Free Money Through Grants: Fact or Fiction?
August 19, 2008
Free Money Through Grants: Fact or Fiction?
by: Rebecca Game
It’s posted all over the Internet. You hear it on the radio, and see it on television. The United States government is giving away free money in the form of federal grants. While it’s true that the government does indeed award $400 billion annually through its 26 federal entities, the statement of free money through the government doesn’t exactly pinpoint the definition of a federal grant.
A grant isn’t a gift or a free-for-all giveaway. It also doesn’t mean that if you’ve been awarded a grant, you’ve won the lottery. According to American Government and Politics by Jay M. Shafritz, a grant is “a form of gift that entails certain obligations on the part of the grantee and expectations on the part of the grantor.” The key word in this definition of the word is obligations. Getting a government grant will get you an unbelievable amount of obligations, and not fulfilling your obligations will, in turn, grant you legal problems.
You Don’t have to be sick to get better
August 18, 2008
You Don’t have to be sick to get better
by: Lorraine Pirihi
Hi there,
I’m always amazed at how disorganised most businesses are. The huge amount of opportunities that fall by the wayside due to poor management. Let me tell you what happened to me recently.
The Car Dealership
I stopped off at my local dealership as I was interested in updating my current vehicle. This dealership is very well-known and spend a fortune on advertising trying to attract more buyers.
I walked in to the new car division and was greeted by a saleswoman. I made some general enquiries and at the end of our conversation decided it wasn’t worthwhile purchasing a new vehicle at that time. The salesperson didn’t know what questions to ask me and relied on me asking all the questions. She obviously hadn’t been trained in selling. When I left she didn’t even ask me for my contact details.
What Dividends Are and When They’re Issued
August 17, 2008
What Dividends Are and When They’re Issued
by: John Mussi
If you’ve ever owned stocks or held certain other types of investments, you might already be familiar with the concept of dividends. Even those people who have made investments that paid dividends may still be a little confused as to exactly what dividends are, however after all, just because a person has received a dividend payment doesn’t mean that they fully appreciate where the payment is coming from and what its purpose is.
If you have ever found yourself wondering exactly what dividends are and why they’re issued, then the information below might just be what you’ve been looking for.
Defining the Dividend
Dividends are payments made by companies to their stockholders in order to share a portion of the profits from a particular quarter or year. The amount that any particular stockholder receives is dependent upon how many shares of stock they own and how much the total amount being divided up among the stockholders amounts to. This means that after a particularly profitable quarter a company might set aside a lump sum to be divided up amongst all of their stockholders, though each individual share might be worth only a very small amount potentially fractions of a cent, depending upon the total number of shares issued and the total amount being divided. Individuals who own large amounts of stock receive much more from the dividends than those who own only a little, but the total per-share amount is usually the same.
Greatest Gold-Mine Of Easy “For Sale by Owner” (FSBO) Advice Ever Crammed Into One Page
August 17, 2008
Greatest Gold-Mine Of Easy “For Sale by Owner” (FSBO) Advice Ever Crammed Into One Page
by: Evelyn Grazini
Here are some important things to consider and do before you decide if you should sell your home yourself - and keep the Commission in your pocket!
If you ask any Real Estate agent for advice on the subject, they will most definitely tell you not to try it because it will take twice as long to do it yourself then if you had their help. However, remember when you bought your house. If you’re like most home buyers, the Real Estate Agent walked you through the house, had you fill out a few forms, and then you sat in the Escrow office while they did the rest, and the Agent pocketed the 5 to 6 percent commission (or more).
I’m not saying the Real Estate Agent has an easy job, but do your homework and you will be in a very good position for a quick sale.
Utilizing the Internet to Compare Banks
August 16, 2008
Utilizing the Internet to Compare Banks
by: John Mussi
If you’re in the market for a new bank or are simply looking at different banks so that you can determine which one to apply for a loan from, it’s important to have an easy way to compare the services that each bank offers. Though often overlooked for this purpose, a wealth of bank information can be found on the individual banks’ websites and from other online financial sites.
If you’ve never considered using the internet to find information so that you can compare different banks, then the information below should help you to determine the various items that can be found and compared from the comfort of your home.
Finding Banking Information Online
Of course, in order to compare bank information you have to be able to find it first. Pretty much any bank that you can think of has a website that details the various features of all of the accounts that they offer, and the website address can usually be found on all of their promotional material. If you’re having trouble finding the website’s location on the materials that you have at hand, enter the name of the bank into your preferred search engine and you should be able to find links not only to the bank’s site itself but also to other websites that have information about that same bank.
