Making Money Through Internet Marketing

Make Money Through Affiliate Program


Marketing is something that a lot of people want to get in to. If you are also looking to find a job that you can do from home with complete flexibility, then you should look online. There are many different ways to have a marketing job online. You can make money through internet marketing via affiliate programs. These are programs that rely on marketing in order to make money for the merchant site and the affiliate business site.

What happens is that the affiliate site will advertise for another site and get paid for all of the traffic that is sent to that site. The affiliate site can also get paid a percentage of the purchases that the visitors make. This is called a two tier affiliate program and it makes more profit for everyone. This is because the business will get more sales and the affiliate site will get paid from those purchases. If you become an affiliate you can quickly make money through internet marketing. The great thing about this is the simplicity of these programs. In addition, you will have ultimate flexibility in your hours and you can work when it is convenient for you.

You just need to remember that effort is very important. When you are in marketing, it is important to be aggressive in order to attract people to your product. This means a lot of planning. Also, as an affiliate, you need to advertise to customers that will actually want to visit the site and buy some products. This is why you should choose to become involved with sites that are either similar or that you can w rite about on your site to promote them.

If you want to make money through internet marketing then you know a little something about that type of business. You know that it is illogical to think that you can sell any type of product. You need to get involved with products that you know will sell because that will then make you more money. This is especially true if you are part of an affiliate program that is labeled as a two tier. In this type of situation, when you are responsible for the sales of more products, you will get more money. If you really are serious about making some money, it is important to be confident that you can advertise for a product that is really going to sell.

Mobile Banking. Is It safe?

Mobile banking security in the US and all over the world.

Mobile banking (also referred to as m-banking, phone banking, SMS banking, etc.) means conducting account transactions via a mobile phone. For banks, mobile banking has become the most promising medium of reaching out to their customers because of the ability to provide services at any time or place in the world (of course, if there is cell phone reception). That’s why news headlines weekly report about new financial institutions launching mobile banking.

According to statistics, nearly 70% of Americans use a mobile phone, and the demographics of mobile phones users are much more diverse than that of Internet users. That’s why m-banking, or mobile banking, is so popular in the U.S. It opens up new opportunities for financial institutions interested in providing their services and attracting new customers.

Using comprehensive mobile technology, financial institutions can offer a wide array of different services to their customers. The basic options include bill payments, balance inquiries and transfers among accounts owned by the same person. However, many banks offer more sophisticated solutions, such as getting bank statements, receiving minimum balance alerts or even performing stock trading.

Mobile banking provides exceptional convenience for all cell phone users. There are various m-banking methods to cover different capabilities of mobile phones: text messaging, the mobile Internet, and special programs called “clients” that are downloaded to mobile devices. So even if your phone does not support Web browsing, you can still take advantage of m-banking.

Text messaging is the most popular method of mobile banking. However, its functionality is limited to two or three services. Web browser-based solutions are more sophisticated than text messaging and provide the same range of options as online banking. M-banking clients, generally created for smartphones, are the most comprehensive systems. They provide a fabulous combination of speed and functionality.

Is mobile banking safe?

The experts are very optimistic about the future perspectives of mobile banking. They think that it will grow much faster than online banking. Carrying a cell phone is much easier than carrying a laptop!

Mobile banking is generally considered safer than online banking. The main threats to online security, such as viruses, Trojans or other data-stealing software don't exist for cell phones. So the risk of being infected on a mobile phone is minimal in comparison with a PC.

The main type of scam that mobile banking users should avoid is called "Smishing." It is a variation of the e-mail phishing scam. Smishing occurs when a person posing as a financial institution sends a text message requesting personal information or a social security number. You will be asked either to click a website URL or to call a phone number that connects to automated voice response system.

The smishing message usually contains information that will definitely capture your attention. For example, you will receive a notice that you have been subscribed to a paid site, and you need to click a link to cancel this subscription. Or the thieves can write that your account has been suspended and you need to reactivate it by making a call.

The link will redirect you to a legitimate looking website where you will be asked to enter your SSN, credit card number, PIN, email address, etc. If you need to make a call, you will be connected with a legitimate sounding automated voice response system which will ask for the same pieces of information.

M-banking rules and regulations

With the rapid development of mobile banking, users have faced a very serious problem: there are no specific laws concerning this industry. The lawyers just can’t follow the pace at which mobile banking is developing.

Banks need to take into consideration regulatory and security issues involved with implementing mobile solutions. First of all, it concerns third-party vendors (such as software developers, telecommunications companies, etc.). Some of them may not have any experience handling personal financial information.

There are just a few states that require vendors providing services to a bank and its customers to license as money services businesses. That’s why it is necessary for financial institutions to evaluate the risks associated with outsourcing mobile solutions to a vendor. Banks can implement a system that will help them evaluate vendor’s capability to provide such services.
Nowadays consumer privacy is regulated under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, or GLBA, and the USA PATRIOT Act.

GLBA includes several acts intended to protect the consumer information from threats in security and data integrity:

• The Financial Privacy Rule controls the collection and disclosure of customer information by financial institutions and companies who receive such information. This law requires providing each consumer with a privacy notice explaining what information is collected about the consumer, where that information is shared, how that information is used, and how that information is protected.

• The Safeguards Rule obliges all financial institutions to create, impose and maintain safety measures to protect customer information. This rule applies to financial institutions that gather information as well as financial institutions that receive information from other organizations.
The companies should develop a written information security plan describing how the company is protecting consumer privacy. This rule forces financial institutions to take a closer look at how they manage private information and to analyze possible risks.

The USA PATRIOT Act, also known as the "Patriot Act", lets law enforcement agencies search financial records, telephone and e-mail communications in order to freeze terrorist funding. This act also gives the Secretary of the Treasury more authority to regulate financial transactions of foreigners.

So even though mobile banking data is encrypted, it is necessary to impose privacy requirements on vendors, because some of them might not fall within statutory requirements to keep all customer information confidential.

Mobile banking in the world

M-banking is popular not only in the U.S., but also all around the world. The reason can vary from country to country. For example, in Europe people use m-banking because the level of mobile phone penetration is very high (at least 80% of consumers use a mobile phone).

In Asian countries like India, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Korea and Philippines mobile infrastructure is better than the fixed-line infrastructure. M-banking can be performed by people with moderate and low income because it does not require a PC with an Internet connection (it is not a big obstacle if for people in the US and the European countries). In Latin America countries like Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Guatemala and Mexico m-banking has a great success due to the same reason.

However, similar to the US, these countries do not have separate laws concerning m-banking. This industry is typically regulated by guidelines describing the banking transactions and handling personal financial information. For example, in India only the banks that have a physical presence may offer mobile payment services. Only India rupee services should be provided.

