Recessions Are For Sissies - Make Your Business Grow Now

By Christina Helwig

All over the world people are turning into little squirrels. They are gathering up their nuts and seeds and stuffing them away for "spring." They are passing up opportunities to conserve what little they have left because they do not want to be left with nothing at all when this economy turns around. This is absolutely the wrong thing to be doing right now. While of course people should be shoring up their financial situation, they should not be ducking their heads in the sand and hiding money in the mattress.

The first thing you should do is form a clear and concise plan of what your goals and objectives are for the next three years. Your plan should include a very precise snapshot of where you are financially right NOW! If you have not been keeping careful track on your monthly expenses and income you have some work to do. You cannot change anything until you first know where you are. Once you have that baseline you can decide where you would like to be in three years. Start off with thinking of the amount of income you would like to have and the different things you would like to have in your life: a new car, home, toys, charitable giving, money for your child's school etc. Once you have thought about these things then figure out how much each of these things will cost you. With your current financial snapshot and your "dream" list completed you then are in a position to figure out how much you need to earn to accomplish those goals in three years. The more income you want, the higher level of service or "effort" will be required on your part.

You will want to build into your financial plan both a way to reduce your financial obligations and a way to build up your wealth. Take your current income and divide it in a way you feel comfortable to accomplish these goals. Make sure to include a reoccurring monthly amount for starting a business or an investment account. If you solely focus on eliminating debt you will force yourself into not being able to act on opportunities until you have all your debt paid off. This cycle gets you no where. You will have no savings and never be able to act on your goals and dreams. We all know the debt cycle. Somehow just when you are almost finished paying everything off... boom the car breaks down or someone needs braces. By having a monthly wealth building account you have money set aside to invest and grow a business.

While your wealth building account grows you want to keep an eye out for bargains and potential ways to either grow your business or start a new business. An example right now would be consultants for people looking for jobs. As the job market shrinks more and more people need help to differentiate themselves from other job seekers. There are countless ways an entrepreneur could help people get and find jobs. You should also be on the lookout for innovative ways to improve things you use all the time. New and improved products always have a place in the market. Also start to pay careful attention to the way millionaires and more importantly billionaires are behaving in the market place. If you watch closely, they will give very big clues on stable companies and markets that it is wise to think about investing in. Many people make massive fortunes in troubled economic times. Its all a function of the way you think and how well you prepare yourself to meet challenges head on.

One of the most important things you can do to improve your earning capacity is to increase your knowledge and more importantly your self-confidence. Simply reading a book a week or watching a motivational video can help give you the confidence to take action on your goals and dreams. Nothing happens while you are sitting around complaining about the economy. The prizes in this new era will go to the people who are not afraid to invest in themselves and take action even when others are hiding from the world.

About the Author:

When you change your habits, actions and thoughts, your whole world will change. Set aside several minutes each day to work on your goals. Click on http://www.GlobalSuccessILG.com to learn about how to increase your income and create wealth. This site covers topics from tax strategies, to growing your business and many more. Christina Helwig is an attorney and VP of Wealth Expressions, Inc.

Recessions Are For Sissies - Make Your Business Grow Now

By Christina Helwig

All over the world people are turning into little squirrels. They are gathering up their nuts and seeds and stuffing them away for "spring." They are passing up opportunities to conserve what little they have left because they do not want to be left with nothing at all when this economy turns around. This is absolutely the wrong thing to be doing right now. While of course people should be shoring up their financial situation, they should not be ducking their heads in the sand and hiding money in the mattress.

The first thing you should do is form a clear and concise plan of what your goals and objectives are for the next three years. Your plan should include a very precise snapshot of where you are financially right NOW! If you have not been keeping careful track on your monthly expenses and income you have some work to do. You cannot change anything until you first know where you are. Once you have that baseline you can decide where you would like to be in three years. Start off with thinking of the amount of income you would like to have and the different things you would like to have in your life: a new car, home, toys, charitable giving, money for your child's school etc. Once you have thought about these things then figure out how much each of these things will cost you. With your current financial snapshot and your "dream" list completed you then are in a position to figure out how much you need to earn to accomplish those goals in three years. The more income you want, the higher level of service or "effort" will be required on your part.

