Long Term Care Insurance: Security for Americans

Health Care Crisis in America

A health care crisis is looming on the horizon for many Americans, one that could bring financial and emotional devastation that would make zooming gas prices and bouncing stock markets pale in comparison.

The problem? According to Metlife, 70% of people over the age of 65 will need some form of extended care before they die, whether it's a visiting nurse in the home or full-time nursing home care. According to The Alliance for Aging, "nearly 9 out of 10 Americans will have at least one chronic condition" by age 65. Thanks to modern medicine, these conditions are debilitating, but not immediately fatal. Most seniors express concern about paying for necessary care in the face of such a condition, but few do anything about it.

Laura Moore, senior vice president for long term care insurance at John Hancock, says the issue is "increasingly important because Americans are living longer, care costs are rising, and company pensions are being cut back." Moore says that Americans are "not facing the reality of what lies ahead."

If you need extended care, but are unable to pay for it, the burden will fall to your families. The emotional, physical, and financial drain of caring for a sick parent is so traumatic that, according to the American Alzheimer's Foundation, 60% of family care givers die before the person they are caring for! Furthermore, if you are placed in a nursing home without the funds to pay the bill, you risk not only your life long savings, but also the family home and even your life insurance.

Understanding Long Term Care

Long term or extended care refers to care that is needed beyond the time period covered by Medicare or major medical insurance. It is often provided in a nursing home, but can also be provided in a person's home or in an assisted living facility.

The cost of assisted living, nursing home care and professional home health care is high and climbing yearly. A 2003 study conducted by Metropolitan Life Insurance found the average rate to be $180 per day or $66,000 per year for a private room in a nursing home. Care in an assisted living facility averages $30,288 a year while professional home care would cost $166,440 a year for round the clock care at $19.00 per hour. Due to inflation, by 2021, nursing homes may cost as much as $175,000 per year.

There are three solutions to surviving these high costs of extended care. You can be rich enough to pay all costs yourself, engage in a spend down to exhaust your assets and qualify for Medicaid, or you can purchase Long Term Care insurance (LTCi).

Long Term Care Insurance

LTCi is an insurance program that pays for extended care when Medicare and private major medical is exhausted, or for intermediate or custodial care which are not covered by Medicare or major medical at all. The most comprehensive programs cover home care, assisted living, and nursing homes. Simpler plans provide home care only and are also less expensive.

The care usually involves assistance with daily activities such as eating, dressing, walking, bathing, moving from bed to chair (called transferring) and using the toilet, or, in the case of cognitive impairment, simply sitting with a person to prevent him from danger to himself.

Regardless of the type of plan preferred, it's like any other kind of insurance. You cannot purchase it once you actually need the care.

Making the Decision for Long Term Care Insurance

Two factors that keep people from taking LTCi are a refusal to accept the possibility that they might actually need it some day and the perception of the insurance as "costly." While you may indeed never need it, if you live a long life, the odds are that you will. The cost of having it and not using it is far less than that of needing it but not having it.

The objection most people raise to purchasing LTCi is the cost. It is perceived as "expensive," and perhaps it is, especially if you wait until you are in your 70's to try to get it. However, when tempted to procrastinate, ask yourself if you could afford a bill of about $4000 per month on what you have today. When you retire, are you likely to have more disposable money or less? Wouldn't it be better to pay a premium averaging $900 to $2000 per year now rather than face the possibility of having to pay twice that every month if you need care? According to Medical News Today, "LTCi can be quite affordable, especially if you buy at a relatively young age."


Relying on Medicaid to Pay the Bill

Medicaid is a state and federal program for people who are at the poverty level, or who have certain physical conditions. According to a 2003 report by the American Council of Life Insurers, Medicaid pays only 17% of America's LTC bill. LTCi currently pays the bill for about 5% of those with coverage. A whopping 58% of the LTC bill is being paid by private individuals who are being forced to whittle away their assets to receive the care they need.

In order to qualify for Medicaid to receive care in a state-run nursing home, you have to be below a certain income level and can own only limited property. The rules vary by state, and new laws are making it increasingly difficult to qualify. No longer, for example, can you transfer your assets to your children and then enter a nursing home. Most states have a 3 to 5 year look back period with a stiff accompanying penalty for those who have attempted such a transfer.

The Medicare Misconception

Many people mistakenly believe that Medicare will pay their nursing home bill.

Medicare covers hospitals and skilled nursing facilities for a limited time period. Medicare will pay for 100 days of skilled care in a skilled nursing facility�with a co-pay for days 21 through 100�if you are admitted to the facility within a 30 days of leaving a hospital and have been hospitalized for the same condition for at least three days. A medical professional has to certify that you need this care.

Medicare pays for skilled nursing care in your home if the care is provided by a licensed home health care agency, but you must be confined to your home, under the care of a doctor, and the care must be intermittent or part-time. Medicare does not cover housekeeping services, personal care services like help with bathing, dressing and other activities, meal delivery, or full-time nursing care in the home.

Medicare Supplemental Insurance (Medigap) and Tri-Care do not cover long-term-care services either.

Determining Whether You Need LTCi

Some experts say that only middle class individuals with over $100,000 in assets need LTCi. The very rich can afford to "self insure," (but may prefer to pass their legacy on to their children and let a company pay for their care), while the very poor will be eligible for Medicaid. Those who are already on Medicaid are not eligible. Nevertheless, if you are forced to rely on Medicaid, your heirs may lose your home and all of your life insurance except for enough to pay for your funeral. To make matters worse, relying on Medicaid restricts your choices to nursing homes that accept it. Medicaid does not pay for assisted living and pays for only very limited home care. If independence, and location are important to you, talk to your family to see if resources can be pooled to provide LTCi.

If you have investments, IRA accounts, or savings, having built a small to moderate estate, you definitely stand to lose the most if you need care in your later years. Several strategies can make the cost of LTCi seem less intimidating.

Choosing a LTCi Policy

Companies that offer LTCi often have a wide variety of packages; the language is confusing, and comparison can be difficult. In spite of the convenience of the internet and mail-order, it is always best�when considering LTCi�to sit down with a licensed, reputable agent who will answer your questions and work with you to design a plan that fits your needs and your budget.

The policy should cover several levels of care, not just care in nursing homes. Benefits should increase along with the inflation rate. You should buy from a company that will stay in business for the long run and that has a solid reputation for paying claims.

Policies are priced according to your age, the length of benefit (ranging from one year to life time), and the dollar amount payable per day. According to the latest federal statistics, the average stay in a nursing home is 30 months. While five years or more is an attractive benefit, a three year policy will drastically reduce the price.

Another way to save money is to take a waiting period, usually called an "elimination period." You can think of this as a "deductible" or number of days for which you will pay for care yourself before your policy will begin to pay. Part of your plan should include a consideration of how you will pay during the elimination period.

Lack of Planning Could Mean Disaster

According to Financial Planner, Jeffrey D. Voudrie, ignoring the potential need for LTC is the wrong decision. The National Center for Health Statistics reports that currently some 1.6 million people reside in nursing homes. "That number is likely to increase significantly when the baby boomer generation reaches their senior years." Voudrie reports that many families are already finding themselves "caught in the nightmare of having to provide care that isn't covered by insurance or the government. This problem will not go away, as the government is likely to cover even less care in the future." He advises families to "take action now."

Writing Business Articles? Follow These 5 Steps To Business Writing Success

Business articles are a great way to let readers searching the Internet know everything about your new or existing company, and what you can offer them in your unique products and services.

You may be a company that only does business on the Internet, or a Brick & Mortar retail store that would like to increase their online presence via your web site to create additional exposure internationally or worldwide, and increase your customer base.

No matter what type of business approach you take, you will realize that finding a variety of marketing avenues to reach new potential customers is one of the most important components for the growth of your new or well-established business.

When you finally decided to test the waters in article writing because you wanted to add it to your overall marketing plan, I'm sure you will quickly realize that this is a very powerful, yet cost effective way to reach enormous amounts of targeted traffic!

However, in order to reach your desired traffic online, you must not only create value added, informative and creative articles, but you must place them on the Internet for people to find and read. If you're not sure where to start, you can use my 5 simple article-writing steps as a guideline, and create your own writing style and article distribution plan that will work best for you:

Tip #1: Have a complete understanding of the business you're in, the product and services you offer, and don't over sell and underachieve your readers!

I'm surprised how many times I read an article where some company is telling me they will offer you the world, and when you visit their web site, it looks like they actually do offer you the world, a lot of dirt, and the some of that smelly stuff.

Example: Company XYZ expresses that they're #1 in customer service online, and when you provide a link to your site for your readers to view your claim that you wrote in your article, the reader navigates your site, and quickly they notice you have no access to a live customer service chat service, any toll-free numbers to reach a customers service specialist, and all you're providing them is an email address saying that you may get back to them sometime after the summer beach season is over. If you don't offer the best customer service on the Internet or planet, don't even think for a minute to convey that message to your readers.

Tip #2: Don't get business article writing mixed up with a press release!

