Thursday, September 25, 2008

How to Choose a Quality Cookware Set

If you are considering purchasing new cookware, you probably are wondering how to make the most sensible purchase and still get all the pieces and features you need. Price is always a major factor in deciding which cookware set is right for you. Choosing the perfect cookware set involves much more than color and the availability of nifty glass lids that you can see through. If you are a serious cook, or simply want the best deal for the price, you will need to be more practical in making your decision.

The main factor in choosing cookware is the material from which it is made. Copper is very expensive, but conducts heat better than any other material. Heat conduction allows your food to cook evenly. You will undoubtedly find cookware that is constructed from stainless steel with a copper reinforced bottom. The problem with this type of cookware is that the bottom of the food will cook faster than the rest, making it very difficult to avoiding burning and/or scorching your food. Braising is out of the question in a stainless steel pan with a copper reinforced bottom.

You need cookware that allows heat to be distributed evenly. You are probably very familiar with pans that have hot spots. Hot spots are places in the pan where the food cooks disproportionately faster than in the rest of the pan. Cookware with even heat distribution is imperative if you are serious about the food you cook. The problem with copper, cast iron, and aluminum cookware is that certain foods will absorb a metal taste and color from the pans, not to mention you will ingest some of the metal that is transferred to the food. Copper will scratch and discolors easily, but every cook should have at least one copper bowl for beating egg whites. Copper bowls will allow you to beat eggs whites to their maximum volume.

Aluminum is inexpensive, but as mentioned before, will react with certain foods in an unfavorable manner. Aluminum wears down quickly, although there are anodized pans that will cut down on reactivity and increase durability. If you opt for aluminum cookware, anodized is the best choice. Cast iron is good for searing steaks and a few other specialized cooking tasks, but you must keep your cast iron cookware seasoned to avoid sticking and pitting of the pan.

The fact is that there is no perfect cookware. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks. Stainless steel is probably the best compromise. Stainless steel is in the middle price range and heat conductivity. It is durable and cleans easily and will not react with any type of food you cook. Another good choice is stainless steel with an aluminum insert that goes all the way up the sides of the pan.

The conclusion would seem to be that in order to get a good set of cookware, you will have to spend some money, but it is not necessary to get the most expensive type. A good stainless steel cookware set with a few special pieces such as a non-stick frying pan, a copper bowl, and any other extras you desire will be your best choice.

Eat Well On a Budget

Shopping on a Shoestring

Eating properly for health on a limited budget is always a challenge. One of the biggest money gobbling culprits is ready made processed and packaged foods and too many trips for fast food. Although they’re quick neither of these ways are cost effective. When it comes to shopping on a shoestring and planning great tasting menus at home you’ll be surprised how well you can eat following these simple guidelines.

10 healthy ways to keep food costs within budget…

Make three meals a week without meat and watch your food bill drop. You won’t even notice the meat is missing when you experiment and combo flavorful foods for meals. It’s easier than you think. Include other forms of protein to complete your required nutrition.

Cook regular rice it only takes 10 minutes longer than Minute Rice (which actually takes 5 minutes) and it’s half the cost. This works for many other products as well.

Left over rice, corn or other vegetables? Add it to tomato soup or any other favorite soup the next day.

Cook (boil, bake or microwave) enough potatoes to fry or prepare in any other favorite potato dish for your next meal

Shop from the outside aisles – this is where most of the non-processed foods are. The inner aisles of grocery stores are all packaged and cost more

When your favorite vegetables come in season, buy lots. Peppers are easy to freeze – no blanching required, just cut in slices, bag them and freeze them. Prices can be 1/3 of what the out of season vegetable costs.

To avoid throwing out food you haven’t used make a plan for the week that includes the foods in your fridge that need to be used before spoiling. This also takes the guess work out of what to have for dinner or lunch every day.

Cut your juice down with water. Most juices are heavy with sugar or glucose. Using this idea can make a can of juice last twice as long and cut your sugar intake as well.

Plan your weekly menus with tasty meals from your favourite recipes that use inexpensive ingredients. You will be amazed at how this plan helps avoid fast food meals.

And of course never shop when you’re hungry!