Make Money Online – The Opportunities

How To Make Money Online..Sharing The Opportunities

If you have always wanted to work from home, and you have a computer with an Internet connection, then what is stopping you? Many people make money online successfully every day, and there is absolutely no reason why you should not be one of them.

If you are not sure where to start, you may want to begin by reading up about online businesses. You do not have to spend a lot of money to learn everything that you need to know about making money online. As a matter of fact, you may not have to spend anything at all as there are tons of good, free information online (the very essence of the Internet!).

Read as much as you can, use your discernment and do your best to not get sucked into any Internet scams. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You will never make money online without putting in some time and effort, so be aware that running your online business will require some work on your end.
Make Money Online Tip – Why Are Videos Excellent Teaching Tools?

As you are getting up-to-speed on your ‘make money online’ marketing skills, you may want to see what you can learn on video. Typically, a video can answer questions that you have not even had time to form. You can back-up and watch whatever sections you choose, as many times as you wish.

Once you get your basic information by doing your online research, you are probably ready for a good quality video course. Some people can learn the information they need by reading, but many others learn better by watching videos. If you are one of these people, then you may want to look at a video-based program as you are choosing your online business.

While you can discover everything that you need to know about making money online through trial and error, taking video lessons will save you time and ultimately money in mistakes that you can avoid making. This means you will set-up your business much sooner and as result you will be making money online much quicker.
Some advantages to using a video program to learn are as follows:
• It is an inexpensive way to get training.
• It is an easy and quick way to learn.
• It is easy to remember the material, because you watched how things were done.

When you are learning how to do something on your computer, it is much easier to follow a video demonstration than it is to read a list of instructions.
If you are anxious to get your online business up and running, then a video, training program may be just the perfect thing for you. It lets you cover the material fast, and you can rewind and watch whatever section you may need to until you know the material inside-out.
Once you really understand how to set up your website and get your online marketing program in motion, you will be surprised at how really simple it is to work for yourself and make money online.

Protection For Your Deposits

Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia

Dear Readers,
I thought this is a great special plan develop by Malaysian Governtment to protect the depositors in financial institution in Malaysia.

With the implementation for the Government Deposit Guarantee on 16 October 2008, PIDM now fully protects all ringgit and foreign currency deposits with commercial, Islamic and investment banks, international Islamic banks and deposit-taking development financial institutions regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia. This is a pre-emptive and precautionary measure, consistent with measures taken by neighbouring jurisdictions, to maintain financial stability. Malaysian banking system is well capitalised and profitable, and it is unlikely that the Guarantee will be called upon.

The Government Deposit Guarantee provides for additional depositor protection over and above that provided by PIDM, and will be in place until 31 December 2010. All types of depositors – whether businesses or individuals holding conventional or Islamic deposits – are fully protected on their eligible deposits.

Types of deposits and instruments protected
Deposits that are eligible for protection under the Government Deposit Guarantee include:
• Fixed deposits, current accounts, saving accounts, joint accounts and trust accounts
• Islamic deposits
• Principal guaranteed conventional structured deposits
• Foreign currency deposits
• Negotiable instruments of deposits held by non-banks

Types of deposits and instruments NOT protected
Certain deposits and instruments are not covered under the Government Deposit Guarantee. These are:
• Conventional structured products that are not principal guaranteed
• Deposits payable outside Malaysia
• Inter-bank money market placements
• Negotiable instruments of deposits held by banks
• Repurchase agreements

If you need more info about this, just visit www.pidm.gov.my

Make Money

Tips How To Make Money


With unemployment rates high and regular jobs hard to find right now, the ideas below can bring in some extra cash, whether you are unemployed or working and just trying to build up an extra savings cushion.

1. Make ad supported web site or blogs. Here is my personal favorite: make web sites on your favorite topics and put ads or affiliate links on your sites for some extra cash. A great way to get started is to use Google's blogger site, and then put their Adsense ads on your blog to generate income.

Here is an interesting link on the topic from USAToday: Google's AdSense a bonanza for some Web sites.

2. Try freelance article writing. If you aren't comfortable making your own blog, there are existing web sites where you can make money by writing articles that go on established sites. Some of the sites that operate this way are Associated Content, Hubpages and Squidoo. The advantage to putting pages on these sites is that it may be easier to get your pages to rank on an established domain as opposed to starting a new site from scratch, and you personally don't have to know any of the technology behind setting up a blog or site.

The downside is that you are writing content that is given over to someone else, and in the long run you probably won't make nearly as much money as you could as with a site of your own. Plus with your own site you have the option of selling the entire site someday.

3. Clean out your closets. Have a garage sale, take your goods to a consignment store or sell your unwanted goods online. You know the old saying, one man's trash is another man's treasure. If you can't find a buyer for your unneeded goods, at least you can donate them to a local charity like the Salvation Army or Goodwill. Then you aren't cluttering up you house with stuff you don't use, you might be helping out someone else who needs what you are not using, and depending on your income, you may be able to take a tax deduction at tax time for the fair market value of the goods.

If you are a college student, you can sell your used text books online. Often you can get a better deal than at the campus book store where they have some what of a captive market.

4. Resell items. Go to other people's garage sales, look for bargains and then resell the items online through places like eBay. We have a friend that makes a living just from reselling a certain type of exercise equipment on eBay. Another person that was featured in our local paper made a living reselling wedding dresses. It helps to specialize in one area so you get to know the market very well and get a good feel for what will sell online and for how much.

5. Go to library book sales, especially on the last day when they are trying to get rid of the books. You can often get a whole bag of books for $1 or $2. Then resell the books online through Amazon Marketplace or Ebay. The downside with this approach is that in order to turn a tidy profit you have to have a good idea in advance of what types of books sell online and for how much. Plus, library sales often attract many used booksellers so the competition for the best books is often steep. You can get an edge by becoming a library member, or better yet a volunteer, and possibly getting a chance to purchase books before they go on sale to the general public.

6. Sell handmade items. If you have a hobby such as sewing or woodworking, instead of just making items for yourself and your friends, make items to sell either at craft fairs, consignment shops or online. One of my friends is an artist and sells her oil paintings, so it gives her both a relaxing hobby and a second income. Her art supplies are all tax deductible because they are business expenses. To sell your items online, check out www.etsy.com.

7. Offer your services to others. Even if you don't have a craft type hobby, if you have a talent you can often do services for others who either don't have the skill or the time to do chores themselves. Some of my friends who are otherwise stay at home moms do services such as pet care, child care, sewing and typing for some extra money.

Tax Tip: If you are self employed, health insurance in the U.S. may be a tax deductible business expense, offsetting any business income. This means that if you have regular job and pay $300 in health insurance premiums, and a small business on the side, you may well be able to deduct an extra $3,600 a year from your taxes. Check with your accountant to see if this deduction could apply to your home business.