Writing press releases are a good way to get the message out that your company offers a unique and exclusive product in the market, and you want to introduce it with a bang, or that your business just hired a top executive that will drive your company shares straight up in the stock market. Writing your business article is slightly different, you want to use your article to express your company's best features and benefits offered.

Write about how you can save time and money, or give them a better lifestyle, how about your products/services offer customers that give them complete "Peace-of-Mind". Believe it or not, people do searches to find your products and services to either solve a problem, or possibly to fill a desired need they have. You have to tell them how you're going to solve their problems, and fill their needs, and put it in writing.

Tip #3: Find out who your readers are, and write your article in their language!

Nothing is worse than when I come across an interesting article, and I find out halfway through, there is a completely different language that I don't understand. There are many business writers that have a technical writing background, and when they communicate their message in the article, readers may stumble on your article that is saturated in technical mumbo jumbo that only tech savvy individuals understand.

When you start preparing to write you article, think about your people you want to reach, and who will be interested in reading your information, because if you're writing for the non-technical person, and you put a ton of information that the average individual won't understand, your message will definitely be lost and your readers you're trying to attract will move on and find another article that is easier to read.

Tip #4 Once you have written the perfect article, now you want to know how to reach your targeted readers!

You wrote the perfect article, and it is jam packed with your features and benefits. You're telling your potential readers how to reach you, but they won't be able to reach you if you don't take the steps to get your article out there on the web.

The best way to get your company article distributed is through ezine and article distribution directories. You may decide to only submit your articles to a select few of the top article directories that offer a high volume of traffic, but I would suggest that you consider also submitting to a variety of smaller ones, because you never know where they will be picked up from and prominently placed for inbound traffic.

One of the biggest changes happening with article directories is that you will find more niche targeted business content distribution sites that focus on your related themes. Highly consider these sites, because they not only offer you more category options, these sites will eventually be classified as an authority site on your specific business topics.

Tip #5Your Author Bio can make or break the goal of your article!

Believe it or not, but your Author Bio is probably the most important piece to your article puzzle! You worked very hard on your article, and you took the time to make sure your message was clear and to the point, but what I find with many well-written pieces is that they end with a very weak author bio. It's like winning your customer over with a knockout presentation, and then not asking for the sale.

The same goes with your Bio, you should not over sell, but you definitely should let your readers know you're the expert, and that everything you talked about in your article will be explained in more detail once they click through your hyperlinks. If you're talking about a specific product or service and you have several pages with more information, normally most directories will allow you to place up to a maximum of three links including your main index page. Take advantage of this, and always maximize your links that will give you many optimizing opportunities.

These tips are pretty straightforward, and most of you would consider them to be common sense, but even the best article writers sometimes get off track, and may forget some of the fundamentals of writing. It's always good to get some outside tips to get you right back on track. Take my advice and use it as a tool to help you design your own writing style, and before you know it, your article will be flooding the Internet with business flair!

Corporate governance and its development

There is no doubt that interest in corporate governance has substantially increased in recent years. Not only have separate states adopted their own corporate codes but also changes in corporate governance are directed at a global level. For developing economies, corporate governance helps to achieve stable economic growth by means of effective management of corporations and, to some extent, governments (Bushman and Smith 2001). Countries which already possess advanced corporate governance standards strive to strengthen adherence to them. It goes without saying that the catalyst of the process was the corporate and financial collapse of Enron. The crash of this company illustrated that even a company with good financial results might go bankrupt if it lacked solid corporate governance mechanisms guaranteeing trustworthy work of non-executive directors, auditors and the board of directors. Following the scandal, the regulators all over the world developed a number of policies to prevent further failures (Papers4you.com, 2006). Among the most influential documents are the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Higgs Report of 2003.
So what is corporate governance? There exist numerous definitions of corporate governance, though most of them can be divided into the so called "narrow" and "broad" views (Shankman 1999). The former emphasizes the role of corporate governance in improvement of the relationship between an enterprise and its shareholders. In other words, the main stress here is on resolving the agency problem. On the other hand, the latter and more modern approach states that corporate governance facilitates relationships not only between a company and its shareholders, but also between different stakeholders in the company, including employees, customers, suppliers, bondholders and the government. Therefore, corporate governance becomes important for the society as a whole (Papers4you.com, 2006). There is growing evidence that recent changes in corporate governance make its practical realization conforming to the second view.
It is interesting to look at the most pronounced tendencies in corporate governance development. First, it is increasing institutional investor activism. Big asset management funds, pension funds and other institutional investors now not only passively wait for return on their invested funds, but discharge accountability, for instance, when it comes to directors' remuneration. Second, there is some evidence of harmonization in corporate governance standards. This process is led by globalization of international trade and financial activities. As a result, many countries adopt the OECD (1999) principles of corporate governance, which predominantly represent an Anglo-American style of governance. However, due to significant political, legal, religious and other differences between various countries it is difficult to expect a high degree of convergence. Third, the scope of corporate governance goals has also increase. Nowadays, managers of corporations make decisions taking into account corporate social responsibility. In other words, social and environmental issues now increasingly determine how well the company performs (Alexander and Buchholz 1978). To sum up, corporate governance in the 21st century is the system of checks and balances which ensures that business entities act in a socially responsible way in all their endeavors, while maximizing shareholders' value.

References

Alexander, G. J. and R. A. Buchholz (1978). "Corporate social responsibility and stock market performance." Academy of Management Journal 21(3): 479�486.

Bushman, R. M. and A. J. Smith (2001). "Financial accounting information and corporate governance." Journal of Accounting and Economics 32: 237�333.

Papers For You (2006) "C/F/119. Globalization and Corporate Governance", Available from http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtfina23.htm [19/06/2006]

Papers For You (2006) "P/F/397. Corporate governance and Sarbanes Oxley Act law", Available from Papers4you.com [19/06/2006]

Shankman, N. A. (1999). "Reframing the debate between agency and stakeholder theories of the firm." Journal of Business Ethics 19: 319�334.

An Introduction to Internet TV

You use the Internet and, of course, you watch television, but have you ever tried Internet television?

Most people are unaware of one of the more recent developments in interactive Internet use. This new technology brings all the benefits of the Internet and television together to create your own personalised viewing experience. In simple terms Internet television means that you can watch TV straight from your laptop or desktop PC.

Internet TV allows you to you maximize the use of your computer and your Internet connection. I expect you have probably thought that there must be more you could do with your personal computer or laptop. You know that typing the occasional letter, transferring your MP3 collection to your iPod or playing the odd game or two online is hardly making use of its full potential. Now you can explore a trusted method of entertainment with access to unlimited viewing and you don't even have to stop your usual computer activities.

If you are someone who can't get enough of watching programs on television, think about how Internet television will open up new options for free viewing. You can catch up with current news stories, watch real time sports action, keep up to date with stock market movements or enjoy a little light comedy. You are provided with a wide variety of entertainment possibilities that continues to grow, gaining in popularity every day.

At the time of writing, FIFA World Cup 2006 is just around the corner and, for many, Internet TV will provide access to free live football streams. Viewers will be able to keep up with the latest action from all the international football games involving teams including Brazil, Argentina, France, England and many more. Japan's third largest TV broadcaster, Tokyo Broadcasting System, has recently announced plans to air World Cup programmes over the Internet and on mobile phones.

If you use the Internet for any kind of research (even if it's only helping the kids with their homework), you no longer have to view what you find in the usual format of text and pictures. Now you can see this information through streams of live or pre-recorded video enabling you to see details that simply wouldn't be visible in a series of pictures.

5 Features of Internet Television:

1. Stations are available internationally. Currently over 150 countries have Internet access so you can rest assured that your country has at least one Internet TV station you can watch.

2. No additional hardware is required. In the past, watching television on your computer would require the fitting of a PC TV card but this is no longer necessary. Improvements in the telecommunications industry have made broadband connections more widely available and cheaper than ever before allowing more and more people to view high quality streaming media on their computer.

3. Anyone with an Internet connection can watch. A minimum connection speed of 56K is recommended and watching at this speed should give you a reasonable picture. Higher connection speeds will improve the picture quality (dependant on the server capabilities) and the fastest connections can enable you to view programmes in DVD quality.

4. New channels are added all the time. Major players in the Internet industry have recently started showing significant interest in this rapidly expanding market. Google is developing Google TV and has signed up American channel UPN and is in talks with the BBC in the UK to provide content. AOL is launching IN2TV which will show thousands of hours of programmes from Warner Brothers across 6 different channels and Yahoo has plans to show Internet TV in Japan which could lead to a worldwide service if successful.

5. Personalize your experience. Normal televisions have fixed channels which depend on the local stations or the cable operators. Internet television gives you the opportunity to bookmark your favorite stations so you can get back to them quickly without having to flick through everything else available. There is usually the option of viewing in either full screen mode or in a smaller window enabling you to get on with other things on your computer while watching.

You too can enjoy all the benefits of Internet television. The world really is at your fingertips now you have discovered this new, hassle-free way of watching TV.

