by Lauren Bowling on May 23, 2013
We all know the drill, when looking to tighten our belts and save money the first things to go are the eating out and the entertainment portions of the budget. I had always thought entertaining at home was a cheaper alternative to going out, but after my recent birthday party I realized I was wrong. Entertaining at home is cheaper than going out, but only in certain instances.
Movie Theater vs. Movie Night In
This is probably the most obvious example of how entertaining at home is cheaper than going out-movies are so expensive! Add a trip to the concession stand and it is no contest on how much money you can save. For my boyfriend and myself we save about $25 each time we watch a movie at home. Viewing over Netflix or Hulu is negligible when you break the cost down per day or per view, and a box of popcorn is only $3.00 from the local grocery store.
Having friends over for a movie night is often a lot more fun than going out to the movies, because you are in your own home, there is a lot more conversation and playful banter than out at a public theater. Winner: Movie Night In
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by Scott Sery on May 22, 2013
Everyone wants to become a desired asset to their company. It means they have succeeded and are well respected. However, what often ends up happening is that most people just become a cog in the wheel. They are disposable, and they are just going through the motions as a corporate employee. Year after year they simply churn out a living. Contrary to what many people believe, it does not have to be that way. Getting to the top is a lot easier than most people think.
Step One
Read. Read everything you can about your business and industry. Read on your phone while on the bus or train, read relative news articles while in the bathroom, take five minutes away from your lunch and learn something new. Read the sales literature that your company puts out. Read and learn the complete history of your company and the industry as a whole. Understand the ins and outs of the company all the way down to how the mail is picked up and delivered. At the same time, read about your competitor. Know their products, their strengths and their weaknesses. Know everything you can possibly know about the entire industry on down to the names of the CEOs’ dogs.
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by Sean Bryant on May 20, 2013
A debt validation request is a secret weapon that enables you to verify any debt you owe. This simple tool can help you clarify any outstanding debt, stall the collections process and provide you with all the information you need to determine what debt is actually your responsibility and what is not.
Debt collection agencies will attempt to collect a debt from you regardless of whether that debt is actually one you incurred or not. The best way for you to verify if the debt is yours is to use a debt validation letter.
In order to clean up your credit and any past due accounts, you must first find out if the debt you owe actually belongs to you. Too often, people do not take advantage of tools available to them to check their credit, such as free credit reports. When a debt collector calls, the consumer feels pressured and instead of pursuing avenues of debt verification, they simply pay the debt.
Finding out if a debt that is in collections is yours is rather simple and does not always require the assistance of a debt lawyer. First, contact the creditor or collection agency and tell them that you want debt verification. This means that you want to verify that the delinquent account is yours and that the activity on it is comprised of transactions you made and not those resulting from fraud. This will help stop debt collection harassment – at least for 30 days while the debt is being verified. People with rather common names can find themselves with other people’s debt information on their credit without their knowledge. Taking this first investigative step is critical to keeping your credit clean and avoiding any unnecessary credit collection actions.
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by Emily Guy Birken on May 16, 2013
Last year, my husband and I looked into the possibility of purchasing a rental home. It seemed like a good time to buy real estate, and we could swing the down payment on a small home in our area.
However, despite the fact that we were comfortable with the idea of being landlords and everything that went with that, the additional mortgage and paperwork headaches that we would be facing with a non-owner occupied purchase was enough to put the brakes on our scheme. It seemed fairly clear that the best path to becoming a landlord was one several friends had taken—buy a new house to live in, and rent out the previous home.
Unfortunately, even that path is not necessarily an easy one. If you are in the situation where you are renting out your old house, you may be surprised to find out how difficult it is to refinance your rental. If you’re thinking about refinancing a home you’re currently (or are planning on) renting out, here’s what you need to know:
The bank will want to see a good deal of equity in your rental home
Considering the fact that you do not live in the house, lenders will see a refinance with less than 25% equity in the home as a default risk. With little invested, you’ve got little to lose if you walk away.
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by Sean Bryant on May 14, 2013
In case you don’t know what an asymmetric investment means, asymmetry is the opposite of symmetry. Thus, in a “symmetrical” investment (for example, you bought stocks), the probability of those stocks going up and going down is theoretically 50-50 (hence the symmetry). Oppositely, in an asymmetric investment the probability is jiggered in your favor beforehand – the odds of the market moving in a direction that’s favorable to your investment is far greater than the odds of the market moving against your investment. Hence, the important question is, how does one create an asymmetric investment? There are 2 methods – the best investors combine these two methods.
Asymmetric Market Prediction
An asymmetric market prediction is exactly what it sounds like – the odds that your market prediction is right is greater than the odds of it being wrong. An asymmetric market prediction is completetely based upon 1 fact: history repeats itself.
Obviously, history doesn’t exactly repeat itself, or else we’d still be in the days of the Flintstones. However, the SYMPTOMS in history are always the same. Symptoms such as economic growth, contraction, loose monetary policy, etc are always the same (there are only so many types of economic conditions!). Same story, different scenery.
Here are the steps to creating an asymmetric market prediction:
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We all know the drill, when looking to tighten our belts and save money the first things to go are the eating out and the entertainment portions of the budget. I had always thought entertaining at home was a cheaper alternative to going out, but after my recent birthday party I realized I was wrong. Entertaining at home is cheaper than going out, but only in certain instances.
