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.

The majority of federal grants that are awarded are the farthest thing from being considered free money. Grants are most often awarded to organizations planning major projects to benefit a community. It could include money to be used for repaving streets in a city. A grant could also be awarded for a nonprofit organization featuring an art exhibit or musical performance. Grants are also awarded for technological research, conservation, and flood control projects. While there are other sources that are awarded grant funding, in general, the free money aspect is lost, and individuals, in general, are not qualified for most grants other than those used for educational purposes such as to pay tuition bills for higher education. Businesses can also tap into the federal grant program, but only by meeting strict criteria through the government agency offering the grant, such as if grant funding is available for research in a particular area that is of specialty to that business.

Once the free money is provided through the grant, the organization that has been awarded the free money must keep careful track of all project expenditures. Organizations that are awarded free money must be prepared for detailed audits, which will be conducted by the Federal government annually or more often. Any money not spent and accounted for goes back to the United States Treasury, and is not extra free money for the organization. Detailed program goals must be developed, approved, and completed by the organization exactly as specified in the grant application without exception. Any unforeseen project changes that occur along the way must receive prior approval by the government agency that awarded the grant. All project phases must be completed as planned, and even more importantly, completed successfully and on time.

The free money offered through a grant program can lead to financial and legal disaster to an organization that does not abide by the strict rules that the grant holds. By failing on a part of the obligation agreed upon when the grant is approved, the organization and/or persons in charge are held accountable. Penalties can range from economic sanctions to prison in the instance of improper use or theft of this free money.

The majority of grants, or free money, that is requested is applied for and awarded to other Federal agencies, state governments, city governments, colleges, universities, and research organizations and businesses. Few individuals have the money, time, and expertise necessary to prepare adequate applications that are awarded free money through federal grant funding. Most active grant seekers, such as universities, employ full-time grant writers to do nothing but apply for and administer Federal grant funding. A full staff of grant writers is not uncommon at a large university.

Because this free money through Federal grants is carefully monitored, the truth is that the money isn’t actually free. Applying for Federal grants takes an unbelievable amount of time. Additionally, by even unintentionally not abiding by the grant’s requirements, as mentioned, an individual that is unfamiliar with the Federal government’s grant programs can find themselves in a financial or legal disaster. With Federal funding cutbacks and the competition for grant fundings becoming more intense, seeking free money through a grant requires not only time, but also money, with no guarantee of success.

Stating it plainly, Federal grants and free money are fictitious. Often, it’s more work, not to mention more time and money spent obtaining a Federal grant, than obtaining a low interest loan. Large organizations, such as universities, can benefit from grant funding much easier because they can apply for multiple grants at once, and a skilled, knowledgeable staff can monitor the grant’s use carefully. A small business or organization may not see as much success in obtaining a grant due to the time needed to apply, monitor funds, and prepare materials for auditing.

The plain truth is that with federal funding cutbacks and competition for them becoming more intense, seeking a federal grant always requires a lot of time and potentially a lot of money up front with no guarantee of success. Dedication is needed, and is the most important part of attempting to obtain free money through grant funding.

About The Author

Rebecca Game is the founder of Digital Women ®, an online community for women in business. A 30 year entrepreneur and dedicated to helping other women find business loans. Visit her site: Loans for Women.

http://www.digital-women.com

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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.

I then walked over to the Used Car division. There were two salesmen filling in the afternoon, chatting about the cricket. I had to interrupt their very important conversation to get some assistance. I then asked all the relevant questions (remember I’m the buyer here, not the sellerit should have been the other way around) and I looked at a couple of different cars. Not once did the salesman try to point out the benefits of the cars. All he did was watch me. When I said “thanks very much for your time”, he said “have a great day”.

Again, there was an opportunity to sell me and he did nothing!

The Real Estate Agent

I went to a seminar and heard a well-known agent speak about how they have successfully built their business and how much they really look after their clients.

A couple of weeks later, I rang one of his agents as I was interested in a particular development. I left a message and mentioned that I was seriously looking and to call me back. I had to ring three days later as the call was never returned. The saleswoman gave no apology and was in fact very unfriendly. (Possibly because it was a Sunday). I asked her a few questions and it turned out there wasn’t a suitable apartment in the block that would fit my scenario. Instead of asking for all my contact details, she just hung up!

What Should Have Happened?

