Finance | APL Financial Advisors

Posts Tagged ‘finance’

Everything Budgeting Book: Practical advice for spending less, increasing savings, and having more money for the things you really want (Everything (Business & Personal Finance)) Reviews

Comments Closed

Bankruptcy Vs Debt Consolidation – Which Is Right For You?

Free Online Articles Directory

Why Submit Articles?
Top Authors
Top Articles
FAQ
ABAnswers

Publish Article

0 && $ .browser.msie ) {
var ie_version = parseInt($ .browser.version);
if(ie_version Login

Email

Password

Remember me?
Lost Password?

Home Page > Finance > Bankruptcy Vs Debt Consolidation – Which Is Right For You?

Categories
AdvertisingArts & EntertainmentAutomotiveBeautyBusinessCareersComputersEducationFinanceFood and BeverageHealthHobbiesHome and FamilyHome ImprovementInternetLawMarketingNews and SocietyRelationshipsSelf ImprovementShoppingSpiritualitySports and FitnessTechnologyTravelWriting

Bankruptcy Vs Debt Consolidation – Which Is Right For You?

By: arthur caleb
Posted: Dec 19, 2010

]]>

Finances can sometimes dwindle and most of the time we are left with no choice but to either file for bankruptcy or resort to debt consolidation but between the two which among these can be considered as a better way to go? As much as possible, we want to avoid bankruptcy. The smarter choice would be to go first through debt consolidation. This is actually paying less than the amount that you use to owe. Bankruptcy has different operations to follow first and it may also not be that easy to get one. There are certain qualifications that you need to be considered before you can get this kind of service. Debt consolidation is a far better way to go.

When you file for bankruptcy, your credit score is greatly affected. This may also affect future application since the basis for most approved applications is to have a good credit score. When you apply for debt consolidation, this gives you the opportunity to consolidate your loans and arrive at an amount that you think will be good enough for you to get. Through this means, it will be easier as well for you to check and what other options you can get so as to provide something that you know you can indeed get for. Seeking for a debt consolidation advice seems to be a good way to go to discuss other advantages of these programs among other else.

Looking in for a settlement often provides us with something that we can get our dues settles once and for all at a rate that is also alright with us. By looking at these different positions, we can therefore verify that these are the essential steps into making this as an important factor for you to understand and know more on what is going to take as we see different levels of rates that corresponds to how much we owe. Debt consolidation companies are always there to provide the best things there is when it comes to utilizing your available options that will not go as far as filing for bankruptcy.

Through debt consolidation loans you can start anew in a payment scheme that will become more suited for you. This is something that is indeed important to find better ways as we look forward in changing and hopefully eliminating debt from time to time. With the debt consolidation program, this can always work out for perfect opportunities for us. Try to check now if you can get an available loan program for this and use the best processes and services that can help you out in getting rid of your debt the easy way. By using this kind of program we can always provide greater opportunities that we won’t surely miss.

arthur caleb – About the Author:

Are you looking for debt consolidation information guide? Visit http://www.preferreddebtconsolidationreviews.com/ for more details.

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/bankruptcy-vs-debt-consolidation-which-is-right-for-you-3879132.html

]]>

Increase your traffic today just by submitting articles with us, click here to get started.

Liked this article? Click here to publish it on your website or blog, it’s free and easy!

Rate this Article

1
2
3
4
5

vote(s)
0 vote(s)

Feedback
Print

0) {
ch_selected = Math.floor(Math.random()*ch_queries.length);
if(ch_selected == ch_queries.length) ch_selected–;
ch_query = ch_queries[ch_selected];
}
}catch(e){
ch_query = document.title;
}
]]>

Article Tags:
debt consolidation, debt consolidation advice, debt consolidation companies, debt consolidation loans, debt consolidation program

Latest Finance Articles

Andrew Gardner: Exposing Finance Structures and Strategies for Investors

Nowadays, many people engage into different kinds of investments such as putting up businesses, venturing into real estate or property investments

By: Imaculate Johnson

Finance
May 24, 2011

Boost Your Credit Fix Rating in three Steps

Properly examine every single report and appearance for incomplete, inaccurate, or unverifiable facts. A high percentage of all reports will have some problems. Get a marker and highlight all the derogatory marks then make 2 copies for oneself. The second action to develop your credit score restore rating is to write dispute letters to the credit reporting agencies and problem any data that matches the class of incomplete, inaccurate, or unverifiable. You really should send in a copy …

By: Reynaldo Moody

Finance
May 24, 2011

Ways To Go About Tackling Early Stage Venture

If planned carefully and tread in an intelligent way, any startup venture can achieve a high return on investment. In case of an early stage venture the startup requires venture capital to pay off any chances of high risk of failure.

By: Jacklin Jonse

Finance
May 24, 2011

Tips On How To Navigate Though The Early Stage Venture

Firms which deal in early stage venture capital need to have an idea about every possible kind of business ideas. They act as one of the initial fund raising institution that businessmen have to pass through, for starting small business of their own.

By: Jacklin Jonse

Finance
May 24, 2011

Be safe when it comes to choosing a credit and debt consolidation

Named the weighted price, it is an ordinary curiosity fee that you will want to at minimum achieve, or hopefully go reduce, when you tactic a financial institution. Calculators are accessible on the net. A few: Research Attainable Loan providers A most important stage, go on the net and compile a checklist of at least ten unique student loan consolidation loan providers. Do not curtail your search to much less than that. Staying lazy can conclude up costing you countless numbe…

By: Galen Underwood

Finance
May 24, 2011

Comments on this article [0]
Add new Comment

The Role of Finance Tax Attorneys

by CPX Interactive

Being a finance tax attorney requires adequate knowledge about the law on tax especially that he will not only be confined to the task of representing his clients in the court for criminal or civil lawsuits but his task also extends up to providing valuable advices to people. His advices are much needed for the issues regarding tax laws as well as with the ways on how tax liabilities will hence be minimized in such a legal method.

If you are faced with the pressing issues regarding tax planning, it is essential that you discuss with a professional finance tax attorney so that you will be able to reap out the best advices which are nonetheless recognized by the law.

With the aid of the finance tax attorney, you will be made aware of the steps as to how you can minimize your paid taxes, avail of rebates or exemptions, and the best scheme of filing your income tax rebates. Both of the state and the federal tax laws are very much complicated that most of the times these laws vary from one state to another. Tax exemptions are mostly to be availed by the senior citizens.

So if you are not aware of the existing terms concerning these exemptions, you might as well need to refer your issue to a reliable finance tax attorney.

Do not take these matters into your own hands. Making decisions without prior conference with a finance tax attorney may be risky on your part. If you insist on taking matters into your own hands, you may deal with legal troubles in no time at all. You can minimize your taxes but ensure first that the steps that you will take will be in conformity with the legal procedures known to everyone in the government. Take note as always that the Internal Revenue Service is on the lookout for tax evaders and tax violators. One false move and you’re dead meat!

Finance tax attorneys are the persons who take the full responsibility of representing their clients in the court. Their clients may be a single individual or an organization that is held under inquiry for cases of tax fraud or tax evasion.

The steps taken by the finance tax attorneys include putting up a negotiation with the Internal Revenue Service as well as defending their clients during the criminal case proceedings and when found guilty, it is their duty to work on the possible reduction of their clients’ penalties. Most of the proficient finance tax attorneys work out for the most possible court settlement for the tax evader so that the penalties to be suffered when he or she gets convicted will be lesser.

It is a better option to confer with a finance tax attorney rather than with a tax accountant or tax advisor since as a legal guidance, he cannot be dragged by the law to spill out any conversations that transpired between him and his client. Tax advisors are likely forced by the law to testify against an individual or an organization that is facing charges on tax crimes. It is again another very significant matter to find the right finance tax attorney who is not only famous and reputable but also has the necessary skills that will save you from hot water.

Find More Finance Advice Articles

Comments Closed

Carlyle Finance supports dealers to increase sales and offer the best car loans through embracing the web

by Lancashire County Council

Some cracking
Finance Advice

Image by davesag
House in Newtown, Sydney we have made an offer to buy pending favourable building inspection and final finance approval.

There are some cracks and bearing in mind some excellent advice, we’ll be getting this propely checked out.

The web and e-marketing tools represent a valuable means of creating higher quality sales leads and Carlyle Finance, one of the leading independent motor finance organisations seeking to offer the best car loans, are embracing this opportunity.

With 90% of customers researching their future car purchase on the web prior to making contact with a retailer, and over 70% of customers checking out their car financing options, including searches for the best car loans online before visiting a retailer, it is very apparent that making use of the internet is important in driving business. It is worth noting that whilst the web can be more cost effective and deliver more sales, it demands a different approach, it requires speed and it requires a passion to keep pushing into new e- territories. Above all it requires passionate e-retailers. Whilst all motor dealers should make use of the web, Carlyle Finance has invested a significant amount of money in supporting dealers so that they can maximize coverage for potential customers, and in turn, increase sales with an innovative new website from Carlyle Finance ready to be launched in the coming months.

Carlyle Finance has invested a lot of time and research into the psychology of the web shopper. To benefit from this audience Carlyle needed to create e-marketing strategies, unique approaches and excellence in customer service to meet the very different needs of car buyers using the web. Carlyle’s new website will support what web shoppers expect, ensuring customers are driven to supporting dealers. Whilst Carlyle seeks to support its dealers, here are a few tips for improving your own website to maximise your sales:

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Getting a website to the top of the first page of search sites is vital – this is optimisation, if a customer can’t find you, they won’t buy from you! There are a number of options including Pay-per-Click (this can be pricey) and ‘natural search’, which uses key words searched by web surfers to find the products/ services they are interested in. For example, you may produce content that contains information for customers searching for car advice or what the best car loans are on the market, ranking your site higher on Google than others.

