The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is designed to promote accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of every one of the three major credit reporting agencies. Those files, better know as your credit report contain information on where you live, have lived, when you were born, how you pay your bills, and whether you have any judgments, collections, slow pays, liens, or if you’ve filed for bankruptcy.

Ideally, your credit report is an accurate, up-to-date reflection of your credit history. However, since we don’t live in an ideal world, there are many reasons that your credit report could contain errors that might prevent you from getting the credit you deserve.

In only seconds, creditors can use the information found in your credit report to decide whether you qualify for a loan or credit card, and landlords, employers, and insurers can base an offer for an apartment, job or a insurance policy on this information as well.

Credit cannot be denied based on your age (if you are at least 18 years of age), racial background, sex, marital status, religion, national origin, or the fact that your income is derived from a public assistance program. These rights are protected by the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. (ECOA)

Under federal law, you are also entitled to a free credit report if a company takes adverse action against you, like denying your application for credit, insurance, or employment, and you asked for your report within 60-days of receiving notice of the action. A recent amendment to the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months.

The FCRA promotes the accuracy and privacy of information found in the files of the credit bureaus. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), our nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the FCRA with respect to consumer reporting companies. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act protects consumers from debt collectors. The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from engaging in unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices while trying to collect a debt.

• Debt collectors may not contact you at your workplace knowing your employer disapproves.
• Debt collectors may not lie, such as falsely implying you have committed a crime.
• Debt collectors may not misrepresent the amount of your debt.
• Debt collectors may not use a false name, or send you a document that looks like an official document from a courthouse, or governmental agency.
• Debt collectors may not use threats, obscene or profane language, or repeated use of the telephone to annoy someone.

Debt collectors MUST stop contacting you if you ask them to do so in writing. Email or call us directly at (206) 423-6733 for a sample letter to stop any collectors from harassing you at home or at your place of business. If you feel violated of your consumer rights – You have the right to SUE! Call the Federal Trade Commission for more information 877-FTC-HELP.

Just because real estate prices seem to have hit a temporary ceiling in many countries around the world, that doesn’t mean that profits from property investments are hard to come by. Even during a real estate market slowdown, stagnation or depression profits can be made locally and overseas. This article shows you the top ten tips that real estate investors apply to their property portfolio building strategy to ensure success from their investments.

1) Research the curve - the concept of a property market cycle existing is not myth it’s a fact and is generally accepted to be based on a price-income relationship. Check the recent historical price data for properties in the area of the country you’re considering purchasing in and try to determine the overall feel in the market for prices currently. Are prices rising, are prices falling or have they reached a peak. You need to know where the curve of the property market cycle is at in your preferred investment area.

2) Get ahead of the curve – as a basic rule of thumb, professional real estate property investors seek to buy ahead of the curve. If a market is rising they will try and target up and coming areas, areas that are close to locations that have peaked, areas close to locations experiencing redevelopment or investment. These areas will most likely become ‘the next big thing’ and those who by in before the trend will stand to make the most gains. As a market is stagnating or falling many successful investors target areas that enjoyed the best levels of growth, yields and profits very early on in the previous cycle because these areas will most likely be the first areas to become profitable as the cycle begins turning towards positive once more.

3) Know your market – who are you buying property for? Are you buying to let to young executives, purchasing for renovation to resell to a family market or purchasing jet to let real estate for short term rental to holiday makers? Think about your market before you make a purchase. Know what they look for in a property and ensure that is what you are going to be offering them

4) Think further afield – there are emerging real estate property markets around the world where countries’ economies are going from strength to strength, where a growing tourism sector is pushing up demand or where constitutional legislation has been or is about to be changed to allow for foreign freehold ownership of property for example. Look further afield than your own back yard for your next property investment and diversify that real estate portfolio for maximum success.

5) Purchase price – set yourself a budget that will realistically allow you to purchase what you’re looking for and profit from that purchase either through capital gains or rental yield.

6) Entry costs – research fees, charges and all expenses you will incur when you buy your property – they differ from country to country and sometimes even from state to state. In Turkey for example you should add on an additional 5% of the purchase price for all fees, in Spain you will need to factor in an average of 10% and in Germany fees and charges can be in excess of 20%. Know how much you will have to incur and factor this amount into your budget to avoid any nasty surprises and to ensure your investment can become profitable.

7) Capital growth potential – what factors point to the potential profitability of your real estate property investment? If you’re looking overseas at an emerging market, which economic or social indicators exist to suggest that property prices will increase? If you’re buying to let out are there any indications to suggest that demand for rental accommodation will remain strong, increase or even decline? Think about what you want to achieve from your investment and then research and find out whether your expectations are realistic.

Exit costs – if you will incur substantial capital gains taxation liability if you sell your property investment for profit, will that render the investment profitless? In Spain a foreign buyer can incur up to 35% capital gains tax, in Turkey on the other hand property sales are capital gains tax free if the underlying real estate has been owned for four or more years.

9) Profit margins – what levels of capital growth can you realistically gain on your property investment or how much rental income can you generate? Work out these facts and then work backwards towards your initial budget to work out your potential profit margins. At all times you have to keep the bigger picture in mind to ensure that your real estate investment has good potential for profit.

10) Think long term – unless you’re buying property off plan and intending to flip it for resale and profit before completion you should view real estate investment as a long term investment. Real estate is a slow to liquidate asset, cash tied up in property is not simple to free up. Take a long term approach to your property portfolio and give your assets time to increase in value before cashing them in for profit.