Relax, A Volatile Stock Market Is Your Dearest Friend

Most people never forget their first love. I'll never forget my first trading profit! But the $600 (1970 dollars) I pocketed on Royal Dutch Petroleum was not nearly as significant as the conceptual realization it signaled! I was amazed that someone would pay me that much more for my stock than the newspaper said it was worth just a few weeks earlier! What had changed? What had happened to make the stock go up, and why had it been down in the first place? Without ever needing to know the answers, I've been trading RD for thirty-six years!

Looking at scores of similarly profitable, high quality companies in this manner, you would find that: (1) most move up and down regularly (if not predictably) with an upward long-term bias, and (2) that there is little if any similarity in the timing of the movements between the stocks themselves. This is the "Volatility" that most people fear and that Wall Street loves them to fear. It can be narrowly confined to certain sectors, or much broader, encompassing practically everything. The broader it becomes, the more likely it is to be categorized as either a rally or a correction. Most years will feature one or two of each. This is the natural condition of things in the stock market, Mother Nature, Inc. if you will. Don't take her for granted when she gets high, and never ignore her when she feels low. Embrace her volatile moods, work with them in whatever direction they travel, and she will become your love as well!

Ironically, it is this natural volatility (caused by hundreds of variables human, economic, political, natural, etc.) that is the only real "certainty" existent in the financial markets. And, as absurd as this may sound until you experience the reality of it all, it is this one and only certainty that makes Mutual Funds in general (and Index Funds in particular) totally unsuitable as investment vehicles for anyone within seven to ten years of retirement! How many Mutual Fund investors have retired recently with more liquid financial assets than they had seven years ago, way back in 1999? There will always be rallies and corrections. In fact, it is worthwhile to "go back to the future" to establish a realistic Investment Strategy. In the last forty years, there have been no less than ten 20% or greater corrections followed by rallies that brought the market to significantly higher levels. The DJIA peaked at 2700 before its record 40% crash in 1987. But at 1700, it was still 70% above the 1000 barrier that it danced around with for decades before... always a higher high, rarely a lower low. The '87 debacle was followed by several slightly less exciting corrections, but the case was being made for a more flexible, and realistic, Investment Strategy. Mutual Funds were spawned by a Buy and Hold Mentality; Mother Nature, Inc is a much more complicated enterprise.

Call it foresight, or hindsight if you want to be argumentative, but a long-term view of the Investment Process eliminates the guesswork and points pretty clearly toward a trading mentality that keys on the natural volatility of hundreds of Investment Grade Equities. During corrections, consider these simple truths: 1) although there are more sellers than buyers, the buyers intend to make money on their purchases, 2) so long as everything is down, don't worry so much about the price of individual holdings, 3) fast and steep corrections are better than the slow attrition variety, 4) always accept even half your normal profit target while buying opportunities are plentiful, 5) don't be in a rush to fill your portfolio, but if cash dries up before it's over, you are doing it "correctly".

Most of the problems with Mutual Funds and much of the increased opportunity in Individual Stock trading are functions of growing non-professional Equity ownership. Everyone is in the stock market these days whether they like it or not, and when the media fans the emotions of the masses, the masses create volatility that rarely under-reacts to market conditions! Rarely will unit owners take profits, particularly if they have to pay withdrawal penalties or taxes. Even more unusual are expert advisors who encourage investors to move into the markets when prices are falling.

A volatile market creates opportunities with every gyration, but you have to be willing to transact to reap the benefits. A necessary first step is to recognize that both "up" and "down" markets are forces of nature with abundant potential. The proper attitude toward the latter, will make you much more appreciative of the former. Most investment strategies require answers to unanswerable questions, in an effort to be in the right place at the right time. Indecisiveness doesn't cut it with Mamma... in or out too soon is not an issue with her. But wasting the opportunities she provides really ticks her off! Successful investment strategies require an understanding of the forces of nature, and disciplined rules of portfolio management. If you can transition back to individual securities, you will do better at moving toward your goals, most of the time, because the opportunities are out there... all of the time.

So let's adopt some new rules for this investment game and learn to live with them for a few cycles: Let's buy good stocks new and old at lower prices during corrections. Let's take reasonable profits on those that go up in price, whenever they are kind enough to do so. Let's examine our performance based on the results of these trading transactions alone and at market cycle examination points for a smiley faced change of pace. And one other thing...

Let's drink a toast to Mother Nature, her uncertainty, her volatility, and, of course, to our first loves.

How to make it big in the stock market!

Want to get rich quick. Then you need to be wise and plan accordingly. Trading in stock is an option to make money fast. Mutual funds and financial institutions use stock option trading to reap benefits. The stock trading system is very supportive to them rather than the small investor. The individual investor can gain as well but prudence is the watch word.
Advice to help you
If you are a new entrant; professional help can provide you the least risk and good reward stocks. Their analysis depends on a number of factors. A few factors that you could use are
� Understand one stock completely. To which industry the company belongs? What is the company's investment? How it makes its money? Read its press releases, news and result broadcasts. Know the competitors of the company and the trends in the particular industry.
� Spend time on research and focus on what is important. Whenever you make decisions on buying, selling or holding write it down as to why you are making such a decision. A review of successful decisions and not so successful decisions can help you in future stratagem
� Evaluate and re-evaluate every stock on the market or the stock you have chosen the same way. Comparing and contrasting can give you some valuable insights into the stock market.
� Discuss with friends and explain the rationale of why you bought your stock and how you expect to perform. They may be rational when you are not.
� High valuations entail high risk (future performance determines the value of stocks and in case these predictions do not materialize prices will decline). Penny stocks too are the high risk category.
� Rise above emotions and loyalty. There will be many volatile swings in the market. Your stock may rise or even fall. You need to review decisions on any new data and change reasons for holding the stock.
� Reevaluating your existing stock is also essential. Review the reasons why you chose a particular stock. If those reasons are still valid then stick with it.
� Spend time on your investment weekly and observe the market trends. Keep track of your earnings and factors that may affect your investment.
� If your reasons to buy a stock are still valid you need not sell the stock.
� Beware of media or media quoted rates. It is not necessary that you buy or sell at the rates in the financial press.

Major signs of a good company
� Sales and earnings grow
� Company debt remains stable or declines

Tools that can help you in stock investment
There are a number of tools for an investor to make an informed and calculated decision on investment in the stock market.
� Internet research tools give you the latest data on company stocks and trends.
� Websites offer the same data given by internet research tools and also give stock trading tips by experts.
� Softwares that do the internet research and provide a detailed analysis. These softwares manage the stock quote file with 18,000 ticker symbols and more. Graphical display and export or import of data into other financial or editing softwares is an addition.
� Java Applets that perform a real time stock ticker updates that can be integrated with the financial software that you possess.

Many stock trading softwares use advance mathematical analysis on the stock market to make predictions about the future of a particular stock. These softwares are accurate in many instances. Yet real life can churn up possibilities that can never be accounted into software. Political and other situations affect stock and hence mathematics can be futile at times.

estockwise.com is your guide to the world of stock markets. The jargon and factors affecting trading in stock, penny stocks , etc�can be found on this site.

Become a Millionaire - Stop Smoking

So you want to be a millionaire? If you smoke or are thinking about it - I will give you at least $1 million reasons not to start. For the sake of discussion, I am going to use me as an example. I have smoked for over 20 years and frankly I enjoyed it. It wasn't until I finally got it through my head about the health risks to me, my family and the rising costs that I finally decided to quit.

You all know or should know about the health risks and I will not rehash it. What I want to talk to you about is the financial impact. I smoked 2 packs of cigarettes per day and on a good Friday night out on the town it could sometimes be as much as 3 packs.

Ok.. here it comes. Two packs of cigarettes per day at an average cost of $3.50 per pack multiplied by seven days equals $49.00 per week or $2555.00 for one year. Now lets take a teenager at age 18 who starts to smoke and lets also assume they were to stop at age 65 on retirement which is 47 years. 47 years x $2555.00 = $120,085.00 spent on cigarettes at todays prices.

Now a hundred and twenty thousand dollars is in itself not enough to make you rich but you could buy some pretty nice stuff for that amount. The magic is in a little thing called compound interest. Assuming that instead of smoking - You took that same two packs per day or seven dollars and invested it in a mutual fund. Let's also assume that you invested it in an index mutual fund which over the lifetime of the stock market has averaged 10% per year. After 47 years you would retire with $2,730,489.02. That almost $3 Million dollars. How is that for an incentive to not smoke?

What about the rest of us who have smoked for 20 plus years? A man or woman who quit at age 40 under the same scenario who save $282,615.51. Now that's not a million dollars but it would still buy a pretty nice home. What is even more astounding is that these figures are based on today's prices and don't even account for inflation over the same amount of time.

Even if you are not interested in investing the money saved from smoking then think about this: $2555.00 applied one time each year to a $200,000.00 mortgage would cut 10 years off of a 30 year loan. You would be paying your home off in one-third the time.