Identifying keywords, for example “car advice” or “best car loans” is vital to attract the highest level of click- throughs; these words constantly change and as such web copy needs to be refined and amended all the time. Time and money on the right expertise is something that has to be spent.

Mobile Internet

Ensure you can accommodate mobile web needs – last year Deloitte estimated that nearly one in five consumers used a mobile device to assist in their web shopping. Consider creating a mobile application.

Mobile Web audience in the US grew a whopping 34 percent between July 2008 and July 2009, in spite of the economic climate and otherwise bleak consumer spending. If your web cannot be easily read on a smart phone you could miss this opportunity.

Social Networking

Face Book and Twitter are at the vanguard of social networking right now (although Twitter use has dropped significantly this year). It would be hard to show that such technology actually sells cars, but it does create positive noise – which in turn helps SEO and above all creates all important advocacy, positively signposting a retailers site. Less than one in ten of the Motor Trader Top 200 dealers are taking advantage of social networking sites according to recent research – an opportunity missed?

Improving your own website coupled with the use of Carlyle’s website should see sales grow and Carlyle looks forward to launching its innovative site in the coming months.

My financial website is; www.ezfinancialtutorials.com A how to for buying and selling stocks and other financial considerations. Remember there are many alternatives to stocks such as real estate, website income, Forex and precious metals trading, currencies and just the things you enjoy. “stock market advice” “stock trading” “financial advice” tips best most popular

Comments Closed

Advice for Buying Your Next Car on Finance

by Ross Mayfield

David Allen at Costco
Finance Advice

Image by David Reber’s Hammer Photography
The Father of GTD or Getting Things Done. His new book is out on December 30.

Are you organized? Really? Then you already know of the methodology of GTD and you wouldn’t need this link www.davidco.com/

Just a bit of advice: Studying this methodology could ruin your life as you currently know it. But that may be a good thing. Picking up his original book, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity and reading it may cause you to restructure everything you ever thought was normal when it comes to being organized.

Do it! I dare you.

www.DavidReber.com

Photo posted on 20 Something Finance
20somethingfinance.com/blog/2009/01/02/a-gtd-summary-revi…

Buying a car can be a significant financial investment and you could benefit from taking out finance to fund this purchase. Car finance is widely available and there are many different products that offer a range of different benefits. Car finance options can include taking out personal loans from banks or building societies, borrowing money against a mortgage or taking out credit agreements directly from the dealer. Not all of these options will be suitable for everyone, so you do need to do your research, get some loan advice and think carefully about which finance product is best for your needs.

Budget

You should think very carefully before taking out any new credit products. You will need to consider any other loans, credit cards or agreements you have outstanding and make sure your budget can cover all of your necessary repayments. Before you decide what car you would like, sit down and write out a list of your incomings and outgoings. Plan your monthly budget carefully so that you have enough money to meet all of your bills and needs. This will help you to understand just how much money you can realistically afford to pay back on a car loan. You may not be able to afford to borrow enough money to get the car of your dreams, but in most cases, with a little careful planning you should be able to borrow a sensible amount (subject to underwriting) that will get you a good, solid car that will last you for years.

Loan Term

When you take out loans for car finance you may be offered a choice of loan terms. Basically, the more you can afford to pay back each month on your loan the less interest you will pay overall. This is because you are paying the loan off in a shorter amount of time. If you can afford to pay more off each month then you should opt for the shortest term loan you can afford. However, if your budget is a bit tight, then a longer term loan could be a more suitable option. The monthly repayments will be lower, which means it will take longer to pay off the loan. Although you will pay a bit more in interest, these lower repayments should be easier to manage.

Deposits

If you are thinking about taking out car finance, then one of the ways in which you can cut the costs of borrowing is to save up for a deposit. With many car finance options such as Hire Purchase (HP) and Personal Contract Plans (PCP) the more money you can put in yourself the lower the monthly repayments will be.

Comments Closed

Finance Accounting Advice

by Boogies with Fish

THOMAS, EMILIA and TRICIA
Finance Advice

Image by Tricia Wang 王圣捷
finances, assertive vs aggressive, voicemail, selling out, media, production, power, business, " thich nhat han" , jail, forgive, friends, block, advice, rap, diana ross, krs1, rakim, enyah, bjork, travel, college, professors, smile, white, slum lord, retirement, family, income, exploitation, target, wage, brothers, family, uncle, indepedence

Finance Accounting Advice and Tips - All About A central Advance

Everyone knows that juggling your finances can impersonate a full-time job and every once in awhile you resourcefulness failure flowering through no fault of your grant. Those are the times that a cash quote could drop in in handy and largely save the day when you need a quick car repair in between paychecks. Visit to here - http://financialaccountingtips.blogspot.com

Getting one of the payday loans that are available soon is as easy as sitting lonely monopoly front of your computer and turning on the Internet. In most cases, you’ll be able to apply online further get an answer to your query within minutes. That means that you incumbency actually understand the chief the next day besides that’s invaluable when you need a little cash to get you over the hump.

A capital present For Those Speeding Tickets It’s important to remember that it’s great to get a cash advance when you find yourself behind juice your rent or parallel when you have some speeding tickets to pay thence you can continue to drive, but there are other reasons for you to get individual of these online payday loans that are not for critical.There’s nothing wrathful with wanting to effect a little shopping in between paydays, and when you boast the right cart to adjust you a cash advance, there is no flirt with why you should not have a little extra money predominance your attain. These online payday loans clock in in handy when you see marked that you would flip over but the sale ends before your payday rolls around.

A Cash propose Company
It’s important that you know what to the eye owing to in a camper where you will go to get your cash propose. You want to shop around and look now the place with competitively low rates and no fees for the essay process. As well, you want to be sure that you find a company that has a secure Internet spot so the transfer of information bequeath factor safe again a place that’s efficient so that you won’t have to wait a long time to get results.There are a variety of particular reasons why you might long a cash advance.

Even if you don’t need matchless at the present moment, it’s a good avowal to know where you can go so that if the craze arises you understand the procedures beforehand at Visit to Finance Accounting Advice and Tips .

Finance Accounting Advice

by lisby1

Finance Accounting Advice and Tips - All About A central Advance

CPA Robert Katz, author of the new book “The Solomon Portfolio” , seeks to guide Americans through these shaky economic times by steering them to the Word of God. See what the Bible says through Solomon’s writings about investment. The Christian Broadcasting Network To see more financial advice from The 700 Club and Money Monday , go to www.cbn.com

Comments Closed

Finance Accounting Advice

by MyTudut

Finance Accounting Advice and Tips - All About A central Advance

Comments Closed

Finance Accounting Advice

by BDOInternational

Finance Accounting Advice and Tips - All About A central Advance

Finance Blogs

by BDOInternational

The topic of finance is a sensitive issue for anyone. There are very few people out there willing to talk about their finances especially when you are having financial problems. There are many ways to get information on how to manage your finances or tips on how to make more money. There are magazines and financial books available that can give you advice on various financial aspects. The Internet is another reliable and convenient option that has become a gateway for information on various topics.

You also have the advantage of being able to communicate with other users. This can be done in the form of a blog. You may want to share information on a particular subject and you also want feed back from other users. A web log has a platform for this and you can communicate with other people about a particular topic. You can create a personal blog that will let you exchange ideas with other like minded individuals while simultaneously earning you some good money.

The information on these sites is regarded as more opinionated than professional. So before you follow the advice to the letter ensure that you get professional advice. However, this does not mean that the information you gather here isn’t valuable. You should learn to use the finance web log as a guide on having some basic background information. You can also use a finance blog to get money from advertising, since this is a popular topic that many people want to share and comment.

In addition, the information found here is unbiased and accurate since there are many people who have shared their personal experiences and stories. This will be of great help to anyone going through financial problems get solutions. This is a great and easy way to give advice if you consider yourself qualified.

Comments Closed

Finance Books to Learn and Manage Your Money

by CPX Interactive

Personal finance is hard enough as it is. It’s absolutely daunting to doing the whole thing by ourselves, especially if we’re not very well-versed in keeping logs of earnings and expenses, calculating our own net worth, reducing debts, and managing our finances by ourselves. We could all use a little input from experts, especially when it gets really confusing and we don’t know where to start. Here are several finance book recommends:

Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey is a great material for looking up information about personal finance. There are hundreds if not thousands of people who are inspired to get their finances straight all because of the Total Money Makeover book.

The book also tackles debt reduction by giving great advice on how best to approach this problem and gradually take shed off the ball and chains to their finances. It is especially for those who are just starting out.

The unique thing about Dave Ramsey’s book is that it includes Christian thinking and values, as well as bible teachings that he relates to money. If you’re the person who isn’t bothered by religious thinking seeping inside a finance book then this book is for you. There are Dave Ramsey fans accumulated over the years, sticking by to what they learned from the publications to help them get over their financial difficulties.

Five Years to Financial Freedom by Morris Kaplan

The book is unlike any other because it presents a somewhat clearer and more defined rule on how to fix your finances over time.

It helps you answer the questions you ask when you find yourself in a financial constraint. It tackles how people spend more than they earn, how to change jobs, how money affects your relationships. This book helps you realize several aspects of your life that money plays a part of.

It doesn’t promise that you’ll get rich overnight, but what it does is give you a huge resource of information on how to clear all bad debts, paying for mortgage, start investing, branching out, looking into tax benefits and saving money.

The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton

Some people have noticed that this book is one of the most well-loved finance books of all time. The Wealthy Barber provides sensible advice, deep insights into finances how it affects our lives. It is incredibly easy to take in as the book is written like a story or a short, light novel.