Annual Interest Rate

Firstly if you do not intend to pay off your Credit Card bill at the end of each month, then you should look at the Annual Interest Rate (APR), this rate is typically between 13-17% at the moment, and you should be looking for a card that offers as low an interest rate as possible. You should also bear in mind that you are charged much higher rates of interest than other forms of borrowing money, so if you do not intend to pay of your bills for a long period of time, then you should seriously consider a different form of loan that is less expensive.

Extra Benefits

On the other hand if you do intend to pay off you credit card bill at the end of each month, then you should be more interested in the loyalty schemes that are on offer. These vary from being awarded points every time you purchase something (these points can than me used to purchased gifts or air miles etc), to simply being given ‘Cashback’ on everything you buy (typically 0.5%-1% of your purchase). You should also look at the level of service that your card company offers. They are obliged under law to offer certain protection to the consumer, but often they will increase this protection with other guarantees. Some offer extended warranties on electrical goods, extra travel insurance when you are on holiday, accidental damage insurance for any goods you buy, and even free commission on cash withdrawals when abroad.

Also some companies charge an annual fee for using their card (especially business credit card accounts), so these fees should be weighed up against the cards benefits.

Even if you usually do pay off your credit card bills at the end of each month, when you open a account you may be offered 6 months interest free credit. This is often an excellent way of saving money as you are basically given an interest free loan for 6 months. It is even more useful if you are allowed to transfer some credit card debt from a different company into the interest free offer. However there is a danger of becoming trapped in a bad debit cycle here, transferring your debt from card to card until it is completely unmanageable. The best advice is to make sure you always have enough money in the bank, or in a savings account, to pay off your debt when you are taking advantage of the interest free credit period. That way you benefit from earning interest on your savings in your bank, but as soon as the interest free credit period has expired, you can pay the entire bill off without being stung for high interest charges.

So to summarize

If you are not paying off your monthly credit card bills, look for a card that offers a low interest rate

If you are paying off your monthly credit card bills, looking for additional card benefits

Interest free credit periods are good news for saving money, but beware of being caught in a debt spiral

Credit Cards are an expensive way of obtaining a loan or borrowing money, and you should investigate other cheaper forms if you intend to borrow money in the medium to long term

About The Author

Alastair Taylor runs a DIY website that tries to give the consumer the truth about how to save money on Financial matters as well as home improvement. Visit http://www.whatprice.co.uk to saves yourself time and money.

Permission is given to reproduce this article as long as the above Bio is included with the hyperlink.

Source: http://www.365articles.com

What is a payment system? I am reminded of lengthy debates around the office on just this question – and the heated and, at times, passionate discussion that ensued. My antagonist, who is also my partner, took one view and I took the other. The thrust and parry of the dialogue ebbed and flowed long into the night over innumerable cups of coffee.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) definition of a payment system states; “A payment system consists of a set of instruments, banking procedures and, typically, interbank funds transfer systems that ensure the circulation of money”. (From “A glossary of terms used in payments and settlement systems”, Committee on Payment & Settlement Systems. BIS, Basel, Switzerland. March 2003 (Revised Edition)). 

Armed with this definition we can examine the components that make up what we so glibly refer to as a “payment system”. This examination will help us see what a payment system really is.  

The BIS definition focuses on “… instruments, banking procedures … interbank funds transfer systems”. Let us examine each in a little more detail. 

• Instruments – a mere half century ago this was easy to define. Payment instruments were basically cash and cheques. Today however there is a vast range of payment instruments. Apart from the cheque and cash we now have giro-payments, electronic transfers, internet payments, debit orders, standing orders, credit cards, debit cards, electronic “cash” and so on. And the nature is each is vastly different from the other.


• Banking procedures – these cover a huge area. Anything that is not an instrument or that does not relate to how that instrument is moved, must, by definition, be related to a banking procedure. Here there are internal bank procedures (such as how a branch initiates payments), payments systems rules, the agreements (such as those between banks, between banks and their customers, between banks and the clearinghouse), national and international payment laws and payment regulations. We must also not forget the actual operational procedures, either manual or technology driven within individual banks that are used to initiate, verify and process the payment. All of these procedures are simply to get the payment ready for the next step, to move it to a transfer system.


• Interbank transfer systems – this covers local and national clearinghouses (for physical instruments such as paper), ACHs (automated clearinghouses for the electronic ones), message carriers (such as S.W.I.F.T. – Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Transactions), switches for ATM transactions, the national and international credit card networks and so on. Missing from the BIS definition is the intrabank systems that give effect to payment instrument transfers within the same bank. These are transfer systems too.  

The key word in the definition is “set” – for all these components have to be combined to make up a complete unit which achieves the desired outcome – just like a tea set with its cups, saucers, tea-pot, strainer (or perhaps a tea-bag holder), milk jug and sugar bowl are just the thing for carrying out correct ritual for brewing and serving tea. 

Sure, one can have tea without all this but it’s not really the same.  

The analogy, while useful as a description ends here – in a payment system the missing components give rise to a serious problem – Risk.  

Risk takes on many forms; credit risk, liquidity risk, legal risk, operational risk, settlement risk, systemic risk and put the whole fabric of the payment system in danger. 

Despite this we often associate the word “system” with only the technology; the bits and bites, the hardware and the software. We tend to forget that there is a lot more that goes into making up a payment system. 

So the next time that you write out a cheque or take that credit card from your wallet, give a thought to the process that you are initiating in a complex structure that we take so for granted – the payment system.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Arm Yourself with Options Trading KnowledgeToday, we move forward to understanding the business of Options Trading. Just like when we get into any new business, we have to equip ourselves with knowledge of the business. Many amateur traders pay the ultimate price by “messing” with their hard earned risk capital and end up losing all their money. In any business, when you do that, you would be out of the game.

