Finance Wanted.

By Ryan Moxie

Understanding commodity ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) is actually easier than it sounds. The first commodity ETFs were introduced in 2004 and skyrocketed in the first year. Commodities are things found in nature, like corn, gold, silver, natural gas, and even cattle. Corporations amass large amounts of commodities and sell them off in smaller parts (funds) via commodities indexes (like NASDAQ indexes).

There are three major umbrellas that commodity ETFs fall under. These include metals, energy and agriculture commodities. An investor would benefit from a portfolio that includes commodities from all three major groups.

Metal commodities include precious metals like copper, gold and silver. These metals are used to make jewelry, for housing construction, and in industries and production including aerospace and pharmaceuticals. Metal prices can effect retailers who sell jewelry, the cost of real estate, the price of medicines, even services like plumbing. The stability of metals was questioned in the early 1900's when the United States decided to use paper certificates rather than gold to back US currency. Many people shied away from investing in gold at that point due to the popular notion that gold would become essentially worthless. Gold, however, continued to rise right along with inflation and is fast becoming one of the most traded commodity ETFs.

Energy commodities are made up of crude oils, coal and natural gas for the most part. The price of gasoline has an effect on just about every part of our lives. When the price of a barrel of oil goes up, the price of gas follows suit. When the transportation industry has to pay more for gas, they have to charge more to transport goods. When they charge more for goods, the producers have to charge us more to buy them. In May, 2008, it cost one trucker nearly $1,000 to fill up his tank. As a consumer this is never good news. As an investor, however, knowledge that prices are going up means that it is time to buy, not only in energy commodity ETFs, but in anything that is affected by the cost of energy.

Agriculture, or farming, commodities include anything that is grown or raised by farmers or ranchers. The price of food is determined by the price of agriculture, as is the clothing industry, construction, household goods, furniture, and just about anything that uses cotton, rubber or wood. Corn commodity ETFs are definitely ones to watch. Not only because corn is used to feed us, but also because it is being tested in laboratories to make a new kind of fuel.

A beginning investor should not overlook commodity ETFs as they can be fairly inexpensive to add to your portfolio. Even experienced, long-term investors should take the time to learn about this somewhat new market.

You can learn more about commodity ETFs by searching the internet, subscribing to major publications that focus on business and the stock market, or by watching television news shows that discuss financial issues. If you still don't understand them, give your broker a call and ask him to explain commodity ETFs - in plain English.

Ryan helps you understand commodity ETFs and how you can profit from investing in a commodity ETF.

By Simon Lance Burgess

Many individuals are aware that they are able to cover their loan or mortgage repayments as the lender usually asks them if they wish to take out a policy. However you can also choose to cover your income against unemployment or incapacity due to sickness or accident. Income protection allows you to cover a wider range of outgoings by ensuring that if you cannot work or are unemployed through no reason of your own you would receive a replacement income.

There are standalone specialist providers who for a premium each month will allow you to insure up to a certain amount of your own income. This would then be paid back to you once you had been unable to work for a certain length of time or had been unemployed. The income would be tax-free and you would then be able to use it to repay all the bills you regularly maintain.

You would have the money to be able to pay your mortgage repayment when it was due and this is one of the biggest outgoings that you have to maintain. Failure to be able to keep up with the mortgage repayments means that you are at risk of having your home repossessed. Even by getting behind with just one monthly repayment the lender would send a warning letter and ask you to show how you can keep up with your mortgage along with repaying the arrears. If you cannot do so and continue to miss repayments then you would be at serious risk of losing your home.

With income protection behind you, you could also continue to meet any loan repayments you have or credit card debts. You would also be able to continue putting food on the table and pay bills to keep your home warm and lit. There would be no having to juggle your bills around in order to be able to pay them and this gives enormous peace of mind. It would allow you to concentrate on making a recovery and getting back to work or would give you the time to be able to search around and find work again at the same salary that you were getting.

You do have to shop around for the policy to get the best deal as the cost of protecting your income will vary greatly from provider to provider. The terms and conditions of the cover will also vary and these have to be checked when looking for a policy. These will hold the exclusions to be found in the policy and when cover begins and ends.

All income protection policies will only pay out for so long before the cease and there is also a waiting period of being unemployed or incapacitated before you are able to put in a claim. Some providers will offer protection that would begin to provide you with an income after 30 days; others may state that it could be as much as 90 days before their policy would payout. Policies can usually be taken out to supply you with an income for between 12 months and 24 months and some providers will offer to backdate your policy to the first day of becoming unemployed or from being unable to work.

Simon Burgess is Managing Director of the award-winning British Insurance, a specialist provider of income protection.

By Domingo Reyes

Many people nowadays have been making wiser financial decisions by means of venturing into something that is considered a life long investment. Although, these kinds of investment required royalties and hard earned money still, knowing where your money goes and which ones to invest is considered a sensible and worthwhile decision.

However, this kind of venture comes with careful considerations and planning as well as in determining your financial stability. It is of prime importance that you identify which type of mortgage will work best for you. This should include factors like, how much money you are willing to invest, the interest rates, the payment scheme and a whole lot more attached to your mortgage plan.

