Why Katrina's Winds Must PUSH You

First of all, allow me to lessen any concerns you have that this
will be anything like the typical commentary you've been reading
about the Katrina disaster. It won't. In fact, one of the
reasons I decided to wait a few weeks to address this was to
allow some time to gain some perspective. And that is indeed
what I plan to provide here.

This is in NO way a
commercial or advertisement for anything that we offer, nor am I
offering political opinions of ANY kind. This is about YOU and
your life, and exactly what you choose to learn from this
disaster.

Let me also say that if you or anyone you know
was directly affected by this horrific event, our thoughts and
prayers are with you during this difficult time. In fact, our
organization has already provided a lot of resources, financial
and otherwise, to the humanitarian effort that is currently
being undertaken. We plan to go a lot further with this in the
coming weeks.

HOWEVER, for those of you who are
like us and were not hurt directly by Katrina, you need to
understand something. Katrina has had a direct impact on
you no matter where you live or what your circumstances are.
You will see why in just a moment. All I ask is that you invest
the next few minutes of your life absorbing every word of this.





When I first saw
the devastation created by Katrina in the Gulf Coast, I had the
same reaction as the rest of the country: first shock, then
grief, then giving. The most important thing is to get as much
aid to these families and individuals as quickly as possible.
Even though the government will ultimately step up to foot the
bill, the amount of help needed is so great that even the
millions and millions in donations thus far will hardly make a
dent. So the first order of business is (and will remain as such
for some time) getting help to these folks via reputable
organizations like the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.


In case there's any question as to how severe the issues
are with displaced families, a quick story. A church in our area
recently made a decision to house a family in a vacant single
family home that they had previously used as a parsonage. Since
the red tape proved overwhelming, they decided to drive down to
Mississippi to find a family in need, pick them up and bring
them back up to our area (Chicago). This family is made up of a
young couple and their three children (ages 2, 4 and 8).


We were involved in helping with the effort to get them
up moved here and situated, and here's what I can tell you.
It took an entire community of people - DOZENS of folks - to
help get this ONE family moved and situated. They had
nothing but the clothes on their back. They have needed
donations of EVERY imaginable form: furniture, food, clothes for
all five of them, a working vehicle, toiletries, and on and on.
They are literally starting their lives over from absolutely
nothing.

I tell you this simply to point out that
there are literally thousdands and thousands of
individuals and families in this same situation. The amount of
help needed is so great that it exceeds what most of us can
perceive. When I think about how many people and donations it
took for us to help just this ONE family, it creates a
perspective that needs to be shared.

In fact, it's at
this point where Katrina's real impact starts to become more
apparent.

In the days immediately following the
disaster, I began to read the newspaper a little more carefully.
Now, I don't normally make a habit of following news carefully
because frankly the negativity tends to diminish the
entrepreneurial spirit. I've found that you definitely need to
create an emotional separaration when you follow news so
that you aren't filling your mind with so many of the negative
realities of our nation and world. So I made the decision to
follow the news very closely, but as an observer.


Based on my observations, here is the main realization
that I want to share with you.


THE COST OF
RECOVERY

Whether you realize it or not, the cost of
this recovery effort will ultimately be paid for by EVERY
American, including you. Let's take a closer look at this.


* Gas Prices - This one is the most immediately
evident at the pump. Despite a lot of speculation that the oil
and gas companies are price gougiing the American people (which
may or may not be true and will not be debated here), the
reality is that gas prices may settle a bit but will never go
back down to what they were two or three years ago. We can hope
they will but it's simply not going to happen.

*
Energy Costs - Experts are saying that energy costs in
general are going to rise significantly, at least in the short
term. Here in Chicago, our gas companies have raised their rates
anywhere from 30-60%, and our major electricity utility will be
raising their rates by at least 15-20%. My guess is that similar
things are happening in your market.

* Insurance
Costs - Needless to say, it is likely that one of the
outcomes of this disaster will be higher insurance costs. As it
is, in the last five years homeowners insurance premiums have
increased significantly in this country. Based on the degree of
damage done by Katrina and the number of claims expected, I
would expect to see this trend continue.

* Cost of
General Goods - There are also predictions that numerous
products will be affected by this event, including the cost of:
coffee and chocolate (which get imported through the Gulf
region); paper products and detergent (which contain heavy
petroleum and natural gas components); and finally asphalt,
roofing shingles and lumber (due to the high demand as a result
of the massive rebuilding effort).

* INFLATION -
This is the hidden one that you need to really understand. Let
me explain.

When the government agrees to foot the bill
for a disaster like this, they don't just pull the money out of
thin air. They do it just like most Amercians do - they
borrow it. (Scarily enough, it's really just paper that
gets created to do this and there's no true gold or value
against the amount borrowed, but that's yet another story for
another time).

HOWEVER, the important question
here is: Who will eventually pay the bill for this loan? Yes,
the government will eventually pay it, but where will the actual
money come to do that?

The answer: The American
People will ultimately pay for it - if not directly, than
certainly in the form of INFLATION.

As a reminder,
inflation is the general and progressive increase in prices over
time. While this is often caused by supply and demand, in this
case it is also a function of the bill for a disaster like
Katrina getting passed along to Americans in the form of a
higher cost of living. Essentially, the burden spills
down on consumers from the corporations and businesses who get
immediately hit by it, thus causing waves of price increases
over time.


OK Ken, Your Point Is...?


My point is simple: Whether you acknowledge it or
not, Katrina will have a DIRECT impact onyou personally unless
you wake up and do something about it.

Think of your
path to financial freedom as an enterprise. All
successfuls enterprises flourish by doing TWO things: 1)
increasing profits and 2) reducing expenses. Well guess what?
Number two IS NOT going to happen. In fact, as I just
explained your expenses are going UP whether you like it or not.
That means it's time to focus on number one: increasing your
income as SOON as possible.

Katrina needs to be a
CALL TO ACTION for you. After you give the time, service
and resources that you have available for helping those in need,
you need to take serious action toward achieving your
goal of financial freedom.

If you're already taking
massive action and starting to see results, that's great.
Just don't give up. Let this be a motivator that keeps
you going, that keeps you doing the things that most are NOT
willing to do.

However, if you're not already taking the
kind of action necessary, this is your wake-up call. I
know for a fact that there are many folks reading this who are
pretending - and you need to wake up to this fact NOW and
take advantage of the opportunities that are before you.


Despite its devastation, Katrina serves to remind ALL of
us that we wake up every day with a CHOICE. You can
either make excuses and continue to allow your circumstances to
define your financial future, OR you can get rid of your
laziness and apathy and start taking the action that only
1% of this country is willing to take in order to have the life
of freedom that you deserve.

One more thing. If
you were making $50K per month or even just $20K per month, how
great would it feel to be able to donate a large amount of money
to this cause? If the ability to give to worthy causes is
one of your reasons for pursuing financial freedom, I can tell
you this based on personal experience... nothing feels better
than to finally be able to write a nice BIG check to an
organization that does humanitarian good in the world.


In closing, I sincerely hope that Katrina's winds will
push you to start taking massive action that will bring you 1)
freedom from the stress of ever-rising expenses, 2) the
level of income that you deserve based on your own hard
work, and 3) the ability to give to national and
international causes that are working to better humanity.


Warmest regards,

Ken
Preuss
ForeclosureMBA.com

P.S. If you enjoyed
this article, we invite you to register for our FREE
ForeclosureMBA E-Lesson Series where you will receive weekly
tips and lessons on the most up-to-date foreclosure investing
strategies. Enrollment is free for a limited time only.
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http://www.foreclosuremba.co
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Growth in Greenville SC in 2005

This year brought many changes to the Greenville area with the City\'s emphasis on revitalization downtown and subsequent projects in the outer edges of the city. In 2003, the National Trust for Historic Preservation gave Greenville its Great American Main Street award, leading some real estate developers to call it \a model for urban redevelopment.\ Acclaim went to the emphasis put on parking and streetscapes which, while not glamorous, still drive the attractiveness. This year the Hayden Medal for outstanding achievement in bridge engineering was awarded to the West End\'s Liberty Bridge by the Engineers Society of Western Pennsylvania.

Outside the downtown area, we can expect to see progress on the Salvation Army\'s Joan Kroc endowed west side community center, redevelopment of the commercial corridor along Pleasantburg Drive, and renovation of the Palmetto Expo Center. Four large projects along I-85 are taking shape as well: The International Center for Automotive Research and next to it the Millennium Campus, the Verdae project and the Global Trade Center.

In residential real estate investments, a lot of national attention has been generated over the real estate bubble bursting or slipping back into just an expansion. This may be true of some sizzling metropolitan areas, but Greenville has been blessed with consistent and stable growth, the overall result being a more predictable appreciation rate of homes. This trend is expected to continue as our area grows in the upcoming years.

Lee Cunningham GRI, ABR, CRS http://GreenvilleSCRealEstate.net Lee was a professional mountaineering guide, climber and professional avalanche team/ski patroller for over 10 years.

