Your money mindset is based on set beliefs, which lie deep in your subconscious. According to behavioural finance expert Marc Pearlman, your mindset is part of your psyche and is formed based on how you view your self-worth and even how you were raised. For example, someone who has a negative self-image and who sees themselves worthless will have a hard time gaining financial success. Conversely, if someone has a positive self-image and they know that they add value to any work they do, the opposite will take place. In order to create financial success, you first need to identify what kind of mindset you have and then you need to shift your beliefs.

Which mindset is me?

Identifying your money mindset can be a difficult task, as your attitudes have been part of your subconscious since childhood. For example, if you come from a poor background where life was a daily struggle to make ends meet, you might carry that with you into adulthood. Even though you may have a stable career, you may constantly fear losing it all. Or, you may come from a wealthy upbringing and you learnt from your parents that in order to be rich, you need to count every cent. This could result in stinginess and penny-pinching, even when you have a healthy bank account.

According to Pearlman, most mindsets are one of three types; namely fear, desperation and gambling.

Fear

Both the examples of the rich/poor upbringings would fit into this category, as both are centred on the idea of not having enough. Pearlman says that if you come from a place of scarcity, you will often devalue a product or service, for example, by offering excessive discounts or low prices.

Desperation

These are the people pleasers. This mindset is also based on fear, usually fear of rejection. Although the customer is king, you should never sell your soul to satisfy your clients or your boss. According to Pearlman, business contacts can often sense if you’re coming at them from a place of ‘buy my product … Please, I’m begging you!’

Gambling

These are the risk takers and the thrill seekers; the kind of people who like to go skydiving on weekends because their day-to-day existence is far too mundane. People with this mindset need a constant high and are often drawn to risky speculation, which can cause them to lose everything.

Also check your credit card personality!

Changing your mindset

Pearlman recommends that you take a few minutes to write down all of your beliefs about money and not to censor yourself. Just write whatever comes to mind. He says that often the same person will write down conflicting ideas, like “I believe people who are rich are arrogant” and “I believe people who are rich are successful.” Writing down your beliefs will help you to understand them better and will allow you to change them. According to life coach Gabrielle Bernstein, you can take an esoteric approach to shifting your mindset. She states that everything is made from energy, including thoughts. If you change your thoughts about money, you can change the energy behind your mindset, from scarcity to abundance, or from thrill seeking to contentment. This will change how you view money – and how it comes to you.

Ang Lloyd writes on behalf of Now Learning, an online portal which promotes higher education in Australia, including small business management diplomas and finance courses.

A lot of people are under the misconception that Mark Zuckerburg is the sole founder of Facebook. Ever since the blockbuster based on the social media platform was released, individuals have slowly come to recognise the names of Dustin Moskovitz and Sean Parker. However, they are still unfamiliar with co-founders Eduardo Saverin and Peter Siel.

The revolutionary front of the social media craze, Facebook was founded in a Harvard dorm room in 2004. Its viral flight to fame has since been the source of major controversy, with people desperately trying to claim a percentage of the massive profits. A resounding success, Facebook’s 2011 revenue was estimated at $1 billion dollars. The question is- who are the real originators behind this astounding invention?

Presenting the Five Billionaire Founders Behind Facebook

1. Mark Zuckerburg: Founder, chair and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerburg’s online reputation precedes him well. Worth $24 billion dollars, Zuckerburg has placed at no.35 on Forbes’ rich list at just 28 years of age.
2. Dustin Moskovitz: Zuckerburg’s Harvard roommate and friend, Dustin Moskovitz is a Facebook co-founder who now holds rank as the youngest billionaire in the world (eight days Mark Zuckerburg’s junior). Departing from the social media platform in 2008, Moskovitz holds over a 7% stake in the company while running Asana, a corporate networking company.
3. Sean Parker: The bad-boy brains behind Napster in The Social Networt blockbuster film, Parker earned his 4% worth of shares by hooking investors like Peter Siel to the Facebook cause. As a co-founder, Sean Parker is considered one of the key influential pieces behind Facebook’s success, Parker is worth $3.4 billion dollars today.
4. Eduardo Saverin: Also a previous Harvard student, Saverin own approximately 4% shares of Facebook. A co-founder who has shared his wealth to a large degree, the Brazilian-born billionaire plans to move to Singapore where he won’t have to pay US taxes on his Facebook investment.
5. Peter Thiel: The founder of PayPal and YouTube, Peter Thiel is no beginner when it comes to investing in successful start-ups. A Facebook co-founder who owns a 2.5% of the company, Siel’s $500,000 dollar investment is now worth $2 billion dollars today.

