Spread betting can be seen as a risky business, a high octane challenge for those who like to gamble. This is not a game for widows or orphans. Say you had a tip off that said that the Euro was about to cascade or alternatively the US stock exchange would make rapid gains against the Japanese stock market. You may want to use spread betting to gamble on these hunches.

Spread betting is a relatively easy platform to understand and it is one of the most inexpensive ways for a private investor to invest in hunches that may make them rapid profits. Profits are not guaranteed, but if you make the right calls at the right time your investment will have been worthwhile.

Importantly, you don't have to purchase the underlying asset you want to use in a trade. Therefore, you peruse and make a decision on spread betting companies' prices and look at whether they increase or decrease.

Spread Betting For The Beginner

Spread betting companies provide you with a quote, which consists of the bid, which is the selling price and the a slight higher offer, which is the buying price.

There are many risks to spread betting as there are rewards. If a trade goes wrong you can lose a lot, spread betting companies protect themselves by asking you to provide evidence that you actually be able to cover the initial outlay. This deposit is known as the margin and can vary in size - anything up to 10% or your original bet. Moreover, if you losses look like they a going to exceed your margin, a spread betting business may increase the percentage, this is known as the margin call. If you are unable to meet this, the company will terminate and close at the current market price.

Obviously, you will go broke quickly if you depend solely on margin calls to foot your losses. It is better to prevent losses being made in the first instance. These are orders use specifically to close out a trade at a level comfortable to you.

There are more potential problems with ordinary stop losses, as 'gapping' can happen. This is where the market is moving very quickly and numerous stop-losses are triggered simultaneously. Thus, you may not exit at they level you originally planned. If you exit at a price that sees you make a loss, then it is best to reevaluate whether you are actually using spread betting to its full potential.

CMC Markets offer a range of advice on spread betting and how to trade effectively and efficiently, without racking up losses.

Advantages of Spread Betting

Spread betting is free from all tax because under UK law tax cannot be imposed on betting profits, stamp duty or any capital gains. Furthermore, it is a very effective and efficient way of trading and it can be extremely cost effective. When you purchase shares through a reputable broker, you have to pay a nominal fee. With spread betting there are no commissions or hidden fees. The spread betting companies makes their money through the difference of the original price and the offered price.

However, it is not all linked to cost and saving money through not paying commission or hidden fees. Spread betting allows you to postulate on variety of markets that you wouldn't otherwise have the access to. Essentially, this means you can speculate on markets such as currencies, shares, the housing market, how many wickets a top class bowler will take in a test match, or how many corners there will be in a Premier League football game. Thus, spread betting open a world of opportunity for those who want to dabble and try their hand at different markets.

They also say that "money is the root of all evil." Whether this is complete truth or partial exaggeration, this statement has been proven many times throughout history. But when it comes to matters of love, why does money have such a detrimental and significant impact on our significant others?

Here are a few tips to help find that happy medium:

• Communicate about your spending and saving priorities so that you and your partner can make sure you’re on the same page. Investing in some personal finance software for Mac, would not be a bad idea either.


• Make a plan together and stick to it so that you can work toward a common goal as a couple.


• Be honest about your financial situation including debt, income, and upcoming expenses so that you and your significant other can build trust.


• Find the best CD Rates and invest accordingly.

Finally, if you and your significant other simply can’t agree about how to manage money, it may be best to keep your finances separate so that while you can enjoy each other’s company, you each maintain your financial independence.

While it’s always a good idea to take advantage of sales when making purchases, we still have to realize that no matter how good a deal we get on something, the money is still coming out of our bank accounts. As a result, we need to closely monitor our spending, particularly in today’s economy.