Lee went to school at UNC Chapel Hill where he received a BS in Business with an emphasis in Real Estate. Lee moved to Washington State where he built custom homes in summer and in winter he worked on professional avalanche teams. Lee left Washington State deciding to seek a more challenging life as a guide on Kilimanjaro in Kenya Africa. When Lee came back to the states he transitioned into head of sales and marketing with Mountain Madness climbing/adventure travel guides. Sales and Marketing fit Lee\'s outgoing personality perfectly. Lee later worked with his father in industrial sales until he took a position as National Sales Manager for Rieter Corp. In Greenville Lee became a successful realtor with RE/MAX after purchasing a new home, investing in several rental properties and meeting and marrying Mechelle whose mother and brother are successful realtors in Atlanta, GA.

10 Step Credit Repair Guide

The process of clearing credit can be laborious and frustrating, but your efforts will be paid for in better financing. Your rights are protected by laws, but you need to take reasonable actions toward your goal of clearing credit discrepancies. You can get the credit reporting agencies to help you instead of hindering your excellent credit quest with these tips.

1. Order credit reports.

2. Check for discrepancies.

3. Note problems and discrepancies in your Credit Dispute Log.

4. Contact disputed companies by telephone. (Contact original debtors, not collectors.)

Log the telephone call with a brief summary of agreements.

Remember to record the name of the contact representative.

5. Follow up with certified letter to original company.

6. Write letters to collectors, dispute bill, send documentation of payment to original company.

7. Fill out dispute form provided by credit bureau.

8. Write separate letter for each disputed item to credit bureaus.

Send letters by certified mail.

Enclose copies of supporting documentation.

9. Use the number provided by the credit bureau and call for progress; have your reference number handy.

10. Keep comprehensive records in your Credit File.

These ten steps will help you finance your dreams.

Copyright 2005 by Jeanette J. Fisher. All rights reserved. (You may publish this article in its entirety with the following author's information with live links only.)

Forget what you've been told about credit. Credit Help! author Professor Jeanette Fisher was forced into becoming a credit expert. She loves helping people buy houses. Get the credit you need to buy one house or twenty. Visit Real Estate Credit Help Center for a free Credit Tips for Mortgage Financing ebook http://www.recredithelp.com

Why do Some People Rake in the Dough while Others Spin Their Wheels to No Avail?

Here's the truth: I have read hundreds and hundreds of books about personal finances, from the conventional world of financial planning, to the trendy how-to-get-rich programs to the New Age gurus of money.

But here's what's missing from nearly all of them: VERY FEW of them even mention about our relationship with money.

Whether you're aware of it now or not, you have a personal relationship with money: a complex combination of your beliefs, attitudes, energy, history and fears about money AND the healthier your relationship with money is, the more money, success and financial freedom you enjoy.

Successful people have healed and transformed their relationship with money and so can you!

For most people, money has become an enormously high-pressure area of their lives, fraught with negativity, fear and self-defeating beliefs. It's not unlike the way we proceed and react in any relationship - with a cumulative body of attitudes and experiences that totally shape the way we behave and think. From the time we're very small, the subject of money takes on more and more of this emotional and energetic aggage and that becomes the very roadblock that prevents us from creating the financial life we want and deserve.

You see, most of what we learn about money only serves to create more and more pressure around it. In fact, the typical approaches you may have tried before actually drive money away from you by worsening your negative beliefs and attitudes about money.

But right now, today, you can reverse that trend and aim positive cash flow in your own direction.

The thing is, a pure new approach to your relationship with money changes everything. You CAN clear the frustration and limiting energy from your past, and start anew with a bright, unblemished and welcoming field around your money center. Much more than just positive thinking, the techniques you're about to learn will create a fundamental change in your field of possibility.

YOU Can Transform YOUR Relationship with Money by:

Becoming aware of the power of YOUR beliefs and clear your negative beliefs around money. Make healing your personal relationship with money one of your top priorities in life.

Knowing where you stand financially at all times: Know what your net worth and cash flow is and where your money goes each month.

Identifying what your skills and talents and interests are and find a job or career where you can use them. Explore the possibility of creating a sideline business for one of your hobbies.

Becoming a savvy consumer and develop a plan to reduce your debt. Reduce your expenses so that you generate the cash flow you need to invest in yourself and your dreams.

Creating a game plan for what you want to accomplish financially, set goals, make action plans and go for it. Begin to tap into, harness and apply the power of your mind to make your dreams come true.

A good place to begin is to examine what your parents beliefs were about money and how did those beliefs impact their money. Then look at your own beliefs around money and what you have created in your personal finances. We often hold on to our family's beliefs around money even if they do not serve us...

These ideas are explored in more depth in a book I wrote on Transform YOUR Relationship with Money: A Step-by-Step Guide for Financial Empowerment. For more information, please check out my web site located at http://TransformYourRelationshipWithMoney.com

Bill Austin is a spiritual healer and teacher based in St Petersburg FL. He has assisted hundreds of people around the world in gaining the clarity they need to realize more of their full potential. To find out more about his healing practice, please check out his web site at http://www.HealingHolograms.com

Forex Beginners Guide Learn How to Trade in Forex Market from the Basics

Today\'s Forex trading is well known as a lucrative way to make money online. It became an essential part for investor\'s portfolio as you can simply gain thousands in minutes by trading currencies at home. For those who are new to the trade, Forex means Foreign Exchange Market where it involves buying and selling the different currencies of the world. Profits are made through the difference of selling and buying price - you earn when you buy-low sell-high while lose when buy-high sell-low.

Forex is a true 24-hour market. The trade begins each day in Sydney, and moves around the globe to Tokyo, London, and then New York. Unlike any other financial market, investors can respond to money-value fluctuations caused by economic, social and political events at the time they occur - day or night. Major currencies traded nowadays are United States dollars, Australian Dollars, Japanese Yens, British Pounds, Swiss Francs, Canadian Dollars, and the Euro Dollars.

In the past, small speculators are not allowed to trade Forex freely as it is now. The minimum required business sizes are large and the financial requirements for trading foreign currencies are strict. Only huge multi national cooperation and banks are able to fit into the business. In fact, large international banks are still the remain as the main players in currency exchange market. Deutsche Bank is one of the top currency traders; along with other major banks like UBS, Citi Group, HSBC, Barclays, J. P. Morgan Chase, Coldman Sachs, ABN Amro, Morgan Stanley, and Merril Lynch; these banks are said to be responsible for more than 70% trades in currency market. Forex trade is not open to the publics until year 1998, where big sized inter-bank units are sliced into smaller pieces and offered to individual traders.

It is simple to get started in Forex trading, an funded Forex account and a computer connected to the Internet is more than enough to get you moving. However, to start trading and to earn in the trades are different. Trading Forex is a high risks game and traders should always follow certain principals, listed below are a few of must-do\'s when trading in Forex market.

1. Educate yourself before trading in Forex market

As in any trading markets, building up your trading skills and knowledge is the very first step that you must take. Forex website www.golearnforex.net might be a good spot to get started for Forex beginners. To further your learning in Forex trading, seminars, workshops, video tutorials, online learning, or even books are handful to help us learn from the professional. Learn to implement technical charting into your trades; learn using indicators to determine the right time to enter/exit the market; brush up your experience by trading with a demo account all these are effective to ensure your smooth starts and it will definitely reduce your chances of losing money.

2. Having a trading plans

A good trading plan is much needed no matter you are a beginner or an expert in Forex trading. The Forex market itself is just a vehicle, to go to your desired destination, which is to gain profit and achieve financial freedom in our case, you have to drive your vehicle with maps and navigations. How much do you want to earn from the trades? How much you can afford to lose if things go wrong? What is the amount of capital you are putting in? Answer the questions to yourself when you are setting your trading plan. If you fail to plan, you are indeed plan to fail.

3. Mature mindsets and discipline trading

Trading Forex with discipline is important. Success in Forex trading could not be achieved by only plotting out the best trading plan. It is also depends on implementing the trading plan. Be discipline, trade according to your plan and never trade with your emotion no matter you are losing money or winning. Greed will stop you from taking profit at predetermined level; while fear will stop you from making the nice kill in the market.

Without a doubt, Forex is getting more and more popular. There are less restrictions in FOREX market. No limited market access, no liquidity issues-after market hours, zero commission fees, low capital requirements, and no restrictions on short selling. However, the risks in Forex trading should not be taken for granted. As you can always trade in margin, you might lose a lot more than you can afford if you don\'t plan your investment wisely. Seminars, e-Books, Internet, papers, plus video courses are all you need first before getting involved in the market.

Teddy, writer and webmaster in financial investment. Learn Forex trading from scratch in his website at http://www.golearnforex.net

Finding the Right Home to Purchase

It has been hard to miss the explosion of interest in real estate that the last few years have brought. More and more people are moving from being mere renters to being homeowners, and still more people have moved up to their dream house. Finding the right home to purchase is not always as easy as it seems, however, and it is important to know what to look for before you shop.

Perhaps the most important consideration when finding the right home to purchase is how much you can afford to spend. It is no secret that home prices have been steadily on the rise, and in some markets the average home now costs as much as half a million dollars. With prices like this it is important to be sure you can afford the required monthly payments before you start shopping.