You will want to build into your plan both a way to reduce your debt and a way to build up your wealth. Take your current income and apportion it in a way you feel comfortable to accomplish these goals. Make sure to include a reoccurring monthly amount for starting a business or investment account. If you solely focus on eliminating debt you will freeze yourself into not being able to act on business opportunities until you have all your debt paid off. This cycle gets you no where. You will have no savings and never be able to act on your goals and dreams. We all know the debt cycle. Somehow just when you are almost finished paying everything off... boom the car breaks down or someone needs braces. By having a monthly wealth building account you have money set aside to invest and grow a business.

While your wealth building account grows you want to keep an eye out for bargains and potential ways to either grow your business or start a new business. An example right now would be consultants for people looking for jobs. As the job market shrinks more and more people need help to differentiate themselves from other job seekers. There are countless ways an entrepreneur could help people get and find jobs. You should also be on the lookout for innovative ways to improve things you use all the time. New and improved products always have a place in the market. Also start to pay careful attention to the way millionaires and more importantly billionaires are behaving in the market place. If you watch closely, they will give very big clues on stable companies and markets that it is wise to think about investing in. Many people make massive fortunes in troubled economic times. Its all a function of the way you think and how well you prepare yourself to meet challenges head on.

One of the most important things you can do to improve your earning capacity is to increase your knowledge and more importantly your self-confidence. Simply reading a book a week or watching a motivational video can help give you the confidence to take action on your goals and dreams. Nothing happens while you are sitting around complaining about the economy. The prizes in this new era will go to the people who are not afraid to invest in themselves and take action even when others are hiding from the world.

About the Author:

When you change your habits, actions and attitudes, your whole life will change. Set aside several minutes each day to work on your goals. Click on http://www.GlobalSuccessILG.com to learn about how to increase your income and create wealth. This site covers topics from tax strategies, to growing your business and many more. Christina Helwig is an attorney and VP of Wealth Expressions, Inc.

Tribute MasterCard - Review

By Daniel Moskel

The Tribute Credit Card is a sub prime unsecured card. Often this card is used to re-establish a damaged credit score.

This card is issued by the First Bank of Delaware. They have been sub prime lending for years and are a trusted leader in the industry.

With responsible use of your card it can help to improve your credit score. This is because with on time monthly payments you will be able to create a positive payment history on your credit report.

When your score is calculated this is one of the biggest influences on your score. In addition this will help to improve your ratio of available credit to debt. This ratio is how much debt you have compared to how much credit you have that is not being used.

Your APR will be 19.5% this is standard among sub prime lenders. You will have to pay an annual fee with this card; however every bad credit card has an annual fee.

Your initial credit limit will be $300. Your card does have monthly credit reporting to all three major bureaus.

However if you have very low credit score you can still be issued a card instead of the $300 limit is will have a $70 limit. This is done because the First Bank of Delaware wants to provide a second chance to as many people as possible.

However using your card responsibly and you will have limit increases for both cards. There are no finance charges and no account set up fees for your card.

You will not have to pay an application fee and there is no minimum income requirement. They offer easy approval and free online account access.

When you apply you will have a 30 second online decision. Also your card will have limit increases with a maximum limit of $2000.

To get the most benefit on your credit report from your card you should try and keep the balance at approximately 25% of you credit limit. This is because it shows the bureaus that you do use your card and you are using it responsibly.

In sum we do suggest the Tribute MasterCard. When used properly it is a very effective tool to rebuild a low credit score.

About the Author:

For more about the Tribute MasterCard or online credit cards visit us.