• Plan shopping trips to coincide with sales! This one may seem obvious, but it’s worth stating that it’s a good idea to plan your shopping trips in advance, so that you visit each store during the time of their sales. It’s no fun making a large purchase, only to find out that it had been on sale the previous week.
• Take advantage of tax free weeks! If you live in an area that charges sales tax on clothing and other items you may need for the back to school season, investigate if your local government is going to designate a week during which they suspend these taxes and go shopping then.
• Don’t buy everything at once! While you want to take advantage of the sales, keep in mind that you don’t have to buy a whole new wardrobe in one day. There will be other sales in the future (around every holiday it seems) and particularly when buying for growing children, remember that they are likely to outgrow their clothes on a regular basis so you want to save money so that you can buy items as you need them.
• Find pieces that are versatile! You’ll get more out of your purchases if you buy shoes and other pieces of clothing that can work with a variety of outfits for a variety of situations.
• Buy items that will last! There is a strong temptation (particularly at the back to school time) to try to keep up with the latest fads and to buy a lot of items (even if they cost less and are lower quality). Resist this temptation and take advantage of the sales to invest in higher quality pieces that you will wear for a while! Otherwise you’ll find yourself needing another new wardrobe in a few short months.

Happy shopping!

It seems that the current economic realities are top-of-mind for many of us, and we’re all extra aware of our finances, investments and work situation. History has shown us that the normal economic cycle includes times of recession in between prosperous times. With everyone feeling the pinch of the current economy, it’s only natural to hope for the onset of an economic recovery as soon as possible. But how will we know when it’s on its way?

Sure, there are signs we can all look to. Some examples include the overall health of the stock market and housing industry – the things we hear about every day on the news. There are also signs we’ll each be looking at in our personal lives, like whether you were laid off and now have a job, or whether you’re able to stop worrying about how to pay your bills again – the less far-reaching things that won’t make the evening news, but will have profound effects on your life.

So as we all anxiously hope for the end of this time of economic difficulty, what signs will tell us we’re getting closer to recovery? What things will you be looking at, both on a large and small scale? Perhaps if we look toward the future, we can find ways to achieve greater stability in our own financial lives, and one by one, improve everyone’s situation.

The harder I work, the luckier I get.

I’ve heard this quote before, but it caused me to reflect about the true keys to success.

In starting this discussion, it’s important to first acknowledge that we all have different definitions of success. In other words, everything’s relative and one person’s version of success is likely different from the next. For the purpose of this discussion, let’s put that larger issue aside for now and each focus on what we think it will take for us to each attain success, individually, by our own standards in 2009.

Another quote that comes to mind, in the midst of this conversation is

Work smarter not harder.

While good to live by, do either of these quotes really provide the guidance we need in the current crisis our country is facing? As we progress through these difficult times, it will be interesting to see what pieces of advice and quotes stick with us to help us all through.

For now, I have to say that perhaps the most helpful piece of advice I’ve come across for surviving this current economic situation is:

If you’re going through Hell, keep on going.

as stated by Winston Churchill long ago. I’d love to hear what our readers think about this topic, and what advice you have for the good of the cause!

If you have been living true to your New Year’s resolutions, assess your progress on a regular basis. In this way you’ll be able to celebrate your successes and have a history to look back on and learn from.

In measuring your progress, it’s also important to evaluate the effectiveness of your resolutions. In making a plan and designing resolutions, it’s nearly impossible to foresee everything that may come up in the future. As your implementing the plan, be mindful of whether the plan is actually helping you accomplish your goals and don’t be afraid to modify as needed. While we at 22Dollars.com always say that “no plan is a plan to fail” it seems that a bad plan is even worse. As a result, make informed decisions about changes that need to be made to your resolutions so that your efforts are not futile.

Here’s to a prosperous year ahead and best of luck for a fortunate financial future!

Between travel expenditures to see family, gifts for loved ones, large family dinners and elaborate decorations, the additional expenditures we’ll encounter over the next few weeks are enough to throw our budgets out of control. But who wants to think about monetary difficulties at this festive time of year? With the stress so many Americans are facing, the holiday season may be just what we need to restore spirits and rejuvenate ourselves for the approaching new year. So how do we find a balance?