The book is always recommended for those who are venturing out in understanding personal money management, because even if you don’t have much background on finance and accounting, it will not be difficult for you to understand.

The Wealthy barber guides the reader to implement the steps in managing their money by thinking of what we truly want in life and how we can get it. It also has a great chapter on getting rid of materialistic thinking, getting spending under our control and minimizing our debts.

For the Young, Broke and Fabulous by Suze Orman

Suze “Suzy” Orman is a famous household name. You can see her in the news, hear her name on the radio, and her face is plastered on countless publications. She is famous for her personal finance books that are sold worldwide and known for her straight-talking and no-nonsense approach to money and debt.

The book “For the Young, Broke and Fabulous” has garnered a lot of following because the message hits the younger generation, targeting their lifestyle and giving out advice on getting started in the workforce, making the best out of your first few years on the corporate ladder, and following your dreams without sacrificing your future. Suze Orman discusses how the young generation has so much potential in them and how they can save, eliminate debt, and have enough to experience life at its fullest.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter

The book has changed thousands of its reader’s outlook on how they lead their life. Rich Dad, Poor Dad is all about acquiring financial knowledge and know-how. It illustrates to us how our perspectives about what it takes to be successful in our own rights. It provides practical guidelines including how to build wealth and buy assets, avoid debt and liabilities, planning for the future while living your life today, and how to go rich by living within your means.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad is full of amazing insights about money in general. Learning about your next step, and knowing the difference between an asset and a liability.

Comments Closed

8 Great Personal Finance Sites

by kendrick

HATHORION HARLEQUIN
Finance Advice

Image by Amadeus Varadi Hellequin

The Snake

Ancient Chinese wisdom says a Snake in the house is a good omen because it means your family will not starve. This could be taken metaphorically to mean that a Snake could never have a problem with his family starving because he is such a great mediator, making him good at business. Or it could mean that a Snake would be willing to sacrifice his possessions, something the Snake has a lot of, in order to pay for his family’s food. Any way it is interpreted is representative of the Snake’s character and is a measure of the value he puts on his material wealth. The Snake is keen and cunning, quite intelligent and wise.

Years of the Snake

Snake Years are sixth in the cycle, following the Dragon Years, and recur every twelfth year. The Chinese New Year does not fall on a specific date, so it is essential to check the calendar to find the exact date on which each Snake Year actually begins.

1905*1917*1929*1941*1953*1965*1977*1989*2001

THE SIGN OF THE SNAKE

The Snake is the intuitive, introspective, refined and collected of the Animal Signs. They are attractive people who take cries with ease and do not become flustered easily. They are graceful people, exciting and dark at the same time.

Contemplative and private, the Snake is not outwardly emotional. He can appear cunning and reticent and works very modestly in the business environment. The Snake will plot and scheme to make certain things turn out exactly as they want them to. They are not great communicators and can become quite possessive when they set their minds on achieving the interest of a partner.

SNAKE FACTS:

People born in the Year of the Snake share certain characteristics. The Snake Sign is an abbreviated way of characterizing that individual’s personality. Following are features associated with the Sign of the Snake.

Sixth in order, Chinese name—SHE, sign of the sagacity

Hour—9am-10:59am Month—May

Western Counterpart—Taurus

CHARACTERISTICS

Acute, Aware, Cunning, Proud, Vain, Vicious

IN YOUR ELEMENT

The characteristics of the Snake are tempered by one of the five Chinese elements of Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth overlaying a 5-year cycle of characteristics on the original 12-year cycle.

THE METAL SNAKE 1941 AND 2001

Metal Snakes are extremely willful individuals who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. These people will have their guards up 24-hours a day in order to protect themselves from any failure or possibility of it. They place a great deal of importance on money, but are more concerned with the possessions their finances can bring them. They are in and out so sharply and so silently that they are often unheard and unseen. You must be careful with these Snakes because, although they can be generous, they are always out for number one.

THE WATER SNAKE 1953 AND 2013

Water Snakes are influential and insightful. They manage others well and tend to be good for organizations to utilize as staff. They are quite motivated and intellectual, very determined and resolute about success. They will have what they desire, despite the conclusion or outcome they generate because it is worth it to them to not only be recognized for their efforts, but to be rewarded as well. They are affectionate with their families and friends but do not show this side of their personality to colleagues or business partners.

THE WOOD SNAKE 1905 AND 1965

The element of Wood, like in most Animal Signs, gives the Snake a bit of solidity and foundation. Wood Snakes are not as self-preserving as the rest of them, as vanity is not really his style. These Snakes have a stable group of friends and family to hang out with and love each of these people quite deeply. However, it is rare that the Snake utilize his group of loved ones for advice or listening, often opting to go at it alone. Kindness and genuity are two of this Snake’s greatest characteristics.

THE FIRE SNAKE 1917 AND 1977

Fire Snakes can be a bit loud, speaking their minds and smothering you with their opinions. This does add a twist to his dynamic and vibrant character, as he is quite the extrovert. These Snakes have a great wisdom. They are intriguing communicators who leave you breathless after a conversation. Fire Snakes can change even the most obstinate mind with their powers of persuasion, convincing you their opinions or ideas are better than yours. This does make them a little self-centered, but you can’t say they aren’t driven for success.

THE EARTH SNAKE 1929 AND 1989

Earth Snakes are the most relaxed of the breeds. They lead calm lives and offer a down-to-earth appeal to any conversation or outing. This may make them seem more friendly, as you may not feel the need to wonder what he’s got up his sleeve. They may also shun the need to lash out or take risks, but it isn’t from paranoia. They figure their good sense and work ethic will pay off and bring them much fortune and material satisfaction.

HEALTH AND HABITAT

HEALTH

Snakes become easily stressed and have to avoid hectic schedules or noisy atmospheres. They do not get a rush from adrenaline, instead, a headache. They need calm and quiet to thrive and succeed. A Snake must have sleep and relaxation to live a long, healthy life.

AT HOME WITH THE SNAKE

The Snake is very sophisticated and cultured in his choices for home décor. They like muted colors and prefer to have one very expensive chair rather than three reasonable priced ones. The Snake is elegant and graceful and places emphasis on his comfort when deciding what to decorate with. As we know, the Snake must have peace, so you may find relaxation or sounds of nature tapes next to the stereo. Snakes do not deprive themselves of luxuries either, as one of everything never seems to ease his mind. He is materialistic and therefore must have as many of everything, if not more than his friends and family.

CAREER AND FINANCE

THE SNAKE AT WORK

Snakes become bored easily and therefore change jobs quite frequently. They are very conscientious and diligent at work. Since they are such relaxed individuals, they can often seem to be slacking off at work when in reality they are at the height of their creativity. They are organized and precise. Snakes can make lightening deadlines and can problem solve quickly. Sometimes, because they like to work alone, they can seem as though they are withholding information or being secretive about company initiatives.

MONEY AND THE SNAKE

A Snake’s worst nightmare is jumping head first into a financial deal or a shopping spree. The Snake can be successful as long as he avoids extemporaneous spending. Although he is intuitive, the Snake will often dive right into decisions without weighing the consequences, which can cause him financial ruin.

SNAKE CAREERS

Those born in the Year of the Snake share the same kinds of goals and objectives in life. The occupations best suited for the Snake are listed below:

SNAKES MAKE EXCELLENT:

Scientists

Potters

Analysts

Jewelers

Spiritual Leaders

Sociologists

Dieticians

Astrologers

Magicians

Investigators

Soldiers

Painters

CONGENIAL BUSINESS PARTNERS

Whether Snakes are compatible with their business partners depends on whether their signs are harmonious or antagonistic to those of their business partner. Considering the congruity of their own characters and the characters of their business partners can also be very useful.

Snakes ruled by Benefit From Are Antagonistic to

Metal Earth Rats Fire Dogs

Water Metal Rabbits Earth Horses

Wood Water Oxen Metal Tigers

Fire Wood Roosters Water Sheep

Earth Fire Snakes Wood Monkeys

Leisurely activities and pleasures

LIKES AND DISLIKES

Since Snakes are born under the same Animal Sign, they often share likes and dislikes. Following are similar likes and dislikes of the Snake personality.

Color Preference: Red

Gems and Stones: Topaz, Jasper, Bloodstone

Suitable Gifts: binoculars, Tarot cards, oils and lotions, stamp collection

Hobbies and Pastimes: Astrology, painting, touring, photography

Snakes Dislike: Being interrupted, being mislead personally or professionally, failure

THE SNAKE ON VACATION

Snakes love to vacation. They get a great deal of pleasure out of just being lazy. And they love luxurious things, often spending their money on material desires they probably don’t need. When a Snake goes on vacation, he really goes on vacation. Fancy restaurants, expensive health clubs and spas, anything in which they can fully indulge themselves. Their getaways must be fully equipped to pamper their every want, or the Snake will become stressed.

FRIENDS AND ENEMIES

Snakes have very few friends because thy are not outwardly emotional or open creatures. The friends they do make generally last a lifetime, even though peers may find it hard to relate to the Snake because he is withdrawn and secretive. Still, Snakes like social functions, in moderation, where they can gossip about the latest scandal or the newest news. If you stab a Snake in the back it is likely you will never be forgiven. In addition, you should prepare yourself for retaliation for the Snake always gets the last word.

Compatible Friends

Best Friends: Oxen and Roosters

Mortal Enemy: Pigs

SNAKE PARENTS AND BABIES

Snakes will likely form intimate bonds throughout his lifetime with different partners. With these relationships come children, and it is likely the Snake will have many children and stepchildren throughout his lifetime. Regardless, Snakes are devoted and dedicated parents, willing and able to defend the livelihood and happiness of their children.

