Compounding is often described as the ninth wonder of the world. It is a concept that initially sounds quite dull, but when you understand how compounding just quietly works its magic - or conversely its naughtiness – it’s a very exciting concept to grasp indeed!
Compounding is the difference between linear and exponential growth, or put more simply, about earning (or incurring) interest on the interest on the interest, generated by your savings (or your debt). On an energy level, it's about making sure that every little bit of effort you expend, works on many different levels to bring a reward greater than the original effort required.
It’s a very powerful tool and can be likened to the wind under the wings of a jet. The plane creeps slowly, slowly along the approach runways, then moves into position, then starts down the runway slowly, but as it picks up speed, the power of the engines and the wind lifts its wings and it takes off, climbing very quickly and steeply into the sky.
Compounding can turn just one – just one - £1 or $1 into a million pounds or dollars within 20 years. If you took £1 or $1 and achieved a 100% return on your money each year (put another way, if you doubled your money each year) then you would most certainly be a millionaire in your lifetime. Imagine if you added another £1 or $1 each year – how much faster would that get you there?
And if compounding is that powerful when applied annually, how much powerful could it be when applied monthly or even daily?
On a personal finance level, most people ignore the potential of compounding, because the % interest rates we are quoted by the banks, other savings vehicles and financial institutions are so paltry. If you took your pound or dollar and increased it at the usual 3% or 4% per annum, then it would grow so slowly that we might as well not bother saving at all. You would be dead several times over before your personal wealth increased noticeably.
I know I used to feel like that! Why save now, I thought, especially when you are only saving to spend later, and when you can only earn 3-4% per year on your savings? I want to share with you, today, some of the exciting things that I learned about the power of compounding, things made a huge difference to my thinking about money. And changed me from a non-saver to an investor in one fell swoop!
There is a huge difference between saving and investing, and experienced Investors achieve returns on their money between 30% and 100% per annum – some even manage to achieve an infinity return on their investment, because they are able to pull their own money back out of the deal, which means that they are making money with no money! These are the supermodels of the investment world!
On a personal finance front, even looking at the returns generated by investing in property over the years (12% per annum) and the stockmarket (14% per annum) gets a little more exciting. The compounding effect means that, on average, property doubles in value every 7-10 years – that’s a thrilling thought! How would you plan your property investment differently if you knew that to be true?
There is a great example of the difference in what you can achieve in just two years, if you invest £60,000 (or dollars! I'm going to work in pounds now but the principle is the same!) by buying outright one small rental unit, versus what you would achieve if you invested the same £60,000 in deposits on several small rental units.
At the end of the two years, if you just bought the one unit, and assuming average rates of growth, you would be worth £6384 more than when you started. But if you invested in deposits on several units, you would be £56,304 better off. You choose. That’s compounding at work.
On a business level, compounding can work for you too. The difference between what you can earn if you are a solo self-employed person, and what you can earn if you build a business consisting of a team of “you’s” is quite amazing.
The compounding effect can also be utilised in your business by automating as many of your business processes as possible. Think of the potential difference between having the services of one marketing person and one sales person (both of whom can only work so many hours in a day, both have to be paid, even when they are on holiday or off sick, so not working) and then consider the possibilities of having an automated marketing machine working 24/7 plus a team of affiliates – unlimited numbers of independent people who are all being paid a little bit, on sales (results only!) to promote your service or product.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Is Your Money Keeping Up With Inflation?
In today’s unpredictable global economy, you obviously never know what is going to happen next. Uncertainties and concerns regarding the Iraqi threat, North Korean crisis, and hidden terrorist cells and networks continue to loom in the back of the minds of consumers. Moreover, the stock markets and industries around the world.
Price inflation is another major concern for everyone. The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) number released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics states that prices, in all U.S. cities, are up 0.1% in the month of December for the calendar year of 2002. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a program that produces monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services. Furthermore, the national unemployment rate continues to remain steady at 6.0% for the month of December 2002. Believe it or not, this may not be as bad as it sounds.
Economic theory suggests that an increase in the inflation rate will lead to a decrease in the national unemployment rate. But since the unemployment rate is currently 6.0%, this may also suggest that in order for this rate to eventually decrease, we should expect more inflation in the future. The recent upsurge in oil prices together with precious metals supports this theory and may also be a hint of what’s to come.
Well, it seems that you probably can’t avoid inflation, but there are definitely opportunities that you can take advantage of, in order to keep up with it. One option might be to consider depositing your money into a savings account rather than a money market account. Most major banks are currently yielding an Annual Percentage Yield (APY) that ranges from 0.5% to 0.75%. Even though this is pretty low, it is higher than what most money market accounts are currently offering.
One of the best rates that I have recently seen is ING Direct’s offering of 2.25% APY for their Orange Savings Account. But if these rates are not what you are looking for, consider investing in the stock market. With the latest downturn in the economy, shares are pretty cheap and going fast. There are now many online brokerages that allow consumers to purchase stocks for a small fee. For instance, Sharebuilder lets consumers invest for as little as $4. However, please be wary, this investment option is a greater risk so you should consult with a financial advisor before taking this step.
Whether you choose to put your money in these investment opportunities or not, it is up to you. But just remember that if you don’t, you are actually losing money because the “purchasing power” of your dollar is decreasing as the inflation rate is increasing.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Price inflation is another major concern for everyone. The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) number released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics states that prices, in all U.S. cities, are up 0.1% in the month of December for the calendar year of 2002. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a program that produces monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services. Furthermore, the national unemployment rate continues to remain steady at 6.0% for the month of December 2002. Believe it or not, this may not be as bad as it sounds.
Economic theory suggests that an increase in the inflation rate will lead to a decrease in the national unemployment rate. But since the unemployment rate is currently 6.0%, this may also suggest that in order for this rate to eventually decrease, we should expect more inflation in the future. The recent upsurge in oil prices together with precious metals supports this theory and may also be a hint of what’s to come.
Well, it seems that you probably can’t avoid inflation, but there are definitely opportunities that you can take advantage of, in order to keep up with it. One option might be to consider depositing your money into a savings account rather than a money market account. Most major banks are currently yielding an Annual Percentage Yield (APY) that ranges from 0.5% to 0.75%. Even though this is pretty low, it is higher than what most money market accounts are currently offering.
One of the best rates that I have recently seen is ING Direct’s offering of 2.25% APY for their Orange Savings Account. But if these rates are not what you are looking for, consider investing in the stock market. With the latest downturn in the economy, shares are pretty cheap and going fast. There are now many online brokerages that allow consumers to purchase stocks for a small fee. For instance, Sharebuilder lets consumers invest for as little as $4. However, please be wary, this investment option is a greater risk so you should consult with a financial advisor before taking this step.
Whether you choose to put your money in these investment opportunities or not, it is up to you. But just remember that if you don’t, you are actually losing money because the “purchasing power” of your dollar is decreasing as the inflation rate is increasing.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Simple Strategies to Making Financial Gain
Now is a great time to make it a habit to manage your resources instead of your resources managing you. What is meant by that when we are stating that "Your money manages you"? Here is a well known example:
"There is more month than there is money so that new purchase, trip, or splurging will need to wait a month or two and maybe never. You've opted to instead delay and pay later making the problem much worst and your perceived lack of resources in control." Here are some proven techniques to making financial gains an achievable goal by repositioning and changing spending habits while gaining more control of your situation so that there are available resources and time to spend with friends, family or loved ones.
One of the most overstated, undervalued and available resource accessible to anyone is time. Effective time management when applied consistently is a key element toward making financial progress. Even spare time moments resourcefully used contribute toward steady progress when used in combination with any of the following:
1. Establish investments. Based on your risk assessment it is determined the best type of investment program suitable for your personality type and financial situation by either doing the research for yourself, by attending that appointment with a financial planner or by inquiring through a brokerage. Purchase examples, of course, are stocks, mutual funds, bonds, money market funds, annuities, etc. Because these figures will fluctuate, fit into your schedule a time to assess your portfolio periodically to check your progress. Your return on your investment can be substantial or relatively consistent with proper selection and combinations.
2. Purchase real estate. Buying property is another way to invest to create financial gain; and making improvements after the purchase increases the value of the property. Not only are you saving money by placing regular payments into your real estate; but if strategically paid ownership accumulation can happen at a faster rate and with very minimal increase to your payment. One such company offering this type of arrangement with no processing cost added is at http://www.eMortgageManager.net. With this service the mortgage payment is split into two parts. Each half is paid automatically every two weeks. It's very effective and easy to set up. This is a triple win for those who use this strategy with a single purchase.
3. Take classes, take up a hobby or acquire a skill. How do you spend most of your time? Do you waste valuable hours lamenting in self-pity, bad luck or a disadvantaged set of circumstances? Or will you take active control to resolve the situation?
If there is an interest there is a class for it. And now that there's the internet taking a class is just as easy as leisurely clicking a link. There are many available classes that are free, or via email and some that may cost a bill or two to enter a site. Or if you'd prefer, take a class at local colleges or universities which offer that immediate one on one support available through that type of arrangement. Your local library or museum may schedule classes or speakers covering a variety of subjects, too. Some locations even award certificates after completion if that is your requirement.
Increasing your knowledge or skills over the long term not only provides confidence and mastery of skills developed by use of what is called putting in your "sweat equity" by taking the necessary courses and steps, but it will also provide flexibility by creating for you a new source of income using your newly developed talent(s) or expertise.
You may offer for a fee a service, provide a product (or product line), to sell your knowledge or in any of the combinations listed through your choice of method at a profit giving you unlimited possibilities. When used separately or together the above suggestions work effectively over time giving to you the increase that you've longed desired. Use your spare time moments to work for you effortlessly and automatically...even with family, friends or loved ones.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
"There is more month than there is money so that new purchase, trip, or splurging will need to wait a month or two and maybe never. You've opted to instead delay and pay later making the problem much worst and your perceived lack of resources in control." Here are some proven techniques to making financial gains an achievable goal by repositioning and changing spending habits while gaining more control of your situation so that there are available resources and time to spend with friends, family or loved ones.
One of the most overstated, undervalued and available resource accessible to anyone is time. Effective time management when applied consistently is a key element toward making financial progress. Even spare time moments resourcefully used contribute toward steady progress when used in combination with any of the following:
1. Establish investments. Based on your risk assessment it is determined the best type of investment program suitable for your personality type and financial situation by either doing the research for yourself, by attending that appointment with a financial planner or by inquiring through a brokerage. Purchase examples, of course, are stocks, mutual funds, bonds, money market funds, annuities, etc. Because these figures will fluctuate, fit into your schedule a time to assess your portfolio periodically to check your progress. Your return on your investment can be substantial or relatively consistent with proper selection and combinations.
2. Purchase real estate. Buying property is another way to invest to create financial gain; and making improvements after the purchase increases the value of the property. Not only are you saving money by placing regular payments into your real estate; but if strategically paid ownership accumulation can happen at a faster rate and with very minimal increase to your payment. One such company offering this type of arrangement with no processing cost added is at http://www.eMortgageManager.net. With this service the mortgage payment is split into two parts. Each half is paid automatically every two weeks. It's very effective and easy to set up. This is a triple win for those who use this strategy with a single purchase.
3. Take classes, take up a hobby or acquire a skill. How do you spend most of your time? Do you waste valuable hours lamenting in self-pity, bad luck or a disadvantaged set of circumstances? Or will you take active control to resolve the situation?
If there is an interest there is a class for it. And now that there's the internet taking a class is just as easy as leisurely clicking a link. There are many available classes that are free, or via email and some that may cost a bill or two to enter a site. Or if you'd prefer, take a class at local colleges or universities which offer that immediate one on one support available through that type of arrangement. Your local library or museum may schedule classes or speakers covering a variety of subjects, too. Some locations even award certificates after completion if that is your requirement.
Increasing your knowledge or skills over the long term not only provides confidence and mastery of skills developed by use of what is called putting in your "sweat equity" by taking the necessary courses and steps, but it will also provide flexibility by creating for you a new source of income using your newly developed talent(s) or expertise.
