“Consolidate your bills into one monthly payment without borrowing”

“STOP credit harassment, foreclosures, repossessions, tax levies and garnishments”

“Keep Your Property”

“Wipe out your debts! Consolidate your bills! How?

By using the protection and assistance provided by federal law. For once, let the law work for you!”

While the ads pitch the promise of debt relief, they rarely say relief may be spelled b-a-n-k-r-u-p-t-c-y. And although bankruptcy is one option to deal with financial problems, it’s generally considered the option of last resort. The reason: it has a long-term negative impact on your creditworthiness. A bankruptcy stays on your credit report for 10 years, and can hinder your ability to get credit, a job, insurance, or even a place to live. What’s more, it can cost you attorneys’ fees.

Step 1: Advance-Fee Loan Scams

These scams often target consumers with bad credit problems or those with no credit. In exchange for an up-front fee, these companies “guarantee” that applicants will get the credit they want — usually a credit card or a personal loan.

The up-front fee may be as high as several hundred dollars. Resist the temptation to follow up on advance-fee loan guarantees. They may be illegal. Many legitimate creditors offer extensions of credit, such as credit cards, loans, and mortgages through telemarketing, and require an application fee or appraisal fee in advance. But legitimate creditors never guarantee in advance that you’ll get the loan. Under the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule, a seller or telemarketer who guarantees or represents a high likelihood of your getting a loan or some other extension of credit may not ask for or receive payment until you’ve received the loan.

Step 2: Recognizing an Advance-Fee Loan Scam

Ads for advance-fee loans often appear in the classified ad section of local and national newspapers and magazines. They also may appear in mailings, radio spots, and on local cable stations. Often, these ads feature “900″ numbers, which result in charges on your phone bill. In addition, these companies often use delivery systems other than the U.S. Postal Service, such as overnight or courier services, to avoid detection and prosecution by postal authorities.

It’s not hard to confuse a legitimate credit offer with an advance-fee loan scam. An offer for credit from a bank, savings and loan, or mortgage broker generally requires your verbal or written acceptance of the loan or credit offer. The offer usually is subject to a check of your credit report after you apply to make sure you meet their credit standards. Usually, you are not required to pay a fee to get the credit.

Hang up on anyone who calls you on the phone and says they can guarantee you will get a loan if you pay in advance. It’s against the law.

Step 3: Protect Yourself

Here are some tips to keep in mind before you respond to ads that promise easy credit, regardless of your credit history:

* Most legitimate lenders will not “guarantee” that you will get a loan or a credit card before you apply, especially if you have bad credit, or a bankruptcy.

* It is an accepted and common practice for reputable lenders to require payment for a credit report or appraisal. You also may have to pay a processing or application fee.

* Never give your credit card account number, bank account information, or Social Security number out over the telephone unless you are familiar with the company and know why the information is necessary.

Many people do it once a month when their statement is mailed to them, but with the advent of online banking, you can do it daily if you’re the sort whose banking tends to get away from them.

You balance your checkbook to note any charges in your checking account that you haven’t recorded in your checkbook. Some of these can include ATM fees, overdraft fees, special transaction fees or low balance fees, if you’re required to keep a minimum balance in your account.

You also balance your checkbook to record any credits that you haven’t noted previously. They might include automatic deposits, or refunds or other electronic deposits. Your checking account might be an interest-bearing account and you want to record any interest that it’s earned.

You also need to discover if you’ve made any errors in your recordkeeping or if the bank has made any errors.

Another form of accounting that we all dread is the filing of annual federal income tax returns. Many people use a CPA to do their returns; others do it themselves. Most forms include the following items:

Income:
Any money you’ve earned from working or owning assets, unless there are specific exemptions from income tax.

Personal Exemptions:
This is a certain amount of income that is excused from tax.

Standard Deduction:
Some personal expenditures or business expenses can be deducted from your income to reduce the taxable amount of income. These expenses include items such as interest paid on your home mortgage, charitable contributions and property taxes.

Taxable Income:
This is the balance of income that’s subject to taxes after personal exemptions and deductions are factored in.

When the evidence is plainly presented, it becomes overwhelmingly clear that putting money into 401(k)s and similar qualified plans is not investing at all–it is one of the riskiest gambles for most individuals. Read the following reasons why I say this, and ask yourself if it’s time to reconsider your 401(k).