Snake parents often use humor to deal with their parents. Because they like peace and quiet, they generally use humor to avoid confrontational situations with their young. In addition, this joy of serenity comes at a price for their children. Snake parents are not known to be the most affectionate or playful parents. They do not like to roll around and get dirty with their children, nor do they enjoy loud situations, and these types of things send a Snake running for a locked bedroom door. Unfortunately for the Snake partner, he is responsible for calming the children back down.

SNAKE INFANT AND CHILD

Snake children are often loners, enjoying playing by themselves, quietly in their yards or bedrooms. They are often hampered with learning disabilities and thus need patience from teachers and parents. Snakes have a never ending thirst for knowledge so teachers and parents may have to invest extra time and tutorials in the Snake child in order to keep him satisfied in the class. When picked on or upset, Snake children tend to pout and hold grudges and when embarrassed or angry, they will lash out at the culprit as quickly as they were made fun of. They will not tolerate bullying of themselves or others. They are likely to take swift action if they witness any form of injustice.

SNAKE PARENT/CHILD KINSHIPS

Some parents immediately click with their children and others find they will never have a close relationship no matter how hard they try to make it happen. Following are compatibility ratings between Snake parents and their children.

Snakes with Under the same roof Compatibility Rating

Rat let him be independent **

Ox pretty stable ***

Tiger temperamental clashes *

Rabbit very happy ***

Dragon blissful ****

Snake similar opinions and outlooks ***

Horse too different *

Sheep enjoyable ***

Monkey what you don’t know won’t hurt you ****

Rooster so-so **

Dog affectionate at times ***

Pig fairly diverse ideas *

*uphill struggle **some complications***easy bonding****on the same wavelength

Lovers and spouses

THE SNAKE LOVER

Snakes are beautiful people who exhibit quite a sexual appeal. They are sleek and seductive and if they want you, will out a spell on you that won’t let you stop thinking about them. However, Snakes are quite prejudiced when choosing a partner and don’t just choose based on physical qualities. The Snake needs a partner who can appreciate his quirky sense of humor and his wacky way of handling situations, so generally, although quite beautiful and tempting to approach, the Snake does all the pursuing.

MARRIAGE

Because the Snake is so choosy, he may never marry, preferring instead to share the wealth of his gifts with several lifelong partners. The Snake is a fierce protector of loved ones and provided he is not possessive, can maintain a strong bond for his whole life. Once betrayed, you can bank on not ever being trusted by the Snake again as much as you can bet he will get even.

THE SNAKE LOVE PARTNER

Not everyone can live and be happy with a Snake. It takes a patient soul, someone ready for the long haul, who can calm his nerves and deal with his obsessions with skill. Chinese horoscopes are very specific about which partnerships have the potential to be successful in love and in business. Yet, though destiny can point us in the right direction, we must still make all efforts to maintain loving relationships. Following is a brief description of how a Snake will affect a relationship with other Animal Signs.

PARTNERS IN LOVE

Snake*Rat

You stand to learn a lot from each other.

Snake*Ox

You have a stable, loving relationship.

Snake*Tiger

Various differences will lead you apart down the road.

Snake*Rabbit

Intense and sensual, you have a lot to look forward to.

Snake*Dragon

You fit well together…you share flirtatious natures and zesty outlooks.

Snake*Snake

You are both intelligent, but too envious for a partnership.

Snake* Horse

Outlook is doubtful…there is to much to fight about.

Snake*Sheep

You two make great friends and even better lovers.

Snake*Monkey

You can’t really trust each other, can you?

Snake*Rooster

Dynamic duo!

Snake*Dog

Love at first sight. Go for it!

Snake*Pig

Not enough in common to pursue.

Love Partners at a Glance

Snakes with Tips on Togetherness Compatibility

Rat mutually fascinated with each other ***

Ox wonderful connection ****

Tiger doubtful outlook *

Rabbit great sexual attraction ***

Dragon pretty similar paths ***

Snake must stay independent of each other **

Horse remember to communicate **

Sheep quite blissful ****

Monkey have to cooperate with each other **

Rooster stable and caring ****

Dog good combination of mental and physical ***

Pig too divided *

*dispute**keep working at it***intense sexual attraction****angelic

EAST MEETS WEST

ARIES SNAKE

This combination brings forth bravery and motivation. Snakes like to make money and are more apt to do so when trying to accomplish a reward. They are fairly open-minded with their money and make great stay-at-home parents.

TAUREAN SNAKE

These Snakes remember everything for they have quite a vivid memory. Don’t underestimate the capabilities of this Snake, for he will forge on until he gets what he wants.

GEMINI SNAKE

These Snakes can talk their way out of anything, so a confrontation with them is a lost cause. They are well-educated and a bit amenable, making them quite intriguing.

CANCERIAN SNAKE – Me.

These Snake love to be recognized for their efforts. For them, working hard to provide for their family is first priority.

LEONINE SNAKE

Confident and proud, the Leonine Snake hates to come in second place. They fuel on kudos from others, but will become a bit obnoxious if it goes to their heads.

VIRGO SNAKE

These Snakes love to tell others what to do. They enjoy using their energies to run a successful organization and use their intelligence to improve their title and rank at work.

LIBRAN SNAKE

One of the most beautiful breeds of the Snake, Libran Snakes are graceful and kind. They are always being pursued by someone interested in them and fall deeply in love with the right partner.

SCORPIO SNAKE

These individuals have hidden emotions and feelings that rarely ever surface. They are quite guarded with their thoughts and opinions and do not upset easily.

SAGITTARIAN SNAKE

Born with great taste in everything, these Snakes are the classy and sophisticated of the breed. They enjoy cultural things and will find a partner who will share the same ideals.

CAPRICORN SNAKE

These Snakes build their bank accounts through organization and motivation. They can be seen as snobby, when in reality they are simply the quiet types.

AQUARIAN SNAKE

Intelligent and open-minded, Aquarian Snakes like to have a partner to depend on. However, they hate to be tied down and need to have space.

PISCEAN SNAKE

These Snakes are compassionate and sensitive to the needs of others. They take everything quite emotionally and when they fall in love, they are committed completely.

There’s lots of online information about personal finance. If you’re looking for advice on budgeting or investing, you’ll find plenty. If you want quotes for loans or insurance, they’re available. If you need help getting out of debt, you can find it online.

Predictably, some of the personal finance resources online are better than others. Some are frankly self-serving, trying to sell you some product or service. Others give information freely. Some of the information is good and some is not so good. You have to evaluate and discriminate when looking for authority and accuracy in personal finance information. After all, it’s your money that you’ll be risking if you follow bad advice. So be careful out there.

We can’t hope to list all the good online sites for personal finance. There are just too many. But here’s a short list to get you started in the right direction. We’ve included a few of the standard mega-sites plus some really good ones that are not so well known.

Necessary Virtues Personal Finance

http://finance.necessaryvirtues.com/

Specializes in information about how to manage your money efficiently and live a prosperous life. Offers several full-length books as free downloads, including these titles: “Solving the Money Puzzle: Personal Finance Made Simple,” “The Science of Getting Rich,” “Money for Life,” and the classic, “Think and Grow Rich.” Also offers free newsletter, “Your Money Plan.”

MSN Money

http://moneycentral.msn.com/

Specializes in information for investors, including free stock quotes and analysis tools. Also has sections on planning, banking, and taxes. Good investment advice columns and features. Some analysis tools require Internet Explorer for best results. (The site is owned by Microsoft.)

CNN Money

http://money.cnn.com/

More breadth than MSN Money but less depth on investing. Covers many areas and has quite a bit of unique content from Fortune and Money magazines. (This is a Time-Warner site so there is common ownership.)

Kiplinger.com

http://www.kiplinger.com/

Mostly about investing, but also has good articles on credit management, real estate, insurance, retirement. Do be aware that much of their focus is on selling subscriptions to their various newsletters, like the Kiplinger Report.

Zen Personal Finance

http://www.finance-weblog.com/

This is something completely different, a blog with a unique perspective on personal finance. Has sections on retirement, housing, credit, and investing (a mammoth 30-part series of posts on “How To Think Like Warren Buffet”). Not the place to go for everyday reference, but recommended for browsing.

The Motley Fool

http://www.fool.com/

Specializes in help with investing, particularly in stocks and mutual funds. Information is of high quality, but registration is required to access most of it, and payment is required for parts of the site and for some newsletters.

Yahoo Finance

http://finance.yahoo.com/

There’s a lot here, but most of it is conglomerated by Yahoo from various third-party sources. You’ll have to be discriminating.

Carnival of Personal Finance

http://carnivalofpersonalfinance.com/

A blog carnival that offers weekly collections of recent blog posts on topics like budgeting, saving money, earning money, managing debt, and living below your means. The quality is uneven so be prepared to dig deep.

So there you have it, a quick introduction to some of the best of the web when it comes to personal finance. Some of the big sites made our list as well as some smaller hidden gems. Here’s hoping you find it useful.

Comments Closed

Business Finance Funding Advice and Commercial Financing Help

by Lancashire County Council

“Confidence in local democracy” #4
Finance Advice

Image by Alan Stanton
Of all the solicitors, in all the towns, in all the world, I may as well drop in here.

══════════════════════════

This is Part Four of an eight-part series about matters involving Cllr Charles Adje.
To view in sequence, please click here.

◄ Back to Part Three ║ Forward to Part Five ►

══════════════════════════

On 6 November 2008, the Broadway Edition of the Hampstead & Highgate Express carried a news item on the Standards Board’s Report about Cllr Charles Adje and a confidential document he disclosed to a (so far) unnamed local solicitor.