The bottom line: If your health and family aren't enough to make you stop - Think about why your not living next door to the rich and famous. I hope this gives you food for thought about all the extras in life you are giving up by smoking.

Interest Only Mortgages

Interest only mortgages have become more and more popular in the past few years � probably as a result of the rise in house prices. With this type of loan, you pay off only the interest, so that your monthly repayments are lower than they would be with a capital repayment mortgage.

At the same time, you invest money in a separate savings scheme, and at the end of the term (usually 25 years), use the investment from the separate scheme to pay off the capital cost of your house.

This is a popular choice for people who would struggle to meet the mortgage repayments every month, or those who are confident that their investments will provide enough to cover the capital payment at the end of the term. The danger is that if your investment plan does not perform well, you may be left without enough to buy your house after the 25 years are up � a time when most people are facing retirement.

There are three main ways to invest alongside an interest only mortgage, be aware that none of these are guaranteed to provide the capital at the end of the term.

Endowment Policies

Probably the most common investment for alongside an interest only mortgage. There are various different types of endowment policy, which involve your money being invested in the stock market. Some pay bonuses annually, and you can receive a one-off lump sum at the end of the term. Endowment policies have built-in life insurance.

PEPs and ISAs

Individual savings accounts (ISAs) replaced Personal Equity Plans (PEPs) a few years ago. ISAs are flexible investments with tax benefits � investors are exempt from paying income and capital gains tax on their ISA. They can consist of cash, stocks, shares and insurance. At the time of writing there are limits on the amount you can invest, but these are set to be abolished soon

Pensions

A portion of your pension fund would be used to pay the capital of your mortgage at the end of the term � which can be up to 40 years. This too is a tax efficient investment, winning you tax relief on the contributions. One pitfall of this type of investment is that you will have to use a significant part of your pension � a lump sum � to pay off the capital, which could leave you with a significantly reduced income when you retire.

Note that you may also be required to take out a separate life insurance policy along with your investments and mortgage.

Constant Access with Stock Trading Online

In a world built on capital, we humans are forever vying for that next big money-maker. It seems that everybody forever desires more cash. Some strive for a senior education; others compete for that big promotion. No worry what the method, we all find a way of increasing our income. Investing is a customary form of making an added buck. With the obsession of the stock market in gorged affect, many of us chance on that up-and-coming business, or upright product that has the latent to fuel in value. We know that shares can sky-rocket in appraise if purchased at the right time. A blessing to many investment junkies is stock trading online. The stock market is now at your fingertips.

If you've never played the stock market, it may be time to inhibit it out. Many people make millions in selling and selling. Haven't you heard about the UPS shares? Those people got rich. It's amazing where a little chance can take you. With stock trading online somebody can have constant access to the market. Hop on your computer and inhibit out the websites that can help you with this process. It doesn't worry if you're looking to squander a little or invest a lot, there is something just waiting for you. The great thing about the Internet is the information. You can find an abundance of trading tips and truth about the stock market for free. This way when you commence stock trading online, you won't be in the dark.

We hope that the first part of this article as brought you a lot of much needed information on the subject at hand.

A few living back, my best friend hopped on the stock market bandwagon, and purchased some shares. When he began this little venture, he purchased on the recommendation of a partner who had been trading for years. After selling a number of shares at 10 bucks a pop, he was keen to go. It wasn't long before the shares had amplified to 60 bucks a pop. He took the innocent road and sold immediately. I think that this was a astute decision. He made the currency and puzzled nothing. With stock trading online, shrewd when to fold is key. Just like with gambling, you have to know when to currency out. Make some money, but don't get greedy. Before you know it, the shares have dropped below your purchase price. Stock trading online is a amazing way to veer a profit and make that added cash. Before you skip online and flinch investing, inhibit out some websites for figures and pointers on the contest of stock trading. A better understanding of the affair will pay off in the end.

Using SEO To Make Your Mark On The Internet

Everyone is talking about SEO these days and the best ways to go about it. There are s may different theories that it can be pretty hard to sort through them all and still have time to use them.

These days if a site is to succeed SEO needs to be addressed. Search engine optimization is a powerful tool, one that can change the way your site is seen by others. In fact, without any there is a good chance that your site will never be seen at all.

Your best bet is to hire a professional to do your SEO for you. This is the easiest way by far to ensure that the job gets done right. This does not mean that you shouldn't do a little bit of homework yourself though.

Even when you outsource this work, you still need to know the basics in order to make sure you are not throwing your money away. You need to see that you are not getting taken advantage of and the only way to do that is to make it clear to the professional that you are no dummy.

Let them know from the start that you know your stuff. Never tell them that you are new to the game of SEO, that is just opening the door to trouble. Instead you need to throw around some terms and make it look like you know even more than you do, it is always better to be safe than sorry!

If you want to save some money then you will need to do your best to learn what you can on your own. SEO is a complicated matter and it is vital that you take things slow. You can simply learn as you go, that is what I did and I am a seasoned pro now.

Start with the basics, put them to use and go from there. The internet is a fount of information and the vast majority of it is free. Why pay for something if you don't have to. You may want to checkout the local library as well, you could find a ton of books there to read through. Just make sure you take notes.

One last tip: If you do choose to hire an SEO professional pick their brain as they work. Keep comprehensive notes on everything he or she tells you so that the next time you need to get this job done, you will be able to do it yourself. Ask all of the questions you can think of, it will save you thousands in the future.

Online OTCBB Stock Trading Service � How it Helps?

The popularity of internet and net based services made almost all conventional traders who trade stocks, options, futures and forex markets to use online trading services. The direct access level 2 trading services offered by online brokerage firms, enabled web traders to execute their deals in real-time. But for OTCBB (Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board) and penny stock traders, they have to follow conventional methods like direct trading and call in trading methods. But recently a few online stock trading companies have introduced online OTCBB stock trading services.

Online or Electronic OTCBB trading is done just like online stock market trading. The online stock broker will provide you an electronic trading platform, popularly called online trading software, to access OTCBB markets. This online OTCBB stock trading software enables you to buy and OCTBB stocks in real-time. The whole process of stock dealings is so automated that the process will ends in seconds, with one or two mouse clicks. This service becomes much more important to day traders and swing traders trading OTCBB stocks and pink sheet securities as for them time means profit.

The OTCBB stock trading software platforms offered by online stock brokerage firms are usually their conventional stock trading software, or sometimes modified form of it, having unique encryption techniques for securing the dealings. There are both free web based systems or customizable direct access systems available for online OTCBB stock trading and often the trader is permitted to choose one suitable for him or her. Both types of online trading systems are generally incorporated with advanced charting and quoting packages for trading OTCBB stocks and Pink Sheet Securities.

The benefits of online OTCBB stock trading service over conventional OTCBB trading services includes simplicity in stock trading, fully automated process, less wastage of time and energy, the facility to trade stocks without any broker involvement, real-time news and order placing, time sales, faster order execution, intraday and historical stock charting, customized stock charting, built-in stock trading strategies to minimize losses, ability to access the market from virtually anyplace at market hours, direct access to major OTCBB markets such as NITE, DOMS, Knight, Finance 500, VERT, SBSH, Citigroup, FANC, ARCA etc., and the choice of selecting and customizing a software platform.

Some online OTCBB trading brokers offers you the ability to trade stock markets, options, futures, commodities and pink sheet securities from a single system and trading account. Some also offer flat fees for trading unrestricted number of stocks at one trade, live customer support, real-time in-depth account details, and the ability to interfere with major market makers. This is why online OTCBB trading service is most attractive for those investors trading highly active sub penny securities.

But currently there are only a few online brokerage firms who offer this service. As OTCBB stock trading is a riskier trading field compared to other trading forms, most online brokers are not ready to offer online OTCBB trading service on their trading platforms. But it is sure that with time more brokerage firms will be ready to offer this service.

Real Estate Investors�Get Off The Sideline And Get Into The Game In A "Slow" Market� All For Fun And Profit

For months now many Realtors have been pacing the floor wondering where their next sale was coming from. The bad news drips off the front pages reporting for all to see how bad the real estate market has become. Thickets of real estate signs explode out of the ground much like the peak of any mushroom season. Sellers are now buying into the story believing the market is slow. For buyers who just as little as six months ago were pushing prices with little cash flow properties suddenly, these same properties have become ugly overnight.

Shrewd investors always look for buying opportunities. Whether it is stocks, coins, gold, bonds, collectibles, antique cars, or real estate the investment principals apply. The typical successful contrarian looks for spots to make a move. If there isn't any worthwhile action they simply stay liquid and move to cash. When the hand wringing begins by the general public the shrewd investor starts to lean forward on the edge of their chairs and begins to focus their collective gaze toward potential opportunities. Currently, there is a huge inventory of listed properties just sitting on the market in the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) in many areas. Some of these potential opportunities have motivated seller some do not. It is necessary to focus on the listed properties that have a motivated seller.