First of all the owners of these businesses should have their people undertake regular training on selling and communicating. Not only that and this is a big one, they need to learn how to follow up. These ‘salespeople’ should have asked for my contact details and had a system to stay in contact with me. At some stage the right product to suit my needs could become available and all they had to do was call an already ‘hot prospect’.

What Can You Do To Increase Your Profits?

Train your peopleconstantly. You can’t be an expert in everything, send your people out to conferences, seminars and workshops so they can gain valuable skills and utilise them in your business. Make sure you go as well.

At many of my public workshops on “How to Have Less Mess, Less Stress and More Success”, quite often business owners and managers send their staff along. Their people gain great benefit from attending, although without a doubt, the staff’s biggest challenge is management. It’s the management who need to attend the most as they can influence change.

You Don’t Have To Be Sick To Be Better

Two weeks ago I attended a Bob Proctor Seminar entitled “You Were Born Rich”. A key statement that I picked up on was “You don’t have to be sick to be better”.

I interpreted that statement as you need to be proactive. Don’t wait until your business, your health or your personal life is falling apart, always look at ways of improving even when life is going well.

3 Key Ways To Get Better

Learn how to get organised and manage your time. Business owners are generally too busy being reactive and don’t spend time developing themselves and their people which in turn will develop their business and ultimately make them more money. They’ll also discover how to have more work/life balance.

Invest in the services of a business coach. A good coach will have ‘the rungs on the board’ and should also be a good role model of what they do. They’ll show you how to work smarter, not harder. Before signing any agreement, check them out. Speak to other people they’ve worked with.

Don’t be afraid to invest money in this area. If you can learn how to develop your business so that it runs effectively and is more profitablewhy wouldn’t you do so?

A business coach takes a holistic approach to help you develop your business. They’ll show you how to have more time, more money and more life. The benefits you gain will far outweigh the investment you make.

Get fit and healthy. You’ll feel good, look good and be more productive.

The Final Word

What are you going to do differently this year so that you can be better? What actions have you taken so far? And if you haven’t done anything yet what are you waiting for?

The results you achieve in your life whether at work or home are directly down to you. So take charge of your life now. Time flies by so quicklyand before you know it, Easter will be here.

Have a great week!

Lorraine

About The Author

Lorraine Pirihi is Australia’s No. 1 Productivity Coach. She’s also a dynamic presenter and a leading business and life coach. Her business The Office Organiser specialises in showing small business owners and managers, how to get organised at work so they can have a life! Lorraine is also a dynamic speaker and has produced many products including “How to Survive and Thrive at Work!”

office-organiser.com.au

lorraine@office-organiser.com.au

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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.

When Dividends Are Paid

How often dividends are paid can vary from one company to the next, but in general they are paid whenever the company reports a profit. Since most companies are required to report their profits or losses quarterly, this means that most of them have the potential to pay dividends up to four times each year. Some companies pay dividends more often than this, however, and others may pay only once per year. The more time there is between dividend payments can indicate financial and profit problems within a company, but if the company simply chooses to pay all of their dividends at once it may also lead to higher per-share payments on those dividends.

Why Dividends Are Paid

Dividends are paid by companies as a method of sharing their profitable times with the stockholders that have faith in the company, as well as a way of luring other investors into purchasing stock in the company that is paying the dividends. The more a particular company pays in dividend payments, the more likely it is to sell additional common stock after all, if the company is well-known for high dividend payments then more people will want to get in on the action. This can actually lead to increases in stock price and additional profit for the company which can result in even more dividend payments.

Getting the Most Out of Your Dividends

In order to get the most out of the dividends that you receive on your investments, it is generally recommended that you reinvest the dividends into the companies that pay them. While this may seem as though you’re simply giving them their money back, you’re receiving additional shares of the company’s stock in exchange for the dividend. This will increase future dividend payments (since they’re based upon how much stock that you own), and can set you up to make a lot more money than the actual dividend payment was for since increases in stock prices will affect the newly-purchased stock as well.

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 www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.

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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.

First, determine whether it is a buyers or sellers market. In a buyers market, there are more buyers then homes available, making it easier to sell. In a sellers market, determine if you want to take a chance and pay an extra two to three mortgage payments on your house while you try to sell it, or hire an Agent.