Fortunately, there are various ways in gauging the amount of mortgage and interest rates also known as loan amortization. Amortization is the process of dividing your payment schemes into your preferred number of years you find more convenient that are all subject with interest.

There are different types of loan amortization and one of that is the Equal Capital. This is where all necessary calculations are being displayed concerning monthly payments and the sum of variable payments. This kind of scheme is a good option since the amount of repayments lessens as you reach closer to the end date. There are also other types of amortization where a borrower is allowed to obtain repayments. This is considered one of the most favorable payment plans for it provides fixed monthly payment without worrying of paying all the interest in the first year. The Bolit Amortization on the other hand, is designed to generate interest only payments for a given period of time prior to making balance payments.

Although this comes with a bit of complexity, loan amortization should be something that you should learn in order to see for yourself the amount of interest you pay each month and determine if this really is something that works to your own advantage. The inability to determine these kinds of factors would only lead to misinterpretations and other financial burden. Loan amortization is a form of repayment that is basically done with the aid of a specified time frame.

If you agree on a 25year term then this comes with a pay off of over 25 year duration. Remember that the longer your term endures the greater the interest and the slower it becomes in paying back your mortgage. You can also employ in paying the minimum amount which is an option of paying lesser amount than the interest. However, this kind of payment plan is not considered an advantage since the reality of not really paying for the principal amount constitutes to adverse financial effects.

Overall, loan amortization is a tough and complicated matter. This requires good analysis, appropriate knowledge and judgment before dealing in this kind of program. Planning and doing your own research will help in making you choose the best option for your mortgage. Loan amortization should therefore be employed wisely and with adequate financial control and discipline.

What if there was a legal, moral, ethical way you could pay off your 15 to 30 year mortgage in 5 year or less without using your own money to accelerate the loan payoff? Visit http://dreambizpro.com and contact me at mortgages@mingo2.ws

By Neil Ebsworth

With the credit crisis showing no signs of abating and gas prices continuing to rise, the number of defaulting mortgages and foreclosures continues to rise. There is also increasing evidence that mortgage companies, many of whom outsourced their administration to third party operators are finding that the administrators are cracking under the sheer volume of paperwork that the credit crisis has thrown up.

At the time of outsourcing the loan administration most of the third party companies had no idea that they would be inundated with problem cases on the scale that has now arisen. caught short these companies are unable to provide the numbers of staff or training that is needed to cope.

A case recently highlighted by the NBC Dateline show, in which a family's home was put into foreclosure due to a computer error is becoming all to familiar a story with calls from some politicians for a moratorium period to be installed so that errors can be minimized.

Usually, a property will have to be at least three months in arrears before a foreclosure notice is made. What is currently happening that errors are taking up to 90 days or longer to be rectified meaning that properties are automatically placed in foreclosure before the errors are corrected. Once in foreclosure expenses and fees can amount to thousands of additional dollars in costs.

Complaints against mortgage companies administration departments are at record levels.

During such a time of turmoil in the market, there is hope at the end of the tunnel. The Federal Reserve rate cuts which dropped base rates to a low of 2.5% are slowly beginning to trickle into the market. The delay in cheaper mortgage deals has been attributed to mortgage providers wanting to increase margins to help cope with the number of defaulting clients.

The lack of cheaper mortgages, which was the primary goal of the federal reserve when it slashed rates has had a double negative effect of the US economy. Not only have the rate cuts not benefited the housing market, but the effect of weakening the US dollar in international money markets is one of the primary reasons that oil, which is priced around the world in Dollars per barrel, has risen in price so dramatically.

Despite the doom and gloom, there are now historically low rate opportunities for homebuyers. Combine this with the 'buyers market' and the ability to negotiate over price and the opportunities available to those looking at investing in property for the long term are extremely good.

A sign of this can be seen in the rise of the auction market, which is reporting record numbers of sales in quality homes. Once thought to be used for more commercial properties, auctions are now being inundated with investors looking for quality investments.

As you can see there is an awful lot to consider before effecting a purchase. to avoid the pitfalls and find the best deal it is always recommended that you get professional advice on the best deals available in the market. With thousands of deals available under differing terms and conditions, mortgage shopping and advice is a must.

For mortgage quotes, the lowest mortgage rates and jumbo loan rates go to the Loan Network Read more Article content at OMDN.

By MJ Jensen

Every day the media is telling everyone we are in a recession. Some experts are even saying to hold on because the United States could face a full blown Depression, the likes of which our country has not seen since the great Depression of the 1930's. Unemployment going up, people are losing their jobs by the thousands every month. The cost of gas has doubled in less than four years and the oil companies are getting rich off us. The Housing market is in the biggest slump in over Forty Years and Homeowners are facing foreclosures at the highest rate in over 100 years.

What does the current recession have to do with a Bulletproof, Budget Plan? Most consumers are currently buried in debt; the savings rate in the United States is at an all time low of 2 %. This means the majority of us are buried in debt because of many factors, among them: cost of mortgage, health problems, job loss, rising fuel costs or spending habits left unchecked. Many of us have not set-up a rainy day fund or kept their debt to income ratio low. Most consumers in the United States are living off their credit cards and that is train ride is heading for an almost guaranteed wreck.