So before you go charging into the market, with the hope of unrealistic profit, please consider educating yourselves with knowledge of the business. You may get lucky a few times, but the luck will run out. Understand that for you to profit, some other trader will lose. Basically, in the equity market, you are, essentially, trading against other traders. It may be against amateurs, professionals, or even institutional trader, which probably explains why most new traders will lose money when they start. In fact, most amateur traders will quit the business before completing the 1 st year.

It is easy to educate yourselves but you would have to pay a small fee to learn how to trade. Just go to www.google.com and search for “Options Trading Course” and you would be able to get a pretty long list of trading courses available. The biggest problem with trading courses is you may need to take a few months before jumping into action. Also, learning the rules of a game does not necessarily make you a good player. You can teach beginners the rules of poker but it does not mean they can all turn out to be good poker players.

Another simple way, just like any business, is to hire a consultant – in your case, an Options Trading Advisory service. There are plenty out there too. Again, when there are too many choices, it can be confusing. To make sure you appoint a “consultant” or Options Trading Advisor, you should evaluate them on:

Performance – how much money have they provided to their subscribers in the short term and long term? Read closely – if they are emphasizing on huge returns on single trades or overall monthly portfolio gains. Be cautious of advisory services that boast impressive returns per trade because they obviously are not reporting their huge losses. It is important that you evaluate their monthly performance rather than on per trade basis. It is pointless to have excellent returns per trade but still losing money end of every month.

Trading Style – do they provide high risk trading or steady income building strategy? High returns mirror the risks. If you are an aggressive trader, this might be suitable. If you are planning for early retirement, or your child’s education fund, then this is something too risky.

Customer Service – try writing a mail to them and understand their response time. You want to know that they are there for you when you need them. What’s the point of having a lawyer but when you are in jail, you can’t find them.

Stop Loss – understand if capital preservation is priority. You would not want to follow an advice that will cause you substantial losses. When the chips are down, there must be an exit plan. This is easy to spot by going through the website. Is the website emphasizing more on profits or on capital preservation?Number of Trade Recommendations – be cautious of websites that provide too many recommendations. It reflects on their confidence in their suggestions. As rule of thumb, you should not be holding more than 8 positions at any time. Moreover, it is unrealistic to hold so many positions simultaneously – you may not have enough capital and you cannot monitor all of your trades.

Motivation – this is an important factor. When following trade recommendations, you need to know if there is any motivation behind the trade signal. Use only Advisory Services that invest together with you. That way you are sure that your “consultant” is also facing the same risk.

Trade Holding Period – understand how long before you can expect to see profit. Gone are the days of long term investing. Do not get into the “hold and pray” trap. Many advisory services will hide or delay losses by not closing losing positions. Ideally you should hold and close a position not longer than 60 days.

With these as guidelines, you can now identify and appoint a reliable Options Advisory Service as your business consultant. There maybe a few that qualifies. For certain, CashFlow Avenue’s own Options Trading Newsletter, CashFlow Advisor, meets and exceeds all requirements. CashFlow Advisor is created to provide options trading advisory to aid common traders and investors in their pursuit of financial freedom and wealth building. If you truly understand the value that we bring to your Brokerage Account and Financial health, we are sure you would be with for a pretty long period – like many of our susbcribers.

Now, with expert knowledge behind you, it is time to move to the next step –STEP 6: Time to Execute – It’s Show Time

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

There are numerous insurance companies available today offering auto insurance policy and each insurance provider offers their own custom made schemes with a cover to match today’s industry needs. Hence the real game is to find out the best suitable one which suits you the best.

One of the basic things to take into consideration before getting any auto insurance policy is the type of coverage you need. Which ever policy you choose you have to pay a certain amount of money depending on the type of coverage you choose for your vehicle. Let us look in details what are the main types of auto insurance policies available in the market.

One of the most common types of auto insurance is the liability insurance. Liability insurance is considered as the least coverage an individual can take. Liability insurance is regarded as an important one it will cover up to its stated amount if any accident has occurred causing harm to some other’s body or property, and the person operating the insured vehicle was found to be liable for the accident. The auto insurance company will pay the stated amount to the injured according to your insurance policy. But remember if you are injured or hurt in the accident, you will not get any coverage and will have to spend all the money for medical expenses as well as any damage happened to your vehicle yourself. In most cases after any claim, auto insurance companies usually increase your monthly payments if you are found liable for the accident.

The second popular type of auto insurance is the Full Insurance. If you are selecting the full insurance scheme your monthly payments will be based on your vehicle make and model. If you are using a highly expensive car then you monthly payments will be high for a standard car the premium amount will be less. Full insurance will cover both the parties involved in an accident. Full insurance would covers up to either the actual cost of repairs or the stated amount, less the stated deductible, when the insured vehicle is damaged in any accident.

Before sticking into any auto insurance it is better from you part to talk with various auto insurance providers to know the difference scheme provided by them. Ask them if they are able to send you insurance quotes on the policies and the types of coverage they provide. Study the auto insurance policies and compare their rates and advantages carefully before selecting a particular offer. And try to select an ideal auto insurance policy which suits you the best.

Nowadays there are numerous websites which offer instant auto insurance quote comparison services. This helps the customers to compare the same service provided by different auto insurance providers before selecting any particular insurance provider.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Financing

If you need to obtain credit to fund the purchase of the car, you should be aware that the financing offered by the dealer is often not the best deal you can get. If you shop around for loans you may get financing at a much better rate. You should compare the annal percentage rate (APR) as well as the length of the loan and the amount of monthly repayments. Always look at the total amount repayable and compare this to the price of the car to see the cost of the finance.

