Refinance After Bankruptcy

Carrie Reeder

Refinancing your mortgage after bankruptcy is actually the same as replacing it with an entirely new mortgage. The most common reason for refinancing your mortgage after bankruptcy is to get a lower interest rate and save money over the length of your mortgage. It is possible for you to lower your payments and save money each month and there has never been a better time to refinance. Mortgage lenders will consider refinancing your mortgage after bankruptcy because the risks involved in refinancing an existing mortgage are extremely low.

You can receive quotes from multiple lenders who are competing for your business, even if you have filed bankruptcy in the past. A quick online application will put you in touch with lenders who are experts in refinancing mortgages after bankruptcy. You can be pre-qualified in just minutes and the application is quick and easy. Refinancing your home, even after bankruptcy, can lower your payments and even give you extra cash for that well-deserved vacation, to consolidate bills, or to fund your child's college education.

If you thought refinancing your mortgage after bankruptcy was impossible, you will be pleased to learn that you can refinance and dramatically lower your monthly payments with one short online application. Lenders who are anxious to help you find the best refinancing package available for your special circumstances will contact you within as little as 24 hours after receipt of your application. A bankruptcy does not have to mean you are stuck with a high interest rate and less than desirable mortgage terms. Mortgage lenders have hundreds of loan programs that will help you meet your financial goals.

If you have been through bankruptcy and are wondering if it is possible to refinance your mortgage, complete a short online application today and learn how much money you can save each month and over the entire length of your mortgage. The difference could mean thousands of dollars in your bank account over time. Get the information you need and learn how you can lower your monthly payments and get the cash you need for bills or unexpected expenses. Refinancing your home is the best way to take advantage of the lowest interest rates in many years.

Refinancing your mortgage after bankruptcy is not impossible. Get free quotes today from multiple lenders with one simple online application. You have nothing to lose and you will find that mortgage lenders are prepared to offer you better terms than you thought possible. Lowering your mortgage payments and consolidating bills can make all the difference in your financial situation. You can be on your way to financial freedom when you contact mortgage lenders who will give you expert advice and offer you numerous choices in refinancing your home, even after bankruptcy.

To view our list of recommended refinance lenders online who specialize in bad
credit mortgage loans, visit this page:
Recommended
Refinance Lenders for People With Bad Credit or Bankruptcy.

About the Author

Carrie Reeder is the owner of ABC Loan Guide, an informational loan website with articles and the latest news about various types of loans.

Dobler Consulting Inc
2339 Warwick Dr
Oldsmar
FL 34677
United States

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Personal Finance Worries?

John Q. Miller

Are you nervous about your personal finances? The irrational exuberance of the 90s that led to double-digit gains for almost any investment portfolio is over. Now, you might consider yourself fortunate if your investments are losing less than the S&P 500. Add investment worry to the regular personal finance worries of meeting your monthly budget, slaying the debt dragon, and starting/building that elusive emergency fund. Will your savings and investments be able to meet your retirement, children's college funds, and other goals? Although no one can see the future, there are things that you can do to reduce your worries.

Knowledge Is Power

Learn and become more skilled in financial matters. The best way to improve your financial education is to read personal-finance magazines, books, and even newspapers. The educational materials sent out by mutual-fund companies and brokerages are also valuable. You may come across conflicting information and advice, but if you read widely, you will eventually get a better idea of how to manage your money.

Do-it-yourselfers are not the only people who can benefit from learning more. If you use a financial planner and yet are knowledgeable about investments, insurance, etc., you are more likely to end up with a solid financial plan. If you find yourself teamed up with a inadequate or unethical adviser, and you have a good understanding of investing, you are more likely to recognize bad advice.

Fear Creates Worry

"Greed is good!" says Gordon Gecko (Michael Douglas) in Wall Street. Recent investment losses, corporate scandals, and a stagnant economy refute that statement. Instead, a warning is emerging in personal finance forums as we search and hope for indications that relief is in sight. Fear is bad! Fear has driven many investors either to dump stocks and load up on bonds, certificates of deposit and other conservative investments or, even worse, to stop saving and investing. This creates new problems. People will be incapable of achieving their long-term financial goals because their portfolio may now be so conservative that it won't deliver the returns needed to retire in comfort, or they are simply saving too little.
Faced with this fear and uncertainty, financial knowledge is more important than ever. Instead of reacting to the market's ups and downs, learn more about the characteristics of stocks, bonds, and other investments; as well as the broad array of personal finance and money management topics.

