The Alternative Broadcasting Online News Station

A few years back a friend of mine accidentally saw one of my paychecks, he was shocked to see that he was earning more than me. He also noted the fact that his wife worked and mine did not. This particular friend had approach me a couple of times in need of a loan to get him through until his payday. Because I had been able to help him he had always assumed that I made more than he made. Once he realized that the situation was reversed he asked me how could we possibly being doing as well as we were.

I then asked him what type of budget he and his wife use for their household finances. He replied that they did not have a planned budget for the household bills. Well, I was surprised because this friend always seem to be very organized. I asked him how he thought he could manage his money without a budget. I explained that a budget is the cornerstone of knowing where you stand financially. I mentioned a phrase that I heard from my Dad years earlier…If you fail to plan, then you should plan to fail. I think he was a little offended and a little embarrassed, but he did see my point.
I told that for many years my household had operated on a budget and yes at first it was not easy. Starting a budget is the hardest part, the adjustment to being responsible to show where each dollar goes is not pleasant for most people. The longer you do it the easier it becomes because you start to take pride in sticking to your budget and you begin to see the fruits of your labor. I asked him to try by starting on the following plan, which is the same one I used when I started out. I told him to use it for 6 months and then we would see if it worked.

The plan is simple: Your money needs to be divided by percentage for uses. 33% for housing, 17% for transportation, 25% for monthly bills, 10% for donations, and 15% for savings and investing. I asked him to list all of their misc. spending and notice if any money was being wasted. The savings account is also utilized for emergency needs such as home or car repairs.
Right from the start my friend said that 25% would not cover his monthly bills. I told him that he would need to use the portion designated for savings and pay off the credit cards. It turned out that they were maxed out on several cards and that was the main drawdown on their income. At the end of 6 months I met with him and he said they had paid off three of the cards and had listed their monthly misc. expenses. With that list they had realized that they were spending about $250.00 per month on things that were not neccessary. That combined with the savings on credit card payments had allowed them to put $1,000.00 in savings. They will soon have all their credit cards paid off and will be able to place more money in the savings column.

This budget is a very simple example, the actual budget for each family requires a little fine tuning to match the current situation of each household. More advanced examples will be soon posted at Wongaa.com.

Robert Kiyosaki’s Cashflow 101 game is a great learning tool. The following hints have been compiled so that you can get the most value you possibly can from the game. These tips apply to real life as well, so keep your heads up.

1. Don’t cheat. The purpose of the game Cashflow 101 is for you to learn so if you cheat you learn to cheat. Why make money illegally when it is so easy to do it legally?

2. Read the rules. You should especially read the three-hour millionaire piece on the back of the Cashflow 101 rulebook. See also Robert Kiyosaki’s Hot Tips page that comes with the game. Know the legal side of things and listen to the advice of professionals.

3. Find learners to play it with. Find people who want to learn more about investing and money to play with. It is wholly different to play with people with the same money and financial interests, than family and friends who play with you because no one else would. Some action is better than none, but better yet is someone motivated to the action for his/her own personal reasons.

4. Know there will always come another deal. If you haven’t got interest in a deal at this very moment, know that the next deal of the decade is around the corner (or the next card in the deck).

5. Investigate your options. Don’t let a shortage of cash let you out of great deals. There are other people in the game that might be interested in the deals only you’ve got access too.

6. Learn to share. Share deals - split the cost and the return if you feel the risk of borrowing the money is too great.

7. Understand the power of leverage. If that $1 deal comes along and you don’t have any cash, borrow if you must, but take it. This is just one example of how you can leverage of the bank’s money for extraordinary returns.

8. Have backup in a calculator. Yes, you might know your sums pretty well, but it does not hurt to have a calculator handy for estimating how long it will take you to get out of the rat race.

9. Understand potential of grey areas in rules. Yes, rules and laws do not cover everything so there might be some loopholes. But rather than using loopholes, set up a contract that at least two parties can agree to that is a win-win situation for both. Do not see the absence of rules as an obstacle, but rather see it as an opportunity.