Having their billion dollar net worth in common, these young men have proved themselves to be more than just astute businessmen. Now available in 70 different languages, and handling the 300 million photos that are uploaded on a daily basis, the story of Facebook and its founders is the envy of advertisers and the dream of budding developers.

Bella Gray is a finance blogger who manages her own forex account. A maestro of tips and strategies for navigating the forex market, Gray is the perfect go-to-gal for all your trading tips and solutions.

It’s been a long love affair, but what has cable done for you lately? Almost everything cable gives you is obtainable via the Web. No need for an uncomfortable breakup, however. You can kick the loser cable TV bill to the curb without too much fuss by looking into some smart alternatives.

Most people only watch a handful of programs on certain stations and never even pause on many of the channels they pay for through cable every month. You probably spend more than $1,000 every year for access to stations you won’t ever watch. Advances in internet streaming technology are beginning to make the idea of paying for cable obsolete. You can enjoy most of your favorite shows on your own schedule for a fraction of the cost of a typical cable subscription.

Free Streaming Services

It’s amazing how many programs are available for free through legal sources online. Big networks like NBC, ABC, CBS, Comedy Central, and MTV all provide links to recent episodes through their websites. Hulu’s free version provides access to shows from several networks like FOX and PBS. TV.com, Veoh, and fancast are other sites that compile programming from several different networks and stream the shows for free. These online streams will include some advertising, but the ads are shorter and less frequent than you would get with a regular television broadcast through cable.

Inexpensive Online Memberships

If you’re willing to spend about $8 per month, you can receive a wider range of movies and television shows from sites like Netflix and Hulu Plus. These sites have agreements with production companies that allow them to stream entire catalogs of television shows to their subscribers. For example, if you missed part of the third season of The X-Files, you can go back and fill in the gaps on either of these services. Netflix offers television and movies without any commercial interruptions, which makes it that much easier to revisit old friends or catch up on new favorites. Hulu Plus allows you to watch entire seasons of current television shows as well as next-day viewings of a wide range of programs.

Niche Programming

One of the main reasons many people stay with cable is to keep up with sports programming. You can watch live streams of almost any game through subscriptions or on ESPN3. Major League Baseball offers a subscription service that allows you to watch any regular season game live or replay any game that you might have missed during the season. ESPN3 has one of the most extensive playlists of live sports, including a wide variety of college football games. Most NFL football can be watched through free local stations or through special subscriptions with certain mobile phone providers.

Digital or DVD Rentals

If the movie or tv show you want to watch isn’t offered through a streaming service, you can always spend a little bit of money to rent it through a kiosk or through a paid online service. Apple gives you access to hundreds of popular programs, including shows from HBO, for a low download price. Even if you pay to download every episode from a season of television shows, you will still pay less than you would have paid for a cable subscription. The best part is that you are only paying for the shows you want to see.

Jessica Bosari offers saving tips and advice at the personal finance blog SavingTools.com. Visit the site for more ideas on ways to cut costs and save money.

Bad News May Be Good News In Disguise.

With all of the depressing news about politics and the economy coming at us from every direction, I was amazed when a few days ago the thought struck me, "What GOOD is going to come from all of this?"

I started to think about all of the horrible events of years, centuries and epochs past, and I couldn’t help but wonder what amazing things will come out of our present hardship?

Are We Not Still Human–Let’s Learn From The Past

Ancient empires like Rome, Babylon and Persia once dominated the modern world and held it under a yoke of oppression for spans of time that seemed like they would never end. But those empires collapsed and the world was filled with engineering innovations, philosophical evolutions, cultural bonding and exploration that would never have been a possibility without such suffering.

Plagues that ravaged populations on every continent in the world prompted humanity to design better systems of sanitation and advacements in the healing arts. Even the Holocaust of WWII gave us the motto "NEVER AGAIN!" Its tragedy and horror make us look at humanity’s horrific capabilities and dedicate our living to something beyond our own interests.