Step 1. Limited Opportunity For Cash Flow

Qualified retirement plans, such as 401(k)s and IRAs, do not provide immediate cash flow, which means that you cannot benefit from them through velocity and utilization. The theory is that letting the money sit allows it to compound, but for most people this really means that it stagnates. Most people will not choose to utilize these funds even when a particularly compelling opportunity arises that will make them far more than the 401(k) would, even accounting for the penalties. This means that numerous legitimate opportunities are passed by as people stay “in it for the long haul.”

Step 2. Lack of Liquidity

The money is tied up with penalties attached for early withdrawal. Although there are a few technicalities that allow penalty-free withdrawals, the restrictions are so numerous that very few know how to get around them.

Step 3. Market Dependency

The performance of the funds is dependent upon market factors that most individuals do not have the knowledge nor the ability to understand or mitigate. This means that your retirement plans are based on unknowable projections, making for a dangerous and uncertain planning environment. Uncertainty causes fear, and fear leads to mistakes, worry, scarcity, and ultimately lost hopes and dreams. Do you want to live your ideal life only if the market cooperates?

Step 4. The Match Myth

“Take the match–it’s a guaranteed 100 a year, based on an average return of 8 annually, but that means that some years will be lower, some will be higher. If in one year your fund is down 10%, you’re tapping into your principal to take your interest withdrawal. At that point, you have only two choices: 1) start withdrawing principal, or 2) leave the money alone until your funds are up again.

Step 5. No Holistic Plan

I’ve witnessed on many occasions people whose finances are in shambles and although they have much more pressing needs, they diligently contribute to their 401(k). They’ve been convinced to do so, of course, because of the match, tax deferral, etc. It’s like a person trying to take care of a scraped knee when their wrist is slit. What they really need is a macroeconomic approach to their finances that will help them identify, prioritize, and manage all pieces of their financial puzzle, with all pieces coordinated and working together.

Step 6. Neglect of Stewardship

Ultimately, the most destructive aspect of 401(k)s is that they cause many individuals to abdicate their responsibility, abandon self-reliance, and neglect their stewardship over their own prosperity. People think that if they just throw enough money at the “experts” that somehow, some way, and without their direct involvement they will end up thirty years later with a lot of money. And when things don’t turn out that way they think they can blame others–despite the fact that they only have themselves to blame.

Conclusion

Qualified plans are promoted on such a wide scale because those promoting it have vested interests–and their interests don’t necessarily coincide with yours.

If you currently contribute to a 401(k), stop and think about it for a minute. What is it really doing for you, now and in the future? The desire to save money for retirement is wise and prudent, but after reading the above, do you think it’s possible to find other investment philosophies, products, and strategies that would meet your financial objectives much more quickly and safely than a qualified plan? Are you really comfortable exposing yourself to this much risk? How can you mitigate your risk, increase your returns, and create safe and sustainable investments? How can you create more control and better exit strategies, reduce your tax burden, and increase your cash flow?

Your financial future depends on your answers to these questions.

1.) Does your spouse or partner complain that you spend too much money?

2.) Are you surprised each month when your credit card bill arrives at how much more you charged than you thought you had?

3.) Do you have more shoes and clothes in your closet than you could ever possibly wear?

4.) Do you own every new gadget before it has time to collect dust on a retailer’s shelf?

5.) Do you buy things you didn’t know you wanted until you saw them on display in a store?

Step 1: If you answered “yes” to any two of the above questions, you are an impulse spender and indulge yourself in retail therapy.

This is not a good thing. It will prevent you from saving for the important things like a house, a new car, a vacation or retirement. You must set some financial goals and resist spending money on items that really don’t matter in the long run.

Step 2: Impulse spending will not only put a strain on your finances but your relationships, as well. To overcome the problem, the first thing to do is learn to separate your needs from your wants.

Advertisers blitz us hawking their products at us 24/7. The trick is to give yourself a cooling-off period before you buy anything that you have not planned for.

Step 3: When you go shopping, make a list and take only enough cash to pay for what you have planned to buy. Leave your credit cards at home.

Step 4: If you see something you think you really need, give yourself two weeks to decide if it is really something you need or something you can easily do without. By following this simple solution, you will mend your financial fences and your relationships.

The most commonly used credit scores available to lenders are FICO scores, which is a scoring method created by Fair, Isaac & Co…FICO!

These scores are provided to lenders by the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Before we get into some tips how to improve credit scores, it pays to review the major areas that determine your FICO score.