You may offer for a fee a service, provide a product (or product line), to sell your knowledge or in any of the combinations listed through your choice of method at a profit giving you unlimited possibilities. When used separately or together the above suggestions work effectively over time giving to you the increase that you've longed desired. Use your spare time moments to work for you effortlessly and automatically...even with family, friends or loved ones.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Wealth Connection - 2 Steps to Brighten Your Golden Years
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Monday, January 26, 2009
Pros & Cons of Secured & Unsecured Loans
Secured and unsecured loans are two faces of the same coin. You take out a secured or an unsecured loan when there is an unfulfilled need and you do not have money to fulfill the need. The lender offers you a loan that you can use to fulfill your need. You are required to repay the loan subsequently as per the loan terms. Lenders offer easy repayment terms so that you can repay your loan conveniently. Lenders offer a number of loan options that are suitable to the affordability and financial position of each and every borrower.
Secured loans are given against the borrower’s property. If you take out a secured loan, you will have to offer your property as collateral. Such a loan can be easily obtained by a homeowner as he can put up his house as a security. A person who does not own a house, such as a tenant or a person who is living with his parents, cannot take out a secured loan. An unsecured loan can satisfy his need for money. Such a loan does not require collateral.
Both secured and unsecured loans have their pros and cons. Secured loans have lower interest rates than unsecured loans. A secured loan carries a low rate of interest because it is backed by a security. Another advantage of a secured loan is that you can take out a large amount of money. If you are a homeowner, the lender may give you an amount that is 80-100% of the value of your house. Keeping these benefits aside, let us talk about the disadvantages of secured loans. The lender has the legal right to repossess your house should you fail to repay the loan as per the loan terms. Since there is a need for valuation of the property offered as a security, the dispatch of a secured loan takes some time. Therefore, when there is an urgent need for money, you cannot rely on a secured loan.
Unsecured loans have their own share of advantages and disadvantages. As mentioned earlier, there is no need to offer collateral to obtain an unsecured loan. Fast dispatch is another benefit of an unsecured loan. The disadvantages include high interest rates and short loan periods.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Secured loans are given against the borrower’s property. If you take out a secured loan, you will have to offer your property as collateral. Such a loan can be easily obtained by a homeowner as he can put up his house as a security. A person who does not own a house, such as a tenant or a person who is living with his parents, cannot take out a secured loan. An unsecured loan can satisfy his need for money. Such a loan does not require collateral.
Both secured and unsecured loans have their pros and cons. Secured loans have lower interest rates than unsecured loans. A secured loan carries a low rate of interest because it is backed by a security. Another advantage of a secured loan is that you can take out a large amount of money. If you are a homeowner, the lender may give you an amount that is 80-100% of the value of your house. Keeping these benefits aside, let us talk about the disadvantages of secured loans. The lender has the legal right to repossess your house should you fail to repay the loan as per the loan terms. Since there is a need for valuation of the property offered as a security, the dispatch of a secured loan takes some time. Therefore, when there is an urgent need for money, you cannot rely on a secured loan.
Unsecured loans have their own share of advantages and disadvantages. As mentioned earlier, there is no need to offer collateral to obtain an unsecured loan. Fast dispatch is another benefit of an unsecured loan. The disadvantages include high interest rates and short loan periods.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Friday, January 23, 2009
Long Term Unsecured Loan?
In order to understand qualifications for loan approval, let's examine the types
of loans; secured and unsecured, and the two types of
re-payment plans: short term and long term.
Secured loans have both short and long term repayment plans. These types of
loans are secured by a form of collateral, such as the equity in a home or auto.
Some lenders will also accept stocks and bonds as security against the loan.
Because these types of loans are secured, the risk to lenders is minimized and
allows borrowers to enjoy lower interest rates than unsecured loans. And; even
if there are still payments due on an existing auto or home loan, it's possible
to get a lower rate than the original loan terms, particularly if the borrower's
credit had improved.
Unsecured loans generally have only a short term repayment plan. The most common
type of unsecured loan is a payday cash advance, or a signature (personal loan)
from a bank. The payday cash advance is a much shorter term loan, most commonly
to extend only until the recipient's following payday. A bank signature
loan; however, generally has a one year repayment plan. Another main difference
between these two types of loans is how the interest rate is calculated. A
payday cash advance charges a fee instead of an interest rate, but Federal
regulations require lenders to provide an "interest computation" so
borrowers can compare rates amongst various loan products and lenders.
When a payday cash advance fee is transformed to an interest rate, the sum is
much higher than a bank signature loan, which is an actual percentage rate
charged over the duration of the loan. But there's yet one more difference
between these two loans which makes payday cash advances more accessible.
Whereas a bank signature loan requires favorable credit, a payday cash advance
does not, making this an attractive loan for bad credit people.
Your credit rating, assets, and the eagerness of a lender to issue a loan, all
determine which types of loans you are qualified for. If you have favorable
credit, consult your local bank loan officer or; if you desire a business loan,
your local SBA. If you have troubled credit, instead of seeking a long
term unsecured loan, consider alternatives such as using your home or auto as
collateral for a secured long term loan, or consider a payday cash advance for a
short term unsecured loan.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
of loans; secured and unsecured, and the two types of
re-payment plans: short term and long term.
Secured loans have both short and long term repayment plans. These types of
loans are secured by a form of collateral, such as the equity in a home or auto.
Some lenders will also accept stocks and bonds as security against the loan.
Because these types of loans are secured, the risk to lenders is minimized and
allows borrowers to enjoy lower interest rates than unsecured loans. And; even
if there are still payments due on an existing auto or home loan, it's possible
to get a lower rate than the original loan terms, particularly if the borrower's
credit had improved.
Unsecured loans generally have only a short term repayment plan. The most common
type of unsecured loan is a payday cash advance, or a signature (personal loan)
from a bank. The payday cash advance is a much shorter term loan, most commonly
to extend only until the recipient's following payday. A bank signature
loan; however, generally has a one year repayment plan. Another main difference
between these two types of loans is how the interest rate is calculated. A
payday cash advance charges a fee instead of an interest rate, but Federal
regulations require lenders to provide an "interest computation" so
borrowers can compare rates amongst various loan products and lenders.
When a payday cash advance fee is transformed to an interest rate, the sum is
much higher than a bank signature loan, which is an actual percentage rate
charged over the duration of the loan. But there's yet one more difference
between these two loans which makes payday cash advances more accessible.
Whereas a bank signature loan requires favorable credit, a payday cash advance
does not, making this an attractive loan for bad credit people.
Your credit rating, assets, and the eagerness of a lender to issue a loan, all
determine which types of loans you are qualified for. If you have favorable
credit, consult your local bank loan officer or; if you desire a business loan,
your local SBA. If you have troubled credit, instead of seeking a long
term unsecured loan, consider alternatives such as using your home or auto as
collateral for a secured long term loan, or consider a payday cash advance for a
short term unsecured loan.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Unsecured Loans: The Lesser Known Sibling Of Secured Loans
What is man’s greatest invention?
Some of the latest gizmos would immediately crop up in our minds as the most probable of the answers. But do these gizmos really deserve the veneration that they receive. True, they have revolutionized lives. But they have been characterized with impermanence. Another new invention and the earlier invention is nowhere to be seen.
One invention of man which has withstood the challenges of time is a home. The earlier users of home might have constructed it just for shelter purposes. But it has assumed new roles in a person’s life. Besides providing shelter, it has become an indispensable status symbol. Home has continued adopting new fashions and styles, and thus still holds the same esteemed position that it held in the primitive ages.
People revere their houses, and would think twice before taking any step which imperils its existence. Since secured loans entail keeping home as collateral, most people who value their houses would dread taking the loan. A single default may lead to ones house being repossessed. And with this all dreams which the customer and his/ her spouse may have dreamt with their home as a scenic backdrop fades forever.
This single fact has led a large number of people, including those who do not have the luxury of homes, to look for different options, in spite of secured loans offering a much better rate of interest.
“All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost”. So said J.R.R.Tolkien, an English novelist and scholar. Going by the logic it would be unprofessional to not cater to the vast population who do not want to keep their homes to any kind of obligation, or who do not have a home in the first place, on the grounds that they can cause default in payments.
To fill up this vacuum and to cater to this vast population which was till yet unsatisfied or was debarred from the credit process at the very initial stages because of the absence of home, the concept of unsecured loans was launched.
So what is an unsecured loan? An Unsecured loan is a loan for those who do not take a secured loan. The lender provides the loan without having to keep any collateral.
The loan provider in this case has more risk to bear. He doesn’t have the cushion of home or property to meet the contingencies like constant default. So he would counter it through a higher rate of interest. But customers who desire to keep their homes safe will bear the high interest rate without flinching. The interest rates may be slightly higher than what is charged for secured loans. One doesn’t have to rely on the high street lenders who charge a very high rate. There are many reputable lenders who may offer the most desired terms.
Unsecured loans are very fast in being approved. The lender doesn’t need to value the worth of the customers’ property, which is the most time consuming process. The result is fast cash for the customers to benefit from.
Since there is no collateral involved in the process, lenders would dread offering loans to those who have a bad credit history. The denial extends even to those who have received County Court Judgements or Individual Voluntary Agreements. But there are lenders who will happily take the risk; of course charging a higher rate of interest for their services.
Taking out an unsecured loan doesn’t give one a license to default. The lender can take actions to make good his defaults. While in the case of secured loans the lender would have immediately covered the defaults through liquidation of the collateral; in unsecured loans they would have to take the help of the court, which ultimately results in repossession of the home.
Such court proceedings can result into the customer’s name being entered on the defaulters list with the credit agencies for around 6 years. And in these 6 years a person won’t be able to get loans as lenders perceive the customer as precarious or bound to default. This would certainly be a very complicated scenario since a person does need loan to meet contingencies.
To skip such a scenario one would have to be very cautious right from the time when one plans the loan. The following checklist would be of immense help:
Decide what amount you really require.
Select the lender.
Decide the amount to be repaid monthly.
Make an optimum balance between the ultimate cost of the loan and the monthly repayments.
Make an optimum balance between the amount of monthly repayments and their number.
Be regular in repayments.
With these points in place one can really enjoy the most out of the unsecured loan and rest assured as to the safety of his home.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com.
Some of the latest gizmos would immediately crop up in our minds as the most probable of the answers. But do these gizmos really deserve the veneration that they receive. True, they have revolutionized lives. But they have been characterized with impermanence. Another new invention and the earlier invention is nowhere to be seen.
One invention of man which has withstood the challenges of time is a home. The earlier users of home might have constructed it just for shelter purposes. But it has assumed new roles in a person’s life. Besides providing shelter, it has become an indispensable status symbol. Home has continued adopting new fashions and styles, and thus still holds the same esteemed position that it held in the primitive ages.
People revere their houses, and would think twice before taking any step which imperils its existence. Since secured loans entail keeping home as collateral, most people who value their houses would dread taking the loan. A single default may lead to ones house being repossessed. And with this all dreams which the customer and his/ her spouse may have dreamt with their home as a scenic backdrop fades forever.
This single fact has led a large number of people, including those who do not have the luxury of homes, to look for different options, in spite of secured loans offering a much better rate of interest.
“All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost”. So said J.R.R.Tolkien, an English novelist and scholar. Going by the logic it would be unprofessional to not cater to the vast population who do not want to keep their homes to any kind of obligation, or who do not have a home in the first place, on the grounds that they can cause default in payments.
To fill up this vacuum and to cater to this vast population which was till yet unsatisfied or was debarred from the credit process at the very initial stages because of the absence of home, the concept of unsecured loans was launched.
So what is an unsecured loan? An Unsecured loan is a loan for those who do not take a secured loan. The lender provides the loan without having to keep any collateral.
The loan provider in this case has more risk to bear. He doesn’t have the cushion of home or property to meet the contingencies like constant default. So he would counter it through a higher rate of interest. But customers who desire to keep their homes safe will bear the high interest rate without flinching. The interest rates may be slightly higher than what is charged for secured loans. One doesn’t have to rely on the high street lenders who charge a very high rate. There are many reputable lenders who may offer the most desired terms.
Unsecured loans are very fast in being approved. The lender doesn’t need to value the worth of the customers’ property, which is the most time consuming process. The result is fast cash for the customers to benefit from.