So what can you do to protect yourself from this debt train wreck? Start by getting control of your debt right now. The best way to start is to set-up a budget plan to understand your current debt to cash flow ratio. This alone can start saving you money, just understanding your debt and refusing to spend money on stupid things.

So let me show you the top secret, bullet proof, fail safe, budget plan. First thing you're going to do is set up ten files in a folder or file cabinet. These ten folders are where you keep the receipts from your expenditures. Now label these folders as follow.

1. You, pay yourself first. Did you hear me? Pay yourself first always, this is where the rainy day fund will come from. Stop letting your money work for other people, make it work for you. This is your future retirement fund.

2. Giving, this is where you put the charitable donations to your religious organization, charitable organization.

3. Taxes, enough said, nobody likes them, but you have to pay them.

4. Home, Whatever your home it may be, house, condo or apartment. This is usually your largest expense.

5. Living Expenses, This could be utilities, food, clothing, remodeling or updating your home, or other expenses involved in maintaining your current living conditions.

6. Transportation, This includes auto, fuel, parking, subway or bus fares, auto repairs or auto payments.

The rest of the budget plan is continued in part two. You will find how to use this plan to start your recession busting budget plan today.

MJ Jensen has studied Real Estate from the Homeowners perspective for over 20 years. He provides tips on mortgage problems, and understanding debt and credit solutions for consumers. You can visit his site at http://www.stopbankforeclosurestips.com/free_report

By Simon Lance Burgess

Payment protection is a set of insurance policies that can be taken out to safeguard against a range of outgoings you have to make each month. There are three policies, loan protection, mortgage protection and income protection. All three can be taken out to ensure that you would have the income needed each month to be able to continue paying out what you owe to lenders.

Income protection insurance would allow you to protect up to a certain amount of your own income each month if you should become unemployed for no reason of your own. It would also give you a replacement income if you should fall ill or suffer an accident that meant you were unable to work. You are able to cover a certain amount of your own income each month and then if you need to you can put in a claim after a certain amount of time. With income protection you would not have to worry about finding your mortgage repayment each month or any loan outgoings you have to keep up with. You would also be able to continue paying any other essential outgoings and not have to decide which bills to put off until later.

Payment protection can also be taken out as a policy just to cover your mortgage each month. If you are worried that at sometime during the repayment of your mortgage you might become unemployed or incapacitated then you can cover up to so much of your monthly mortgage repayment. This would allow you the peace of mind that you would not get behind and into arrears so would not be at risk of losing your home. Mortgage protection can be taken out to cover against all three eventualities or you could just take out cover for incapacity only or unemployment only.

Loan protection is also available as a standalone policy and this would do the same for your loan repayments. You would be able to receive a tax-free income each month you were out of work or unemployed which would pay your lender. It is important to keep up with your loan or credit card repayments if you do not want to risk earning yourself a day in court and possible a Count Court Judgement. At the very least you would get a bad mark on your credit rating which could take many years to clear and during this time being approved for a loan would become very hard.

All types of payment protection will begin to provide an income after a certain period. This is usually between 30 and 90 days of becoming unemployed or of being incapacitated. Some providers will backdate their policies to day one of you becoming unfit or unemployed, so check the terms and conditions of the policy before taking it out. Once the cover has started to provide you with an income, it would do so for a certain length of time and then it ends. Usually policies are offered that would protect you for between 12 and 24 months.

Simon Burgess is Managing Director of the award-winning British Insurance, a specialist provider of payment protection.

By Robert W

Many of us dream of opening a Swiss bank account or having an anonymous credit card where we can spend our money without being constantly monitored and tracked by the authorities. There are many people who are just looking for privacy in this day of the CCTV, biometric control and intrusive attention to our business. I believe that where and how I bank is my business and regret not opening an offshore numbered bank account in the past. These anonymous non status bank accounts are increasingly difficult to obtain and advice is hard to come by. There are certainly scammer 'banking consultants' out there but where do you find the real information?

An extensive report is available as part of the subscription to Q Wealth Report and is written in clear, concise, easy to understand language you will learn things like:

Where and what is offshore?

Starting with the basics.

Be sure to keep things legal (tax avoidance) rather than going illegal (tax evasion)

Why Go Offshore? Do you really need to?

Do you need a Trust, Corporation or Foundation? How much does it really cost to set one up?

How to Choose the Right Offshore Bank depending on your needs and circumstances

How to do effective Due Diligence on Offshore Banks

The report also includes topical, up-to-date information such as:

When and how US citizens can access offshore banking expertise and opportunities

The impact of the UK's 2007 Money Laundering Regulations

What you really need to know about the EU Savings Tax directive and information exchange

Besides that, you will discover a wealth of nuts and bolts information, for example:

Do anonymous numbered accounts really exist?

What is the difference between Multi-Currency Accounts and Multiple Currency Accounts?

Methods of holding gold and other precious metals via offshore banks

How to open online brokerage accounts to access world markets from offshore

How, why and where to acquire an Anonymous Prepaid Cash card not linked to your main account, for ATM withdrawals worldwide.