Fortunately there are a number of mortgage payment calculators available on the internet to make this process a lot easier. Simply by entering the purchase price of the home, the amount of your down payment, and the interest rate for which you expect to qualify, you can get a rough estimate of your monthly payment. Take a good look at the number and decide whether or not you can afford the payments. If you are unsure, you may want to look for a home in a lower price range.

The next step is to consult a local real estate agent and start looking for the perfect home. You probably already have an idea of the location where your home should be, and we all know how important location is when it comes to real estate. For maximum value, it is often best to buy a home in an economically depressed area that is expected to recover in coming years. By making this gamble, it may be possible to get a real bargain.

It may be necessary to expand your search beyond your target area in order to find the home of your dreams, so it is important to prepare for this possibility. The real estate agent should have access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), which lists all the houses for sale by a number of different real estate agencies. Be sure to look through this book and ask to see the homes you are interested in.

Once you have found a home you like, it is essential to have a thorough inspection done on that home. A home inspection costs very little, and it can provide real peace of mind. After all, you will likely be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for your home. It makes sense to spend a couple of hundred dollars to protect that valuable purchase and discover any hidden damage.

Brooke Sikula is a freelance writer based in Ventura, CA and writes on a wide range of topics from home improvement to credit repair and everything in between. She is a regular contributor to http://www.get-home-improvement.com and http://www.loan-mortgage-auto.com. For more information on real estate and mortgage finance, check out http://www.loan-mortgage-auto.com.

Join Investment Club to know how to Invest for Profit

If you're thinking about investing for profit, but have no
experience or knowledge about the stock market you may want to
think about joining, or starting, an investment club. An
investment club is comprised of a group of people who pool
together some of their money to start investing in the stock
market. You don't need to know anything about investing when you
join, since this is one of the purposes of the investment club:
to meet with people who share the common interest in investing.
One of the things that you need to keep in mind is that you may
not see a profit for all your investing efforts, so if your goal
is to just invest for profit an investment club won't be for
you. However, if you want to make a little bit of money while
investing as you learn, an investment club is the perfect place
for you to feel safe and secure.

There are many investment clubs all over North America that are
looking for new members. Most clubs will only have from 10 to 15
members. This is so that they can meet regularly in each others
homes and so that they have a great deal of control over what
investing is done in certain areas of the stock market. If you
can't find an investment club where you live that is still
taking new members you may want to think about starting your own
club. There are many resources available at the library and on
the Internet that will give you all the information that you
need to start your club. Find one or two friends that share your
interest in investing and get started. After a bit of
advertising, and word of mouth, you'll find that you soon have
enough members to get started. Investing for profit can be fun
and exciting. The important thing to remember is that you never
want to invest more than you can afford to lose.

What is Credit Insurance?

Are you wondering what is credit insurance? Very simply, credit insurance is an insurance policy that protects a loan on the chance that you are unable to make the repayments. The next time you have occasion to apply for a loan or mortgage, you will be asked if you want to buy credit insurance, or it might already be included in your loan proposal. If so, it will increase your loan amount and you'll pay additional interest.

Credit insurance usually is optional, which means you don't have to purchase it from the lender. Before deciding to buy credit insurance from a lender, think about your needs, your options, and the rates you're going to pay. You may decide you don't need credit insurance.

If you decide to get credit insurance be aware that it can be an expensive form of insurance. For example, it may be less expensive and more practical for you to get life insurance than credit insurance.

Before deciding to buy credit insurance, ask the lender the following questions:

How much is the credit insurance premium?

Will the credit insurance premium be financed as part of the loan?

Can you pay monthly instead of financing the entire premium as part of your loan?

How much lower would your monthly loan payment be without the credit insurance?

Will the insurance cover the full length of your loan and the full loan amount?

Can you cancel the insurance? If so, what kind of refund is available?

Prior to signing any loan papers, ask the lender whether the loan includes any charges for voluntary credit insurance. If you don't want credit insurance, tell the lender. If the lender still insists that you take out credit insurance, find another lender.

You may freely reprint this article provided the author's biography remains intact:

John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help UK homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.

Market Value vs Replacement Cost: What Is The Difference?

For those who have ever purchased a home, which requires Homeowners insurance, you may recognize that there is a difference between the amount you paid for the home and the actual amount of your basic coverage for the home, without belongings.



This is simply because you paid market value for your home while the insurance company used replacement cost value to estimate what the costs would be to rebuild your home. So what exactly is the difference between market value and replacement cost?



Market value is simply the price you paid for your home and most often insurance agencies do not give market value a second consideration because the real estate investment market can fluctuate so greatly.



If you look at a property in 2003 in your area, it may have sold for $100,000 but just three years later in 2006 it sold for $130,000. This has to do with the demand for homes in the area and the rising costs of real estate, but this doesn\'t have anything to do with what the actual cost of rebuilding the home would be.



Homeowners insurance companies will always look at the cost of rebuilding the exact same home in the exact same location for a certain year. This is the definition of replacement cost. So, if you are purchasing homeowners insurance in an area where the market is through the roof and homeowners are paying triple or double the building value of the home, then your actual replacement cost and insurance coverage may be lower than the market value of the home.



If you live in an area where the market is not so great during that particular year, then what you paid for your home might be less than what the actual replacement cost of the home is for that year. This is essential to keep in mind when calling the insurance company, as many customers are confused or even upset at the differences in price that insurance companies want to charge for coverage.



Keep in mind when receiving estimations from the insurance company that many may give you replacement value insurance coverage costs as well as market value insurance coverage costs, but it is always best to take the replacement value insurance coverage since this is what will be needed to replace your home in the long run. You also want to remember that land value should not be included in the replacement cost assessment, so don\'t let an insurance agent suggest otherwise.



Before speaking with an insurance agent, be sure to properly document the square footage of your home and each room, any special amenities that the home has including wood floors, marble or granite countertops, porches, decks or sunrooms, and basements.



The insurance company will also want to know major appliances that come with the purchase of the home, as well as the basics of the plumbing system, electrical systems and air conditioning/heating units that are installed. This can help them to assess how much it will cost to replace these items during the current year of your Homeowners insurance policy, so you won\'t be left out in the dark!

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Credit: Ian W Anderson of homeownersinsurance.cc, the homeowners insurance information site. For more homeowners insurance information and articles like this one visit: Homeowners Insurance

Tips for First Time Credit Card Users

Having a credit card is one of the necessities in our modern times. A credit card can help a person stretch out his or her cash flow. However with this great privilege given by the credit card, some people tend to abuse it. People will sometimes use the card to purchase things that are normally a luxury for them. Instead of using the card to buy necessary stuff like foods to make paying for other important bills easier.

In Spiderman\'s words; \With Great Power Comes Great Responsibilities.\

For first time users of credit cards, especially the younger people, having a credit card means something else. It could mean that they could actually have more money to buy the stuff they want. First time credit card users should not overlook the fact that credit cards should be used responsibly, if they don\'t they are the one who will take the fall. Here are some things that first time users should put into thought.

Be sure to manage your credit card accounts well. The credit card accounts you have will help you in your future. It can help you when you try to get loans, because when loan companies see that you have great credit history, they will make it easier for you to get a loan (interest and all). When you have great credit history, it will also be easier to look for apartments, new jobs and apply for mortgages.

In the modern world today of the internet, purchases or transactions are also done via the card. Be wary though of protecting your cards when purchasing online or by phone, because they might be able to access your card\'s numbers.

The first step for new credit card users is to choose the card wisely. There will be lots and lots of cards to choose from and it will be overwhelming. Try not to choose a card for offering low introductory rates or for giving great rewards.

The cards that offer low introductory rates will eventually have a steep climb to the top once the introductory period is over. Cards that offer great rewards will have additional annual fees and costs that will not be clear.

Know the terms and conditions of your chosen card very well. The interest rates and the late fees will only make you have a hard time paying the bill. Making the minimum payment when that happens will not help at all. So pay your credit card bills well enough to avoid the additional fees.

Some credit card companies will raise your interest rates and have numerous miscellaneous fees if you are not able to pay off the bill on time. Be wise about how you use the card. Save some money to pay the credit card bills.

Always avoid the chance of making late payments if you have the capability to pay them. When you have received the credit card bill, pay the bill several days before the due date. If you plan to pay online, still pay the bill ahead of time. Always make sure that your payments will never be late. Remember late payments will give you bad credit ratings and harder time to get loans in the future.

Credit cards also offer cash advances. This is not a suggestible thing to do. Card companies charge a very high interest rates and lots of added fees. Only use the cash advances if it is really for emergency.

Always make sure to protect your cards. Major problems that could arise are identity theft and credit card fraud that you should protect yourself from. So try not to let anyone borrow your cards.

When your credit card bill arrives, check every detail about it. There might be some mistakes that require some repairing.

Remember \With Great Powers Comes Great Responsibilities.\

You may freely reprint this article provided the following author\'s biography (including the live URL link) remains intact:

About The Author

John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.

