How to Get Rich Slowly - Sound Solid Investment Principles Take Time to Pay Off

Everyone dreams of finding that perfect investment opportunity – the one that will make them a millionaire overnight. Unfortunately, with few exceptions in history, those perfect opportunities often turn out to be just that – dreams. There are still so many people who want to believe in them, however, that the ‘get rich quick’ industry continues to thrive – and take advantage of those who are not ‘in the know’ about investing. Learning about investment principles can seem like an overwhelming subject to tackle, but learning some basics can help keep you from making some dire mistakes.

First, when you are investing your money, it’s important to realize what is actually happening to that money and why you are being offered the opportunity to invest. Depending on the type of investment that you are making, you are either investing in a company directly, or giving your money to a group that does the investing for a large number of people all at once. As such, those companies (or groups) pay you for getting to use your money. That payment comes in the form of an interest rate that they offer to you. How high or low the interest rate is gives you an indication of how high or low risk the investment is considered to be. The more they pay you, or the higher the interest rate, then the riskier the investment is considered to be.

Second, you need to understand a principle regarding the time value of money. This says that the money you have in your accounts or pocket now won’t be worth the same as an equal amount of money that you get tomorrow, next month, next year or ten years from now. This is because inflation will reduce the value of that money over time. So given this principle, not investing your money is a mistake because it will simple depreciate in value over time. So if you take $1,000 and hide it under your mattress for a year, it will have depreciated in value. But if you take that same $1,000 and invest it, even at a modest interest rate, it will be worth at least what it was worth when you first invested it.

So the key to sound investing is to invest your money at a rate that will keep you ahead of inflation, but not one that is so high that you risk losing all of your money. Where that line is depends on your personal situation, your age, your debt amounts, and your willingness to accept risk at this point in your life. Investing over the long run a range of funds at different interest rates can earn you an incredible amount of money due to the ‘magic of compounding interest.’ But you will have to learn a few things first – and this takes time to do. You will need to do your research on companies that you might want to invest in. You will need to budget yourself and your family’s spending so that you have the money put aside in order to continue investing. You will also want to reduce your debts so that the money you are earning on your investments is not going back out the door on interest payments to those that you are paying for the chance to use their money. Investing this time on your financial future is well worth the effort, and there is no time like now to get started.

Visit the Global Investment Institute and signup for our free Investing For The Beginner E-Course at http://www.Global-Investment-Institute.com

Investment webmasters or publishers, please feel free to use this article provided this reference is included and all links remain active.

[tags]Get Rich Slowly[/tags]

How to Finance Your Small Business Startup

You have a great idea for a business but don’t have enough cash to get it off the ground? Funding is often the main component that keeps an entrepreneur from his or her dream. Have you been searching for government grants in the hopes of finding free money for your start up? Are you looking for investors and angels? Are you discovering there are no Venture Capitalists handing out start up funds?

The reality is that when it comes to funding your own small business, you need to be able to provide at least some of the financing yourself. Even if you qualify for an SBA (Small Business Administration) backed loan, you must still pitch in a good percentage yourself (20% – 30%).

And when it comes to grants, there really are no grants available for small start-ups. Sure, there are some here and there for $500 - $1000 for niche groups. But even a small business will have start up expenses upwards of $10,000. And Venture Capitalists are looking for multimillion dollar deals that will net them millions in return. They have no interest in helping the little guy with his little business.

So, where do you find funding?

Before I answer that all important question let me ask you…Do you have a detailed business plan with exact dollar requirements spelled out (or very close educated assumptions)? That is your first order of business. Once you have a very good idea of your needs you will have a better idea of where to look for funding.

