Archive for June, 2008

The Biggest Lie Ever Told About Wealth


Why is it that 90% of the population find it so difficult to become rich? It is because all of us have been told the greatest lie of all, the lie that has been keeping us from becoming rich. Before you can ever become wealthy, you must first discover the truth about wealth and remove the wool that has been pulled over your eyes for way too long.

Let me start off by asking you to do a simple exercise. I would like you to close your eyes and picture a millionaire in your mind. Picture the clothes the person is wearing, the car he drives, how he spends his money, how he spends his day and how he dines. Go ahead and do this NOW before you go onto the next paragraph.

Well, what picture came into your mind?

If you are like most people, you would have pictured a millionaire as someone who wears the latest, branded clothes, who drives the newest luxury car model, who spends lavishly, who dines in fine restaurants and spends on the priciest, choicest dishes and most superb wines.

You may have imagined someone who is relaxing in a cushy leather upholstered armchair in his mansion or yacht, puffing on his Havana cigar. Why is this so?

It’s because of the way we have been brainwashed by television and movies to think this is the way millionaires live and spend their money. It is precisely these beliefs and habits that actually keep us from becoming wealthy!

The truth is that very few self-made millionaires live this way. In fact, the only ones who do live this indolent, self-indulgent lifestyle are the minority of millionaires who either inherited all their wealth or who made their money through sports or entertainment.

And all of them usually have one thing in common. They inevitably end up losing everything within ten years. Their wealth is only temporary. Look at Mike Tyson, Michael Jackson, Bobby Brown and a whole list of other celebrities who made hundreds of millions within their careers. They are either all broke or heavily in debt today.

In the New York Times Best-Selling book ‘The Millionaire Next Door’, Thomas J. Stanley interviewed 300 self-made American millionaires to find out how they think, how they earn their money and how they spend their wealth. What he discovered was a shocking revelation that made his book an instant best-seller.

It was discovered that many people who had high paying jobs, drove the latest luxury cars and wore the latest designer clothes and who appeared to be have millions to spend, were usually broke with a low personal net worth. Most of these professionals and senior executives of multi-national companies were what he termed ‘Under Accumulators of Wealth (UAW)’.

In contrast, those who were actual millionaires (that is those with a net worth of over US$1 million) lived very frugally and well below their means. Eighty-percent of them were born poor or from middle class families.

They wore inexpensive suits and never bought a watch that cost more than S$500. Most of them drove secondhand cars, never bought the latest models of vehicles and they usually invested a minimum of 20% of their income in the stock market or private businesses. He termed these people ‘Prodigious Accumulators of Wealth (PAW)’.

So if creating a million dollar fortune is what you’re aiming for, do what the actual millionaires do and you will accumulate wealth faster than the big spenders ever do.
Adam Khoo is an entrepreneur, best-selling author and a self-made millionaire by the age of 26. Discover his million dollar secrets and claim your FREE audio CD program ‘7 Steps To Financial Freedom’ here.

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Build Your Credit While Still in School


College is a great time to get into trouble with credit cards. It’s just so easy to apply for them, sometimes even on campus. But it’s also very easy to get into trouble with credit cards while you’re that young.

There’s nothing wrong with getting a credit card when you’re in college. It may even be helpful if you need just a little time to pay for you books and necessities. But many students just can’t handle it.

Credit card companies often have relaxed requirements for students. This is because they know that if they can get you as a customer as a college student, they can probably keep you for many years. They also know that many students run up high balances, and so will be paying for a long time.

In other words, it can be a bit risky getting a credit card while you’re still a student. There will be temptations to abuse it. But this is one of the best times to establish your credit, when the requirements in order to get a card aren’t quite so high as they may be later in life. The trick is remembering not to abuse your card.

That means no running up the bills. Sure, partying with your friends is fun and can add up fast, but how are you going to pay it off? If you can’t pay off such things promptly, I don’t recommend you use a credit card, even for convenience.

However, learning to use a credit card responsibly is a good idea. If you get one, go ahead and use it just a little. Not so much that you can’t pay it off. Get a job if you have to.

What you’re trying to do is show that you can be responsible for your credit card. This will help you to establish a nice credit score, which is very important at various times in your life.

A good credit score does more than help you to get good interest rates when you buy a car or a home. It can help you to get lower car insurance rates. Yes, many car insurance companies also look at your credit score. So do some employers.

Despite the “easy money” feeling some people get from having a credit card, there are some definite risks to owning one. It’s easy to go overboard and to spend more than you can pay off easily. But if you can learn to manage your money well early on, including a credit card, you will have skills that will help you throughout your life.
Stephanie Foster blogs at http://credit-blog.findcreditonline.com/ about credit related issues. Check her website for student credit card offers.

learning to invest in the stock market

Getting Started In Real Estate Investing


Education in real estate is relatively easy and cheaper to find. There are those who have thorough knowledge about the subject, go on to teaching and organize courses on it. However, it has been a tried and tested theory that if someone wants to be successful, they would have to learn the intricacies of the trade from someone who is more successful than them.