Don't Buy Stocks based on P/E Ratio alone

I use the P/E ratio as a secondary indicator for buying and selling stocks but I don\'t use the ratio in the same a manner as many value investors teach. I will explain the difference in my methodology for using the P/E ratio to your advantage.

Many value investors will pass on a growth stock that has a P/E ratio higher than a predetermined level. For example, they may discard all stocks that have a ratio of 15 or higher, no matter what industry group they come from. Some investors will discard any stocks that have P/E ratios above the industry group averages, concluding that they are grossly overvalued. I am not saying that this method doesn\'t work, because it does but it will not work when you focus on buying young innovative small cap stocks that are growing at tremendous rates, rates that \big caps\ can no longer sustain.

I have never passed on buying a stock due to its P/E ratio being too high. What is too high? Too high to one investor may be low to another investor. This is the same logic that I use when speaking of stock\'s prices. One problem that have with some value investors is their lack of understanding of the movement of the P/E ratio line on a chart. As a stock begins to move 100% or 200% from its pivot point, the P/E ratio will also move higher over the course of time. Plotting the P/E ratio on a chart will show you how much of a gain the ratio has made as the stock continues its up-trend.

Value investors that pass on buying stocks with P/E ratio\'s above a certain threshold have missed some of the biggest winners of all time (the 10-baggers as Peter Lynch would say). Analysts frequently downgrade stocks when their P/E ratios cross what they believe to be fully valued thresholds.

Some things in life are worth more than other things although they offer the same use, such as a car. I tend to use this example often but I would rather own a Mercedes for $50k over a Pinto for $10k. They will both take me where I want to go but I value the amenities that the Mercedes gives me and the added comfort, quality and style that comes with the luxury vehicle. The same holds true for stocks, certain companies offer greater appeal and are valued at higher ratios than their competitors. The best materialistic things in life, including growth stocks, are usually bought at a premium.

The P-E ratio uses a stock\'s current price and divides it by total earnings per share over the past four quarters. For example, currently GDP has a P/E ratio 51.06 with a share price of $24.00. Its last four quarters of EPS add up to $0.47. Its P-E ratio is $24.00 divided by $0.47, or 51.06. MSN Money Central has the P/E ratio listed at 51.30.

Growth stocks usually sport higher P/E ratios than the rest of the general market, even at the start of up-trends. A high P/E ratio typically means that the stock is enjoying strong demand. If a stock climbs in price from 40 to 60, its P/E ratio also gains 50%. Even though the P/E ratio may be high according to some analysts and value investors, the stock may be about to breakout from a cup-with-handle and go on to double from this point. Would you want to miss out on a possible 100% gain because the P/E ratio is too high?

Investor\'s Business Daily conducted an excellent case study in 1996-97: \The 95 best small- and mid-cap stocks of 1996-97 had an average P-E of 39 at their pivot and 87 at the peak of their run-ups. The 25 best large caps of those years began with an average P-E of 20 and rose to 37. To get a piece of these big winners, you had to pay a premium.\

When I purchase a stock, I note the current P/E ratio and chart it along with the price. Historically, P/E\'s that move up 100%-200% or more while the stock is advancing, usually become vulnerable stocks and can start to become extended and flash sell signals. It holds true for a stock with a P/E starting at 15 and going to 40 or a stock with a P/E of 50 and going to 115. Don\'t skip over EXCELLENT companies that are growing at amazing clips because of a high P/E ratio. What may seem high now, may be low later on! Earnings and Sales are much more important. Price and volume are the most important. The P/E ratio is just a secondary indicator that can be used to further analyze the stocks in your portfolio.

Always use price and volume as your first line of offense and defense. From this point, turn to some dependable secondary indicators to confirm your original analysis and then make a decision. I would never throw out a stock because its P/E ratio is too high. Take GOOG for example, every value investor missed the 100% gain that this stock boasted after the release of its IPO. Growth stocks are expensive for a reason, don\'t forget the analogy to a Mercedes.

Chris Perruna - http://www.marketstockwatch.com

Chris is the Founder and President of MarketStockWatch.com, an internet community that teaches you how to invest your money with solid rules. We don\'t stop at just showing you our daily and weekly screens, we teach you how to make your own screens through education. Through our philosophy, you will be able to create your own methods and styles to become successful.

Free Money: Fact or Fiction?

Yes, you have heard it all: get free money. Well, little in life is truly free, but if you are wise about it you can save a little bit of money here and a little bit of money there and accumulate wealth. Have you shaken the money tree yet? If so, tell me where it is so that I can get my fair share. Seriously, if you want free money you\'ll have to put a little effort out first. Let\'s examine some sources of free money just waiting for your hand out.



Clip Coupons - All those coupons you see in your Sunday newspaper, which come in your mail, that even pop up your computer screen are meant for you to take action. Simply cut the coupons out, march down to your local supermarket, and use the \cents off\ savings to get free money. Okay, you won\'t be handed a wad of cash but you can pocket the savings nevertheless. Even better: shop at those supermarkets willing to double even triple your savings.



File Your Tax Return - So, you didn\'t file your tax returns in 2003, 2004, and 2005 because you made a pittance, eh? Well, you may be missing out on some free money. Depending on your household set up, you could be missing out on the government\'s earned income tax credit for your children. If you don\'t file, you don\'t get the free money which could amount to several thousand dollars per year!



Rebate It - Oh, that new color printer you bought is a real scream! Did you notice the $20 rebate that came with it? Oh sure the $99 sale price was a bargain but did you notice any additional money savings with that offer? For the price of a postage stamp you can submit a rebate and await your $20 check a few weeks later. Free money? You bet you: most people don\'t bother to redeem rebates!



Property Tax Relief - So, you are over 65 and finding it hard to make ends meet. Well, in some communities help is as near as your local property tax office. Maybe you shouldn\'t pay the full property tax amount every year; some locales discount property taxes for cash strapped seniors by as much as 10% each year. That could translate into hundreds of dollars in savings especially if you live in a high tax area!



Take A Survey - Most of those mall survey people will pay you to take a survey. Typically, you will get $5 or a coupon for a free meal at McDonald\'s. In some cases you could be eligible for a much more comprehensive survey. If so, hundreds of dollars of free money could be awaiting you.



Yes, read the fine print with any offer as some are certainly \too good to be true.\ In many other cases, however, free money can be had. Check around to see what offers are available in your areasomeone has to get the free money, why not you?

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Copyright 2006 - For additional information regarding Matt Keegan, The Article Writer, please visit his blog for wit, quips, and freelance writing tips.

Unemployed debt consolidation: dissolving twin burden of unemployment and debt

Okay, did you wish on the fairy godmother to take away debts? You are doubtful if it will work- especially when you are unemployed. You are certainly not happy with the current circumstances. You want to work, have the ability to pay your own bills. Everyone wants that freedom and control. Debt consolidation for unemployed can enable the borrower to do exactly that - pay your bills! Unemployed debt consolidation is meant to work when debt numerology has exceeded the number two.



An unemployed will need debt consolidation when they are struggling to pay two or more debts. Unemployed debt consolidation loans are a logical way to manage debts.



Debt consolidation loans will combine these debts into single consolidated loan. This procedure will always carry lowering of interest rates. This means that the cumulated interest rates that you pay on your various loans will be higher than the interest rate on debt consolidation loans.



There will be only one monthly payment instead of many pays for all the unpaid debts. Lowering in interest rates many times lead to lowering of monthly payments. Thus, Debt consolidation for unemployed will generate extra cash every month. An unemployed should not always see lowering in monthly payments as an obvious pattern with debt consolidation. This is so because depending on repayment plan monthly payments may or may not reduced.



Lowering in interest rates will mean saving money in the long run. Saving money would imply raising capital which the unemployed can put to many good uses.



Henceforth, the unemployed debt consolidation lender negotiates and deals with your lenders. It takes away all the harassment that an unemployed might be facing for repayment.



One consolidated loan makes debt condition manageable. You have just to take care of one debt every month leaving you to free to make other financial decisions.



Debt consolidation unemployed is possible with or without collateral. Collateral is security pledged for the repayment of the loan. Not every unemployed will have a security to place. For unemployed tenants unsecured debt consolidation will negate the need for security. This loan type however is open to homeowner also. Many unemployed homeowners would not want to place their home as collateral during their period of unemployment. They can also apply for unsecured debt consolidation.



Secured unemployed debt consolidation will have advantages in the form of comparatively lower interest rates. Repayment terms will be flexible with the ability to borrow more. For amounts from 5000-25,000 an unemployed will find unsecured debt consolidation more suitable. With amounts ranging from 25,000-75,000 an unemployed will find better options with secured debt consolidation.



Debt consolidation seems like a magical cure for unemployed. But there are few debt consolidation mistakes which can make this decision prove adverse for an unemployed. Take care to choose you debt counselor or negotiator. They may claim high and mighty to an unemployed but they are not always there to help you. A counselor who promises to reduce your debt or reduce monthly payments to half are working for their own good rather than yours. Unemployed debt consolidation will not reduce your debts.