In the United States, hard times have always resulted in times of unimaginable prosperity. The Revolution and the taming of the wild led to the greatest human expansion the world has ever known. The Civil War Between the States created a "more perfect Union". The Great Depression gave us modern finance, skyscrapers, commercial flights, hydropower, Jazz and the bond to defeat facism in Europe and create the biggest industrial and cultural boom on record. The civil rights struggles of the 60′s gave us again a "more perfect Union" and the inflation of the 80′s helped us dismantle the Soviet Empire.

Hope Never Abandones Us If We Do The Same For It. I cannot help believe that this current economic crises, or as it is now known, the Great Recession, will usher in something magnificent. From this economic struggle, the United States is learning much about technology, medicine and the comings and goings of economic forces. We are also again witnessing the worst that humanity has to offer when faced with distress and hopelessness. But, we will certainly learn a great deal from this. We are again being reminded of how far from any ideal we are capable of straying when we lose sight of what things in our world have true, lasting, immeasurable value.

This author writes about economic issues and buys her wine from wine club of the month.

Managing personal finance  can be easy to do when someone learns how to use some online management tools. These tools allow individuals to take control of all their financial accounts by putting them in one place. Individuals can set goals and budgets with these personal finance management tools. A few tips can help individuals get started with this task.

First, an individual will need to find the best online personal finance management tool that will meet his or her needs. Then, he or she will register at that site by filling in a form with some personal information. After registration, an individual will be ready to change the way he or she keeps track of his or her financial life. With management tools, an individual will no longer need to list everything on spreadsheets or keep paper notes. The individual will now be able to put this information into the computer and let it do the work for them.

Things to Enter at an Online Personal Finance Management Site

• Bank Information
• Home Loan
• Investment Accounts
• Credit Card Debts
• Miscellaneous Debts

Once the information is entered, the management site will put all the information together and organize it. The accounts and information will be arranged in an organized way to make controlling and managing finances easy and stress free. When an individual needs to see any of his or her financial information, he or she can just go back to the online site and log in to see the organized information. Most of these tools allow individuals to log in from any computer or mobile device to check their accounts. This makes personal finance management convenient when someone is constantly on the go.

Benefits of Learning How to Use Personal Finance Management Tools
The personal finance management tools will offer security that alerts someone if there is ever a problem with his or her account.

• The tools will keep track of spending, budgets, income and payments so that individuals will know if they need to make changes to their financial habits. It can prevent individuals from having to apply for a payday loan to pay a bill that was not included when they used paper to keep track of their bills.
• It allows individuals to create an itemized detailed budget of everything they spend money on from coffee to entertainment. This gives individuals a clear picture of where all of their money is going.
• The tools allow an individual to track his or her progress so that he or she can better understand how to save on unnecessary spending.
• These management tools will make personalized recommendations to help individuals take better control of their financial life.

With a personal finance management tool, an individual can make wiser decisions to plan for his or her future. It is simple and easy to learn how to do since the management tool does all the work for someone. Enter the information, sit back and relax while the personal finance management tool does the work.

If you think your debts are spiralling out of control, take a look at some of these celebrities. It just goes to show that no matter how much money you’ve got you can still end up in financial difficulties.

Elton John

Famous for his extravagant parties and lavish costumes, Elton John declared bankruptcy in 2002. Despite having wealth worth an estimated $265 million, not to mention a huge collection of fine art in his five different mansions, Elton was accruing debt at a rate of around $2 million a month. His credit card bills alone were reported to be around $400,000 each month. That’s an impressive spending habit! Since declaring bankruptcy he has managed to get back on his feet to start earning millions again. Let’s hope he’s a bit thriftier this time around.

Anna Nicole Smith

Some might have called her a gold digger, but poor Anna Nicole died penniless after years of fighting to get her hands on her late husband’s estate. She was expecting to receive a large sum after his death. However, it was his son who got the lion’s share of the wealth. Despite fighting for years for a cut of the estate, Anna’s problems were further compounded when a former housekeeper brought a case of sexual harassment against her. She was forced to pay damages of $850,000, which was money that she didn’t have. Sadly, her financial troubles led to her death from a drugs overdose in 2007. Needless to say, marrying for money is never a good idea.

