By Court
Some of you probably have thousands of dollars in credit card balances, and others simply have a car and/or house payment. Either one is considered debt because it is money you spent or borrowed because you didn't have the cash to purchase it.
Using credit cards to purchase things you can't afford is not a good thing. Using a mortgage loan to purchase your house is okay, but it is still good to pay off any kind of debt sooner than planned. When you pay off debt early, you eliminate money spent on interest.
So what do you need to know to eliminate your debt, whether it is from credit card or a mortgage loan, sooner than planned? Follow the steps, tips, and suggestions listed below to create a personal debt repayment plan.
The first step is to cut up your credit card. You can't seriously be trying to pay off your debt while you are simply racking up more. You have to stop using them and start using cash instead.
When you use cash or even a check book, you will stop spending as much money because when you run out, you won't be able to buy anything else. This might be hard for the first little while, but you will soon realize how much you are saving.
You will also need to make a budget that includes all of your income and all of your expenses. List all bills and other monthly payments, including credit cards. Put your credit cards bills in order of the highest interest rate first.
After you have made a budget, you will be able to know where you are putting you money and where you are spending too much. Learn to cut back in some areas and free up some cash. Use this money to pay off your first credit card on the list.
Although you will be focusing all of your extra cash on one credit card balance, you still need to make all of the minimum payments on all of your other credit cards. After you have paid off the first credit card, pay off the next one on your list.
If you are going to send in extra payments, be sure to put "apply to principal" on the check. This will ensure that your payment is not held until the next bill is due, and that it is applied to your account immediately. If you bank has a free online bill payment program, use it to send in extra payments without costing you a stamp.
If you can practice great financial control and use your money to pay off debt, you will be surprised how fast your debt will be gone. It is a hard process to begin and stick to, but the financial rewards are incredible for someone that has been in debt.
For those of you who don't have credit card debt, follow the same steps. Begin by making a budget and cut back in some areas to free up some cash. Use that cash to pay more towards your car or mortgage payment.
Pay off your small loans first (car or personal) and then focus on your bigger monthly payments. If you can pay off you car, you will be able to free up that much more cash to put towards your house payments.
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
Court provides information about how to bad credit student loans and helps people get the most from their home based business opportunity.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Here's Why The Rich Get Richer And The Poor Get Poorer
By James Woolley
'The rich get richer and the poor get poorer' is a saying that gets trotted out all the time but this is because it's essentially true. If you look at society in general this is exactly what happens, but why exactly is this?
Well the major reason is quite simply that the rich have the capacity to invest their money into assets and investments that will make their money grow over time, whereas the poorer people in society don't have this option.
The wealthier members of society can invest their hard earned cash into the stock market, property, or even into starting up or buying their own business. They can essentially make their money work for them and increase their wealth all the time. They don't need to worry about finding a high-paying job or climbing up the career ladder, they can simply use their money to make more money.
To demonstrate this let's take as an example a man who owns a $500,000 house outright and has $1,000,000 in a bank account.
Historically we know that house prices on average double every 7 years, so just by doing absolutely nothing he could probably increase his wealth by $500,000 just by doing nothing for 7-10 years.
In addition he would probably want to invest his $1,000,000 in order to make it grow, so let's say he invested it in a very conservative mutual fund that generated a modest return of 10% a year on average. In this case he would be increasing his net worth by a cool $100,000 a year and if he compounded his returns he would have made far more than this each year. All this was achieved with absolutely no effort needed from himself.
Even if he'd invested all his money into a standard 5% savings account he still could have earned $50,000 a year and after ten years with compounding his $1,000,000 would now be worth $1,628,894, a return of nearly 63% over 10 years.
Of course he could have achieved much more than this by investing in businesses, or actively buying shares or property, for example, but as you can see if you have a decent sum of money you can quite easily build a large income for yourself and make your money grow without actually having to work for a living.
Contrast this with a man who earns say $15,000 a year in a job and rents his own property. In this case he is probably spending all his income on rent and living expenses and will have no disposable income to save or invest, and even if he does he's unlikely to be able to get rich from doing so.
He doesn't have the capacity to make his money work for him because he needs most of it to just get by, and of course over a number of years he won't benefit from any long-term increases in property prices because he is renting his own place, so he won't increase his wealth this way either.
His best hope is to work his way up the career ladder or raise enough money to be able to start his own business and hope it becomes successful, but this is not easy and definitely not something everyone can achieve.
For most poor people who are living from paycheck to paycheck, it is really hard just to survive let alone get richer, and although they may not necessarily get poorer in real terms, ie their income doesn't go down, with the effects of inflation over a number of years they are essentially becoming poorer because the cost of living is going up.