Like any other loan, unemployed will have to search for the debt consolidation loan that suits their circumstances. Loan lenders offering debt consolidation for unemployed offer great flexibility keeping in mind the unemployed condition. Short repayment terms, discounts, stand-by facility, holiday period, overdraft etc. are few of the benefits. A good debt consolidation lender will negotiate with previous lenders on the behalf of the unemployed. Ask for quote, redemption fees and check for any hidden fee.



Consolidating high interest rate loan into single loan at lower rates makes a whole lot of sense. But never leave sight of the real overall objective to save money, speed up the process of repayment and above all to become debt free! An unemployed should look for debt consolidation with the resolve not to go back to such a condition where he or she will need debt consolidation again. That will itself be a success. So when wished from the fairy godmother to make your debts vanish - it worked. Your wish started to work the moment you decided for unemployed debt consolidation.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Scarlette started on a horse back and had a few falls herself. Therefore, she knows. Financial decisions are to be made after
considerable thought and backed by good financial understanding. Her articles might introduce you to financial sense without any falls. She suffers from no injuries now. To find all types of loans for unemployed UK Residents Please visit www.loansforunemployed.co.uk

Life Insurance Policies: Term vs Permanent

When it comes to purchasing life insurance, deciding which kind of policy to buy can be a challenge. But by learning about the characteristics of available life insurance policies and working together with an experienced life insurance agent, you\'ll be able to choose the right policy to protect your loved ones.

Term Life Insurance

As the name suggests, term life insurance provides coverage for a certain period of time, as specified in your policy. This means that a death benefit will only be paid out if you die within your policy\'s term. Because of this central characteristic, term life insurance policies tend to be much cheaper than permanent life insurance policiesmaking it a very appealing option to young adults or families who can\'t spend a lot on life insurance.

Though term life insurance comes in two formslevel term (pays the same death benefit no matter when you die during the term) and decreasing term (the death benefit decreases throughout the duration of the policy)level term policies are by far the most popular.

According to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) common types of level term policies are:

• Annual (least popular)
• 5 year
• 10 year
• 15 year
• 20 year (most popular)
• 25 year
• 30 year

Many term life insurance policies are renewable, which means that you may be able to reinstate your policy after the term ends, although reinstatement may be contingent on passing a medical exam and will likely involve an increased premium. Additionally, the I.I.I. reports that most insurers will not renew a policy ending after 80 years of age.

Premiums for term life insurance are typically based on your age and health status at the time the policy is written. Some insurers guarantee your premiums to stay the same throughout the length of the term, but others may not make that guarantee (and increase your premiums throughout the term)so be sure you\'re aware of premium provisions before signing a policy.

Life insurance tip: Buying life insurance when you\'re young and healthy will help you secure low premiums. Not a spring chicken? Take care of your healthstop smoking and exercise regularly to get the lowest insurance premium.

Permanent Life Insurance

Unlike term life insurance, permanent life insurance pays a death benefit whether you die they day after you sign the policy or 50 years later. Permanent life insurance policies are also appealing because of their ability to grow tax-deferred over a certain length of timewhich can result in a large chunk of change. This cash value can be used in a variety of ways, providing additional benefits to policyholders and their families.

Because of these characteristics, permanent life insurance policies tend to be more expensive than term policies, which may not be conducive for young adults or families with income limitations.

Life insurance tip: Some term life policies can be converted to permanent life insurance policies, so if you\'re interested in a permanent policy but can\'t afford the premiums, ask your agent about term policies with this feature.

Permanent life insurance policyholders also have a wide array of policy options to choose from. The four common types of permanent life insurance are whole, universal, variable and variable-universal.

Whole life policies are the most common form of permanent life insurance and offer both a death benefit and the additional benefit of a savings account. If you buy a whole life policy, you agree to pay a certain amount for a predetermined death benefit. And, unlike a term life policy, whole life policies have the potential to earn annual dividendswhich will earn interest if you let them accrue.

Universal life policies offer more flexibility, allowing you to vary how much you pay and when you make premium payments (with some limitations, of course). You may also be able to obtain a larger death benefit, provided you pass a medical exam, and like whole life policies, your universal policy may earn cash value over time.

Variable life policies incorporate a death benefit with a savings account that you can invest in stocks, bonds or mutual funds. While this may increase the value of your policy, it\'s important to remember that if your investments don\'t perform well, your death benefit will decrease. To avoid this, the I.I.I. says you can ask about variable policies that guarantee that the death benefit will not fall below a certain amount.

Variable-universal policies combine the features of variable and universal life policies, meaning that you have the investment options of a variable policy and the flexibility of premium payments of a universal policy.

Which Policy is Right for You?

Now that you have some idea of what policy options appeal to you, take the time to speak with a licensed life insurance professional that can answer questions and help you come closer to your life insurance decision. Because when you have all the facts, it makes finding affordable life insurance that much easier!

About InsureMe
Megan L. Mahan is a copywriter and insurance information expert with InsureMe in Englewood, Colorado. InsureMe links agents nationwide with consumers shopping for insurance. Specializing in auto, home, health, long-term care and life insurance quotes, the InsureMe network provides thousands of agents with insurance leads every year. For more information, visit InsureMe.com.

How To Pick A Profitable Mutual Fund

We have all heard the advantages of investing in a mutual fund
over trying to pick individual stocks. First of all mutual funds
hire professional analysts that are market experts and devout
many hours of study to the various stocks. Unless you want to
devout a large portion of your free time to the study of the
financial reports, you probably won't have as much information
to make a decision as a mutual fund manager.

Then there is the well documented advantage of diversification.
Risk is reduced by holding several non correlated investments.
Put simply, some go up, some go down and combined, the return
levels off the fluctuations, or risk.

Finally, a mutual fund offers smaller investors a chance to
invest in small increments rather than having to save a large
chunk of cash to purchase 100 shares of stock.

Given the above advantages, it's no wonder that mutual funds
have become a very popular form of investing. Now there are
thousands of mutual funds to choose from, so how does one make a
selection? Here are a few tips:

1. Do not be seduced to jump on the recently performing best
fund. It may seem like the safe and rational thing to do, but
like individual stocks, you want to buy low and sell high, not
buy high and pray for more growth.

2. Even good funds may not be able to overcome the force of the
overall market. You should be looking for funds that can exceed
the broad market without increasing risk. Each fund has certain
risk parameters that it is required to follow. Read the
prospectus closely to understand what these are.

3. Limit the number of funds that you own. Unless you are trying
to simply achieve the same returns as the broad market,
diversifying into many mutual funds will not reduce your risk or
increase your return by much.

4. Funds that become too popular and too big tend to slip in
performance. There are several reasons for this.

Find more valuable mutual fund resources at www.best-mutual-fund.info


One final point to keep in mind is that the type of fund will
totally depend on your investment objectives. There are certain
funds that are designed for your objectives be they retirement,
income, growth, funding the kids college, etc.

Bank Employee Incentives vs. Mr. Public Consumer

Banks rank their divisions, branches and employees as with every industry. Which branch is profiting. Which are losing? Which sell the most products/services? Which ones have the biggest increases/declines in each week, month, quarter, annually, etc. It's broken down by state, city, branch and even employee.

Yes, many banks pay bonuses or commissions on services/products your teller cross-sells to you at your bank. If they hear you are going on a trip, they are rewarded when you purchase your travelers checks. Credit card applications can pay $30 to an employee. Refer a large depositor to purchase a CD and another $50. Many banks use the SIIM program provided by BVSinc.com. This software boasts it can increase fee income and offers employee/customer interaction tracking to assist in employee incentive programs. Clark Consulting offers something similar.

Harte-Hanks applied its Allink Daily Deposit Builder which comes with a package of 80 pre-built business rules based on customer activity to the data at Fifth Third Bank. By analyzing what customers did weeks (and sometimes months) before they closed their accounts, Fifth Third was able to each the program to recognize potential defection behavior, often 60 days in advance.

Daily Deposit Builder also allowed Fifth Third to identify customers prime for additional products. Its opportunity program focuses on selling to those customers who appear likely to become more profitable, based on either demographics or increased account activity. says writer Richard Levey of Direct Magazine. His interview with Andrew Rosen, vice president and deposit product manager of Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati, Ohio can be found at http://www.directmag.com/mag/marketingsosyields/.

Fifth Third Bank measures teller performance on an individual basis. But the Cincinnati-based bank pays a set commission for each product or service sold.

For example, a successful mortgage application reaps the referring teller $30, and a customer credit card application pays $25, said Bob Slaven, Fifth Third vice president and northeast Indiana retail regional manager stated in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette written by Sherry Slater.

Full time tellers are expected to accrue at least $150 in commissions each month. Part-time tellers have a $75 goal. They start each month with a clean slate.

It's very attainable, Slaven said.

Fifth Third employees, who receive bonuses on a quarterly basis, are paid the amount they earn, even if it falls below the performance standard. And there's no cap on the upper end. Some tellers earn more than $1,000 a month merely from commissions, Slaven said.

In March 2003, Fifth Third Bancorp reached an agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions to change its internal accounting practices. In November 2002, regulators began reviewing Fifth Third that forced the company to take $54 million charge in the third quarter of FY 2002. The regulatory oversight ended in March 2004.