Sometimes, dealers will offer you a very good financing rate on specific models that qualify. It may not be possible to negotiate on the price of these models and you should check to see if this is cheaper than buying another model that can be negotiated.

Make sure you have a copy of the contract and before you leave the lot, evaluate whether the repayment terms in it are affordable. If the dealer asks you to buy credit insurance, you should add this into the price and see if the car is still attractive. You should also check your existing insurance policies as you may be covered already under another policy.

If you are considering a trade in, bring it up only after you have already negotiated the best possible price for the car you want. You should also research the value of your old car so that you know what it is worth. This information will help you see what the dealer is effectively offering you for your old car and if it is a fair price.

If you are considering a service contract you should be clear on what it offers. They have many exemptions and you will already have some cover from the manufacturer’s warranty which is included in the cost of the car. You should certainly ask the following questions:

• What does it offer over and above the warranty?
• What repairs are covered?
• Is routine maintenance recovered?
• Will they pay for parts, labor or both?
• Who performs the work?
• How long does the contract last and what are the cancellation and refund policies?

Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the loan information sites http://www.selectloans.co.uk/ and also http://www.ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk. Select Loans have information and links to certain suppliers in the car loans section of the site.

Source: http://www.365articles.com

First, lets have a look at what types of companies trade on the OTC BB or Pink Sheets.

Stocks that no longer trade over $1 on the Nasdaq
These include companies that fell from grace (Enron). While it is possible that they may see better days in the future, the odds are stacked against them. Its usually best to avoid trading these stocks. If you feel that the temptation is too much, wait until the stock begins to rebound. If you try catching a falling knife, you will get hurt.

New Start Ups
Every year there are hundreds if not thousands of companies who decided to go public. Whether they need the money to expand their business, or are looking to cash out their equity, its a natural progression for a company with a compelling story, and a great track record to go public. While many of these companies will file for an IPO, many others will start off trading on the OTC BB as a penny stock

Second, lets look at some tips to help the penny stock trader avoid making costly mistakes.

Due Diligence
Stocks listed on the Pink Sheets don’t have to file annual or quarterly statements. This makes starting your due diligence difficult. Often, the information is sketchy at best, and typically, its biased. You should expect a shareholder to say good things about the company. If the company didn’t have potential, they wouldn’t be holding it. Or, they might be hoping to unload their shares and hope to talk you into buying.

Stocks listed on the OTC BB file annual and quarterly statements.
This provides some measure of financial success. You’ll find most penny stocks lose money, whether through managerial incompetence, or research and development. The key is to identify the companies whose management has a record of consistently making money, or at the very least, delivering on their business plan, and decreasing expenses.

Penny Stock Newsletters
Being a writer for The Leading Source (http://www.1source4stocks.com) puts me in a biased position when speaking to penny stock newsletters. Here’s what I can tell you: be careful! Check the disclaimer for the amount the newsletter is being paid to carry the profile. Are they being paid in cash or in shares? You’ll likely find a corelation between the number of shares they are being paid, and the rating on the hype meter. Does that mean that you should avoid any stock where the company is paying IR professionals in shares? No. Just keep in mind that they are selling a story, and if they sell the story to other shareholders, they will gain. This is not a problem if you get in early, but could be a problem if you aren’t able to jump in right away.

Take a look at the track record of the newsletter. Have they profiled winners? Do they state the facts, or state the hype? Do they also offer unpaid stock profiles? If they do, you’ll likely find that they do their own research in all companies, and are looking to ensure that they aren’t passing a weak stock your way just to pay the bills.

If a company is paying an IR professional money to profile a stock to its subscribers, should you avoid it? Of course not. Think of the payment as advertising. They are promoting the company, and trying to get exposure. Like any company, the only way to get exposure is through some method of advertising. So dont dismiss a paid profile as hype. Keep it in the back of your mind while you are reading the profile, but pay attention to the profile. You may find a diamond in the rough that no one has discovered.

Volume
If you want to make money, you have to be able to buy and sell enough shares to lock in your profit, or protect your capital. If ABC company’s daily volume is only 500 shares a day, it may take you several days to accumulate a position worth taking. If there is bad news, who is going to buy your shares? If the volume is low, stay away. Its not worth it. If you feel that strongly about owning the company, consider contacting the company directly and working out a deal.

Buy Results, Not the Story
If you buy the hype, odds are, you will end up being the last one to own the shares, while everyone else has sold off their position. Look at a company, take a look at what their business plan was, and confirm if they have followed through on that plan. Were they successful? Did they bring a product to market on time? Did the company follow through on its acquisition strategy in the manner they set out? The hype might get you a quick pop, however, unless you are watching your trading screen every second of the trading day, you will miss out.

Size matters
There are thousands upon thousands of penny stocks. The size of your position should not be anymore than $2000 – $3000. While this may not seem like much, keep in mind that its not unusual for a $0.10 company to drop to $0.05. That’s a 50% loss. If your position is $10 000, a 50% haircut leaves you with only $5000. Keep your losses to a minimum. If the company has done well, and you are up, either take your profits off the table, or add to your position, and be sure to reset your stop loss so as to protect your previous profits. Capital preservation is the key to successful trading.

Have a plan before you buy. What are your reasons for buying. What is your exit strategy? Where is your stop loss? At what point will you take your profit? Write down these answers before you place that buy order.

Penny stock investing can be profitable. Remember, you are taking larger risks than you would if you were purchasing shares in a bank stock. That risk can be rewarded with returns that you cant get with a bank stock, or, it will be met with a large loss and a bad taste in your mouth for investing in penny stocks.

Do your homework, don’t believe the hype, and protect your capital.