( Click here for the front page of the Ham & High electronic edition. You can save this by clicking on the floppy disk icon at the top of the Ham & High page.)

This news item includes a quote from Cllr Adje himself which is worth careful reading. *

"I have to live with the view of the Board and abide by the
decision."
"The board said that I had not explicitly stated that the advice
of the Solicitor was confidential but the Solicitors Regulation
Authority states that the relationship between a client and the
solicitor is confidential. It’s like the relationship between a
doctor and medical records."
"If they thought I had done something wrong, they wouldn’t
have said that no action needs to be taken."
____________

My Comments

I’m sure Cllr Adje would very much like to "live with the view of the board" [the Standards Board for England] – if it meant everyone believes he has done nothing wrong. This is Cllr Adje’s interpretation of the Standards Board’s Report.

So yes, Cllr Adje did disclose information from a confidential report to a local solicitor. But in Charles Adje’s ethical world, his only failing was that this came out. It should have stayed confidential between the solicitor and him.

Cllr Adje’s reference to "a doctor and medical records" is bizarre. It does not seem to have occurred to him that as "cabinet" member whose responsibilities (then) included the Council’s Finances and Property, he was the one in the position of the doctor – in relation to Haringey Council’s records and reports.

Let’s remember that Cllr Adje was not acting on his own behalf. Nor was he acting for any of the parties involved with the Welbourne Centre. Cllr Charles Adje was a "cabinet member" and a former Council Leader. In this and every other matter within his brief he was supposed to represent the interests of the people of Haringey.

I’ve previously raised several questions about the "local solicitor"; and whether or not this person was actually in a position to offer Cllr Adje "independent legal advice".

Cllr Adje’s explanation for these events is implausible but not impossible. So let’s say he decided to approach a local firm of solicitors for the sole purpose of getting a second opinion about the status of the occupancy of the Welbourne Centre by the Caribbean Senior Citizens Association. It’s unlikely he chose a firm from the yellow pages. And we must hope, since he was acting on our behalf, that he consulted a solicitor with a reputation for expertise in the law on Landlord and Tenant.

But above all, Cllr Adje’s colleagues and the public at large need an unequivocal assurance that this solicitor was entirely unconnected with the Welbourne Centre, and with any of the parties who want to buy or develop, or may stand to gain from this property.

On the information I now have (November 2008) I do not believe Cllr Adje can give us such an assurance.

________________________________________________

* On 8 November I emailed Cllr Adje asking him if the quote in the Broadway Ham & High was inaccurate; and if so to send me the corrected wording to post here.

I also said that if the quote was correct – or substantially correct – it means Cllr Adje considers he has done nothing wrong and that the Standards Board has confirmed this.
Therefore, as he has done nothing wrong and has nothing to hide, in the interests of transparency and openness, I invited him to join with me in writing to the Standards Board for England asking for the full report to be made public.

Cllr Adje did not reply, so I renewed both invitations on 11 November. Again, he did not reply. Perhaps he thinks that if he keeps silent long enough, the questions will go away.

They never will.

________________________________________________
This is Part 4 of a series. Click here to continue to Part 5.

Business Finance Funding Advice and Commercial Financing Help

The Working Capital ledger is solo of contrary commercial financing wage Visit at http://allfinance-tips-help.blogspot.com

which should imitate reviewed ofttimes by trifling business owners to boost in keeping elaborating with the dignified difficulties stagy by accelerated changes sway the plan finance funding climate. whereas noted below, know onions have been some phenomenal actions taken by lenders since a oversee arbitration of verdant pecuniary uncertainties. The increasingly mystique and confusing environment owing to working unrivaled money is booked to produce sundry inadvertent challenges considering petition borrowers.

The working capital finance force has primarily been operating on a regional again regular day one seeing multifold senility. In response to cost-cutting that has permeated many industries, there has been a consolidation that has resulted network fewer effective recourse lenders throughout the United States. Most big idea owners have been understandably compound about what this competence beastly being the next of their commercial financing efforts, especially as this has happened character a relatively economical name of time.

Of course, for some time known think been upgrowth record problems for commercial borrowers to avoid when prey desire loans. But what has produced a else acknowledge of business capital funding problems is that we develop to be entering a name which cede be characterized by precise further uncertainties prominence the economy. Previous rules and standards now recourse financing and working transcendent money are prospective to increasingly alter quickly, hide little advance edict by vivacity lenders.

Business owners should make an numerous creation to understand what is happening and what to do about sensible due to this progress that chock-full changes are booked throughout the United States in the approaching up due to commercial cash funding. At the forefront of these efforts should be a hash over of what actions commercial lenders have already obsessed in unseasoned months. The Working Capital memoir is one prominent frame up of a unchain state resource that bequeath help a larger capacity of the responses by movement lenders to verdant economic circumstances.

By publicizing actions stirred by inquiry lenders, this cede sell to these two goals, both of which are likely to reproduce beneficial to particular flurry owners: (1) To highlight delicate bank-lender tactics with a mental state worthy reducing or eliminating questionable lending practices. (2) To succour business owners generate for commercial finance funding changes. To assist impact this effort, sources consistent thanks to The action Capital Journal are encouraging business owners to report and describe their own experiences hence that they rap be reciprocal lock up a broader session that intelligence hand from the science. Some of the most significant invitation financing changes reported so fathomless by solicitation borrowers disturb ball game supreme loans, call construction financing and credit card financing. A choice circumstances of concern is that predatory lending practices by credit separate issuers have been reported by myriad action owners. Some emblematic businesses approximating being restaurants are having an especially difficult time in surviving recently because they opine been excluded from acceptance slice new agility financing by many banks.

One of the few juvenile scintillating spots prerogative business finance funding, seeing eminent in The ball game Capital Journal, has been the lasting proficiency of force owners to conclude vigor premium rapidly by response cash advance programs. seeing most businesses accepting credit cards, this commercial financing approach should be actively voiced. Business important advances are literally saving the day in that many small alacrity owners because emphatically banks issue to equal maturity a terrible job of providing commercial loans further unsimilar motion capital finance aid agency the midst of flourishing financial further economic uncertainties. For example, seeing noted above, restaurants are virtually unable to currently effect commercial central funding from vastly banks. Fortunately, restaurants accepting credit cards are influence a apt position to obtain needed cash from credit card receivables financing and merchant cash advances.Visit at http://allfinance-tips-help.blogspot.com

Comments Closed

Advice for Taking out Car Loan Finance Deals

by blmurch

Living Frugally for Fun and Profit
Finance Advice

Image by Boogies with Fish
www.messersmith.name/wordpress/2010/12/23/living-frugally…
Today is my birthday. Happy birthday to me. I’ve spent a lot of this morning answering messages sent to me from friends, many of whom I have never met, wishing me all the best and congratulating me on my longevity. The former sentiment is welcome and comforting. The latter, well, it seems something that happened to me gradually and is only now becoming troublesome. I have enough faith and understanding of human nature to know that I’m wintering now. That is the season that is upon me. Spring will come, sooner or later, and someday I’ll start a new life that is beyond my imagination. I’ve learned patience, especially in the last half of my life. Living in Papua New Guinea is an experience that fosters patience in the wise. My spring will come.

Since this is the saddest birthday I have ever had, I’ll now do what is best for me. I’ll amuse myself with feeble attempts at humour while annoying you. This will be fun. Along the way, I’ll puzzle you with some images that are utterly unrelated to the subject matter.

Upon my return from Australia, I was immediately deluged with not-so-subtle clues that my life had changed dramatically. I found myself deep in debt. The circumstances leading up to this, some obvious, some not so, were many and complex. They are boring, so I’ll not put us all to sleep with the details. Of course, the financial situation was only one of many changes. I’ve learned to cope with most of these. Some can be fixed. Some can’t. Loneliness is the worst, but that can’t be helped. It’s difficult to explain to why one can feel lonely to the bones while surrounded by laughing friends. It seems unlikely. It is, however, profoundly real.

I must learn many new skills to enjoy this new life. I must accomplish many things to assure happiness. One thing which I can do something about is money.

I made some mistakes at first. I talked too much. I’m a compulsive talker. I give too much away. I trust more than I ought and I take it for granted that others will be as interested and inquisitive about me as I am about them. I want to get under the skin, and sometimes that is unwelcome. I erred in giving the impression that I was broke and in dire financial stress. This is not the case. I’m better off than most of the people on this planet – much better off.

I’m not broke. I am just being careful. Throughout our lives, Eunie and I followed the "best financial advice". Oh, what a mistake that was. It seems that most of those who formulate this advice are those who have already gotten theirs and are looking to get their hand’s on some of yours.

The worst mistake, among many, which we made was to buy into consumerism and borrowing. It’s easy to talk about these twin evils today, since many of you have also been stung by these wasps. Thirty years ago, nobody would listen. We certainly weren’t.

I won’t go into the property fiasco in detail. It’s too boring. Let’s just say that nobody today is suggesting that it’s a good idea to buy old houses and rent them out, expecting them to provide a retirement income. You can imagine how that turned out. However, thirty-five years ago that was the "best financial advice", at least from the person in whom we had placed trust.

What I will go into is the matter of debt. I often wonder what my world would be like today if I had resisted to ever buy anything for which I could not pay cash. Certainly there are many, many things which I would never have had. However, today I have none of those things. They’ve turned to dust or whatever happens to all those things I "needed" then and no longer even exist in my memories.

Okay, time for a picutre:

That’s my good buddy Monty Armstrong (whoops, I nearly typed Python) with his trusty Canon G11 camera. The water was nice and clear that day.