8. Turn Your Hobby Into a Business. Turning any hobby into a business can often "earn" extra money just from tax savings. This is due to the many tax deductions available to small business owners. Possible deductions for your home business may include deductions for a retirement plan, health and dental insurance. phone expenses, Internet connection costs, equipment such as phones and PCs, a home office, travel expenses and much more. The list is really quite extensive. For more information see the IRS Tax Guide for Small Businesses.

9. Sign up for consumer focus groups. One of our friends makes an extra few hundred dollars a month just by going to consumer focus groups. My husband made $100 a couple of years back on his lunch hour just for watching two commercials for a major software company and telling the marketing people which commercial he liked better.

10. Use or Sell Your Gift Cards. Recent news reports claim that there are billions of dollars of unused gift cards going to waste. This is a boon for retailers and a financial set back for millions of U.S. households. So dig up those old gift cards and either use them or sell them on eBay. I had a $50 Linens N Things Card I could not use because they closed their only store in my area, and their online site no longer accepted their own gift cards. Initially I was going to throw the card away but then I thought that maybe I could find a place to sell it online. I ended up putting it up for auction on Ebay where to my amazement it sold for $45 (less listing and selling fees).

Financial Stress

Financial Stress. How It Can Affects You and What You Can Do
Here's the Factors that can easily happen to us.


Financial stress is a sadly widespread experience. According to a poll conducted by About.com site, roughly 7 in 10 respondents are "very stressed" about money, and only 1 in 10 report that they are not stressed about finances — and the proportion of people stressed about money is only going up. This is pretty significant because financial stress is linked to health problems like depression and sleep problems. With the rising cost of gas and food, the mortgage crisis, and the new bank troubles we're seeing, many Americans are feeling the crunch of financial stress. Anxiety over money can negatively affect health in several ways:

1. Unhealthy Coping Behaviors: People experiencing financial stress can be more likely to numb their anxiety by drinking, smoking, overeating and practicing other unhealthy coping behaviors. This in turn leads to more stress.

2. Less Money For Self-Care: With less money in the budget, people who are already under financial stress tend to cut corners in areas like health care to pay for basic necessities like food. Small problems can go unchecked and turn into larger problems. This also leads to more stress.

3. Lost Sleep: When under financial stress, people often experience trouble sleeping, which can add up to a sleep defecit, impairing immune functioning and cognitive abilities, causing additional moodiness, and more.

4. Unhealthy Emotions: Credit card debt can cause unhealthy emotions that can take a toll on health. People can experience anxiety, frustration and a sense of hopelessness as the debt piles up and increasing amounts of money are needed just to pay the interest. This causes additional stress, which compounds with the stress from poor coping and self-neglect, to become a menacing amount of stress.
It’s no wonder financial stress is one of the leading causes of stress in Americans.

Here are some resources to help you handle your financial situation and feel more in control of your life, reducing stress and helping you build toward a more secure future:

1. Find Out Where You Stand: Do you have a major money problem, or is your situation relatively under control? Ask yourself these questions and find out how much help you need to get on the right track.

2. Learn About Implementing Systems That Can Help: Find out why budgets are important to your financial success, and learn how to create one that will fit well with your lifestyle.

3. Work Toward Getting Out of Debt: Getting out from under credit card debt is much easier with a plan. Here’s a three-step approach that can help you.

4. Learn How to Save Money and Cut Costs: Keeping a budget and working toward reducing what you owe is easier if you have more money. Here are some ways to hold onto more of yours!

As you work on improving your financial situation, you can reduce stress by practicing stress-reducing techniques and making other changes to create a low-stress lifestyle. By following the advice provided in the above links and making these lifestyle changes, the burden of financial stress can soon be a thing of the past!

Side Effect on Food Spending

How Much You Spent For Food?

One of biggest impacts the current economic recession has is on people’s spending on food expenses. People are eating out less swapping dining out in restaurants with more home-cooked meals.

In the United States of America
However, health professionals in the USA are concern about the rise in obesity levels. This is due to the people spending less on healthy and relatively expensive food like fresh fruit, fish and vegetables for cheaper food that tend to be high in sugar and saturated fats. To cut food expenditure to economize may mean eating foods that are high in sugar, saturated fats and refined grains, i.e. empty calories as they are cheaper. The advice is to pay attention to affordable and healthy food as well as a balance diet.

In Malaysia
In Malaysia, with both husbands and wives working, eating out or buying prepared food is normal. The varied choices from coffee shops, food courts, road side stalls, fast food joints and restaurants mean not getting bored with outside food. They also have the choice on how much money to spend depending on the food source. Of course coffee shop food tends to be cheaper compared to the expensive restaurants like Secret Recipe. These foods are seldom healthy compared to home-cooked meals. The good news is that for those who prefer to cook at home, fresh produces are easily available and accessible. One only has to make the choice on whether to cook at home or eat outside food.

In Japan
Japan households are also affected by the current situation. Japan homemakers have been practicing frugality and cutting back or spending less on food. The average salary is about USD2900 a month (about 270,000 yen) and being frugal has some housewives spend only USD108 on food per month. This is accomplished by having a budget, a proper meal plan and also good discipline to follow it through.

Maybe certain family has not felt a significant impact except for the rising costs of food stuffs due to the fuel price hike previously. The bad thing is that after the fuel price went down, the high price of food remains. Try to choose seldom eats out at expensive restaurants and the fast food joints but that's can be limited to once a month only. Having simple meals at home helps to save money in the long run.

10 Small Ways to Save Money That Make a Big Difference

Fact of saving money that maybe have been overlooked.

When it comes to saving, often by small, you feel almost like part of all. A little 'here and a bit' tendency to add, as drops in a bucket. What is important to remember, but when it comes to saving is that the droplets can reach a long thread, after a stream, then a torrential flow of cash.

Using such a small package to save is similar to the sticks by the story - remember the one that starts with the man easily break a single stick. Then, in the form of two or three sticks. But when given a comprehensive package of sticks, he finds it almost inflexible, much less fragile. And 'much the same with the techniques of small savings. Many seemingly insignificant saving methods combined can significantly increase their savings to immense proportions.

1. Rewarded for spending on a credit card
It might seem strange to start an article on ways to save with a subject such as credit cards. With interest rates often range from 10-20% percent (unless you get a credit card zero transfer), credit cards can be the enemy of a savings plan, but only if you leave . First, make sure you pay the balance every month to avoid the hyper-inflated interest rates. Second, get a credit card that offers a cash refund, store discounts, or other rewards and incentives, so that when they can also save.

2. Take advantage of balance transfer card
If you bring a credit card debt, so it is certainly advantageous for you to transfer balances credit cards among the papers, which lets you avoid paying interest rates broadly in balance. Make this change, with its debt, for example, a card with a balance of $ 1,000 and an interest rate of 15% to a board with a significantly lower rate or introductory 0%, can save hundreds of dollars, if no more depending on the time required to pay the balance.