Following these 10 ideas will make a big difference to your food bill at the end of each month. Remember there are many meals you can add to your meal plans that won't take much longer than quick cooking foods which cost more.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

The Top 7 Overlooked E-bay Success Tips

Last year alone, millions of people made a profit on e-bay. Some were just selling odds and ends, while some ran huge businesses exclusively on e-bay. The amount of commerce done on the internet is only expected to increase, making prospects for e-bay users bright. You very well may be one of the people who's discovered the great benefits of making money from e-bay auctions. I myself have been an e-bay user for a little over a year and have had great success with my auctions.

When my friend began her business on e-bay selling high end purses, it started out quite rocky. Her auctions weren't getting the hits she wanted and usually sold off of one bid, instead of creating the bidding frenzy that beautiful bags like she had should have!

So, she called me up knowing I had been successfully using e-bay for almost a year at the time. She gave me her login information (we're best friends- she trusts me!) and asked me to check her her sales and current auctions and see if I noticed where the problem was. When I saw her current auctions, alot became obvious!

So, I compiled a list of things that I had used which had made me successful which I suggested she implement into her own auctions. I even revised the auctions she had active at the time. One of those auctions- a gorgeous brown Coach purse- sold for $546.00. She had listed it for $125.00. It was her biggest sale yet and she was thrilled.

The funny thing is, the methods I use are not some internet guru secrets. They are just things I picked up during my time using e-bay, but seem to be overlooked alot of the time. Here are what I have found to be the top 7 overlooked tips for successful e-bay auctions:

1. The Importance of a Good Title- When you're creating a title for your auction, you've gotta think like a buyer. When I checked my friend's listings, she had a beautiful, brand new brown patchwork Coach purse titled as 'coach purse'. This is way too general! A buyer knows what they want; in your title, include color, any brand name, main keywords that people will search, and condition is possible. I changed her title to "Brown & Beige Patchwork Coach Purse-Brand New". By the next day, it had over 100 new hits. Previously her auctions were hardly even reaching 100 hits throughout the whole 5 days.

Another mistake people often make is writing things like 'The best wristwatch ever!!!!" Even if you do believe you're selling the best wristwatch ever, is this really what a buyer is searching for? Of course not. Use a more descriptive, detailed title like 'Gold Armani Wrist Watch w/ Leather Band-New".

One more thing when it comes to titles: make sure keywords are included. For example, whatever the item you're selling actually IS, include that in the title. On e-bay, I mostly sell high end women's heels. I always make sure to include in my title 'Womens Shoes" because this is a common keyword. An example of a title I would use is:

"Brown Marc Jacobs Womens Silver Stud Pumps Shoes"- I know that 'pumps shoes' sounds awkward, but many women will search for "marc jacobs womens shoes", and I want to be sure my item shows up in the results. Use these tips when creating your title and you'll be sure to see increased traffic to your auction.

2. Give honest descriptions- Sure, that stain, tear, or other defect may be sooo small that it's almost impossible to notice. Still, mention it in your auction. If you send an item out and a buyer realizes that the item has a defect that you didn't mention in the auction description, they will be disappointed and very possibly leave you negative feedback. Anyone familiar with e-bay knows that feedback is everything. It is what makes people feel comfortable buying from you and proves that you are a trustworthy, reliable buyer.

It's best to provide a photo of any defects so potential buyers can see what they're getting. And believe me, if you say that there's a defect but don't show a picture, people will e-mail you asking for some. I have sometimes had a defect so tiny on a shoe that I couldn't even get it to show up in a picture. If that's the case, say it! Provide a picture of the area where the defect is and also explain in your listing that it's so miniscule that you can't get it to show up in the picture. Buyers will trust you much more and be way more willing to buy from you in the future. You also won't have to deal with an unsatisfied customer who can damage your feedback rating and make future potential buyers hesitant or even completely dissaude them from buying from you.

3. Offer International Shipping- So often I see sellers who are providing great products but don't offer international shipping. Let me tell you- about 30% of my sales are to international buyers, and very often international buyers will pay more for products. I never understood why people are restraining their own sales potential by not offering international shipping.

Remember, the buyer is the one who pays the shipping, not you!! Even though international shipping is expensive, you are not paying it! And don't be discouraged thinking sending things internationally is difficult- it's super simple and not much different then sending things within the country. If you use USPS (the method I find most efficient for prices and service), you may have to fill out a short customs sheet that takes no more than a minute. Don't be lazy! Offer international shipping and see your sales soar!

4. Send a Thank You card with your purchase- You can get packs of black decorative cards from any general store, WalMart, or even discount chains like TJ Maxx. Buy a couple packs and with people's packages, send a nice thank you card.