For the advanced player:

10. Play it real. Change the job cards to the actual jobs that some of your Cashflow circle members has and see how different people would get out of your financial situation. Example: Job Title - Store Checkout Clerk, Salary $1,500, Taxes $300, Monthly Cashflow $150, etc.

11. Play it real II. Change the Big Deal, Small Deal, Doodad and Market cards to reflect situations that you have been in personally, or where you might land in. Example: Market Card - Lose all assets due to litigation; Doodad - Buy new computer for $1,000 monthly expenses goes up by $150; Small deal - Buy stock in a small-cap company (market card might either quadruple your money or lose your whole investment); etc.

12. Teach and learn. There is always some area where you will be better in than others - why don’t you teach them how they can get better at it. Give and then receive. Allow others to teach you in areas where they are more skilled than you.

Offshore banking simply means to have your bank accounts in a bank outside your own country. It is therefore easy to find offshore banks that offer exactly the same services as you would expect from a bank in your own city.

All offshore banks will of course let you deposit and withdraw money. Offshore banks normally issue credit cards to help you do so. A credit card from an offshore bank works just like any other credit card and it can often be used in ATMs around the world.

In addition, an offshore bank would typically offer the following services to its private customers:

• Money transmissions
• Loans
• Currency Exchange
• Investment Management
• Fund Management

Fund and investment management means that the bank is managing securities (stocks, bonds, etc.) for the bank customers. This is also known as portfolio management or money management.

Depending on the size of the bank, it might offer additional services. It is normal for offshore banks to charge money for use of their services. The price of using the services varies a lot from one bank to the other.

Most of the services are used through the Internet since offshore banks are situated far from their customers. An offshore bank will typically have an advanced and very secure website where you can handle your accounts, access services and communicate with the bank.

The services mentioned here applies for private customers in an offshore bank. The banks will typically have a set of extra services for company customers.

Mads Phican is a successful entrepreneur. He studies offshore finance and runs a popular offshore banking website: http://www.offshorebankingcentral.com

It’s common knowledge that banks are more than willing to loan
you money when you don’t need it. But if you hit a rough spot in
your financial life and need cash desperately. It’s like pulling
teeth to get the money you need.

In other words it is much easier to get a home equity line of
credit when you don’t really need one. Than to wait and try and
get one when you really need it.

The beautiful thing about an equity credit line. Which makes
this a desirable mortgage loan. Is that there are no payments
due unless you use it. This home equity loan can usually be had
for free for those with good credit.

A Home Equity Line Of Credit Is Cheap Insurance

What would you do if you or your spouse were to get injured or
lose a job? Do you have enough money in the bank to cover your
expenses including your mortgage payments for several months? If
not, this is where your home equity loan comes into play.

You can draw on the equity loan to make all of your debt
payments plus pay for living costs until the crisis is over.
This is a much better alternative than using credit cards to
live off of. Simply because the payments are typically going to
be smaller. Plus the interest is tax deductible. (consult with
your tax advisor)

A Home Equity Credit Line Is Great For Unexpected Expenses

Hospital visits, vet bills, or car problems, are just a small
list of the more common reasons people need quick cash. We all
know any of these problems could happen at anytime. Wouldn’t it
be nice to know that you have a financial cushion there in case
they do?

A Home Equity Line Of Credit Prevents Missed Opportunities

What if you ever came upon a great deal on another piece of
property? What if you have the opportunity to invest in
something that can’t miss? What if you were to find a great deal
on a car, boat, or truck? Any of these could be missed
opportunities if you don’t have instant access to large amounts
of cash. Which is exactly what a home equity loan provides. If
you don’t have one. You’ll only be able to watch as somebody
else gobbles up the great deal.

A home equity line of credit is a wonderful thing to have. It
can protect you in unforeseen changes in your life. It can help
pick up the cost of sudden expenses. And it will keep you from
saying if I only had the money I could have made a killing.

What You Need to Know About Teacher Retirement

Every person deserves to be happy, to enjoy life, and to be at
ease to whatever condition retirees have chose when they retire.