Documents required by Offshore Banks for account opening

After retiring from the finance industry where he had a successful career working in the utilities industries in Debt Recovery, Asset Protection and Fraud Prevention he developed his international property portfolio and is currently helping a select number of individuals to grow their portfolios. http://www.secretbankaccounts.co.uk

By Tien-Hao Wei

I have started this site on How to Save Money in Tokyo. If you are planning to study abroad in Japan or travel to Japan. It does you no harm just to take a glance at this article.

I came to Japan two years ago. My first impression of this country is that "why is everything so expensive here"! Maybe the reason is that I'm Taiwanese and I used to live in Thailand for six years. So I tried to figure out some ways to save money in Japan since I don't receive much from my parents.

Let's go straight to the point, "How to Save Money in Tokyo". I will be talking about where to get cheap and tasty food in this article. To save money, I recommend that you cook by yourself. Why? Because restaurants are what take most of your money away! In Japan, in most of the cases you buy your ingredients in supermarkets. So here's the point. most of the supermarkets have some of their nearly-expired product half-priced after 7 or 8 p.m. Even though it's said to be nearly-expired, you can still store them for a day or two. By doing this it reduces 50% of your monthly food expense. Isn't it wonderful?

Next, to save money in Tokyo, you will be visiting this place called "Shop 99" in Japan. It's like dollar shop in the U.S. Including tax, everything in Shop 99 is only 104 yen. (less than a dollar). The products sold in Shop 99 are not always cheaper than other places, so don't get tricked. However, most of the products such as beverage and snacks are a lot cheaper than other convenient store. For example, a bottle of coke in other stores is 140 yen but here you can get it with only 104 yen. That makes a huge difference isn't it?

I'll stop here for today. If you have any questions please contact me at tienhaow@gmail.com

http://howtosavemoneyintokyo.blogspot.com/

By Tom Darwin

People like to keep their records straight when it comes to financial standings. However, it may sometime happen that there is a discrepancy which arises in the financial history of the borrower without him knowing about it. This can be a problem when in future; there is a requirement of money. Bad credit loans online are one way to solve all these issues related to finances.

The borrowers who require money urgently for their needs and do not have much time at their disposal, it is the best to take up this way of borrowing money which is fast as well as hassle-free. Bad credit loans can be applied for online which helps in faster approval and getting lower rate deals due to stiff competition that prevails.

Bad credit loans are available to be taken up in two forms. The first one is that of secured form of these loans. The money is made available by the lender only if the borrower is ready to pledge an asset with him as security. The asset should have a good equity value so that a good amount may be fetched. Any asset like house, car, stocks, bonds etc can be pledged. The amount available lies in the range of ฃ5000-ฃ75000 for a term of 5-25 years which the borrower has to repay the amount.

Another form of these loans is the unsecured one which does not require the borrowers to pledge any assets. This means that all borrowers which include tenants, homeowners and non-homeowners are eligible to take up these loans. The money available to the borrowers lies in the range of ฃ1000-ฃ25000 and has to be repaid in a term of 6 months to 10 years. Timely repayment of the loan money also helps the borrowers in improving their credit history so that future problems can be minimized.

Bad credit loans online are the best way one can cope with the needs of money when bad credit history is troubling them. The option that is most suitable can be taken up by the borrower easily.

Tom Darwin has done his masters in Business Administration from Oxford university and is currently assisting First Choice Loan as a finance specialist. For more information related to Bad Credit Loans Online, quick loans, cheap loans, instant loans, fast loans, instant approval loans please visit http://www.firstchoiceloan.co.uk/

By Sean Marten

We've all heard about the impact of the Economic Stimulus Plan on individual taxpayers, but not as much information has been reported by the media regarding its effect on small business. To stimulate a sluggish economy, Congress has included in HR5140 a provision for nearly $50 billion dollars in business tax cuts. This temporary change to the tax code will allow American businesses to buy new equipment this year with financial incentives designed to expand inventories and create new jobs while dramatically lowering their taxes.

What's In It for Me?

Understanding the business impact of HR5140 will allow you to take full advantage of the benefits associated with it. How does the act affect your business? Last year IRS Section 179 allowed a business that spent less than $500,000 on qualified tangible property to deduct the total cost of those assets, up to $125,000. While this was an attractive incentive, the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 is even more attractive. You may now deduct up to $250,000 for equipment purchased in 2008. This means that a business placing less than $800,000 of equipment in service this year would immediately be able to deduct up to $250,000 of its investment.

Section 179, But Better!

The expansion of Section 179 by the stimulus plan has effectively doubled the amount of the deductions allowed for new equipment. In addition, the Act generally permits a bonus first-year depreciation deduction of 50% for qualifying property acquired and put in service after December 31, 2007 and before January 1, 2009. This bonus is in addition to normal first-year depreciation. To reflect the new special depreciation allowance, the IRS is currently developing a new version of the depreciation and amortization form for fiscal year filers. The new form will be designated as the 2007 Form 4562-FY.