Note: The Leading Source provides its subscribers with both paid and unpaid profiles. Follow those tips and you will watch your pennies grow into dollars.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Increasingly, individuals are finding that their job demands more of them- more hours, more flexibility, and more qualifications. The end result of such demands is more stress, and people are having a hard time coping with it.

Many individuals respond to workplace stress by working more. Attaining a sense of security in your job or receiving the praise that you deserve often requires that you exert more energy in order to differentiate yourself from the rest. Consequently, longer hours at work leaves less time for family and social responsibilities, thus adding to the list of stressful factors. For some, it may begin to feel like a vicious cycle that they are powerless to stop.

Enduring the difficulties of workplace stress can be more destructive than we may think. According to Statistics Canada, people suffering from high stress tend to develop chronic conditions such as arthritis and back problems. People’s minds and bodies do have a breaking point. As a result, thousands of Canadian workers are seeking help from specialized doctors and other non-conventional medical practitioners whose fees can become a financial burden.

Provincial health plans vary according to one’s province of residence, and not all plans are equal when it comes to coverage. Spending time talking to a trained psychologist can be beneficial, but can cost $120 and up for one 45-minute session. Unfortunately, regardless of the emotional benefit, a psychologist’s services are not covered by the Canadian government health plan. Many Canadians are avoiding these costs and easing their level of stress by purchasing supplemental health insurance to cover these extra services. Psychiatrists, physiotherapists, registered massage therapists, Osteopath, Naturopath, Chiropractors, podiatrist and other types of therapists all have coverage in many supplemental health insurance plans.

Plans vary and can be customized to fit individual needs. For example, the extended health care benefits of Flexcare would include coverage for the fees of a psychologist or an approved social worker. The benefits would cover an $80 maximum for your first visit and a $65 maximum for subsequent visits, with a limit of 10 visits per anniversary year.

An unhealthy work environment, competition and extraordinary long hours at work are worrisome factors that rarely go away on their own. In order to alleviate workplace stress, some people will consult a naturopath or visit a massage therapist whose costly charges can be covered by supplemental health insurance. The purchase of supplemental health insurance provides individuals with a variety of options, a sense of ease and a decrease in overall stress.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nowadays, insurance provides financial protection against losses for persons or businesses. Over the years, the domain has expanded to encompass almost every type of disaster that is of common occurrence on earth. Earthquake insurance is one such policy that covers one from losses incurred due to a cataclysmic earthquake or any earth movement such as mudflow, landslide, mudslide or sinkhole that involves the sinking, rising or shifting of earth. But it excludes losses incurred due to floods and tidal waves – even if the disaster had been compounded by an earthquake.

An important thing one should realize is that earthquake insurance is not a part of the homeowner and tenant insurance policies. Instead, it is a different deal altogether that one needs to subscribe separately.

Earthquake insurance – unlike other homeowner polices – mainly covers major losses. The claim is usually paid after accounting for all deductibles, which in the general case falls between 10% and 25%. Given the present trend, the deductibles are on a spiral up the scale.

The payment structure works much like the auto insurance. The damage that exceeds the deductibles is only paid. Some policies take in to account, the structure and contents as different entities. In such cases, the deductible applies separately to the total losses on structure, of contents and the damage occurred to external structures like sheds, garages, retaining walls or driveways.

Some insurance providers put forward stringent requirements before issuing a policy – they insist on an inspection of one’s property before signing the deal. For example, many insurance companies require that one’s home is securely bolted to the basement. The inspection also considers bracing on interior walls, the manner in which shelves are fixed and the way strapping guards are used to hold fixtures. But these are no big revamp and won’t be expensive. Ideally, the prospective customers should get their side clear before inviting the insurance company inspection team to the house.

Once an earthquake occurs, no more earthquake insurance policies will be issued until the declared moratorium expires; that is after the chance for further damaging aftershocks has lingered.

After the damage has occurred, it is very important to make the claim, supported with all the required documents, in a definite period of time as mandated by the company’s terms and conditions. Not reporting in the stipulated time is valid grounds for the insurance company to reject one’s claim for insurance.

Consumers should consider their requirements and circumstances before applying for earthquake insurance. Sometimes, it can be argued that his/her house is situated in a low risk area. But it is always better to be in a safer side with one’s home. After all, our homes are our biggest assets.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

First, you should have considerable information that you can easily compile into a toolkit or e-book to sell. Whatever information you are including in your marketing product, make sure it is viable and relative information your customers can use and will find practical. Providing this information will carry you a long way when it comes to customer reviews and recommendations of your product. Make sure any information that is not yours is documented properly and that you have permission to use it. When you start compiling the information, make sure it looks professional.

Also, be sure the information is easy to read and understand. Bullet points, lists and step by step guides are very helpful for individuals interested in learning how to market a product. Edit your e-book or toolkit several times as well as have another set of eyes read over it to make sure it is clear, concise, and understandable. The last thing you want is to provide confusing information and receive hundreds of emails that you don’t have time to response to. Do it right the first time and you will receive more customers, positive reviews and constant cash flow.

There are a variety of software programs that can help you compile this information into a professional and easily read e-book or toolkit. Certainly, if you plan on selling and creating your own internet marketing product, you will want to make sure it is professional, organized, detailed and provides real and pertinent information to your customers.Once you have created your own internet marketing product, you will want to have a way to get it out to the public. As a result, you will need a web page or a minipage that is dedicated to selling this product to customers. Generally, you can find a web hosting company that charges a small fee monthly that will register a URL for you and host your page. Also, most have a web page builder program if you are not knowledgeable of building web pages and design. The most important aspects of this web page are reviews of the product and a purchase now button. You will want to make the checkout process as easy as possible because once customers have decided to buy; they want the process to be quick and easy. If not, you will likely lose a customer. Additionally, you will want to have Paypal or another program such as this that accepts a variety of payment options in a wide range of currencies. This will allow you to market and sell your marketing guide to people worldwide.