You don't have to write a dialog, just a simple "Name of Buyer, Thanks so much for your bid! Enjoy your purchase, and I hope to do business with you in the future! Your Name or Business Name" If you want to really go all out and rake in some super feedback, include a small free gift. When I sell a pair of shoes I usually include a free headband or pair of earrings. If you'd like to try this out, try to find something that compliments whatever it is that you're selling. You could also include a little bag of candy or some tea light candles (go to the dollar store for great knick knacks and free gift ideas). Use your imagination to make your customers satisfied and loyal!

5. Offer combined shipping Buyers love combined shipping. If you offer a good combined shipping deal, and have more than one item they're interested in, they're ten times more likely to buy both items. Some people choose to determine combined shipping depending upon the two items the buyer is interested in, while others have set shipping rules. A good example is to charge $_.__ for the first item and offer to send the second item free, or for $1.00-$2.00 more. Usually the additional weight of the package isn't much so it's possible to offer combined shipping without losing any profit at all. Determine your own rates depending on the weight of the items you sell and the shipping service you use.

6.Keep communication with Buyers open and offer more pictures upon request. Of course in your listing you must include good pictures to attract buyers. Most people include 2-4 pictures per listing, depending on the size of the items and any special details you've got to show. I always include at least 3 pictures, and more if I feel the item needs more pictures of some detail it has that is unique.

Even though you have already provided your buyers with good pictures, it's helpful to write in your listing "Contact me with any questions or for more pictures. (with your contact info)" This is another method that makes buyers instantly trust you more and feel more comfortable placing bids. They feel that the communication lines are open and that they can get more info on the item if needed. And don't be discouraged thinking that you'll spend the whole day responding to e-mails requesting more photos; If you've already included good pictures, most people won't bother asking for more. Of over 50 listings where I've written this, only one person ever asked me for additional pictures. Check your e-mail though at least once a day to see if you've got any questions, people love quick responses and will reward you with good feedback for your effective communication.

7. Always use Delivery Confirmation- This is a biggie! Make sure that when you post your shipping costs, delivery confirmation costs are included so buyers aren't questioning the extrra expense when they receive their invoice. Delivery confirmation is a cheap effective way to ensure both your own and the buyer's investment.

First of all, you do not want to get scammed. What? Scammed? Yes, it happens. I know that most of the scamming referred to on e-bay is about sellers who scam their buyers, but don't be naive; we sellers are also at risk. Although the majority of the e-bay community is good people who are just trying to conduct legitimate transactions, there are those rotten apples which make it hard for all of us.

The usefulness of delivery confirmation was brought to my attention my an acquaintence of mine who does some selling on e-bay. He sold some very high quality digital remote for around $250.00. He shipped the item using delivery confirmation, and after about a week told me he received an e-mail from the buyer saing she'd never received the product. She filed a whole complaint with e-bay and made a big fuss about it. GOOD THING he had the delivery confirmation number and was able to prove that the product had been shipped to her address. Don't let one of these scammers get a chance to cheat you out of your money.

Making delivery confirmation a requirement is also something that will make serious bidders trust you more and see that you're a legitimate business person who wants to secure shipment. Think about it; if someone requests NOT to use delivery confirmation, you can guess where their intentions are. The extra .75 is not breaking anyone's piggy bank, so don't feel bad about it.

There you have it! Use these highly useful yet highly overlooked tips to generate more traffic to your auctions and enjoy higher sale prices. To e-bay success!

Understanding the Mortgage Meltdown; What happened and Who's to Blame





People are losing their homes and many more will lose their jobs before the mortgage meltdown works its way through the system.

To paraphrase Alan Greenspan's remarks on March 17th, 2008, “The current financial crisis in the US is likely to be judged in retrospect as the most wrenching since the end of the Second World War. The crisis will leave many casualties.”

How many casualties? Experts are predicting that in the next few years, between 15 and 20 million homeowners could have homes worth less than what they owe. Walking away from a bad situation may actually make sense for people who mortgages that are 'upside down' considering the fact that refinancing is out of the question and home equity is nonexistent.

It seems quite easy to point fingers at greedy Wall Street titans for causing the sub-prime mortgage crises. They after all, put together the deals that allowed banks to underwrite mortgages and then offload these liabilities to investors. What many fail to realize is that there is no shortage of blame to go around from homeowners buying more home than they could afford to real estate agents looking for more commission dollars. Mortgage brokers and bankers, the banks themselves, ratings agencies such as Moody's and Standard & Poor's, Wall Street, the Fed and last but certainly not least, the Federal Government.