Since there is no collateral involved in the process, lenders would dread offering loans to those who have a bad credit history. The denial extends even to those who have received County Court Judgements or Individual Voluntary Agreements. But there are lenders who will happily take the risk; of course charging a higher rate of interest for their services.
Taking out an unsecured loan doesn’t give one a license to default. The lender can take actions to make good his defaults. While in the case of secured loans the lender would have immediately covered the defaults through liquidation of the collateral; in unsecured loans they would have to take the help of the court, which ultimately results in repossession of the home.
Such court proceedings can result into the customer’s name being entered on the defaulters list with the credit agencies for around 6 years. And in these 6 years a person won’t be able to get loans as lenders perceive the customer as precarious or bound to default. This would certainly be a very complicated scenario since a person does need loan to meet contingencies.
To skip such a scenario one would have to be very cautious right from the time when one plans the loan. The following checklist would be of immense help:
Decide what amount you really require.
Select the lender.
Decide the amount to be repaid monthly.
Make an optimum balance between the ultimate cost of the loan and the monthly repayments.
Make an optimum balance between the amount of monthly repayments and their number.
Be regular in repayments.
With these points in place one can really enjoy the most out of the unsecured loan and rest assured as to the safety of his home.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The Duty of Entrepreneurs During a Recession
According to Richard Branson, entrepreneurs and small business owners have the privilege and responsibility to pull America out of this recession. There are many companies that are not financially strapped, have access to credit lines, and have the ability to use effective, intelligent marketing in any condition.
As Richard Branson said during an interview with Seth Godin, entrepreneurs know how to build new businesses and create money. How many opportunities do you see every day to profit in this economy?
By taking action in order to improve, expand or start your small business, you can contribute to saving America and potentially make a fortune while doing it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RdkULbIRnQ
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
As Richard Branson said during an interview with Seth Godin, entrepreneurs know how to build new businesses and create money. How many opportunities do you see every day to profit in this economy?
By taking action in order to improve, expand or start your small business, you can contribute to saving America and potentially make a fortune while doing it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RdkULbIRnQ
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Take Control of Your Financial Situation - Part 2
In part 1 of this article, we looked at the importance of understanding and analyzing your income and expenses. We then discussed how to develop a budget to maximize your income and control expenses in order to reach financial freedom as quickly as possible.
In Part II of this article, we will discuss how to reduce or eliminate bad debt in order to reach your financial goals more quickly.
Reducing or Eliminating Bad Debt to Boost Budget Planning
In the first part of this process when you examined your income and expenses, I’m sure there were a number of shocking expenses that were uncovered. Who knew that a Starbucks was costing $120 a month, the frequent ATM withdrawals amounted to $500 very quickly, and dining out was the biggest monthly expense.
Hopefully, after you noticed this and began to work on your budget a realization was made that money can be better used towards building your wealth, and you committed to reducing frivolous spending. On a side note, it is okay to spend money on Starbucks and go out to dinner, or whatever your poison is, as long as you truly enjoy, find value in the purchase, and you’ve budgeted for it. Treat yourself – after all, you’ve earned. But, simply wasting money on things you can live without is foolish.
Now that you have reduced your expenses to a reasonable level, you need to find ways to boost that investment bucket in your budget. There are a couple obvious ways to do this. Increase your income through either a higher paying job or a part-time business, and reduce your bad debt. Since the US economy is hemorrhaging with debt, this is what will be the focus here. But, first, a quick note about debt.
I mention “bad debt” because debt can be good. For example, credit cards that offer rewards or cash back are providing excellent programs for people who actually pay off their credit card balance every month. The credit card company is essentially loaning money to make purchases for 30 days and in turn paying the credit holder for this with rewards. That is an incredible offer. Another example of “good debt” is a bank loan that is used to purchase something that actually pays for the loan and then some. A good example of this is a mortgage for a income-producing rental property. Good debt is debt that is used to make money, whereas bad debt costs money.
Back to reducing bad debt. Let’s look at a person we’ll call “John,” who was killing time at a consumer electronics store one day and ended up finding a great deal on a plasma screen TV for $2,500. He made the purchase with his credit card, which has a 10% interest rate, and every month his bill comes in the mail to tell him his minimum payment of $50 is due. John makes his minimum payments regularly, but never actually makes any progress on paying off his credit card. In fact, at this rate, it would take almost 17 years to pay off the TV, or $10,200 for a TV that likely won’t be so nice any more. Multiply this expense with many others across several credit cards, and our friend John is in deep trouble chasing his own tail just trying to pay off his credit cards. Does this sound too familiar? Sadly, most people are spending their entire life paying off items they purchased that they probably didn’t need in the first place and have no value once they are paid for.
By the way, department store credit cards that tease you with a 10% discount on purchases are generally the highest interest rates. And, unless you paid off your purchase immediately, chances are the department store earned that 10% back from you many times over.
There are several methods to get out of credit card debt. The simple way to get ahead is to do the following:
Order a copy of your credit report from http://www.annualcreditreport.com/.
Pick one or two credit cards that you will want to keep
Close the account on every other credit card that has a $0 balance. Having too many credit cards can adversely affect your credit score.
Call the customer service line for the two cards you want to keep and tell them you want to close the accounts because you received an offer for 0% APR for a year on all purchases and balance transfers. Most likely they will want to keep your business and offer you the same plan. If not, pick another card and try again.
You may want to try to raise your credit limit while you are at it, depending how disciplined you are. If a higher limit means you will spend more, forget it. However, maxing out your credit cards can also affect your credit score, so it can be a good thing to have a higher limit if you keep your balance proportionally lower.
Transfer all of your credit card balances to your one or two selected cards that now have a 0% APR, and close the accounts on those cards that the balance was transferred from.
Stop using your credit card to make purchases for items you do not fit in your monthly budget and you do not intend to pay for in full on your next bill.
Pay off these cards by applying as much money as you can on a monthly basis to get a $0 balance as quickly as possible.
If that doesn’t work for you, try snowballing your debt payments:
Call your high interest rate cards to try to negotiate the rate down.
Transfer the balance of the high interest rate cards to the low interest rate cards.
Make a list of all your credit cards, ranked in order from the highest interest rate to the lowest
interest rate.
Every month, pay as much as you can on the card with the highest interest rate, while paying the minimum amount on the other cards.
Once the balance on the card reaches $0, apply the amount you used to pay the previous card towards the next card on the list. Now you should be paying the amount from the previous card + the minimum payment you were paying before on the card.
Repeat until all cards are paid off in full
These are just a couple strategies that can be modified according to your situation. The important thing is to have a plan to eliminate debt, and make a commitment to only use your credit card for purchases that fit within your budget. This will allow you to benefit from the generous reward plans that many credit card companies and banks offer.
Reducing or eliminating your debt will free up more cash for you to apply towards smart investments, which will in turn assist you in reaching your financial goals much, much quicker.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
In Part II of this article, we will discuss how to reduce or eliminate bad debt in order to reach your financial goals more quickly.
Reducing or Eliminating Bad Debt to Boost Budget Planning
In the first part of this process when you examined your income and expenses, I’m sure there were a number of shocking expenses that were uncovered. Who knew that a Starbucks was costing $120 a month, the frequent ATM withdrawals amounted to $500 very quickly, and dining out was the biggest monthly expense.
Hopefully, after you noticed this and began to work on your budget a realization was made that money can be better used towards building your wealth, and you committed to reducing frivolous spending. On a side note, it is okay to spend money on Starbucks and go out to dinner, or whatever your poison is, as long as you truly enjoy, find value in the purchase, and you’ve budgeted for it. Treat yourself – after all, you’ve earned. But, simply wasting money on things you can live without is foolish.
Now that you have reduced your expenses to a reasonable level, you need to find ways to boost that investment bucket in your budget. There are a couple obvious ways to do this. Increase your income through either a higher paying job or a part-time business, and reduce your bad debt. Since the US economy is hemorrhaging with debt, this is what will be the focus here. But, first, a quick note about debt.
I mention “bad debt” because debt can be good. For example, credit cards that offer rewards or cash back are providing excellent programs for people who actually pay off their credit card balance every month. The credit card company is essentially loaning money to make purchases for 30 days and in turn paying the credit holder for this with rewards. That is an incredible offer. Another example of “good debt” is a bank loan that is used to purchase something that actually pays for the loan and then some. A good example of this is a mortgage for a income-producing rental property. Good debt is debt that is used to make money, whereas bad debt costs money.
Back to reducing bad debt. Let’s look at a person we’ll call “John,” who was killing time at a consumer electronics store one day and ended up finding a great deal on a plasma screen TV for $2,500. He made the purchase with his credit card, which has a 10% interest rate, and every month his bill comes in the mail to tell him his minimum payment of $50 is due. John makes his minimum payments regularly, but never actually makes any progress on paying off his credit card. In fact, at this rate, it would take almost 17 years to pay off the TV, or $10,200 for a TV that likely won’t be so nice any more. Multiply this expense with many others across several credit cards, and our friend John is in deep trouble chasing his own tail just trying to pay off his credit cards. Does this sound too familiar? Sadly, most people are spending their entire life paying off items they purchased that they probably didn’t need in the first place and have no value once they are paid for.
By the way, department store credit cards that tease you with a 10% discount on purchases are generally the highest interest rates. And, unless you paid off your purchase immediately, chances are the department store earned that 10% back from you many times over.
There are several methods to get out of credit card debt. The simple way to get ahead is to do the following:
Order a copy of your credit report from http://www.annualcreditreport.com/.
Pick one or two credit cards that you will want to keep
Close the account on every other credit card that has a $0 balance. Having too many credit cards can adversely affect your credit score.
Call the customer service line for the two cards you want to keep and tell them you want to close the accounts because you received an offer for 0% APR for a year on all purchases and balance transfers. Most likely they will want to keep your business and offer you the same plan. If not, pick another card and try again.
You may want to try to raise your credit limit while you are at it, depending how disciplined you are. If a higher limit means you will spend more, forget it. However, maxing out your credit cards can also affect your credit score, so it can be a good thing to have a higher limit if you keep your balance proportionally lower.
Transfer all of your credit card balances to your one or two selected cards that now have a 0% APR, and close the accounts on those cards that the balance was transferred from.
Stop using your credit card to make purchases for items you do not fit in your monthly budget and you do not intend to pay for in full on your next bill.
Pay off these cards by applying as much money as you can on a monthly basis to get a $0 balance as quickly as possible.
If that doesn’t work for you, try snowballing your debt payments:
Call your high interest rate cards to try to negotiate the rate down.
Transfer the balance of the high interest rate cards to the low interest rate cards.
Make a list of all your credit cards, ranked in order from the highest interest rate to the lowest
interest rate.
Every month, pay as much as you can on the card with the highest interest rate, while paying the minimum amount on the other cards.
Once the balance on the card reaches $0, apply the amount you used to pay the previous card towards the next card on the list. Now you should be paying the amount from the previous card + the minimum payment you were paying before on the card.
Repeat until all cards are paid off in full
These are just a couple strategies that can be modified according to your situation. The important thing is to have a plan to eliminate debt, and make a commitment to only use your credit card for purchases that fit within your budget. This will allow you to benefit from the generous reward plans that many credit card companies and banks offer.
Reducing or eliminating your debt will free up more cash for you to apply towards smart investments, which will in turn assist you in reaching your financial goals much, much quicker.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Monday, January 19, 2009
Take Control of Your Financial Situation – Part I
Becoming wealthy has less to do with actual income and more to do with planning for financial freedom. What is discussed here is not a “get rich quick” model, but rather a “slow and steady” method that will set you on the path to making your first million dollars.
The first steps in financial freedom involve understanding and taking control of your financial situation, which include:
Understanding your income and expenses
Build Budgets
Reduce or eliminating bad debt and spending to boost budget planning
Paying yourself first
Let’s briefly discuss each of these steps.
Understanding Your Income and Expenses
If you are counting on accidentally becoming wealthy, don’t bet on it. If, however, you would like to take control of your money situation, you must first take a good hard look at your personal finances. Millionaires are very aware of their money situation and review their financial statements on a regular basis.