1. Payment history on credit and retail store cards, loans and mortgages.
2. Amount that you owe. Credit agencies look at how many accounts have balances and the proportion of that balance to the credit line.
3. How long is your credit history? The longer the better.
4. New credit accounts. Applying for a bunch of credit cards all at once can hurt your score.
5. Different credit types, such as mortgages, retail loans, credit cards and installment loans.
6. How many late payments do you have?

Now, with the playing field laid out, let’s work to boost your credit score! Some methods that boost your credit score take time, months or years, and others areas to improve credit score can be made with a phone call right now! That said, here are the 7 tips to raise your credit score!

7 tips to improve credit scores

1. Pay your bills on time. Your payment history is a major factor (35% of your FICO score) in determining your credit score. If you pay your bills late, or had an account referred to collections, your credit score will take a major hit.

2. Sign up for online banking and make sure your regular recurring bills are paid automatically. This way you will not forget a payment that will wind up reducing your credit score.

3. Increase your credit limit. Another large factor is the amount of your debt in relation to your credit limit. If you have a card with a $10,000 credit limit and your balance is $9,000, this will not help to improve your score. To make the debt/credit limit ratio look better, you can try to call your credit card company and request an increase in your credit limit. Don’t use the extra credit though! That defeats the whole purpose and puts you further in debt!

4. Don’t apply for many cards at once. This will not improve your credit score because this is a characteristic of high credit risk groups.

5. Don’t ever close an open credit card account. If you pay off a credit card down to a zero balance, leave it open. Remember that a positive factor for your credit score is how much available credit you have at your disposal when compared to your credit balance, in addition to the length of your credit history.

6. Apply for loans within a two-week period. Every time you request a loan and the lender pulls your credit report, it can hurt your score. It is part of the FICO formula that reasons “this person is trying to apply for credit and loans and possibly be trying to live way beyond their means!” If you keep the loan process within a two-week period, all of the credit report lookups are bundled together as one single request!

7. Check for errors on your credit report. Examine your credit report for errors and contact the credit reporting agencies to fix any errors on your credit report.

If you take action and follow these tips, you will be able to give your credit score and immediate boost and gradually increase it even more as time passes. The major keys are to pay your bills on time and reduce your debt amounts when compared to your credit limit. This has a twofold benefit of improving your credit score and reducing your debt.

Copyright © 2005 FinancialTipsForYou.com

This interesting article addresses some of the key issues regarding Futures trading. A careful reading of this material could make a big difference in how you think about futures markets and trading them.

Step 1: How a strategic money management plan works is discipline, not magic. In the market place it’s possible to be right, and to still lose money. In fact, it’s pretty common. Traders who win on a high percentage of their trades often end up with their capital eroded away, and left with nothing to show for their work. They lose their gains because they don’t know how to manage their money.

Being a good manager of your own money is one of the most difficult of skills to learn. But if you do not use good money management to bank profits, learn to take small losses when you are wrong and control your use of margin, you will lose it all. No matter how good of a trader you think you are, your first priority needs to be protecting your capital if you want to be successful.

As a trader, your capital is the most valuable asset you have. It is your only asset in the eyes of the market. Without it, you can’t work at all. For this reason, bringing in no profits on a trade is better than losing any part of your margined account. If your account is intact, you are alive and live to trade another day. If your capital has suffered a loss your efforts for making gains will wasted playing catch-up. The more you’ve lost, the longer it will take to get back to where you started from, because now you have a smaller pile of capital to work from. A smaller capital base means smaller percentage returns on profits. Making 10% on a $5,000 account earns you $500, but if you’ve lost half of that account and have only $2,500 left, making 10% on your money will earn you only $250. You’d have to do that twice to make the same $500.

Step 2: Sound money management has two main goals: to avoid losing money, and to avoid missing profit opportunities. The first goal is straightforward. You want to preserve your money and whatever profits you’ve accumulated. But you don’t just want to keep your capital and let it go stagnant. You want to trade with it, to continue to grow it and make your returns larger and larger. Not keeping your money tied up in bad or problem trades for long periods of time will allow you to not miss new profit opportunities when they come along. Failing to avoid either of these will cost you

It’s really a good idea to probe a little deeper into the subject of Futures. What you learn may give you the confidence you need to venture into new areas. Working to avoid losing those profit making opportunities isn’t quite as obvious a goal. With the second goal in mind let’s compare the outcomes of two money-management decisions. Trader X buys a futures position, expecting it to go up, and finds that it doesn’t. However, he’s certain it will go up eventually, and he’s incurred a small loss, so he decides to wait it out. He ends up holding the position for two months before finally selling it. Trader Y buys the same futures at the same time as Trader X, but once he sees that it isn’t going up, he sells it at a small loss. He buys another futures position and makes a 10% profit on it. His next trade loses 2%, but after that he makes 7 %, and then loses 1%, and then gains 25% on a series of trades. Because the account is growing and he makes gains on an ever larger base of capital each time, at the end of two months, his account has grown quite handsomely, even though Trader Y was WRONG 50% of the time.