Here are a few tips to help our bank accounts survive the holiday season:

• Create a holiday budget and stick to it – if you know that you have carefully budgeted for holiday festivities, you’ll be less likely to do financial damage and can enjoy the season with confidence.

• Take advantage of holiday sales and go online to compare prices between stores.

• Re-use decorations from previous years, or buy decorations that can be used time and time again – not only is this good for your wallet, but it’s good for the environment too!

• Plan your shopping strategy before heading to the mall – by deciding what you want to get each person on your list ahead of time, you’ll be less likely to succumb to impulse buys.

• Save gas money by carpooling with friends to go shopping and not making unnecessary trips – if you shop with a fiscally responsible friend, they can also help you stick to your budget this season.

While this may be an uncertain time, we need to make the best of it and celebrate our accomplishments from the last year. By being strategic and finding a balance, you can still enjoy the holidays with your loved ones without taking on additional financial strife.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at 22Dollars.com!

While it’s always important to keep a close watch on your finances, it’s also important to keep morale high by not cutting all the fun out of our budgets. With Halloween upon us, it’s a good time to think about ways we can maintain our traditions, without breaking the bank and blowing all of our hard earned money.

Here are a few tips to enjoy the season on a budget:

2.) Instead of buying separate Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations, outfit your home with seasonal decorations that can last throughout Autumn.

3.) Learn how to make your favorite autumn foods. Rather than buying the delicious pumpkin pie you see in the grocery store, learn how to make it yourself. In this way you’ll not only take an active role in enjoying the season, but you’ll also provide yourself with an inexpensive form of entertainment, and save money in the process!

4.) Shop at farmer’s markets. At this time of year, many farms open their doors to consumers, allowing you to buy the most fresh produce at lower prices than you find at the grocery store. For example, going apple picking in an orchard will provide an afternoon of fun and good exercise, but it will also give you the chance to select your favorite types of apples at a lower cost.

5.) Start budgeting for the months to come now! Halloween leads us right into November and December – two months when we tend to spend more on entertaining and gifts than we do throughout the rest of the year. If you begin your planning and shopping early, you’ll be in a better position to manage your finances throughout the upcoming holiday season.

Holidays and special occasions are meant to be fun, despite the fact that they often bring financial burdens above and beyond day-to-day survival. By thinking creatively and planning ahead, you can certainly make this Halloween as fun and memorable for yourself and your family, without adding to your financial concerns.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

An underpinning of all these discussions is the talk that an advantaged few have been escaping economic ruin by way of “golden parachutes.” In other words, they have an “ace the in hole” financial plan or company compensation plan that means they are exempt from the poor decisions or risky behavior going on around them, potentially leaving others to suffer while they ride off into the sunset unharmed.

The term parachute almost makes it seem like there’s some sort of financial salvation out there for everyone. However those that have these “golden parachutes” likely knew they had them all along as they are typically written into an executive’s initial contract and not something that is going to be handed out at random, simply based on luck.

For those of you that read 22Dollars.com regularly, you know that financial success is the result of long-term discipline and planning. In fact, another one of our favorite sayings is “no plan is a plan to fail.” So we encourage you to do your best to create your own “golden parachute” by not putting all your eggs in one basket, closely monitoring your finances, and questioning everything when it comes to your investments so that you become an informed participant in your financial life.

Perhaps this week, the saying “no plan is a plan to fail” could be modified to “no plan is like skydiving without any parachute.”

Now think back a few years to what your answers would have been in 2004 or even 2000. With the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing upon us, let’s use the Olympics as a time marker. Clearly the first set of answers – “four quarters,” “ten dimes,” “twenty nickels,” or “100 pennies” – would remain the same. But what about the second, more qualitative set of answers?

Across the United States , minimum wage has also experienced adjustments over the past few years. In addition it seems that inflation is never-ending.

As a result, it seems that the true value of a dollar is not a simple topic to discuss, but rather is one of Olympic proportions, with no right or wrong answer. Even more clear is that it is impossible to deliver the same answer when asked about the value of a dollar when asked in two different Olympic years.

