Top Finance Blog

Big Banks Being Sued Over Foreclosures By NY

Mitch Mitchell — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:14:22 +0000

I’ve been waiting for this one to come. Last week the Attorney General for New York, Eric Schneiderman, finally sued Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo basically for fraud in the foreclosure mess from both 2010 and last year where many people were being foreclosed upon without the proper documentation or even evidence that they were behind on payments. What was known as robo-signing, where those tasked with verifying information decided to just sign foreclosure notices instead of doing their job, took place all across the country and caused a lot of headache to people, including displacements.

Probably the only reason those 3 banks are being sued is because overall New York didn’t suffer as much on loans as other states did because it’s highly regulated and thus doesn’t allow the kind of loans that destroyed countless families and lives in other states. Still, there were a high enough number of foreclosures because the state economy was suffering so foreclosures were occurring.

In my opinion this should have resulted in criminal prosecution for someone, whomever thought that they could get away with something like this. That a couple of the banks on this list got government support in 2009 so that they wouldn’t crash and burn is even more troubling because I had thought that the government was watching these banks to see what they were doing while they were waiting to get paid back for those loans although, to be fair, Bank of America did pay the government back in December 2009, although they really weren’t in a cash position to do so.

Still, with the housing crisis moving into year 5 and people still wondering if we’re going to pull out of it, even as it’s starting to show some signs of recovery, it seems like something criminal took place and that the banking powers that be got away with something.

Who’s with me on this one?

Is This The End Of The American Dream? – Guest Post

Mitch Mitchell — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:31:26 +0000

The early days of the Internet were a great time for those who had hopes of living the American Dream. In fact, the Internet made the world feel a lot smaller, and the American Dream became the dream of people from all over the world. Sadly, the dreamy period was short lived. First, the DotCom bubble burst, and then, just a few years later, the USA entered a long and serious recession. Around the same time as the US recession, Europe hit trouble too, and life became hard for everyone – office workers, home owners, small business owners, and investors alike.

Be Your Own Boss

Before 2011, the American Dream was alive and well, with start-ups springing up all over the place. Terms such as IPO, web fulfillment, and venture capital weren’t bandied about with the frequency that they appeared during the DotCom boom, but they were part of most people’s vocabulary.

Middle aged people who had taken a break to raise children didn’t just look to jump back into their careers; they considered starting their own business instead. Young people with free time and good ideas would test the waters with web based businesses while looking for full time jobs. If the business failed, at least they’d have something to put on their portfolio.

Sadly, last year saw an end to that culture of ambition and dreams. Career breaks aren’t an option at the moment, as people are reluctant to leave their jobs even briefly – who knows if there’ll be any jobs to come back to? Older workers who thought they were taking a little time off are now facing the prospect of being forcibly retired, and recent graduates are now in a position where they must take anything they can find, even call center work or a job flipping burgers, because there’s simply no other way to pay off student debt.

Keep Dreaming, Just Smaller

However, there is hope for the next generation. Those who are fortunate enough to not have large outstanding debts may find that their low outgoings are a huge advantage. They are in a position to be flexible, try new things, and take the initiative; something that people who are slave to their credit card debt cannot do.

Starting an online business doesn’t have to be expensive. Business hosting accounts don’t cost a lot, and modern CMS software and web fulfillment packages are easy enough for even people without a technical background to use. A good idea, some initiative, and an investment of time (something every unemployed person has) is all that you need to test out a business plan. If it works, that’s great. If it doesn’t, all you have lost is the cost of the hosting and the domain.

Few successful businessmen achieved great results with their first idea. It’s normal to have to go through several iterations before you succeed, but the lessons you learn from your failures can be applied to future plans, until you find one that works. The best thing about the internet is that once you have one technical and web fulfillment setup working, it’s easy to apply it to other ideas, and that speeds the process up significantly.

The most important lesson from 2011 is that you should never stop dreaming, and never stop trying.

This post was written by James Harper on behalf of Hallmark Consumer Services who provide outsourced web fulfillment to businesses of all sizes. James writes about business and the internet.

Home Maintenance You Can Do Yourself – Guest Post

Mitch Mitchell — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:08:57 +0000

Home ownership is one of the biggest investments that people make in their lifetime. It is for this reason proper home maintenance is so important. Regular maintenance on a home ensures safety and preserves the beauty of the property, as well as prevents costly repairs. A well maintained home increases the resale value of the property and offers a peace of mind. Hiring a professional to repair things can cost a small fortune. If you would like to save money on maintenance tasks around the home, try making repairs and performing preventative maintenance yourself first.

by Charlie Vinz via Flickr

Preventative maintenance that you can do yourself without paying a professional is the best way to save money on costly repairs and may even minimize energy consumption. Properly maintaining your home reduces the potential for many major unexpected repairs. The following are examples of simple routine maintenance that every homeowner can do by themselves and not have to pay a professional to do it. Performing routine preventative maintenance now can save money both now and in the future. Regular home maintenance is the key to keeping your home in excellent condition and preserving the value of your property.

Do-It-Yourself Routine Maintenance That Can Save You Money

The furnace filter traps allergens and dirt. A clean filter makes the system run efficiently and can increase the useful life of the furnace. Replace or clean permanent filters in your HVAC unit. For best results furnace filters should be replaced with a new one or cleaned every 30 days, especially during peak seasons. Additionally, check heat duct joints for leaks. If a leak is discovered use duck tape to seal it up.

Check all indoor windows in the home for condensation and take action to correct by caulking edges or filling cracks. In addition, check all of the electrical outlets to ensure there are no drafts. If drafts are present, seal them by installing foam gaskets.

Flush your garbage disposal with baking soda and hot water to clean and maintain.

Inspect the caulking around showers, sinks and tubs. If any caulking is deteriorating, replace it.