Which money management decision turned out to be the best? While Trader Y made a nice profit, Trader X not only lost time but also never made his money back. Even if he had made his money back on that position, it’s hard to see how this was a good use of his operating funds over the course of two months.

Clearly the goal of not tying up your capital in bad trades has an important impact on your profits. Using sound money management will keep your trading funds and your profits safe. Though it is a difficult skill to learn, once you know how to practice good money management techniques, you can almost guarantee that you will be a successful trader.

If you’ve picked up some pointers about Futures that you can put into action, then by all means, do so. You won’t really be able to gain any benefits from your new knowledge if you don’t use it.

More information can be found at http://www.futurestradingsite.com

6. Shortened Due Dates
Most card issuers offer a 25 day grace period in which to pay for new purchases
without incurring finance charges. Some banks have shortened the grace period to
20 days but only for customers who pay in full monthly.
REMEDY: Ask to go back to 25 days.
 

SOURCE: MASSACHUSETTS EXECUTIVE
OFFICE OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS AND BUSINESS REGULATION

Step 1: Spend some time on each online lender’s website. This is the most efficient way of comparing online cash advance lenders. The first thing to look for is membership in the CFSA. The Community Financial Services Association is a membership organization that realized a need to establish a set of standards for the cash advance industry. Along with paying dues, members agree to abide by the organization’s Best Practices Guidelines with responsibilities that include truthful advertising and a willingness to encourage customers to act responsibly. Knowing that a cash advance company believes it’s important to conduct business professionally and fairly means you’re dealing with a company that cares about its customers.

This online organization maintains useful information on its website for cash advance lenders as well as the general public. You can learn more about the industry itself and view the complete listing of Best Practices. The site even has its own list of frequently asked questions.

Step 2: Another membership that reflects favorably with online business owners is the Better Business Bureau’s Online Reliability Program. Similar in function to the BBB that has been in existence for decades, before becoming a member an online business also must agree to adhere to a strict policy governing customer interaction and satisfaction.

When comparing cash advance online lenders, you will know immediately which ones belong to either of these programs. Online business members in good standing will proudly display each respective organization’s icon where it’ll be clearly visible to all new visitors.

Step 3: Compare access to customer service. When comparing online cash advance lenders, it’s also a good idea to check out each company’s accessibility to customer service. Sometimes when doing business on the Internet it can seem like you’re all alone. You type information about the product or service for which you’re inquiring and hope that somewhere along the line a real human being is waiting to help. There should be a toll-free customer service telephone number that’s staffed during normal business hours. Or better yet, look for sites offering “live chat” accessibility to a qualified customer service agent and get your questions answered instantaneously.

While you’re comparing the content of the various online cash advance lenders, check to see which ones offer Customer Rewards programs. On some sites you can earn money every time you refer a friend. Some will offer discounts for first-time customers. These types of incentives can leave you with even more money in your pocket.

The online cash advance industry is among the fastest-growing in the financial services industry and comparing lenders might just save you time and money!

Step 1: Look for:

* The Annual Percentage Rate (APR). If the interest rate is variable, how is it determined and when can it change?
* The periodic rate. This is the interest rate used to figure the finance charge on your balance each billing period.
* The annual fee. While some cards have no annual fee, others expect you to pay an amount each year for being a cardholder.
* The grace period. This is the number of days you have to pay your bill before finance charges start. Without this period, you may have to pay interest from the date you use your card or when the purchase is posted to your account.
* The finance charges. Most lenders calculate finance charges using an average daily account balance, which is the average of what you owed each day in the billing cycle. Look for offers that use an adjusted balance, which subtracts your monthly payment from your beginning balance. This method usually has the lowest finance charges. Stay away from offers that use the previous balance in calculating what you owe; this method has the highest finance charge. Also don’t forget to check if there is a minimum finance charge.
* Other fees. Ask about special fees when you get a cash advance, make a late payment, or go over your credit limit. Some companies charge a monthly fee regardless of whether you use your card.