3. Coupons will save you money
What happens if you saw a note engraved inside the paper Sunday? Want to take? Absolutely. However, there is a perceived lack of urgency among many of us when it comes to vouchers, which are essentially the same case. Certainly not all coupons are to save money, especially when used in products of particular brand, which are more expensive than their generic competitors, but if you compare and knows a lot, when you see one, coupons can turn small great savings in cash.

4. Start saving pennies
Hey, if it works when you were seven, can function only when you are thirty-seven. Carry everything you change the bank to become a deterrent is often enough for most people leave the pot where it is. Moreover, while all the changes that probably does not look like much, you might be surprised at how much money you get when you finally do

5. Save tax on government bonds
Putting in money that the government issued savings bonds can be a great way to save money. These investment vehicles offer a low initial investment ($ 25 is the minimum purchase Series E), a sure way to save money, and guaranteed (even if sometimes lower) returns. United States taxes on savings interest on government bonds may also be deferred until the bond is cashed, allowing your investment to grow up to 30 years tax free and, if used for educational purposes may be exempt from taxation whole .

6. Establish a monthly direct deposit to a savings account
Direct deposit can be best friends with a small shield. Diversion of part of his salary, even if only $ 20 each pay period, a separate account, you can add up to big savings in recent years. This deposit of $ 20 every two weeks is $ 520 per year, $ 5200 after ten years, and that is before you add the interest earned on the account.

7. Payroll deductions
After deleting some items from your salary before you pay is a great way to make some small savings. The use of deductions for a health plan sponsored by their employer, the retirement account or savings plan, can be a great way to save money without really realizing the loss of money. Not only is hiding in cash, but some of these deductions are before tax, saving more, especially in the long term.

8. Avoid taxes to increase their savings
There is a difference between tax avoidance and only stop for a while '. As we have seen, everything that the interest savings bond with the pay of some items may be deducted from tax deferral. Avoid taxes allow a greater portion of your money to grow, increase their savings over time, and delaying the cost of taxes for years - sometimes indefinitely. For the purchase of goods or retired, is also important to consider rates of sales and property taxes, because they can vary considerably depending on the cities, provinces, regions or states.

9. Let your savings to save
Once you've got to start saving, let your stash of work for you. Compound interest, dividends and other investment income is the money can grow without having to lift a finger. Even if sometimes the benefits are small, over time, can grow exponentially, and who can deny that the free money, no matter how small, it should get.

10. The liquidation of remnants of
Few people know how much money you have in your home, whether in the form of books, CDs, DVDs, antiques and household items. Shops Mall, retail stores and a growing number of websites offer to purchase specific products, such as books, CDs, DVDs and more. These companies have made the sale of personal items, a lucrative source of income for many. The resale of products as a great way to turn your unused items into cash.

Thinking About Car Hire-Purchase Agreements?

7 Tips About Car Hire-Purchase Agreements

These schemes aren't cheap
Just like if you finance your car through the dealer, when you use hire purchase to finance your new car it is often very expensive compared to getting an ordinary personal loan from a separate provider. To compare the total cost, ask for the ?total amount repayable? figure, and get similar comparisons with your personal-loan search.

You don't own the car yet
Hopefully you realise that with this agreement you are only hiring the car until you have made your final payment. The only benefits to this are small and probably won?t be of use to you. They are:

You can return the car once you?ve paid half the cost and can stop making further payments.
If the car is faulty and you act swiftly enough, you can pursue the company that financed the agreement (i.e. the one that paid for the car and to which you make the repayments). This is in addition to your usual route of pursuing the dealer.
The negative aspect of not owning the car is bigger. If you haven't yet paid 1/3 of the cost and you default on a payment, the finance company can simply turn up and take back their car if you?ve parked it on the road (but not from your drive or garage, although car parks are grey areas). What's more, many agreements will still require you to pay up to 1/2 of the cost of the vehicle, whether you have it in your possession or not.

If you've paid more than 1/3 the finance company must get a Return Order from the court before they are allowed to take the vehicle back.

Finally, as it's not your car it can't be protected if you're made bankrupt.

What can you do?
Here are some tips.

1. As explained, the finance company can take your car back. However, if you keep your car on private property, such as your drive or a locked garage, the company must first get a court order to do so. This is regardless of how little you?ve paid. It would certainly keep it in a garage if possible.

2. Work out if you've paid 1/3. Take into account the deposit you paid and the value of any part-exchange. If the finance company takes your car without a court order or your consent, and you?ve paid over a third, you should get a refund of all the money you?ve paid in the agreement.

3. Decide if you can you do without the car. Bearing in mind that you?re struggling with your bills, would it make more financial sense to give it up and get a cheap, reliable 2nd-hand car? (Remember, though, that you?ll probably still be obliged to pay up to half, if you haven't already done so.)
4. If you can't do without the car, make it a priority debt and pay less to other debts such as unsecured personal loans. However, don't forget your other priority debts:

Council tax (people go to prison for not paying their council tax)
Electricity and gas (don't get cut off)
Maintenance, child support and fines (to avoid going to prison)
Income tax
Rent or mortgage (to avoid losing the roof over your head)
Second mortgage (same reason)
Television licence

5. Before the court issues a Return Order, you will receive claim forms and will have the opportunity to plead your case in court. If you can offer a repayment plan that pays off the debt in a reasonable period, as well as the ongoing monthly payments, the court is likely to refuse the finance company's Return Order.

6. Always try to negotiate with the finance company first to make a plan to pay off the debt. It's not often that they'll let you pay less per month than the monthly payment was supposed to be, but it can happen.

7. Failing that, you can apply for a Time Order from the court. You use this when you're having temporary difficulties. The judge can agree that you pay reduced payments for a short while and can increase the length of the contract.

Hope these tips could help you..

Personal Finance: Don't cut 401k contributions to get instant cash

In the long run,how much you will be loss?

In the past couple of years as the economy has slowed, I have seen a variety of creative methods by people trying to cut corners to increase cash flow, from bringing their lunch to work, to clipping coupons. On occasion, I have seen a few clients contemplate cutting back, or completely stopping contributions to, their 401(k) or 403(b). Although this may seem like a good short-term strategy to increase cash flow, it has a few long-term implications that can prove detrimental.

Taxable income increases

First of all, every dollar that you contribute to your retirement account lowers your taxable income by a dollar. If you make $50,000 a year and contribute 6 percent of your salary, which is $3,000 ($50,000 x 6 percent = $3,000), you will lower your taxable income by $3,000. Therefore, if you cut back your contributions by $1,000, then you are also increasing your taxable income by $1,000. This means that your goal to increase cash flow may be short-lived. When tax time rolls around, you may end up owing more in taxes, because of the higher taxable income. This, of course, helps defeat the purpose of trying to improve your cash flow.