All of these things are just reward of the long years that a
person had worked so hard in order to survive. It is just fair
to provide them the chance to enjoy the rest of their lives away
from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

In addition, just like any ordinary employee, teachers deserve
something better when they retire. As they have unceasingly
founded the needed education of the many people trying to
survive in the society, the teachers deserve to get the best
retirement benefits in the event that they retire.

Hence, the so-called Teacher’s Retirement System was created in
every state in the U.S. to provide each teacher the proper
benefits that they deserve to have.

On its basic concept, the Teacher’s Retirement System is a
specially designed assistance plan to provide the required three
fundamental remunerations for educators that will participate on
the said program. These three benefits are the disability
benefits, retirement benefits, and the death and survivor
benefits, all are dependent on the income level and the length
of service tendered by the concerned person.

Basically, the Teacher Retirement System aims to provide
retirement benefits and other related remuneration to the
teachers who had chosen to be a part of the program. All of the
transactions are legally bound by law, and it includes the
members of the institution along with its beneficiaries.

Moreover, the Teacher Retirement System seeks to sensibly invest
and administer the possessions that were held in confidence by
the teachers and their respective beneficiaries in a very good
arrangement managed in conformity to the appropriate “fiduciary
principles.”

On the other hand, the policy of each retirement system for the
teachers may vary depending on the state law, where it falls
under a particular state’s jurisdiction.

Just like any retirement programs, the teachers who chose to be
a member of the system are required to pay the monthly
contributions to the system. Usually, the monthly contribution
is 6.4% of their total gross income.

As the teacher reaches his or her retirement age, he or she will
soon benefit from the money that they have long saved. Indeed,
with all these things present, the teacher retirement is truly a
feasible method of saving for the future.

The leasing industry is yet to significantly harness the powers of the Internet. Despite the hype, the web enabling of the leasing process has been sporadic at best. While the industry has already taken to the Internet’s obvious convenience for credit scoring and front-end application processing, a larger and perhaps a more significant impact on productivity has yet to be realized. The advent of the lease life-cycle management model can realize this untapped potential for productivity and, if implemented well, can even directly enhance profitability. Online lease management and accounting software certainly has the makings of a paradigm shift in the lessor’s approach to the lease accounting software. More specifically, it holds enough promise to replace the client/server model just as the client/server model itself dethroned the main frame.

The Benefits of an Internet Model based Lease Management system

To implement, the Internet model is much simpler than its client/server based counterpart, demanding nothing more than a secure Internet server on which the lease accounting software and database reside. Each of the limitless number of computers accessing the server can run any operating system, be it Apple Macintosh or Windows 2000, with nothing more than access to the Internet. By inference, the type of Network and the leasing software’s compatibility to it no longer matters. Even the physical implementation of the network itself, in laying down the wiring and connections, becomes redundant when any authorized computer belonging to any authorized user, is part of the virtual network. In this respect, especially for lessors with multiple operations in different locations, the model used in the lease management software is a boon that takes no more significant effort to tie two computers into its virtual network as it does 2,000. Even training employees to use the lease accounting software becomes easy when there is one standard program worldwide. This immediate scalability and operating-system/network-independence of the leasing software model makes it possible for lessors of all sizes to experience IT benefits unknown in the client/server world.

It would seem that today’s nascent Internet technology compromises the functional power of the client/server model in their leasing software; complex algorithms required to amortize income or calculate yields appear hard or even impossible to replicate on a browser. Fortunately, however, with the growing sophistication of Internet developmental platforms such as Microsoft’s Active Server Pages, Internet applications run a tight race with client/server technologies. The Internet based lease accounting software enables yields and depreciation schedules to be calculated with the same click of a button. The lease management software facilitates reports to be sorted, filtered and queried to obtai any conceivable information available in the database. Income, IDC and residual can be accrued, blended and separated, just like they are in client/server systems.

Not surprisingly, even technology as complex as an Enterprise Resource Planning system, simultaneously used for solutions from global car-manufacturing to domestic chemical-production, runs on Internet-based applications today similar to the internet based lease accounting software. Leading ERP vendors including SAP, Oracle Financials and PeopleSoft, for instance, have tried and tested success stories of highly versatile and complex system that are browser based. “Lease Management Software”, says Jay Mehra, COO of Odessa Technologies, Inc., “though sophisticated in its own right, can quite easily be implemented on the Internet.” Despite the complexity, therefore, the functional powers of traditional models are easily captured in Internet-based applications.