But while the snow has subsided to allow us a few months of much-needed sunshine, it’s important to consider the potential impact (for better or worse) this can have on your finances.

• If you’re a seasonal employee you may not have a job in the summer, and therefore, may not have a major source of income.
• If you do work full-time during the summer, but have school-age children, you may face additional costs associated with summer camps or daycare while they’re on summer break.
• While nice warm weather means increased enjoyment at the beach, it can also mean higher costs associated with cooling your home.
• If you have more time off over the summer, you may be more tempted to increase your spending, whether that’s through leisurely trips to the mall to pass the time or extravagant family vacations.
• The costs associated with summer yard work or landscaping projects may significantly impact your bottom line.

Potential financial benefits brought by the summer season:

• If you work fewer days per week in the summer, you will save money on gas as you will not need to drive to work every day.
• No need to pay costly bills related to heating your home, which for some people provides a much-needed chance to put some extra money in the bank or other investments.
• The longer days brought by summer may mean that you can rely on more natural forms of lighting your home than the need to begin “burning the midnight oil” at 4:30 p.m. as is often necessary in the winter months.
• In many regions it seems that indoor gyms are one of the only options when it comes to working out in the winter, however the summer months provide many alternatives and may help you eliminate the need for expensive gym membership fees.
• The amount of work necessary to properly maintain a yard during the summer months may enable you to pick up several odd jobs in your neighborhood if you’re looking for ways to earn additional money.

As we’ve said before on 22Dollars.com, constantly monitor your financial situation as matters constantly change. By planning ahead you’ll set yourself up for success and will ensure that you can enjoy the summer months while they last!

Have you talked to your landlord? If you routinely pay your rent on time, they may be willing to waive late fees and allow you to pay a few days late if you are simply waiting on a paycheck. You might also be able to reduce your rent by offering labor in trade for some of that month’s rent, particularly if you have viable skills and are dealing with an individual.

There are some ways to put together quick cash if you have no other options. First, see what you have that you can sell. While EBay takes too long to handle emergency cash needs, your local Craigslist is free and may allow you to handle selling some items easily. This is one of the fastest ways to move items you might not need, and put money in your pocket. You might also be able to have a garage sale to bring in extra cash at the last minute.

While you may be tempted by ads from payday lenders, do keep in mind that the interest and fees on these loans can easily outweigh late payment penalties your landlord might set in place. Be certain that you only take this option if you have no alternatives and have weighed out the costs associated with the loan versus late payment penalties. You may also have the funds available on a credit card; however, credit card cash advances can be costly. Again, it can be smart to weigh out the fees and expenses associated with these options before making use of them.

In early March, oil prices fell following a mixed report from the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administrating regarding the levels of oil inventory. The department’s analysts were looking for a decline in oil distillate supplies, but the reports showed a substantially greater decline than expected. On a positive note, the energy department’s report showed an inventory rise in oil barrels, causing an overall mixed review for the release of their information among the investor community. This outlook created a short term drop in oil prices, but the market soon rallied with another spike, causing oil prices to reach over $100 for the 2nd time in 2008.

With oil prices hovering around and above all time highs, consumers have been experiencing price increases in their every day consumables, putting even more pressure on the middle class and the average investor within the US. As gasoline prices increase, a consumer’s available discretionary income to spend in other market sectors decreases, putting pressure on the retail markets and other consumer driven economies. Decreased consumer spending can also occur with relationship to the oil sector; consumers who are unable to afford gasoline prices may turn to alternative methods of transportation that if occurs in large enough volumes, can put pressure on the oil demand within the US. Both consumer reactions will affect the pricing of domestic oil.

In addition to pressure on retail spending, the uncertainty among investors as it relates to the US stock market has a direct effect on the oil market. Investors have been traditionally known to turn to commodities as an investment alternative when the stock market becomes volatile, as commodities have less correlation to the same economic indicators as traditional stocks or bonds.