Is this fair? No of course not, but it's part of the western society and unfortunately a sad fact of life. The only consolation is that there are lots of opportunities out there for people from all backgrounds but in most cases it's essentially true that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
James Woolley runs a blog that discusses all aspects of money including shares, property, running your own business, and wealth building tips in general.
'The rich get richer and the poor get poorer' is a saying that gets trotted out all the time but this is because it's essentially true. If you look at society in general this is exactly what happens, but why exactly is this?
Well the major reason is quite simply that the rich have the capacity to invest their money into assets and investments that will make their money grow over time, whereas the poorer people in society don't have this option.
The wealthier members of society can invest their hard earned cash into the stock market, property, or even into starting up or buying their own business. They can essentially make their money work for them and increase their wealth all the time. They don't need to worry about finding a high-paying job or climbing up the career ladder, they can simply use their money to make more money.
To demonstrate this let's take as an example a man who owns a $500,000 house outright and has $1,000,000 in a bank account.
Historically we know that house prices on average double every 7 years, so just by doing absolutely nothing he could probably increase his wealth by $500,000 just by doing nothing for 7-10 years.
In addition he would probably want to invest his $1,000,000 in order to make it grow, so let's say he invested it in a very conservative mutual fund that generated a modest return of 10% a year on average. In this case he would be increasing his net worth by a cool $100,000 a year and if he compounded his returns he would have made far more than this each year. All this was achieved with absolutely no effort needed from himself.
Even if he'd invested all his money into a standard 5% savings account he still could have earned $50,000 a year and after ten years with compounding his $1,000,000 would now be worth $1,628,894, a return of nearly 63% over 10 years.
Of course he could have achieved much more than this by investing in businesses, or actively buying shares or property, for example, but as you can see if you have a decent sum of money you can quite easily build a large income for yourself and make your money grow without actually having to work for a living.
Contrast this with a man who earns say $15,000 a year in a job and rents his own property. In this case he is probably spending all his income on rent and living expenses and will have no disposable income to save or invest, and even if he does he's unlikely to be able to get rich from doing so.
He doesn't have the capacity to make his money work for him because he needs most of it to just get by, and of course over a number of years he won't benefit from any long-term increases in property prices because he is renting his own place, so he won't increase his wealth this way either.
His best hope is to work his way up the career ladder or raise enough money to be able to start his own business and hope it becomes successful, but this is not easy and definitely not something everyone can achieve.
For most poor people who are living from paycheck to paycheck, it is really hard just to survive let alone get richer, and although they may not necessarily get poorer in real terms, ie their income doesn't go down, with the effects of inflation over a number of years they are essentially becoming poorer because the cost of living is going up.
Is this fair? No of course not, but it's part of the western society and unfortunately a sad fact of life. The only consolation is that there are lots of opportunities out there for people from all backgrounds but in most cases it's essentially true that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
James Woolley runs a blog that discusses all aspects of money including shares, property, running your own business, and wealth building tips in general.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Music Downloads To Be Legalised At Last
By Catherine Harvey
An on-going controversy for fans of music downloads is the practice of transferring music from one format to another, ie from the internet downloaded onto a computer and transferred onto mp3 player, iPod or CD.
Technically, this practice is illegal and infuriates music companies as it means less and less people are going to the shops and actually purchasing the CD's for themselves, thus leading to a big loss of profits for the music industry.
However, there are proposed changes to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 that should be in place by April 2008. This will be a godsend for music lovers all over the country as it means that the copying of CD's onto computers and mp3 players will be legal.
However, the term 'for private use' will be strictly enforced. Music downloads are not meant for public use in pubs, bars, clubs or parties. Even sharing these with your friends will be illegal. This comes under the terms of 'multi sharing' and will incur severe problems with the relevant authorities.
The new changes will also allow movies to be put onto a DVD legally but not the practice of 'multi copying'.
Legalising the practice of music downloads will still have the detrimental effect on music companies that they have struggled with for some time but maybe it will also force them to look at what they are charging to make music accessible to all.
The younger generation have never had a huge disposable income and this has been an easy way for them to enjoy their music. Even though music downloads have been illegal, many people have continued to do so and trying to stop people doing it was proving impossible. It is far easier to make music downloads legal but try the lesser enforcement of stopping the public use of these downloads.
The argument among those in favour of music downloads is that it makes new bands reachable to a wider audience. These bands are not so concerned with losing the revenue that their music could bring because they first need to get heard. They are all in favour of music downloads, and even sharing these as they receive a wider audience, more publicity and all the benefits that accompany this, such as the chance of getting 'discovered' by a musical company.