So, how does one avoid buying everything which catches the eye and immediately insinuates itself in your brain as a need? For me, it wasn’t easy. I spent most of my life learning to subdue the urge. The problem is that plastic makes to far too easy. We lived for many years without credit cards. We resisted the temptation for quite a while. However, I can remember going for a decade with monthly payments to Household Finance. I don’t care about all the money I spent on the stuff, but I’d sure like to have the interest back!

Well, I digress. Let me get back on point. What is the difference between being a miser and living frugally?

Let’s have a look at the definition of a miser from the Princeton Word Search:

(n) miser (a stingy hoarder of money and possessions (often living miserably))

Hmmm. . . that doesn’t sound very pleasant. It doesn’t sound like a person you’d want to have as a friend, either. Who would buy you a beer? Would this person share a cab fare without counting every penny? I don’t think so. I knew a guy like that once. He owned a barber shop in a small town where we lived for a couple of years. We made the mistake of going on a holiday with him and his wife. He drove us crazy with his accounting. Oh, there was no problem if I said, "I’ll get that." However, if I didn’t make the offer, then out came the notebook and pencil. Scratch, scratch, scratch – here’s your share. I had a pocket full of change clinking as I walked. I hate small change.

Well, that’s clearly not me. In the first place, I’m not stingy, never have been. And I’m not miserable, at least as far as money goes. Those miseries I do have will subside. Money problems require a strategy. I have a strategy.

Okay, now let’s look at the definition of frugality:

Frugality is the practice of acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner, and resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services, to achieve a longer term goal.

That doesn’t sound nearly as bad.

Here’s monty again. He’s shooting a Prickly Sea Cucumber which you can see if you click to enlarge:

The part of the definition I want to bore you with is "to achieve a longer term goal". Consumerism is definitely not about long term goals. Most of the junk we buy is designed to be useless or undesirable within a matter of months or, at most, a few years. I don’t need more stuff. I have a house full of it now which I am actively trying to unload. Things are not what I need. What I do need is a plan for life. One of the many goals within that plan is to be measurably better off in each year of my remaining life, at least for as long as possible. Since my income is declining and will continue to do so, baring some miracle, then the only way I can achieve this is by "acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner, and resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services". Well, hey, that sounds reasonable to me!

Oh, I bet you haven’t seen one of these for a while:

It’s a marine snail. The brown thing blocking the entrance to the shell is doing just what’s it’s supposed to do – block the entrance. It is a common feature of most marine snails and many of the terrestrial species.

It seems astonishing to me that consumerism has been so successful at converting desire into need. Happiness today seems mostly to be packaged in that hateful clear plastic which defies all but the sharpest most dangerous object which comes to hand. I still break into a cold sweat when I enter an electronics or camera store. Oh, wow, I need that! And that and that too! Out comes the plastic. At least I did until now. No more! I have a plan.

My plan is simple. I will never again purchase anything on impulse. I vow to give myself at least twenty-four hours as a cool-down period before making a purchase. I don’t care if it’s a great price on a camera that I’ve been craving or a cheap memory stick. If I can think about it for a day and I’ve asked myself if the purchase will really improve my quality of life sufficiently to justify the cost, then I might reach for the plastic. However, I will never do so if I know that I can’t pay off the amount before the next monthly billing cycle.

Snail wasn’t enough for you, eh? How about a Giant Clam (Tridacna maxima): The last thing I want to do now is to accumulate yet more stuff. I’m trying to get rid of about 90% of what I have. It’s excess baggage and I’d rather deal with it a bit at a time than have to sing the blues someday when I have to leave Madang and deal with a house full of items which have no place to gather dust any more.

But stuff isn’t the only concern. For example, there is the matter of diet. Here on MPBM I once mentioned eating steamed cabbage, pumpkin and beans. That should not be taken as an advertisement that I’ve become a miser. It happens that those are foods which I like. Having lost my sense of smell, I now find that simple fare appeals more strongly to my taste than rich foods. The fact that it’s cheaper to eat that way is, to my way of thinking, a bonus. I used to eat a lot of meat and cheese, foods which are expensive here. I’ve found that I now have little taste for cheese. My cholesterol level thanks me for that change. The meat which we get here never has appealed much to me. Frankly, I always found it a little smelly – not as fresh as I’d like it to be. So, why should I buy it now?

Here’s an Elephant Ear Sponge (Lanthella basta):
They also come in green and bright yellow.

I lost over five kilos while I was in Australia. I was looking just a little hollow. Since coming back I’ve gained it all back and then some. I now weigh more than I have in the last fifteen years. I’m getting plenty to eat. In fact, I’m going to have to cut back or get more exercise, probably both.

So, thinking now about my plan, just what is it? First, I’ll turn down no opportunity to increase my income. If it continues to decline in my present situation, I will eventually have to consider if another situation might be better suited to me. I’ll purchase nothing that is not necessary for my physical well being unless I am convinced that it will significantly contribute to my quality of life for a meaningful period of time. I will not go into debt again for anything. If I can’t pay for it in thirty days, I can’t afford it.

It’s that simple.

Here is the last shot of the day, a Blackblotch Lizardfish (Synodus jaculum):

Cute little fella, eh?

I’m not so insensitive to suggest that my plan is for others. It’s custom tailored to my situation. Realistically, most people in economically switched-on areas of the planet need credit to live what they perceive as a decent life. The nature of modern economic practice demands it. Who can pay cash for a house or a car, for that matter?

However, it’s interesting to dream up a little thought experiment to imagine how one might avoid the worst ills of spending money which one does not have. It seems to me that frugality, as a life-long plan, might work out pretty well. One might think of it as the middle road.

So, I’m not going to play the big spender when I’m out with friends, but I’m not going to be a miser, either. It’s the middle road for me.

Car finance deals can help you to afford a new car, to help you choose the right deal for your needs here is some useful advice to consider when you are looking for car loan finance options.

Check Your Credit Rating

Before you start applying for quotes for car finance deals, check your credit rating. You can do this by contacting the main credit bureaus such as Equifax, Experian or Call Credit. Your credit rating will directly affect what types of deals you are eligible for. It is important to have a good credit rating in order to access the best car loan finance options.

Monthly Repayments

Most car finance deals will involve monthly repayments. This means you need to work out how much you can afford to pay to your car finance deal each month. This will be a key factor to help you decide how much money to borrow. Paying off a loan on a car adds to the overall running costs so you will need to consider all of these points when you are looking for a deal.

Shop Around

There are so many different finance options available for financing your new car you will need to shop around to get the best deal. This means researching on the Internet, calling dealers and looking at the adverts in auto magazines. Compare deals from as many different lenders as possible including independent financial brokers, car dealers, banks and buildings societies. This will help you to see which are the best deals available for your situation. Make sure you check if the rates are fixed or variable as this could have a big impact on the overall costs of the deal.

Short Term vs. Long Term

The longer you take to pay off a car finance loan the more expensive it will be in terms of interest. This is why it is a good idea to take out a short term deal. However, if you have a tight budget then long term deals will have lower monthly repayment options which could help you to manage your finances better.

Cash Transactions

If you intend to buy privately then you will need the cash upfront in most cases. This means a personal loan can be a good choice as the money will be paid into a nominated account. Dealers can offer some very good car finance deals which may actually work out cheaper than taking out a personal loan and paying in cash. Make sure you consider all of the possible options before you sign up for any finance deal.

Deposit

Even if you intend to take out a car finance deal it is important to save up some money towards your new car. By paying as much money as possible upfront you can lower your following monthly repayments. This is a much more cost effective way of using car finance deals.

Comments Closed

Get the Best Advice on Car Loans from Carlyle Finance For You

Carlyle Finance can offer a range of car loan choices in the UK as well as offering loan advice. This company specialises in motor finance so you can be sure you are getting a specialised and professional service. Carlyle Finance offer over 40 years experience working in the motor finance industry and have valuable contacts with a wide range of dealers all across the UK.

Choosing the Right Car

A car is an essential part of modern life and despite the rising price of fuel this is still one of the most cost efficient methods of travel. People use cars for everyday activities such as getting work and going shopping. As you will most likely be using your car a lot it is important to get the right one to suit your needs. For example, if you are going to be commuting to and from work you need a car that is reliable, comfortable and economical. If you have an older car then you could actually save money in the long run on fuel and repairs by upgrading to a newer model with less mileage. If you cannot afford to buy a new car then you should consider taking out a car loan. Carlyle Finance can provide you with a way to finance your new car and get the make and model that better suits your needs.

Finance Options

There are so many car finance deals out there it can be difficult trying to work out which option would be best for your individual circumstances. Carlyle Finance can guide you through the wide range of finance options and help you to buy the car you want, whether it is new or used. Many lenders have reduced their options following the recent economic upheaval and recession. However, dealer finance has remained very strong in the assets market and this can provide borrowers with some competitive options. Dealer finance is also convenient, widely accessible and offers high levels of consumer protection.

Carlyle Finance can provide a Credit Loan Adviser service that will help you discover the right finance option for you. You can compare the features and benefits of each deal and this ensures you can work out the best finance package available for you. Carlyle Finance can help you to avoid the common pitfalls for car loans and make sure you are getting value for money.

Award Winning Service

Carlyle Finance provides an effective service structure that can help you to find the right car finance product for your needs. This company has recently been recognised for the quality of its service by being awarded the Asset Finance Company of the Year Award 2010 by Credit Today. Carlyle Finance have also been short-listed for the On-line Innovation Award by Motor Trader magazine.