Most people don’t even know how to begin to figure their start up costs. Here is a list of typical start up expenses:

ท security deposit

ท rent

ท utilities

ท signage

ท advertising

ท permits

ท legal fees

ท accounting fees

ท insurance

ท payroll

ท inventory

ท supplies

ท bank fees

ท loan payments

ท equipment

ท pos system

ท racking

ท counters

ท credit merchant acct

ท office furniture

ท office machines

ท taxes, taxes and more taxes

Of course your own particular expenses will vary according to your business, but this list should give you a good starting point. Once you have a better idea of your initial start up costs you will be in a position to know if you need to look for loans.

Additionally, with your business plan in hand, you will be in a much better position to approach lenders. Whether these lenders are in the form of friends or family or bank loan officers, they will want to see your vision on paper. They will want to know exactly what you are attempting to accomplish. They will want to know if your idea is viable and worth taking a risk on. And they will want to know if you have contributed anything of your own. Are you yourself willing to take a risk on your idea? Have you accumulated some savings? Have you sold off any assets? Have you considered a home equity loan? Are you willing to continue working a regular job while getting your business off the ground? Continuing to work will at least provide you with enough to take care of your personal expenses while your business is just getting started.

After you have exhausted these options, there are still other little known organizations and groups that can help you with additional capital. You will find much more detailed information at the site listed below. Understand, that while finding the funds for your small business start up can take time and effort it can be done. It is done all the time. You can do it too.

Start with the business plan and be that much closer to your dream.

Sylvia Talo has authored the step-by-step manual, "You Can Write Your Own Successful Business Plan", now featured in the One Stop Business Start Up Kit. Visit her web site http://smallbusinessstartup.biz/ a One Stop Site to help you start your own small business.

[tags]small business start up, small business financing, business start up, business startup, funding,[/tags]

How to Finance a Medical Practice That is Growing Quickly

Regardless of what industry pundits say, opening a medical practice can be both very rewarding and very lucrative. Of course, as with any business, medical offices have their own specific financial challenges. One of the biggest challenges for medical practices of all sizes is adjusting to the long payment cycles of private insurance providers and Medicare/Medicaid. It is not uncommon for bills to insurance companies to take up to 120 days to pay. This slow payment cycle wreaks havoc in the office’s cash flow, forcing the medical office to carry the costs of doing business – paying rent, equipment leases and office staff – while waiting to get paid. This can be prohibitively expensive and prevent the office from growing and hiring additional staff. At its worst, it can threaten the very existence of the medical practice.

However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. There is a financing tool that lets you capitalize on your slow paying insurance companies and turn their slow payments into immediate payments. The solution is to factor your medical receivables.

How does medical receivables factoring work?

Medical receivables factoring (or medical factoring for short) is a financing tool that allows you to turn slow paying invoices into actual cash, by selling them to a medical factoring company. The medical factoring company pays you for them and waits to be paid by the insurance companies. It eliminates the slow payment cycle, reducing the payment time from 90 days to two days. This provides the medical office with the necessary funds to meet expenses, such as paying rent and staff. It also frees up capital to grow the business into new areas.

The medical factoring process is fairly simple. Once a factoring arrangement is established, your office sends its weekly receivables to the factoring company for immediate financing. The factoring company will calculate the actual amount paid by insurance companies (called the net collectibles) and advance you up to 80% of that amount. The remaining 20% is called the reserve, and is used to settle billing discrepancies. Once the insurance company pays the medical bill, the remaining 20% is rebated, less the financing fee. The financing fee varies based on how long the invoices were financed.

Although qualifying for factoring is relatively simple, most financing companies will only work with medical offices that have net collectibles of at least $50,000. Terms usually get better as the practice grows. Medical practices, testing centers and medical supply companies that have over $200,000 a month in net collectibles are in the best position to get the best terms. This is because insurance payment processing can be very complex and there are a number of efficiencies that can be realized with high volumes.

Advantages of medical office factoring

Medical office factoring has some advantages over other financial products. The most important is that the financing is recurring and happens every time you invoice an insurance company. This makes it a cash on demand product. As opposed to loans and lines of credit, the factoring line has flexible limits. As a matter of fact, the limits are based on your ability to invoice, making it an ideal growth tool. Lastly, doctor office factoring is easy to qualify for and the personal credit of the practice owners is usually not involved in the financing decision.