Frequently, homeowners overlooked the hot water tank when it comes to home maintenance. Sediments build up in the tank and it needs to be flushed. Simply placing a bucket under the valve spout and emptying the tank removes the sediment build up. This home maintenance task should be performed once every year. Furthermore, draining an additional gallon of water from the tank at least twice every year can save extra money by extending the life expectancy of the hot water tank.

Cleaning the gutters on the home is an important and often neglected aspect of home maintenance. Gutters and downspouts should be cleared of debris and leaves, so that water flows away from the house. The ideal time of year to clean the gutters is in the spring. Cleaning out the gutters prevents potential overflow that causes possible flooding and leaks in the roof.

Washing windows is a home maintenance task that is actually easy to do. A rubber window squeegee, like the type professionals use will make quick work of washing windows, yourself saving the money you would have spent hiring a professional window washer.

Help with Do-It-Yourself Home Maintenance

Many online resources are available for the do-it yourselfer. For more tips and information on home maintenance you can do yourself, see http://homeguide123.com/article_directory/Home_Maintenance_Guide.html.

Get hands on advice for maintenance tasks, at http://www.nahb.org/reference_list.aspx?sectionID=124.

Preventative maintenance is the key in preventing small issues from becoming very big issues. Create and follow a maintenance schedule. Tackling home maintenance on a schedule will keep maintenance tasks from becoming overwhelming. For a maintenance schedule that is broken down by seasons and how-to tips to get started, see http://www.pbs.org/hometime/house/maintenance/main.htm.

Proper routine home maintenance is essential to retaining the value in your home. Exactly how important is it to perform preventative home maintenance on a regular schedule? A homeowner could easily lose up to 12 percent of the appraised value of the home if it shows a lack of preventative maintenance. While on the other hand regular home maintenance can actually increase the value of your home. Home maintenance is more than simply a chore; it can actually make you money. Furthermore, you can save money by preventing the costly repairs of tomorrow, today.

Megan writes for HeatingOilShopper.com, a leading source of information on a range of topics related to heating oil and home heating options, enabling consumers to find the best Cambridge heating oil prices in Massachusetts.

Will Bank Of America Survive?

Mitch Mitchell — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:17:41 +0000

Bank of America has a terrible 2011. They had to give up a lot of their foreclosures, got bad press because they tried to raise rates on checking and the use of debit cards, and their stock price fell so low that it almost went below $5 a share.

I haven’t been a big fan of Bank of America, and I feel like they brought a lot of these problems on themselves with bad management. I don’t believe they’re too big to fail, but I do believe it would be a tragedy if it did happen.

What’s going on with them lately? First, their stock price finally went back up, not close to the glory days but as of last Friday they were back around $7.29 a share.

They’re going to start offering deals to their consumers and their employees that are along the same type of thing Groupon does, where there will be discounts on services and items, with the caveat that since they pretty much know what you’ve been buying with our debit card they hope to steer you towards things they believe you want.

They’ve started working with some of the people that were hurt by the housing crisis, making deals to help those people stay in their homes, but by doing it they’ve been criticized by some states such as Arizona, who says that the deals are impeding fraud investigations against the bank. That’s because the deals include a non-disclosure agreement that can’t be broken. Yet even with those deals they’ve fallen to the 4th largest mortgage loan organization with no outlook for growth any time soon.

And they’re shaking up some of their leadership, especially in its investment banking area, to try to turn things around. Maybe it’s already working, as there’s conversation from financial analysts that are contemplating when their stock price might reach $10 a share.

So, is Bank of America on the brink of turning things around? It looks like it, but one slip up and they could be the largest bank to ever fail in this country. We should know more about their status in the coming months.

Why The Elimination Of Pre-Existing Conditions Rules Are Financially Important

Mitch Mitchell — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:02:19 +0000

Back in 1984 I kept having a series of strep throat issues. My doctor at the time said that I needed to have my tonsils out. I wasn’t happy with the possibility of surgery and I wasn’t a kid anymore, so I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. However, 20 days before I was to have my surgery, my employer changed insurance companies, and suddenly I was hit with a pre-existing condition clause that had nothing to do with me and told I’d have to wait a year. I called my doctor and canceled, since I knew it would cost me about $1,000 if I had to pay for it, and that wasn’t happening. I still have my tonsils.

Although my surgery wasn’t critical, it turns out that many people over the years have had to have very crucial surgery or had other medical issues to deal with, including pregnancy, who suddenly lost their insurance coverage through some fluke that tossed them into the pre-existing category. When you’re crucial you don’t have much of a choice in saying you don’t want surgery, and suddenly you’re in financial distress, which causes stress, and thus makes it harder to heal and get healthy.

Insurance companies have used this trick for years, with condition time periods ranging anywhere from 6 months to a year. It’s always been pretty unfair to consumers, who were hanging onto a rock that wouldn’t budge. Obviously surgery is important but it’s also expensive, like medication and other health care. It’s tough enough for new employees to have to wait for insurance coverage to kick in at some companies for the first 90 days to pass, which I also understand because it’s expensive to cover an employee that might not make it through a probation period, but making someone wait a year or even longer for their legitimate insurance coverage to reach an arbitrary date for coverage is punitive.