What about overdraft protection services? Are bank employees rewarded for each Overdraft Protection application customers fill out? What about the much talked about courtesy bounce protection programs? Are branch managers rewarded for increased fee income? Who is auditing Fee Income at our nation's banks?

Debbie Hagan

Debt Recovery Solutions

Debt piled up can lead to a financial crisis. However, there are several solutions available to help you recover from debt. Securing a loan to consolidate your bills can create one low interest monthly payment. Debt management companies can also help you reduce your debt and interest rates. A credit counselor can also help you create personalized financial plans and strategies.



Reducing Rates And Payment Amounts



Consolidating your debts into one loan can help you to reduce your rates and payment amount. Home equity or personal loans have much lower rates than credit cards. With lower rates, you can pay off more of your balance. You can also choose to reduce your payment amount with a longer loan term, but be aware that you will pay more interest this way.



A loan will immediately benefit you financially, but you can improve your credit by closing paid off accounts. As you reduce your debt ratio, your credit rating will continue to improve.



Relying On Outside Help



Several companies specialize in helping you reduce your debt. Debt management companies handle your accounts for a small monthly fee. They also negotiate lower rates with your creditors. Using a debt management plan may temporarily freeze your credit, depending on your lenders. However, most plans can get you out of short term debt in less than five years.



Another option is to use a debt negotiation company. They will work with your creditors to lower your loan balances. This will have a long term affect on your credit, preventing you from qualifying with conventional lenders for at least two years.



Personalizing Your Debt Payment Plan



A credit counselor creates a confidential, personalized budget with you. They present debt payment strategies, which can include consolidation, debt management, or negotiation. Certified counselors can also help you plan for long term financial goals, such as retirement or home buying.



Everyday people are taking action to recover from financial difficulties. While no company can erase your past credit problems, they can help you build a solid future credit score. Eliminating debt frees you from the stress of bills and limits on your credit choices.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

View our recommended companies for Debt Solutions.

How to Read an Equifax Credit Report

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the
Nationwide Consumer Reporting organizations (Equifax, TransUnion
and Experian) to provide you with one free credit report every
12 months per your request. This means that you are entitled to
three free credit reports per year, if you deem it necessary.
You can stagger the requests or order all of them at the same
time.

Each of the National Consumer Credit Reporting bureaus have a
unique credit report format, but in essence they provide you
with the same information. When you receive your free Equifax
credit report use the following guidelines to read your
report:

Personal Information

This section will detail your personal information: Name, Social
Security Number (SSN), date of birth, any former names, death
notice information, current address, previous addresses, any
other identification numbers that you may have, current employer
and previous employers.

You will also find information about any fraud alerts that you
may have against your credit report.

Account Information Summary

You'll find a list of all your accounts here. Additional
information will include account type, account number, date
account was opened, account balance, any past due amount,
account status and credit limit.

Inquiries

Any inquiries against your credit file will be listed in this
section. This section is divided into two subcategories: (a)
Inquiries that display to companies and may impact your credit
score. (b) Inquiries that do not display to companies and do not
impact your credit score.

Inquiries that display to companies and may impact your credit
score These are inquiries by potential creditors who are
assessing whether to extend you a line of credit or not. Your
credit score will be minimally affected and therefore these
inquiries should not be of major concern, unless there are some
red flags. The name of the company that requested the
information and the date they requested it will be listed.

Inquiries that do not display to companies and do not impact
your credit score Unlike the previous inquiries - these do not
hurt your credit score. They include inquiries for
pre-approved credit lines, insurance, or account reviews by
existing creditors. The name of the company that requested the
information, the date they requested it and the type of inquiry
will be listed.

Collections

Any accounts that have gone to collections will be listed here
along with the name of the creditor, date reported, creditor
type, your account number, original amount, dates of
delinquency, outstanding balance and status information.

Public Records

Bankruptcies, liens or judgments information from federal, state
or county court records will be listed here. Each public record
will indicate the type of record, case number, amount in default
and any relevant information associated with that particular
case.

You may also find the following credit report terms helpful:

CURR ACCT - Account is current in payments and in good
standing.

CUR WAS 30-2 - Account is current was 30 days late twice.

PAID - Account has been paid off and has a $0 balance and is
inactive.

CHARGEOFF - Unpaid balance on account was reported as a loss
by creditor and the creditor is no longer seeking reimbursement.

COLLECT - Account is severely delinquent and assigned to
collections.

FORECLOS - Property was foreclosed.

BKLIQREQ - Debt was forgiven due to Chapter 7, 11 or 13.

DELINQ 60 - Account is 60 days delinquent.

INACTIVE - Account is inactive.

Sample Equifax credit report

What's Your Style?

So you want to become a trader? Do you know what type of trader you want to be? Scalp trader, day trader, swing trader or position trader? Once you break it down by timeframes and trading styles it\'s only by experimentation that you will truly find what fits your personality and comfort level which will make you the most efficient trader you can be. Let\'s start with the floor trader.

Floor Trader

Now if you are really serious, you can pursue a career as a floor trader. For the most part, floor traders work for \ticks\ to make their living, trading by buying the bid and selling off the offer and making hundreds and even thousand of trades a day to earn their pay. Their style of trading is called scalping. Just because someone is a floor trader does not mean they have to trade all day long making all those trades as a scalper. There are some floor traders who choose to trade the first half-hour after the opening bell and come back a half-hour before the closing bell; that is where you will find the most liquidity in the market you are trading. Some floor traders actually buy or sell and hold a position throughout the trading day, know as intra-day swing trading, and some will even hold a position over night looking for a multiple-day swing trade.

The key factor is floor traders find what they are comfortable with and what works for them, an idea that applies to all of us. If floor trading is an option you are thinking about, you have to live in a city that has an exchange. Bring your checkbook; some of these seats cost more than $1 million to give you the privilege to become a floor trader. You can also lease a seat, but depending on the exchange, the lease can run up to $4,000 a month or more, so to say you need to be active is an understatement.

Trading off the Floor

Trading off the floor is the most logical option for most traders because of the cost needed to either rent or buy an exchange seat and the large capital needed to get started. Trading off the floor requires a fraction of the capital needed to get started as a floor trader. If you want to trade electronically, there are a number of brokerage houses to choose from that offer low commissions and low margin requirements. The biggest factor is you can live for the most part anywhere in the world and trade from any computer with a realiable Internet connection.

Day Trading

Day traders go home at the end of the trading day flat with no open positions, but day trading styles vary. With the efficiency of the electronic trading platforms, you can actually scalp from a computer just like a floor trader scalps in the pits. Other styles of day trading include trading the intra-day trends, trading off gap areas and range-bound trading of support and resistance levels. All day trading styles end the trading day with no positions. If you like the idea of a longer-term trade, you can swing trade holding onto a position over night, looking for a move lasting several days or weeks.

Finding your style

Once you are ready to trade, the big question is what type of trader do you intend to be. What time frame charts will you look at to help you decide when to trade? Will you only look at five-minute charts or multiple time frame charts to help you in making a trading descion. Are you thinking about using overlapping patterns, incorporating different time frames or scalping off the one-minute chart? These are questions you\'ll need to answer. But these answers come from real-time live trading experiences, and you must begin the process of finding what will work for you and more important, what you will be most comfortable with.

Some traders find that too much activity causes stress and creates loss of focus; for others the feeling of being right or wrong within seconds or minutes fits their personality. Still, other traders might like less activity and trade less frequently while risking more on fewer trades. Finding what works for you is the key, and what you find that works for you might not work for others. So do not try to copy someone else\'s success story.

Regardless if you are just starting out as a new trader or an experienced trader looking to improve your results, there are clues from your own past that can help determine how active of a trader you may want to be and what style fits you best. A key exercise I suggest you go through is to make a list of all your accomplishments and failures. Go through each accomplishment and failure individually and see if you notice personality traits that helped achieve successes and if traits you were lacking could have helped you achieve the success you were looking for in the list of the failures.

Examples of what you are looking for are:

1.Did you have a burning desire? 2.Did you create goals? 3.Did you have a well thought out plan? 4.Did you have a positive attitude? 5.Did you have great confidence? 6.Were you decisive? 7.Did you have patience? 8.Did you have discipline? 9.Did you take on risk? 10.Were you persistent?

For those who have read my past articles, the September 2003 article titled \Are You Trading In The Zone?\ consists of most of these components. The key is knowing yourself. Knowing your limits and your abilities. Knowing when you need to push yourself harder and knowing when to lighten up on the pedal to ease the pressure off yourself. Raising your own level of self-awareness.

You may ask yourself \What does this have to do with trying to figure out what time frame and what trading style fits me?\ Clearly the more you know about yourself, the less time it will take you to find your comfort level and most efficient style of trading to help you meet your trading goals. By getting more in tune with yourself, you will have a better idea what time frame you should be trading and what trading style fits you best. If you lack patience, as an example, a smaller time frame might work best for you.