Let's start with the homeowners--the people who are now in the process or soon to enter the process, of losing their homes. Some of these people had never before owned a home and as such, may not have been prepared for the costs associated with homeownership. Basic financial literacy is sorely lacking in this country despite there being no shortage of budgeting and tracking programs readily available such as Quicken and Microsoft Money. The lack of financial literacy does not absolve these buyers of their responsibility. Every borrower receives a truth in lending disclosure statement. Here is a portion of what the act covers:

The purpose of TILA (Truth In Lending Act) is to promote the informed use of consumer credit by requiring disclosures about its terms and cost. TILA also gives consumers the right to cancel certain credit transactions that involve a lien on a consumer's principal dwelling, regulates certain credit card practices, and provides a means for fair and timely resolution of credit billing disputes. With the exception of certain high-cost mortgage loans, TILA does not regulate the charges that may be imposed for consumer credit. Rather, it requires a maximum interest rate to be stated in variable-rate contracts secured by the consumer's dwelling. It also imposes limitations on home equity plans that are subject to the requirements of Sec. 226.5b and mortgages that are subject to the requirements of Sec. 226.32. The regulation prohibits certain acts or practices in connection with credit secured by a consumer's principal dwelling.

Much of the subprime mortgage crisis can be traced directly back to variable-rate mortgages. As is clearly stated above, “TILA does not regulate the charge that may be imposed for consumer credit. Rather, it requires a maximum interest rate to be stated in variable-rate contracts secured by the consumers dwelling.” It also clearly states that TILA also gives consumers the right to cancel certain credit transactions that involve a lien on a consumer's principal dwelling. One has to wonder whether or not these homeowners:

1. Bothered to read the truth in lending act disclosure at all.

2. Understood what the truth in lending act disclosure meant.

3. Chose to ignore the information printed clearly the truth in lending act disclosure.

A number of months ago, just as the subprime mortgage crisis was beginning to unfold, The New York Daily News ran an article about a family in New York City, who had bought a home and were now faced with the prospect of foreclosure. The article was sympathetic to this family, highlighting the fact that they're living the American dream and that this dream was about to come to an end. What I found to be distressing was the fact that clearly visible in the photo that accompanied this sympathetic article was a very expensive flat screen television hanging on the wall. Perhaps I'm naïve, but I can assure you that if I were faced with the prospect of losing my home and having my family put out on the street, there is absolutely no way that I would still have that expensive television hanging on my wall. It would have been one of the first things to be sold and some financial relief would be found by jettisoning what I'm sure was the expensive cable bill.

Clearly the public needs easy access to financial literacy courses. Too bad we don't see the need to make this a mandatory course of study in our educational system.

Mortgage bankers and brokers have in the last four or five years been raking in cash by the bucket load in the form of commissions paid when mortgages they've originated, close. Many of these people have not needed to do much in the way of prospecting. Instead, their phones have run off the hook as people have jumped on the homeownership and refinancing and take out extra cash bandwagon, despite their ability to pay for their home. No-document loans were readily available without the borrower having to produce documentation that backed up their income. Clearly this practice can and indeed has, lead to substandard loan underwriting processes. Were some of these mortgage bankers and brokers dishonest? Sure. Were all of them dishonest? I think not. To have a massive nationwide conspiracy, where thousands and thousands of people involved in the mortgage banking and mortgage brokering profession got together to create this situation is simply not feasible. Yes, some of the blame does belong with those in the mortgage industry, but they were simply a small cog in the huge machine that created this mess.

Let's discuss real estate agents. In 2007, we bought a home, and also sold a home. The agent we used to purchase our home was absolutely fantastic. In our opinion, she went above and beyond to make our deal happen. She answered every phone call, followed up on every concern and was the epitome of professionalism. We consider this individual to be a friend, and we have sent referrals her way that have resulted in her earning additional commissions. We will continue to recommend her to all who ask or mention that they'd like to buy or sell a home in our area.