Equipment Financing and Leasing

If you have been considering adding equipment for your business, now is the time to act. Qualified equipment is defined in IRS Publication 946 and includes such common and movable tangible property as copiers, fax machines, computers, printers, some vehicles, office furniture, and even off-the-shelf computer software. If you've been thinking of expanding your fleet of vehicles, for example, now is an excellent time to do that. Or perhaps you need to upgrade your computers and your software. Equipment Finance companies can provide the financing or leasing structure you need so that you can quickly take advantage of the newly offered tax deductions and bonuses.

Assess your equipment needs, and then use this free Section 179 Calculator to figure your costs and your savings resulting from the Economic Stimulus Plan. This information offers you a personal look at what the new legislation means to your business specifically. To take advantage of this free information, go to http://www.Section179.org

By Tien-Hao Wei

In Japan, most of shops own their own point cards. They could be slightly different from each other. But they all share one similarity which is they all save money for you! Believe or not, I could save over 100$ by using point cards in a year.

What point cards can do for you are that they give you 3%~10% discount usually, or they give you returning points (1 pt = 1 yen) which you can use later on. Think! if you buy something 1000 yen you get 100 yen back man!

So when you arrive Japan, first thing you should do is to figure out which shops you go often. It's just a waste of time to make point cards from shops you only go once a year. In many shops, once or twice a week they have this "multiply point day". So when you are making your new point cards, don't forget to ask the shops what day of the week they have their "multiply point day". Usually, on the "multiply point day" the points you get returned will be 2~5 times than usual. For example, the returning rate is 5% in a normal day and the multiply rate is 5 times. It becomes 25%. So if you buy something for 1,000 yen, you get 250 yen back in return. It's amazing right.

Sometimes when I walk on the street in Tokyo, I see some shops saying points X 10 or points X 20. So don't hesitate! Trust me point cards will save you a lot of money. Well, at least for me?

If you want to know more about how to save money in Tokyo. visit my site

http://howtosavemoneyintokyo.blogspot.com/

By Ray Caran

Why is everyone so interested in learning how to trade FOREX?

Online Currency trading on the Foreign Exchange (FOREX) provides a very interesting wealth building investment vehicle for the average person.

FOREX education is free or cheap. Search Forex Trading on Google and you will see what I mean. Every day hundreds of people are discovering just how rewarding online currency trading can provide.

Successful FOREX traders have a lifestyle most people can only dream about.

You can learn the technical aspects off trading while you keep your day job. Once you have perfected your trading system you will have ample opportunity for your system to prove it will generate sufficient income before you to quit your day job.

Are you aware that 9 out of 10 traders lose money in the Forex market? That's right, 90% of individual FX traders keep losing their hard-earned money in the market; while the rest of the 10% work freely at home.

As stated above the truth about Forex Trading is that most traders end up losing money.

Have you wondered why some 90% of investors lose and the rest are winners? Finely honed Forex trading skills and the individual system! Forex market is definitely not a game for the faint of heart and you need to sharpen your skills before investing.

Steps To Follow:

1. Formulate a program.

2. Test your program

3. Stick to your method for a set period of time/trades

Ideas You Must Adopt To Become a Profitable Trader

Trade in the direction of the trend

Start investing small amounts

How To Benefit From The Trend:

Identify what the trend is.
More profitable trades are made in the direction of the trend.
To get a better view of the market use multiple time frames.
Let the market tell you what it is doing. Know how to read the indicators
All major trends will have some retrenchment.
Don't make it more complicated than it is.
You can hold your trades longer in a good trend.

Remember that these items can affect the Forex market:

Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Durable goods Orders
Employment Situation
Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)
Federal Fund Rates
Global Domestic Product (GDP)
Housing Starts
Industrial Products
Inflation
International Trade Balance
Manufacturing Index
Personal Income
Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)
Producer Price Index (PPI)
Retail Sales
Unemployment Rate

Forex charts are not something that can be interpreted in a few minutes. The most successful traders will take time to fully evaluate and act upon the data that is presented.

Without this knowledge, you are very likely to fail in this very liquid active market.

Tips To Help You Succeed:

Trade with a stop loss

Trust your program

Follow your rules and stick with your program.

There are a number of amazing automatic trading programs available to help you invest wisely. Look into some of those programs.

Go here for an amazing Automatic Forex Trading System http://forexprofitswhileyousleep.blogspot.com/

By Kurt Jackson

"Reverse Mortgages cost too much." "Don't get a Reverse Mortgage because they cost too much." That's the message the media pundits want you to believe.

Reverse Mortgages cost too much in Kansas City, Missouri, compared to what?

Let's do what the media hasn't done, let's examine this more thoroughly. In our example a 62 year old with a $250,000 house would qualify for an $118,033 Line of Credit (LOC). Their closing costs would be about $10,180 so their available LOC is $107,853.

Let's say this person needed $100,000 for something very important. She has many other assets she could access. (I'm not a Tax advisor always consult a tax advisor). If she pulled $100,000 out of an IRA it would be taxed as ordinary income. IN 2007 a single tax payer making $100,000 would be in the 28% marginal tax bracket, so without ANY other income she would have to pull out approximately $128,369 just to cover the Federal Taxes. That's $28,369 in taxes JUST for Federal Taxes. Now according to my math $28,369 is $18,189 more than the closing costs on the Reverse Mortgage.