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About The Author
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This review is courtesy of John Q. Miller at http://www.JQmarketing.com where you can find out how to create your own (no writing required) newsletter and earn multiple streams of Internet income.

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About the Author

None

Dobler Consulting Inc
2339 Warwick Dr
Oldsmar
FL 34677
United States

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Personal Finance 101

David Berky

The subject of personal finance is very broad, but as a
beginning, I would like to discuss what I consider the
foundation of personal finance: security.

Security

Security to me means that I am prepared for the "hit by a
bus" scenario.

I have life insurance to provide for my wife and children.
Health, disability, auto and home insurance policies also
provide me additional protection in their respective areas.
I also have a list of where these policies are, who my
agents are, phone numbers and basic policy information
(#s, amounts, costs, etc.) I keep this information both in a
file at my house and in a safety deposit box at the bank (a
friends home will also work - think: "house burns down"
scenario). Also my wife and my brother and sister-in-law
who live nearby also know where these things are.

I also try to maintain an emergency fund of cash in a bank
account or money market account (with checks) so that I am
prepared for a financial disaster, layoff, or natural
disaster. It took several years to build up this cash fund.
I started with a goal to have enough cash for 6 months of my
normal financial needs (mortgage, food, insurance,
transportation, etc.). Now I am trying for 12 months'
worth. I do this by saving a little each month, and
"investing" a portion of all "found" money (gifts,
inheritances, tax returns, anything unexpected).

I have a will and update it each year around New Year's to
reflect any changes in my life during the past year (new
children, new home or business, etc.). Most people don't
need an extensive will, the forms you buy at your office
supply store will do. But in some states if you die without
one, watch out. What happens to your money and even your
children could be entirely up to some state or court
appointed official.

Stability

The next level of personal finance is stability.

Stability to me means that first of all I live within my
means. I don't spend more than I earn. Otherwise I am
spending my savings, investments, emergency money, or
getting into debt. I have a lot of debt, but most of it is
real estate which is producing some income. I try to avoid
credit card debt and purchase everything with money I
already have. I don't buy things expecting that next month
I will have more money or I will get a big raise or
promotion. You can't sell me a car based on a monthly
payment amount; I want to know the final price!

In order to make sure that I am living within my means, I
created a simple budget and I track my expenses using Simple
Joe's Expense Tracker. I can tell how much I have spent in
each budget category and I know when to keep a closer eye on
certain types of expenses, or when and where I can cut
expenses and what I can live without in order to stay within
my budget. Counting pennies is pretty tedious, but tracking
where the dollars go can be eye-opening.

Another aspect of stability is avoiding or eliminating debt.
Debt in itself is a form of stability; you always have to
make those payments until it is all paid off.

Some recent reports show that the average American is $7,000
- $20,000 in debt. Most of it is consumer debt: credit
cards, store accounts, rent-to-own, auto loans, etc. And
those types of consumer debt usually charge a higher
interest rate than any savings account, CD, or money market
account; even more than most high-flying risky investments.

This means that $1,000 in debt at 18% is costing you 9 times
what your $1,000 savings account at 2% is producing.
Consumer debt is a dangerous spiral that is very hard to get
out of.

The first problem is, as mentioned before, living within
your means. Don't get further into debt to support an
extravagant lifestyle. Or even if you are frugal, if you
are using credit cards and debt to finance your purchases,
you either need to stop purchasing luxury items or find a
way to increase your income to support these
purchases/payments.

You may even have to lower your standard-of-living because
you have racked up considerable debt and need to free up
some money to pay it down. But don't wait to start. Those
minimum payments are often designed to keep you paying 18%
interest for 40 years! That's longer than most home loans.
You could even end up paying more than 10 times the original
cost of the item just in interest payments. Is that new
stereo really worth that much?

To help people get themselves out of debt we created the
"Pay Off My Debts" tool in Simple Joe's Money Tools. It is
also available as a stand-alone product called Simple Joe's
Debt Eraser. These tools help you create a Rapid Debt
Reduction Plan which shows you how much to pay on each debt
each month in order to save as much on interest charges as
possible and pay off your debts as soon as possible.

These tools can help you systematically eliminate your debts
whether you owe $1,000 or $100,000. The key is to start
living below your means and start focusing on paying off
your debt.

It doesn't make much sense to be worried about whether or
not your 401k earns 8 or 9% this year, if you are paying 21%
on your credit card debt.