This is generally how a real estate short sale works

By Rem

A surprising number of people are using the phrase "real estate short sale" currently and that has drawn a number of curious people to wonder what all the commotion is all about. Anyone who has read newspapers or watched TV has probably come across some sort of stories about the declining real estate market leading banks to consider real estate short sales as an alternative to foreclosure. Real estate prices have dropped dramatically, and the sell time has risen as well. Detroit and similar regions are, it is fair to say, experiencing a full real estate market meltdown. These declining real estate markets are the main reason for the rise in short sale real estate.

Banks undergo a real estate short sale when they let a property be sold for an amount of money that is less than what it is worth. There are two conditions that must be met before a bank is likely to approve this: Number one, the property's sale price has to be incapable of covering the outstanding mortgage balance. The second condition is kind of obvious, but it dictates that the owners will be unable to continue making mortgage payments on the property.

Let's look at an example property that was bought five years ago for the rate of 217,000 dollars with an adjustable rate mortgage. Additionally, the owners took out a second mortgage of 10,000 dollars, which brought their total owed to 227,000 dollars.

Remember that in five years the amount that the mortgages would have been paid off is negligible. In the same amount of time, the market values for similar properties are going for 215,000 dollars, while the adjustable rate has risen from 7 percent to 11 percent. Additionally, we end up with a real estate short sale situation once one of the owners has lost their job.

The bank may decide to save expenses and time delays that a foreclosure would cost by simply allowing a short sale. The reason is that it is far better to have a definite amount of money know and the property off the bank's books than waiting on an unknown amount of money at some unknown point in the future. If the lenders and owners do not agree on the terms of the sale, complications can result, but in general, that is how the real estate short sale works.

A real estate short sale is an unpleasant experience for an owner, but it is not the worst thing in the world. The methods may not be flawless, but it will beat having a foreclosure on the credit report. On the other hand, a truly savvy investor can take advantage of these short sales for excellent buying opportunities.

About the Author:

Also have a look at Cheap Home News and Low Cost New Home

The Upside Down Mortgage Exit Strategy: House Short Sale

By Dean Carraway

"Is it time for a house short sale? Do I need to do that?" Those are the questions that we all ask ourselves. As an investor in single family homes, I have to look at all the options from a business point of view and leave out the emotional attachments. I knew that with the housing downturn, some of my homes were worth much less than I owed on the loans. So I put pen to paper and here's how I decided what to do.

1) Find a Realtor: I'm using a realtor. I called a bunch of places that claimed they specialized in short sales, but most of them were referral services. My CPA advised me to run, if anyone asked me for money up front, and a bunch of them did. That seemed like sound advice, and I found that to be the general consensus among the professional community. I consulted my CPA, and my real estate attorney, and both of them advised me that a realtor would be the best person to handle my house short sales. Besides, they're used to talking with lenders. I chose to go with a real estate agent who is also happens to be a broker. I feel safe in using a person like this, because she has a "fiduciary duty" to look out for my best interests, and even more so because she is a broker. That's in the real estate laws!

2) What's the Home Worth Today? Get a good valuation from your realtor. In reality, when you meet to talk, she should already have the comps ready to hand you. Don't waste your money on a official appraisal as it won't be used anyway. This is one situation where you want to be incredibly realistic, even pessimistic about the value, and not succumb to emotional attachment for the house. The more upside down you are in the loan, the greater chance for success in your house short sale.

3) Get Out the Calculator: Here's how I decided whether I needed a house short sale: Take your total loan amount, and subtract the present value of the house. Not what it's worth, but how much you can get for it TODAY. This is how much your "Upside Down" in the loan. Then, figure your annual expenses including a year's worth of payments, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and repairs. This is your "Yearly Cost" to keep the house. Now, take the amount your upside down and multiply it by 8%. (We will pretend that the market has returned to normal appreciation today.) We'll call this number: "Appreciation per Year." Finally, divide the Upside Down amount, by Appreciation per Year. This is how many years it will take just to break even with the amount you owe on your loan. No profit, no realized appreciation. Finally, compare how many years it will take to break even, with the cost of keeping it each year. Can you hack it? Is it worth it to keep it for that many years?