If the record industry is so against music downloads does it make sense that they would use it to find new bands for them to sign? Or is it a case of them wanting the music downloads stopped to prevent their record sales from taking a nose dive but it's ok for them to use the system to find new, unsigned bands that are likely to generate money for the record company?
At the end of the day, people the world over enjoy music and the more access they have to different types, the more competition will be generated bringing choice and benefits to music lovers and music makers alike.
While music downloads are a quick route to enjoying this music but if a person likes it enough, they will still go out and buy the CD.
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
Music expert Catherine Harvey looks at the use of music downloads and the laws governing them. To find out more please visit www.mbopmegastore.com
An on-going controversy for fans of music downloads is the practice of transferring music from one format to another, ie from the internet downloaded onto a computer and transferred onto mp3 player, iPod or CD.
Technically, this practice is illegal and infuriates music companies as it means less and less people are going to the shops and actually purchasing the CD's for themselves, thus leading to a big loss of profits for the music industry.
However, there are proposed changes to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 that should be in place by April 2008. This will be a godsend for music lovers all over the country as it means that the copying of CD's onto computers and mp3 players will be legal.
However, the term 'for private use' will be strictly enforced. Music downloads are not meant for public use in pubs, bars, clubs or parties. Even sharing these with your friends will be illegal. This comes under the terms of 'multi sharing' and will incur severe problems with the relevant authorities.
The new changes will also allow movies to be put onto a DVD legally but not the practice of 'multi copying'.
Legalising the practice of music downloads will still have the detrimental effect on music companies that they have struggled with for some time but maybe it will also force them to look at what they are charging to make music accessible to all.
The younger generation have never had a huge disposable income and this has been an easy way for them to enjoy their music. Even though music downloads have been illegal, many people have continued to do so and trying to stop people doing it was proving impossible. It is far easier to make music downloads legal but try the lesser enforcement of stopping the public use of these downloads.
The argument among those in favour of music downloads is that it makes new bands reachable to a wider audience. These bands are not so concerned with losing the revenue that their music could bring because they first need to get heard. They are all in favour of music downloads, and even sharing these as they receive a wider audience, more publicity and all the benefits that accompany this, such as the chance of getting 'discovered' by a musical company.
If the record industry is so against music downloads does it make sense that they would use it to find new bands for them to sign? Or is it a case of them wanting the music downloads stopped to prevent their record sales from taking a nose dive but it's ok for them to use the system to find new, unsigned bands that are likely to generate money for the record company?
At the end of the day, people the world over enjoy music and the more access they have to different types, the more competition will be generated bringing choice and benefits to music lovers and music makers alike.
While music downloads are a quick route to enjoying this music but if a person likes it enough, they will still go out and buy the CD.
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
Music expert Catherine Harvey looks at the use of music downloads and the laws governing them. To find out more please visit www.mbopmegastore.com
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Is Your New Year's Resolution to Start a Business?
By Tiana Nelson
According to Intuit's Just Start survey, 72% of Americans dream about starting their own business. This is an interesting, but not surprising statistics since it goes along with the general entrepreneurial culture in this country.
With the New Year upon us, many people have made their resolutions to bring their small business dream into reality this year. What are the main choices that they have?
There are three main ways: start from scratch, buy a franchise or buy an existing company. Each one of these options has its advantages and disadvantages that we review below.
Start from Scratch
This is a perfect choice for someone that has a business idea and is prepared to work through the startup stages of the business including initial setup, establishing customer base, putting in place a business operating model, and bringing to life your own marketing plan.
This is an exciting option for someone who doesn't like to report to a franchisor organization, even though you would be wrong to believe that you would be your own boss. Your customers will actually become your bosses as you answer to their demands and try to satisfy their wishes.
This is one of the riskiest ways to start a new business, but the success could be quite gratifying. Your business model options are wide-open: are you looking for a home-based business, a retail store, an internet business, a service company - the choice is yours!
On the downside, you have to be sure that you have the discipline to start a business. In many cases it's better to partner up with someone you know.
Obtaining business financing for a startup business might be tougher than for the other options, but if you have previous management or business ownership experience, good credit, a sizable cash injection and some additional collateral, you should be in a good shape.
Buy a Franchise
Buying a franchise is an excellent way to build on a known business model. If you would like to minimize the start-up related items and would rather focus on running a business, franchise might be the best choice for you.
By buying a franchise, you typically get consumer name recognition and support from your franchisor that is very important when you are just starting.
Your chances of success are definitely higher with a franchise since in most cases it has been tested by other franchisees and have a national or regional marketing program.
Many mistakenly think that if they decide to go with a franchise, their choices will be extremely limited to just a few industries. However, today franchises are available in all imaginable industries from cleaning and food services to tutoring and auto shops.