A third aspect that starts in the stability category and
transcends to the next personal finance level, growth, is
the concept of investing in yourself. By this I mean
spending time to educate yourself in personal finance
matters, as you are doing right now and spending time
gaining more knowledge and improving your skills or even
developing new ones.

As an employee, this can have a direct relation to who gets
laid off during the next round of cutbacks. If you have
some skills or have demonstrated some abilities that are not
possessed by your co-workers and these skills make you a
more valuable employee, you are less likely to get the
pink-slip.

Also while you are making yourself more valuable to your
current employer, you are also making yourself worth more to
future employers. It is much easier to land a job if you
have some special skills that are in high demand or even if
you bring some special knowledge or experience that you
fellow job-seekers may have overlooked or failed to invest
in.

Being in the computer industry, I have to spend hours each
week reading trade magazines, exploring web sites, and
reading emailed newsletters to keep abreast of what is new
in my field. If I stopped learning just five years ago, I
would have missed out on the Internet revolution, email, web
sites and the majority of the income I now enjoy.

Keeping myself informed and up to date takes time and
resources, but it helps me protect my current income and
expand my skills to help me earn income in other areas.
This increases my stability by allowing me to not have to
rely on one client, employer or source of income. A chair
with four legs will always be more stable than a stool with
only three.

Growth

The next level of personal finance, as I alluded to before,
is growth.

Once you are secure and stable, you can begin to think about
building your wealth. Not that you have to figure out how
to become the next Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. But you
have to start building the "nest-egg" that you will rely on
when you retire.

And don't think that Social Security has you covered, or
that your 401k will grow back to what it was a couple years
ago. Or that your current employer is going to re-institute
the generous pension plans of yesteryear. 401ks are much
cheaper to administer and you, the employee, take the hit
when the market goes down, not the employer.

My father is nearing retirement age and I think he has a
good plan. He has done some research and estimated what his
expenses are going to be when he is retired. He then took a
look at his potential sources of income during his
retirement.

He figured that Social Security would cover about a third of
what he wanted to live on. Only a third! And he has worked
his entire life. Would you like to instantly have to live
on only one third of what you currently make? Retirement is
suppose to be the golden years, so where's the gold?

Luckily throughout his career, my father has worked for
companies that have had pension plans and he had worked long
enough at each company to be eligible for some pension
money. This is rare these days because today the average
worker will change jobs and companies at least five times
during his/her career. Also, as I mentioned before,
companies are switching to lower cost 401k plans that do not
guarantee you any fixed payments.

In my father's situation, his pension money would cover
another third of the retirement income he wanted. So now he
had to either figure out where the last third was going to
come from, or start cutting out expenses during retirement,
like not visiting his children so much. None of us liked
the sound of that.

So my father started learning about the stock market and
investing in stocks and mutual funds. He made a plan for
growing his wealth and then educated himself as to how he
could accomplish his plan.

I wish I could say that he is doing better than he is, but
luckily he has some time still to put his plan into action
and ride out any market downturns. (He can do this because
he has the security of insurance and emergency money, and
the stability of little debt and a strong set of skills.)

By learning about how stocks, bonds, mutual funds, index
funds, options, futures, commodities, real estate and other
financial tools work you lay the foundation for growing your
wealth. You may start with just $100 in a bank CD, but as
you learn more and become more sophisticated, you can invest
in more and more opportunities.

You will learn about how risk and reward are related, that
as the risk increases so does the size of the potential
reward. Just like at the race track, you'll make more on
the long shot, but the odds are against it. Also you can
learn how to tilt the odds in your favor and protect
yourself against risk.

For those who are just starting out in the growth phase or
who want to dabble a bit before completing the other levels
of personal finance, my suggestion would be to look into
index mutual funds. Especially no-load index funds (no
initial/sales fee).

These funds are made up of the same stocks that make up the
popular market indexes like the Dow Jones, S&P and
NASDAQ100. The costs are low because management is simple
and as a mutual fund you can invest a little at a time.
Also they are easy to follow since you see them on all the
news shows and in the newspaper.

Protection and Management

The final level of personal finance is the protection and
management of your wealth. Most people never develop wealth
enough to need this level. But some of the concepts can be
applied to any amount of wealth you possess, $10,000 to
$10,000,000.

Part of the protection harks back to your will as we
discussed on the first personal finance level: security.