Look at other homes in your neighborhood. How long have they been on the market? If they are not selling, you might want to decide to wait before you move out of your house until a buyer is found - giving you more time to sell, but also less time to move.

Second - Be Prepared! There’s nothing more frustrating than being asked a bunch of questions you can’t answer. Ask a Broker for an “over-the-net” home evaluation (these are usually free), so you’ll have proof of the homes value. Hire a Real Estate Attorney to find out what paperwork you will need, the Attorney can also do the closing. To find out what forms you will need, go to the State Real Estate Commission.

Find an Escrow company that you can recommend for the good faith deposit and make contact with a Title Company. Remember, it is the buyers responsibility to hire the Mortgage Broker for their loan, as well as who they want for Escrow and closing, but if they have no clue where to go, your help will be most appreciated, and you will have a better chance of making the sale if you look like you know what you’re doing.

Save money by advertising only on the major Real Estate Ad days, and if there are any open houses going on in your neighborhood, have yours at the same time.

If you’re doing everything you can and still not finding people interested in your house, consider working with a low cost Real Estate Broker or a Discounted or Medium Service Broker, (who may be Internet based). Through these resources, you may be able to place an ad in a Multiple Listing Service. Be sure to pay the extra cost for a photo of the house. Text only descriptions just will not do.

As a last resort - You might also consider working with a Buyers Agent. These Agents work for a buyer, and normally split the commission with the Sellers Agent. Since you are sellers agent in this case, you may get some help, and a quicker sale for 2.5 to 3 percent of the selling price.

Again, weigh getting help with having the house on the market for a longer period of time. A 3% commission on a 300,000 house is still $9,000 to a Buyers Agent, but that’s also an extra $9,000 in your pocket when compared to a 6% Real Estate Agent fee.

About The Author

Evelyn Grazini delivers helpful FSBO advice on selling your home alone - Find free articles at www.fsbotactics.com.

Article can be used as needed as long as the author reference box is included.

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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.

You can use some of these third-party sites to find out additional information about some of the services of that bank, customer experiences with the bank, and other information that might help you to determine whether the bank and its features are what you’re looking for or not.

Comparing Account Features

By visiting the websites of several different banks as well as some third-party sites that have additional information about those banks, you can begin comparing the account features of each so as to determine which bank has the account with all of the features that you’re looking for. In most cases you’ll be able to find out exactly what you want to know in regards to minimum deposits, activity levels, and provided services that relate to each of the accounts offered by the different banks.

Should you not be able to find the information that you’re looking for, there should be contact information available online so that you can contact the bank directly with your questions so that you can get the information that you want.

Using the Internet to Find ATM and Branch Locations

In addition to being able to compare the features of various accounts offered by different banks, you should be able to find the location of bank branches and ATM machines in your local area. This can be especially useful if you’re attempting to determine which bank that is local to you would be the most convenient for your business, letting you know in advance which bank has either a branch or an ATM machine that’s either close to your home or your place of work.

Online Banking

Once you’ve decided which bank is right for your business, that doesn’t mean that the usefulness of online access has to end there. Many banks offer online account access that lets you keep track of your transactions, access up-to-the-minute account statements at any time of the day or night, and in some cases even transfer funds from one account to another or make bill payments online.

The availability of online banking services may vary from one bank to another, however, so it’s important to check and see if they offer the online services that you want before committing to a specific bank.

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 www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.

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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.

As time goes by older debts and accounts will expire from your report unless new reports are being made to the credit agency by the provider of the credit line, loan, or account, in which case only the older reports that they have made will expire.

On average it takes five to seven years for any particular report to disappear from your overall credit report, though there are cases where certain reports are removed before that time.

How Your Credit Report Is Used

Your credit report can have several different uses, ranging from getting you approval for a loan to being a part of the job application process. It is generally used to gauge your financial situation and make sure that you can afford to pay your bills most lenders are hesitant about giving a loan to an individual who has been several months late on all of their bills for several months previous to submitting a loan application. Likewise, employers who work in the finance industry or some other fields might not want to hire someone who is clearly having severe financial problems in order to reduce the temptation of theft.

Checking Your Credit Report

In order to check your credit report, you need to request a copy of it from one of the credit bureaus or credit reporting agencies. There is usually some fee associated with this, though there are some companies that provide a copy of your credit report to you free of charge in exchange for you signing up for a credit monitoring service. Depending upon where you live, you might also be able to obtain a copy of your credit report free from certain government agencies once per year. Once you’ve received a copy of your report, you should take some time to go over it in order to get a feel for the unique layout of the credit report and to identify the various accounts that have been reported to the credit bureau.