Functionality of the Internet model and the Lease Management Software
While functionally the Internet application is interchangeable, its differentiating quality lies in its approach to data. By the very nature of their technology, client/server systems typically just crunch numbers. A good Internet based application, on the other hand, maximizes the value of that data, in addition to maintaining it. This translates into a direct value-add for the lessor’s operational efficiency. Sales staff can, for instance, be allowed to access the leasing software from anywhere they can connect to the Internet. During negotiations, they can obtain historic information about the lessee to make informed decisions for new business opportunities through the lease management software. The traditional one-way pipelines of data delivery thus become forums for information exchange.

Equally important, as shown by the diagram above, the new channels of Internet-driven communication can now enhance the lessor’s external relationships. Odessa Technologies, developer of a wholly web-based Lease management and accounting software, uses a series of independent web sites that ties the lessor with its various business partners. Through their lessee web site, lessees can get online help, access important account information, download invoices and even make secure Net payments enabled by the lease management software. Moreover, by leveraging the critical data residing within the Internet application, the lessor can even customize business promotions based on the individual lessee logging onto the system. Far from being just a tool that manages a part of the leasing business, lease management software thus becomes a way of conducting and even marketing the business. Through the Internet model the leasing software is able to bring about new sources of productivity, both direct and implied, are thus created from business relationships that are fuelled by information flow.

LeaseWave© - A new Wave in Lease Accounting Software
While the advantages of Internet-based applications are obvious, there is a conspicuous absence of such technology in the leasing industry. It is this gap between the ideal technology and what is typically available that Odessa Technologies, Inc. is fulfilling. With the release of LeaseWave©, a technology built entirely on Microsoft’s Internet platforms, Odessa brings the lease management process online. Through LeaseWave© and technological collaborations with companies such as CapitalStream and Ivory Consulting, the company offers a comprehensive solution that is entirely Internet based by way of the lease accounting software. LeaseWave©, at its core, provides for complete asset management and lease accounting functionality, allowing the lessor to efficiently manage any number of lease portfolios in the leasing software. Beyond this core, LeaseWave© provides a series of interactive web sites that connects the lessor with business partners including lessees, funding sources, auctioneers and banks via the lease management software. Each line of communication in the lease software employs secured socket layers for complete security and is even e-commerce enabled, allowing for secure online ACH and credit card payments.

It is common knowledge that front-end systems, such as CapitalStream’s CapitalStream - FinanceCenterTM are already leveraging the powers of the Internet. The efficiencies that they have realized, however, represent only the beginnings of a greater change. Still to be tapped are the efficiencies of large data-rich back-end processes. The web-enabling of lease management and accounting software, by companies such as Odessa Technologies, is a step towards this efficiency-realization. As Internet technology seeps into the back-end, the leasing industry stands to experience a rare paradigm shift: one where the technology drives the process rather than being driven by it.

Bios

Madhu Natarajan, CEO Odessa Technologies, Inc.

Madhu Natarajan became the CEO of Odessa Technologies, Inc. He has consulted for various companies including Caterpillar, Inc and Crowe Chizek, LLP; Madhu brings with him an extensive research based leasing background with 5 years of leasing software experience. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Business Administration from Monmouth College, Monmouth, IL; Madhu graduated Magna Cum Laude.
fax copy to 610-293-9903

Odessa Technologies, Inc. is the developer of LeaseWave©, a wholly Internet based Lease Management system. LeaseWave©, at its core, provides for comprehensive Lease Accounting and Asset Management requirements. Its direct impact on operational productivity is brought through eCommerce enabled and customized interfaces with the lessor’s business partners, including the lessee, funding source and vendor. Visit Odessa Technologies, Inc., online at www.odessatech.com or call 1-888-683-2484 for further information.