Losing company match

Second of all, many companies offer a company match with their retirement plans. For example, many companies match 1 percent on the first 3 percent you contribute and 0.5 percent on the next 3 percent. So if you cut back your contributions to less than 6 percent, you may be missing out on the company match. And not contributing at least enough to get the company match is, well, plain foolish in my opinion. A company match is free money to you. Why would you not take advantage of it? This is free money that will definitely help your cash flow in retirement.

Additionally, by cutting back on your retirement contributions, you are missing out on the power of compounding and the power of time. To continue with the previous example, if you lower your contributions by $1,000 year ($83.33 a month), and assume a conservative 5 percent annual return, over 20 years you will be losing out on more than $13,000 of interest.

Better think about that..

Have pity on Ruth Madoff

Have some pity on Ruth Madoff. Really…

Her fate and her wealth are on my mind because of the auction, scheduled for today, at which the U.S. Marshals Service is slated to sell off hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of propertyseized from her and her husband, the infamous Bernie. The marshals intend to use that money to help reimburse the victims of Bernie's multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

Admittedly, looking over a list of Ruth's possessions on  the auction block, it is a little tough to feel sorry for her. With her husband's ill-gotten gains — authorities haven't accused Ruth of participating in Bernie's scheme, or even being aware of it — Mrs. Madoff certainly lived the high life. Up for sale are such items as a pair of diamond earrings expected to sell for as much as $21,400, a $23,000 bracelet, six furs, and, by my count, 49 different purses and handbags from the likes of Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Chanel. New York hasn't seen such a public display of suspect wealth on the market since the Philippine government auctioned off the contents of Imelda Marcos's Upper East Side townhouse.

But here's where my sympathy comes in: Ruth Madoff has lost it all. (Or nearly all; she's got $2.5 million left, though a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee wants that, too.) She woke up one morning in the same boat as her now-jailed husband's victims: A lot poorer than she used to be. That's a shock to the system no matter who you are. And though she would appear to live on a different planet than most of us, she's going through the same things as a lot of other people have during the economic meltdown, whether victims of a financial crimes or just unlucky.

To get a sense of what might be going on in Ruth Madoff's mind, I spoke earlier this year with a woman named Susan Bradley, the founder of a firm called the Sudden Money Institute. Bradley, who works with both individuals and their financial  advisers, helps people who are trying to adjust to financial change — mostly because they've gained wealth, but sometimes because they've lost it. In fact, Bradley, who lives in the Palm Beach area (not far from one of the Madoffs' homes) says she's done pro bono work for some of the Madoff victims.

One thing that Bradley points out is that you can't easily dismiss Ruth Madoff's plight. Yes, she did end up with $2.5 million, and yes, a lot of Ponzi victims (and the rest of us) would be wildly happy to have that kind of money. But given the Madoffs' previous standard of living, says Bradley, in which the two of them were burning through millions, $2.5 million isn't so much. "She looks at that as, 'I have one year of living left,'" says Bradley. "It's that shift that's very, very difficult for someone like her." Like her husband's victims, she's lost her peer group and her economic security; compounding her problem is the public shame and ostracism she's subjected to because of her closeness to Bernie and the economic rewards she received from him.

Bradley has some useful advice for Ruth — and for anyone who has undergone such a financial setback:

1. Address the basics. The first thing Ruth (or someone else in her situation) has to do is figure out the mechanics of her new life — where she should live, how much she's able to reasonably spend, and how she can protect the money she has left. "It's just like stabilizing an accident in medical triage," says Bradley. The process can be difficult, she acknowledges: The stress of the situation usually translates into a short attention span and terrible follow-through for people who have undergone such financial trauma. "Their decisionmaking," she says, "is erratic." But as is the case with paramedics responding to an emergency, quick action is best. Most people in this situation, she says, live in denial, believing that something will happen that will magically restore their old lives. "The magic solution is to do it fast and make deep cuts," she says.
2. Mind your health. Remember to exercise, says Bradley. Eat well. Keep a daily routine. Many people in this situation, she says, gain or lose dramatic amounts of weight.
3. Find a purpose. You need something that makes your days worthwhile, she says. Volunteer. Help someone who is worse off than yourself. Get what Bradley calls a "helper's high."
4. Feel gratitude. "You've got to switch your attention from what's wrong to what's right," says Bradley. "Even if only ten percent of your life is working well, that's where your attention needs to go." She adds, "It may sound impossible that Ruth Madoff can wake up in the morning and feel grateful, but more extraordinary things have happened in the world."

What do you think?

SMS scams cleaning out consumers' bank accounts

Beware Of SMS Scams

Recently, various type of scams are coming to us.

State authorities are urging consumers to think twice before providing their mobile number for contest entries or for other marketing purposes.

The public is being warned of text messages that are being sent to consumers claiming their debit or credit card account has been suspended.

Apparently, consumers should be cautious when receiving messages like this because it maybe a scam.

The text messages give a phone number that consumers are supposed to call, where they answer questions regarding their accounts only to find money missing afterwards.

Wisconsin's Brown County had two people that fell for the scam last week.

Authorities are advising consumers to ignore the messages and contact the creditors or banks directly with any worries.

Wisconsin isn't the only state being hit by these types of scams.

A texting scam has hit local residents in North Carolina as well.

In fact, the North Carolina Attorney General's Office is now investigating this issue.

Like the Wisconsin scam, people in North Carolina are receiving messages that request they call a specific phone number about their accounts.

These phishing scams appear as if they are from a legitimate organization and ask for a person's personal financial information.

North Carolina state officials said that thousands of people have reported getting these types of messages.

Additionally, scam artists are sending out text messages trying to get credit card information in the tri-state area as well.

The scam text message targeting New Yorkers asks consumers to call a number because their credit card has been locked.

Anyone who received such messages is asked not to provide any personal information. Victims should call their credit union's call center at 888-732-8562.

Consumers should be suspicious of text messages from a bank that come out of the blue, without the consumer initiating a request.

In fact banks and creditors don't send text messages to report a security breach. Consumers usually get a direct call or something in writing.

To avoid falling victim to text messaging scams consumers should be selective about giving their mobile number out.

Also, consumers have to make sure they know who a communication is from before they respond to a number or a Web address included in a text message.

This could help avoid the download of malicious software and being hooked into a scam.

Consumers who get one or more unsolicited text messages should automatically report the problem to their wireless carrier.

So if you receive message that told you have won some cash or something like that, delete the messages, otherwise your bank accounts will be deleted!

Forex Investments, Is It Worth To Join In?