Repairing Incorrect Information

You may find that some of the information contained within your credit report is inaccurate or wrong. You might even find accounts listed that don’t belong to you. In either case, you should contact the credit bureau in writing to dispute the inaccuracies. They will investigate the validity of the claim and if they receive no response from the filing creditor or if they find that the information is actually incorrect, the credit bureau will remove the inaccuracy from your credit report which can help increase your credit score.

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 www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.

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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.

Keeping track of your account is really a simple task if you learn how to do it the right way.

The ironic thing about all of this is that the banks GIVE you the tools you need to effectively manage your accounts. But majority of use fail to even use a fraction of those tools.

For example, most banks offer some sort of online banking option. This option makes it easy for you to monitor your banking transactions from anywhere with an internet connection. You can also perform some basic maintenance task without ever having to call your bank.

What makes this such a great tool is that it is available 24 hours a day. So after you have had a chance to put the kids to bed and settled down you could balance your daily expenses using this helpful tool.

Note:

It is important to note here that any of the tools that the bank put at your disposal are just that… tools! They are not there to keep track of your account for you. That is your job.

Forgetfulness!

Let’s face it with all that is going on in our days how can we remember every single thing that we buy in a day. It is inevitable that we will forget something and that is one of the reasons that we find ourselves scratching our heads and asking the question “What Happend To My Money?”

Creating a system that allows for you to keep on schedule but at the same time keeping accurate records of your daily expenses is crucial.

Depending on your lifestyle you should examine your daily routines and find a way and/or time when you can track what it you spend your money on day in and day out.

Don’t Know

This one comes down to complete and total laziness. It just couldn’t be said any other way.

People get lazy. It is easier to not do it and expect someone else to do it than it is to take an interest in where your money is going every single day.

It goes without saying that being lazy almost always leads to more troubles. By not taking OWNERSHIP of YOUR finances you are leaving it in the hands of strangers.

My dear sweet Grandma used to say “If you want something done right… do it yourself!”

If that ain’t about right!

If you want to change your life financially you have to know where to start making changes. That simply cannot be done if you don’t already know where your money is going now!

Well now that we have covered some of the more common reasons most people don’t keep track of their finances what are some solutions?

1. Hire an accountant

2. Get off your lazy butt and do it.

3. Let things continue the way they are. (Not Recommended)

Take your pick. I suggest option #2.

If you would like to know just how myself and my wife started to keep better track of our finances visit the following link:

http://www.budgetingbasics.com

Not only will you learn how track your daily expenditures easily and quickly, but you will also receive additional tools and tips to help create the ultimate budgeting system that will have your bank account growing at an alarming rate.

About The Author

Mosiekk Conley is the author and editor of MosiekkConley.com where he shares his expertise in a number of different areas including budgeting, internet marketing, procrastination, credit repair and others.

Copyright©2006 MosiekkConley.com

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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

Since compound interest is applied to all of the money held within the account being compounded, this means that as time goes by more money will accumulate within the account because each increase will subsequently increase the amount being paid. This is most often the case in savings accounts and interest-bearing chequeing accounts, as well as with the interest due on many loans.

How Compound Interest is Calculated

The formula for calculating compound interest is written as A = P(1 + r) n , with A being the amount of money accumulated after the interest is compounded, P being the principal amount of deposit, r being the annual rate of interest, and n being the number of years over which interest is collected. If the interest is being compounded more regularly than once per year, the r is divided by the number of times that the interest is being compounded (for monthly interest, this would be 12 times, and for daily interest it would be 365 times.) As an example, imagine P being 100, on 5 percent interest (compounded monthly), over a period of 5 years. This would look like A = 100(1 + 5/12) 5 , or 100 x (1 + 5/12), with the portion in brackets multiplied by itself 5 times.

How Compound Interest Works for You

Since compound interest pays additional interest money based upon the interest that has already been paid, this means that as time goes by you will be making a significant amount of money simply from having your principal deposit in your savings or other bank account. You should be sure to keep in mind that many banks and other lenders use compound interest on their loans as well, so that the longer that you take to repay the loan then the more you will have to repay. This can be an incentive to repay debts during a grace period, or at least to do your best to pay off the debt as early as possible so that you can save as much money as you can.