Walt Disney

Although he was wildly financially successful in his later years, not many people know that Walt Disney was penniless when his first animation studio, Laugh-O-Gram, went bust early in his career. The studio’s backers went broke and despite months of living off tins of beans and sleeping in the studio, eventually Disney lost everything. A desperate Walt managed to scrape together enough money for a bus ticket to Hollywood and was fortunate enough to start all over again and become the household name he is today. It just goes to show that you can rise from the ashes to become a huge success.

Mike Tyson

In the two decades that Tyson was fighting professionally he made somewhere in the region of $300 million and $400 million, yet today he is living from one payday to another. He had a wildly extravagant lifestyle, buying Bengal tigers, cars and mansions as if they were newspapers, which is easy to do when you are earning around $30 million for each fight. His earnings couldn’t keep up with his spending habit and the boxing superstar ended up declaring bankruptcy in 2004. Despite the fact he’s broke he is now happily married to his third wife and says, "I have an awesome life". It really is true that money can’t buy happiness.

Donald Trump

Although he has the reputation of being one of the wealthiest businessmen in the world, the companies that bear his name have actually gone bankrupt not once but four times. For people such as Trump, however, bankruptcy is not a big deal; it’s just business as usual. Bankruptcy laws in the U.S. protect the interests of big business far more than they do the poor homeowner who loses everything due to ill health or redundancy. This is because it’s more viable for the banks to keep the super rich afloat. One can only hope that Trump loses as much sleep over his billions of dollars of debt as the average person who is just trying to pay their bills.

This guest post was written by freelancer Francesca on behalf of IVA Expert. If you’re concerned about debt problems, visit their website to find out more about how you can set up a debt management plan.

Having too much debt can greatly affect all aspects of consumer’s lives. Debt has become unmanageable and one of the primary causes in stress-related health issues, poor credit ratings, and overall problems that must be handled immediately. In order to better manage debt, it is imperative to recognize warning signs to know when immediate action is necessary since debt could be very easy to attain and hard to overcome. There is no need to have borrowing habits that go out of control.

Read these signs to know if you have too much debt and what to do about it.

1. Most income is used to repay debts. If most of the monthly income is constantly spent on debt repayments, it is almost certain that the amount owed is too high in relation to earnings. This can result in an endless borrowing cycle to cover daily needs. A budget must be made to free up extra cash before there is little or nothing left of your earnings other than to pay debt.

2. Borrowing via various personal loans and credit cards. Consumers can easily be tempted to seek second loans after available cash has been spent from a first borrowing option. Research demonstrates that some consumers have high debts on multiple accounts. Borrowing on many accounts is a sign of possible issues if the payments become increasingly difficult with higher amounts. Keep record of all interest rates, monthly payments, and total amount owed. Seek debt consolidation options to secure lower rates and payments to focus on repaying debt with highest rates first.

3. Making minimum payments only. Borrowers that make minimum payments only are paying only a small portion of the principal owed. It could take years for borrowers to be able to pay off debt by only doing minimum payments. A plan should be made to pay the highest amount possible on a monthly basis for all debt. Higher monthly payments will cover more principal and exponentially lower the debt amounts.

4. Scheduled payments are missed. Millions of Americans are missing or defaulting on their debt payments on a monthly basis. Missing payments is a guaranteed sign that the debt is higher than what the person can afford. Missing payments can further add to the financial distress by adding extra fees and charges. Debt that becomes unmanageable can result in loss of assets or even bankruptcy, which should be avoided or thought of only as a last resort.

Borrowers must recognize when debt has become too high to be paid off as initially planned. Uncontrollable debt can simply become a problem that increases over time. Know the common signs when your liabilities are out of control using them optimize budgeting plans and payment schedules to handle and repay debt in the fastest time possible.

This article is provided courtesy of Credit Season, a consumer finance website providing information and tools on installment loans and other personal credit services.

It’s unlikely that anyone looks forward to purchasing auto insurance, but for those who are considered “high risk,” there may be even more apprehension when attempting to purchase insurance. However, it’s important for anyone who has been told that they need high risk insurance to understand exactly how “high risk” is defined by insurance companies, and what it means for you as the insured.