The real estate agent, we used to sell our home, could not have been more different. We got our old home ready to sell prior to closing on our new home. We decided to list it as “For Sale by Owner.” In the event that we didn't sell this home on our own, it was our intention to list it with an agent as soon as we had closed on the purchase our new home. Literally, from the day we put the sign in front of our home and listed it on a “For Sale by Owner” website we were inundated with phone calls from real estate agents. We were told many lies and were constantly harassed; although we had already made it quite clear to every agent who called, and there were more to 60 who did; that we were willing to pay half the commission-the same as they would have received had they sold another agent's listing. We also told every agent that called that we had already lined up an agent to sell our home in the event that we chose to no longer sell it ourselves. Our deadline was the closing date of our new home purchase. We did have an interested buyer who shortly after our closing date decided to keep looking so we listed our home with a local agent so that we could concentrate on getting our new home ready for our moving date at the end of the school year. This agent showed our home a maximum of two times and got an offer which we accepted. We ended up getting $1,000 less than we had wanted in a declining Real Estate market. The agents who had called many times to harass us called our listing agent on a number of occasions and he lied telling them that the house was under contract when in fact it wasn't at that time-clearly a breach of our agent's fiduciary duty. Quite frankly an ethical agent would have continued to show our home until closing in the event that the deal fell through.

But wait, there's more. Our agent also acted as the buyer's mortgage broker. At the closing table, we learned that he had signed documents from the buyer stating that he (our agent) represented them and we had signed documents stating that he represented us. We also learned that the buyer had effectively put down approximately 2-3% of the purchase price when financed closing costs were factored into the equation. Their first mortgage had what we thought was a high fixed rate and their second mortgage came with a rate in excess of 8.5%. Because the closing happened in August, literally in the midst of the first wave of the meltdown, if they didn't close on the day they did (August 31st, 2007), Citibank wasn't going to extend their rate. When my wife & I have bought houses in the past, it had always been a very happy day. These people looked absolutely shell-shocked at the closing table. I'm not convinced that they knew just how much their monthly payment was going to be until closing day. We knew down to the penny well in advance having budgeted and planned everything on a spreadsheet. Were these people stupid or just inexperienced and mislead by a greedy combination of real estate agent & mortgage broker? I'm extremely confident that they are intelligent people but inexperienced and taken advantage of by an unscrupulous agent.

The banks are also culpable. Prior to bank deregulation, Savings and Loans provided mortgages to home buyers and kept these loans on their books. Non-performing loans had a negative effect on the S&L's profitability which of course caused tighter lending guidelines such as job stability and decent down payments in order for prospective home buyers to be approved for a mortgage. Way back then, a home buyer had to actually save up enough money for a down payment 10 or even 20% before a bank would ever consider underwriting a mortgage. The checks & balances kept banks solvent and borrowers responsible. Although this approach worked, some cried foul stating that the regulated system was racist and discriminatory-and there certainly was some truth to this. Skipping forward to the present, banks made a bundle on mortgages over the past five or six years. For the most part, they allowed their underwriting criteria to be stretched so far out of alignment that almost anyone could and indeed did, qualify for a mortgage despite their ability to pay. Some folks even applied for and received mortgages for more than the property was worth. Sometimes for as much as 25% more than their property was worth!

Under the prior system, 125% mortgages would not have been possible because of course these loans were held on the banks' books and could have led to losses that would have had to have been absorbed directly by the bank.

So what went wrong? Under the current system, these loans were sold to the big Wall Street investment firms who repackaged them as collateralized mortgage obligations (CMO's), Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS's) and other similar acronyms. These instruments were then sent to the ratings agencies for their blessing and more importantly a letter rating. Many of these structured finance deals receive AAA ratings-the highest ratings available meaning that in theory, these instruments were least likely to default. How does one create a 'triple A' or AAA rated financial instrument out of sub-prime mortgages? Herein lies the magic. These Asset Backed Securities (ABS) are made up of different tranches or slices, each carrying a different risk and reward level. The first dollar of principle and interest is applied to the securities with the highest rating, and the first dollar of loss is applied to the tranche with the lowest ratings. The lower slices are designed to provide a security blanket that in theory protects the higher-rated securities. The investment banks that package or 'structure' these securities in order to earn fat fees when they sell them to investors are the same entities that pay the ratings agencies to rate these instruments. Clearly the possibility for conflict of interest is present. If investors and not the investment banks that stand to rake in millions in fees were to pay for the rating, the potential for this conflict of interest would be negated. Furthermore, the investment banks have a vested interest in convincing the ratings agencies of the credit worthiness of these securities.