Finding the Best Compound Interest Rates

In order to find the best compound interest loan rates, it’s important to take the time to shop around and explore your various options concerning the type of account or loan you’re looking for. Request rate quotes and compare them to each other to ensure that you get not only a rate that you’re satisfied with but also the best rate that you can get.

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 www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.

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Most of us think of a trailing stop loss when the term money management is mentioned. William O’Neil in his book, "How to Make Money in Stocks", used a value from 7 to 8%. Many stock advisories, including Stansberry and Associates, Outstanding Investments and the Oxford Club, typically use a 25% trailing stop loss. Option advisories use still higher values in the 35% range, as is done by Michael Lombardi, and up to as high as 50%, as used by Dr. Stephen Cooper. Trailing stops are typically used along with a maximum percentage of capital per trade to avoid large portfolio draw-downs in the event that a given trade goes badly.

Beyond this precaution, there is little theory to explain how position size and trailing stop losses should be arrived at, leaving the impression that they can be arbitrarily chosen based on one’s risk comfort level. However, this is not the case. Too narrow a stop loss setting can eat into profits by exiting volatile trades too early. Too wide a stop loss setting can eat into trading profits by consuming too much capital. A systematic way is needed to choose an optimum position size and stop loss setting to achieve a precise level of money management.

Intuitively, the higher the success rate in correctly choosing the direction of trade and the higher the average gain per trade, the looser one can afford to set his stop loss. However, when one has a specific earnings goal, this relationship needs to be more precise. Fortunately, the availability of consistent trading system performance data allows the use of an engineering approach. This approach enables us to define a very precise relationship between the average return for a series of trades, the percentage of correct choices in the direction of a trade, the size of each trade, profit goals and the appropriate stop loss settings.

The model introduced here for precision money management is based on average values of historical trading system performance and is only applicable when a trading system is consistently followed. The model should not be applied to unstructured trading across a variety of instruments requiring varying trading techniques. Each trading system or technique generates a unique set of statistics to which this methodology can be applied on an individual basis.

The model is derived based on fractional averages from information readily available to anyone that uses a trading system consistently. A pair of concise algebraic relationships evolves in the process. Finally, examples are provided to show the roles of position size and stop loss settings in meeting profit goals.

FP is defined as the average fractional profit for all historical trades being taken into consideration. FP is equal to the sum of the fractional gains and losses for all trades divided by the total number of trades N,

FP = (sum of fractional gains + sum of fractional loses) / N

In order for this to be valid, each trade must involve very close to the same amount of capital that we will assign an average value C. For example, if there were 3 historical trades resulting in +25%, -15% and +30% gains, the average fractional profit would be (0.25 - 0.15 + 0.30)/3 = 0.133. Of course, a much larger statistically significant number of trades would be used in practice.

Since the sum of fractional gains is equal to the number of gains NG times the average fractional gain FG, and the sum of fractional loses is equal to the number of loses NL times the average fractional loss FL, the definition can be expressed as,

FP = (NG FG + NL FL)/ N

It is understood that NG + NL = N. The value of NG divided by N equals FC, the fraction of trades chosen in the correct direction. NL divided by N equals (1 ? FC), the fraction of trades chosen in the wrong direction. So N divided into NG and NL leaves the following form.

FP = FC FG + (1 ? FC) FL . . . . . . . . . .(1)

Where,

FP is the average fractional profit for N trades that each uses an average amount of capital C

FC is the fraction of trades chosen in the correct direction

FG is the average fractional gain for NG winning trades

FL is the average fractional loss for NL losing trades

The fractional quantities can each be expressed individually as percentages but they should be expressed as decimal fractions in the equation.

In order to use equation (1), a profit goal must be established over a definite period of time. The profit per trade needed to meet a specific profit goal in a given amount of time depends on the number of promising trades likely to be identified by the trading system over that time period. The number of promising trades that become available within a given time period must be estimated judiciously because the last thing we want to do is force a trade under less than ideal conditions. In other words, we need to remain true to whatever system we are using.