The purpose is not to see how good or bad you are at managing money, but to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement. Plus, without knowing where you are, you cannot plan for where you want to be. This exercise alone can be quite overwhelming and stressful. It will require you to first analyze numbers and face your reality. Both can be very uncomfortable for people who prefer to not talk about money or know they are managing their money poorly. But get used to it.
Step 1: Take a look at your monthly income streams and tally up the total. Most likely this is only your paycheck, but can also include income from rental property, businesses you run that bring in money, etc.
Step 2: Collect your bank and credit card statements for the past 6 months and analyze your expenses.
How much do you regularly spend on a monthly basis?
Are your expenses more or less than your monthly income?
What are you spending money on?
How much cash do you withdraw and where does that money go?
What do you spend on necessities (housing, food, etc.)?
How much is over-spending on dinning out, entertainment, etc.
What unnecessary things are causing you to flush money down the toilet?
Step 3: Re-evaluate your expenses by calculating what you spend on necessities. Only calculate the expenses that are unavoidable every month, i.e. rent or mortgage, food, regular bills. This does not include Starbucks, cable television or over-spending on groceries/dining. Be realistic.
Do not include your monthly credit card payment as an expense, but do include any necessary purchases you made with your credit card.
Step 4: Reflect on the amount of wasteful money that is spent.
How much is spent on unnecessary things?
Is eating out costing too much?
How much extra money would you have a month? A year?
What can you learn from your spending behaviors?
Now that you have taken a good look in the mirror and understand your financial situation, the next step is to create a plan.
Build Budgets
Believe it or not, self-made millionaires budget even after they have become millionaires. Why? To keep up with their financial fitness. Just like the laws that apply to weight loss and exercise, the same applies to wealth. A person who works so hard to eat healthy and exercise regularly to lose weight can quickly gain it all back once they stop going to the gym. The same holds true for millionaires. The habits and discipline the wealthy developed to make their first million is just as important once they have reached their goals. It’s a fundamental part of their ability to create wealth.
Now that you know your income and expenses from the above exercise, you can quickly begin to plan a budget to stick to. This will help you maximize your income and use it to generate more cash as quickly as possible. Let’s outline a basic, simple budget plan. Follow these steps to create your initial plan, and adjust or alter accordingly. The exact method or system you use to budget is not as important as the discipline in budgeting.
Step 1: First, document the kind of budget you have to work with and what wasteful expenses you can eliminate. Ask yourself the following:
Without spending a dime, how much of your money is gone right away from rent/mortgage, loan payments, minimum credit card payments, and other mandatory monthly expenses?
What is a realistic cost to maintain a healthy diet for the month, while minimizing your dining out costs?
Step 2: Hopefully Step 1 has not used up your entire take-home monthly pay. Otherwise, some steps will need to be made to eat on a budget, eliminate debt and expenses, and possibly downsize. Assuming you do have some cash left over, divvy up what is left into five buckets: fun, savings, investing, charitable contributions, miscellaneous.
Fun: It is important to set some money aside for fun. It does not have to be much money, but be sure to reward yourself for your hard work.
Savings: Professionals suggest having 3-6 months of savings on hand. Start putting a small chunk of money aside every month to build up this reserve. This should not be an “emergency fund,” but an “if I lose my job and need to support my family while I am searching for a new job” fund. Otherwise an “emergency” will frequently occur and your savings will never amount to any savings at all.
Investing: Millionaires invest a minimum of 15 percent of their income. If you can’t do that at this point, don’t worry. For starters, just contribute what you can to develop the habit, but you should really stretch yourself here as much as possible.
Charitable Contributions: You will get as good as you give. There are many reasons to give back to society. For one, it feels good and it is our human responsibility to help others, but there are also tax incentives. Plus, the unusual law of reciprocity that tends to repay those who give in much greater ways. 10 percent of the money you have to work with in Step 2 is a good place to start.
Miscellaneous: This is for all other expenses that always come up but do not fall into the other categories. “Emergency” costs would also fall in this category
Step 3: Adjust the dollar allocations in Step 2 to realistic goals, but do not put 90 percent into the fun category. Be judicious and challenge yourself.
Step 4: Create a spreadsheet or document that will allow you to track your expenses in relation to your budgets for each bucket on a daily basis, and challenge yourself to stay within these budgets.
Over the next few months you will learn a lot about your spending habits and discover places where you waste money and don’t find it worth it. Believe it or not, people generally find the challenge enjoyable and somewhat fun to see how little money is actually needed to live comfortably. Interestingly, you will also find how resourceful you can be towards the end of the month when you have used up your budget. It’s amazing how far you can stretch a dollar and get by with very little.
Generally people allow their income to predict their expenses and budget. These people will always be burdened by debt and rely on their monthly income. This explains why people who routinely receive raises never actually become wealthier. They adjust their spending habits with their increased income.
Similarly, if you take money right off the top to cover your investing and savings budgets before spending a single dollar, you will never notice it missing. If you create your budget first to determine your expenses, you are well on your way to achieving your money goals. In Part 2, where we will discuss eliminating debt in order to reach your financial goals more quickly.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
The first steps in financial freedom involve understanding and taking control of your financial situation, which include:
Understanding your income and expenses
Build Budgets
Reduce or eliminating bad debt and spending to boost budget planning
Paying yourself first
Let’s briefly discuss each of these steps.
Understanding Your Income and Expenses
If you are counting on accidentally becoming wealthy, don’t bet on it. If, however, you would like to take control of your money situation, you must first take a good hard look at your personal finances. Millionaires are very aware of their money situation and review their financial statements on a regular basis.
The purpose is not to see how good or bad you are at managing money, but to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement. Plus, without knowing where you are, you cannot plan for where you want to be. This exercise alone can be quite overwhelming and stressful. It will require you to first analyze numbers and face your reality. Both can be very uncomfortable for people who prefer to not talk about money or know they are managing their money poorly. But get used to it.
Step 1: Take a look at your monthly income streams and tally up the total. Most likely this is only your paycheck, but can also include income from rental property, businesses you run that bring in money, etc.
Step 2: Collect your bank and credit card statements for the past 6 months and analyze your expenses.
How much do you regularly spend on a monthly basis?
Are your expenses more or less than your monthly income?
What are you spending money on?
How much cash do you withdraw and where does that money go?
What do you spend on necessities (housing, food, etc.)?
How much is over-spending on dinning out, entertainment, etc.
What unnecessary things are causing you to flush money down the toilet?
Step 3: Re-evaluate your expenses by calculating what you spend on necessities. Only calculate the expenses that are unavoidable every month, i.e. rent or mortgage, food, regular bills. This does not include Starbucks, cable television or over-spending on groceries/dining. Be realistic.
Do not include your monthly credit card payment as an expense, but do include any necessary purchases you made with your credit card.
Step 4: Reflect on the amount of wasteful money that is spent.
How much is spent on unnecessary things?
Is eating out costing too much?
How much extra money would you have a month? A year?
What can you learn from your spending behaviors?
Now that you have taken a good look in the mirror and understand your financial situation, the next step is to create a plan.
Build Budgets
Believe it or not, self-made millionaires budget even after they have become millionaires. Why? To keep up with their financial fitness. Just like the laws that apply to weight loss and exercise, the same applies to wealth. A person who works so hard to eat healthy and exercise regularly to lose weight can quickly gain it all back once they stop going to the gym. The same holds true for millionaires. The habits and discipline the wealthy developed to make their first million is just as important once they have reached their goals. It’s a fundamental part of their ability to create wealth.
Now that you know your income and expenses from the above exercise, you can quickly begin to plan a budget to stick to. This will help you maximize your income and use it to generate more cash as quickly as possible. Let’s outline a basic, simple budget plan. Follow these steps to create your initial plan, and adjust or alter accordingly. The exact method or system you use to budget is not as important as the discipline in budgeting.
Step 1: First, document the kind of budget you have to work with and what wasteful expenses you can eliminate. Ask yourself the following:
Without spending a dime, how much of your money is gone right away from rent/mortgage, loan payments, minimum credit card payments, and other mandatory monthly expenses?
What is a realistic cost to maintain a healthy diet for the month, while minimizing your dining out costs?
Step 2: Hopefully Step 1 has not used up your entire take-home monthly pay. Otherwise, some steps will need to be made to eat on a budget, eliminate debt and expenses, and possibly downsize. Assuming you do have some cash left over, divvy up what is left into five buckets: fun, savings, investing, charitable contributions, miscellaneous.
Fun: It is important to set some money aside for fun. It does not have to be much money, but be sure to reward yourself for your hard work.
Savings: Professionals suggest having 3-6 months of savings on hand. Start putting a small chunk of money aside every month to build up this reserve. This should not be an “emergency fund,” but an “if I lose my job and need to support my family while I am searching for a new job” fund. Otherwise an “emergency” will frequently occur and your savings will never amount to any savings at all.
Investing: Millionaires invest a minimum of 15 percent of their income. If you can’t do that at this point, don’t worry. For starters, just contribute what you can to develop the habit, but you should really stretch yourself here as much as possible.
Charitable Contributions: You will get as good as you give. There are many reasons to give back to society. For one, it feels good and it is our human responsibility to help others, but there are also tax incentives. Plus, the unusual law of reciprocity that tends to repay those who give in much greater ways. 10 percent of the money you have to work with in Step 2 is a good place to start.
Miscellaneous: This is for all other expenses that always come up but do not fall into the other categories. “Emergency” costs would also fall in this category
Step 3: Adjust the dollar allocations in Step 2 to realistic goals, but do not put 90 percent into the fun category. Be judicious and challenge yourself.
Step 4: Create a spreadsheet or document that will allow you to track your expenses in relation to your budgets for each bucket on a daily basis, and challenge yourself to stay within these budgets.
Over the next few months you will learn a lot about your spending habits and discover places where you waste money and don’t find it worth it. Believe it or not, people generally find the challenge enjoyable and somewhat fun to see how little money is actually needed to live comfortably. Interestingly, you will also find how resourceful you can be towards the end of the month when you have used up your budget. It’s amazing how far you can stretch a dollar and get by with very little.
Generally people allow their income to predict their expenses and budget. These people will always be burdened by debt and rely on their monthly income. This explains why people who routinely receive raises never actually become wealthier. They adjust their spending habits with their increased income.
Similarly, if you take money right off the top to cover your investing and savings budgets before spending a single dollar, you will never notice it missing. If you create your budget first to determine your expenses, you are well on your way to achieving your money goals. In Part 2, where we will discuss eliminating debt in order to reach your financial goals more quickly.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Friday, January 16, 2009
Make Success Inevitable
With the right frame of mind and determination, there are decisions you can make today to make success inevitable and change your life forever.
Here are a few strategies that you can put into action right now to improve your success — the first is a strategic, actionable method, the second method describes how to keep your goals on track, and the third is the Super Ninja Method to quickly reaching your goals.
These strategies are not limited to creating wealth either. You can use these methods to improve your relationships, increase self-confidence, or push yourself to lose more weight.
First the strategic method…
The first step is to identify your goal. What is it that you want to accomplish? Make sure these are measurable goals that you can achieve. Go ahead and write it down — even if you think it is a far fetch goal, give it a shot.
Now, paraphrasing Timothy Ferriss, if you you absolutely had to achieve this goal, you would find a way to reach it. If a gun was to your head and the trigger would be pulled unless you achieved this goal, your creativity, resourcefulness and motivation would reach new levels.
Think about your goal and what the outcome will be like. What circumstances need to be in place in order to help you reach your goal? What has to change, what do you need, what resources do other people have that you could tap into to help you reach your goal? Write them down.
Now that you know the circumstances that need to be in place in order to make your goal a reality, start thinking backwards from the end result to where you are today. Try to “reverse engineer” the achieved outcome in your mind and think about what steps will you need to take?
Now take action and and move the gears in motion. If your goal is properly set, it will require you to step outside your comfort zone, make yourself growth and think in new directions, and will require a level of determination that you may have not realized you had.
Creating the right mindset…
To keep yourself engaged and on task, it will take as much mental energy as it does physical. Reaching your goal will take planning and preparation, some sacrifices, and at times will be exhausting. There may be days you lost track of benefits and decide to give up your pursuit.