When you’re shopping for insurance, it’s normal to be approached with a barrage of questions about your personal driving experience, the car you drive, and other random questions that may not seem relevant to you, but that are actually very important to the insurance company. All of these questions work together to determine if a driver is considered “high risk.” There are quite a few insurance companies that specialize in insuring high risk drivers, but all of them do go through an extensive process to determine just how ‘risky’ you are as a driver and insured.

Even if you’re considered a candidate for high risk auto insurance, you’ll find that getting auto insurance quotes is basically the same process for anyone. The same is true for actual high risk auto insurance policies; they are insurance policies that are created for drivers or autos that have something considered ‘high risk’ about them and that make insuring the driver or the car ‘riskier.’

Determining Who Is A High Risk Driver

In order to determine this, insurance companies will go through a series of questions, look at a variety of consumer reports, and then use actuarial data to determine what level of risk you present as a driver and insured. Driving records, credit reports, previous insurance information, the vehicle to be insured, and traits about the person driving are taken into account. Some of the personal information taken into account when getting quotes for auto insurance include your age, marital status, financial responsibility, where you live, driving experience and history, and how you’ll be using your vehicle.

After this information is collected, the insurance company will then pool all this information together to determine if a driver is going to be considered “high risk.” The biggest indicator of how high risk a driver is will normally be the driver’s record, as it tells what the person’s ability is and what the person has done in the past that is considered ‘risky’ behavior. While insurance companies want to cover risks, they also want to make sure that if they have to pay out on a risk that they’ll suffer a very minimal financial loss, which is why high risk insurance policies typically cost a great deal more than a ‘standard’ insurance policy.

Essentially, high risk is defined by direct calculations that the insurance company uses to determine your risk level. Extensive research, data collection, and analysis has been done by insurance companies to determine who should be deemed a high risk driver.

Types Of High Risk Auto Insurance

There are a few different kinds of high risk auto insurance available for drivers considered high risk. Some of these include assigned risk car insurance, SR22 insurance, or DWI/ DUI car insurance.

Assigned risk insurance is a kind of auto policy that drivers who are considered high risk can get, usually because they have been convicted of some kind of serious driving or traffic offense, and often these drivers have such a serious offense that they can’t get insurance at all. Some examples of someone who may get an assigned risk policy include someone who caused a very serious accident or someone who has a negative driving record due to repeat offenses.

Another common reason people are considered high risk is because they have had a DWI or DUI. However, there are lesser reasons that some drivers are considered high risk, including those with a very low credit score, first time drivers, and young drivers who have none or little driving experience.

The insurance company you’re receiving quotes from will tell you what kind of policy you’re eligible for and how much it will cost you, and will usually tell you how long you’re going to be deemed a high risk driver, and unfortunately some insurance companies will not even insure high risk drivers at all. Some insurance companies strictly write only ‘standard’ auto insurance, and will tell you the conditions under which you will be eligible for standard insurance in the future. For example, a standard company may tell you that in order to get standard insurance, you will have to have continuous auto insurance coverage with a company for one year and wait until a certain violation or accident falls off your record.

Other companies have two separate types of policies: standard policies and non-standard policies, the latter being for high risk drivers. Ultimately, if you’re deemed a high risk driver and you need auto insurance, there’s really not much you can do when it comes to the insurance you’re eligible for and how much it will cost. All you can really do is wait until the reason you’re a high risk driver is no longer valid.

There’s really nothing you can do to “un-do” being a high risk driver: it’s a matter of waiting until things that made you ‘high risk’ have fallen off your record or until you’ve done what you’re supposed to do, like if you were deemed high risk because you had a large lapse in insurance and were told that you need to keep continuous coverage for a year before you could be written in a standard policy. Being a high risk driver may cost a bit more at the beginning, but as long as you work on the things that made you high-risk and don’t do them again, then you have a very good chance of going into standard coverage in the future.

Steven Weinberg is insurance Agent and writer at www.carinsurancecalculator.info.

Image credits go to Mr. Wabu at Flickr.

If you’re struggling with debt and are thinking about bankruptcy, an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) or other form of insolvency, you might want to consider a Debt Relief Order (DRO) as well. A DRO is similar to bankruptcy and can be suitable if you are really struggling to repay your debts.