Regardless of the time frame you trade, you should start at a larger time frame and work your way down to the lower time frames. Every day after the market closes, I take a look at the monthly charts and work down to the weekly, daily, then to the 60-, 15- and finally five-minute charts. For most day traders, the five-minute chart is common to trade off of. However even if the five-minute chart becomes your primary time frame to trade from, it is a good idea to see what is happening on the higher time frame charts.

What are the key levels on the monthly chart? What are the next significant retracement levels that you would never see, if all you were only looking at was a 60-minute chart or a five-minute chart. Dropping it down to a weekly chart, you get a closer look at more recent key levels. The process continues down to the five-minute chart. By looking at all key time frames, you will have a better understanding and awareness of multiple time frame patterns. Even if you find that your best combination of time frames to trade from is a 60-minute with a five-minute, it\'s still best to look at the larger frame charts. Becoming aware of all time frames and their patterns is a key factor in understanding the whole picture. Understanding the whole picture will help you make better trading decisions.

Now you are ready for the experimenting process to see what is the best time frame for you to trade. Now is the time to see if you are more of a trend trader or a trader who gets in and out quickly. This is a very important stage, and it is important you keep a detailed diary of your personal feelings when trading. You may find that you thought you wanted to trade more frequently than what is best for you in the long run. You may find it\'s best to trade only a few times a day versus 10 times a day. There is no right or wrong answer to finding what fits your comfort zone and trading zone the best. Take your time through this process, as this is one of the most important exercises you will do for yourself to put you in the direction to achieve your trading goals. Learn what fits your comfort level, learn what time frame is best for you and pay close attention to the components of Trading In The Zone to achieve your success as a trader. Remember, this is a process and it will take time to find what time frame and trading style fit you the best. Take your time and listen to yourself through this process.

Steve Rifkin S.E.R. Enterprises, Inc. One Northfield Plaza, Suite 300 Northfield, IL. 60093 Visit The Power of the Force at http://www.NaturesForceTrading.com steverifkin@naturesforcetrading.com 847-441-3205

5 Reasons to Trade Forex Instead of Stocks

While Forex trading is becoming more popular in the United
States, the vast majority of investors still do not understand
the massive advantages offered in the foreign currency market
when compared to equities or fixed income trading. When you
fully grasp the following concepts, you'll understand why you
might want to reconsider your current investment strategies.

1. Currency prices are not heavily influenced by
institutional investors. In stock trading, there is a
limited amount of volume on a daily basis. Each stock has a
specific number of shares on the open market and trade prices
are governed by the number of people attempting to buy or sell
shares at a specific point in time. This makes the market
vulnerable to price swings when a large investor is attempting
to buy up or unload large amounts of shares. For example, if
some pension fund owns 10% of a company and suddenly decides to
liquidate their position, the market is now flooded with sell
orders. Since the amount of shares attempting to be sold will
outnumber the amount of buy orders, the price of the stock will
start to drop as the number of buyers days up. This creates
losses for the remaining shareholders. On the other hand, the
forex market is so massive and has so many investors that no
single investor can possibly have a major impact on pricing.
There are too many units of Euros, Dollars, Yen, etc for any
single institution to hold even close to a controlling interest
in any currency.

2. Margin requirements are significantly lower in forex
trading than equity trading. While the exact amount of
margin allowed is determined by each broker, the restrictions
are usually much less stringent when trading forex. Margin
allows the investor to play with house money. In essence,
you're borrowing money from the broker to invest in your own
account. While this can be risky, it can also be insanely
profitable. For example, let's say you have $10,000 of your own
money to invest. If you open up a margin account at an equity
broker, you can usually margin up to 50% of the value of stock.
So if you buy $10,000 in Microsoft stock, you can borrow another
$5,000 to own a total of $15,000 in value. With your forex
account, the margin requirement is often as low as 1%. Which
means that if you buy $10,000 in Euros, you can use your
broker's money to buy another $1,000,000. So you now own over $1
million in Euros. Now lets say that the value of each investment
increases 10%. Your $15,000 in Microsoft stock is now worth
$16,500. You sell it, pay back the $5,000 you borrowed, and you
pocket $1,500 in profit (minus any fees or interest). Your
return on investment is 15%. If your Euros went up 10%, your $1
million is now worth $1.1 million. After selling and repaying
your broker, you profit $100,000 before any interest. That's a
return on investment of over 1,000%. Of course, you need to be
extra careful when trading on margin. Imagine if the transaction
went the other way. You'd be in a much bigger hole in the forex
scenario. But the potential for enormous gain is there and is
one of the major reasons why forex trading is so attractive to
serious investors.

3. Forex trading is open 24 hours a day. Unlike the U.S.
stock markets, you can trade forex any time of day from Monday
through Friday. If a major news story breaks when you're holding
stock, and it's after hours, you're stuck holding onto your
position until the market opens the next day. By the time this
happens, everyone else knows the news and there's thousands of
buy/sell orders waiting when the opening bell rings. This will
dramatically influence your trade price and negate any advantage
you might have had by being one of the first to react. Keep in
mind that many corporations withhold major news such as earnings
reports and personnel moves until after the market closes. They
do this to minimize emotional trading, which is smart for them
to do but also hurts savvy investors. Since Forex trading is
open 24 hours, you can place your trade order whenever major
events occur.

4. The foreign exchange market is more liquid than the equity
market. Forex is the largest market in the world. Every day,
an average of $1.4 trillion dollars is traded, and the amount of
securities (foreign currencies) is minuscule when compared to
the number of companies traded in the equities market. This
means that there are always buyers to be matched with sellers,
which means that you'll have a much better chance to get a fair
and accurate price on your trade than if you were trading a low
volume stock where the bid and ask spreads can be very large.

5. Forex trading offers the advantage of limited risk.
This is one of the large advantages over the futures market.
When you buy a futures contract, you are obligated to buy or
sell a specific amount of a specific commodity at a specific
time for a specific price. Which means that if disaster hits,
you're out of luck. For example, lets say you buy a futures
contract to sell corn. If news breaks that reports an outbreak
of deaths caused by a pesticide used in corn crops, the price on
your contracts will drop through the floor, limits will drop,
and you could be stuck in your position and end up taking
massive losses. This would not happen in the forex market since
you can leave your position at any time.

What is an Offset Mortgage?

An offset mortgage is very similar to a current account mortgage - but instead of having everything all in one account, all accounts are held separately.

The offset mortgage concept treats your money as one giant pot, with each element (mortgage, savings, current account etc) separate to the rest. The result is basically a giant overdraft, although it behaves differently.

Offset mortgages are where the interest on your mortgage is reduced by the funds in both your savings accounts and your current accounts. The more you have in your savings account, the less interest you pay on your mortgage, which helps you to repay your mortgage faster and more cheaply in the long term. Your part of the deal is that you don't receive any interest on your savings or your current account.

The interest is work out by taking the state of each account separately and offsetting them against the others so that you can benefit from your savings and pay less interest. A current account mortgage allows you to benefit in the same way, except it also acts a bank account so your salary goes into the same account that your mortgage is in.

This is slightly different to the current account mortgage because your mortgage account is separate from a savings and income account that you open with the same company. Like the current account mortgage, your income and savings are offset against your mortgage, which reduces what you owe. The interest is calculated on a daily basis on that reduced balance.

Offset mortgages work by setting the money held in savings and current accounts against your mortgage debt. So instead of earning interest on your cash balances, you pay less interest on your borrowings. The idea of offsetting is that, with less interest to pay, the mortgage is paid off more quickly and as a result costs you less.

Some of these mortgages can even be linked to your other personal financial commitments and arrangements. One of the main attractions of these mortgages is the prospect of paying less interest.

All your other debts, such as your credit cards or your personal loans are also linked into the nest of products, and this allows you to repay all of your debts at the mortgage rate, which is likely to be a lot lower than your pay rate on those borrowings.

A further advantage is that the credit cards and loans remain unsecured borrowings even though they are paid off at the mortgage rate, so if you can't keep up the repayments on those your home is not at risk.

The people that will find offset mortgages very suited to them are people with volatile incomes, such as the self-employed or people often paid in large bonuses. People with significant amounts of savings will also find offset mortgages useful.

If you do opt for an offset mortgage, especially one linked to a current account, you can maximise its benefits by keeping your cash in your account for as long as possible each month. With interest calculated daily, each day's credit balance can make a small difference.

The rate on an offset mortgage will be higher than the cheapest rates available.

The benefit of the offsetting feature is that you can always have access to your savings if you need them. So you can make them work to pay off your mortgage, and access them when you need to.

The advantage to the offset mortgage is that the feeling of being in debt is not as all encompassing as with a current account mortgage. However an offset mortgage is quite complicated and you need to make sure that your accounts are offset in the best possible way to benefit.

You may freely reprint this article provided the author's biography remains intact:

About The Author

John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help UK homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.

Fannie Mae Supporting Homeownership Through Mortgages

The federal national mortgage association, better known as Fannie Mae, is an integral part of the mortgage industry. Here\'s an overview on Fannie Mae and what it does.