The only thing worse than not achieving your goal is looking back 10 years from now and thinking to yourself “I can’t believe I quit then. If I just stayed the track I could have accomplished this a long time ago.”
Now there are a couple ways you can keep yourself motivated:
Keep a picture or some reminder with you at all times that triggers an emotional response
Create additional goals that go beyond your primary goal, which cannot be accomplished without first reaching this primary goal
Generally speaking, we will do more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure. Set up a system to reward yourself when you accomplish tasks, but also have a system that punishes you for going off track
Super Ninja Method…
Some of the most successful people I know create their own reality. By visually achieving your goals, you can accomplish things you had no idea you were capable of. Watch this short video from an Aussie named Ryan Higgins to see what I’m talking about…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUA7yrBRSe4
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com.
Here are a few strategies that you can put into action right now to improve your success — the first is a strategic, actionable method, the second method describes how to keep your goals on track, and the third is the Super Ninja Method to quickly reaching your goals.
These strategies are not limited to creating wealth either. You can use these methods to improve your relationships, increase self-confidence, or push yourself to lose more weight.
First the strategic method…
The first step is to identify your goal. What is it that you want to accomplish? Make sure these are measurable goals that you can achieve. Go ahead and write it down — even if you think it is a far fetch goal, give it a shot.
Now, paraphrasing Timothy Ferriss, if you you absolutely had to achieve this goal, you would find a way to reach it. If a gun was to your head and the trigger would be pulled unless you achieved this goal, your creativity, resourcefulness and motivation would reach new levels.
Think about your goal and what the outcome will be like. What circumstances need to be in place in order to help you reach your goal? What has to change, what do you need, what resources do other people have that you could tap into to help you reach your goal? Write them down.
Now that you know the circumstances that need to be in place in order to make your goal a reality, start thinking backwards from the end result to where you are today. Try to “reverse engineer” the achieved outcome in your mind and think about what steps will you need to take?
Now take action and and move the gears in motion. If your goal is properly set, it will require you to step outside your comfort zone, make yourself growth and think in new directions, and will require a level of determination that you may have not realized you had.
Creating the right mindset…
To keep yourself engaged and on task, it will take as much mental energy as it does physical. Reaching your goal will take planning and preparation, some sacrifices, and at times will be exhausting. There may be days you lost track of benefits and decide to give up your pursuit.
The only thing worse than not achieving your goal is looking back 10 years from now and thinking to yourself “I can’t believe I quit then. If I just stayed the track I could have accomplished this a long time ago.”
Now there are a couple ways you can keep yourself motivated:
Keep a picture or some reminder with you at all times that triggers an emotional response
Create additional goals that go beyond your primary goal, which cannot be accomplished without first reaching this primary goal
Generally speaking, we will do more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure. Set up a system to reward yourself when you accomplish tasks, but also have a system that punishes you for going off track
Super Ninja Method…
Some of the most successful people I know create their own reality. By visually achieving your goals, you can accomplish things you had no idea you were capable of. Watch this short video from an Aussie named Ryan Higgins to see what I’m talking about…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUA7yrBRSe4
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
What Are Cash Gifting Programs? Don’t Fall Victim to This Scam
Any time someone talks about a way to make a boat load of money, it will probably at least make you stop and think. Cash gifting programs are one of those things that to me sounds like you want no association with. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but my interpretation of cash gifting is anything but a good idea.
I’ve heard this idea come up in a few recent discussions, and wanted to find out what it is myself. I’m no expert on the topic, but from first glance it screams “SCAM.” Maybe there are some legitimate cash gifting programs, but I don’t see anything legitimate about these programs at first glance.
There may be some loopholes that make it completely legal, but that doesn’t make it safe or necessarily a legitimate way to make money.
What is Cash Gifting?
Interestingly, when you search Wikipedia for “cash gifting,” it redirects you to “pyramid schemes.” That’s no good.
With some further research, here’s how I think cash gifting works…
Legally, cash gifting is a tax strategy to give money away in order to reduce your tax bill. In a calendar year, you can give $12,000 to as many individuals as you like, and the receiver does not have to pay taxes on the gift.
Now for the shady approach: You join a “cash gifting program” by paying an enrollment and monthly membership fee disguised as cash gifts to the people who joined before you. As a member, you receive money from any new members that you recruit.
Typically, members get roped in by the hype. They probably know it is a risk and not exactly legitimate, but the “what if…” factor makes people act irrationally.
These programs are doomed to fail from the start. Once the program begins to grow, the number of new members required to sustain the system cannot be achieved. Managing who gave how much money when also becomes increasingly difficult. As a result, the most recent members “gifted” money, but never receive any. There goes the life savings.
Do you see why Wikipedia simply refers to cash gifting as a pyramid scheme? There can’t possibly be any good that comes out of this other than learning a lesson the hard way.
I can be sympathetic to the people that get caught up in this program, as the people recruiting can be very good “marketers” (eh hem, scammers) and play on hope and emotion. Sadly, it seems like they prey on the desperate who risk everything they have for a chance to fix their lives.
If these cash gifters just put this amount of energy into building a real business, they wouldn’t have to worry about destroying people’s lives or worry about how long the gravy train will last.
That being said, this is my interpretation of cash gifting programs. If I’m completely off here or missing important details, please do correct me.
I think that it was Stephen King who said he liked studying serial killers and criminals not because he wanted to become one, but so he knew how to avoid them. If you ever get approached about this or any other money making system, remove yourself from the emotion involved in your decisions and think about what your gut and logic tells you.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
I’ve heard this idea come up in a few recent discussions, and wanted to find out what it is myself. I’m no expert on the topic, but from first glance it screams “SCAM.” Maybe there are some legitimate cash gifting programs, but I don’t see anything legitimate about these programs at first glance.
There may be some loopholes that make it completely legal, but that doesn’t make it safe or necessarily a legitimate way to make money.
What is Cash Gifting?
Interestingly, when you search Wikipedia for “cash gifting,” it redirects you to “pyramid schemes.” That’s no good.
With some further research, here’s how I think cash gifting works…
Legally, cash gifting is a tax strategy to give money away in order to reduce your tax bill. In a calendar year, you can give $12,000 to as many individuals as you like, and the receiver does not have to pay taxes on the gift.
Now for the shady approach: You join a “cash gifting program” by paying an enrollment and monthly membership fee disguised as cash gifts to the people who joined before you. As a member, you receive money from any new members that you recruit.
Typically, members get roped in by the hype. They probably know it is a risk and not exactly legitimate, but the “what if…” factor makes people act irrationally.
These programs are doomed to fail from the start. Once the program begins to grow, the number of new members required to sustain the system cannot be achieved. Managing who gave how much money when also becomes increasingly difficult. As a result, the most recent members “gifted” money, but never receive any. There goes the life savings.
Do you see why Wikipedia simply refers to cash gifting as a pyramid scheme? There can’t possibly be any good that comes out of this other than learning a lesson the hard way.
I can be sympathetic to the people that get caught up in this program, as the people recruiting can be very good “marketers” (eh hem, scammers) and play on hope and emotion. Sadly, it seems like they prey on the desperate who risk everything they have for a chance to fix their lives.
If these cash gifters just put this amount of energy into building a real business, they wouldn’t have to worry about destroying people’s lives or worry about how long the gravy train will last.
That being said, this is my interpretation of cash gifting programs. If I’m completely off here or missing important details, please do correct me.
I think that it was Stephen King who said he liked studying serial killers and criminals not because he wanted to become one, but so he knew how to avoid them. If you ever get approached about this or any other money making system, remove yourself from the emotion involved in your decisions and think about what your gut and logic tells you.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Retire Young and Wealthy - Is it Possible?
Take a look around at those who retire early. What did they do so differently that allowed them to hang up their hat and take the rest of their life off?
Was it a high income?
A lucky day at the dog tracks?
Maybe it was that they simply had a plan…
Typically people put in 40+ years of hard work before they are in the position to retire. Even then, many people are going back to work to bring back that income stream. Then there are those who are able to “figure it out” early and make it a mission to live a life of freedom.
How is this done?
1. Avoid and Eliminate Debt
2. Create a Savings Plan That Takes Advantage of Compounding
3. Turbo Charge Income
As long as you carry debt that exceeds income, it is impossible to get ahead. The money you owe will always be more than the money you make. This is a basic concept, but one that plagues many individuals and families. In addition to taking advantage of tax efficient investments, such as your employer’s 401k plan, the primary financial goal should be to become debt free.
Some debt is okay to carry, such as a mortgage and student loans, but even these need to be in line with your income.
Once debt is eliminated, your money needs to be reinvested in order to grow. This doesn’t necessarily mean investing in stocks - though it may be hard to believe that historically this is a good bet.
Look at the creative ways you can invest your money. Here are a few:
Become a Private Lender and Charge Interest
Purchase Valuable Art and Collectibles from Auctions
Invest in Yourself with an Advanced Degree or Specialized Training
Purchase Private Label Rights to Products and Sell Them
In other words, purchase assets with your money. Whether your asset is yourself, a tangible item, or something that you can be used as leverage to make money. My 12 year old neighbor wants a Nintendo Wii, so he saved up to buy his own shovel and snow scrapper and is offering a snow removal service to raise the money he needs. Ingenious!
The third piece is critical. If you want to retire early, it is entirely possible to live a frugal lifestyle, avoid debt, invest wisely, and make it happen. However, you will always live a frugal lifestyle, which there is nothing wrong with.
There are a few stories on MSN Money of people that did exactly that. One family “Saved $35 a month by hanging the laundry instead of using the dryer,” When you find dozens of ways to cut corners like this, you can increase your cash flow by dramatically reducing your cost of living.
The alternative, which is better in my personal opinion, is to retire young and rich without having to worry about money at all. My definition of financial freedom is not to have enough money that allows you to cover your bills. Financial freedom is an income streams that allow you to not have to worry about money whatsoever.
This is accomplished by producing additional income streams to boost those investment contributions.
You can only budget down your life so much, but there is an unlimited amount of money you can create - and an unlimited number of ways to create it. Once you have more money coming in, that’s extra money that can be used to purchase more assets.
Think about this… If you invest $500 every month in your 401k and over the long term you receive a 10% annual return, you’ll become a millionaire in about 29 years. Let’s say you find a way to bring in an extra $500 a month and apply that to your investments. Now you’re investing $1,000 every month and it will only take you 22 years to become a millionaire.
Just an extra $500 a month and you’ll become a millionaire 7 years sooner. But don’t think so small. What if you could increase your income an extra $2,000 a month? How fast would your reach your first million then?
Here’s the secret. Once you learn figure out how to make $1, you can scale it up to make $100. When you figure that out, you’ll realize how easy it could be to make $500. From there, $2,000 becomes $20,000 a month, and so on. Opportunities come to you.
In conclusion, there are lots of ways to retire young, but if you stick to the fundamentals and put a plan into action, you’ll get there faster than you think.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Was it a high income?
A lucky day at the dog tracks?
Maybe it was that they simply had a plan…
Typically people put in 40+ years of hard work before they are in the position to retire. Even then, many people are going back to work to bring back that income stream. Then there are those who are able to “figure it out” early and make it a mission to live a life of freedom.
How is this done?
1. Avoid and Eliminate Debt
2. Create a Savings Plan That Takes Advantage of Compounding
3. Turbo Charge Income
As long as you carry debt that exceeds income, it is impossible to get ahead. The money you owe will always be more than the money you make. This is a basic concept, but one that plagues many individuals and families. In addition to taking advantage of tax efficient investments, such as your employer’s 401k plan, the primary financial goal should be to become debt free.
Some debt is okay to carry, such as a mortgage and student loans, but even these need to be in line with your income.
Once debt is eliminated, your money needs to be reinvested in order to grow. This doesn’t necessarily mean investing in stocks - though it may be hard to believe that historically this is a good bet.