A lot of cash is returning to the stock market with the likes of Google and such pushing $500+ per share. Lots of "hot" stocks don't have a lot of earnings, but have great stories and much supposed promise. Much like the dot COM companies in the 90's there was much splash and a lot of broken hearts left in it's wake of hype. After the stock market fall billions flowed into the real estate business as an alternative to the madness of the stock market. With ENRON and WORLDCOM fiascoes it made the decision much easier for many investors to move into real estate. Who could you trust at the time? The answer for many was to purchase and self manage their own real estate portfolios. Having saved their wounds and after taking the "cure" of property management many disillusioned investors are now moving back into the stock market. Some vacancies have risen in some areas with so many investors buying single family homes and condos the absorption for these properties slowed. The combination of higher vacancy factors and the thrill of property management precipitated an exodus back into the stock market. For many new to the game, real estate investors with a heightened desire to get back into the stock market is leading to clouded thinking and many will accept an offer that was unheard of six months ago. The shrewd investor will target those motivated sellers and make many offers to get a real estate deal that has cash flow and a chance for appreciation.

An early axiom of real estate investing is based on making money on the BUY. It does little good to over pay for a property that has little or no cash flow with some appreciation. When the market gets over valued, just like the stock market, the smart money looks for other opportunities or set on their cash and waits. In many markets, opportunity is knocking. Interest rates are currently at a very low rate for a while. The Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) learned soon after the 1986 Tax Act that highly leveraged property without the previous shorter depreciation benefits gave little cash flow. It is the same with real estate investor. Going more that an 80% Loan-To-Value financing is asking for trouble EXCEPT in a highly appreciating area. There are a few pockets, however, they currently are far and few in between.

Looking at say a fourplex as an example it would be good to focus on properties that have the potential to command high rents in the market place with a little tweaking. Two bedrooms would be the most desirous. There are many rental customers who need the extra bedroom for in home office space and/or beginning families. One-bedroom units have limited upside as far as rent command in the market place. In some markets, for example, a fourplex might be on the market for $375,000. The rents are say in the $850/month range. This would give a gross rental income of $3,400/month. With a 5% vacancy factor the Adjusted Gross Income is $3,230/month. The rental customers pay their own electric, gas, cable and water and sewer with separate meters for the utilities. The taxes are $350 per month and the insurance is at $220/month. For this example let us use a 10% of the collected rents for the management cost whether self-managed or not. The investment needs to carry itself regardless. This would be $323/month for management. Utilize $200/month for maintenance and lawn care. The idea is to have well maintained properties and keep them that way to command the highest rents. This would lead to the following: $3,230 adjusted gross income less-$350-$220-$323-$200=$2,137/month available for debt service. At this moment, with a seller paying up to 6% of the closing costs and prepaids there would be some left over to help the purchaser to buy the rate down. With 375,000 x 6% = $22,500. Closing costs and prepaids with full escrows for taxes and insurance could be in the $12,000 range. That leaves $10,000 for a rate buy down. With an 80% Loan To Value, $375,000 x 80% =$300,000 for a mortgage amount. At a rate of 6.25% at par for an investor loan on a four unit based on a fully documented loan there is a lender bump of 1% to the price for a 3-4 unit at 80% LTV. So with the buy down the purchaser can get a 30 year fixed rate at 5.75%. The principal and interest payment would then be $1,750.72/month for principal and interest. This would leave an initial cash flow after debt service without benefit of interest and depreciation of $2,137-$1,750.72/month =$386.28/month cash flow. The interest deduction would be $17,250/year. The depreciation with $75,000 on the land the improvement at say $300,000/27.5 = $10,909.09/year. Thus our after tax cash flow would be Net Operating Income: $25,644/year -$17,250 interest deduction - $10,909= ($2,515) tax loss. If the owner is in the 30% tax bracket this would save $754 in federal income tax. Thus the total after tax return is $386.28 x 12 = $4,635.36 + tax savings of $754 = $5,389.36. With a $75,000 cash down payment with seller help on closing costs and rate buy down the return then would be $5,389.36/$75,000= 7.19% After Tax Return. If a conservative 4% appreciation rate were allowed, then the initial investment of $375,000 x 4% would theoretically appreciate over time some $15,000. Then the total adjusted return would be $15,000 + $5,389.36 = $20,389.36/$75,000= 27.18% less say 4% for inflation or a net return of 23.18%. It should be noted this return would be muted with capital gain taxes and some depreciation recapture at the end and such. If you were self-managing then that money could go into additional upgrades or into the pocket. This is not a bad deal for an investor thinking long term. It is an example of leverage at work.

If a Certificate of Deposit was paying say 6% on $75,000 that would garner $4,500 and again in a 30% tax bracket the return would be $4,500 x 30% = $1,350 for a total return of $4,500-$1,350 = $3,150/$75,000 = 4.2% in comparison. However, if inflation were at 4% the net gain would be .2% with no risk. The above investment is figured with management in place.

For many shrewd investors the timing is now. With good pricing and seller help on closing costs and interest rate buy down the investment property can make some sense from an investment standpoint. The key, find a motivated seller and a property that can command top rents and make multiple offers. For buyers with challenged credit, asking for seller held second mortgages at a low rate can also make the numbers work. In any case, it is time for many real estate investors to get off the side line and move strongly into this soft real estate market with a primary goal of finding and acquiring "make sense" properties with cash flow. The market is begging for offers.


Dale Rogers
http://www.brokencredit.com
http://www.sellerhelpsbuyer.com

The Rules of Real Stock Investing

"The stock market is the anticipator of the economy." That is right, but it is not how to succeed with stock investing. "If the balance sheet of a company is sound its stock will rise either sooner or later." Doesn't this sound plausible? Well, even if the whole stock market contained good and rock-solid companies, it wouldn't mean that their stocks will rise.

Well, one of the oddities of stock investing is that stocks do not necessarily behave according to the company's condition. Everybody remembers the years 1998-2000. The internet stocks appeared in the markets and there were plenty of these stocks. And they rose like brokers never dreamed of before. But their fundamentals were unbeaten when it came to making huge losses!

The rule to that booming time is still valid today. Buy stocks when they make strong upward movements accompanied with a huge trading volume. So the upward movement should come together with a lot of buys and sells. That is one of the stock investing principles. Buy when the stock market begins to roll and sell when the stock market makes a big break. One strategy is to buy stocks which have newly surpassed their all-time-high. This is done because it is often seen that those stocks begin to soar even more after having significantly broken the all-time-high-resistance line. This way of stock investing or trading is called the Darvas strategy.

Naturally, the mere buying of rising stocks doesn't mean stock investing work is finished. The real hard work begins just after purchase. Now the phase of managing stocks has begun. What must the investor do, if they begin to fall and what when they soar? This is the most crucial point of stock investing. Generally, whenever stocks are bought, the maximum pain level must be set up. This is also called the stop loss. This must be done in order to cut losses to a level, which doesn't bother the investor too much.
But even if stocks go vertically upwards after purchase it is very important to adjust the stop loss level that means this level has to be increased in order to lock in some profits.

Doing it that way, increases the probability of stock investing to be profitable. But the main problem is to do all this with discipline and this exactly is the point where the most investors or traders fail.

Learn About Equity Index Annuities

�Save for a rainy day' is a wise old saying and there are many ways you can prepare for the sunset of your life. Investing in an annuity is one way. An annuity is a long-term, interest-paying contract offered through an insurance company or financial institution. An equity indexed annuity is an annuity that earns interest that is linked to a stock or other equity index. Depending on how those stocks fare will determine what you gain. The equity index annuities, as in any kind of investments, have to be kept untouched for a long period. The typical time is a minimum of 7 years. This will ensure that you get the full benefit of having invested in an equity index annuity.

The equity index annuities are basically an option of investment that is offered by insurance companies. They actually provide you with the benefit of investing in the stock market without the associated risks of losing your money. So, in an equity index annuity, your principal is never lost and even in a worst case you may take some interest back home. The flip side of this however is that even if the stocks that the equity index annuity is invested in gives high returns, you will not receive the full returns but just a percentage. So you do not get the maximum returns for your equity index annuity but just a part.

This is however the compensation that the insurance companies who offer you the equity index annuities receive, for providing you with a safety net throughout the term of the annuity. The percentage of returns (i.e. the gain of the index) that your equity index annuity brings you is determined by the participation rate. This rate is pre-decided and varies and to know this you have to read the fine print prior to signing on the documents. The general participation rate offered for most equity index annuities is between 70 to 90 percent.

The equity index annuities are therefore seen as a conservative and prudent investment.
They became quite popular during the previous bullish run in the market and insurance companies saw them as an excellent means of combining the security of a guaranteed return with the boom of the stock market. All equity index annuities offer a minimum interest rate and its value also does not fall below the guaranteed minimum percentage of the premium paid i.e. 90 percent at least.

However to achieve maximum benefits, your equity index annuities should not be withdrawn before the term. If you do even a partial withdrawal it will definitely affect the interest you receive. Like all investments, this is best kept for a long term. This will also help your equity index annuities even out and recover if the index plunges. As we know the stock market is volatile and this needs to be kept in mind when investing. Also there are definite withdrawal penalties that you would have to pay as well.