For N trades each valued at an average capital amount C, the average fractional profit can also be defined by the total dollar profit goal DG divided by the dollar sum of all N trades DS,

FP = DG / DS

Since DS is equal to the average capital amount C times the number of trades N, this becomes,

FP = DG / (C N) . . . . . . . . . .(2)

Example 1:

Let us suppose that we have done a sufficient number of trades using our system to determine that the average fractional profit is 10%, the average gain per trade has been 29% and the fraction of times we chose the correct trading direction was 70%. Further let us set a goal to earn $3,000 per month. By our estimate, we figure that we can safely enter an average of 3 trades a week and remain within trading system guidelines. This equates to 3 trades per week times 4.33 weeks per month or an average of 13 trades per month.

Variables: FP = 0.1

N = 13

DG = $3,000

FC = 0.7

FG = 0.29

Solving equation (2) for C gives us the average size of each trade,

C = DG / (FP N) = $3,000 / [(0.1) (13)] = $2307.69 for the average size of each trade

Rearranging equation (1), the average stop loss setting FL must be,

FL = (FP - FC FG) / (1 - FC)

= [0.1 ? (0.7) (0.29)] / (1 ? 0.7) = - 0.3433 or -34.33%

Example 2:

Using essentially the same situation, we can look at what the effect of certain improvements in trading would have on the profits. Say we habitually exit winning trades too early and could possibly increase the average fractional gain FG from 29% to 36%. From the same relationship used for example 1, the resulting stop loss setting FL could then be widened to,

FL = (FP - FC FG) / (1 - FC)

= [0.1 ? (0.7) (0.36)] / (1 ? 0.7) = - 0.5066 or -50.66%

Example 3:

Let’s suppose that for a series of potentially high yielding trades we know that an extra wide stop loss setting of -60% is needed and we want to know what the effect will be.

First we might want to look at the effect of a wider stop loss setting on profits with everything else remaining constant. We do this by equating the right sides of equations (1) and (2) and solving for DG,

DG = (C N) [FC FG + (1 ? FC) FL] . . . . . . . . . .(3)

= ($2307.69) (13) [(0.7) (0.29) + (1 ? 0.7) (-0.6)] = $689.99

Clearly, our original monthly profit goal of $3,000 can not be met without some additional changes, such as an increase in the number of trades from 13 to 57 over the month period. But this is not feasible since it was already estimated that the maximum number of trades identified by the trading system would be only 13 per month.

Example 4:

Next, since the trades in example 3 are believed to be potentially high yielding trades, we might look at the increase in the fractional gain per trade FG needed to justify the wider stop loss setting of -60% and still meet the original profit goal. By rearranging equation (1),

FG = [FP - (1 ? FC) FL] / FC

= [0.1 ? (1 ? 0.7) (-0.6)] / 0.7 = 0.4 or 40%

So the average fractional gain for winning trades FG would need to increase from 29% to 40% to justify a widening of the stop loss from -34.33% to -60%, keeping everything else the same while meeting the monthly profit goal.

The foregoing examples give insight into trading system characteristics that affect position size and stop loss settings. Narrow stop loss settings imply a smaller fraction of trades chosen in the correct direction or a smaller fractional gain for winning trades. Wider settings imply the opposite. Stop loss settings should not be arbitrarily set independently of position size, trading goals and trading system performance. Stop loss levels more or less define future profits for a given set of trading rules, whether the user realizes it or not. While it is laudable that traders are encouraged by their advisors to adopt money management, the recommendation of a specific stop loss value without knowing the profit goal and average position size can be misleading. When a trading system is used consistently, this model enables precise money management.

James Andrews authors a free newsletter at http://www.wisertrader.com where investment math formulas are developed at little or no cost. The site offers option alerts, free stock picks, an online forum, trading templates and advanced automatic trading systems.

© 2005 Permission is granted to reproduce this article, as long as, this paragraph is included intact.

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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.

Lets take a look at an example. Ms. Susan Borrower needs $200 and the cost is $30. She writes a check for $230 and the payday lender agrees to hold the check until her next payday that is usually 14 days away.

After 14 days, depending on the particular plan, Ms. Borrower takes $230.00 in cash to the lender and takes back the personal check she wrote. Or, she can roll-over the check by paying a fee to extend the loan for another two weeks. Each time she rolls-over the check, she will pay a fee that in this example was $30. In theory, if she rolls-over the check for one year, she ends up paying $30 for 26 times or $780 for borrowing $200.

How is the payday loan fee calculated?