It doesn’t matter whether people like the overall health care plan that’s coming from the government or not; this turns out to be one of the best things that’s come from the bill already. There are many images like the one above highlighting people who have benefited from this bill. My bet is that even people against the bill know someone who’d had this problem. When you have money, this is never a problem; when you don’t…

In 2012, Save Money By Going Green – Guest Post

Mitch Mitchell — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:47:21 +0000

The holidays are past us and 2011 has come to an end. For many, this is the time to look forward and plan for the year ahead. Do you have any personal resolutions? Career goals? Financial commitments? Many people resolve to lose some weight and spend more time with their families. These are great goals, but don’t go into 2012 without similarly planning for your financial year.

via Flickr

Even if you don’t have financial goals, it’s still important to assess your upcoming budget. Are you planning to make a large purchase, such as a car or home? Do you expect a consistent income stream? How is this coming year going to be different from the last? Doing some research, jotting down some numbers, and making a tentative budget will likely make you feel much more comfortable heading into the year. If it means checking out mortgage rates and getting free insurance quotes over the next couple weeks, it’s still a worthwhile hassle that may be appreciated down the road.

Still, it’s beneficial to have a couple overarching financial goals. If nothing comes to mind, you’re welcome to share one of mine: going green. More specifically, I want to save money by making my life more environmentally-friendly. Here’s what I plan to do:

Install energy-efficient lights in my home and my office. While these lights cost more upfront, they easily translate into savings over the course of a year.

Insulate my attic. Making your home better-insulated can be a costly and difficult undertaking. But, in many homes, it’s easy to add insulation to the attic. Since heat rises, doing so can greatly improve your winter heating efficiencies.

Get a modern thermostat. A new generation of thermostats, made by companies such as Nest Labs, are designed to regulate a home’s temperature in a way that best maximizes energy efficiencies. As with energy-efficient lights, these products are more expensive but you allow you to easily recoup your costs.

Take public transit. Taking the bus or train is often less convenient than driving a car. But, when feasible, forsaking gas costs and using public transit can result in some big savings.

Eat leftovers. This may sound like a weird one, but I’ve always been adverse to eating leftovers, even though doing so can reduce one’s food costs and lower the demand for food production. I resolve to change this habit in 2012.

These are the main ways that I hope to be greener and save some money in the upcoming year. It is not my only financial goal but it is certainly one of the key ones. If you have no big plans for yourself, you may want to consider taking this advice, become more eco-friendly, and helping your wallet line in the process.

Alex Summers is a recently graduate from the University of Arkansas (SOOOOIIEEE! Go Hogs!) and is entering the foray of the world of writing. And advertiser by trade, writer in dreams, and in reality somewhere in the middle, Alex is considered to be a grounded creative or literary business professional, whichever paradox you prefer.

Finance Debt Counseling – Guest Post

Mitch Mitchell — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:21:32 +0000

Today, almost everyone is in some form of credit and debt crisis. With the downturn in the economy, many people found themselves without a job and without a way to pay their credit card debts or other financial obligations. If you find yourself in this situation, you are not alone and there are solutions to help you find your way back to financial freedom.

by Alan Cleaver via Flickr

Benefits of Credit Relief Counseling Services

Probably the best benefit of using debt counseling services is that professional credit counselors can help you develop a plan for making a budget, prioritizing your financial obligations and getting out of debt. When you talk to a credit counselor, make sure you talk to them about all of your financial debts so that they have a clear picture of your financial situation. With this information, they can help you decide what expenses can be cut and assist you in developing a realistic budget.

Although you may not see an immediate improvement with your credit score, eventually your credit rating will improve. As creditors begin to receive regular monthly payments and you start paying off your credit obligations, positive information will be sent to credit reporting agencies and granting credit to you will be seen as less of a financial risk. Eventually, you will see the benefit by being able to qualify for premium interest rates again.

Debt Management Services – With a working budget, and then you can begin to look at credit card repayment options. One of the most popular services offered by many debt counseling companies is debt management. With debt management services, you usually make one payment a month to the credit counseling company, which encompasses all of the credit card payments you need to make for the month. They, in turn, make your payments for you.

Negotiated Debt Reduction – Usually, a credit counseling services will negotiate with your credit card companies to lower your monthly payments by reducing your interest rate, removing accumulated fees or freezing your account. As a result, the single monthly payment you make to the credit counseling service is usually lower than it would be if you were to pay all of the credit card payments separately. Ultimately, you end up with more money to put toward your budget by using debt management services.

Credit Card Consolidation Loans – Debt counseling companies also often have access to credit card and debt consolidation loan lenders. Since consolidation loans are spread out over a longer term than credit card payments and are offered at lower rates than credit cards, taking out this type of loan can significantly decrease your monthly payments and give you more room in your monthly budget. A consolidation loan does not eliminate your debt, but it can make it more manageable and allow you to more realistically pay it off in full.

Credit Repair Services – Credit counseling services can also help you with credit repair efforts. They can help you place a statement on your credit report explaining any major life events that have affected your ability to meet your credit obligations, such as job loss, illness, death or divorce. This can be an important activity because it will help potential creditors understand and take this information into consideration when considering you for credit. Additionally, professional credit counselors can help you remove erroneous and negative credit information from your credit report. This can help significantly improve your credit score.

Working with a professional credit counseling service can provide you with guidance and assistance to help to dig your way out of your financial crisis. With their assistance, you can develop a realistic budget, begin to pay off your debts and improve you credit score.

Shin Mayormita writes for FranklinDebtRelief.com, a company that specializes in debt settlement, also known as debt negotiation.

The Millionaire Mind – Book Review

Mitch Mitchell — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:19:46 +0000

If you thought that you had to have a high paying job in order to become rich, think again. The book The Millionaire Mind by Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D. proves that with the right mindset and temperament almost anyone can become a millionaire. And some professions are made to create millionaires that you probably have never thought about before.

This isn’t a book that teaches you how to become a millionaire. Instead, it highlights how some people attain wealth by living frugally or by being in professions where expenses are lower because those in the profession get to be a bit more low key.

For example, think about plumbers and lawyers. Lawyers make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and you’d think that there would be a lot of millionaire lawyers. Yet, because of their profession, they have to pay out a lot of that money on things like their clothing, fancy offices, fancy cars, and membership fees. That’s because we expect our lawyers to have a certain look and live a certain visible lifestyle.