How then do the insurance agencies benefit from offering equity index annuities? The insurance companies reinvest the premium amounts that you pay and this is usually invested into bonds. Since the participation rate is fixed, they have to pay only those set rates of interest to the investors of the equity index annuities and the insurance companies profit the balance.

Equity index annuities are generally affiliated to a particular stock market index such as the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average. However as the equity index annuities combine features of a typical insurance product with the traditional security they do completely fall into each of those specific categories.
As a typical insurance product you are guaranteed minimum return and in terms of securities your investment is linked to the equity market. However it all depends on the features that your equity index annuity provides and it may or may not be a security. The typical equity-indexed annuity is not registered with the SEC.

So then how does one know which equity index annuity is best for oneself? The only way is to find out as much as you can about the equity index annuity before you decide.
Ask a lot of questions like which stock market index does the equity index annuity use? What participation rate is being offered to you? Are there any hidden charges in terms of any fees or deductions payable? You have to run through a number of equity index annuity offerings before making your decision.

So save for a rainy day and do it the equity index annuity way!

Making Money From property UK

Money from real estate/property investment has been the most powerful type of investment for building wealth. The reason property is such a commanding way to make money is due to leverage associated with it.

For the experienced investor this is obvious, but for the benefit of those who are new to it leverage is the use of borrowed funds at a fixed rate of interest in an effort to boost the rate of return from an investment. Increased leverage causes the risk and return on an investment to also increase.

Keep your money in the bank is considered as the safest option to get some guaranteed increase in the value of your money.

Taking the bank at an assured maximum return of 5% per year, your money of �100,000 will return at the end of 5 years an amount of �127,628.

Take the stock market and admittedly over the last few years the stock market has been popular moneymaking option in the UK. Though it is really hard to say what sort of return you get from the stock market, let us assume a 12% return every year. Now 12% return on �100,000 will return at the end of 5 years an amount of �176,234.

Now in the growing market of UK, let us say the property market grows at a rate of 6% over the next 5 years, so how does that form to be a better money making option.

It is property, which allows you to leverage �100,000 to purchase �500,000 worth of property. (�400,000 borrowed from your bank). Now at the end of 5 years your investment of �100,000 becomes �269,115.

So you have increased your initial investments by 2.6 times over a period of 5 years. So you can make more money from property UK than what the stock market or bank can provide.

So what else do you need to make leverage work for you? Ponder on the options below before investing on the property of your choice.
� When buying, be clear whether you are buying solely for investment, or partly for your own use.
� Whether you intend to let out your property for long periods (e.g. 6-12 months) or on a short-term basis for holidaymakers

The augmentation of global economy makes property investment UK the best way to make money. Yes you will need much more skills to make money from property UK, but with time using leverage with calculated investments property UK can become the best investment option to make money.

The Stock Market For Beginners

The Stock Market For Beginners can seem like a place to make some easy money fast. You often here in the news how a stock went up four points, and say to yourself, if I had gotten in on that one I could have made a killing.

Fast easy money is far from the truth when it comes to the stock market. But you can make money in the stock market. Slow and easy is the way to go, and if you start at an early age, a fast and easy retirement is a reality.

Beginners at stock trading should take the time to get the education they need in order to succeed. You do not see a surgeon pick up a knife and become good at surgery overnight.

It takes time and knowledge to be good at anything in life. To begin with, make sure you understand How The Stock Market Works. Start with the basics and work your way up. You did not pick up a book one day and start to read, first you learned the letters of the alphabet.

Decide how you are going to trade. Making this decision is going to tell you what you need to be reading to learn about it. Are you going to scalp, day trade, swing trade, or buy and hold for the long run.

Scalping involves buying large quantities of shares in a stock, and you are just looking for a small move in the stock price. Day trading is similar to scalping but you are looking for bigger moves in the price, and you do not hold the stock overnight.

Swing trading is when you buy a stock and hold it for a short period of time looking for a substantial move in the price. Buy and hold is when you plan on holding on to the stock for a long time. You believe the company is going to grow in value and the price is going to go much higher.

Next you will need to understand what fundamental analysis and technical analysis is:

Fundamental analysis relies on economic supply and demand information, such as a stocks annual growth rate, and quarterly earnings. This can be very time consuming reading each company's financial reports. Their is a paper called Investors Business Daily to help with this. If you are going to be trading in the markets you should not be with out this paper.

Technical analysis is the study of time, price, and sentiment. The tool used for this is charts. Charts show a stocks price history, and with practice we can see everything we need to know about a stock, just by looking at the chart.

The next thing you are going to need is a Stock Trading System. When you go on a vacation you do not just jump in the car and go. You look at a map, decide when you are going to leave, when you are going to start to head home etc. The same is true with the stock market.

Many beginners jump in without a plan, you must have a plan in place, why and when you are going to enter the trade, when you are going to get out, and you must stick to the plan. Practice trading on paper before you open an account to see how well you are doing. Once you are doing good on paper then it is time for the real deal.

Now you are going to need money to start trading stocks with. Do not get into the markets with money you can not afford to lose. If you have to set some money aside a little at a time until you have enough saved, then do it.

Even though you went ahead and got the knowledge you need to start trading, does not mean you are going to be a success at the get go. It is going to take some time, and you will lose some money. That is why you don't start trading with the rent money.

The stock market for beginners might seem hard at the beginning, but once you learn the basics, you will be well on your way to becoming wealthy.

The basics of investing in stocks and shares

Stocks can be considered a tool for building wealth, as they are a part of almost every investment portfolio. They represent the ownership of a company and are bought in the form of shares. Shares refer to the stock of a particular company. Your stake in a company depends on how many shares you possess, because these are considered a part of the company's capital.

The popularity of investing in the stock market is increasing constantly. Today, investment in stocks and shares is not limited to the well to do; even the average middle-class is getting into it in droves. The opening up of markets with advanced trading technologies has made owning shares easy for everyone. However, if you are planning to invest, do not depend on luck to get you returns. Investment in stocks is considered a very risky affair. It requires a high rate of return. You need to use a well thought out strategy and necessary tools to invest in the share market.

The allure of investing in shares and stocks, however, does not mean that every would-be investor has the know-how of this often-slippery market. If you feel that the get-rich-quick theory applies to stocks and shares, then it is a misguided notion, because stocks are not the answer to instant wealth. Just like the real estate market, the share market also involves a lot of risk. Yet, people are often under the misconception that they will get rich instantly if they invest in shares.

You can buy a share in a stock when a company first enlists on the stock market � that is, at flotation or privatization. Alternatively, you can purchase shares once they are in circulation and are traded.

You could go to a stockbroker if you want to buy stocks. Stockbrokers do business with the stock exchange. They hold the shares in an account that is created in the name of the nominee. You can also keep your shares in the form of a paper certificate. Once the buying and selling of shares is over the transaction is made complete through an electronic system. This system is responsible for linking all the banks along with the stockbroker and registrars of the respective companies.

You can invest in international stocks as well. When a company performs trading in a stock market of another country, their stocks are known as International stocks. These stocks are traded like the UK stocks or, for that matter those traded in the Nasdaq in the US. All the stock exchanges in the world work in the same manner.

There is no guarantee when it comes to Investment in stocks but if you are ready to take a big risk then you can expect great returns on your investment. Despite the risk factor this form of investment has outperformed other investment options like bonds or saving accounts. So if you have the right strategy and you make the right moves in the stock market then nothing can stop the money from rolling in.

Fundamental Stock Analysis

Fundamental stock analysis begins with the techniques and stock analysis tools used with the strategy appropriately termed "Fundamental Analysis". This is the fundamental stock analysis strategy used by most Wall Street analysts. The objective of this stock exchange analysis strategy is to use Fundamental Analysis to find growing companies, and utilize a buy and hold strategy while they increase in price. Once the stock's earnings growth slows (for the long term) to say less than 15 percent per year, we would then sell the stock. The key is to use these fundamental stock analysis tools to find a company with good management in a growing industry. The main indicator used for this is the Earnings per Share ratio (net income divided by the number of common shares of stock outstanding).

You will want to find companies that post a consistent increase in earnings of 15 percent or more in annual growth. You must also realize that the larger a company gets the harder it becomes for it to maintain a 15 or 20 percent growth every year. Especially during slower economic periods so be prepared to spent a little time researching on a consistent schedule. Once you have initially structured your portfolio this can be accomplished with maybe spending an hour every Saturday.

Another financial ratio to follow is the P/E ratio (The ratio of the price per share of a stock to its annual Earnings per Share). You should be monitoring companies with high growth for possible short term opportunities, especially companies that Wall Street follows closely. When earnings slow or drop for a reported quarter the stock will begin to be sold causing a rapid drop in the price per share. But many times this will only be temporary and the stock price will also rapidly return to the normal or average price therefore presenting an opportunity to prosper on a short term basis. Usually these larger companies will maintain P/E ratios around 15 to 20 but during these temporary drops in price the P/E ration will fall to around 10. Therefore the strategy is as follows:

* If you already own the stock you will want to sell it as soon as it starts to fall or is announced that the growth has slowed or dropped. A possible way to accomplish this is to place stop orders on the date quarterly earnings are posted if you cannot actually monitor the stock yourself.

