The Bottom?
May 31, 2009
Every day I hear someone on CNBC proclaim that “this is the bottom” and you should get in there and buy all those “bargains”. “The valuations of the DOW stocks are a steal.”
The low of DOW 8,000 immediately after September 11 was “the low” and the market did rally to about 10,700. That’s 2,700 points. A smart trader could have made a fortune in six months. Oops! Then there was a Brody to DOW 7500. That’s more than 3,000 points. That, for sure, is “the bottom”. I heard them say so on TV and radio. It can’t go any lower. Can it?
There has been a 1,500 point rally, but there now seems to be another one of those ‘Oops’ taking place. What is going on anyway?
The great majority of the media are too young to remember the last bear market of 1973-74 when the S&P lost 43% and the Value Line index was down 75%. In the last 2 years this bear has seen the S&P500 index lose 50% and there does not seem to be any so-called bottom in sight. Yet investors are encouraged to buy “for the long haul”. Even the staunchest Buy and Holders are finding out that they need to have loss limit orders in - a long time ago. There is such a thing as market timing.
How to Increase Equity for Borrowers
May 30, 2009
How to Increase Equity for Borrowers
by: Talbert Williams
Equity is the value of a home vs. the value of the loan. Many homeowners today are searching
for ways to increase the value in their home, payoff debts, buy a new motor vehicle, or else take
a long needed vacation and few take out equity loans to accomplish the mission. The loans for
the borrower are revenue for releasing cash for extra expenditures. To the contrary, refinancing
is the source for releasing cash, while home equity loans are more inteded for providing needed
cash to cover expenditures by means of savings.
Credit lines are also an option if you are considering long-term cash flow. Many home equity
loans offer interest rates that are tax deductibles over time. Each year the borrower pays toward
the interest on the loan, which extends to five or seven years, and the taxes are deducted if
applicable. Thus, you should check with your local H&R Block or other tax provider to find out
if you qualify for the deduction.
The difference in home equity loans–also known as Second Loans–is that these loans
How to Determine Your Equity Value
May 29, 2009
How to Determine Your Equity Value
by: Talbert Williams
The term “equity value” is often used synonymously with the entire equity of a given home loan.
When homeowners consider equity loans, the lender will consider the equity built in the home. If the
home is not worth the amount applied for, the homeowner will pay higher rates of interest and
mortgage payments. Thus, the equity if negative is considered a higher risk than positive equity.
Still, the equity is factored by current market value, value of the home, and so forth to determine the
risks.
Lenders put risk first often since large sums of cash are involved. First time buyers are offered
various types of loans, but are often high-risk candidates simply because equity is non-existing until
the closing is final. First time buyers searching for home loans will be rated by their credit history,
employment, age, gender, the area considered to reside in, and so forth. If the buyer has excellent
credit, this is a plus to the lender.
The lender will often help the borrower by finding adequate rates of interest and may even suggest a
Simple Ways To Debt Relief
May 29, 2009
Simple Ways To Debt Relief
by: Talbert Williams
There are simple, common sense steps you can take to get out of debt. Unfortunately, like losing weight, they are not necessarily easy or painless - but if you stick to them, you will become debt-free.
Stop Borrowing Money
The first step to escaping debt is to stop borrowing. Simply put, the more you borrow, the more you will owe. You can’t borrow your way out of debt, but must instead pay off your existing debts while not borrowing additional funds.
If you are a typical consumer, you engage in a lot of borrowing by making purchases with credit cards. You should try to break this credit habit. Most credit card companies and store cards will reduce your credit limit if you ask them to do so. (The credit card company may try to talk you out of lowering your credit limit - because they make the most money when they let you borrow more than you can afford.) You can also cut up some or all of your credit and store cards.
Budget Your Income and Expenses
The Top 10 Reasons Moms Choose to Work from Home
May 28, 2009
The Top 10 Reasons Moms Choose to Work from Home
by: Liz Folger
1. Big savings on daycare costs
2. No more bosses giving you the stink eye for not working due to kid issues
3. No commuting
4. Savings on lunches out and work clothes
5. More flexibility
6. The ability to start a business doing something you love
7. Make as much or as little money as you want
8. To be able to say “I own my own business”
9. Kids can learn how a business works
10. To be in control of your own destiny
1. Big Savings On Daycare Costs
According to the Children’s Defense Fund and Runzheimer International parents are paying an average of $250 to $1,250 monthly for daycare. A mother who is making about $20,000 a year will probably find that she is really only bringing home only $5000 a year once all the additional costs of her working are figured in. Some moms are actually loosing money each month by working outside the home.