Fannie Mae - Providing A Little Help

Throughout the history of the United States, federal and state governments have used financial programs to modify our behavior. While it sounds draconian, it is actually a fairly bland concept. To stop us from undertaking bad or unhealthy behavior, taxes are levied on things such as cigarettes to motivate us to stop smoking. On the positive side, similar financial incentives are create to promote positive things such as homeownership.

Homeownership is often referred to as the American Dream. In truth, it is one of the key factors in maintaining a middle class in our country. Homeownership is, more or less, an involuntary savings plan for most Americans. Property appreciates over time which means you are gaining wealth regardless of what you are doing with your credit cards.

Today, more of us own homes than at any point in history. This is due to a number of factors, one of which is the broad availability of mortgages in which we can borrow large sums of money over long periods of time. The federal government through Fannie Mae among other institutions promotes this opportunity.

A common mistake is to assume Fannie Mae is a government entity. It is not. The company is a publicly traded entity just like Microsoft, Google or your favorite stock.

A second misconception is that Fannie Mae provides mortgages directly to borrowers. Again, it does not. Instead, the company provides liquidity to mortgage lenders so they can continue to provide you with home loans.

Fannie Mae was created in 1938 by the federal government. Its purpose was to provide liquidity [money to a secondary mortgage market. If you\'ve ever had a mortgage, you probably have experienced the odd event where your mortgage is sold to another lender. These secondary lenders rarely work directly with the public. Instead, they buy mortgages after the application process and collect the payments. In creating Fannie Mae, the government desired to make sure there was enough money in the secondary market to keep the mortgage industry operating smoothly. To this end, Fannie Mae was specifically charged with the task of buying mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration, better known as FHA.

In 1968, Fannie Mae went private and expanded the secondary mortgage operation by purchasing both FHA loans and non-FHA instruments. This evolution made Fannie Mae a major player in the mortgage industry. Since going public, it has purchased more than 63 million mortgages, which has helped put a lot of our fannies in homes.

While Fannie Mae is a publicly traded company, it is still tied to the federal government through a congressional charter. The charter allows Congress to oversee Fannie Mae and make sure it is following its initial purpose. Fannie Mae, however, receives none of our taxes.

Sergio Haros is with Great Western Mortgage - San Diego Mortgage Brokers providing San Diego home loans. Great Western Mortgage writes San Diego mortgages and San Diego refinance loans.

Mortgage Banks

Mortgage banks are the set of companies that sell loans to other companies and loan investors. They allow for mutually beneficial relationships between borrowers and lenders - the borrower gets money now, and the lender gets the interest that will accrue.

Mortgage bankers work by creating a huge resource base consisting of loans of various types. Loans may be serviced by mortgage bankers and most of them operate through wholesale lending departments. Most banks, non-banking financial organizations and loan investors pick up loans from the market. This is because loans are often considered long-term investments.

According to the performance of the economy, the fortunes of mortgage bankers vary. Most mortgage bankers buy out loans when the outlook of the economy is stable or is witnessing steady growth. In contrast, primary lenders often provide loans to customers when the economy is down, unemployment high, and there is demand for money in the market. This lender sells off these loans to mortgage bankers when the economy gets back on track. Often the primary lender charges a premium for each loan that he sells to a mortgage banker.

Some mortgage transactions may also involve mortgage brokers. These brokers often act as intermediaries in sale of loans to mortgage bankers. Mortgage bankers act as wholesale lenders and cater to mortgage brokers for obtaining loans from the primary market. Some mortgage bankers offer loans to brokers at below market rates. These brokers then lend the money to a customer and charge a fee in between. Thus the client ends up getting money at market rates.

First Mortgage provides detailed information on first mortgage, first mortgage loans, first mortgage options, first mortgage rates and more. First Mortgage is affiliated with First Home Buyer Mortgages.

Mortgage Calculator Confidence

A good mortgage calculator saves you time and money when deciding on your next home loan or refinancing your current mortgage.

Armed with the right information, and with the results printed out, you will be able to take it to your bank or financial institution with confidence and get the mortgage that is right for you.

Whether you can afford the home you love depends upon your income and the house\'s sale price. A mortgage calculator helps you assess various variables before entering the mortgage lender\'s office so that you already have some idea of the kind of monthly mortgage payment you can afford to pay.

Buying a home is a major decision, but if you pre-qualify for a mortgage, consider all of the financial implications, and work through the various options on a mortgage calculator before approaching a mortgage lender, you will probably find you are financially better off.

It\'s better to walk into negotiations knowing exactly where you stand, so check all your figures carefully. It\'s a good idea to create a spreadsheet of the variables you\'ve used in the mortgage calculators and the outcomes. By placing them side by side, you can see variations and differences of the different loans you will discuss with the lender.

Having all of the facts and figures in front of you will help you give your lender the information they need to create the best loan for you. And you will walk away from the loan office with confidence!

Karen Kirby has over 25 years\' experience in the computer industry, an MS in Computer Science, and a BA in Honors English. She has been helping people with Internet marketing since 1995. For more information on Internet mortgage calculators see http://mortgage-calculators.eworldrewards.com/internet-mortgage-calculators.htm and be sure to get a free copy of the \Internet Marketer\'s Guide to Free Traffic\ at http://www.aimbright.com/ebook/

Copyright 2006 - Karen Kirby. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=KarenKirby

The FICO Score Misconceptions

There are many misconceptions about credit scores out there. There are borrowers who believe that they don\'t have a credit score. There are others who think that their credit scores don\'t really matter. These sorts of misconceptions can hurt your chances of gaining employment, obtaining preferred interest rates, and even your chances of qualifying for renting an apartment.

The truth is, of you have a bank account and you pay utility bills, then you have a credit score, and it matters more than you might think. Your credit score can be called many things such as a credit risk rating, a FICO score, a credit rating, a FICO rating, or a credit risk score. All these terms refer to the same thing: the three-digit number that lets lenders get an idea of how likely you are to repay your bills.

Every time you apply for credit, apply for a job, or even apply to some apartment complexes, your credit score is checked. Another misconception is that employers check your credit only if you apply for a job that involves handling money. The fact is that many companies use credit checking as part of their standard background checks.

Make no mistake, your credit report can be checked by anyone with a legitimate business need to do so. Your credit score is calculated based on complex formulas. Things such as your past financial responsibilities, past payment records, credit limits, credit line utilization, open and closed accounts, and public records are all considered. It provides potential lenders with a quick snapshot of your current financial state and past repayment habits.

In other words, your credit score lets lenders know quickly how much of a credit risk you are. Based on this credit score, lenders decide whether to trust you financially. They use this information to approve or decline a loan. Even if approved, your credit score can have a direct effect on the interest rates you pay. Apartment managers can use your credit score to decide whether you can be trusted to pay your rent on time. Employers can use your credit score to decide, perhaps unfairly, how you manage your life. Some employers find that if you\'re poor with money, you have poor organization skills and no attention to detail -- things that are a must in a corporate environment.

The problem with credit scores is that there is quite a bit of misinformation circulated about, especially through some less than scrupulous companies who claim they can help you with your credit report and credit score -- for a fee, of course.

From advertisements and suspect claims, customers sometimes come away with the idea that in order to boost their credit score, they have to pay money to a company or leave credit repair in the hands of so-called \experts.\ Nothing could be further from the truth. It is perfectly possible to pay down debts and boost your credit on your own, with no expensive help whatsoever. There are many free resources on the web that will enable you to do just that.

Lee has done it all in the lending business. From loan origination to processing to underwriting, even owning a mortgage company. In http://www.credit-restoration-kit.com, he exploits the secrets of the industry to help fix credit, obtain mortgages, and improve financial standing. Free articles, resources, and a blog.

Lawsuit Cash Advance Loans

Lawsuit cash advance loans share the same genre as settlement loans. The difference is the loan\'s entire amount is paid in full in advance. In some cases, the finance institution may agree to make monthly payments to help the borrower manage finances more efficiently. Such financing cannot be termed money lending per se, because the lending institution only collects if the recipient\'s case is successful. These kinds of \'non-recourse\' loans do not, fall under the purview of money lending laws.

Legal finance institutions that supply lawsuit cash advance loans have often fallen into disrepute for the high margin of interest they charge. Some have been known to charge as much as 100% per year. It can be argued that this is justified, since the financer stands to lose most of or even the entire amount if the plaintiff\'s legal case does not resolve favorably.

People usually avail of lawsuit cash advance loans when they are expecting an eventual settlement for auto accidents/railroad claims, aviation disaster cases, claims relating to accidental toxicity, or when they have filed a personal injury/wrongful death lawsuit. The financing company will insist on interrogating the potential borrower\'s attorney in order to establish the chances of eventual repayment.

The attorney will be asked to furnish documentation supporting the plaintiff\'s claim. If it is found that there are reasonable chances that the case in question will be judged in favor of the borrower, an advance loan will usually be granted. Payments of lawsuit cash advance loans can be made in as short a time as 24 hours from the time of authorization.

Settlement Loans provides detailed information on Settlement Loans, Lawsuit Cash Advance Loans, Lawsuit Settlement Loans, Pre-Settlement Loans and more. Settlement Loans is affiliated with Lawsuit Loan Companies.