With any significant wealth or valuable asset (your home,
car, heirlooms, 401k, IRA, business, etc.) you will want
some way of disposing of that asset upon your death.
Whether it is go to go your family, favorite charity, or
local church, if no one knows about it, "it ain't gonna
happen".

As you start to accumulate wealth in excess of $350,000, you
may want to consult an attorney about creating a trust. A
trust is an entity that can own property and pass that
property to anyone you name in your will. Usually the trust
is designed to provide income to children from the assets
that are placed in the trust.

The trust can survive you so that your assets and income may
be passed on to your children or next-of-kin without
excessive taxation and legal entanglements. Some states
will take up to 55% of your assets as taxes when you pass
away.

Protection also relates back to insurance. Now it may be
time to look at a multi-million dollar umbrella policy that
will protect you from lawsuits designed to part you and your
wealth. You may now be a bigger target, so purchase a suit
of armor.

The management aspect comes into play where you may start to
concern yourself with taxation, ownership, distribution of
income and possibly endowments to charities or other
non-profit institutions.

You may hire a person or company to manage your wealth, or
you may choose to do it yourself. Most people who have
earned their wealth through the "sweat of their brow" have
already become adept at managing their assets. Some
continue to personally manage their wealth because of the
enjoyment or challenge it gives them.

Others are ready to turn it over to a trustworthy manager
(who only gets paid a percentage of your increase) and
travel the world, or sit on a beach and count the waves.

Whatever your dreams for retirement (and why wait until you
are 65), understanding the different levels of personal
finance and spending the time and resources to educate
yourself will pay off whether you live next to Bill Gates or
Homer Simpson.

About the Author

© Simple Joe, Inc.
David Berky is president of Simple Joe. One of Simple Joe's best
selling products is http://www.simplejoe.com/moneytools/index.htm Simple
Joe's Money Tools - a collection of 14 personal finance and
investment calculators. This article may be freely
distributed so long as the copyright, author's information
and an active link (where possible) are included.

Dobler Consulting Inc
2339 Warwick Dr
Oldsmar
FL 34677
United States

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Pay Off Debt Now: 5 Steps To Getting Your Finances In Order

Drew Harris

In our world of dizzying change, nothing is more true than the time honored statement that circumstances always change.

No where is this more true than with financial issues.

Have you ever borrowed money, or charged up the VISA card at Christmas, all the while telling yourself that you would pay everything off with a coming tax refund or bonus?

Sound familiar. And then what happens when the bonus money arrives?

Let me guess - circumstances changed, the car needed brakes (or the kids needed braces, etc), and the VISA debt and interest charges keeps piling up.

Unless you have a plan, you will always be caught in the unpredictable grip of 'changing circumstances'.

This is a slippery slope that can very quickly become serious financial stress. Consider the fact that Americans are declaring bankruptcy at record rates. One in every 100 families is affected by a bankruptcy.

I was on this slope 10 years ago. Declaring personal bankruptcy and filing for divorce went hand in hand.

One of the most insightful moments of the process was preparing a written log for the trustee of all of our spending for the 5 years leading up to bankruptcy.

While all of the individual decisions made sense in the moments that they were made, they looked totally foolish in the context of the 'bigger picture'.

In other words, constantly changing circumstances drove us off our financial roadmap.

Consider this five step plan for getting on, and staying with, your financial roadmap.

Step No. 1: Make a list of what you owe & prioritize: Put all your bills in a pile. Then list your debts in order, starting with the largest balance first. Then prioritize your repayments (ie paying down the highest interest rate first).

Step No. 2: Eliminate credit cards and don't roll over balances. Once paid off, notify the company that you want to close the account.

Step No. 3: Make a spending plan. Change your free-spending ways. Track the money that's coming in and going out. Use a debit card instead of your credit card. Download your bank transactions into a computer program for easy categorizing.

Step No. 4: Be careful about the equity in your home. Billions of dollars worth of equity has been withdrawn from millions of homes in the last few years. But many people pay down credit cards only to charge them up again - and then you don't have the safety net of the equity in your home.

Step No. 5: Get help. For some people, the problem of overspending is a psychological one. Spending can become a habit that's as difficult to kick as alcohol, drugs or gambling. Sometimes, it's due to circumstances they truly could not avoid: medical bills or divorce or loss of a job.

You can talk with a credit counselor on a private basis. It only appears on your credit report if you enter their debt repayment program.

