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One of the questions I get asked the most is this: “How do I pick a good stock broker?”.
It’s a very interesting question, but probably not for the reason that you think! And it’s exactly what I’m going to talk about in this article today.
First, I need to take a little bit of a circular route. But try to bear with me because it’s worth it in the end!
So what exactly are people asking me when they ask this question? They’re usually asking one of two things. First, how do I pick a Stock broker that isn’t going to lose all my money, and second (and probably more likely) how do I pick a stockbroker who’s going to make me a lot of money!
Admit it, that’s what you were thinking when you asked yourself that question and came searching around on the Internet for the answer (and then found me here). § Read the rest of this entry…
This economy has made it almost impossible to retire – unless you’ve got a plan for the future. Don’t be afraid of financial retirement planning, but be serious about it. Financial retirement planning will ensure that the vision you have for your retirement becomes reality.
It’s never too late to begin financial retirement planning, but begin as early as you can. You will have a better chance of reaching financial security in your retirement if you begin at age 30 rather than age 60. Creating a financial retirement plan helps you recognize what you need to do in the present to secure a successful future. If you don’t have a plan, future issues can become bewildering when you have to confront them and you won’t have a clear-cut course to take.
Creating a retirement strategy includes where you’re going to place investments and for what period of time. You should set monetary goals with three strategies in mind – short term investments, medium-term investments and long term investments. § Read the rest of this entry…
Because the credit card market is so competitive, the ability of associations and organizations to offer instant issuance credit cards can increase a company’s competitive edge. An institution’s bottom line in the marketplace can be boosted by increasing card sales, improving customer satisfaction, customer/member loyalty, and giving an impressive return on investment (ROI). With Smart Card software and PIN selection technology, financial institutions are now seeing increased overall revenue over traditional credit cards that have in the past been issued at a later date via mailing.
Through the use of new, advanced PIN software and plastic card embossing that are now available to many institutions, customers are now able to leave the facility with a card that is fully functional and can be used immediately as opposed to waiting for the card to arrive in their mailbox up to ten days later. The customer receives immediate satisfaction and the issuer saves time and money on card processing, handling, and mailing costs, as well as risks associated with mailing. The benefits to both parties are shown below.
Instant issuance gives financial institutions a competitive advantage by: increasing their profits, lowering costs associated with credit card issuance, including mailing costs, improving cross selling opportunities, increasing loyalty of customers based on more immediate satisfaction, increasing the number of card sales, activation, and usage, and improving service evaluations when compared to competing companies.
The combination of instant card issue, pin software, plastic card embossing, pin technology and smart card software represents a powerful combination of services many institutions can use to their advantage.
Instant issuance of credit cards can enhance the customer’s experience and overall satisfaction through: instant activation of their ATM, debit, and credit cards, PIN software allowing for customer selected PIN choices and PIN changes, improving customer education about their account information, being able to provide convenient emergency card replacements, better card issuance security which reduces theft, and customization of each individual credit card using plastic card embossing technology.
Many people get stuck in bad debt because they choose to ignore the signs of the problem. Indeed, there are always warning signs that point to the imminent disaster – bankruptcy. What are the major red flags of financial danger and how can you spot them? Here are some tips:
Using your credit cards for everyday purchases. Do you find yourself charging even the smallest purchases to your credit card? Do you often use your card to pay for unexpected buys? Do you need to use your credit card to buy or pay for necessities such as food, electricity, gas, etc? If yes, then obviously something is not right with your budgeting and you could be in danger of credit card debt build-up.
Making only the minimum payment. Do you tend to pay only the minimum required due payment of your credit card each month and choose to leave the rest of your balance? If you do, you are adding more load to your obligations. Remember that carrying a balance also means incurring interest rate charges which can range from 15% to as much as 20% of the original amount of your debt. § Read the rest of this entry…
A CD (Certificate of Deposit) is available at very low interest rates at the present. The amount received will not even keep up with the low rates of inflation the government throws at us. CD rates vary according to how long the money will be tied up. If an early withdrawal is made, a month’s worth of interest can be lost. Since not much interest is being delivered, this is a large loss. Sometimes more than one CD should be purchased in case of a situation where one must be redeemed.
A CD is a time deposit. If you are promising the bank to let them have the money, for example, for a year, then they assume it is not going to be taken out during that time span. The CD is guaranteed against loss by the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), a government agency, created way back during the Great Depression of the 1930′s.
The highest CD rates one could expect is about 2.5% and this is for having money tied up for 5 years, hardly conducive to getting rich and retiring early. CD rates for 6 months will return around 1%. If money has to be “parked” for a short time, a CD is a good financial instrument. For those with little money to risk, a CD can also be a good investment. § Read the rest of this entry…
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