Compare them to plumbers. They make nice money, don’t necessarily have to have offices but if they do, they don’t have to look like lawyer offices. They can purchase vans that have their logo on the side and it’s a business expense, while driving a regular car. They wear uniforms or their own clothes and don’t have to join country clubs and the like if they don’t want to. Their memberships cost a lot less as well as everything else they do. So, they get to keep a lot more of their money, and if they don’t spend extravagantly they can easily become millionaires; at a matter of fact, Dr. Stanley said there’s a much higher percentage of plumber millionaires than one might imagine.

His book also tells us that education doesn’t have much to do with whether someone becomes a millionaire or not. Just because you have a college degree doesn’t make you any more likely than someone else to become wealthy. It takes drive and thriftiness instead, which makes sense.

One interesting thing he did was take a survey to see what the top success factors were based on the responses millionaires gave him. You might be surprised at the top 5:

Being honest with all people

Being well disciplined

Getting along with people

Having a supportive spouse

Working harder than most people

As I stated, this isn’t a book of lessons. Yet what this book contains teaches its own type of lessons and might help change your perception of wealth and how to get rich for the better. You should think about picking up a copy of The Millionaire Mind.

5 Money Saving Tips when Buying a House – Guest Post

Mitch Mitchell — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:06:08 +0000

Buying a house can be a fun but challenging and time-consuming task. There will be a lot of time spent in sight-seeing and visiting different prospect locations before landing to the perfect and ideal site. This process entails financial resources. Thus, it is something that you must take great precaution in. This article gives you five helpful tips on how you can save money when considering buying a house.

1. Avoid the Sales Agent

One of the major real estate agent disadvantages is that they are the extra middle man in a real estate deal. Real-estate companies give commissions to their Sales Agents and this cost can be passed on to you. As nice as they may be and as informative as they may seem, their duty is to see that the seller gets the best deal possible with their add-on percentage. So as much as possible, go directly to the owner of the house you want to purchase.

It’s best to buy your empire from someone you know—and in cash—so that you can have a higher chance of availing discount. Then you can save as much as $5000 to $7000.

2. Location Research

Go house shopping but as a first step, figure out what kind of home you might like and which amenities are most important for you. Secondly, estimate your price range and look at houses which match to your budget. This is to prevent yourself from falling in love with a home that is too expensive, which you will later regret.

You may visit the neighborhood several times to know how the surrounding environment can be in the morning or in the evening, to know how good or bad it will be to live there and to verify about the security concerns. If you feel that it has bad points but somehow can be overcome, highlight those points to the seller. Use them as your power to haggle. Compare and contrast payment terms. Think twice and take the best deal.

The rule is: the larger the lot of the house you buy, the lesser the cost. For example, a 300 square meter house and lot will cost $200 per square meter versus that of a 700 square meter house and lot which will only cost $180 per square meter. In addition, the trick here is that the larger area you buy, the more negotiating power you’ll have.

3. Bulk Buying

If you’re not rushing to reach a sale, research for the resale value of the houses in the perimeter after 5-20 years from the current year. You can make it as your real estate investment.

4. Foreclosed Properties

Check out foreclosed properties on your desired location. These properties cost relatively lower but are usually for bidding. Do your homework. Your opening bid should be based on the sales trend of similar homes in the neighborhood. So before making it, consider sales of similar homes in the last three months. If homes have recently sold at 5% less than the asking price, you should make a bid that’s about eight to 10% lower than what the seller is asking.

5. Going Green

US government implemented tax breaks for those households who chose to go green. Go for a house with Green Innovations Installed. This will lessen the cost of your monthly/yearly tax payments.

Final Say

Buying a house can be costly but with extended effort you can trim down your expenses. Study the local laws and aim for the houses that you can afford. Then sign the agreement paper according to local rules and regulations. Terms and conditions of the agreement vary from state to state depending on local custom. Keep the original documents with you. Read the documents carefully; get clear all your doubts. Pay in advance (and better in cash), and the remaining amount as per your signed agreement. Don’t pay full amount until you get satisfied. Buy only what you can.

Jessica Francisco is a cheerful 25-year-old with an odd sense of fun. The least of her broad range of hobbies include swimming, hiking and listening to the music of Michael Jackson. Jessica is also one of the editors of Luke Roxas.

A Request For A Shorty Awards Nomination

Mitch Mitchell — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:19:54 +0000

Something a little bit different here at Top Finance Blog. There are these social media awards called the Shorty Awards that have people nominate them for awards in different social media categories and allow people to ask for others to nominate them. Voting ends on February 17th and there is one winner per category.

Click the image!

I’m asking to be nominated for a Shorty in the blogging category and the finance category.

You need to know my Twitter handle to nominate me, which is mitch_m. You also have to have a Twitter account to vote unfortunately, but that’s how they track things.

My general pitch for why I feel I deserve to be nominated is because I’ve written around 2,700 posts on 5 blogs, including just hitting a milestone of #1,200 on one of my other blogs. There are more than 500 posts on this blog.

I don’t expect to win a Shorty because I’m starting too late. The contest started on January 3 and runs through February 17th, so I’m already two weeks behind. The leader in the blogger category already has more than 9,000 votes, and the closest competitor is more than 4 times behind him. The leader in the finance category only has 164 votes though, and I’d love to finish in the top 10 of each category, and don’t feel that’s out of reach.

It’s a little self serving, but if you don’t ask… Vote me in for a Shorty; thank you very much! Next time we’ll get back to financial news, information and commentary again.