As you consider your finances, remember that Americans are now carrying $683 billion in revolving credit card debt. 47% of the people who paid less than the full amount on their credit card bills in a recent month, made only the minimum payment due.

The good news is that planning and professional help will definitely help you turn things around.

Case in point: I went from bankrupt with zero assets living in a boarding house, to gainfully employed, running my own home based business, with 2 houses and excellent re-established credit.

In other words, it can be done.

About The Author Pay-off-debt-now.com is run by Drew Harris and is a one-stop-shop web portal for those facing crushing debt issues. Multiple pages of resources, referrals and tools. Expert advice on credit cards, loans and avoiding bankruptcy. http://tinyurl.com/4bbum

Dobler Consulting Inc
2339 Warwick Dr
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FL 34677
United States

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Organizing Your Finances: - Show Me MY Money: What You're Worth or * net * Worth

Janet L. Hall

Organizing Your Finances:
- Show Me MY Money: What You're Worth or * net * Worth
by: Janet L. Hall

Benjamin Franklin once said, * Time is money *. I think he wanted one to
add up how much time they spent on a particular task or job and how much
money they might have been wasting.

I do an exercise with my clients to help them discover what their per minute
worth is to enable them to see how much money they might be losing because
they are disorganized. Such as, if you are doing a non-income producing
activity for 15 minutes, you can see how your money is being spent!

It's a very simple calculation.

Your Per Minute Worth Calculation

Yearly income divided by 52 weeks = weekly income
Weekly Income divided by 40 hours (or total hours you work per week) =
hourly income
Hourly income divided by 60 = Your Per Minute Worth

Before you begin to OverHall and Balance your financial area, you need to
find out your net worth, and your spending habits. This will help assist
you later with your budget, payoffs, or long-term savings. It will also
help in guiding you with such things as your protection, investment, income
tax, retirement, and estate planning.

Your total net worth is your total assets (what you own or already have
saved) minus your total liabilities (what you owe out). I'm not going to
tell you this is as easy as figuring out your per minute worth because it's
not! It will take time and a commitment from you to determine your net
worth.

TIP: I have found the best time to do this exercise is when you are paying
your bills. At that time you usually have the information needed to help you
calculate your net worth. So, if it usually takes you an hour to pay your
bills, tack on at least an extra hour this month for this exercise. For your
convenience, print out and use the net worth form below. You will be
writing in your totals for each line. For instance, if you have two savings
accounts, total your balances first and then write in the total next to
Savings Account.

ASSETS
Cash Reserve Totals-

Certificates of Deposit:
Checking Account:
Credit Union Account:
Money Market Account:
Savings Account:

Investment Totals-

401(k):
Bonds:
Mutual Funds:
Stocks:

Personal Totals-

Art:
Boat:
Car(s):
Furnishings:
Jewelry:
Other:

Real Estate Totals-

Home:
Second Home/Vacation Home:
Other Real Estate:

TOTAL ASSETS: $

LIABILITIES

Short-term Debt Totals-

Credit Card Balances:
Current Bills Owed:
Loans w erms of six years or less:
Taxes:

Long-term Debt Totals-

Loans w erms of seven years or more:
Mortgage(s):

TOTAL LIBILITIES: $

Congratulations! You did it! * Drum roll * Please!
TOTAL ASSETS: $
- (minus) TOTAL LIABILITIES: $
YOUR TOTAL NET WORTH = $

Now see if your net worth falls under A., B., or C. below, and see how you
can begin to bring some balance back to this area of your life.

A. If your total net worth is half or less of your annual income or you have
a negative number you need to REALLY * OverHall * and Balance your financial
area!

~~ Pay off some/all debt
~~ Cut back on spending
~~ Stop charging
~~ Start a savings plan

B. If your total net worth is more than half your annual income but less
than a few years' income you need to * OverHall * and Balance your financial
area.

~~ If you're 40 or under and own a home, you're okay for now
~~ If you're 40 or over and you don't own a home:
`` Cut back on spending
`` Stop charging
`` Reduce debt
`` Increase your savings
`` Buy a home before retiring

C. If your total net worth is more than a few years' of your annual income,
CONGRATULATIONS! Keep doing what you've been doing!

Listed below are some questions to ask yourself now that you know and can
see what your net worth equals.

1. Do you have enough cash reserves to meet your needs?

2. Do you have enough protection to provide money for unforeseen emergencies
(we talked about this last issue)?

3. Do you have enough fixed assets (usually long-term; bonds are an example)
to provide or produce additional income?

4. Do you have enough equity assets (short or long-term; real estate and
stocks are examples) for growth and income?

To answer those questions, you need to know what your family and your needs
and goals are and then plan how you are going to meet them.