Lars Hanning

http://affiliatemarketingcentre.com

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Avoid the Trap When You Consolidate Debt

To consolidate debt is a great idea with a trap built into it. The technique described here helps everyone in debt, but if you have an ongoing credit card debt you desperately need this article.

• Part I Don’t get into debt. Ways to avoid it.


• Part II The big advantages of student loan consolidation


• Part III This article

The Trap

When you consolidate your debt, will you celebrate your freedom from credit card debt by going out and buying more on your credit card? Do you really want to live your life in debt, or would you prefer to take charge of your finances?

It’s too easy to consolidate debt. If it hurts to get rid of your credit card debt you’ll find it easier to resist getting into debt again.

Are you getting married? If your partner likes to live in debt, and you want to become a millionaire, who is going to give way? Most divorces are caused by money arguments. Discuss it before you marry.

You should consolidate debt if you have no ongoing credit card debt. The trouble when you consolidate debt is that the whole thing loses immediacy when you have thirty years to repay.

List your debts

Make a table showing all your debts, the amount still owing and how much you pay per month. Call the last column “Damage” and calculate it by  multiplying your repayments by a hundred and dividing by the amount that you owe. The larger the damage, the more harm it is doing to your finances.

Imagine you had a fictitious list like this

Mortgage , $100000 , $500 , 0.5

College loan , $50000 , $333 , 0.66

Personal loan , $10000 , $100 , 1

Car loan , $10000 , $360 , 3.6

Visa Card , $4000 , $250 , 6.25

Master Card , $2000 , $200 , 10

You should realise if you consolidate debt then nearly all your monthly payments will be interest, so your debt won’t shrink much. When you pay an extra $100 your debt shrinks by that amount, and you won’t keep paying interest on it either.

List your surplus

Using the methods in part 1 to earn and economise. Work out your surplus each month after all your expenses. Suppose you can spare an extra $456 each month. If there are two of you working, try to use all of one income to get out of debt, because you won’t always have both incomes.

See which damage figure is highest. That is the haemorrhage you must stanch first. In this example it is your Master Card.

Add your $456 to your monthly payment (mostly interest) of $200. You will shrink your debt by more than $456 because of paying less interest. You’ll have smashed that debt in about three months.

Now your self-discipline comes into play. Don’t go out on an expensive celebration! After 3 months you’ll be starting to build the financial discipline to make you a millionaire.

You’ve been paying $656 per month that is now surplus, so you add it to your visa account. That makes your repayments $906 each month. You’ll get rid of your Visa debt in a little over four months.

Now you can pay princely sum of $906 + $ 360 = $1266 per month on your car loan winning free in less than eight months… quite a lot less because of shrinking interest payments.

To cut a long story short, when you start to concentrate on your mortgage you’ll have $1266 + $100 + $333 = $1699 to add to your mortgage repayment of $500 per month.

When you start making repayments of $2.2K /month your twenty year mortgage will suddenly shrink to less than four years. You’ll have everything paid off before your first child is ten years old.

Is it worth the effort?

You may think that the big benefit is freedom from debt. The biggest benefit is the mindset that you’ve developed as you escaped from debt. You are now in charge of your finances… not letting the loan parasites continue to leech you of all your money.

But it gets better. An Australian kid used the above method to get out of hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt, then became a millionaire while still in his twenties. He no longer needs to work, but he has a hobby of showing people how to become millionaires.

There’s just one problem. He isn’t interested in helping people who can’t save up $20 thousand to invest, because he says they aren’t trying very hard. Now if you take your $2.2 thousand, and start saving for $20K that will take you less than ten months.

He says that mindset is everything. Now you have the right mindset and have saved up $20K…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

At certain times and in certain circumstances it actually makes more sense for someone to re-mortgage than to stay with their current lender and ride the waves of ever changing interest rates.   

This article looks at five specific reasons to re-mortgage but first things first I must just point out that the information contained in this article does not constitute personal advice and because your circumstances and financial position are as unique as you are, you should seek professional, regulated and specific advice before re-mortgaging to ensure that this is the best decision for you right now.

1)      If your mortgage introductory or fixed rate period is about to expire you can save substantial money over the period of your loan if you re-mortgage.  You avoid having to start paying your mortgage lender’s variable rate of interest which is highly likely to begin at least one percentage point above that which you have already been paying and which could increase your monthly outgoings significantly.  Over the lifetime of your loan just a one percent increase will result in you paying back thousands in extra interest payments – money you could save towards retirement, put in a fund for your kid’s college education or use to actually pay off your mortgage faster – which leads me neatly to my next point! 

2)      Many lenders are trying to attract your new business and will offer you attractive re-mortgage rates now which will reduce the amount you’re already paying.  If you can currently afford what you’re paying why not forego the reduction and instead continue paying the same amount with the new lender and pay back your mortgage quicker.  The years or even months you can shave off the term of your loan are years or months without interest payments which are years or months you’ll be significantly wealthier.

3)      If you’re not wholly comfortable with your current monthly repayments then ignore point 2 and look at re-mortgaging to a cheaper lender and taking the discount. 

4)      Make life simpler by considering a fixed rate mortgage so you don’t have to worry about interest rate fluctuations and can budget more effectively. 