Invoice Factoring Group

Invoice Factoring Group can provide you with a medical factoring or medical receivables factoring quote for free. Marco Terry, the president, can be reached at 1-866-730-1922.

Copyrightฉ 2006 – All rights reserved. Article may be reprinted provided it is not modified and all links are kept intact.

[tags]medical factoring,medical receivables factoring,invoice factoring,factoring[/tags]

How To Change Your Mindset To Start Building Wealth

A person's financial past, present and future is primarily developed by the "mindset" they developed growing up. "Mindset" is the state of mind you hold and then act upon. These actions, especially financial decisions, is what will allow you to retire wealthy, or retire dead-broke.

Believe it or not the statistics show that 90-95% of Americans retire with less than $20,000 in their bank accounts. This means that these "retired" people must now work.

Do you want to work at age 65?

Changing your mindset will not difficult. It takes consistent, daily actions for at least 30 days before your existing habits become modified for the better. Follow these daily actions for the next 30 days, and watch your view on money change.

Every day for the next 30 days, do not complain about your current financial situation.

Every day for the next 30 days, do not make the statement "we cannot afford that".

Every day for the next 30 days, do not make the statement "money does not grow on trees".

Every day for the next 30 days, save $1 to $5 per day and do not touch it. I promise... you will not miss the money your are saving.

Every day for the next 30 days, thank God for what you currently have. Until you appreciate what you have, you will not prosper in life.

Every day for the next 30 days, say "I love money." Wanting money is not bad; greed is.

The above "affirmations" or "thoughts" about money will become reality if you consistently do these actions. The key to changing your finances is to change how you think about money.

Shawn Wiederin

Author of "What Mom and Dad Should Have Taught Me About Money" Discover How To Build Wealth at http://www.savemorespendless.com

[tags]create wealth,build wealth,finances,mindset,improve finances,save money[/tags]

How Much Is Your Second Income Costing You

Most families choose to be two income producing for very good reasons. In the lowest income groups, it is probably a matter of economic necessity. There are many cases where mothers work as their partners employment lacks security or offers few benefits. Usually the second income earner is doing to in order to elevate the families standard of living.

Many families with two incomes are able to economize, but the reality is they do not.
If you are trying to evaluate the true value of a second income, you would be well advised to ask yourself these questions.

Could you make large cuts in your food bills by gardening and freezing home grown produce and by cutting out pre-packaged convenience foods? Also cutting down on eating out and ordering in food would save a tidy sum in many families.

Another area to examine is how much can be saved by shopping around when purchasing household appliances. A golden rule is to get at least three quotes per machine from different outlets, and one of them should be a quote from an internet supplier.

When you calculate the true value of a second income, don’t forget to work out your taxes both ways. State taxes and individual deductions will vary.

If you decide you want to scale back, and give up one income, then you must be absolutely sure that you are willing to actually economize in the ways you factored in to your calculations.

If you wish to achieve a single income lifestyle, then be aware that you will need to plan ruthlessly. It is not a matter of luck. If you would like to work less outside the home, and evening in front of the fire with a calculator and a glass of home made wine could prove very revealing.

By Erica of Textwriters.Net

http://www.textwriters.net
Professional freelance writers for hire, no job too small (or too big). Free, no obligation quotations. We make words work.

[tags]finance,parenting,money,second job,cost,budget[/tags]

How I Saved My Family Budget $139.88 This Month

There is one simple thing we all can do to save money. A few months ago I was checking over my phone bill and discovered that I had been charged for $3.99 monthly over a period of about 6 months. The charge was for International Call Plan, which I never signed up for. I do not call overseas, therfore I do not need that plan. I cannot remember now how much if any credit I was given.