3 Strategies to Help You Keep Your Financial New Year’s Resolutions – Guest Post

Mitch Mitchell — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:14:42 +0000

For the first few weeks after the New Year starts, people everywhere are still getting their resolutions together, but chances are — given the state of the economy — if you are one of the millions of people who bothered to set a resolution for yourself, it probably has to do with your finances.

While we are slowly climbing out of the recession, it is a slow climb indeed, and many people are still feeling its effects and wondering what they can do to beat it. Saving money is a difficult task for anyone no matter how the economy is doing, and at the end of the year, according to a recent study by Richard Wiseman, 88% of people don’t keep their resolutions to save more money.

If you are one of the many Americans who have set their eyes on savings for 2012, here are a few strategies that will help you keep your resolution, as well as your cash, all year long.

1. Break Down Your Goal

Rice University conducted a study on saving habits in 2008 asking one test group to budget savings monthly, and another to budget savings annually. At the start of the experiment, both groups saved nearly the same amount of money, but as time went on, the monthly savers were able to save more, and more reliably.

Essentially, they saved more because they were able to benchmark their overarching goal (saving money) by setting shorter-term goals. Every month they determined how much they would save, striving all month to hit that amount, and then at the end of the month could evaluate their progress.

If you’re trying to save money this year try setting smaller goals that you can hit every month; by changing the timeline of your goal you can keep better track of it, and find out what is working and what isn’t very quickly.

2. Don’t Go It Alone

Study after study shows that discipline is contagious. When people are trying to lose weight (or save money) they often find support and strength in groups of similarly minded people with the same goal — plus, they see results faster and more regularly.
The same holds true for finance. Instead of trying to tackle your debt alone this year, involve your partner, spouse, best friend, or sibling in your resolution. Especially if you are married, struggling with money puts undue strain on your relationship, and actually breaks some couples apart.

So sit down with your spouse, talk about your finances, and set goals that you can keep together. You will feel more secure knowing that you are united in your goals, and will probably feel happier around each other than you have in a long time. You might even find a way to accumulate assets neither of you never thought of alone.

3. Use Today’s Tools

Although the economy isn’t in the best shape of its life, we are living in one of the most tool-rich periods in history. And not only that, many of the tools have been democratized by the internet and are free to use! Use loyalty cards and coupons, give private-label products a try, sign up with local deal promotions, use websites like billshrink.com to reduce your cable, cell phone, and other bills. Everything you need to succeed is right at your fingertips; you just have to start looking for and using the tools that are out there.

It can be challenging to keep your New Year’s resolutions, but this year do some strategizing beforehand, and you will be able to stick to it like never before.

Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she writes about education, online colleges, online degrees etc. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Millionaire Maker – Book Review

Mitch Mitchell — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:17:19 +0000

The Millionaire Maker by Loral Langemeyer is a book that gives people encouragement and instructions on how to learn how to handle their money and grow their money to get out of debt, gain financial freedom, and even learn something about themselves in the process.

Langemeyer talks about her principles of wealth building, known as the 12 Building Blocks of the Wealth Cycle. She gives a brief explanation of each of these individually, then goes deeper into the concepts and how they work with each other. They are:

Gap Analysis
Debt Management
Wealth Accounts
Leadership
Financial Baseline
Entities
Forecasting
Teamwork
Freedom Day
Cash Machine
Assets
Conditioning

She then talks about what she calls the Eight Questions in Eight Minutes Equals a Lifelong Wealth Plan. These are the financial questions each of us should answer as it regards how we want to live financially throughout our lives and how we monitor those things, such as how much money we want to make, what are our assets, how can we make money, etc.

That last one is the most important one as far as I’m concerned when it comes to those of us who might not be living financially well. The question of job and career skills comes in handy because she talks about finding ways to increase income as opposed to always talking about saving on expenses, and that’s refreshing. She believes, as I do, that everyone has a marketable skill that could earn them some extra money, whether it’s a hobby or something they’ve learned at work or in school. In the book she shares stories of people she’s worked with and how she’s helped them overcome their problems in this way, to the extent that some people found new careers doing work that they loved that paid them more than their original jobs.

If there’s a minor complaint about the book, it’s that most of the examples in the book are people that many people wouldn’t be able to relate to. These are people who make a significant amount of money but have handled their money badly. There was one couple of very modest means whom she highlights and helps, and in this fashion it’s almost reminiscent of what was talked about in a previous book review here, the Smart Consumer’s Guide to Money Coaching.

Still, this is a good book for anyone looking for ways to figure out how to get out of debt to read. It was a long time best seller, and she was featured on Oprah as well. There’s a lot in this book, and if you like it she has other books and tips that you can find to help you out. Just click on the book above if you’re interested in purchasing it from Barnes & Noble.

Why A Tough Economy Shouldn’t Damage Entrepreneurship

JohnH315live — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:22:51 +0000

Small businesses in the US are the bread and butter of innovation; Good news for small businesses also often means good news for the country and local communities alike. While starting a business may appeal strongly to the entrepreneurial American spirit, how are start-ups and smaller businesses faring in the uncertain economic climate?

One leading newspaper recently ran an story on small businesses that didn’t make it through 2011, but things aren’t all doom and gloom. In fact, according to research from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), lending prospects look better for 2012 than they have done in recent times and there is a growing sense of optimism in the small business sector as many predict a certain level of growth across the year.

Setting up a business can be tough though, and not everyone is lucky enough to see it through. For every successful idea there are many that don’t make it. However, there are certain steps you can take to ensure that your start-up starts up with the best possible chance of making it in a fickle and sometimes unsteady world.

There’s no denying it’s a tough market to raise capital in order to get started, but it’s not impossible, and it may even be getting better. A sound business plan will help others understand how your business will work practically and financially and can give you greater confidence knowing exactly how much risk you yourself are exposed to by taking matters into your own hands.

