scores are often those who have the spending power. Thus, they are good people to offer mobile phone packages and credit card services.  

In securing a loan, credit scores and who have gone through an employment background check are also used in determining the kind of loan that will fit your credit profile. Higher loan amounts are given to those with higher credit scores, lowered interest, and a much longer time frame to pay off the loan.

In contrast, people who do not have a good credit score may be refused a loan or at the very least be given a small amount in loan, much higher interest and shorter time frame to pay the loan. This is because credit card companies and lender also want to protect their interest. Riskier are the lower credit scores and therefore require higher interest rates.

Credit scores can be purchased through the internet via Equifax. They will send you your FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation) score for a fee, $12.95.