If you want to be a successful real investor, you will have to indulge in a lot of planning. Almost every successful investor has a game plan. The educated investors, who rely only on theory, know how to go about deals, but they have no clue about where the deals are going or why they are being pursued. They randomly chase the opportunities.

By planning, investors take responsibility of their life, finances, expenses and actions. These actions could be the major reason for the success of an investor. Following are some of the actions:

Controlling Debt

Controlling debts means paying debts as soon as possible. Debt tends to become the master of the person and causes sleepless nights, forcing people to hold on to their jobs and do things they would not otherwise do. There are people who stop stashing debts. They dont buy cards and other consumer items or spend on things, unless they have cash for it. There are some who even scale back their lifestyles. Some even move into apartments and some people give up their luxurious lifestyles for sometime, so that they can pursue their dreams. These are people who plan to pay off their debts and do not to accumulate any more.

Knowing What One Wants From Life

It is not common to meet people who know exactly what they want from life. There are many, who have no clue about their lives and some come up with answers like, I would like to make $200,000 per annum or I would like to have $6 million in my bank. When the very same people are asked why, all they can answer is Because I want it. These dreams of wanting something die away when something else tops the want list. People are under this wrong notion that having or making a lot of money would solve all their troubles and offer them a life they always wanted. Over time, society has brandished this idea, making it surreal, yet unbelievable. When people dont know what they are doing, money would make them feel miserable. However, a plan and some money could set them free.

Ability to Focus

Real estate investors have a mindset to be successful quickly. Seldom do people make a plan for being financially free in forty years. Two or three are a common thing. However, the good news is that two or three years could possibly change your life, if you have a certain direction and planning. Without the two, all your years of hard work could go down the drain. Generally, investors who focus find a niche in real estate investment, churn out good profits.
Real Estate Investments are now easy with Realnet USA’s step by step Real Estate Investing process. We help you find your Real Estate Investment, to view live inventory please visit http://www.realnetusa.com.

Stock Market Investing Guide

The High Cost Of A Poor Credit Rating


Is your credit rating good or poor? If you’ve recently been turned down for a credit card, store card or loan, it could be because you’ve paid off everything so perfectly that you have no credit history. But it’s more likely to be because your credit rating is poor. And this means it could be difficult to get credit at a price you find attractive.

What Makes A Poor Credit Rating?

Applications for credit are scored using criteria on the application form. For example, home owners score higher than renters and it’s useful to be on the electoral roll. People tend to get a poor credit rating if:

- They have defaulted on payments in the past;
- They have been made bankrupt;
- They have paid bills late (arrears);
- They have had County Court Judgements (CCJs) against them

Bankruptcies and CCJs stay on a credit file for six years, and it is hardest to get credit if these are the problem.

Banks, credit card companies and store card issuers also look at people’s credit report. This is a file maintained by a credit reference agency detailing people’s applications and approvals for credit, borrowings, payment record and electoral roll entry. Equifax and Experian are two of the biggest and best known credit reference agencies and are used by most of the lenders. Over time, a credit report can become quite large, with details of every payment made or missed for every credit card and loan.

How Will A Poor Credit Rating Affect You?

A poor credit rating can mean that a person is turned down for credit. At the very least, it makes it difficult to get a loan, credit card, store card or mortgage. Even if people manage to get these products, they rarely benefit from the same low rates and incentive offers as other credit card applicants. Instead, they may have to pay a higher interest rate, either permanently, or until they show a good record of payments on the credit card or loan.

To give an example, a person with an excellent credit rating could borrow money at an interest rate of under 6% (depending on the loan amount and the particular deal). A person with a poor credit rating might have an interest rate of well over 25%.

Loan Options For People With Poor Credit Ratings

People with poor credit ratings have the option of having a secured loan. This means that if they default their house can be seized to ensure that the lender is paid. For credit cards they could have a card with a high interest rate. There is also the option of a prepaid credit card. This is similar to a prepaid mobile phone card. The card holder tops the card up with money and can spend that amount in places where a credit card is needed.