If members of the public or clients come to your workplace or if you go to their property you can consider thinking about looking into business liability insurance. This manner of insurance could cover lots of circumstances, any awards & money given to a member of the general public because of injury and damage to the client’s property caused through actions by you & your work.

There are tonnes of things, omissions or warranties that will often be applied to business liability insurance policies. It is thus key that you yourself converse with your insurance advisor any that are applicable to your policy.

A first-rate business who specialise in all this is Insured Risks. The organization supply small business public liability insurance available at a deeply reasonable price. The organization can often make sure that you and your enterprise take out the exacting public liability policy that is suitable for you and your company. Having business liability insurance is not a mandatory requirement then again it does however make beautiful business sense. Local authorities may generally demand a minimum level of over 1 million public liability insurance for works to be undertaken at their place of work & on the client’s behalf.

Insured Risks risk insurance cover is available for well over 180 contracting trades and professional occupations. Insurance cover is available on stagnations of one million two million and for the majority of cases £5m. The business insurance firm is specially designed to cover individual tradesman, professionals and start-up businesses up to a total of twenty people, with or without limited company status. Get help picking the perfect Public Liability Insurance with Insured Risks.

A holiday does not have to cost you an arm and a leg if you know how to look for and take full advantage of the many exciting money saving offers that are available to you throughout the internet. Many companies offer specific online savings and packages that you cannot find anywhere else. These online savings and offers are available to you online only, so you will have to visit their websites to take advantage of them, and they are not made available to those who visit them offline.

Many travelers can enjoy a bundle of savings by booking hotel reservations, airline tickets, or car rentals online. Additionally, they can also find packages that will allow them to do many things they will enjoy for a fraction of the cost. These packages can often include many exciting attractions you can see within an area, hotel, transportation, and sometimes certain meals are included with in the packages. Packages are geared towards every interest, for example, they could be geared towards specific destinations world wide, such as Paris, Italy, Florida, Hawaii, and the like.

Other packages could be geared towards specific events or activities, such as hiking, camping, jungle adventures, cruises, singles events and trips, couples geared outings, musicals, major shopping trips, or site seeing in exciting new places. There are many websites on the internet that are available to you by simply using one of the many popular search engines. Websites like expedia.com offer a one stop shopping source for flight tickets, trains, car rentals, and hotel reservations. In addition, they offer advice on traveling, points of interest, and an easy to use online reservation request.

The internet has made it so much easier to plan a trip that the whole family can enjoy, you can plan your entire itinerary right on the internet and find some excellent travel and safety tips that you could use. If you need to purchase new items to take with you on your holiday you can also do that online with many special deals from online retailers that sell the products you need.

Take full advantage of all the internet has to offer by booking your entire holiday online and safe a ton of money in the process. After all a holiday is enjoyed so much more, when it is a bargain and money saving one. It will leave you more money to spend on necessities and fun things you want to do.

Jeff Lakie is a contributing author at our website where
You can get a free Secured Loans Quote right now. Take a moment and see
for yourself.

Millions of people make use of payday loans every year, and
their number is increasing. Yet the payday loan industry is also
the favorite whipping boy of several organizations. The
allegations against the industry are well known: that they
charge a high interest rate, and push low-income people further
into debt.

There have been arguments for and against this position. Yet the
fact is the industry has continued to grow, and more people
access their services every year. What is more, some banks have
also extended credit lines to payday loan lenders in order to
get a finger into the growing pie. The irony is that the banks
refuse to lend to people the payday loan industry serve, yet
want a portion of the profits. This is a convenient way of
making profits without being held accountable for not providing
services to the needy.

Most people who access payday loans do so because the banks
refuse to lend to them because of their bad credit scores. Or
because they do not have a credit history — which is due to no
fault of their own — as in the case of individuals just out of
college. Add to that, the payday loan lenders have made it quite
easy to get payday cash advances.

The online cash advance Websites have made the process so easy
and fast, it is better than visiting the local pawn shop or
borrowing from your friends when you are in need of emergency
cash. Recent technical advances such as the Internet have now
obviated even the need to fax documents as proof of loan
information when you apply for a payday loan online.