Factors To Consider Before Investing In FOREX


There are several things to consider before you invest in the stock market or Forex.

Your Personal Situation: Your age, the state of your health, the number of dependents you support, the kind of job you have, whether you are a man or a woman, what kind of goals you have set for yourself all these, and more, are factors which will bear on your decision whether or not to invest.

There is no rule, no prescription governing these factors, either singly or in combination. Again, the decision is yours. It is well to wonder, however, whether your personal situation contains any elements which might conflict with your freedom, need, or desire to invest.

There is, for instance, no age more appropriate than another for investment. But it is conceivable that a young man might find family obligations, such as a new house, absorbing all his resources, that a middle-aged man might prefer to invest surplus funds in his business, and that an elderly man might feel he is too far along for the amount he is able to invest to bring him any significant return.

On the other hand, a young man, if he is able to invest at all regularly, can look forward to a fairly considerable estate in 30 or 40 years. A middle-aged man who finds the premiums for a new insurance policy higher than he feels like paying might decide that investments might help cushion the requirements of the years past 60. And an elderly man, with family responsibilities and obligations behind him, might decide that a sturdy stock returning a comfortable 5 or 6 per cent is better than the interest rate he can get at a savings bank.

As these, examples indicate, age-or any other single factor-immediately involves other considerations.

Good health helps guarantee steadiness of income. Poor health suggests the need for a larger-than-usual emergency cash reserve. A number of dependents may mean that there is nothing left over for investment, or that the surplus should be invested more conservatively than in stocks, or that the surplus, with reinvested dividends, could provide a college fund in 15 years.

The kind of job you have is important only in so far as it relates to steadiness of income. If you operate on a system of incentives, bonuses, and options of one sort or another, you may wish for more stability than stocks offer, in the kind of investment you undertake. If you have a year-in, year-out salary level, stocks may be just the thing to give you that wished-for extra edge.

Or it may be just the opposite. As a bonus man you may have learned to live comfortably with the prospect that one week may be up and the next one down. And, as a steady Joe, you may find it more alarming than it's worth to have the price and value of your holdings vary.

Whether you are a man or a woman will not have much to do with your readiness to invest. For, surprising as it may seem, the Stock Exchange survey referred to earlier showed that there are more women shareholders than men. Out of the 12.5 million total, nearly 6.4 million, or 52.5 per cent, are women. For many, investment has become a normal and acceptable way to put money to work. There is no telling, either, how many women, having inherited stocks, have since taken a lively interest in investment as part of the responsibility of preserving their capital. Certainly brokers will tell you that women customers are no longer the rarity they once were.

The kind of goals you have will very often be bound up in just such things as whether you are young or old, in business or retired, childless or the chief of a tribe; and the achievement of many of them will require money. If that is so, investment is worth serious consideration. Some people, of course, may prefer to invest in books, or paintings, or travel, and for them the attention that must be paid to investment, or the attractiveness of the financial reward may just not be worth their while.

The story is told of the two salesmen who met in the club car on the train. "How's business?" asked the first. "Oh, very good," said the second, "and yours?" "Fine, fine," said the first. "Got orders for a thousand gross last week. I sell buttons."

"Really," said the second. "I've had one order in the last three years." "You call that good?" said the first. "Well," answered the other, "you see, I sell suspension bridges."
Like the salesmen, the investor must have a clear notion of his goals and expectations, must realize that what is normal and acceptable to someone else might not be what he would choose for himself.

The Kind of Person You Are: Consideration of your goals and their relation to investment brings up the final point of personal evaluation: yourself. For your goals are necessarily a reflection of your temperament and personality.

Go beyond your goals and see if you can pin down the traits and characteristics they stem from. Are your goals- and you-realistic? How do you regard money, and how do you handle it? Are you easy-come, easy-go? Or do you count the pennies? Are decisions involving money difficult for you to make? Are you on top of your budget, or always running to keep up?

When investing in the stock market, long term commitment is usually more successful and more money will be needed, but with Forex a smaller pool of money can be used for good results.

Forex is more speculative so you will need to be prepared for more risks and swings in your profit and losses.

Using good Forex software will help to limit your losses on Forex.

Solution to Restructure Debt

As we know, one of the major factors that affected people cashflow is they not use the accomodation wisely.

In the other hand , maybe we can switch to Debit Card.
Listed below are some steps that maybe useful.

Step 1
Debt problems affect hundreds of thousands of people. Many companies offer debt restructuring and consolidation services. Debt restructuring and consolidation offers the chance to reduce debt, manage your finances and begin again with more knowledge about money management.

Make a list of all your outstanding debts. Include the amount you owe, the monthly repayments and the interest due. This will give a clear picture of your finances before you begin the restructuring process.

Step 2
Contact your mortgage lender to renegotiate the terms of your home loan. This will not help to reduce debt, though restructuring the debt will make repayments easier to manage.

Step 3
Ask a credit union for a loan. It seems strange to ask for more money when you are already in debt, but credit unions usually lend money at lower rates. This means you can use the credit union loan for debt consolidation.

Step 4
Borrow against an insurance policy. This is a good way to get cash for debt consolidation because you do not have to repay it. If you don't repay the loan your beneficiaries will receive a smaller payout when the policy matures.

Step 5
Find a credit card company that offers a balance transfer deal. Use this for debt consolidation. Transfer all your credit card debt onto the new credit card. Pay off as much as you can afford each month to reduce debt.

Step 6
Take out a home equity loan. If you have equity in your home, you can borrow against it on favorable terms. Use the money you get for debt consolidation.

Teach Teenagers Good Personal Finance Habits

Getting Saving Habits Since Teenagers


Upon graduating high school and leaving home, many young adults acquire excessive debts and poor money management skills. In many cases, they weren't taught how to budget and use credit responsibly. Early mistakes make it hard for young adults to buy a home or car. Thus, it is important for parents to teach them good personal finance habits.

1.
Give them an allowance. Children and teenagers constantly beg for money. Rather than oblige every requests, give your child a weekly allowance. Allowances are typically based on completion of household chores and age. Once the child or teenager exceeds their weekly or bi-weekly allowance, they will have to wait until their next payday. This will prepare children for the "real world."

2.
Get a part-time job. Some teenagers do not realize how hard it is to earn a buck. Once the child hits 16 or 17-years-old, require them to get a part-time job. The money earned can be used to pay for their clothes, shoes, and entertainment. After working hard for little pay, they'll be more inclined to appreciate the real value of a dollar.

3.
Teach them how to budget. Once your child finds a part-time job, show them how to budget their money. Do they have a car payment or transportation costs? Teach them how to create a weekly or monthly budget. Failure to budget properly can result in spending too much money, in which there is little leftover for bills.