Here's an example: A house was purchased with a $800,000 loan. In one year it has depreciated drastically and will sell for only $600,000. (these are real California scenarios!). Should the owner short sell the house?

Upside Down: $800,000 - $600,000 = $200,000 Annual Costs: Includes all yearly expenses = $60,000 Appreciation: Assuming a booming market = $200,000 x .08 = $16,000

Verdict: It will take 12.5 years of appreciation at 8% per year, just to break even with the original value of the property, and to get there, it will cost $60,00 per year! In addition, after 12.5 years of suffering, full ownership of the house is still far away and over $750,000 will have been paid in mortgage payments and expenses.

You don't have to guess what I decided to do. My numbers we're very similar to these. I know I'll take a hit on my credit, but for me, 2 -3 years to rebuild my credit is a lot better than 12.5 years of suffering. I'm going to call it quits and live to fight another day.

About the Author:

If you liked this story, come read some more on my blog at HouseShortSale.org. It's free and there's no sign up, just what I learned and how I dealt with my house short sale!

Personal Signature Loans and The Art of Borrowing

By Mark Lundersenn

The global economy is a big foul-up right now, and all the credit (or blame) can be placed squarely on the shoulders of irresponsible borrowers everywhere. Borrowing intelligently is really an art form, and the large majority of credit users are doing it as stupidly as anyone ever could. What we're bringing in in the form of income doesn't come close to what we're sending out in the form of borrowed spending, and we seem to have given up entirely on putting money away for a rainy day - that's right - nobody saves anymore.

Residential real estate, and all the abuses on the both sides of the transactions, is the most glaring indicator of how ridiculous our country has chosen to behave itself with respect to credit and lending practices. A plumber earning $54,000 per year has no business borrowing $400,000 to buy a home; he'll never be able to to keep up with the payments. And now the taxpayers of the world, most of all those who have kept their mortgage current by not borrowing more than they could pay back, are footing the bill.

We can never let ourselves get in this situation again, and to avoid it we have to decide as a nation of borrowers that we'll use credit with a lot more care. Often - possibly the majority of the time - using credit with care means not using it at all. If you need extra money, get a part time job; don't borrow.

Why not? Well, because these types of loans nearly always carry terrible interest rates and bad terms. If you choose to borrow cash in this way you can end up paying in excess of 100% interest as well as hundreds of dollars in fees. How could that ever be a smart move?

That being said, while signature personal loans are generally an awful financial move, there may be times where you just can't avoid using them. You might experience sudden unemployment when your boss fires you for no apparent reason at all.

In spite of how unfair the firing is, there may not be a whole lot you can do about it. What are you going to do - sue him? The reality is that in a lawsuit, nobody wins. And how are you going to pay a lawyer anyway?

So with no job, and the bills stacking up, and no family or friends to lend you some money to get you buy, the only choice might be to go to your bank and ask for a signature loan. You see, your mortgage lender isn't going to cut you a break just because your boss unfairly terminated you.

Here's my advice: borrow the absolute minimum you need to get by until you and secure a new job and your next paycheck. And take any job you can get - in this economy we can't really afford to get greedy or picky when it comes to making a few bucks. For the next few years it's in all of our best interest to do whatever is (legally and ethically) necessary to feed our families and keep our bills paid.

About the Author:

Qualified applicants won't have a problem obtaining a personal signature loan if you go to the right lender. Those of you with a poor credit history should go after high risk signature loans when seeking short term cash. Both can be found on Mark's website, Loan-Doctor.org.

How Budget Budging Can Create A Life Free of Debt For You Today

By Jenni Snook

There's one thing I must clear up before I begin this article. Your budget is not a source of restriction. It's a powerful tool to give you the life you desire.

You may not like the term, personal finance budgeting. Or let alone, personal finance planning. I, for one do not like seeing or using such terms. Anything composed of more than 1 word has the capacity to overwhelm us.