Look at the creative ways you can invest your money. Here are a few:
Become a Private Lender and Charge Interest
Purchase Valuable Art and Collectibles from Auctions
Invest in Yourself with an Advanced Degree or Specialized Training
Purchase Private Label Rights to Products and Sell Them
In other words, purchase assets with your money. Whether your asset is yourself, a tangible item, or something that you can be used as leverage to make money. My 12 year old neighbor wants a Nintendo Wii, so he saved up to buy his own shovel and snow scrapper and is offering a snow removal service to raise the money he needs. Ingenious!
The third piece is critical. If you want to retire early, it is entirely possible to live a frugal lifestyle, avoid debt, invest wisely, and make it happen. However, you will always live a frugal lifestyle, which there is nothing wrong with.
There are a few stories on MSN Money of people that did exactly that. One family “Saved $35 a month by hanging the laundry instead of using the dryer,” When you find dozens of ways to cut corners like this, you can increase your cash flow by dramatically reducing your cost of living.
The alternative, which is better in my personal opinion, is to retire young and rich without having to worry about money at all. My definition of financial freedom is not to have enough money that allows you to cover your bills. Financial freedom is an income streams that allow you to not have to worry about money whatsoever.
This is accomplished by producing additional income streams to boost those investment contributions.
You can only budget down your life so much, but there is an unlimited amount of money you can create - and an unlimited number of ways to create it. Once you have more money coming in, that’s extra money that can be used to purchase more assets.
Think about this… If you invest $500 every month in your 401k and over the long term you receive a 10% annual return, you’ll become a millionaire in about 29 years. Let’s say you find a way to bring in an extra $500 a month and apply that to your investments. Now you’re investing $1,000 every month and it will only take you 22 years to become a millionaire.
Just an extra $500 a month and you’ll become a millionaire 7 years sooner. But don’t think so small. What if you could increase your income an extra $2,000 a month? How fast would your reach your first million then?
Here’s the secret. Once you learn figure out how to make $1, you can scale it up to make $100. When you figure that out, you’ll realize how easy it could be to make $500. From there, $2,000 becomes $20,000 a month, and so on. Opportunities come to you.
In conclusion, there are lots of ways to retire young, but if you stick to the fundamentals and put a plan into action, you’ll get there faster than you think.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The Bright Side of the Economic Recession
News of the economic recession is unavoidable. Job losses, home foreclosures, increasing debt for individuals as well as businesses. But there are a lot of positive things I’ve seen developing from the downturn in the economy.
Maybe it’s the holiday season, but people seem to be more empathetic. Everyone in some way is touched by the economic recession, which makes us all more human and connected in some way. When we are able to directly relate to what other people are going through, we feel safe exposing our vulnerable side. It allows each person to relate to their neighbor, their community and their family. Topics, such as money, that were once taboo are now discussed out in the open.
While the economy may have gone back 10 years in time financially, it’s as if our lives and habits have gone back 30 years. We are revisiting our parents’ and grandparents’ generations in regards to past-times and entertainment. Think what it was like before the age of video games.When siblings shared bedrooms in a “starter home” that fit the family budget. And when Americans valued their time with their family, and overall were more conservative with their money–appreciating what they could afford and respecting what they could not.
We have operated for a long time with the idea that investing in the stock market and in real estate carried very little risk. We thought of how much money we could make and not how much money we could lose. We now know that it was fools’ gold, and a great lesson on how investments and risk actually works. It may be a tough lesson to learn, but it is a very valuable and necessary one.
As a result of the recessed economy and portfolios, people are learning what it really means to diversify and why it is important to keep your assets properly balanced. When the stock market is losing money, it forces you to explore and familiarize yourself with other places to put your money based upon your risk tolerance. In other words, we’re becoming more financially educated.
One of the best outcomes from these troubled times is that families are coming closer together. Families are actually eating dinner together as they are no longer eating out to save money. As a result, parents are getting to know their children better and finding time to talk to them about the things going on in their daily lives.
I find it interesting that movie theaters get busier the worse the economy gets. Now that people are budgeting their money, families fall back on the entertainment they remember from their youth, which leads to more quality time spent together. People are not just throwing away money like they used to. For the first time in a long time, Americans are taking a good hard look at their income, their expenses, and preparing for “what if” scenarios.
All of this, are things we should have been doing all along, but now we are doing it out of necessity. That’s a good thing. We are modeling good behavior for our children and teaching them the value of a dollar — something that our youth for the most part had no previous concept of.
For those who have money to spend, there are some great opportunities all around. From rock bottom prices on laptops and TVs to unbelievably priced shares in the stock market. Your dollar can go a long way during an economic recession.
All in all, we may be facing some tough, stressful times, but we are becoming more human again and that as they say is priceless.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Maybe it’s the holiday season, but people seem to be more empathetic. Everyone in some way is touched by the economic recession, which makes us all more human and connected in some way. When we are able to directly relate to what other people are going through, we feel safe exposing our vulnerable side. It allows each person to relate to their neighbor, their community and their family. Topics, such as money, that were once taboo are now discussed out in the open.
While the economy may have gone back 10 years in time financially, it’s as if our lives and habits have gone back 30 years. We are revisiting our parents’ and grandparents’ generations in regards to past-times and entertainment. Think what it was like before the age of video games.When siblings shared bedrooms in a “starter home” that fit the family budget. And when Americans valued their time with their family, and overall were more conservative with their money–appreciating what they could afford and respecting what they could not.
We have operated for a long time with the idea that investing in the stock market and in real estate carried very little risk. We thought of how much money we could make and not how much money we could lose. We now know that it was fools’ gold, and a great lesson on how investments and risk actually works. It may be a tough lesson to learn, but it is a very valuable and necessary one.
As a result of the recessed economy and portfolios, people are learning what it really means to diversify and why it is important to keep your assets properly balanced. When the stock market is losing money, it forces you to explore and familiarize yourself with other places to put your money based upon your risk tolerance. In other words, we’re becoming more financially educated.
One of the best outcomes from these troubled times is that families are coming closer together. Families are actually eating dinner together as they are no longer eating out to save money. As a result, parents are getting to know their children better and finding time to talk to them about the things going on in their daily lives.
I find it interesting that movie theaters get busier the worse the economy gets. Now that people are budgeting their money, families fall back on the entertainment they remember from their youth, which leads to more quality time spent together. People are not just throwing away money like they used to. For the first time in a long time, Americans are taking a good hard look at their income, their expenses, and preparing for “what if” scenarios.
All of this, are things we should have been doing all along, but now we are doing it out of necessity. That’s a good thing. We are modeling good behavior for our children and teaching them the value of a dollar — something that our youth for the most part had no previous concept of.
For those who have money to spend, there are some great opportunities all around. From rock bottom prices on laptops and TVs to unbelievably priced shares in the stock market. Your dollar can go a long way during an economic recession.
All in all, we may be facing some tough, stressful times, but we are becoming more human again and that as they say is priceless.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Monday, January 12, 2009
Making Money in a Recession Writing Your Own Paycheck
The other day I shared a video from Branson on how it is the small businesses owners responsibility to create wealth during these troubled times. While thousands more people are welcomed to work with a pink slip every day, the entrepreneur is able to create wealth virtually out of thin air.
Historically during slowdowns and economic slumps, people tend to do one of two things:
Go Back to School
Make Their Own Money
During the last Great Depression, more than 25 percent of the nation’s workers were jobless. Those who managed to keep their jobs on average lost 43 percent of the wages. The difference back then is that people did not over-extend themselves like they do today.
Siblings shared bedrooms in reasonably sized houses, and credit cards were not used as another source of spending money. Unfortunately those statistics today would cripple most American families.
The good news is Americans are resilient, we are survivors, and our economy is designed to allow anyone and everyone the opportunity to create their own wealth. As Branson suggested, it is the small businesses that are nimble enough to find an opportunity and act on it.
A company like GM, for instance, can’t decide one day to close hundreds of plants and become an education company. But the teenager in his dorm room making hundreds of dollars online can suddenly decide to offer a service creating YouTube videos for local businesses.
Individuals and small business owners have the flexibility to come up with an idea, act on it, and profit from it that very same day.
Just by doing a search for “layoffs” on Google News, I found headlines from KB Toys, Volvo, CBS, DHL, npr radio, GM… the list seemed never ending. My family has been hit, and so have my neighbors. Everyone from business executives to the warehouse packer is losing their job, and with no hope for a new job in sight.
My brother, who I wrote about a couple weeks ago, finally ran out of options and had to move back home. Having lost his job, house and car, he was literally left homeless. My sister is about to have a baby, but her husband is unable to make any money in the mortgage industry and can’t find any other job.
Both of them turned to me for advice on how to make some extra money, and literally 3 days later my sister made her first $80. While this wasn’t a lot of money, it was evidence to her that it really is possible to make your own money.
Now rather than just being a stay at home mom, my sister spends part of her day “printing money.” It’s a bit frustrating for her husband because he puts in the long hours, but she’s more money without leaving the house.
The sad part is that it took a recession for my sister to realize that a “safe, secure” job was not the only way to produce and income for the family. But now they are able to sleep at night knowing there are ways to write your own paycheck, so to speak.
One of the ways I showed her was the Google Money Tree methods. Since she needed money fast, but also needs to stay home with her baby, I thought an online business would suit her well. And since my sister doesn’t know anything about building websites, etc. she wanted an easy way to make money without owning a website.
I showed her some long-term strategies to actually build a business online, but it was Google Money Tree that enabled her to start making money right away.
It’s funny because my sister always shook her head at the idea of owning a business, but she really enjoys making money online. I haven’t told her yet that she in effect started her own business.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Historically during slowdowns and economic slumps, people tend to do one of two things:
Go Back to School
Make Their Own Money
During the last Great Depression, more than 25 percent of the nation’s workers were jobless. Those who managed to keep their jobs on average lost 43 percent of the wages. The difference back then is that people did not over-extend themselves like they do today.
Siblings shared bedrooms in reasonably sized houses, and credit cards were not used as another source of spending money. Unfortunately those statistics today would cripple most American families.
The good news is Americans are resilient, we are survivors, and our economy is designed to allow anyone and everyone the opportunity to create their own wealth. As Branson suggested, it is the small businesses that are nimble enough to find an opportunity and act on it.
A company like GM, for instance, can’t decide one day to close hundreds of plants and become an education company. But the teenager in his dorm room making hundreds of dollars online can suddenly decide to offer a service creating YouTube videos for local businesses.
Individuals and small business owners have the flexibility to come up with an idea, act on it, and profit from it that very same day.
Just by doing a search for “layoffs” on Google News, I found headlines from KB Toys, Volvo, CBS, DHL, npr radio, GM… the list seemed never ending. My family has been hit, and so have my neighbors. Everyone from business executives to the warehouse packer is losing their job, and with no hope for a new job in sight.
My brother, who I wrote about a couple weeks ago, finally ran out of options and had to move back home. Having lost his job, house and car, he was literally left homeless. My sister is about to have a baby, but her husband is unable to make any money in the mortgage industry and can’t find any other job.
Both of them turned to me for advice on how to make some extra money, and literally 3 days later my sister made her first $80. While this wasn’t a lot of money, it was evidence to her that it really is possible to make your own money.
Now rather than just being a stay at home mom, my sister spends part of her day “printing money.” It’s a bit frustrating for her husband because he puts in the long hours, but she’s more money without leaving the house.
The sad part is that it took a recession for my sister to realize that a “safe, secure” job was not the only way to produce and income for the family. But now they are able to sleep at night knowing there are ways to write your own paycheck, so to speak.
One of the ways I showed her was the Google Money Tree methods. Since she needed money fast, but also needs to stay home with her baby, I thought an online business would suit her well. And since my sister doesn’t know anything about building websites, etc. she wanted an easy way to make money without owning a website.
I showed her some long-term strategies to actually build a business online, but it was Google Money Tree that enabled her to start making money right away.
It’s funny because my sister always shook her head at the idea of owning a business, but she really enjoys making money online. I haven’t told her yet that she in effect started her own business.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Friday, January 9, 2009
Obstacles That Prevent Pursing Your Dream
When it comes to pursuing your dreams, there are many challenges and obstacles that can get in the way. While your goals might adjust over time, you can’t allow some small hurdle to prevent you from achieving something that you’ve been dreaming about for a lifetime.