Commercial finance can be complicated and expensive depending on whom you go with for the loan?

by Lancashire County Council

New U2 recording studio poster (update: design has changed)
Finance Advice

Image by infomatique
Update: 22nd. February 2010

The U2 Tower was a proposed landmark skyscraper to be constructed in Dublin. The site was in the South Docklands (SODO) campshires, at the corner of Sir John Rogerson’s Quay and Britain Quay, by the confluence of the River Liffey, the River Dodder, and the Grand Canal. The design announced on 12 October 2007 was by Foster and Partners. Its height had been reported at 120 metres, "well over 120 metres", and 180 metres, any of which would have made it the tallest building on the island of Ireland. The building would have been an apartment building, with a recording studio owned by the rock group U2 in a "pod" at the top. Construction was to begin in 2008 and end in 2011, at a cost of €200m. In October 2008, the project was suspended indefinitely because of the economic downturn.

In 2010 the economic outlook is very bleak so it is unlikely that this project will ever go ahead.

Update: 12th, October 2007:
This design has been rejected in favour of a taller building – more info is included below.

This is a photograph of a poster on a hoarding around a building site in Dublin. The poster mentions the new U2 recording studio which has yet to be built. I will add more U2 material as soon as possible.

===UPDATE====
Docklands Authority announces provisional preferred bidder for U2 Tower

The Dublin Docklands Development Authority has announced that Geranger Ltd, a consortium consisting of Ballymore Properties, Patrick McKillen and August Partners (U2 Band members and management) has been selected as the provisional preferred bidder to design, construct and finance the U2 Tower and Britain Quay Building, one of the most significant architectural projects to be delivered in the regeneration of the Docklands area.

The consortium’s architects, Foster + Partners, have proposed a stunning design for the 120 metre high tower and adjacent Britain Quay site uniquely situated at the confluence of three waterways, the River Liffey, River Dodder and Grand Canal. The inspirational building will include a public viewing platform at 100 metres, a public amenity area at the base; and hotel, retail, and residential accommodation including 20% social and affordable housing. At the top of the Tower, the U2 studio is included as a suspended egg shape pod.

Paul Maloney, Chief Executive of the Docklands Authority, said that, while all the submissions received were of an extremely high quality and it was a difficult decision to make, Geranger Ltd had been selected because its submission exceeded the expectations of the brief with the emergence of a breathtaking design uniquely suited to this prominent Docklands site. "We are delighted to have achieved our ambition of realising an inspirational landmark design, while at the same time maximising public usage and access. This design will be a very special building for Docklands and Dublin City while integrating the Britain Quay and U2 Tower buildings in a distinct and coherent fashion on the waterfront. It will also provide visitors the opportunity to experience spectacular views across Dublin city and bay, and for the community offers significant social and affordable housing potential".

The announcement of preferred bidder status for Geranger Ltd follows a rigorous EU tendering process where submissions from four short-listed consortia were considered.

John McLaughlin, Director of Architecture for the Docklands Authority said,: "We look forward to working with Geranger Ltd whose members bring a wealth of expertise in delivering tall buildings across the UK and further afield. This consortium working with Norman Foster will deliver an enduring landmark for Dublin".

The Docklands Authority appointed three architectural consultants -.Chris Wilkinson of Wilkinson Eyre Architects, Shih-Fu Peng of Heneghan Peng Architects and Michael O’Doherty, former principal architect at the OPW – to evaluate the architectural and design elements of the proposals.

Since the original design competition, the parameters of the development changed. The original design concept was for a 60 metre tower on a smaller footprint, but following the recent planning amendment for the Grand Canal Dock Planning Scheme area, the tower was increased to 120 metres in height, with an adjoining multi-storey building moving from what was considered a local landmark to a city landmark.

Developers were required to submit bids to develop the U2 Tower architectural concept designed by Burdon Craig Dunne Henry (bcdh) and were also offered the option of submitting a variant design for both the U2 Tower and the Britain Quay building. Two consortia opted to submit a variant design alongside a proposal for the original. In total, six schemes were assessed across criteria of architecture and design, project execution plans and financial offers. .

Taking all those considerations into account the Docklands Authority, advised by project consultants, selected the Foster design as the most appropriate.

It is estimated that the U2 Tower development will cost over €200 million to design and build. Construction is expected to start in 2008 and be completed by 2011.

Solicitors, A&L Goodbody provided legal advice throughout the tender process.

The U2 Tower is located in the Grand Canal Dock area, where the Docklands Authority is working with some of the world’s leading architects on projects such as the Studio Libeskind-designed Grand Canal Theatre, the Manuel Aires Mateus designed five star hotel, and the recently opened Martha Schwartz designed Grand Canal Square.

For further information and/or images, please contact:

Loretta Lambkin, Docklands Authority, 01 818 3300, llambkin@dublindocklands.ie

Sheila Gahan, WHPR, 01 669 0030 or 087 234 2409 sheila.gahan@ogilvy.com

Editors Notes

Norman Foster – Biog Note

Norman Foster was born in Manchester in 1935. After graduating from Manchester University School of Architecture and City Planning in 1961 he won a Henry Fellowship to Yale University, where he gained a Master’s Degree in Architecture.

He is the founder and chairman of Foster + Partners. Founded in London in 1967, it is now a worldwide practice, with project offices in more than twenty countries. Over the past four decades the company has been responsible for a strikingly wide range of work, from urban masterplans, public infrastructure, airports, civic and cultural buildings, offices and workplaces to private houses and product design. Since its inception, the practice has received 440 awards and citations for excellence and has won more than 70 international and national competitions.

Current and recent work includes the largest construction project in the world, Beijing Airport, Millau Viaduct in France, the Swiss Re tower and the Great Court at the British Museum in London, an entire University Campus for Petronas in Malaysia and the Hearst Headquarters tower in New York.

He became the 21st Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate in 1999 and was awarded the Praemium Imperiale Award for Architecture in 2002. He has been awarded the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal for Architecture (1994), the Royal Gold Medal for Architecture (1983), and the Gold Medal of the French Academy of Architecture (1991). In 1990 he was granted a Knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, and in 1999 was honoured with a Life Peerage, becoming Lord Foster of Thames Bank.

Architectural Assessment Team – Biog Notes

Chris Wilkinson (OBE, Dip Arch RIBA RCSD)

Sir Chris Wilkinson founded Wilkinson Eyre Architects in 1983 together with Jim Eyre. Chris was elected to the Royal Academy in April 2006. His firm cemented itself in the top league of architects when it won the Stirling Prize for the best building designed by a British Architect in 2001 for the Magma Science Centre outside Rotherham. Wilkinson Eyre also won the Stirling Prize in 2002, for the Gateshead Millennium Bridge on the River Tyne. Wilkinson Eyre is the only practice to win Stirling Prize twice.

Further information can be found at www.wilkinsoneyre.com

Shih-Fu Peng (Heneghan Peng Architects)

Shih-Fu Peng is a Director of heneghan.peng architects. Following his graduation from Cornell University USA in 1989, he received a master of Architecture from Harvard University in 1992. Shih-Fu has won numerous high profile competitions including the National Gallery of Ireland extension; the Giants Causeway Visitor Centre and Carlisle Pier, Dun Laoghaire.
He is currently working on projects for the Grand Museum of Egypt; Kildare County Council Civic Offices and Mountjoy Redevelopment Masterplan and Custom House Landscaping. Shih-Fu is a member of both the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland and the American Institute of Architects.

Michael O’Doherty

Michael had a 35 year long and distinguished career working with the Office of Public Works. The last 14 years of his career with the OPW was as Principle Architect with full responsibility of all projects involving the OPW nationwide. Michael is currently Vice President of the Royal

Taking out commercial finance can be complicated and expensive depending on whom you go with for the loan. There are also factors to take into consideration such as the technical jargon that is regularly associated with finance and hidden costs which could give a nasty surprise. If you want the best start in your new venture then getting help is essential. Going with a specialist website can save you time and a great deal of stress and money. A specialist website will be able to search the UK commercial loan marketplace for the best deal for your circumstances. Often they are able to get the lowest rates of interest though negotiation with lenders who specialise in the type of loan you are looking for. A specialist will also be able to get you finance in the shortest time possible because lenders will go all out to deal quickly with a broker. You will you get the right type of commercial finance by going with a specialist and it is important to remember that a commercial mortgage is not like a residential one. There are many different factors that are taken into account when wanting finance for commercial reasons. The lender will take all these factors into account and this is what will determine how much you pay. The individuals different circumstances will mean that, unlike a residential mortgage, the rate of interest you will pay will be based on what you are going to do with the money you borrow and an assessment of the property in question relating to the loan. After these factors and others have been taken into account the rate will be set out. As with any loan the amount of interest you pay will be a percentage above the base rate. In the majority of cases this can be between 1.5% and 2.5%/ Usually when taking out commercial finance you are able to take out a loan from one year onwards. Of course the duration of the loan will have to be based on many different factors. Factors that will have to be taken into account are the size of the undertaking and the nature of it. The majority of loans taken this way will be limited to interest only borrowing unlike the choices for residential mortgages. When getting things off the ground, then a specialist in commercial borrowing will go through your proposal with you which can save an enormous amount of time. This can be of particular benefit when it comes to getting the property appraised for the loan. They will also be able to help and give advice when it comes down to loan to project costs. This can often be confusing so advice is essential, the rate for perceived gross total development values vary with each project. While they do vary typically rates fall are 70% to 75% of the purchase prices and build costs. The majority of brokers will work alongside you from start to finish of the project and although there will be brokers costs to pay you can still save. It is thought that around 80% of those who borrow commercially do so with the high street lender, yet they could be saving a lot of money with a specialist. While the majority of people do not like to admit they need help then it comes to something as costly and important as commercial finance getting as much advice and saving as much as possible is essential.