Starting out in business, perhaps unsurprisingly, takes more than a good idea. What you really need is a good idea that will appeal to a target market and make them want to buy your product. According to the survey by the NFIB poor sales is cited by a quarter of small businesses as the top problem that they face. Nevertheless, and this is where starting in business draws some similarities with other types of investment, though the nation is in the economic doldrums wise choices can still generate a return.

As with other types of investment starting a small business requires strategy and plenty of it. You don’t invest in someone else’s company without considering how well their product sells, and how well it is likely to sell in the future. Likewise when starting your own business your business plan sets out the findings of your own research into projected sales and potential for increase, and there’s your investment strategy.

The national economy is by no means in recovery yet, and much depends on international monetary health, but reports of a marginal rise in optimism and falling unemployment could mean a better year all round. Careful planning can help make your idea a success even in difficult times.

This post was written by John Hughes who is the resident blogger at http://www.independentfinancialadvisor.co.uk , a UK based site that provides access to financial advisors as well as to debt advice charities for those struggling with their debts.

What Makes A Risky Investment A Good Investment – Guest Post

Mitch Mitchell — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:32:01 +0000

Investing has a purpose – and any investor will tell you it is not only the high of winning; it’s the cash return that makes it all worthwhile. For all of the research, risks and nail biting that goes on in high risk investing, the rewards are priceless.

But how do you get involved in high risk investing, and what makes it worth the risk of possibly losing a good portion of your portfolio in one fail swoop?

The answer to that question, from top investors, is capital. You need to build up capital and have a pretty substantial portfolio before jumping into the high-risk game.

Business Week says it’s “those with stamina and cut-throat attitude risky investments require. It’s where the game gets exciting and where the big plays come from.”

But what are some high-risk investments, you ask? They include real estate, land, mutual funds, EFT, stocks, leveraged funds and more… and the higher the risk the higher the profit.

Real Estate:

Something that is always been a somewhat safe investment is real estate, whether it is raw land, a home or even a building. Even if the so-called ‘real estate’ bubble pops, history proves that it will return to a good market value, at some point. This could take years though, so investing in property is a longer-term investment, however the pay off can be bigger than most investments available.

For example, a friend bought a distressed home in a nice neighborhood that was bank owned. The bank sold it for the amount it was mortgaged for, which in a good market was $150,000 below market value. This friend spent $10 grand in down payment and repairs, and in 2 years made $140,000 by holding onto it until the market values came back up. He rented the home in the interim, and had only the repairs and initial investment – out of pocket. Yes, it took 2 years, but can you imagine if you ‘flipped’ 3 -5 homes a year such as this?

Yes, real estate is always a good bet.

Emerging Markets:

These investments can be quite rewarding, and exciting as well as you are literally investing in companies or developments in foreign markets such as Mexico and other underdeveloped countries, that seek investment money to promote growth and well being of that company, or state.

In order to lure investors to their funds, rates can range up to 52 percent growth for the investment because of the volatile investment. Sometimes unheard of profits, but remember, there are high risks as well.

Emerging funds have become the most popular for investors over the past few years.

Using a highly experienced market strategist or broker can help curb the anxiety in these higher risk investments, as well as heavy research on the previous few years in the market you plan to invest.

Hedge funds:

Hedge funds are simply a mutual fund that isn’t regulated by any governmental agency. It is high stakes, and covers all scopes of investments such as commodities, real estate, and public company buyouts.

Goldman Sachs is one of the biggest investors in hedge funds, and has experienced over 33 percent returns on their investor’s money.

These funds are much riskier than mutual funds, but the returns are enormous, due to quick turn around and the ability to move assets from one fund to another with high-speed. This can really rack up the cash, but it can be just as easily lost should a bad investment happen.

EFT’s:

Exchange traded funds (EFT) is a favorite of high risk investors because of the convenience of index investing, lower costs, individual stock ownership and the diversification of the funds.

They have foreign indexes and allow commitments to foreign companies under an umbrella, which is perfect for the person who believes in biotechnology, but can’t commit to just one company.

They include bonds, REIT’s and represent nearly all segments of the market, in the world, pretty similar to the index mutual fund markets.

FOREX:

Foreign exchange currency markets have increased in the past few years, and if you plan to invest in this higher risk market, you should really understand the market.

This is an investment strategy that is known as ‘high risk’ because it is so volatile. It involves investing in foreign currency, and should be highly researched before investing, however, it is also highly lucrative.

AVAFX has a practice online trading account in which they give a virtual $100,000 to play with. This is only a free practice, but can give you an idea of how quickly this currency investing moves, and how rapid profits and loss can occur.

A link to more detailed information about foreign exchange markets can be found here: Trading Forex: What Investors Need to Know.

The best advice to any investor is to spread out, never invest more than ½ of your capital, and don’t invest anything you aren’t ready to lose. Good luck and please, see the Investor’s clearinghouse message below with regard to the current economic situation.

A message from the Investors Clearinghouse: “With recent market fluctuations and the overall downturn in the economy, it can be tempting to invest in something that offers a high rate of return. But investors need to make sure they are investing in a legitimate financial product and that they understand the level of risk they are undertaking. If they are offered a high return with low or no risk, it’s likely a scam. The Alliance for Investor Education wants to help Americans spot bogus investments and conduct the due diligence required when it comes to legitimate high-risk investments.”

Ally is part of the team that manages personal finance guides in Sydney, Australia, which provide tips about Budgeting Worksheet and How to Save Money Fast. Before joining BS & HSTM, she was a Media Planner in McCann Worldgroup Philippines, Inc., with award-winning executions, including the Levi’s 501 “Live Unbuttoned” global campaign.