5)      If you have accrued equity on your property you could consider re-mortgaging up to the new value of your property and using the additional funds to buy an investment property from which you could either draw down a regular income in the form of rent or which you could use for capital appreciation purposes.   

With this extra money you could consider buying an overseas investment property in a country with an emerging property sector which will initially cost you less, let you and your family have a holiday home and remove expensive annual holiday costs, you could also rent it out when you’re not using it to generate an income to afford to pay for the property and over the long term this property’s value could rise significantly.  Later in life you might choose to retire to this property or sell it for a nice lump sum that you can take into retirement.

Examine your options carefully and remember to look at the bigger picture!  If you can profit from a re-mortgage then take the deal, but get expert advice and assistance before entering into any investment decision. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Many traders and investors dream about making consistent profit on the stock market. Typically, investors would turn to fundamental analysis for medium to long term capital gains while traders would try to time the market using technical analysis to spot reversals or advantageous entry point and exit with the first sign of trouble. Unfortunately for everyone, the stock market is a zero-sum game. What this means is that for you to profit someone else would have to lose. The market exchanges acts like a distribution center of wealth. Essentially, without knowing, many novice investors and traders are actually trading against the professional and institutional traders. Who do you think will win most of the time? The answer is obvious. Credit Spread is one of the lesser known trading strategies available to the options trader. This strategy is call “credit spread” because you actually collect your target profits upfront or a credit when you enter into a credit spread position. Credit spreads are directional plays – bull or bear. The bull spread is called Bull Put Spread while the bear spread is known as the Bear Call Spread.

The Credit Spread Option Trading Strategy can be constructed to be a low risk investment vehicle. Using this strategy, we are able to use time decay in Options prices to our full benefit. Time decay works towards our advantage the closer it is to expiration. With this in mind, time can very well be our ally in our quest for profit. We just need to know how to use time to help us.

Fact – about 80% of all options expire worthless, it makes sense that serious and long term investor should only be writing credit spreads for a living.

How do we profit from Credit Spread?Assuming that we are writing a Bull Put Spread:

If the stock moves upwards, we make money.

If the stock moves sideways, we make money.

If the stock moves lower, but is above the strike price that we sold our puts, we still make money.

I don’t know about you, but any trade that lets you earn a full profit when your stock moves higher, when it moves sideways, or even when it moves lower enhance your winning probability. Credit spread writing is a powerful trading strategy because, if written correctly, it provides room for error and you would still profit even though you are wrong.

The closer it gets to expiration (most of the time 3 rd Saturday of the month), the better it is for us. We make money using the passage of time. Many seasoned credit spread traders like to view the 3rd Saturday of the month as their pay day.

The biggest problem in Stock Options Trading is the race against time. More than 80% of options expire out-of-money or, in simpler terms, expire with no value. If you bought options, this means you would have lost all your money in the trade. So with this fact in mind, use an Options Trading Strategy that would put you on the other side of the table. And that is to use a time profiting trading strategy called Credit Spread.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Before you enter the default stage, relax and review your options.  Realize that you aren’t alone.  Unfortunately, since so many former students default on their loans each year, the Department of Education has a well-oiled process of collecting payments from those who default.

If you just stop paying, or never begin making payments when they are due, you can expect the Department of Education to take action to collect your student loan.  There are several drawbacks to procrastinating.  First, they will add substantial collection fees to your outstanding balance.  You owe enough already, but they are going to want extra to track you down and force you to pay.

The IRS works closely with the Department of Education, and they’ll take any tax refund that you might be due.  That’s right, they’ll turn it over to the Department of Education without a second thought.

Finally, once you do get a job, they can garnish your wages.  Not only will they get the collection fees and hit your take home pay, but your employer will know you defaulted on your loans as well. 

If you default, your credit will be damaged.  This will prevent you from getting the best available financing deals, a mortgage and possibly even a job. 

Want to avoid all that hassle?  First, realize that you do have options.  Shirking your responsibilities should be the last option.  Contact an Ombudsman at the Department of Education (877-577-2575).  Review your options and choose one that you can live with.

You may be able to defer your loans.  This program allows you to defer, or put off, payments on principal, interest or both under some conditions.  If you’re out of work but looking for a job, experiencing a financial hardship or going back to school you may be able to put off paying for awhile.  You must apply and be approved, so be proactive and request the paperwork from your lender before you find yourself in default.

Most loans have a provision for cancellation.  However, canceling a student loan is very difficult.  If you meet one of the requirements you can apply for a cancellation by completing a form provided by your lender.  Some of the qualifications include total disability, either permanent or temporary, death, providing instruction or other services to needy populations or entering a rehabilitation program for your disability.  Serving in one of the armed forces may also allow you to cancel your student loans under certain circumstances.  Cancellations are hard to obtain and will always require documentation of your condition or situation.

If you find yourself in extreme circumstances, student loans can be discharged through certain types of bankruptcy.  However, you must be able to prove that if you repaid the loan you would suffer severe financial difficulty, and most student loans can only be discharged through Chapter 13 bankruptcies in which you must repay a portion of your debt (usually pennies on the dollar).

Whatever your situation, deal with your student loan problem before it enters default.  Whatever choice you make, don’t ignore the problem.  It won’t go away, it’ll only get bigger.  Contact the Ombudsman at the Department of Education or your lender before you find yourself in default.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The buyer can usually find financial information in the following places: (1) financial statements, (2) income-tax returns, (3) other internal records, and (4) other external sources.

Financial Statements

The results of the financial transactions of every company should be reflected in its periodic financial statements. These statements are extremely important in buying or selling a small business. They were prepared for the seller, of course, and their contents are available to him. But the buyer, too, should be aware during the early stages of a buy-sell transaction of the information contained in financial statements.