However, it would a waste of time talking about whether it's a term that we enjoy or resent. What we must know is that we will benefit much more than if we were to completely disregard it.

Why is this true?

Because it us with important resources with which we can start to realistically create the life we all desire. Is there anyone who doesn't dream of debt-free lifestyle? You wouldn't be reading this sentence in this article right now if it wasn't the case.

So, how does one successfully build a life free of debt?

I will make this as least complicated as possible. Two simple words: Budget Budging. It's important that you never forget these 2 words because they will become a central part of your personal finance planning.

So what is budget budging?

It simply means that you take control of your budget rather than being controlled by it. At the base of all this is being able to dictate your budget. Dictating your lifestyle is strongly dependent on dictating your budget. It's important that you firstly come up with a budget that fits your needs and follow it.

The first thing that you should do is to set up a budget that's realistic for you and stick with it. Record all the money you spend to the last, in whatever form it may be eg cash, cheque or credit card.

This is a great way to know for sure where all your money is going. It helps to find out what steps may be necessary to create a good and realistic budget for you. Nevertheless, it's important that it's a budget that allows you to live comfortably while eliminating your debt.

Eliminating waste should be the second thing you should do. You will soon discover, by evaluating all your expenses, that you are being wasteful with your money. It's important that you're ruthless during this process.

Sacrifices may have to be made during this process. One way to achieve this successfully is by asking yourself what is really essential. Honesty is the best policy here in order to know what you really need and what is really unnecessary.

People's ability to cut waste is dependent think short term or not. It's important to think of the long term gain instead of the short term pain to do this properly.

As with many other things in life, personal finance budgeting will seem a bit complicated and difficult to manage at first, but after creating a great budget for yourself, you will soon realise that it was well worth doing.

Is there anything else that would be happier than having a life without debt?

About the Author:

Jenni Snook is the premier author of http://www.HealthyWealthySoul.com, a website dedicated to giving people recommendations and resources on personal finance budgeting to attain both financial and spiritual happiness in their lives.

Chase Credit Card Application Status

By Louis Soul

In todays world, there's no doubt about how important to people the credit card has become over recent years. Providing you can manage your debts; is there anything wrong with using your credit card to have what you want right now.

One of the most popular brand names of credit cards in the market today is the Chase credit card. Accepted around the world, the Chase credit card is similar to many others. Aside from Chase credit card, the company also offers travel cards, Auto & Gas cards and student cards.

So there are a number of reasons to have a Chase credit card all of which will be of great benefit to the user over time. Probably the most used feature is its online capabilities used by workers and other people that have little time to go out shopping. Using the web site, secure of course means that managing your finances is only a few mouse clicks away.

For some people, the ease with which they can go online to manage their account is the only excuse they need to own a Chase credit card. If you are looking to save money then Chase offers waived membership fees along with other introductory deals including low APR's.

Some purchases you make with your Chase credit card will add points to your card account that can be used at any time. The card can be as individual as your lifestyle so if you are a travel enthusiast then there is a credit card that can give you travel miles. Once you have accumulated enough points you can cash them in as it were, for anything that is shown in the catalogue.

There is bound to be a reward just for you including trips if that is what you like. It is the customer service that makes most people stay with or leave a company and Chase credit cards are no different. For me, it is that knowledge that if I need someone to help me, there is always someone there at any time no matter where I am. Having your card stolen or even lost for example can create a trying time until a new one is delivered safely to you which is the great benefit of the customer service facility at Chase.

If you are thinking about transferring your balance then this is the way to do it with a guaranteed six month zero percent interest rate which also incorporates current purchase balances as well. A no annual charge policy and if you pay your bill in full, there will not be any other interest charges to pay. Having a Chase credit card also allows the holder to earn cash rewards on purchases. If you are considering transferring your account or balance, it is easy over the internet with the secure server.

About the Author:

You can visit: Mafioso Marketing Success Review and Your guide to video marketing for more reviewed information.