Here is the basic criteria of a DRO:

• You must have lived, or be working in England or Wales during the last 3 years
• You must have less than £300 worth of assets
• You must have less than £50 per month of disposable income
• You must not be a homeowner
• Your total debts must be below £15,000
• Your car (if you own one) must be worth less than £1000
• You must not be involved in another insolvency procedure (like bankruptcy, an Individual Voluntary Arrangement or a Debt Relief Order)

If you meet all of these criteria, then a DRO is a cheaper option than bankruptcy and an IVA. Bankruptcy costs a total of £700 and with an IVA you have to agree to repaying a certain amount over 6 years. For people who aren’t able to do either of these, a DRO might be an alternative choice. Once a Debt Relief Order has been declared, all the debts listed within it are written off after one year.

The downside to Debt Relief Orders

Just like bankruptcy and Individual Voluntary Arrangements, Debt Relief Orders have a number of disadvantages that you should consider as well before making a final decision on whether to declare one.

• You will find it very difficult to get any kind of credit once you apply for a DRO. If you are already in financial difficulty though, this may already be the case.
• There are only certain types of debt that can be listed in a Debt Relief Order. Because not all debts are covered by a DRO you might need to check with an approved intermediary to find out whether you are eligible.
• You have to declare any extra income you may receive. With a Debt Relief Order you have to stay in contact with the Official Receiver to keep them informed of financial changes which could affect your DRO.

If you still qualify and you are happy with the potential disadvantages, a Debt Relief Order can be an excellent alternative without any of the stigma attached to bankruptcy or the regular payments needed to complete an IVA. Ultimately though, the method you use to clear your debts is down to you and your individual situation.

Ian is a financial blogger who writes about debt relief, personal finance and budgeting at Debt Consolidation.

If you’re planning to open a new business this year, you can give your business a better chance for success if you spend adequate time planning and preparing before diving right in. Perhaps the biggest question for many budding business owners is how much money they should invest in their entrepreneurship, especially when a lot of that money has to be borrowed.

Like most monetary decisions, there are myriad calculators out there that will tell you down to the last penny how much money should go to each portion of your business. Also like most monetary decisions, an infinite number of variables can influence the exact dollar amount your new venture will need. For example, the amount and quality of restaurant supplies you would need for a corner café will be quite different than the amount you would need for an elegant uptown establishment. So, how do you decide how much money to borrow?

First, focus on the realities and not the vision, at least temporarily. Many entrepreneurs dream about owning their own businesses, but dreams aren’t the same as truths. The facts are that at least two out of every three startups fail within the first year. One primary key to achieving the goal of owning a thriving company is developing a realistically written business plan.

The plan must cover some basic items:

• Cash on hand
• Operational expenses
• Revenue projections
• Marketing strategies
• Contingency plans

Since the first three years offer the most risk, be sure your plan covers a minimum of three years. A five-year plan is even better; many banks require a longer plan for loan consideration. Funding for the first three years is optimal. Funding can include the cash you have, loans and reasonable revenue projections.

Ask lots of questions and include the answers in your plan.

• Will you rent or purchase the property for your business?
• What type of insurance will you need?
• Are there EPA requirements?
• What kinds of zoning requirements are there?
• What location is best?

Consult with your local municipal zoning office for information about licensing, occupancy limitations, health codes, EPA codes and other property governances. Consider your target customers. Do you want to be on a transit route, in the suburbs or in the heart of the city? Thinking about that restaurant mentioned earlier, realize that a large building in a trendy New York district could cost upwards of $500,000, whereas a smaller location a few miles away could be closer to $120,000.

Even if you are experienced in an industry and already have a limited following, you can benefit from the expertise of professionals in your field.

If you’re opening a new restaurant, visit sites like Food Service Warehouse. This site has some fantastic articles about restaurant equipment and some of the most important considerations necessary before you open a new eatery. Keep in mind that equipment isn’t needed just in the kitchen for that restaurant—you need furniture, decorations, storage bins, cash registers and other foundational pieces of inventory.

Both under-borrowing and over-borrowing can undermine your business success. If you don’t have a strong background in accounting and business management, make an appointment with a financial business consultant.

1. Take as much information as you can to your meeting.
2. Ask for recommendations about how much to borrow.
3. Ask for strategies for improving your loan chances and negotiating interest rates.

Owning your business can be very rewarding. Research and planning will help you get on the road to success. Working with a financial consultant to develop your business plan is beneficial, especially for determining how much to borrow.