Balance sheet and income statement. The balance sheet is a statement of the financial position of the business at a given moment in time. The income statement is a summary of the revenue and expenses of the business during a specified period of time. These financial statements show only the past results of the company’s transactions. The results of future operations may or may not be similar.

Balance sheets and income statements in themselves contain important information, but they are most useful when a professional accountant makes a detailed analysis of them. A complete analysis includes a review of the manner in which the statements were prepared, and perhaps also a review of the records and control features of the accounting system. This is especially important in a small business buy-sell transaction because the financial statements of smaller companies are not usually as professionally prepared as the statements for larger companies. An accountant should be brought into the buy-sell transaction as early as possible by the seller as well as by the buyer.

Audited statements. In many buy-sell transactions, the statements are supplied by the seller, but the buyer reserves the right to conduct an audit of the seller’s records. Or the buyer insists that the seller “warrant” his financial statements. Warranty of financial statements by the seller should be accepted with caution, however, because there does not seem to be any uniform definition of the term warranty.

If the seller’s financial statements are prepared by an independent accountant, the statements should show whether they were (1) prepared after an audit of the seller’s accounts, or (2) prepared from the seller’s records without verification by audit. If they were prepared without verification by audit, they may be quite similar or even identical to statements that would have been prepared by the seller’s own bookkeeper. If they were prepared after an audit, they should include a statement of the accountant’s opinion.

Financial statements prepared without such an audit may or may not reflect the financial position or results of operation of the company. Most small companies do not have their records audited annually, but without an audit it is impossible to tell how accurate the statements really are.

Other considerations. The buyer should request balance sheets and income statements for at least 3 and preferably 10 years. If the seller is a new company, financial statements for the entire life of the company should be requested.

Other financial statements are sometimes available to the buyer. These include such items as statements of cost of goods manufactured (if the seller is a manufacturer), application of funds, and variances from the budget.

Another point the buyer should consider is the cutoff period for the financial statements. The statements may have been cut off during the low period of the sales cycle or during the high period. This has some bearing on the financial position reflected in the statements.

Income-Tax Returns

If independent accountants did not prepare the financial statements, the seller may or may not have complete sets of statements. He should have at least an annual income statement–that much is required for income-tax purposes. If the seller is a partnership or corporation, the tax returns should have balance sheets attached. If the seller is a sole proprietorship, tax returns will not show balance-sheet data.

Financial statements prepared for income-tax purposes may be very different from statements prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. Those prepared for tax returns are designed to present the desired tax position in compliance with the income-tax laws. Financial statements for nontax purposes have different objectives and therefore may reflect different financial information.

Many small companies prepare financial statements only for income-tax purposes and use those statements for all management decisions. This may or may not give the desired results. The parties to a buy-sell transaction are interested in statements reflecting the tax position, but they should concern themselves also with statements reflecting nontax items.

The buyer should request copies of tax returns for at least 3 and preferably 10 years or, if the seller is a new company, for the life of the company. The tax returns are more important in buying the stock of a corporation than in buying the assets of a corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship.

The corporation is an income-tax entity; the partnership and sole proprietorship are not. A partnership is required to file income-tax information returns but does not pay income taxes as a company–the taxable income is passed on to the partners, and they pay the tax as individuals. No tax return is filed for a sole proprietorship, but the income statement is included as a part of the sole proprietor’s personal income-tax return.

The buyer should find out which tax returns have been examined by the Internal Revenue Service and which have not. This is particularly important if the buyer is purchasing the stock of a corporation. If a corporation with an operating loss is being acquired, the loss might have value and the buyer should satisfy himself as to whether this net operating loss can be utilized. In many instances, the only information available to the buyer is that found with the income-tax returns.

Other Internal Sources

The financial statements are usually supported by detailed analyses of selected accounts. This might include some of the following items:

Sales may have been analyzed by customer, product, division, salesman, time period, and any other classifications necessary.

Purchases may be classified according to product, time period, territory, supplier, or other classification.

If the seller is a manufacturer, he may have cost-control reports that include analyses of material costs, labor costs, overhead cost, scrap sales, spoiled and defective goods, and other items.

There may be a cash-flow statement–perhaps incorporated with the analysis of collections of accounts receivable–and even a projection of cash requirements.

The seller may have a regular budgeting program with projections into the near or distant future. It is common practice for the buyer to require the seller to make a projection for at least a year from the date of the proposed transfer. The buyer should insist on this projection.

Other External Sources

The seller’s suppliers are an excellent source of information for the buyer. They can provide records showing the volume of purchases by the seller. This information may be difficult to get in some cases, particularly if the seller informs his suppliers that it is proprietary information.

Another source of data is the seller’s banker. A banker can supply information about cash position, line of credit, and other fiscal data. He may, however, be reluctant to release this information.

The seller may have filed payroll-tax reports, sales-tax reports, excise-tax reports, ICC reports, or any of many other government reports. Some of this information is available to a buyer.

The buyer may seek information about the seller from credit agencies or credit associations related to trade associations. Usually, the buyer must have a contact with these agencies in order to get the information, but there are many ways to get reports about the seller.

A number of organizations, including trade associations, supply information about industry averages. These averages are very important to the buyer for judging the effectiveness of the seller.

Advice to the Seller

The seller, for his part, should be cautious about releasing information to the buyer. It is entirely possible that the supposed buyer is a competitor, or may be one in the future. Often a seller is so anxious to sell that he supplies any information requested by the buyer without even getting a good-faith deposit. He may spend many dollars in collecting the data for the buyer. A seller should not supply any information to anyone without first discussing the matter with his accountant and his attorney.