Quick Tips to INCREASE Your Assets:

1. Maximize your 401(k) contribution
2. Start investing
3. Get automatic deduction/deposit from paycheck to savings each pay period.

Quick Tips to DECREASE Your Liabilities:

Credit Cards
1. If you have to use a credit card, use only one major card
2. Pay more than the minimum payment on the credit card with the highest
interest rate
3. Stop charging to the highest interest rate credit card
4. Get rid of department store credit cards
5. Don't apply for anymore credit cards

Mortgage(s)
1. Pay a little extra each month towards the PRINCIPAL of your mortgage
payment
2. Drop your PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance) when your home equity exceeds
20% of your home's value (talk to your mortgage lender)
3. Refinance mortgage at a lower interest rate
4. Refinance mortgage at a lower interest rate AND finance for 15 or 20
years instead of the usual 30 years.
5. Pay half your monthly mortgage payment every two weeks (talk to your
lender)

Smiles, not Piles,
Janet L. Hall

The Organizing Wizard, Janet L. Hall, is a Professional
Organizer, Speaker, and Author. She is the owner of
OverHall Consulting, and Organizing By Phone. Subscribe to
her FREE organizing newsletter at
http://www.overhall.com/newsletter.htm or visit
her web site at http://www.overhall.com

Copyright 2000 by OverHall Consulting
P.O. Box 263, Port Republic, MD 20676
All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy, or distribute so long as this copyright notice and full information about contacting the author is attached.

About the Author

The Organizing Wizard, Janet L. Hall, is a Professional
Organizer, Speaker, and Author. She is the owner of
OverHall Consulting, and Organizing By Phone. Subscribe to
her FREE organizing newsletter at
http://www.overhall.com/newsletter.htm or visit
her web site at http://www.overhall.com

Dobler Consulting Inc
2339 Warwick Dr
Oldsmar
FL 34677
United States

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Organize Your Finances - Thinking Outside The (Shoe) Box

Leo J Quinn Jr


If you're like most people, your personal financial records are most probably kept in less than "Good Accounting Practices" standards.

For example, stashing old ATM receipts and hanging on to a stub showing what you paid for a pack of mints two years ago (cash, of course), might be filed with your paycheck stubs, credit card statements – paid and unpaid alike – as well as a few tax forms, a stray paper clip and a penny.

Anything from an old shoebox to a toolbox would do you for this method of personal financial tracking but you can do better than that.

Not to worry. Here's how:

1) Plan for a few hours of "alone time" with your financial records. This is a dandy time to pack the kids off to the mall, put up a pot of excellent coffee and a little snack (preferably chocolate), as a treat when you're done.

2) Supply yourself with ample space, such as a large dining room table. Make sure you have enough organizing supplies close at hand: sticky notes, file folders, a tub to hold them with hanging file folders, large envelopes, a check file, ring binder/s and a three-hole punch if you like, an open stacking file, and an organizer/sorter. A trash can by your side is a must.

3) Get everything from everyplace – shoe boxes, check files, file folders, etc.

4) While enjoying your cup of coffee, make a game plan. Decide what you're going to put where: e.g., checks and statements go in a specific file for checks and statements, credit card statements can be unfolded and placed in a file folder, etc.

5) Start sorting on the table. Checks go here, ATM receipts go there, paycheck stubs go over there, paid bills go on the other side, etc. until all the "stuff" is divided into neatly organized piles. Use sticky notes to mark what-goes-where on the table to avoid confusion.

6) Put all the "paid" items away first. Be ruthless – it's perfectly okay to toss the receipt for those mints from two years ago.

7) Put the rest of the inactive items in the envelopes, file folders, check files or other storage devices as are interesting, functional, and readily available from your local office supply store.

8) Have another cup of coffee and tackle the active, or open, items. Decide what you're going to pay and when. If you have an open stacking file, you will find one with four compartments (one for each week of the month), very handy for this purpose.

9) Balance your checkbook. Now.

10) Enjoy your chocolate after putting everything away where it belongs and, oh, by the way, check the calendar for when you'll be doing this again next month.

Of course, next month this will all be done much faster.

I highly recommend using technology to make this much easier and faster. Programs like Quicken and Microsoft Money will help. Really any spreadsheet program will do.