When these obstacles get your way, you have a choice:
Accept That You Will Not Achieve Your Goal
Alter Your Goal to Make it Realistic With Today’s Reality
Eliminate The Obstacle
These goal achieving roadblocks can be anything from lack of funding to a personal relationship that is holding you back.
The people you spend the most amount of time with are a reflection of who you are. If you all of your friends spend their time chowing down buffalo wings and chugging beer, chances are you are not going to be the healthiest person in the world. If your goal is to lose weight and become fit, you will likely need to change the people you spend your time with.
Your association with the junk food crowd will hinder your ability to become healthy, but spending your time with those who have a “healthy mindset” will accelerate your ability to reach and exceed your goal at an incredible rate.
Likewise, if you have a passion and desire to become a successful entrepreneur, you may need to make some tough decisions about the people you associate with. The people your are with can either contribute to your success or prevent it.
At the very least, you need the support of those people.
An entrepreneur may be faced with having to make a significant amount of sacrifice — particularly when starting out a new business venture. For example, the time you put into your work may be your most valuable asset with a new start up. But if the people you spend your time with are unable or unwilling to give you the time you need in exchange for your chance to achieve your life long dream, a tough choice needs to be made. You either flush your dream down the toilet or find a way to eliminate the distraction.
You don’t want to live life with regrets of what could have been and resentment towards those who held you back.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
When these obstacles get your way, you have a choice:
Accept That You Will Not Achieve Your Goal
Alter Your Goal to Make it Realistic With Today’s Reality
Eliminate The Obstacle
These goal achieving roadblocks can be anything from lack of funding to a personal relationship that is holding you back.
The people you spend the most amount of time with are a reflection of who you are. If you all of your friends spend their time chowing down buffalo wings and chugging beer, chances are you are not going to be the healthiest person in the world. If your goal is to lose weight and become fit, you will likely need to change the people you spend your time with.
Your association with the junk food crowd will hinder your ability to become healthy, but spending your time with those who have a “healthy mindset” will accelerate your ability to reach and exceed your goal at an incredible rate.
Likewise, if you have a passion and desire to become a successful entrepreneur, you may need to make some tough decisions about the people you associate with. The people your are with can either contribute to your success or prevent it.
At the very least, you need the support of those people.
An entrepreneur may be faced with having to make a significant amount of sacrifice — particularly when starting out a new business venture. For example, the time you put into your work may be your most valuable asset with a new start up. But if the people you spend your time with are unable or unwilling to give you the time you need in exchange for your chance to achieve your life long dream, a tough choice needs to be made. You either flush your dream down the toilet or find a way to eliminate the distraction.
You don’t want to live life with regrets of what could have been and resentment towards those who held you back.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Warning About Automatic Bill Pay
Recently I barely avoided a potential financial disaster. Like many people who bank online and try to automate their life, all of my bills are paid through my online banking. Month after month for several years I’ve had complete faith in knowing that my bills were paid in full and on time.
Until recently…
Even though my bills are paid automatically, I still find paper statements in my mailbox every month. Like clockwork, I check my mail and there it is. Knowing that it is just a bill that will be taken care of by my trusty online banking setup, I proceed to toss the bill in the shredder without looking at it.
Last week was different. For some odd reason, I had a minute in my life with absolutely nothing to do. So I decided to kill time by actually looking at my mail. It took 30 seconds to turn nothing to do to a raging headache that made me late for my weekend travels.
I looked at my mortgage statement and noticed that I was past due on my payment and had a $50 late fee assessed. I figured it had to be a mistake and promptly got on the phone with customer service.
This “mistake” ended with me driving to my branch to speak with my personal banker in order to get everything fixed. Turns out the property value of my house was re-assessed and the escrow payment my bank requires me to pay increased. Since my automatic bill payment sent a partial payment for the old amount, my bank considered the payment outstanding.
In the end there was no harm done other than my blood pressure going through the roof, but of course this could have been completely avoided if I took the time to open my bills.
Long story short, just because my bills are being payed automatically, I’ll be sure to not get too comfortable in knowing everything is being taken care of. In the end, it’s ultimately my responsibility to make sure my bills are paid on time and in full - not my computer’s.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Until recently…
Even though my bills are paid automatically, I still find paper statements in my mailbox every month. Like clockwork, I check my mail and there it is. Knowing that it is just a bill that will be taken care of by my trusty online banking setup, I proceed to toss the bill in the shredder without looking at it.
Last week was different. For some odd reason, I had a minute in my life with absolutely nothing to do. So I decided to kill time by actually looking at my mail. It took 30 seconds to turn nothing to do to a raging headache that made me late for my weekend travels.
I looked at my mortgage statement and noticed that I was past due on my payment and had a $50 late fee assessed. I figured it had to be a mistake and promptly got on the phone with customer service.
This “mistake” ended with me driving to my branch to speak with my personal banker in order to get everything fixed. Turns out the property value of my house was re-assessed and the escrow payment my bank requires me to pay increased. Since my automatic bill payment sent a partial payment for the old amount, my bank considered the payment outstanding.
In the end there was no harm done other than my blood pressure going through the roof, but of course this could have been completely avoided if I took the time to open my bills.
Long story short, just because my bills are being payed automatically, I’ll be sure to not get too comfortable in knowing everything is being taken care of. In the end, it’s ultimately my responsibility to make sure my bills are paid on time and in full - not my computer’s.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Steps to Establishing Credit
Establishing credit can be a challenging task for someone entering adulthood. A good credit history is generally required to rent an apartment, get an auto loan and may even be part of the screening process for employers. But if you need credit to get credit, how do you go about establishing it?
What Does Establishing Credit Mean?
Your credit file is a vital document that is used to obtain the necessities in life, and building a good report should be a priority. Your credit file is your financial report card and it may be reviewed by just about anyone that you could owe money to. That means not only home and auto loans, but this also includes your cable and electric bills, and even cell phone contracts.
Before extending you credit, lenders and service providers like to see that you are responsible and pay your bills on time. The only way to determine that is to look at your history of repaying debts. By looking at your credit score and credit file, lenders can estimate just how risky a client you may be and how likely they are to get back the money you will owe them.
How to Establish Credit
As you can probably see, establishing credit for the first time can be a bit tricky. Since it often requires having a credit history to receive credit, where do you start?
The first thing you want to do is to open a bank account and maintain some savings in that account. By having some net worth, it shows creditors you have some sort of income and ability to manage money. Once you have opened a checking and savings account, apply for a credit card through your bank. Since you do business with them, they are more likely to extend a small amount of credit to you.
But just having a credit card is not enough to build a history. You have to make your accounts active by using them regularly. That does not mean using your card to purchase items you cannot afford. While it is important to use your credit to keep it active, the amount doesn’t matter.
You simply want to use your card minimally and pay it off in full in order to build a good history of using credit and repaying your debts on time. What you want to avoid is taking out cash advances or using more than 30% of your available credit as it can hurt your rating.
If you have trouble obtaining your first credit card, having any type of service that has a revolving fee, such as an electric or cell phone bill, can help build your credit history. While these services usually do perform a credit check, you can often negotiate to pay two months of service fees upfront instead of getting approved through a background check. It may require a bit more money upfront, but this will help you quickly establish credit.Another trick is to obtain a secured credit card. A secured card means that there is an asset linked to the account, which the creditor can take if you fail to make payments. This generally takes the form of depositing cash into an account to “secure” it.
Establishing credit is only the first step to building your financial report card. You want to be sure that you not only have credit, but that you are building a positive credit history. That means always paying your bills on time, keeping your available credit to debt ratio low, and keeping accounts open in order to build a history of relationships with creditors and lenders.
Millionaire Money Habit: Your credit report is your financial report card that can help you or be used against you negotiate throughout important aspects of your life. Take building your credit rating seriously and you will save thousands of dollars in interest payments and fees throughout your lifetime.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
What Does Establishing Credit Mean?
Your credit file is a vital document that is used to obtain the necessities in life, and building a good report should be a priority. Your credit file is your financial report card and it may be reviewed by just about anyone that you could owe money to. That means not only home and auto loans, but this also includes your cable and electric bills, and even cell phone contracts.
Before extending you credit, lenders and service providers like to see that you are responsible and pay your bills on time. The only way to determine that is to look at your history of repaying debts. By looking at your credit score and credit file, lenders can estimate just how risky a client you may be and how likely they are to get back the money you will owe them.
How to Establish Credit
As you can probably see, establishing credit for the first time can be a bit tricky. Since it often requires having a credit history to receive credit, where do you start?
The first thing you want to do is to open a bank account and maintain some savings in that account. By having some net worth, it shows creditors you have some sort of income and ability to manage money. Once you have opened a checking and savings account, apply for a credit card through your bank. Since you do business with them, they are more likely to extend a small amount of credit to you.
But just having a credit card is not enough to build a history. You have to make your accounts active by using them regularly. That does not mean using your card to purchase items you cannot afford. While it is important to use your credit to keep it active, the amount doesn’t matter.
You simply want to use your card minimally and pay it off in full in order to build a good history of using credit and repaying your debts on time. What you want to avoid is taking out cash advances or using more than 30% of your available credit as it can hurt your rating.
If you have trouble obtaining your first credit card, having any type of service that has a revolving fee, such as an electric or cell phone bill, can help build your credit history. While these services usually do perform a credit check, you can often negotiate to pay two months of service fees upfront instead of getting approved through a background check. It may require a bit more money upfront, but this will help you quickly establish credit.Another trick is to obtain a secured credit card. A secured card means that there is an asset linked to the account, which the creditor can take if you fail to make payments. This generally takes the form of depositing cash into an account to “secure” it.
Establishing credit is only the first step to building your financial report card. You want to be sure that you not only have credit, but that you are building a positive credit history. That means always paying your bills on time, keeping your available credit to debt ratio low, and keeping accounts open in order to build a history of relationships with creditors and lenders.
Millionaire Money Habit: Your credit report is your financial report card that can help you or be used against you negotiate throughout important aspects of your life. Take building your credit rating seriously and you will save thousands of dollars in interest payments and fees throughout your lifetime.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Recovering from a Holiday Spending Hangover
Weren’t the holidays grand? You saw family and friends you haven’t seen in a long time, had some great holiday parties, and enjoyed seeing the smiles on people’s faces as they unwrapped their gift from yours truly.
As you were fighting the crowds to get the last Nintendo Wii and treated yourself to a nice lunch while at the mall, you may have stopped to think that you were probably spending way too much money. But, heck, it’s the holidays and ‘tis the season to give. Right?
Well, now it’s time to face the facts. Most people who did not budget for their gifts will likely be a little shocked when they receive their credit card bills. You might even think, “There must be a mistake somewhere. I couldn’t have possibly spent this much.” Unfortunately, all of those little expenses added up to one big one.
Not to worry though. Let’s figure out a plan to recover from a debt hangover.
If you are in a bit of your own credit crunch, the important thing is to not ignore the problem, or it will just get worse. We want to eliminate the credit card debt as quickly as possible; otherwise that $250 video game console will end up actually costing you $400 after months of accrued interest payments.
With that in mind, don’t just pay the minimum balance or it will take years to pay off the debt. Instead, create a plan to get the balance back to $0 in three to six months time. Here’s how:
Crunch the Numbers: Figure out how much money it will cost you to pay off the balances in three to six months.
Pinch Your Budget: Cut out some discretionary spending in order to apply more cash towards paying off your bill. Every cup of Starbucks counts.
Get Extra Cash: Are there any gifts you receive that you would prefer the cash instead? Or, consider one of the ways to Make an Extra $100 a Month to increase your cash flow.
Negotiate Better Terms: Take five minutes to call your credit card company and tell them you are thinking about transferring your balance to another credit card company for a better rate.
They want to keep your business and will negotiate with you. If not, ask to speak to a supervisor.
Transfer Your Balance: 0% APR and free balance transfer offers can be found. Got to Bankrate.com to compare credit card offers, and consider transferring your balance to one of those cards to remove the interest payment.