How To Improve Your Credit Rating

Improving your credit rating can be simple. Make sure you are listed on the electoral roll and pay your bills on time. Finally, get a copy of your credit file from Experian or Equifax to make sure the details are correct. That way you won’t pay the price for someone else’s bad credit history.
Joseph Kenny writes for the, Personal Loan Store and offer more information on bad credit loans available on site.
Visit Today: http://www.ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk/

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Do Not Lose Your Shirt With a Margin Account


The key to the FOREX market for the average investor is the margin. Without margin trading currency trading would be beyond most investors. I will explain what the margin is and how it works.
When you have a margin account you are able to control large amounts of currency with a relatively small cash deposit. When you have a margin account with a broker you are in effect borrowing money from the broker to control a larger lot of currency. Currency is normally sold in lots with a value of $100,000. A common term used when discussing margin accounts is leverage. Leverage is how much you can control with a certain amount of money. The leverage is usually displayed as a ration such as 1:100. That would allow you to control currency worth 100 times the amount of money you have invested.
To better explain this in a FOREX exchange with a 1% margin account you could control $100,000 worth of a currency while only investing $1000. Margin accounts can allow you to greatly increase your profit; they also allow you to increase your risk. With a margin account it is possible for a trader to lose more than their initial investment. With a little prudence though losses can be minimized. Most brokers will terminate a trade before the losses exceed the original deposit.

Benefits
As discussed before a margin account allows you to buy more with the money you have which can greatly increase your profit on successful trades. By controlling a $100,000 worth of currency for only $1000 the potential gain is greater. When dealing with large lots of currency even small changes can produce significant results.
Currency on the FOREX market is traded in far more precise units than actual cash is. As an example the American dollar is traded down to four decimal points. So when you were to quote the dollar against another currency you will see a price like $1.7834 instead of $1.78. A PIP is the smallest unit when trading currencies, when dealing with $100,000 lots then each pip is worth about $10.
If the price of the American dollar changes from $1.7834 to $1.7934, you have a net difference of 100 pips. If you have a lot of $100,000 then that 100 pips will translate to $1000 where as if you were not using the margin your original $1000 would only show a profit of $10. Hardly what most would consider a highly profitable trade?
In short the primary benefit of using a margin account is that it can greatly increase the profit margin of a trade.

Risks
Since there is such a significant increase in profit potential when using a margin account it only stands to reason that there is also an increase. In fact it is quite possible to have your entire margin account wiped out fairly quickly. When using a 1% margin account a shift in the currency of a single penny will cost you $1000.
The FOREX exchange has many safety features to help you reduce the risk of this happening. One example is a stop loss order. A stop loss order will automatically close out your position in a currency if the price crosses the point you have set. This allows you to limit your losses while still having the opportunity to realize a profit.
Another risk that many people overlook is that if the price nears the point where your losses are close to being equal to the value of your margin account your broker may close out your position. If you were trying to rid out a temporary downturn that you expect to turn around soon you could find that your broker has closed it causing you to lose your entire balance and have no option to make a profit if the price moves up again.

This is a basic introduction to margin accounts and how they work, visit the website listed below to learn more about the FOREX market.
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Rewards Credit Cards How To Get A Good One


Getting those rewards is the fun side of credit cards. Everybody likes to get things they can use. A good rewards credit card can do just that for you if you get a good one and use it right. Here are some tips for you to know how to select the one that is “just right.”

Choose The One That Will Benefit You The Most

In order to get the most rewards, you need to get them in a way that will reduce some of your highest monthly costs. If you drive a lot for work, then you need a driver’s credit card. The rewards on this type of card come in the form of points which can often be used for maintenance, hotels, and towards buying your next car. Sometimes a rewards credit card will give you a lot of points from the start which can be used after your first purchase.

Other purchases can also give you rewards on some rewards credit cards. This makes it good all the way around. Many cards do not give you points for all your purchases, or if they do, it is only for a limited time. Look around carefully, to find one that keeps on paying you rewards. Also, be sure to find out whether or not the points are useful to you by allowing you to get merchandise at stores where you might normally shop. You do not want to get a rewards credit card just because it gives a lot of points and then find out there is nothing to buy because they do not have anything that interests you.

Get One With Balance Transfers

Balance transfers can be a great source of another reward – with 0% APR interest for up to 15 months on some of them. This would be a good way to get caught up on some bills. Keep on paying the same amount after you make the transfer, and it will help you reduce your overall indebtedness. Watch out for fees attached to those transfers though – most cards do not have them.

Look At The Interest Rate

The interest rate can be a way to take away some of your rewards if it is very high. Look for a low one, but you will need a good credit rating to actually get that rate. A 7.9% interest rate is about as low as a credit card will go. By paying the balance in full each month, though, you will not need to be concerned about it. If you ever pay late, though, on most credit cards, you could find out that your low rate credit card has now become a high interest credit card.

Scrutinize The Fees

Fees can be high on some low interest credit cards. Some will have annual fees, too. There may be other fees, as well. Just compare the various credit cards you are interested in, and choose the best.
Joe Kenny writes for the Credit Card Guide, offering views on credit cards in the UK, visit them today or Nations Finance for some great credit card offers and grab a great deal today.
Visit today: http://www.cardguide.co.uk/

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