The Fair Credit and Charge Card Disclosure Act require credit and charge card issuers to include this information on credit applications. The Federal Reserve Board provides a free brochure on choosing a credit card and a guide to credit protection laws at their web site.

Step 2: Comparing Cards

* Bank Rate web site provides free credit card tips and information.
* Consumer Action web site has a site that features credit card surveys of interest rates, fees and other terms from dozens of credit cards, as well as free brochures and guides on choosing and using credit cards.
* Card Web lists credit cards and offers e-mail newsletters, frequently asked questions and online credit card calculators.
* Card Ratings lists and reviews credit cards, and offers tips and credit card calculators.

Step 3: Lost and Stolen Credit Cards

Immediately call the card issuer when you suspect a credit or charge card has been lost or stolen. Many companies have toll-free numbers and 24-hour service to deal with such emergencies.

By federal law, once you report the loss or theft of a card, you have no further responsibility for unauthorized charges. In any event, your maximum liability under federal law is $50 per card.

Step 4: Complaints

To complain about a problem with your credit card company, call the company first and try to resolve the problem. If you fail to resolve the issue, ask for the name, address and phone number of its regulatory agency.

If the word national appears in the name or the letters N.A. appear after the name, the Office of the Comptroller oversees its operations.

To complain about a credit bureau, department store or other FDIC-insured financial institution, write to the Consumer Response Center.

No, we want better than that! I decided long ago that, sooner or later, I would enjoy being the master of my own life and not having to do the things that I have had to do my entire career. I will probably never quit ‘working’ entirely; I wanted to just quit ‘having to work’. I will do this on my terms!

But, I have been worried! Worried about my lack of a traditional pension, the eventual insolvency of the Social Security system, the housing market, oil dependency, the falling dollar, etc, These worries combine to have me concerned whether or not I have saved enough over the years.

Maybe you have heard the analogy that defines the word ‘commitment’ It say that this morning I had eggs and ham for breakfast. The egg that produced my eggs was ‘involved in my breakfast, but the pig was ‘committed to it!

Well, since I have already ‘pulled the plug’ and begun to draw my Social Security at age 63, I am now ‘committed’. These concerns and worries had me considering going back to work at a traditional job, but I really like the freedom of a retirement lifestyle.

Shortly after I retired last year and the immediate excitement of retirement passed, I began to feel depressed. You see, most of my daily human interaction, other than my wife, used to come from my job, and now that was gone. My feelings of self worth seemed to be diminishing. I knew that I really had to find something to do.

I began about to explore the possibilities of earning some income through various internet activities. My objective was not to ‘Get Rich’ (although that would be nice!), but to dramatically reduce the amount of cash that I need to take from my investments to live on. If I can just leave my savings grow, essentially untouched, for a few years, then my confidence in the future will be greatly improved.

On the Internet, I have done several things to earn some income. I have written a book (an e book) that I sell on the internet. I have setup websites on many topics of my interest, such as power boating. Those sites host some Google ads which pay me a real small fee every time someone clicks on them. I have bought and sold items on eBay and produced videos and CD’s for sale. There are just so very many ways to earn some extra cash.

The wonderful thing about this is that these things earn money in my absence, even when I’m playing golf or sleeping, so my time is still my own. I am not tied down and we are free to travel at will – and the cash just seems to keep coming in!

These Internet-oriented projects have not produced much more than $2,000 a month so far, but I am not disappointed. I am continuously challenged to always improve on this, and I am confident that, with some effort on my part, I will. While everybody seems to want more money, I am now worried that if I am too successful, these projects will consume too much of my time to enjoy life! That would be a tragedy.

Many of my retiree friends (as well as retiree ‘wannabees’) want to know how I am doing this. For that reason, I have created a website for people to come and to learn some of the techniques and skills that it takes to accomplish this cash flow goal. Some of my ‘pupils’ have far surpassed my income level so far. Due to budgetary constraints, I have refrained from buying many of the ‘Get Rich Quick’ offers that seem to flood the Internet. I think that is a good thing. One of the valuable things that we do is host a ‘Retirement Income Forum’ where like minded people discuss their project, successes and impediments and get the real advice and input of others in the same boat.

There are many, many ways to earn extra retirement income on the internet and there is plenty for everybody! The World Wide Web is growing every day and maturing rapidly. I would recommend to anyone that could use some extra retirement income to get online right now and get your share!