2. No More Bosses Giving You the Stink Eye For Not Working Due To Kid Issues
Mr. Monopoly Got It Wrong: Cooperation Makes More Money Than Competition
May 27, 2009
Mr. Monopoly Got It Wrong: Cooperation Makes More Money Than Competition
by: Kalinda Stevenson
Monopoly is a zero sum game based on competition. Since the money supply cannot increase, the players can win only by taking money from other players. The fundamental belief behind Monopoly is lack of money. This means that the only way to get more money is to take it away from others.
This zero sum competitive game reflects the economic realities of the Great Depression. While thousands stood in breadlines, a handful made fortunes. For one to player to win, the others must lose.
The rules of the Monopoly prohibit partnership. You cannot create joint ventures. You cannot loan money to another player. You cannot borrow money from another player.
The psychological effect of playing this highly competitive game is that you are a solo player doing whatever you can to force the other players to go bankrupt. The last thing you want to do is to help someone else stay in the game because that person might go on to drive you out of the game.
Life Insurance, The Facts
May 26, 2009
Life Insurance, The Facts
by: Joseph Kenny
Insurance involves transferring a risk that you bare, onto an insurance company, so that you no longer have to worry about the event occurring. While you pay a fee, or premium for this, what you get in return is peace of mind. So what is the risk that you are transferring with life insurance? Well, quite simply, it is the financial risk of your own death. It should also be remembered that it is in certain circumstances possible to insure the life of another person, such as your husband or wife, or an important employee. The insurance company will then pay out to the named beneficiary once the event occurs, and this is usually a family member or business associate of the insured.
The thing that insurance companies will be looking for is insurable interest. It may come as a surprise but in the early days of aviation, there were some clever entrepreneurs who would hang around at airports and buy life insurance policies on the passengers. Since plane crashes were very common, a good proportion of the insured passengers died and the insurance companies were faced with the prospect of paying out vast sums to these men.
To Retire Rich, Save and Invest Early
May 25, 2009
If you want to retire rich, start saving investing early. The most powerful tool when it comes to retiring rich, is compounding your returns on money saved when you are young. Through the power of compound interest, cash invested today has a massive impact on your wealth level when you retire.
Look at it this way, assuming a retirement age of 65 and an annual compounded rate of return of 10%.
* Bob is 40 years old and invests $20,000 a year for retirement.
* Jenny is 21 years old and invests $5,000 a year for retirement.
By the time they retire, Bob will have invested $400,000 and Jenny $220,000 respectively. But because of the power of compound interest, Bob will retire with half as much money as Jenny, despite investing twice as much!
* Bob would retire with $1.97 million
* Jenny would with $3.26 million
So, what’s the moral of the story?
Stop robbing your future retirement income to pay for luxuries today.
Maximize your annual contribution to your IRA
The Number One Work At Home Scam Explained
May 24, 2009
The Number One Work At Home Scam Explained
by: Stephen Kreutzer
Working at home is very popular. As with anything that is popular there are people out there who like to try to scam those looking for work at home jobs. Scams can sometimes be hard to recognize, but if a person knows what to look for they can raise their chances of not being caught in a work at home scam. A popular way to get taken by a scam work at home company is when they ask a person to pay them money.
The first key that a work at home opportunity may be a scam is that the company asks for money up front. This is also something that can be confusing because some legitimate companies ask for money, too. The main rule abut paying money is that if the job were not work at home would it be reasonable to pay money up front to work with this company. If it is a job where the person is required to keep an inventory of products than it is reasonable to pay something upfront for the inventory. However, if the payment is for administrative fees that is a red flag. A work at home job is like any other job. Nobody would pay a company to process their employment papers, so it is unreasonable for a work at home company to request payment for this purpose.
How To Interview Sales People Successfully
May 24, 2009
How To Interview Sales People Successfully
by: Peter Lawlesss
Since the dawn of free trading only two things have ever mattered; producing a quality product or service and the ability to sell it successfully. By successfully, I mean ensuring that you achieve maximum profit from the sale, while the customer is delighted with their purchase. In most cases the Business owner understands what they need to produce, but more often that not rely on someone with sales skills to sell it.
Would you know a good sales person from a bad one?
While many company founders realize that they may not have the requisite sales skills, would they be able to recognize and hire someone who could sell? It is a recognised fact that four times as many business fail due to poor salesmanship, rather than poor products. Can you afford an other Sales person, based on the margins of what you intend to sell?
Thus hiring the right people to sell for you is one of the most important decisions most companies will make.
Unfortunately hiring is a bit like selling. First you must find prospects. These are the candidates that you will interview. To do this you must create a job spec. This will be your advert.