Rich Dad Poor Dad Book Review

Mitch Mitchell — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:49:15 +0000

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki is a book that I wish was around when I was still in high school. I have a feeling that it might have altered my thoughts on money and career way earlier than life did on its own, and given me a better sense of direction as far as how I wanted to be financially set by a much earlier age. In my opinion, this book is must reading by all high school seniors, and at the very least should be a part of every college’s financial curriculum.

Kiyosaki tells the story of growing up in Hawaii with his father and the father of one of his best friends. His father was an academic; his best friend’s father was a businessman. His family lived within lower financial means, and his dad had negative feelings towards those that had way more than enough money. His friend’s father had money, lots of money, and over the years helped teach Kiyosaki, through deeds and actions, just what having money could do for you.

Kiyosaki did what many of us did; went to college, got out, got a job and ended up in a career that he didn’t set out for. At some point he realized that he’d basically tossed away the lessons he learned from his friend’s father, his second “dad”, and decided to give up a lucrative job to find not only financial freedom but happiness.

In the book, he talks about overcoming five obstacles to financial freedom, even if one happens to be financially literate: fear, cynicism, laziness, bad habits, and arrogance. He gives examples of what he means for each of these. He also gives six lessons where he defines what separates the rich from the rest of us:

the rich don’t work for money
why teach financial literacy
mind your own business
history of taxes and the power of corporations
the rich invent money
work to learn – don’t work for money

This is a book of stories that Kiyosaki learned growing up. If you’re honest with yourself, most of these things apply to you in some fashion if you’re not already rich. Since he wrote this book he’s written many others and even created a game that caught up with lots of people called Cashflow. I didn’t purchase the game, but I have purchased a couple of follow up books of his.

I recommend that even if you’re not a high school kid that you read this book if you’re looking for a boost of financial confidence and education. If you’re thinking about buying it anyway, or even just checking it out, click on the book above and you’ll be taken to the Barnes & Noble page.

What Should You Look For In A Financial Advisor? – Guest Post

Mitch Mitchell — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:03:08 +0000

When you were younger and likely had fewer personal and professional responsibilities, hiring a financial advisor was probably the very last thing on your mind. However, as you pass basic milestones, like buying a house, starting a family, and investing in stocks or properties, your financial life becomes increasingly more complicated.

At some point, you will realize that hiring someone to monitor, track, and grow your finances is the best way to go to ensure financial health. Still, making the decision to hire a financial advisor is only the first step. No two financial advisors are alike, so here’s how to pick the one that’s best for you.

1. Before interviewing financial advisors, figure out what you want.

There are various reasons why you may be hiring a financial advisor, the most common being that you feel clueless about making major financial decisions. Still, you’ll have to have a basic understanding of what your goals are, so that a potential advisor thoroughly understands where you are now and where you will want to be in the future. Make a thorough list of all your financial plans—how much money you want to save, how soon you want to get out of debt, or what investing options interest you.

2. Look for an advisor who will explain your finances until you understand.

Finances are complicated, and it takes someone with lots of education and experience to understand all the details. At the same time, however, the job of a financial advisor is not all about completely taking the reins. A good advisor will involve you in every single decision by helping you understand all the ins and outs of finance. If you interview a financial advisor who comes across as impatient, it’s best to find someone else.

3. Ask for each potential advisor’s credentials.

Even if your financial advisor sounds like he knows what he’s doing, to ensure that he or she is competent, be sure to ask for credentials. This means requesting certifications and asking about their educational background.

4. Never hire a financial advisor until you receive references.

All the education and certifications in the world won’t necessarily make a good practicing financial advisor. Once you’ve narrowed down your list of potential hires to a handful, make sure that you request references from former or current clients who have worked with the advisor for at least a year, preferably more. When you speak with references, be sure to ask specific questions about how the advisor handled different financial problems.

Once you find a good financial advisor, you’ll be amazed at how much more attuned you’ll be with your money. Of course, even if you find an incredible advisor, you’ll still be left with lots of hard decisions to make. The best advisor will see you through the decision-making process the whole way through. Good luck!

This guest post is contributed by Angelita Williams, who writes on the topics of online courses. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: angelita.williams7 @gmail.com.

Smart Consumer’s Guide To Money Coaching & Financial Education – Book Review

Mitch Mitchell — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:23:45 +0000

I was asked to review this book titled The Smart Consumer’s Guide to Money Coaching & Financial Education by Todd R. Tresidder of the website Financial Mentor. He is a financial adviser/coach and I received this ebook free without any qualifications, but just wanted to get that disclaimer out before proceeding.

The basic premise of the book is that every person would do better in life and business if they had a better knowledge of finances and financial issues. The reality if that most of us don’t learn anything about finances in school, certainly not how to manage our money, and thus it puts us at a disadvantage whenever we enter the real world. Some people never learn good principles, which is tragic. This book hopes to conquer some of that.

Tresidder talks early about 15 reasons why people should grow their financial intelligence. I’d have to say that I totally agree with all 15 of them, which are more his telling us what reasons get people finally thinking about their financial independence, and 3 in particular stick out in my mind:

You don’t know where to get started and would like a step-by-step blueprint so that you can eliminate the fear and actually persist with enough consistency to reach the goal.

You want to grow your passive revenue to exceed your expenses so that you can stop working for money and start enjoying it instead.

You want “true wealth” and not just more money… meaning you want to balance your life while working toward financial freedom so that you don’t make the mistake of sacrificing your family, health, or a fulfilling life in pursuit of money.

These resonate with me because they talk address the issue of financial freedom, being able to pretty much spend your money the way you want because you have enough money to be able to do that while taking care of everything else. Who would have problems with that?