Payday loans are short-term loans that are given regardless of
an individual’s credit score. Despite all the saber rattling
against the industry, we cannot overlook the fact that these
loans are a great help to cash-strapped individuals. They can
help stabilize your finances following an unforeseen cash
emergency. Also, if you manage your finances well, there is no
need to fear cash advance loans.

The cash advance loans add to your debt burden only when you are
bad with managing your finances. If you fail to repay your
payday advance on time, the debt will spiral upward. And you
will find it hard to bring it under control.

For this reason, no one should be encouraged to look at payday
advances as an everyday financial resource. They should be
availed only in cases of urgent cash needs. The payday loan
lenders encourage this by limiting the amount loaned to a
first-time lender to $500. If he repays on time, he can get
higher amounts when he applies for subsequent payday loans.

And payday loans are going to stay. But because they are a great
financial tool. But because the payday loan industry has been a
leading contributor to US elections. Their contributions have
climbed year after year. No one likes to kill a goose that gives
golden eggs. Least of all the politicians.

Resource box:

Krishna Lal runs the Website Fast Credit
Info that gives information on all your credit needs. Learn
more about payday cash advances at
http://www.fastcreditinfo.com

What Is Online Futures Trading?

A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a commodity at a date in the future. Everything about a futures contract is standardized except its price. All of the terms under which the commodity or financial instrument is to be transferred are established before active trading begins, so neither side is hampered by ambiguity. The price for a futures contract is determined in the trading pit or on the electronic trading system of a futures exchange.

The internet now allows access to those electronic trading systems from anywhere in the world. This increases liquidity in those markets and makes them even more attractive to traders.

Trading on all futures exchanges takes place against a backdrop of statutory regulation and rules as laid down by each exchange and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Regardless of whether your trading is executed within the trading pit or electronically, it is subject to the same rules, regulations and safeguards.

Advantages of online futures trading

Leverage. Futures operate on margin, meaning that to take a position only a fraction of the total value needs to be available in cash in the trading account.

Commission Costs. Electronically traded futures contracts require no human intervention to match buys and sells unlike a traditional futures pit. This means that commission costs can be cut dramatically, leading to significant savings for the frequent trader.

Liquidity. The involvement of speculators means that futures contracts are reasonably liquid. However, how liquid depends on the actual contract being traded. Electronically traded contracts, such as the e-mini’s tend to be the most liquid whereas the pit traded commodities like corn, orange juice etc are not so readily available to the retail trader and are more expensive to trade in terms of commission and spread.

Ability to go short. Futures contracts can be sold as easily as they are bought enabling a trader to profit from falling markets as well as rising ones. There is no ‘uptick rule’ for example like there is with stocks.

No ‘Time Decay’. Options suffer from time decay because the closer they come to expiry the less time there is for the option to come into the money. Futures contracts do not suffer from this as they are not anticipating a particular strike price at expiry.

Automated trading. Electronic futures brokers offer the facility to programmers to interface directly with their trading software. This means that custom written trading software can automatically trade a strategy without any human intervention at all. A system can make buy/sell signals which are automatically routed to the exchange along with any stops and targets.

Almost instant fills. With electronically traded futures there is no need to call up a broker and wait for a fill from the trading floor. Orders are instantly placed on the electronic order book and filled as soon as a match is found - for liquid contracts such as the emini S&P500 this will be within a second.

Level playing field. With traditional pit traded futures the professional in the pit has a major advantage over the retail trader in terms of speed of execution and costs. Electronic futures trading offers all participants exactly the same advantages.

Disadvantages of online futures trading

Leverage. Can be a disadvantage if it encourages trading with too high a risk for a particular strategy. A carefully devised money management plan is essential.

Overtrading. The instant nature of electronic futures trading coupled with low commission costs and tight spreads can encourage a trader to take additional trades to those determined by their trading plan.

Online futures trading offers significant benefits to the retail trader. However, a carefully developed trading plan must be formulated before attempting to enter this extremely competitive business.

Tim Wreford operates Online Futures Trading, a website that provides information and resources for traders. Tim also provides an article detailing the development of a day trading system, the results of which are updated daily on the site.