This month I decided to go on line and pay my phone bill as I do many of my bills. And I clicked on the link that led me to My Services. I was being charged for DSL and Dial-Up. Anyone knows if you have DSL you do not need Dial-Up service. The monthly fee was $9.95. So I called SBC/ATT and spoke to someone in customer service. I wanted to know first of all if the charge was for Dial-Up and not Internet hosting. My hosting is being charged directly to my phone bill. So that means I have been charge $9.99 a month for a year, for a service I do not need and do not use. That amounts to $119.88. The customer service person explained that the Dial-Up service had never been "merged" with the DSL account and that the Dial-Up service was setup by the company temporarily until I received my DSL stuff in the mail. So she credited me for 11 months @ $9.99 each. That totals $109.89.

Yesterday I was online going over my checking account. I discovered that $29.99 was debited for Sports Illustrated. I had started a free subscription as a customer at Blockbuster video store. I found the letter that described my dicounted subscription fee and the date that my account would be debited. My account was debited on December 2 and the letter said it would be debited on December 26. They took the money 24 day sooner. I cancelled it and my money will be refunded back to my account within 10 days.

That totals $139.88. It's near Christmas time and I could use that to buy a few things for those in need.

So let this be lesson to you. Remember to check your services and bills for accuracy. The company is not necessarily looking out for you. You have to look out for your hard-earned money.

Good Luck!

Glenda Thomas is the editor of Sister 2 Sister Newsletter.

[tags]budget, family, money, savings, finances, stewardship[/tags]

How Check 21 Affects You

The Check 21 Law is the new federal law for financial institutions and has taken effect last October 28, 2004.

Before the Check 21 law was enacted, your paper check had to be physically transported from where the check was paid out before it could be deposited to the financial institution. Now, even if it has always been prudent for you to keep money in your account to pay for the checks you’ve issued, this law makes it imperative.

Here are some of the other effects The Check 21 Law will have on you and fellow consumers.

You will no longer receive the original paper checks you issued, as your bank won’t have these.

The probabilities of your checks clearing sooner have increased. If you don’t have funds to cover this amount, your check will bounce. So don’t make out a check when your checking account has insufficient funds, you’ll be severely penalized.

On the minus side is, you will not be able to access the funds you’ve issued a check for, as the new law doesn’t include shorter check hold times.

Because of the shorter time in process the checks, your banks will be able to save money in processing your checks, but they are not required under the law to share these savings with you.

For each kind of copy, your check will have different rights attached with it. For instance, Check 21 has created a new paper copy of an electronic image of a check and is called the "substitute check." This substitute check can be a legal equivalent of the original check, and right attached to this, is that only a substitute check triggers your right to recredit of disputed funds.

The regular copy of a check does not have this same kind of protection. If you ask for a copy of a check, your bank can send you an ordinary copy instead of this special kind of copy which triggers legal rights and protections unless you specifically ask for the substitute check.

A second bank other than your issuing bank can have your original check and under this law, has the right to decide if it will keep or destroy your check. Before enactment of Check 21, your own bank could decide how long they should keep your original checks, if you didn't get these back together with your monthly statements. Under Check 21, the bank of the person you wrote the check to may decide when to destroy your check.

Under the Check 21 law, you can have funds of up to $2,500 recredited to the your account in 10 business days if the check is paid twice, paid for the wrong amount, or otherwise paid in error. However, a gray area exists, does this new right apply when a paper substitute check is used in the processing of the check but is not returned to the consumer? The regulations apply this recredit right only to the consumer who was provided with a substitute check. If the check was electronically processed by all the banks it was routed through, and the consumer was not provided with a substitute check, then the check remains under state check law.

If you want to safeguard your rights, you can request for a return of “substitute checks" you issued together with your monthly checking account statements. One possible difficulty lies in the amount you may pay in getting these checks back, change banks if these are too high!