Have a category for each life area you spend money. Once a week or month take your receipts, checkbook records and scribbled notes and record where you spent ALL your money....every penny. One of my students was shocked to find out he was spending $75 per month on orange juice!

Legend has it that the Rockefeller boys kept track of all their spending and they turned out alright.

This time next year you'll wish you started today.

About the Author

Leo J. Quinn, Jr. owner of www.LeoQuinn.com is a financial educator from the Albany, NY area. For over eight years he has been helping thousands of people get control of their finances and get out of debt in a fraction of the normal time. He has a special offer for readers of this newsletter at http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=132551

 

Dobler Consulting Inc
2339 Warwick Dr
Oldsmar
FL 34677
United States

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Online Surveys Financed My First Website!

Jason Glicken

Online surveys alone financed my first web site. Getting paid to take these online surveys is a win-win situation. Large companies want your opinion on their products and services and they are willing to pay you for it. These online surveys give them good insight into their target market, people like you, so they win. You win by getting paid for your time.

It all started about 5 months ago when I had finally decided I wanted to start my own online business. I have a full time job, a stay at home wife, and a 15 month old baby boy. I had no extra money, as you can imagine, and didn't want to risk my hard earned salary without knowing if this venture would work. With no idea on how to go about starting an online business and with no startup capital, I did what all web surfers do; I surfed, and I surfed, and I surfed.

During the course of my research I ran across some ads for taking online surveys and getting paid for it. I was skeptical at first, but when I researched the companies that offered online surveys I found a few that were for real. So I signed up with 3 of the sites.

Once you sign up you fill out some easy questionnaires about yourself so the survey company can match you with one of their clients looking for your demographic profile (e.g. age, sex, where you live, what you do, etc…). Easy enough, still free, I filled out my profiles and that was it, they let me know that they would contact me when a survey that fit my profile was available.

Without skipping a beat I went back to my research. It was becoming more and more evident that I would need to learn a lot more before starting my own internet business. I decided that for any business venture you should be as prepared as possible. And I still had no extra money to even give it a try. I was still in my hunting and gathering phase.

Then one night while surfing the net, I got an email telling me that a $10 survey was waiting for me. Great! I logged into my account at the survey site and clicked the link to start the survey. It took me about 20 minutes. This particular survey company pays directly to your PayPal account (it took a couple weeks to see the money, but I did see it.)

I was hooked. Over the next several months I received more surveys. There are times when you don't qualify for a survey. This could even happen a couple times in a row. Don't worry they will keep sending them and you will qualify for a lot of them.

About 4 weeks ago I decided I knew enough about web sites, web site hosting, web site promotion, newsletters, and most of the basics of starting my own site. So I logged into my PayPal and found $32 (all from surveys), and logged into my other 2 survey sites, $20 dollars in one account and $45 in the other. I had my startup money!

Taking these surveys enabled me to start my own business online using only the money I made online. No out of pocket money was needed to set up my site, get my domain name and start a hosting plan. In reality this is more than enough money to start a website backed business. I used only my PayPal money to set up my web site, and not all of it. Yesterday, I deposited $40 of survey money into my checking account and then transferred it to my PayPal account. I now have a little war chest for financing my online business.

Online survey companies (the real ones) don't charge you to join, don't spam you when you do (I only get invitations from them, nothing else), and pay you when your done. It can take up to 4 weeks to get paid (sometimes less sometimes more). For me this was not a problem since I was not yet knowledgeable enough to start my web site.

I still spend most of my time surfing and learning but I also understand the concept and dangers of procrastination. I did take my time getting started based solely on financial reasons, now that I have the money to get started that is exactly what I am doing, getting started!

I want you all to know that making money online is a reality. Surveys will make you money, I still take them as soon as they hit my inbox, but you will not be able to quit your day job. If you don't give up and hang in there you can start your own web business without touching any offline money. If you don't want to start a business then buy yourself or someone a gift with the money you earn. It truly is easy money!

By: Jason Glicken

About The Author Jason Glicken - Editor - The Affiliate Journal Copyright 2005 - All Rights Reserved. Create start up capital completing FREE surveys online. http://www.theaffiliatejournal.com/sparechange.php Better to be a doer than a dreamer… jglicken@theaffiliatejournal.com

Dobler Consulting Inc
2339 Warwick Dr
Oldsmar
FL 34677
United States

To stop further mailings or to change your details, click here.