More importantly, she will lose the earning power on that $128,189, which at 6% in 20 years is worth $424,331.80. Where the amount owed on the Reverse Mortgage with the 20 year average rate of 6.54% would be $418,405 (assuming a $25 monthly service fee). Which one cost her more?

What if that $128,189 had earned 7% over 20 years (not a crazy assumption) then it would have been worth $517,721. That's a SAVINGS of almost $100,000 from the Reverse Mortgage. Some would point out there are taxes on that money. While true, the estate could possibly use the $296,142.80 in interest/fees to offset that money when the estate is sold.

So do Reverse Mortgages cost too much in Kansas City, Missouri?

It depends on your situation and what you want to do.

Any time you hear blanket statements, especially in the media, take it with a grain of salt and seek out a true professional that can accurately answer your questions.

Consult with a Reverse Mortgage professional that will share with you all this information. For more information go to http://www.stayinyourhomekc.com or call Kurt Jackson at 816-415-1737.

By Joe Cole

PC based credit card processing solutions are uniquely vulnerable to security breaches and other potentially costly issues. Before you set up your small business merchant accounts, it is a good idea that you understand where the risks are in accepting card payments and how you can minimize them. Your credit card merchant processor should be available to help you. The risks can broadly be divided into two groups: fraudulent transactions and processing errors or inaccuracies.

There are a number of services to help you fight credit card processing fraud. All major credit card networks and companies have implemented a three- (Visa, MasterCard and Discover) or four-digit (American Express) security code that is inscribed on the back (Visa, MasterCard and Discover) or front (American Express) of each credit or debit card. The purpose of these codes is to ensure that the cardholder is in physical possession of the card. Another credit card payment processing security tool is the Address Verification System (AVS). It is designed to verify the identity of the person attempting to make a card payment. The system checks the numeric portions of the provided billing address and compares it to the ones that the card issuing company has on file. For example, if the address that is being verified is 5900 Central St., Cambridge, MA 02143, the AVS checks 5 900 and 02143. If there is an apartment number in the address, the system may check it as well.

The most common processing errors that plague eCommerce merchant accounts are inaccurate transaction information and improper authorization. Because payments are accepted over the internet, the information has to be key entered, instead of read from the card's magnetic strip. It is easy to understand how this process can generate significantly more inaccuracies than a manual credit card processing operation. Merchants need to double check the payment details in order to reduce potential chargebacks. Authorizations present another challenge. Transactions should not be forced through if authorizations fail and, although credit card processing companies offer them, voice authorizations should be avoided as they don't provide a record that can be represented in a case of a chargeback.

As you see, internet credit card payment processing solutions require closer attention than their face-to-face merchant account processing counterparts. Yet, with the proper system in place, virtual transactions can be almost as secure.

eCommerce Credit Card Processing

Credit Card Merchant Processor

By Sarah Gillies

An audit is an evaluation of a person, organization, system, process, project or product. An audit would be performed to determine the strength and reliability of information.

A company will perform a financial audit to prove that its financial statements truly represent its position in the market and to assess the fairness by which a companys financial statements are presented by its management. It is designed to reduce any possibility of missing or false information, whether simply by error or by fraud. Different countries have different audit options as do different firms and organisations.

A financial audit is usually performed once a year before a company releases its financial statement. Internal audits are performed by employees of the companies so that they can easily find out any problems. External audits are independent staff assigned by an auditing firm to evaluate financial statements. Most external auditors are employed by accounting firms once a year for their annual audit.

There are 4 stages of an audit: Planning and risk assessment, Internal controls testing, Substantive procedures and Finalization.

Planning and risk Assessment

The planning and risk assessment starts by understanding what the business does and how it operates and the work out any possible risks. Internal controls testing. The next stage is internal controls testing which includes checking computer security, account reconciliations and how many people are needed to complete tasks. The stronger the internal controls are the easier this is for the auditor.

Substantive procedures

The Substantive procedures stage collects evidence that the figures made in the financial statement are reliable. Auditors rely on this stage when the internal controls are strong.

Finalization

The last stage of the audit is used to compile a report to the managers of the company which detail any important matters/issues that have come to light during the audit.

There are now tools that have been developed to perform audits using a computer. When a human being is performing an audit it is very difficult to view and record every single document so they view only a sample. A Computer Aided Audit Tool (or CAAT) can analyse large volumes of data looking for anomalies. Unlike a human being it can review all transactions, test all the data and look for duplicate transactions. They can test 100% of the data rather than just a selection.

The four largest accounting firms in the world are often referred to as 'the Big Four'. They are: PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, KPMG and Deloitte.

Auditors need to be 'people people' as they will often be working with a large team of auditors. Risk management is a very important part of the job and as an internal auditor, you may well be the person in the best position to see new opportunities or note areas of danger to your firm. You'll also have to be completely trustworthy as you'll be looking at a lot of highly confidential information. You'll also need to be willing to continually learn and develop as new regulations and standards are always being introduced. An auditor who keeps up with the emerging standards and then puts them into practice will be highly sought after. You need to be able to write your recommendations in an easy to follow and clear way because the people that read these audits are not specialist in risk management and accounting and they need to be able to understand it.