In essence, what the Check 21 federal law has done is shorten the gap financial institutions take in processing checks. This new law has enabled financial institutions to scan paper checks and to send images of these same checks for electronic processing. This law is an efficient and faster way to process check payments.

If you need information that is more detailed about your rights on the Check 21 law, access the Federal Reserve Bank website and request for these materials:

Consumer Guide to Check 21 & Substitute Checks and what you should know about your checks.

John Thomson is webmaster at business personal checks where check information is a click away. Specializing in cheap personal checks.

[tags]check 21, personal finance, checkbook, personal checks, business checks[/tags]

Hidden Assets in Business

A couple of months ago, we had an article regarding invisible assets of Pharmaceutical companies. While it was one example of hidden assets in business, there are a lot more assets hidden in business more than you think. For an asset play, as described in One Up On Wall Street by Peter Lynch, it is important to discover this hidden asset neglected on the balance sheet. Several commonly found hidden assets are:

1. Companies that own natural resources such as oil, timber, precious metals. For example, oil companies record their oil reserves at the day they made the acquisition. With oil price at $ 60-$70 per barrels now, that oil in the ground will be worth more than is recorded in the book value. How about an example? Chevron Corp. (CVX) has revenue of $ 198 Billion in fiscal year 2005 almost entirely from extracting oil and natural gas from the ground. Meanwhile, Chevron entire asset is worth only $ 125 Billion. Furthermore, Yahoo! Finance states that Chevron has 9 Billion barrels of oil-equivalent on its possesion. With $ 60 per barrel of oil price, Chevron's oil asset is worth $ 540 Billion already. Of course, this does not count the cost of extracting that oil from the ground but it is worth noting that companies that own natural resources generally understate their book value. You can find similar situation at Exxon or ConocoPhillips.

2. Companies with real estate holdings. The most recent example would be the now-acquired K-Mart, which emerged from bankruptcy, only to be acquired by Sears Holding (SHLD). Railroad companies such as Union Pacific (UNP) and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI) owned a vast amount of land since the 19th century.

3. Distribution Channel. This is harder to quantify. As we have discussed before, you have already depreciated the cost years in advance. When you have giants with excellent distribution channel, that should worth something. It can distribute new products quickly at relatively low cost since the asset is there already. How about pharmaceutical companies tens of thousand strong salesman? It forms its own assets by itself. When new product comes online, pharmaceutical companies can efficiently relay the information to its sales man which in turn will visit individual doctors for prescription. That ought to save advertising cost! These assets cannot be taken since there is small possibility that all of the pharmaceutical salesmen quit the job at the same day as their counterparts.

4. Subsidiaries of the companies. The saying that the sum of its part is worth more than the whole may be true. If a company owns various assets or subsidiaries, it will be difficult for investors to sum the whole parts. Sometimes, investors merely focus on the short-term trouble of one subsidiary and drive the stock price down. This creates hidden asset opportunity, which may be worth a lot more than stock price. For example, Altria Group Inc. (MO) (Then called Philip Morris) was trading at $ 20 per share in year 2000. At the time, the value of Kraft division was estimated to be worth $ 24 per share, already more than the value of its stocks. Furthermore, Altria also owned Miller Brewing Company, estimated to be worth $ 3 per share. Others include its hugely profitable US tobacco division and international tobacco division. With the fear of lawsuit driving the stock price down, the sum of Altria's business is worth a lot more than its stock price thereby creating a hidden asset opportunity.

Hidden assets opportunities do not appear very often. But, when you do find the opportunity, your reward will be rich.

You can get your free investing idea and submit your investing article at Novice Investing

[tags]Finance, Stock, Investing[/tags]

Guaranteed Personal Loans

Guaranteed personal loans can be used for a number of things from vacations to a new home entertainment system. Guaranteed online personal loans can be used to pay off high interest credit cards. Many credit card companies will raise the interest fee drastically even if you miss or are late on one payment. Guaranteed personal loans might even be used to start a small business. This would be a great investment if you have an entrepreneurial spirit. On your fist Guaranteed online personal loans, the limit may be much lower than on your subsequent ones. Once you prove that you will pay guaranteed personal loans back on time, you will most likely qualify for a higher amount the next time.