* If you do not already own the stock wait until the stock's P/E ratio drops and levels off, (usually around 10), then purchase the stock and wait for it to rebound in price.

One thing you must realize and research if you are going to utilize this strategy is why did the earnings growth change? Pinpoint the cause of the earnings growth change to evaluate if this will be a temporary drop or not. For instance the retailer Wal Mart will post its quarterly earnings around the end of February now due to sales from Christmas these earnings should be higher then the previous quarter therefore the temporary reaction will be to buy the stock causing a temporary increase in the price of the stock, then the price will return to it average range over the next two or three weeks. This year, February 21, 2006 they reported their 4th quarterly earnings and sales then over the next 3 weeks into March the stock increased in price almost $4.00 a share and over the following 2 - 3 weeks after it dropped almost as much to its original starting point.

This is just one of many financial ratios that are used in Fundamental Analysis for the valuation process of prospective entities. You should realize that there is several financial ratios used in the over process of Fundamental Analysis and that no matter what happened in the past we can not always predict the future. Therefore you should make sure you utilize a range of the fundamental stock analysis tools not just limiting yourself to this one.

To learn more about fundamental analysis go to: http://www.OnlineInvestmentGuide.com

� 2006 Strategic Resolutions, LLC All Rights Reserved

No Financial Future?

Our financial lifestyles have changed dramatically over the last three decades, and not for the better. At 26 years old my parents were married, both in full-time employment, raising a four-year-old child and had been on the property ladder for over 5 years. Life was by no means straightforward for them and they worked consistently hard, but it appears that even that isn't enough nowadays.

For "twenty-something's" in the "naughties" life is somewhat contrasting - targeted since birth by marketers with their branding cross-hairs accurately aimed at selling you material possessions you just don't need. The credit industry no longer require you to be suited and booted for an interview with the bank manager, instead you just sign on the dotted line and "cross your heart and hope to die" that you'll pay it back � one day.

University has become the norm, as has the student lifestyle, with many teenagers opting for university for all the wrong reasons. Often finishing with a degree that provides them with little or no head-start on a career. Graduates leaving university this year had average debts of over �13,000, according to NatWest Bank. Barclays Bank conducted their own research into the expected value of student debts at the end of the decade, the results showed an estimated �26,000 � for each graduate.

Over the last 10 years, house prices have doubled and with salaries only increasing 50%, the financial security of property investment is firmly out of the clutches of the potential first-time buyer. The average house price for first-time buyers as of June 2006 was more than �149,000.

So those who already own properties are able to remortgage using their newfound equity and invest in additional properties, which further exacerbates the first-time buyer conundrum. An alarming number of people have realised just how easy it is to quit your job and become a Property Developer, buying up smaller houses and flats, updating them and selling them for a profit, or alternatively renting them to the younger generations who are unable to purchase for themselves and then living off the rental income.

Recent articles have highlighted the astronomical bonuses paid to city workers after a five year high for the London Stock Market; over 4,000 employees of the financial services sector will receive bonuses in excess of �1 million each. This is a major cause of the continued rise in house prices in the UK, especially in London.

And the governments' solution? Flat pack homes made from recycled cardboard, cheap yes, but an investment for future generations? I think not!

Many housing associations have attempted to increase the availability of shared-ownership schemes, where half the property is mortgaged and the other half is rented to you by the housing association, but when the rent and mortgage repayments are nearly as high as cost of mortgaging the entire property � what is the point?

So we are advised to save hard for a deposit and stamp duty (currently �29,000 is required on average) if we want a chance of buying a home, which is very tricky when the average household debt in the UK is �8,577 and rising. But we must also remember to put at least one quarter of our gross salaries into our pensions if we want to put food on the table by the time we reach retirement (oh and we might have to work for another 2-5 years before we are entitled to retire!)

With a quarter of those in debt receiving treatment from their GP for stress, depression and anxiety, the chances are we wont make it to retirement age anyway!

So where is all the money going? It would appear the UK public don't have their life savings stashed under their mattresses and Gordon Brown keeps telling us there isn't enough money to go around? So lets take a look at the credit industry � HSBC had pre-tax profits of �7.7bn in 2005 with an expected growth in 2006 � that's nearly as much as Shell Petroleum! The "Big Five" generated over �32billion in 2005, that's more than the gross domestic product of Luxembourg!

Some positive action is required immediately to redress the balance, the government should consider charging credit companies every time they force an individual to go bankrupt or become insolvent, as it is their failure to correctly assess the customer's ability to repay the debt. This should be supported by a clear limit on the interest and charges that creditors can add to consumer debts, forcing them to take a more responsible route to lending.

If action is not taken now, subsequent generations will have no financial future.

What Lies Ahead for Social Security?

Future for Social Security

Recent news headlines foretell about the looming predicaments and dilemmas facing Social Security. Although most would agree that current recipients are in no imminent danger of losing their benefits, or having their benefits reduced, what remains in the horizon is the future of this social welfare program, which has financially aided Americans for over 75 years. Pressing questions need to be answered. Is Social Security misunderstood, bordering abused? Will the privatization of accounts save Social Security?

A Historical Backdrop

The Stock Market crash in 1929 and the Great Depression that followed led to a virtual standstill of the US economy. This left an overwhelming number of workers unemployed and unable to find work. The Social Security Act, signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935, formed a federal program for unemployment insurance, old-age pensions, aid to dependent children as well as offered federal grants to states for workers' insurance plans and medical care. Disability insurance was added to the Social Security program in 1954, and Medicare was added in 1965.

A Pay-as-you-go System

The present program is a pay-as-you-go system in which the taxes paid by current workers are immediately sent to current retirees as benefit checks. Surplus money is put into a trust fund for use when taxes don't cover benefits. That means the system can only function when the benefits paid to retirees are equal to or less than the Social Security taxes paid by workers. Social Security's future financial troubles will arise due to fact that more and more Americans are living longer, and American families are choosing to have fewer children. This suggests the retiree portion of the U.S. population is increasing and the worker portion is decreasing. This is the real quandary facing Social Security at the moment.

Social Security is a pay-as-you-go program, and by law, no one has "earned" Social Security benefits or the benefits "owed" to them. In 1960 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federal government is not obligated to pay Social Security benefits to anyone and the government is entitled to cut benefits at any time.

Privatization of Accounts

This is what makes the privatization of accounts attention-grabbing. Private accounts would give the workforce and not the federal government, partial control over the money they pay into Social Security. The hard truth is that Social Security benefits will have to be cut, taxes raised and the retirement age increased regardless of whether a private account scheme is put in place or not.

However, the accounts do mean workers would know that some of their money will be there for them in the future and workers' ability to earn investment income on the accounts will make the impending benefit cuts and tax increases a little easier to deal with.

American Retirement System

Finally, the Federal government needs to look at fixing the entire American retirement system. Many pension plans get swallowed up in corporate takeovers, lost in corporate bankruptcies, or fall victim to poor management in union or company accounts.

There needs to be better governmental and private regulation of these accounts, so the money is available to the pensioners when they reach retirement age. The problems with Social Security are only part of the problem facing retirees in America's future.

Investing In Foreign Currencies - The FOREX

Building a diversified portfolio gives you a lot more stability with your investments and enables you to keep on the profit side of things more easily. But if you already have a rather diversified portfolio and think you are now rather knowledgeable of the stock market, then you may be ready to expand your investments into FOREX - the foreign exchange. When currencies in the United States may take a plunge, or a lack of growth, markets in other countries are doing quite well and this is something that you can draw a profit from.

The FOREX market, listed simply as "FX," is the biggest market of all. A lot of money can be gained from it - and rather quickly, too. This market deals entirely with the exchange rates between two currencies on 5 days of the week. Two currencies are always in every exchange and they are exchanged the one for the other with a buy rate and a sell rate - at the same time. For instance, if you believe that the Japanese yen is about to increase in value, then you may offer to buy it at $1.10 and sell it at $1.25 - making a possible $.15 per yen purchased. Here are a few things you need to know about how to get started in the FOREX market.

Learn The System

Trading on the FOREX is generally more difficult than the regular stock exchange. It is easier to lose money if you do not know what you are doing. In order to prepare people to learn to deal with the FOREX, though, most online brokerages have specialized software that provides training - up to about 30 days, with "free money" to use to practice until you start being able to regularly see a profit. Only then is it wise to start doing some real trading. You also need to know how to determine the state of national economies and be able to predict their fluctuations. Other online companies provide many free booklets that they will mail to you only for the asking.