Usually lenders charge a fixed fee for per amount borrowed. For example $10.00 for every $100.00 you borrow and it can be as high as $30 for every $100.00 you borrow. Ouch and double ouch! This translates to something like 700% annual rate of interest and some people are worried about the 20% credit card interest rate.

How can Truth in Lending Act help you?

Under the Truth in Lending Act, the lenders must disclose the cost of payday loans. So look for them to compare. Among other information, you must receive, in writing, the finance charge (a dollar amount) and the annual percentage rate or APR (the cost of credit on a yearly basis).

What type of collateral should you have?

Your personal check is the collateral. Reverting back to the old days of my word is my bond. But since many people break their words as easily as they would their bonds, lenders make these loans very very expensive so that those who do pay will carry the cost of collection from those who do not pay.

What alternatives do you have instead of payday loans?

Contact your credit union or small loan company, find out if your company offer any short term assistance. I know it could be hard to tell friends and family members about your financial hardship but swallow your pride a little bit and ask them for help. Just make sure that you don’t swallow your pride too much by not paying them on time.

If you are borrowing to pay other debts or other bills, why not just ask your creditors for more time to pay your bills? Find out what they will charge for that service including late charges and additional finance charge or a higher interest rate.

What steps can you take to reduce the cost?

When you need credit, shop carefully. Compare offers. Look for the credit offer with the lowest APR.

Compare the APR and the finance charge (which includes loan fees, interest and other types of credit costs) of credit offers to get the lowest cost.

Some firms will offer you a low cost guarantee that helps you save time in comparison shopping. An example of this type of guarantee is: “Must be a verifiable, bona fide offer from an online payday loan provider. Excludes one-time, promotional offers. Rate comparison must be based on a 14 day loan of less than $500.”

How to cure the problem not the symptom?

Pick up meditation and prayer and I don’t mean bombarding God or whatever higher power you believe in with requests for money. I mean take the time to get to know your higher Self that can help you look at life in a more balanced fashion. This knowledge can help you control emotional stuff which are major reasons for out-of-balance expenditures and emotional spending binges. Who knows, you may even be able to have a direct communication with God and straighten out more than your finances.

Remember that the outer world is just a reflection of us inside and we cannot change our outer circumstances without changing what we think in our hearts.

The need for money usually stems from a combination of low income and lack of disciplined spending habits. Take steps to improve your income which usually starts with better education. Look for ways to improve your education and acquire new skills that can help you get better jobs and higher paying positions. I know it is hard to get enough energy at the end of 50 - 60 hour week to study. But, don’t you rather have the stress of studying for a better future for a limited time than to keep worrying about payday loans for years to come?

Also, with the Internet, you may have small business opportunities that did not exist before.

Take a good look at where your money went during the last six months. If an item shows up over and over, it is no longer a one-time deal. Make a budget that really reflects your monthly and daily expenditures.

If you need help working out a debt repayment plan with creditors or developing a budget, contact your local consumer credit counseling service. There are non-profit groups in every state that offer credit guidance to consumers. These services are available at little or no cost. Also, check with your employer, credit union or housing authority for no-cost or low-cost credit counseling programs.

Finally, if you decide you must use a payday loan, borrow only as much as you can afford to pay with your next paycheck and still have enough to make it to the next payday.

What are the benefits?

So what are the benefits to this payday loan? It sounds like there isn’t any.

With so many companies cropping out every day offering this service and thousands of individuals using them and even offering testimonials to their benefits, I have to concede that there are benefits.

To start with, many times Payday Loans are really the only fast alternative to get you out of a financial jam. The qualification is hassle free. You can get a yes or no answer fairly fast and it can be done online.

In many cases there aren’t any credit checks.

Some lenders do not even require you to fax them documentation.

Your inquiry is kept confidential.

And you can have the cash by the next business day.

* DISCLAIMER: Vishy Dadsetan, http://www.MyPersonalFinance.com or My Favorite Shop, Inc. do not endorse any reverse mortgage product or lender. This article and website does not provide legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Although Vishy Dadsetan has made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this site, it assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, inaccuracies, or inconsistencies.

About The Author

Vishy Dadsetan writes articles that can actually help your clients. Articles that make sense. Articles just like this one. Additional information is available at: Online Payday Loan Service http://www.online-payday-loan-service.com - http://www.mypersonalfinance.com/payday-loan.

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