Guaranteed online personal loans will provide you the convenience of applying for funds online without having to leave your home. There are certain requirements that you will have to meet to be considered for guaranteed personal loans. Most lenders require you to have a certain income level per month as well as have a relatively high credit rating. Others may require you to have been at your current employer for a certain length of time and will require documentation of this plus documentation of your rate of pay. Guaranteed online personal loans may come with a limit on the amount of money you can borrower and this may be affected by your credit score.

Guaranteed personal loans can also fill the gaps that come between paydays or if you have the unfortunate luck of being out of work for a while. Guaranteed online personal loans are offered by most Internet lenders as well as lenders in your local area. Guaranteed personal loans can be deposited directly in to your bank account or mailed to you by check. You can also have your repayments debited from your bank account for convenience. Be sure to make your payments on time or you might incur additional fees. Guaranteed online personal loans normally have lower interest rates than credit cards do.

Guaranteed online personal loans are something you could not have obtained a few decades ago. The Internet has brought so many options to United States consumers and those abroad. You can do so many things in a matter of minutes that would have previously taken you much more time and effort to accomplish. Guaranteed personal loans are just one of the few things you can use the Internet for. It is amazing at how we have been blessed by technology. "Now therefore listen to me, O you children: for blessed are they that keep my ways." (Proverbs 8:32)

For more information, visit:
http://www.christianet.com/articles/
http://www.christianet.com/

[tags]guaranteed personal loans, guaranteed online personal loans[/tags]

Guaranteed Personal Loan Lender

If you are looking for a good loan lender who can offer good guaranteed personal loans then here are a few tips to help you through the selection process. While the industry today offers a wide range of lenders and loan options, one must choose the lender carefully, as the wrong decision can prove expensive. Here are the issues to consider.

Planning the right loan and lender

Good planning is the key to a successful loan and a good lender. To obtain a good loan from a good lender, plan your requirements carefully. Understand what you need the loan for and decide the amount required and what you can afford to repay every month. It may be worth checking your credit score that can be easily obtained (in some cases for free). Based on that information you can find the loan rates that you are likely to be offered. Once armed with that information you can compare information from different lenders. The simplest place to do so is online. Many sites like moneyeverything.com offers deals from different reputed lenders all in one place, making it easier for customers to compare the deals.

Lender reputation

Even if the rate is a little higher, a lender with an established reputation is always a better bet than a lender who is not known in the market place. Don’t be fooled into thinking that the less known they are, the lower the chances of them discovering your credit history are. It doesn’t work like that. Today the online scenario offers a plethora of lenders who are all vying for customer’s attention. They often offer drastically low rates, but it pays to remember that what is offered in the advert may not necessarily apply for you. Be wary of lenders who charge fees for providing a quote. While some are genuine, there are some who are simply out there to make money.

Lender deal

Next you need to consider the deal you are being offered following your application. This comprises of the interest rate offered, duration of the loan, APR, pre payment and post payment penalties if any, the amount of documentation required and speed of processing involved. To compare the various deals, the best place to start searching is in the online environment. Consider the terms and conditions carefully and read the small print to avoid unexpected surprises or shocks once you’ve signed up for the deal.

With a wide range of lenders and options available today, it is much easier to obtain a guaranteed personal loan. However it is important to judge lenders carefully as there are many who are trying to take advantage of unsuspecting borrowers. Watch out carefully and take a loan only from a lender with whom you are comfortable. Moneyeverything.com offers a great comparison service with comprehensive information and advice that will help you in making the right decision about a loan for you.

I write articles on Loans. For more details please visit http://www.moneyeverything.com

[tags]good guaranteed personal loans, personal loan[/tags]