4.
Give them a credit card. Some young adults get their first credit card in college. In turn, they use credit without considering the consequences. Before your child leaves home, allow them to get a low-limit credit card - perhaps $200. Monitor the credit card, and make sure that your child pays the monthly bill and spends wisely. This way, once the child leaves home and acquires his or her own credit, they are less likely to abuse credit.

5.
Show them your monthly bills. Without divulging too much of your personal finances, show your children the monthly household expenses such as the mortgage, power bill, gas bill, car payments, automobile insurance and health insurance. Some teenagers live in a fantasy land, and they do not realize the costs of running a household. As a result, once these young adults move into their own apartment, they suffer from reality shock.

Finding The Best Mutual Fund Investment

The Facts You should Consider In Mutual Funds

Investing your hard-earned money in mutual funds may be relatively less risky than investing in stocks, bonds, short-term money-market instruments, and realty, but even then you should never let your guard down simply because not all mutual funds available in the market offer the same benefits.

This in effect implies that you will have to limit your investments only to those mutual funds that hold great potential for future growth. It is only then will you be able to get the desired returns from your mutual fund investments.However, selecting the best funds is never easy because the market is virtually flooded with mutual fund offerings and also because it is quite difficult to determine the future prospects of a given mutual fund.

Past performance of a fund may provide some hint about its future prospects, but you should avoid becoming overly dependent on this logic because past performance does not necessarily guarantee future returns. To select the best investment opportunities available, you should instead focus on other aspects such as the profitability of the company, portfolio composition, business policies and strategies, and future growth plans.

If possible, you should also try to gather information about the fund managers who might have been hired by the company to manage your funds. Even then you will not be able to guarantee anything, but still you need to do your homework because unlike life insurance that offers guaranteed returns, mutual fund investments are all about probability.

You benefit when you do your homework because then you automatically reduce the probability that your investments will go down the drain.Since all funds have their own relative risks and ownership cost structure, you should try selecting funds that carry the least risks and capital investment costs. For this, you need to read the "Prospectus" that contains information about the investment strategies, cost structure, risk factors, and other issues related to the mutual fund offering.

While reading the Prospectus of a mutual fund offering, you should never forget to consider various types of costs and charges such as sales charge (load) on purchases, purchase fee, deferred sales charge (load), redemption fee, exchange fee, account fee, management fees, and distribution (and/or service) fees ("12b-1" fees).

After reading the Prospectus of different funds, you just need to compare the associated risks and advantages and make your decisions wisely.For selecting the best funds, you can certainly seek inputs from financial experts, but do not follow them blindly simply because nobody understands your financial needs better than you do. So, just do your homework, select what you think is the best and leave the rest for the markets to decide.

You cannot control everything, can you?

Want to Be Rich But Don't Know How? Why Not Make Money With Google Now!

Google is one of the largest and most popular search engines on the Internet today. Google is not just a search engine though. There are many other things Google can do for you, such as handle your email, or help your website make money. How make money with Google? Depending on your situation, either AdWords or AdSense can help you how make money with Google.

AdWords is great if you have a service or product that you want to sell. You need to have a website that promotes and sells your product. Then in order to get people to visit your site and buy your products you need to advertise. Nobody will know your site exists if you do not advertise it, and this is when AdWords comes in. Using Google AdWords, you can create text ads for your website, which will then be displayed in Google search results. When someone searches for a keyword that relates to your site, they will see your ad, and when they click on it you would be charged. You can set a daily maximum on how much you are willing to spend on advertising, and when this limit is reached, Google will automatically stop displaying your ads. There are hundreds of things you can do in order to maximize the effectiveness of your advertisements. Web Business Secrets can send you these free tips in their newsletter.

If you do not have a product or service to sell, but want to monetize your website then you can use AdSense. This allows you to place ads on your site, and when your visitors click the ads you get money. The best way to make money this way is if your website gets a lot of daily visitors.

Kath Robertson is a contributor of popular blog MakeAffiliateMoneyOnline.Com. She is an expert on affiliate marketing and provides stacks of information on matters like what to do if you want to earn passive income but don't know how to make money with Google using fail-safe methods, and much more. Find out how Kath Robertson makes money when you check out the site today!

Loan Sharks!

Manage Your Money.
Do Not Jump To These Illegal Money Lenders!

Banks and legitimate finance institutes will normally check the loan applicants' credit history and evaluate their past repayment performance before they approve their loan application. This makes loan applicants with bad credit scores hard to obtain a loan from these legitimate finance organizations. Many bad debtors who urgently need money will turn their head to borrow the money from illegal money lender. These illegal money lenders normally lend out their money with extremely high interest rates and often backed by blackmail or threats of violence. Hence, you are risking yourself if you borrow the money from a loan shark.

What Is A Loan Shark?

By definition, a loan shark is a person or body that offers illegal unsecured loans at high interest rate to individuals, often backed by blackmail or threats of violence. A loan shark is an unlicensed money lender who provides credit to those who are unable to obtain credit from a legitimate financial organization.

What Are The Catches?

Loan sharks which are normally unlicensed money lenders will offer loan to those who need cash. However, there is always a major catch - how much has to be paid back. The terms on offer will usually be very poor. There are many cases of people borrowing a small sum of money and paying double or triple that original sum in interest.

Many loan sharks count their loan's interest rates based on the principle amount and the interest rate may goes as high as 12% per month (144% APR). For example, if you borrow $5000 from a loan shark, you need to pay $600 every month just for the interest. You will never payoff your loan amount if you just pay $600 a month because the interest rate is counted based on principal amount, the $600 you pay is the interest.

The power of interest is work well in your savings, it will generate more cash in your saving account. But if the poser of interest is used on a loan, especially on the loan from a loan shark, it will be very scary as it will generate more and more debts and it make you harder and harder to repay your debts. Take for the above example, if your borrow $5000 from a loan shark and you can only pay $500 each month. Your debts will climb up about $18,000 in 2 years and you have paid $12,000 of interest. Your debts will continue to increase in very scary trend if you continue to pay only $500 to the loan shark; your debts will hit $50,000 in another year (the third year) for your $5000 loan and with $18,000 interest paid.

Many loan shark's customers run away and hiding themselves from loan sharks after finding themselves unable to bear the repayment. And loan sharks will take actions to chase back their money, often they will send out blackmail letter, put scary items at their borrower's home, make scary phone calls and have their "staffs" waiting for client at client's home. In this process, violence action may involve and in the worst case may get the borrower or the borrower's family hurts.

In Summary

It is illegal to borrow money from a loan shark and if you get a loan from them, you are putting yourself at risk of violence and making your debt grows like a mushroom in short period of time. You should consider the possibilities for getting the cash, there are loan programs for people with bad credit scores, check it out with a finance consultant close by to get more information on your options.
If not,you neck will be tied for a long period of time!