So we've already pointed fingers at homeowners, some greedy, many more I suspect, naïve or uninformed, real estate agents-one out of more than 60 in my experience was a gem, mortgage brokers & bankers, banks, Wall Street and ratings agencies so who's left? The Federal Reserve and the Government of course.

The Fed as its known is responsible of the country's monetary policy and for supervision and regulation of banks. This is the definition of the Fed's roles in their own words:

Monetary Policy

The Fed is best known for its role in making and carrying out the country's monetary policy-that is, for influencing money and credit conditions in the economy in order to promote the goals of high employment, sustainable growth, and stable prices.

The long-term goal of the Fed's monetary policy is to ensure that money and credit grow sufficiently to encourage non-inflationary economic expansion.

The Fed cannot guarantee that our economy will grow at a healthy pace, or that everyone will have a job. The attainment of these goals depends on the decisions of millions of people around the country. Decisions regarding how much to spend and how much to save, how much to invest in acquiring skills and education, how much to spend on new plant and equipment, or how many hours a week to work may be some of them.

What the Fed can do, is create an environment that is conducive to healthy economic growth. It does so by pursuing a goal of price stability-that is, by trying to prevent inflation from becoming a problem.

Inflation is defined as a sustained increase in prices over a period of time.

A stable level of prices is most conducive to maximum sustained output and employment. Also, stable prices encourage saving and, indirectly, capital formation because it prevents the erosion of asset values by unanticipated inflation.

Inflation causes many distortions in the market. Inflation:

· hurts people with fixed income-when prices rise consumers cannot buy as much as they could previously

· discourages savings

· reduces economic growth because the economy needs a certain level of savings to finance investments that boost economic growth

· makes it harder for businesses to plan-it is difficult to decide how much to produce, because businesses can't predict the demand for their product at the higher prices they will have to charge in order to cover their costs

Bank Regulation & Supervision

The Fed is one of the several Government agencies that share responsibility for ensuring the safety and soundness of our banking system. The Fed has primary responsibility for supervising bank holding companies, financial holding companies, state-chartered banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System, and the Edge Act and agreement corporations, through which U.S. banking organizations operate abroad.

The Fed and other agencies share the responsibility of overseeing the operation of foreign banking organizations in the United States. To insure that the banking system remains competitive and operates in the public interest, the Fed considers applications by banks for mergers or to open new branches.

The passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act in November 1999, was the culmination of a multi-decade effort to eliminate many of the restrictions on the activities of banking organizations.

Some of the main provisions of the GLB are:

· Repeals the existing limitations on the ability of banks to affiliate with securities and insurance firms

· Creates a new organizational form that allows banking organizations to carry new powers. This new entity called a "financial holding company," (FHC) and its non-banking subsidiaries are allowed to engage in financial activities such as insurance and securities underwriting

The Fed's enlarged role as an umbrella supervisor of FHCs is similar to its role in supervising bank holding companies. The Federal Reserve Banks will supervise and regulate the FHCs while each affiliate is still overseen by its traditional functional regulator.

The Fed has to delineate the financial relationship between a bank and other FHC affiliates. Its primary goal is to establish barriers protecting depository institutions from the problems of a failing affiliate. To do this efficiently the Fed has to ensure increased communication, cooperation, and coordination with the many supervisors of the more diversified FHCs.

The Fed has access to data on risks across the entire organization, as well as information on the firm's management of those risks. Regulators will be in a position to evaluate and presumably act on risks that threaten the safety and soundness of the insured banks.

It would appear that the Fed has failed to curb housing inflation which played a role in this entire debacle then made matters worse and in their efforts or lack there of, to properly supervise banking institutions.

Finally the government, a.k.a. Uncle Sam, the big Kahuna 10,000 pound elephant etc. Where do we begin? How about with: 'Where were they?'

It now appears that after millions of horses are out of the barn (some horses ran, others were foreclosed upon) the government wants to step in with a bailout to save the rest. While nobody wants to see people lose their homes, the question that must be raised is this: What about all those of us who were responsible? Those of us, who scrimped and saved up a decent down payment, bought less-house than we could afford and who live below our means? Many of us drive older cars and keep them longer. We don't run out and buy the latest and greatest at inflated prices, we watch, wait and budget.