Potentially Safer Investing

Since all deals with the FOREX require a broker, your money is potentially safer. Every contract made with a broker will have a clause in it that allows the broker to actually stop the transaction if they feel it is a poor investment. The primary reason for this is because you are actually using the broker's money to make the deal. When you use FOREX, you create a sort of "loan" that gives you an operating ratio of up to 100:1. This means that, for $3,000, you are actually controlling $300,000.

The FOREX is also a better investment because there cannot be any insider trading. Dealing with currencies means that the things that effect it would make national news. This kind of event would be known almost instantly around the world - and everyone has access to the same news.

Easy Liquidity

Trading in currencies occurs every single day - many trillions of dollars worth of it. Because of this feature, there is always someone who will buy or sell dollars, enabling you to have a very quick liquidity when needed.

No Fees

Brokers do not charge you a fee when you make a FOREX transaction. This enables you to be able to control even better the amount of money that you invest and it allows you to chart it a little better. Brokers make their money through the spread of what is sold, the difference between what is bid and the actual selling price.

Tips On How To Choose Winning Stock

Learning how to use the stock market is always more than just a little tricky. But even then, being able to foresee what is going to happen in the stock market will always have a risk factor - you win some, and... Knowing just which ones to pick should not be left to mere guesswork, or "hunches." Here are a few good things to look at when trying to find that "just right" stock for you to invest in.

Pay Attention To The Market

Anyone that does any kind of investing knows that you have to keep your eye on it at all times. It certainly will not take care of itself. So unless you have a stockbroker, then plan on checking the overall results of the company that you choose to buy stocks from. Unless you have a good memory, it may be a good idea to make some kind of chart to plot its stock trends, too. This will give you an instant overall view of the way your company's stock is performing.

Investigate Carefully

Unless you have a lot of money that you can just throw away, you need to be careful where you invest. Do a little homework. Being a success in the stock market takes a little more than blind luck. Here are three things that you should look at when considering what company to invest in.

* The History And Background Of The Company

It is always good to find out what is the reason that this company is doing so well. Ask yourself whether or not it is because of good leadership, overall quality in the products or services it supplies, or is it just a fad product, that will soon fade away? Ask yourself if there is apt to be a projected demand for whatever that company is offering; in other words, is there a reasonable expectation of growth in the near future?

Other things that you want to understand are the quality and integrity of the company. If you are not sure, or if that company is definitely involved with things that you do not agree on, stay away from it - there are many other ones to choose from.

* The Performance On The Stock Market In Recent Months

This is also a must. You need to study the way that their stock has performed in at least the last six months. See if you can spot a trend that goes in a generally upward direction. Be careful of companies whose stock explodes overnight - they can implode just as quickly, and there goes your money with it. Seek for a more even, but generally constant increase in stock value.

* News About The Company

This is a continuation of paying attention to what is happening. The stock market, and the companies behind it, changes everyday. Do weekly Internet searches for news about the company in order to detect forward motion, and whether or not it is staying a leader in its field. You can also be aware of negative events, such as a shakeup in CEO's, scandals, the misuse of funds, improper reporting of its finances, etc., anything that might mean you should take your investment somewhere else. Other news might deal with why some stock market watchers think that your company is solid, and a good investment - which is always good to hear.

Don't Put All Investments In One Company.

Finally, be wise and spread your investments over a rather broad base. Make different kinds of investments, too - don't put them all in the stock market. When you start to see problems in one, don't be afraid to make a decision and move your investment. Always be learning more about how to invest. You want to learn as much as you can from those who may know more than you.

Real Estate gathers more steam - Daytona Beach

The real estate in Daytona Beach is booming and shows a promise of long standing. The main reason for real estate to boom here is attributed to the success of tourism and the inherent ability of this beautiful place to get the tag of "heavenly retreat".

The primary source of buyers in this area is people who come here for retirement, investment or vacation purposes. There are many baby boomers and immigrants from other places who want to settle in this cool and serene beach. There are also people who are getting closer to retirement will want to retire to some place that feels like a little slice of heaven. And the best place is this marvelous tourist spot. These people, sometimes plan ahead and often come into the market with the goal of purchasing homes, in the process fuels the growth of real estate market. These homes are purchased either as investment or for personal use. Further, the Baby Boomers are not a small group; the demand in the housing market throughout Florida will be stretched for a long time to come.

The future of investment in Daytona Beach is bright as it continues to attract thousands of tourists. Daytona Beach hosts the annual Biketoberfest, an exciting event which draws a large group of amorous Harley Davidson riders to the area. This place witnesses nearly hundred thousand visitors during this event. Moreover investment in real estate yield more profits than stocks. We have seen major stock markets declining in each of the past two years. On the other hand, home prices in almost every market have been climbing strongly upward.

Those people who are willing to invest should behave like a smart investor. Then there is no looking back and you will be able to reap the harvest with both hands.

Why Risk It?

Now days you just can't be too careful. You never know what will happen. Will the stock market crash? Will the conflicts in the Middle East prevent any oil from leaving that area of the world? And what about the events that we can't even begin to anticipate. Nobody knows what lies ahead.

In the corporate world, there are huge risks that are associated with any business venture. They need to analyze all the effects of the things they do, and the things that could happen to know if what they are selling is going to make a profit. A huge amount of money goes into every business, and money is expected to come out. Fortunes are made and lost due to small little variables that tend to have a great impact on how well the products and services of each company is able to sell.

To be able to anticipate and minimize the risks that are intrinsic to the corporate world, processes have been developed. These processes are what makes up Enterprise Risk Management, which are ways to be able to minimize the risks that may negatively affect a companies profits. Large groups of people are employed to look at all the possibilities and they determine what could happen, how big of an impact they would have and how to minimize such effects and to minimize loss. While they can do a great deal to help determine what will happen, the risks are still there and can still wreak havoc upon a company.

Enterprise Risk Management contains many processes and methods to manage the risks and other unforeseeable events that can happen. The concerns that are addressed are those of preventing loss of capital, protecting the company, the costumers, and the products or services. Now people are looking into the enterprise risk management procedures of companies before investing, to make sure that they don't lose the money they invest. They want to see that they are being very active in preventing loss of profit and bankruptcy.

One example of enterprise risk management is compliance software that can help track where the documents that your company has created are at. In our world where computers are abundant and essential to businesses, many documents are created and almost impossible to track. But there does exist such software that is able to track where every copy of every document created in your company. And this is but one example of compliance software that will help manage risk in your company.

Usage of enterprise risk management has grown immensely in the past few years due to the events in the world as well as many other factors that have appeared. People have become more worried about the possible things that could happen, and want to know that their investment is safe. Even the government has become involved with enterprise risk management. It is all around in the business world. And if we can make it a part of our businesses, we will have much less chance of failure.

Annuity Quotes

To gain an understanding of annuities, we need to start at the beginning. In the year 1740, the Presbyterian Church began to use annuities in order to aid widows and the priestly order. The simple purpose of an annuity is to ensure that you have a sound financial back up during retirement. Today, there are different kinds of products sold by Insurance companies and agents. Before you take out an annuity ensure that the Insurance Company has a license to practice in your state. The State Insurance Commission is a legal body that regulates Insurance companies to make sure they have adequate funds so that investments are not jeopardized.

Different companies have annuities with different rates and returns. There could be several reasons why you would want an annuity. For example, an annuity helps you pay reduced tax, avoid probate and save for the future. You can look out for your future and that of your heirs. By putting money away for an inheritance, you are making a wise decision for your family. When choosing an annuity quote it is important to remember your financial status and goal for the future. Annuity quotes differ according to the annuity you choose. There are several companies that offer quotes for Immediate Annuities, Fixed Annuities, Equity-indexed Annuities and Variable Annuities.

If you choose an Immediate Annuity, then you can expect to receive a fixed or variable sum of money every month or quarter or according to your specification. The amount of money you receive is based on your initial deposit and the time duration of your annuity. If you choose a variable plan then make sure that your investments do very well. A Fixed Annuity is a low risk annuity because you receive a minimum interest whether or not your investments do well. These are more stable in nature and you will always know what to expect. There is no gamble in investing in such an annuity. Some companies that offer this are National Western Life, Jefferson Pilot Life, Great American Life Insurance Company, Allianz Life, American National Insurance Company etc.

Equity Indexed Annuities, as the name suggests is based on the stock market index. If your chosen index rises then you gain and vice versa. There is a certain amount of risk in this product; however, the bright side is that you gain if your investments do well. Variable annuities give you the freedom to decide where you want to invest, but it also does not protect you in case of loss. The benefit is that you get to keep all the profit. These annuities are good for those who are completely aware of the market dynamics. Therefore, before choosing an annuity quote you must first know what kind of annuity you really require. There are several online insurance portals that offer to give you an annuity quote instantly. All you have to do is fill out an online form and your quote will find its way to you.

In conclusion, choose an annuity quote that comes from the right source. Ensure that your agent is licensed, knowledgeable, reputable and experienced. It is always best to go for an agent that comes as a recommended source. Further, you can opt to receive multiple annuity quotes so you have a choice in front of you.