Malaysia Interest Rate

Zeti says Malaysia's interest rate at appropriate level


The Star, Oct 19,2009

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's interest rates are supportive of the country's economic recovery and remain at an appropriate level, Bank Negara Malaysia Governor, Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said on Monday.

She said any decision on the rates would only be announced after another Monetary Policy Meeting later this month.

"We see the interest rates now as supporting borrowings and it has not been a constraint to it. The factor affecting borrowing is actually the demand conditions, both external and domestic," she explained.

She was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ADB-BNM-EC Joint Conference themed, "Beyond The Global Crisis: A New Asian Growth Model?", here.

Zeti also said that the private sector would be the main driver of growth in the country once the government stimulus is gradually withdrawn.

Asked if the ringgit should not be allowed to appreciate too much as economic growth could be affected, she said the current level of the currency actually reflected the country's economic fundamentals.

"I want to emphasise that our export sector has been resilient despite the appreciation of the ringgit," she said.

She said the ringgit's exchange rate had previously appreciated by much more than the current level, touching even 3.13 in 2008.

The ringgit depreciated against the US dollar at its opening Monday morning to 3.3850/3890 from 3.3690/3730 on Friday. - BERNAMA

Protect Your Identity

As the giving season approaches, you don’t want to give identity thieves your information. Even if some obese chuckler in a red suit knows if you’ve been bad or good, only those you’ve acknowledged should know how you’ve been spending your money.

Every year an estimated 9 million Americans lose out to identity theft, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Experts say identity theft increases during the winter holiday season, which makes sense: all those credit card swipes and gift cards make plenty of noise to mask mischief.

So while you’re bustling around in holiday hoopla, slow down enough to watch your data. You’ll be gladder in the new year if you follow these tips.

Protect yourself in cyberspace. If you don’t recognize the sender of a holiday eCard, if some stranger wants you to download an “executable program” or if you get an email without your address, delete it. Fred Touchette, senior security analyst with AppRiver, also warns against following links that are provided for you in an email, especially if you are unsure of the sender. A ffake eBay or PayPal log-in page can usually indicate a rat. If you’re not sure of a link’s authenticity, just paste the URL into your browser.

Along similar lines, don’t debit your online purchases. Debit cards can remove funds immediately from your bank account, letting thieves bypass the check a credit card company makes when an unusual purchase appears. You might even dedicate one credit card for online shopping only, so you can easily scan a single statement for fraudulent purchases.

When shopping, look for a “lock” icon in your browser, and log off completely when finished with online transactions. Closing or minimizing your browser or typing a new Web address may not be enough to prevent others from accessing your online transaction. Instead, click “log off” to terminate your online session. In addition, don’t allow your browser to “remember” your username and password information, says Joe Reynolds, Identity Fraud Product Manager with the massive insurance concern Travelers.

When shopping traditionally, adds Reynolds, think about how much information a thief would obtain if your wallet or purse was stolen. Avoid carrying Social Security cards and passports and credit cards you don’t plan to use.

Keep your secrets secret (always bear in mind)

Making a list? Checking it twice? Here are a few items to add. Keep all your credit card and bank information stored in a secure place, along with telephone number or email address for the customer service and fraud departments, so that you can use them immediately if needed. (Of course, my colleague Fred Bernstein will tell you that customer service can sometimes cost you some peace of mind.)

Create unique passwords whenever possible. Use an alphanumeric system (a combination of numbers and letters) to ensure your password is impossible to guess and difficult to crack, suggests Charley Moore, CEO of RocketLawyer.com. Do not give out personal information over the telephone, by mail or the Internet unless you are dealing with someone you have an established relationship with, advises financial advisor Tony Keena.

And know that identity thieves see no shame in rummaging through the garbage. “Be careful what you throw away,” says Mark LaPenta, chief technology officer at MetLife Bank. Shred all documents and mail that contains personal information before tossing.

Security software can help, as can common sense. There’s no need to be paranoid, but plenty of security in being proactive. Says LaPenta,”It can take months - or possibly years to get your life back in order, and clear your name.”

Now do your patriotic duty and start shopping!

Tips To Stop Using your Credit Cards

You know your debt is rising, but still cannot stop using your credit card for purchasing items. Several
people get easily dependent on credit cards for everyday expenses and impulsive buys. The fact that
you are borrowing money from the creditor for your purchase might be tempting, but the truth is: you must be able to pay it off on time. Neglecting those bills can cause headaches in the future. You might get malicious letters from your creditors, or even receive threatening telephone calls.

Close, Shred and Leave

If you really want to avoid those from happening all together or if you are starting to drown in your debt, you have to stop credit card usage. Fortunately, there are several ways on how to.

Firstly, many people would agree that closing your credit card account is the best way possible. One and
simple call to your cardholder is sufficient enough to inactivate your credit card. Doing so might even quiet down that nagging feeling and desire to purchase items using a credit card. Just think that there might be one situation wherein the clerk says your credit card has been denied; the embarrassment from that situation is reason enough for you to inactivate your credit card.

Shredding is also an excellent way to break the habit completely. You can use an office shredder since it
works great on plastic as it does on paper. Since your credit card is shredded into pieces, there is no way
that you can swipe it. However, if you do not have a shredder, scissors are great too. Just cut the card
into small pieces and make sure that the credit card number cannot be identified by potential thieves.

Another excellent way to stop using the credit card, especially when you go out of the house, is to leave
them. If closing or shredding is not your style, try taking your credit card out of your wallet when you
are about to go shopping. In this way, if you have the urge to buy something you really do not need, you have to think twice before buying it since you are about to use your own money.

The Shock and What Your Can Do About It

You have been using your credit card for your expenses but have you ever thought about the total amount of cash you spend in interest alone each year? More so, the duration of time it will take you to just pay off your credit cards might shock you. It is all about the numbers and these will put you into shock and can make you think twice before using that credit card again.

For instance, if you have a balance of $1,000 and an interest rate of 14%, it will take you about four and
a half years before you can pay it off; that is, if you are making $25 in payments every month. By the
time you pay off the balance, you will have paid a total of $347.55 in interest.

Since you know what credit cards can do, you might want to stop using it once and for all. Learn how to
say “no” since this kind of discipline can help you stop impulsive buys, thus stopping the use of credit
cards. Always think twice about swiping that credit card for your purchases and you would not have to
think about repairing your credit in the future.

Service Tax For Credit Cards

RM50 Service Tax for Card Holders - Cancel your Credit Card Now!

The government had in its Budget 2010 proposals last week announced a RM50 service tax on each principal credit card, charge cards, including free cards and RM25 for supplementary cards by January next year.
This is a Bad news and ridiculous to Malaysia credit card holder.
It will effect all the credit cards including that have been promoted with the tag line “Free for Life”.
No more freebies.