On the downside, you will have to pay a franchise fee, royalties, follow the system and answer to your franchisor. However, franchise fee and royalties are a cost of doing business and a fee for training you will receive.
Following a system and answering to someone might be appealing to many entrepreneurs. Additionally, obtaining business financing might be easier for a franchise than for a startup company, and that might be an important consideration for many.
Buy an Existing Company
Buying an existing company or an existing franchise is a great solutions for people that would like to build their success by avoiding all the issues that startup companies face including building an initial customer base, setting up operations, establishing vendor / supplier relationships, and many others.
You certainly have to be careful when looking at an existing company and the reasons they are being sold. Get as much information about the industry and the trends to understand how to maintain and grow the company.
One drawback is that it might take you some time to find the right company, so you have to be patient to do research and analyze potential candidates. It might be a good idea to seek professional assistance in analyzing your target company's financials if you do not have a strong financial background.
Clearly each path you take in starting a business has its advantages and disadvantages that have to be carefully weighted against your personal preferences, experience, and financial capabilities. Whichever path you take, you have to be prepared for an exciting time in your life. Make sure you get support of your family and friends and enjoy your road to success!
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
Tiana Nelson, CMA, CFM is a Business Development Officer at Preferred Capital Alliance, Inc, a Better Business Bureau accredited business finance consulting company that helps small- and medium-size businesses obtain financing to start and expand their operations.
According to Intuit's Just Start survey, 72% of Americans dream about starting their own business. This is an interesting, but not surprising statistics since it goes along with the general entrepreneurial culture in this country.
With the New Year upon us, many people have made their resolutions to bring their small business dream into reality this year. What are the main choices that they have?
There are three main ways: start from scratch, buy a franchise or buy an existing company. Each one of these options has its advantages and disadvantages that we review below.
Start from Scratch
This is a perfect choice for someone that has a business idea and is prepared to work through the startup stages of the business including initial setup, establishing customer base, putting in place a business operating model, and bringing to life your own marketing plan.
This is an exciting option for someone who doesn't like to report to a franchisor organization, even though you would be wrong to believe that you would be your own boss. Your customers will actually become your bosses as you answer to their demands and try to satisfy their wishes.
This is one of the riskiest ways to start a new business, but the success could be quite gratifying. Your business model options are wide-open: are you looking for a home-based business, a retail store, an internet business, a service company - the choice is yours!
On the downside, you have to be sure that you have the discipline to start a business. In many cases it's better to partner up with someone you know.
Obtaining business financing for a startup business might be tougher than for the other options, but if you have previous management or business ownership experience, good credit, a sizable cash injection and some additional collateral, you should be in a good shape.
Buy a Franchise
Buying a franchise is an excellent way to build on a known business model. If you would like to minimize the start-up related items and would rather focus on running a business, franchise might be the best choice for you.
By buying a franchise, you typically get consumer name recognition and support from your franchisor that is very important when you are just starting.
Your chances of success are definitely higher with a franchise since in most cases it has been tested by other franchisees and have a national or regional marketing program.
Many mistakenly think that if they decide to go with a franchise, their choices will be extremely limited to just a few industries. However, today franchises are available in all imaginable industries from cleaning and food services to tutoring and auto shops.
On the downside, you will have to pay a franchise fee, royalties, follow the system and answer to your franchisor. However, franchise fee and royalties are a cost of doing business and a fee for training you will receive.
Following a system and answering to someone might be appealing to many entrepreneurs. Additionally, obtaining business financing might be easier for a franchise than for a startup company, and that might be an important consideration for many.
Buy an Existing Company
Buying an existing company or an existing franchise is a great solutions for people that would like to build their success by avoiding all the issues that startup companies face including building an initial customer base, setting up operations, establishing vendor / supplier relationships, and many others.
You certainly have to be careful when looking at an existing company and the reasons they are being sold. Get as much information about the industry and the trends to understand how to maintain and grow the company.
One drawback is that it might take you some time to find the right company, so you have to be patient to do research and analyze potential candidates. It might be a good idea to seek professional assistance in analyzing your target company's financials if you do not have a strong financial background.
Clearly each path you take in starting a business has its advantages and disadvantages that have to be carefully weighted against your personal preferences, experience, and financial capabilities. Whichever path you take, you have to be prepared for an exciting time in your life. Make sure you get support of your family and friends and enjoy your road to success!
Article Source: http://www.articlehighlight.com
Tiana Nelson, CMA, CFM is a Business Development Officer at Preferred Capital Alliance, Inc, a Better Business Bureau accredited business finance consulting company that helps small- and medium-size businesses obtain financing to start and expand their operations.
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