When the World Trade Center was attacked, families who decided not to sue received government payouts and we certainly don't begrudge them as I'm sure that given the choice, they'd prefer to still have their loved-ones over the money. The problem, in typical government fashion is that those who were responsible and had insurance policies in place received less than those who were irresponsible and didn't plan ahead. I'm not talking about dishwashers at Windows on the World and blue collar workers; I'm talking about executives, traders and people who should have known better.

Now our government, the same government that sat by idly watching as this bubble got bigger and bigger despite many warnings, wants to step in and bailout people who are in danger of losing their homes. There has been no talk about educating people, let's not teach people to fish, rather, let's give them a fish and bail them out once again at the expense of those who are responsible.

Clearly, by keeping the majority of the population financially ignorant, there is a lot of money to be made by the poverty industry.

by: Richard Gandon

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Get Rich Quick Scams

Get Rich Quick Scams Revealed!
Read this before you consider joining or paying for a “Get Rich Quick” program.


Wouldn’t it be nice to make a bundle of money quickly, with minimal effort, working at home in your pajamas? Of course it would. I for one would love to have money flowing into my bank account,working only a few hours a week from home, so I’d have more time to spend with my kids and my wife, without any boss looking over my shoulder.

Whether it’s real estate investing, selling by classified ads, stock market investing, internet affiliate market­ing, or something else, we’ve all seen the fantastic claims people make about making tons of money, AND how they can show you how to do the same thing. I can tell you right now that 99% of these people are total frauds You may have even fallen prey to one of these scam artists, selling you their latest”get rich quick” program. Me too. I’ve bought so many of these programs that I can’t even recall how many. I don’t know why, but I tend to find the “good” in people, and I was “sold” by these marketing schemes time and time again, even after being scammed by another. Finally, after so many disappointments, I got FED UP. I decided to get to the bottom of this fascination we all have with get rich quick programs, and find out if there really were any LEGITIMATE programs for making money.

I literally contacted the administrator of every get rich quick website I could find. Posing as an investor, I managed to convince the owners that I was seriously interested in purchasing their entire website and business. That way, once the dollar signs flashed in their heads, they would give me free access to their member’s areas to review what I would be “buying.” Well, I was disgusted with 99% of what I found. Many of the owners actually boasted about how many people bought their useless programs. I repeatedly found:

• outdated information

• non-working links


• links leading to other sites that asked for more money


• no help section no real email support

I quickly realized that these so-called Get Rich Quick programs were totally useless. And the owners knew it, yet they were laughing all the way to the bank! Needless to say, I didn’t respond when they asked if I was still interested in buying their websites. Surprisingly, while sifting through all of the scam artists’ websites, I was able to locate a couple of individuals that actually ran legitimate programs.

The owners were every day people like you and me that found a way to make extra money working from home on their computers. Their membership areas were impressive, with a good amount of quality information on how to make $100-$200 per day on your computer doing very little work. I even chatted with a few of their customers in several online forums, and they verified that they were making extra money through the sites. It was like I found a few diamonds in the rough. But don’t take my word for it, you can visit the sites I found below. See what you think.

They do charge a minimal fee for access to their program, which is to be expected for any legitimate company that actually has people on staff who are dedicated to helping you get started. What a friendly group of people! Anyway, if you do decide you are interested in either of the programs below, I advise you to join quickly, as the owners have informed me that they are getting so many new members by word of mouth referrals, that they will be closing off membership completely in the next few weeks. (By the way, you didn’t hear this from me!) They don’t have a large enough staff to accommodate many more people, and they are dedicated to providing excellent service to each person.

Well, my search for legitimate Get Rich Quick programs has come to an end.! have to say I was thoroughly disappointed with most of what I found, and I strongly advise that you do not take chances joining any programs other than the two listed below! Whatever you do, I wish you a healthy, prosperous year for you and yours. Visit beautifulcreditscore.com for more info.


Click Here!
Click Here!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Other Ways to Beat Recession -Better Gas Mileage

There are a lot of gimmicks out there that promise better gas mileage and improved economy. However Most of these do little to help improve gas mileage, and in some cases actually decrease fuel economy. But there are a few things that you can do to improve fuel economy that really do make a difference. Best part? The Biggest mpg gains are free and come by adjusting your brain and the connection to your right foot. Each of these tips can help you improve fuel economy by 2-4 mpg or more.