Once you’ve looked at the numbers and created a plan to pay off your bills from the holiday spending frenzy, take some time to plan ahead for future gift giving seasons. You may want to open a separate savings account to regularly set aside money for gifts, or it may just require better budget planning the next holiday season. Either way, it’s best to be prepared in advance in order to avoid the post-holiday spending hangover in the future.
Millionaire Money Habit: It is difficult to join the millionaire club if you find yourself constantly in debt. To avoid increasing debt, it is important to set an appropriate budget in order to avoid your expenses exceeding your income. Stay out of debt and you will increase your ability to accumulate wealth.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
As you were fighting the crowds to get the last Nintendo Wii and treated yourself to a nice lunch while at the mall, you may have stopped to think that you were probably spending way too much money. But, heck, it’s the holidays and ‘tis the season to give. Right?
Well, now it’s time to face the facts. Most people who did not budget for their gifts will likely be a little shocked when they receive their credit card bills. You might even think, “There must be a mistake somewhere. I couldn’t have possibly spent this much.” Unfortunately, all of those little expenses added up to one big one.
Not to worry though. Let’s figure out a plan to recover from a debt hangover.
If you are in a bit of your own credit crunch, the important thing is to not ignore the problem, or it will just get worse. We want to eliminate the credit card debt as quickly as possible; otherwise that $250 video game console will end up actually costing you $400 after months of accrued interest payments.
With that in mind, don’t just pay the minimum balance or it will take years to pay off the debt. Instead, create a plan to get the balance back to $0 in three to six months time. Here’s how:
Crunch the Numbers: Figure out how much money it will cost you to pay off the balances in three to six months.
Pinch Your Budget: Cut out some discretionary spending in order to apply more cash towards paying off your bill. Every cup of Starbucks counts.
Get Extra Cash: Are there any gifts you receive that you would prefer the cash instead? Or, consider one of the ways to Make an Extra $100 a Month to increase your cash flow.
Negotiate Better Terms: Take five minutes to call your credit card company and tell them you are thinking about transferring your balance to another credit card company for a better rate.
They want to keep your business and will negotiate with you. If not, ask to speak to a supervisor.
Transfer Your Balance: 0% APR and free balance transfer offers can be found. Got to Bankrate.com to compare credit card offers, and consider transferring your balance to one of those cards to remove the interest payment.
Once you’ve looked at the numbers and created a plan to pay off your bills from the holiday spending frenzy, take some time to plan ahead for future gift giving seasons. You may want to open a separate savings account to regularly set aside money for gifts, or it may just require better budget planning the next holiday season. Either way, it’s best to be prepared in advance in order to avoid the post-holiday spending hangover in the future.
Millionaire Money Habit: It is difficult to join the millionaire club if you find yourself constantly in debt. To avoid increasing debt, it is important to set an appropriate budget in order to avoid your expenses exceeding your income. Stay out of debt and you will increase your ability to accumulate wealth.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Monday, January 5, 2009
4 Steps to Turn Debt into Wealth
Turning debt into wealth is not a difficult process. It is just a matter of knowing how, have the discipline to take action, and the ability to stick with the plan.
America is hemorrhaging with debt, and the average consumer is unknowingly spinning out of control. The good news is that celebrity investors like Warren Buffett and Jim Cramer are turning people’s interest back to personal finance and learning how to turn debt into wealth.
Step 1: Identify Your Financial Situation
The first thing you want to do in order to transform debt into wealth is take a good look at your current financial situation. Grab a sheet of paper and a pen, and write down your monthly income. Then take a look at your bank statements, credit card bills and checkbook from the past three months, and figure out how much you are regularly spending. Subtract your expenses from your income, and this is your personal monthly cash flow. If your personal cash flow statement is negative, then step 2 is critical.
Step 2: Identify Where Your Money is Going
Now that you know how much you are spending, categorize your expenses into necessities and pleasure expenses. Necessities are things like your electric bill, monthly mortgage, groceries and your minimum credit card payments. Pleasure expenses would be eating out, excessive clothing purchases, magazine subscriptions and your cable bill to name a few.
Add your necessities, and subtract that from your income. Hopefully it is less than your income. If not, then you need to focus on downsizing and increasing your income. If it is less than your income, then the remainder is your True Monthly Cash Flow.
Step 3: Start a Debt Pay-Down Plan Using Your True Monthly Cash Flow Funds
This is the hard part for most people and will require some discipline and resistance to temptation. If you are serious about transforming debt into wealth, you will need to cut out the excessive spending on your pleasure expenses and start a debt pay down plan. Use the snowballing method to start paying off the debt with the highest interest rate cards first, while paying the minimum payment on all other balances.
Step 4: Accumulating Wealth
Once your debt is under control, your can start working on your wealth investing strategy. Investing is something that tends to be overcomplicated, but it is really simple. If you simply buy an index fund that mimics the S&P 500 and regularly contribute to that fund on a monthly or quarterly basis, you will become wealthy. Over time your money will compound, which means it will double, double again, and keep doubling as long as you remain an investor.
Follow these four steps, and you can turn debt into wealth in no time. The only thing preventing you from this occurring is not taking action.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
America is hemorrhaging with debt, and the average consumer is unknowingly spinning out of control. The good news is that celebrity investors like Warren Buffett and Jim Cramer are turning people’s interest back to personal finance and learning how to turn debt into wealth.
Step 1: Identify Your Financial Situation
The first thing you want to do in order to transform debt into wealth is take a good look at your current financial situation. Grab a sheet of paper and a pen, and write down your monthly income. Then take a look at your bank statements, credit card bills and checkbook from the past three months, and figure out how much you are regularly spending. Subtract your expenses from your income, and this is your personal monthly cash flow. If your personal cash flow statement is negative, then step 2 is critical.
Step 2: Identify Where Your Money is Going
Now that you know how much you are spending, categorize your expenses into necessities and pleasure expenses. Necessities are things like your electric bill, monthly mortgage, groceries and your minimum credit card payments. Pleasure expenses would be eating out, excessive clothing purchases, magazine subscriptions and your cable bill to name a few.
Add your necessities, and subtract that from your income. Hopefully it is less than your income. If not, then you need to focus on downsizing and increasing your income. If it is less than your income, then the remainder is your True Monthly Cash Flow.
Step 3: Start a Debt Pay-Down Plan Using Your True Monthly Cash Flow Funds
This is the hard part for most people and will require some discipline and resistance to temptation. If you are serious about transforming debt into wealth, you will need to cut out the excessive spending on your pleasure expenses and start a debt pay down plan. Use the snowballing method to start paying off the debt with the highest interest rate cards first, while paying the minimum payment on all other balances.
Step 4: Accumulating Wealth
Once your debt is under control, your can start working on your wealth investing strategy. Investing is something that tends to be overcomplicated, but it is really simple. If you simply buy an index fund that mimics the S&P 500 and regularly contribute to that fund on a monthly or quarterly basis, you will become wealthy. Over time your money will compound, which means it will double, double again, and keep doubling as long as you remain an investor.
Follow these four steps, and you can turn debt into wealth in no time. The only thing preventing you from this occurring is not taking action.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
Friday, January 2, 2009
Restore the Faith in Economy
Spending some time in California during the holidays, I went to breakfast while my girlfriend went to work. I picked up the LA Times read in the business section, "Job One: Restore the faith in economy".
What does that really mean? What economy are they talking about? "Change is coming" vows Obama. What change? Are you being the average citizen really going to see the change in the next four years that he is president? Wait, lets ask a bigger question. Do you really notice the change that is made in Washington D.C.? How is the bail out helping you? How is it effecting your life? To me, as a average American I do not see the change, nor do I feel the effect in a positive way.
The bailout is helping some homeowners, where I do not know, for the people that I talk to, the bailout is not helping them, nor has it helped them. As a friend told me, "This bailout has helped me so much, that I felt it." I asked him what he meant by that. He continued and said that his house went delinquent due to loss of a job, and his wife's business being slow, that they were so "helped out" of their home. He then said that they should not call it a bailout but rather a shove out, for the money that is to help people went to the upper management in the companies that took risk and could not make a profit. Then those companies beg the government to help them.
How sad that the top executives gotten their bonuses and regular pay of high 6 digits, and I got the notice to move or have my stuff set on the street so everyone can come and pick through it.
Personal finances of the average person has already been through the wringer, not once but many of times. We are being forced to pay higher prices for things we need like fuel, groceries and such, while our salaries have not changed. When they do change for the average person, what we receive in a pay increase, does not even come close to the cost of living increase.
What we need to do is to take control of our economy and our situations. We need to make our Congress and Senate start and continue fighting for us. With that in mind I know it will not happen. WHY? For the excuses people have. I don't have time, they wont listen to me, I don't know where to start, and the excuses continue. This is all an excuse, and you know the funny thing is? They are all worthless and pathetic, just as we are for not making our representatives fight for what we want in D.C.
We as Americans have elected a new president who during his whole run for the office, talked about time for a change. I have to agree with him. So how are we going to do this? Sit down and pick something that you are very strong about wanting to see be changed. Talk to others and find out who has the same feelings about the thing you want to see changed. When you tell people about it, word will get out. You will find that more and more people want to see the same thing change. Now it don't stop there. You have to research and find out who is the best person to speak to about changing this. Have everyone who wants to see the change do a task and what would seem to be impossible will now become a small task for all of you if you work together. Talk to not only the group of people that want to see the change but also the people who have the power to change it.
It is time you take action! Quit sitting here complaining about a problem when you will do nothing to change it. The problem will continue to stay there. Take action like our new president is going to have to do. Make not only yourself but other responsible for what they said they will do. If you work on this project together and do not back down you will see that it may not get changed overnight, but in time and with determination, it will change.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
What does that really mean? What economy are they talking about? "Change is coming" vows Obama. What change? Are you being the average citizen really going to see the change in the next four years that he is president? Wait, lets ask a bigger question. Do you really notice the change that is made in Washington D.C.? How is the bail out helping you? How is it effecting your life? To me, as a average American I do not see the change, nor do I feel the effect in a positive way.
The bailout is helping some homeowners, where I do not know, for the people that I talk to, the bailout is not helping them, nor has it helped them. As a friend told me, "This bailout has helped me so much, that I felt it." I asked him what he meant by that. He continued and said that his house went delinquent due to loss of a job, and his wife's business being slow, that they were so "helped out" of their home. He then said that they should not call it a bailout but rather a shove out, for the money that is to help people went to the upper management in the companies that took risk and could not make a profit. Then those companies beg the government to help them.
How sad that the top executives gotten their bonuses and regular pay of high 6 digits, and I got the notice to move or have my stuff set on the street so everyone can come and pick through it.
Personal finances of the average person has already been through the wringer, not once but many of times. We are being forced to pay higher prices for things we need like fuel, groceries and such, while our salaries have not changed. When they do change for the average person, what we receive in a pay increase, does not even come close to the cost of living increase.
What we need to do is to take control of our economy and our situations. We need to make our Congress and Senate start and continue fighting for us. With that in mind I know it will not happen. WHY? For the excuses people have. I don't have time, they wont listen to me, I don't know where to start, and the excuses continue. This is all an excuse, and you know the funny thing is? They are all worthless and pathetic, just as we are for not making our representatives fight for what we want in D.C.
We as Americans have elected a new president who during his whole run for the office, talked about time for a change. I have to agree with him. So how are we going to do this? Sit down and pick something that you are very strong about wanting to see be changed. Talk to others and find out who has the same feelings about the thing you want to see changed. When you tell people about it, word will get out. You will find that more and more people want to see the same thing change. Now it don't stop there. You have to research and find out who is the best person to speak to about changing this. Have everyone who wants to see the change do a task and what would seem to be impossible will now become a small task for all of you if you work together. Talk to not only the group of people that want to see the change but also the people who have the power to change it.
It is time you take action! Quit sitting here complaining about a problem when you will do nothing to change it. The problem will continue to stay there. Take action like our new president is going to have to do. Make not only yourself but other responsible for what they said they will do. If you work on this project together and do not back down you will see that it may not get changed overnight, but in time and with determination, it will change.
Dennis Zabawa is an Leading Authority in Business Funding. Dennis is available to come and be a speaker at your next event. He has a great topic, "Why are you not wealthy?" For further information, please visit the website, www.creditiswealth.com
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