If you are an auditor or think that you may have the skills to become an auditor there are many options available to you to study and look for an auditing job.

Sarah writes on behalf of Careers In Audit, the world's leading job board for audit professionals. http://www.careersinaudit.com/Home/Home.aspx

By Donald Renal

"Predatory lending practices". Its just one new catch phrase that has been born out of the latest financial crisis to hit the U.S. What does it mean and are lenders truly predators? The sad truth is that far too many people have positioned themselves to be victims of financial predators by virtue of the fact that they just lack the knowledge to understand what is going on around them when credit is being granted and a loans is being made.

Changing Financial Systems

They are in essence "financially illiterate and it is going to only get worse as countries and economies across the globe move away from cash economies and more towards credit or e-money economies. The need for financial literacy is now more necessary then it has ever been before and yet people are still falling behind.

Confusing Credit Applications and Contracts

Sure, colleges offer business and accounting courses but how many people actually take them when they are in college? The answer to that question is very few. So if high schools don't teach financial literacy and the only opportunity beyond that to acquire it is advanced college courses, where does that leave the common person that just wants to be able to understand a credit card application, so they don't get ripped off?

The Current Economical Slump Will End

The best place as it stands at the present time is by learning at home using study material that can be procured online. Financial literacy is going to be more important then ever when the U.S. economy emerges from its current slump in in just a few short years. This is due to the fact that lenders and credit institutions are going to be playing by far more stringent rules.

Will You Take Advantage - or Be Taken Advantage?

New government instituted regulations, as well as their own stipulations the will be instituted are going to leave the deck stacked against he consumer in the game of finance. That is unless you have taken the time and effort to increase you financial literacy.

Written by Donald Renal. Find the latest information on Financial Literacy as well as a Financial Education Video For Teens

By Sharon C Frith

If your car breaks down - you go to a mechanic, right? If you have a health problem you go to a doctor. If you want to learn new skills you go to school or college. So if you want to learn how to create wealth and attain financial security it makes sense to take some tips from the experts - those people who are already living the life you are dreaming of.

Believe it or not creating wealth and financial security is not as simple as working hard and saving your pennies. Many people work hard their whole life and yet don't have more than a subsistence lifestyle. Likewise many people save the first dollar they ever made, but they still don't have financial security. Being wealthy and financially comfortable is a lot more than just having money in the bank - it is a way of life. And over the years some people have created that life for themselves - look at Donald Trump, Bill Gates or Tony Robbins for example. These people are not only rich in financial terms; they are also wealthy and they have financial security. And luckily for you there are people, just like the Trumps and Robbins of this world, who are happy to share with you their steps to success.

There are a lot of benefits in learning from successful people. Firstly although it might not be evident now, most people have to suffer a few hard knocks on their way to success. If you are learning from these people, you can avoid their mistakes. Secondly, when you learn from other people you are learning not just physical skills and goals, you are also learning about the mindset of these successful people - and that is the vitally important difference between having money and being wealthy. For example did you know that if you won the lottery today, you have more chance of being back where you were financially before you won the money within two years, than actually making a success of your life? Its true. Being wealthy and secure financially is a whole lot more than just having money.

So what can you do to start creating your wealthy and financially secure life? Do some homework. Seek out people and courses that are being run by those who are already living the life you want to have. Follow their advice; don't be afraid to ask questions; and start learning how not only to make decent money, but also how to create for yourself the mindset of a successful and financial secure person.

The single biggest reason why people want to be wealthy and financially secure is because they then have the freedom to live their lives the way they want to. Wealthy and financially secure people have built up their financial system in such a way that it withstands Stock Market crashes, or high oil prices in the Middle East. They are living a good life that doesn't threaten their financial security. They have the mindset of what it takes to be a success and have the freedom in life that financial security can achieve.

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By Corinne Lor

It's very important that financial analysts are accurate when working with numbers. One simple mistake can be costly for the firm and cost you your job. I've seen quite a few traders and equity analysts lose their position on the pedestal for arriving at the wrong calls using wrong numbers.

"Fail your way to success."

I don't know who coined this phrase. I appreciate the wisdom in these words and it is one of my mottos. I think many people would balk at this idea though.

The education system conditions everyone since grade school that mistakes are bad. You're penalized with poor grades for being wrong and rewarded with good grades for being right. This carries over to the education system and then makes its way to the professional world. To be hired by the most prestigious financial institution on Wall Street, you need to have outstanding grades to attend the top B-schools and pass the CFA exam with flying colors.

Of course it would be nice to be able to do things right the first time. What are the chances of that happening? We all fell down when we learned to walk. Otherwise, there wouldn't be internship programs for the newcomers or a hierarchy in the financial world differentiating people by the amount of experience they have.

Experience is just a euphemism for a collection of mistakes. The key is to learn from your mistakes and not let them stop you from achieving your goal. Successful financial analysts who are high up in the hierarchy are those who have amassed and learned from their "experiences."