  1. First off is Check your tire Pressure. Under or Over inflation can lead to poor fuel economy. Not only that, but it can also shorten tire life. Correct tire pressure is key to getting the best gas mileage possible. Check your Vehicle's owners manual for proper tire inflation. Contrary to what most people think, set the tire pressure according to your vehicle's owners manual, Not the Max pressure listed on the sidewall of the tire. The U.S. Department of Energy and the EPA jointly report that proper tire inflation can improve fuel economy by 3 percent, saving up to 12 cents per gallon.
  2. Clean or replace your Air Filter. The DOE/EPA report that replacing dirty air filters can improve gas mileage by as much as 10 percent. Saving up to 40 cents per gallon.
  3. Keep your oil clean with regular oil changes. You can increase fuel efficiency by 1 to 2 percent by having the clean and the proper grade oil.
  4. Keep fuel systems like injectors and carburetors clean. A dirty fuel system can cause rough idling, hesitation, or hard starts, but it can also hinder fuel efficiency. Keeping your fuel systems clean by removing build up and dirt particles can increase gas mileage.
  5. Get a tune up. Replacing spark plugs, Ignition wires, Fuel filter, and oxygen sensors as needed. A properly tuned engine can increase fuel economy by 4 percent, saving 16 cents per gallon.
  6. Fuel choices count. The gas or diesel you use will have an impact on economy. Even among different fuel brands, you may see vari­ances in BTU content (British Thermal Units, a measurement of stored energy) that may effect economy. Winter grades of gasoline, oxygenated fuels or those blended with 10-15 percent ethanol offer less economy because they have fewer BTUs. The loss could be in the neighborhood of 2-4 percent according to most sources. E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline) offers even less economy, usually around 15 percent less, but as much as 20-25 percent. Theoretically, the losses are offset by the lower cost of the fuel but, unfortunately, E85 is neither common nor particularly cheap in most areas. Diesel fuel just underwent a major, was insignificant. government-mandated reformulation to reduce sulphur content. Overall, the results are a net plus, but some own­ers and studies report a slight loss of fuel economy in the region of two per­cent. That loss may not show up for every diesel owner because the quali­ty of the old diesel fuel around the country was so variable. If you lived in an area where crappy fuel ruled, you might see no loss or even a slight gain with the new fuel. You will see a mileage (and power) drop with any-winter-blended diesel.
    Biodiesel has fewer BTUs and thus offers lower economy. The often quoted figures are about a two percent drop for B20 and a 10 percent drop for B100 (the B” and a number referring to the biofuel content). Again, in theory, the loss recovered by the lower cost of the fuel, but like ethanol, those huge price drops have not generally appeared. Someday, when the Biofuel infrastructure catches up, you may see significantly lower prices. (Off Road Adventures, July 2008)





Driving Tips:
1. Accelerate Moderately with light Throttle Pressure but briskly enough to get into high gear ASAP

2. Analyze the traffic and stop lights ahead to keep rolling and minimize idling. Accelerating from 5 mph costs less fuel than from a dead stop.

3. Cruisin' When traffic permits, use cruise control. Even at speeds down to 45 mph, it can save a few percent. On long trips, it can add 1-2 mpg over the average foot.

4. Minimizing idling. On long waits for traffic, shut the engine off.

5. Minimize warmups. Beyond clearing the windows, just let the engine idle long enough to stabilize oil pressure then drive off slowly.

6. Momentum is free. Coast wherever possibel. On downhills, back off on the throttle as much as possible while maintaing speed.

7. Patience. If you feel hurried or pressured, you'll tend to drive more aggressively.. and pay for it.

8. Shift Early. With a manual transmission, shift early while avoiding lugging. Get into top gear as soon and often as possibel.

9. Slow down on the freeway. Most trucks and 4x4s have poor aerodynamics. The faster you go, the more power is required to push your vehicle through the air and the more fuel it will use.

10. Use a block heater in winter instead of a long warm up.

11. Windows and A/C. 80's tests showed that running down the freeway with open windows cost about 1 mpg due to the loss of aerodynamics. Using the A/C at low speeds around town cost 2 mpg on the same car. At freeway speeds the a/c cost about . 5mpg. More recent tests confirm these numbers and show the gap between windows open and A/C on at freeway speeds is narrower on less aerodynamic rigs like trucks and SUVs, than it is for cars.




*savings based on $4.00/gallon

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Scams

There are so many people looking to scam you, steal your money. I will be reviewing many different products, services and programs, to find ways to lower debt, save money, and beat the recession.