Another significant correlation to understand with regards to the US oil market relates to the value of the nation’s currency. When the US dollar becomes weakened, the oil market responds favorably. When the US dollar falls, it provides less financial incentive for foreign countries to increase oil outputs which reduces oil supply. This reduction in supply is known to cause a rise in oil prices. Crude oil in particular is thought of as a hedge against a weakening dollar by both domestic and international investors. As the US dollar has been on a steady decline in recent months, there has been a surge in investor interest within the oil markets, also contributing to the rise in price.

Another economic factor to become familiar with is the relationship of US interest rates and oil pricing. With the FED completing a series of interest rate cuts already this year in an attempt to stimulate the US economy in hopes to avoid a recession, the oil markets experience stimulation as this is considered among international investors to be a sign that the US economy is declining.

All of these factors have positive and negative correlations to both domestic and international oil pricing and are important to understand if you are personally considering taking a position in this always interesting market sector.

The end of tax season is also marked by the start of warm weather, getting many people in the mood for spring cleaning. As we’re doing yard work, cleaning out the closets and opening up swimming pools, there’s no time like the present to also do some “spring cleaning” for your finances.

• Take an inventory of your financial situation and clear away the clutter. It’s easy to accumulate a large collection of credit cards, online accounts and recurring monthly bills, and just as you’ll likely clean your house this spring, it’s important to do the same with these items, keeping only what you need and can truly keep track of.
• Remember that one person’s trash is another’s treasure and find ways to make money off the items you clean out of your house. Whether through the many online shopping sites available today or a more traditional garage sale, the money you earn from past splurges can be used for future investments.
• Rather than just tossing the things you don’t sell or no longer need, think about where you can donate them. This way you’ll be helping out someone else’s financial situation, and if you keep careful records you’ll be setting yourself up for tax breaks next year.
• As we discussed in a recent 22Dollars article, if you were lucky enough to get a refund this tax season find a way to put that money to good use. Rather than going shopping to buy things you’ll end up cleaning out next spring, think about something you can do with that money that will have long-term benefits – like paying off loans, investing it wisely or buying an asset.
• Reflect on your experience completing your 2007 tax return, particularly any issues that caused you frustration, and develop a plan to combat those issues this year. For example if you were missing many of the important documents you needed to claim deductions, immediately start a filing system to get yourself organized for 2008 and avoid this headache in the coming year.

Congratulations to everyone on making it through one season and best wishes as we start the next! As always we’d love to hear any other tips or tricks you have that others might find helpful as we all clean out the clutter!

But there’s another way to look at how much money is worth that doesn’t involve numbers or currency conversions. I’m speaking here about the qualitative side of the coin and where finance fits into your value system and life goals.

It’s true that people can easily become consumed by greed, or the desire to make or horde large sums of money. We see examples of this everyday in the news as scandals ranging from the small and local level up to the national and corporate level indicate the lengths people will sometimes go to just for some extra cash.

But maybe there’s another way to view the topic. Sayings like the one mentioned above have the connotation that placing a personal value on finance is a bad thing. Certainly everyone needs to make their own decisions when it comes to values, but perhaps it’s worth arguing that taking a vested interest in managing your finances can be a path to doing great things, not just greed.

Here’s some food for thought. On a personal level, by managing your finances properly you’re setting yourself and your family up for financial security. Should a friend or family member face an emergency (such as unexpected unemployment or the need for expensive medical treatment), you may also be able to help them out – which is a powerful positive impact you can have on a loved one’s life.

Once your own finances are in order, you may even be able to extend your influence and investigate philanthropic initiatives. Whether this means setting up a scholarship fund, lobbying for a particular cause or making a donation, you get to pick a cause that’s important to you and help ensure it’s security for the future.

As a result, while it’s only money and it’s not something most of us want to become consumed by, it’s worth considering the true worth of a dollar and where it fits in with the things we really value.