Zotterinc

Posts Tagged ‘money’

There is a harsh fact about reality. The good job that you have may not last your entire life or career. The stability of the job may change and the particulars about it may change it to one that is completely undesirable. You must think ahead and plan on making your money work for you. No matter how much you have, you must plan on saving at least three months salary for a rainy day. Additionally you must set aside a proportion of your salary to invest now in well performing businesses on the stock exchange, as well as through available mutual funds which have a superior performance and you should consider investing in real estate. Particularly you should consider real estate that you can fix up for rental properties.

Stock investment on the internet in one such new technological avenue. Stock brokers have understood long before the public the great advantage that the speed of the internet gave them in financial matters. They offer to the public the advantage of internet sales and buying of company stocks and mutual funds. At least seven years ago the stock market utilized proprietary computers, intranets, wide area networks (WANS) to manage and predict the public sales and purchases of commodities, stocks, and bonds. The market place is a very competitive place. The government and the stock market board exist to provide a fair market where no one person or block of investors have a larger influence than any other. Prior to the internet and the 21st century only large blocks of investors or extremely wealthy ones could purchase stocks and commodities as an investment. This is because they were limited to how small or large a package of stock could be sold. When banks or other groups of investors, retired math teachers, became involved then investment packages could be subdivided smaller. Hence more people could afford to invest their surplus cash into more risky but profitable ventures. The invention of the telegraph allowed the transfer of information at the speed of light. After this the invention of the Teletype maintained the technological edge into most of the 20th century. when the age of the personal computer arrived then financier Mr.Bloomberg advanced both the electronic management of stock but provided the pioneer work to facilitate the inclusion of the internet into the confines of Wall Street.

You can acquire attractive properties which require very little in the way of repair. Some only need cleaning and painting to become profitable rentals. Today in Tulsa, Oklahoma there is a vast excess of available homes which have become available. These are offered by banks, mortgage investment firms, and real estate agencies. On the other hand the reason why these are available should be mentioned. The city of Tulsa has been through a devastating financial depression which began shortly after major internet companies and communications groups went bankrupt. This led to the loss of over 75,000 technical jobs and over $250,000,000 in lost revenues from income and sales taxes. These jobs have not be replaced but have been out sourced to off shore resources. I remember walking several miles along the edge of several housing divisions which were marked by the rarity of an occupied house. Most were marked by the “For Sale” signs and tall unmown grass. There are some real bargains here in Tulsa for those with good salaried jobs! These can become a smart investment for you which has stability and that can increase in profitability over the years.

One of the basic rules of investing is that the higher the risk, the more potential for gain.  A high yield investment program (or HYIP) is one such program. By investing a small amount, a HYIP offers the possibility of high gain, with some risk.

One of the biggest problems with HYIP’s is that they can represent a lot of money placed at risk for a high potential gain. Although they can involve small amounts of money, most investors will invest as much as they figure that they can risk, in order to take advantage of the high potential return. Read: Although they don’t require the huge start-up that other investments do, people do spend as much as they can afford. (Some put in more than they can afford, but this is never recommended.)

Also, some HYIP’s are just well disguised ponzi schemes, and are thus highly illegal. (Investigate any investment opportunity, with special care as to the background of the group or person presenting it. Normally, “too good to be true” would be good advice, but that doesn’t always prove true when it comes to investing.) Some HYIP’s are in fact defined as “ponzi games” in order to skirt legislation that prohibits ponzi schemes as well as uninsured investments; bear that in mind when investigating any HYIP.

However, the problem is that not all investments pay off. With HYIP’s, that’s actually the nature of the investment; although they all promise high gain, the problem is that high risk does mean a strong chance of losing any funds involved. Thus, any potential investor is advised to not invest any more than he can afford to lose.

When debating the effectiveness of a HYIP, be advised that that the nature of the investment itself makes gauging that difficult, and that only the investor himself can make that decision. What makes them effective is that they can create a nice profit for the price entailed, but the risk involved makes arguably effective. There is no real way to cushion the investment, as there would be for most investments; again, the nature of the HYIP denies that.

However, HYIP’s can be effective if the investor limits his activity to just one or two HYIP’s at a time, and invests conservatively otherwise for the time that he is involved in the HYIP’s. That way, the investor has the other investments to fall back on in case the HYIP falls through. This strategy makes the investment more effective, and decreases the risks involved, making them more attractive, and more effective.

HYIP’s can thus be very effective investments, especially if the person can afford to lose any funds invested. If the investor is investing assuming that they will get the money back, and with a high yield, and doesn’t allow for the possibility of loss, however, a HYIP can be a potential issue. Investing in general isn’t for the weak; that definitely applies to HYIP’s.

To save money on your credit cards, doesn’t always necessary mean that you have to switch providers to get a better deal, far from it as you can always start on your own doorstep and ask your current credit card lender if they can offer you a better deal than the one that you are getting at present.

This should be your first step if you are looking to get a better deal, but are unsure, as you are more than happy with the service that your current credit card gives you. Though you may feel that it maybe easier to simply change to a different lender, then this couldn’t be further from the truth and at the end of the day, the credit card that you have should be one that suits you and not the credit card issuer.

If you are in fact happy with your present credit card and the benefits and service that you have then read on and find out how simple that getting a better deal can be.

Firstly you have to ask yourself if you keep your payments up to date, have not missed any and have an overall good payment history with your credit card company, if so then you have the right cards to play when it comes to asking for a reduction in your APR charges. If you fail to have any of the criteria that has been mentioned, then before you can ask your credit card issuer for a better deal, you may find that you have to get your credit history up to scratch.

Once you have ascertained that you have the right credentials, look out for some of the better deals that you can currently find in the credit card market at the moment, so that you can tell them about the better offers that have been sent to you from the other credit card lenders, it is just another weapon to use to get what you want and with a good payment history and long service wit the card, most credit card companies do not wish to loose good customers, so even if it sounds a bit like blackmail you have to get the best deal for you.

Once you contact your credit card issuer, remember to always stay polite, even more so if the person on the other side of the phone is lets say having a bad day, simply ask to be put on to a supervisor or manager and while doing so remain calm and polite.

If you get to the stage that the credit card company has made you a better offer (I said “If” because always be prepared that your credit card issuer declines your request) see if it matches up against the other offers you have written down, tell them so and if they cant beat or even come close to matching it, then let them know that you will be cancelling your account with them and that you want it confirmed, if by doing this and they still don’t budge on the APR, then maybe who ever you move to, will value your custom more than they did.