Understanding Your Credit Report
August 15, 2008
Understanding Your Credit Report
by: John Mussi
If you’ve ever tried to figure out exactly what your credit rating is, you’ll know that your credit report is vital to knowing and understanding exactly what your current credit situation is. Of course, the need to know your credit rating shouldn’t be underestimated or overlooked after all, good credit can open doors for you whereas bad credit can cost you loans, chequeing accounts, financial products, and even certain jobs and opportunities.
If you’ve never checked your credit, then you should obtain a copy of your credit report so that you can determine exactly where you are credit-wise and confirm that everything that affects your credit report is accurate.
What a Credit Report Is
Your credit report is a listing that is compiled by various credit agencies showing the various accounts that you have open and whether they are up to date or behind. Based upon the information provided in your credit report, you are given a numeric score the higher the score is then the better your credit is, and the lower the score is then the worse your credit is.
What Happened To My Money?
August 14, 2008
What Happened To My Money?
by: Mosiekk Conley
Have you ever found yourself asking this question?
If you have you are not alone. There are thousands of people who find themselves looking at their bank statements or calling their banks and asking this same exact question.
The problem is two fold. By this I mean, as consumers it is our money so it is our duty to keep track of our finances not the banks or anyone else. Most people lack the knowledge to understand that we as consumer should not be calling the bank to ask this question, we should already know the answer.
Let’s discuss this a little deeper…
Why is it that most people don’t keep track of their finances? Some of the top ‘excuses’ I hear are:
1. Lack of time
2. “Forgetfullness”
3. Don’t know!
Lack of Time
Today it is not unheard of for people to complain about not having enough time in a day to do all of things we have to do. Between soccer practice, doctor’s appointments, and helping with homework and all of the other things we have to do in any given day it is no wonder we don’t have the time to do the simple things.
Understanding Compound Interest
August 13, 2008
Understanding Compound Interest
by: John Mussi
With all of the financial terms in the world, it seems that few are more confusing than compound interest. Perhaps it is the name that leads people to misunderstand exactly how it is that compound interest works, or maybe it’s the formula that is used to compute it.
Compound interest doesn’t have to be confusing, however; the information below should answer most if not all of your questions concerning compound interest and how it can affect you.
What Compound Interest Is
Compound interest is simply interest that is collected both on the principal (the original amount) and the interest that has already been applied to the principal. This means that each time interest is applied to the amount (also known as being compounded), the amount of interest compounded will be added to the principal for the next time that the interest is compounded.
To put it more simply compound interest means that every time interest is applied, it is applied based upon the entire amount instead of just the principal.
What Compound Interest Does
Payday Loan: Legalized Highway Robbery Or Real Financial Help?
August 12, 2008
Payday Loan: Legalized Highway Robbery Or Real Financial Help?
by: Vishy Dadsetan
Need extra money to get you to the next paycheck? Payday loans come to the rescue. However, you should be prepared to pay the price which is usually a hefty one. But there are steps you can take to minimize the financial damage.
What are Payday Loans?
Cash advance loans, post-dated check loans or deferred deposit check loans are high-rate loans and are intended to be used for short term. Emphasis here is on short term, usually 14 days since most of us get paid bi-weekly.
How does a Payday Loan work?
The old economy created the idea of living paycheck to paycheck. As if that wasn’t bad enough. In today’s economy many don’t even get to the next paycheck. So, the potential borrower writes a personal check payable to the lender for the amount she wishes to borrow plus a fee.
The lender cashes the check and keeps the fee, of course. Ideally this type of loan will get the borrower room to breathe and he/she can pay off the loan when he/she gets paid.
How to Deal with Cyclical Stocks
August 11, 2008
How to Deal with Cyclical Stocks
by: John Mussi
It’s been said that nothing is certain except for death and taxes, but there are likely many people who feel that the fluctuations of the stock market should be added to the list. It is nearly impossible to find a stock or other investment that doesn’t fall in value at one point or another while you own it some even make a regular habit of it.
In order to get the most out of your investment experience, it’s important to recognize patterns in the performance of certain stocks so that you can get a better feel for how long their occasional fluctuations might last and help you to decide whether or not you should sell the stock or see it through until prices rise again.
Defining Cyclical Stocks
Cyclical stocks, as the name might imply, are stocks that periodically fall in value and then rise again soon after. The apparent cycle of gain and loss can be caused by several different situations, from economic trends and seasonal products to the stocks being issued by companies that do the majority of their business during certain parts of the year such as holidays or tax preparation season. In most cases these stocks don’t suffer a major loss over the course of the cycle, due largely to the recovery that occurs later in the cycle.