Next comes the topic of how one gets financial education and the costs of getting it. The concept of trying to figure out not only what the information is worth to you but how you learn things best sometimes seems to be a dichotomy, and yet it’s important to figure out. Do you need to spend $2,000 to go to a class, or $500 a month for someone to coach you through things, or $800 a year for someone to take you through things step by step or to do it all for you or maybe just spend $25 for a book or book on tape because that’s all you need? Overall, he’s stressing the importance of getting a good financial education is important, but making sure you do what’s right for you is equally important.

After that there’s a section giving ideas on how to know that you’ve selected the wrong method for you to learn, tips on picking a money coach if that’s what you want to do, and deciding which type of money coach you’d like. At this point you know that the book is geared towards the premise that having a money coach is really in your best interest, and that’s the point where I go off opinion more than what the rest of the book has to say.

It’s important for all of us to know more about our finances and how it all works. Whether it’s a money coach or someone managing your finances in another way, there is an acknowledgement that for most of us it’s hard figuring everything out on our own. Pretty much like most things in life, having someone help us could help us get further ahead.

A major rule of thumb always says that one has to spend money to make money. How one spends their money and how much is another thing. You can pay for coaching, advisors or even things like The Smart Consumer’s Guide to Money Coaching & Financial Education, which you can get at this link, and get a lot of value from any of them. By the way, this ebook is free if you subscribe to the page.

As with anything else you’ll get out of it what you can put into it. I don’t do money coaching, which is a relatively new term, but I do leadership/executive coaching. People always do better when they’re held accountable by someone, so this might be a way to go. With advisors, they tend to do it all for you and then tell you what they did, and you probably don’t remember anything 10 minutes after they left. But if you’re not up for the intensity, then coaching might not be for you.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt you to check out the book to see what your options are, and who knows, you might be encouraged to go this route. Can’t hurt.

Working From Home – How To Protect Your Profit Margins – Guest Post

Mitch Mitchell — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:47:12 +0000

Working from home, and for yourself is a dream come true to many people and those who take the plunge and start a successful home business are usually happier and more fulfilled for it. It’s not all roses and butterflies though – it’s tough, hard work and a constant battle to actually make a profit.

by Shane Adams via Flickr

So for all of you who are chasing the dream, here are a few things to look out for that can ruin your profitability and your margin:

Avoiding Distractions

Working from home means you can be around your family and work to your own schedule, but one of the biggest challenges you will face is actually getting work done. It is all too easy to sit in a state of limbo at your desk and feel like you are working when in reality you are not being productive and are constantly getting up to run errands and get other jobs done.

When you actually start working from home you should set yourself a schedule and designate office space for yourself to work in. Don’t allow people in whilst you are working and make sure you stay focussed. You can allow yourself some flexibility, but you have to be disciplined about it.

International Customers

Working from home generally means working online, which generally means that your customer base can be anywhere you like. This is great for expanding and getting more sales, but it also brings in an element of currency risk.

When selling to international customers it is important to find out what currency conversion rate you will actually be getting (not always the same as what Google tells you by the way), and what fees will be involved in receiving payment.

Additionally, be weary of monthly contracts which agree a set price in the foreign currency. These might be a great way to tie in business, but if currency movements don’t go in your favor you might end up doing a lot of work for no profit.

Be Tax Efficient

Part of working for yourself is managing your own finances and your own taxes. To many people this is the hardest part of the whole thing, but it really needn’t be.

Start keeping simple accounts right from day 1, in particular track all of your costs and don’t forget to include things like the cost of your equipment, internet connection and even rent on your office space. Don’t try to write off things that you shouldn’t but take the time to find out what your allowable tax write offs are.

My name is Mark and I am from a site called currencyconverter.co.uk – I love to write about finance, currency and business. Thanks for reading my post!

How the Post Office Budget Cuts Will Affect You – Guest Post

Mitch Mitchell — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 14:36:53 +0000

While many people think that the Post Office is run by the US Government, the truth is that they only receive a no-compete clause for the delivery of letters. While they receive special treatment and several competitive licenses from Washington DC, they function as a non-profit jobs creation program and only make enough to fund operations.

With the advent of UPS and FedEx, the USPS saw a dramatic increase of competition but remained intact with their core mission to provide service to the American public. With the Internet taking over our communication needs, it is becoming nothing more than a quaint tradition to send important documents through mail.

In order to keep from bankruptcy, the Post Office is planning to make $2.1 billion in budget cuts in 2012. This will drastically reduce the level of service and the number of employees who work for the company. While it may seem like the Post Office doesn’t play a major role in our lives anymore, there are several things that could potentially happen because of the cuts.

Dependency on Online Payments

If you are still paying your bills with a check or money order every month, you are going to have to convert to online payment systems. With slower delivery times, your money may not be received and you could end up paying late fees. Switch over to services from Best Buy and Aurora Bank home loans in order to ensure your payments.

Higher Payroll Taxes

With the proposed budget cuts, the Post Office will be buying out remainders of contracts and forcing people to retire early. While they will fit most of the pensions and health care needs of the workers, increased Social Security and Medicare taxes could come out of your paycheck in order to pay retired workers.

Longer Pharmacy Lines

The prescription service Express Scripts relies on the Post Office to deliver medication to millions of Americans each day. While some of the prescriptions can wait a couple of days, some are vital and need to be handed out immediately. People will be lining up in droves to get their necessary prescriptions in time.

Altering Media Consumption Habits

If you use a service like Netflix, still read The New York Times, or subscribe to magazines, there is a good chance you will not receive your items on time. These companies are becoming increasingly digital and offering a diversified amount of content online. In order to get your media fix, consider subscribing online.

If you are going to use the Post Office your best bet, as always, is to plan ahead. Get to know their new delivery methods and make sure your documents are received on time. Remember that they are providing a service and it is ultimately your responsibility if something arrives late or even damaged.