No matter what stage of your career you're in, there's always something new to learn. This means there are always chances of making mistakes even if you apply extreme caution.

Try out as many things as early as possible while the stakes are low. When your stakes are high, hire mentors and advisers who have walked the path before you. It is preferable to be able to reduce the learning curve and gain from others' experiences at this stage.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes. A guaranteed way to avoid mistakes is to not take any actions but this would be the biggest mistake.

Start asking yourself the following 2 questions whenever things are going the way you intended:

1) What did I learn from it?
2) How would I do it differently the next time?

You might need to rebuild a valuation model you've spent a whole week constructing because the valuation method you used turned out not to be the best for that particular investment. You might have worked really hard to break into investment banking and found out it isn't for you, and you would need to switch to another finance field that aligns with your passion and long-term career goals.

Mistakes is an integral part of, and not a contradiction to your strive for excellence. In the competitive world of financial analysts, not being afraid to make mistakes is an indispensable mindset to help you outperform your peers.

Corinne Lor is a success coach for professionals in the banking and finance industry. Visit Financial Analyst blog to read: 30 Qualities Of Outstanding Analysts.

By Tom Simmons

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are two government sponsored entities (GSEs). GSEs are set up by the government but run privately. These two GSEs were started to back up mortgages, making it easier for banks to dole out more mortgages with greater risks and lower rates to more families. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac combined now own or back up almost half of all mortgages in America.

With this in mind, the two GSEs hold a lot of power and sway in the American economy. Their unusual combination of government and private backing allow them to reap benefits that other companies cannot. These benefits caused them to grow enormously and also caused the market and investors to trust them more than other companies. There is a rationale suggesting that because Frannie Mae and Freddie Mac both have government backing, even if they crash, the government will save them by whatever means necessary. This cushion gives investors a sense of security. And this sense of security has allowed a housing bubble to form.

Another issue involved with the governmental backing of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is their sheer size. Combined, the two GSEs hold over $3 trillion in purchased mortgages. If they were to hit a financial crisis, it's true that the government would have to bail them out, but it would be done on behalf of the taxpayer. What it comes down to is the size of the two GSEs is so influential that a financial crisis for them would be a financial crisis for many Americans.

Since then, there have been many efforts made to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac so that the two of them manage their finances and prevent Americans from suffering from risky maneuvers. There have also been attempts to try and completely privatize the two GSEs, thereby removing all of their governmental perks, but so far all attempts have proven unsuccessful.

There are numerous arguments concerning what should be done with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In 2003, both companies were found to have improperly accounted their earnings by the billions, leading to the resignation of several of top-notch executives. Needless to say, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's incredible amount of financial power and ubiquity have kept them under close scrutiny by economists and politicians alike.

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By Ryan Crown

Asset Allocation is an important feature as far as the range of investing for any investor is concerned. It is extremely important to have a mixture of assets when you invest, because the best-performing asset varies from year to year and is not easily predictable.

Asset Allocation primarily involves categorizing an investment option amongst various asset categories that is offered. It could be in the form of a stock, fund or a share and the option that you choose is thoroughly a self made decision that will decide the time you could go about tolerating the risk. Any major investment involves some amount of risk. It could be you come out thoroughly victorious, or it could be that you loose some amount of your investment or the complete amount. Hence prior to investing it is advisable get the complete market report on the asset you purchase or invest upon. Well if we overlook the negativities and focus on the positives then the reward for taking on risk is the potential for a greater investment return in the longer run. For short term investments it is advised that one tries cash investments.

By having an in-depth knowledge regarding the asset that the investor wishes to invest upon he becomes aware of the possible losses he could incur in case of a wrong initiation that he takes during the investment part. In case you invest on three primary assets then it is obvious that the returns from all the three assets wouldn't be the same. You might garner high returns from one investment and loose out from the other couple of them and vice-versa. So it is always advisable to invest in more then one asset at a time so that the chances of an overall loss are avoided. In addition, asset allocation is important because it has major impact on whether you will meet your financial goal. If you don't include enough risk in your portfolio, your investments may not earn a large enough return to meet your long time goal.

To choose and determine the asset you would want to invest in isn't an easy option. So choosing three assets at a time is the entire more tough specially since it is a long term investment and you have to mix and handle them with emaculate maturity. It is here that two important factors creep up. A) Your time zone, i.e the amount of time you intend to keep the investment and B) The Risk Factor, i.e how far are you willing to go with your investment. The most common thing that takes place after you invest in assets is that you change them. This happens because once you near you investment goals you need to re-arrange your strategies for another investment plan. On the other hand a matured investor doesn't change their investment strategies or their assets because over time some of your investments may become out of alignment with your investment goals. This is called Re-Balancing. It is all about bringing back your Assets in the original form just like the way you invested.

Mostly people would recommend to re-balance when the relative weight of an asset class fluctuates more than a certain percentage and is identified in advance. The Prime advantage that you get in this method is you have an idea as to when you should re-balance your assets and start all over with a new investment plan so that you again gain on in some profits.

Financial adviser, investment planner and fund manager employed with Franklin Templeton India