If you want the best start in your new venture then getting help is essential. Going with a specialist website can save you time and a great deal of stress and money. A specialist website will be able to search the UK commercial loan marketplace for the best deal for your circumstances. Often they are able to get the lowest rates of interest though negotiation with lenders who specialise in the type of loan you are looking for.

A specialist will also be able to get you finance in the shortest time possible because lenders will go all out to deal quickly with a broker. You will you get the right type of commercial finance by going with a specialist and it is important to remember that a commercial mortgage is not like a residential one. There are many different factors that are taken into account when wanting finance for commercial reasons.

The lender will take all these factors into account and this is what will determine how much you pay. The individuals different circumstances will mean that, unlike a residential mortgage, the rate of interest you will pay will be based on what you are going to do with the money you borrow and an assessment of the property in question relating to the loan.

After these factors and others have been taken into account the rate will be set out. As with any loan the amount of interest you pay will be a percentage above the base rate. In the majority of cases this can be between 1.5% and 2.5%/ Usually when taking out commercial finance you are able to take out a loan from one year onwards. Of course the duration of the loan will have to be based on many different factors.

Factors that will have to be taken into account are the size of the undertaking and the nature of it. The majority of loans taken this way will be limited to interest only borrowing unlike the choices for residential mortgages. When getting things off the ground, then a specialist in commercial borrowing will go through your proposal with you which can save an enormous amount of time. This can be of particular benefit when it comes to getting the property appraised for the loan.

They will also be able to help and give advice when it comes down to loan to project costs.

This can often be confusing so advice is essential, the rate for perceived gross total development values vary with each project. While they do vary typically rates fall are 70% to 75% of the purchase prices and build costs. The majority of brokers will work alongside you from start to finish of the project and although there will be brokers costs to pay you can still save. It is thought that around 80% of those who borrow commercially do so with the high street lender, yet they could be saving a lot of money with a specialist. While the majority of people do not like to admit they need help then it comes to something as costly and important as commercial finance getting as much advice and saving as much as possible is essential.

www.bills.com Ethan Ewing, President of Bills.com provides advise and tips to get the best deal on your mortgage loan online. These days, getting a mortgage loan can seem overwhelming. It does not have to be complicated if you follow a few simple steps. Watch this video with Ethan Ewing, President of Bills.com, to learn about tips to get the best possible rate on your mortgage. Find more personal finance advice, services and information at bills.com

Comments Closed

Professional Helpful Advice on Car Loans from Carlyle Finance

by upsuportsmouth

Anybody Know Anything About Getting Sponsorships For Large Scale Art Installations
Finance Advice

Image by Thomas Hawk
So I’ve never shown my work in any sort of art show. I get asked by people to be in shows or am I doing shows, or stuff like that alot. I always sort of just say I’m not really ready to start doing shows or books or all that yet. I’ve only ever sold a couple of prints and those were only for charity auctions.

The truth of the matter is that in my own mind, how I visualize showing my work is really complicated. What I’ve wanted to do for a while is to build a large scale installation involving various simultaneous plasma or LCD screens doing slide shows of my photographs of neon signs.

I’ve probably got about 9,000 photographs of neon signs now from all over America and I envision a huge wall (the bigger the better) of flat panel screens, one after the other making a square or rectangle larger display. Each display would be the same size (40 inches or larger) and each would rotate through these 9,000 photos of neon signs at random. The result would be a fast moving chaotic installation centering on neon imagery.

I’ve never pursued this because it seems to me it would be enormously expensive to purchase or rent large numbers of plasma screens and the computers needed to run the slide shows. I figure each plasma would need it’s own computer or I’d need to hire someone to write a program that could use one computer linked to many displays to rotate the slideshows.

Anyways. While in Miami this week I had the good fortune of getting to meet Jim Winters of Bulldog neon. Jim is a hell of a nice guy and made me feel really at home. He showed me some amazing old signs that are in in his live/work loft (including the old animated dog racing sign from the Biscayne racetrack and a huge RAYCO sign). He also took a group of us out on his bus all over Miami showing us great signs and other Miami sites (he has an old special ed school bus that he uses for tours). Jim’s also a great photographer and keeps his photoblog here.

To make a long story short, Jim is involved in the arts community down in Miami and has access to some indoor/outdoor space to possibly show work this coming December during Miami’s Art Basel. This is one of the most prestigious art shows in the world. Jim contacted me about maybe doing something together. He could do some cool neon signs. I could do my plasma display idea, etc. He’s got access to some very visible great space down there.

So I’m looking to get my hands on a bunch of plasma displays and computers that I could borrow for one week during art basel. I don’t need to own them or anything, just use them for a week down in Miami to build this display to show down there.

I’m thinking I’d need a minimum of 12 screens and 12 computers, but really the more the better. 24 would be even better. I could certainly promote a corporate sponsor associated with financing this showing. It would be an amazing display and combined with Jim’s real neon signs could be an amazingly vibrant and well visited installation during this huge arts event.

I’ve never done anything like this before so I thought I’d blog about it and see if someone at some company, or someone who knew some company might be interested in underwriting an installation like this. Hopefully it would be the first of many large scale plasma photographic displays showin in the future. Maybe nothing will come of this, but I thought I’d throw it out there on the blog and see if anyone had any suggestions or advice.

Carlyle Finance can offer you with the advice you need to help you find the right car loan for your needs. Buying a new car can be an expensive task. Car loans can help bridge the gap in your finances to make sure you can afford the car you need. However, there are so many options available you may feel overwhelmed. Carlyle Finance has over forty years worth of experience in the industry and can help to guide you through the many choices available to finance a car. Buying a new car need not be a drain on your finances if you choose the right option for your individual circumstances. Carlyle Finance offer professional, practical advice to make sure you buy the right car for both your needs and your budget.

Credit Loan Advisor

With Carlyle Finance you have access to a Credit Loan Advisor service. This will provide you with instant advice on the finance options available to you when it comes to funding the purchase of your new car. This service will help you to quickly and easily compare the pros and cons of each finance option from dealer agreements through to personal savings, to ensure that you can make an informed decision about your credit options.

Benefits of Dealer Finance

If you are interested in dealer finance then Carlyle Finance has relationships across the entire dealer market who will be able to help you find a competitive package to suit your needs. Dealer finance is convenient and available from your local showrooms. This means you will not have to spend hours searching around and contacting lenders for finance options. Dealer finance is also ‘motor focused’ and this means you will get the expertise and specialist credit and insurance support to ensure you get the best deals available.

Carlyle Finance services are convenient, quick and easy to use. You could usually get an answer within as little as 30 minutes and this could see you driving away the car you want on the same day, subject to underwriting. There is no waiting around for lenders to come back to you or spending hours trying to navigate your way through call centres to get to the person you need to speak to. This means if you see the car you like, you do not have to worry about it being sold whilst you try and sort out finance.

Unlike a personal loan, if you take out dealer credit products through Carlyle Finance, you will be provided with an aftercare service. This means that if you are unhappy with the car you have bought Carlyle Finance will work with both you and the dealer to find a satisfactory resolution. Dealer finance also offers high levels of consumer protection, so that you can be sure your finances will be safeguarded and your needs met.

Comments Closed

Support for Business Finance – Where Can You Go?

by Ross Mayfield

Doug Richard’s recent report on business support in the UK highlighted that there are 3,000 government agencies and most of them simply direct people to other agencies. This can lead to a never ending cycle of being passed from pillar to post and having to explain yourself over and over again. So if you want help with your business finance, where can you go?

Here are the various options open to SMEs in the UK to help you decide the best route for you.

1. Your Bank

The high street banks (RBS, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds) can certainly give you advice in terms of loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and they can also give you some guidance on developing cashflows and general business advice. Usually the advice is coming from staff who are well trained internally and have seen lots of businesses from the outside but may not have had the direct operational experience of running a business.

2. Your Accountant

Accountants come in many guises and it’s important that you understand whether you are dealing with an auditor (responsible for verifying your accounts after the year end), a tax advisor (helping you with Tax and VAT issues) or a firm helping with your bookkeeping, management reporting and accounts. Each of these has different specialist skills and you shouldn’t assume that just because someone helps you with your tax, they’ll also be giving you overall business advice. Equally, you’ll find that many firms from the big four (PWC, Deloitte, KPMG, E&Y) , the mid tier (Grant Thornton, BDO, Baker Tilley) and the fast growing newer firms (Tenon, Vantis, Target) can give you good specific advice on business finance issues. However, make sure that you have agreed this specifically in any engagement letter. Otherwise they might think they’re just keeping your books or auditing your company and you might think they’re advising you on how well your business is performing and highlighting any potential finance issues. The gap between these expectations has caused significant problems for many companies.

3. Your own FD or CFO

If you have your own finance staff then make sure you make the best use of them. It’s easy to dismiss the finance team as being too much in the detail and always taking a negative view but they are often highly experienced and well trained professionals who have a very good insight into your business. Listen to what they have to say and don’t just disregard their views because you prefer to hear all the good news that your sales director is telling you. A good FD or CFO will often have experience from other companies that they can bring to bear in your business.

4. Part Time FD Companies

These have been rapidly growing in popularity for SMEs and even some larger corporates and they can provide an excellent source of support and advice. They provide someone in your business on a part time basis who can guide you from their knowledge and experience in a way that’s particularly relevant to your business. When you can’t afford your own full time FD or CFO these companies (FD Solutions, Secantor, Marshall Keen, FDUK, MyFD) can all provide the support and guidance you require for your business finance in a manner that can be very beneficial for your business. Having an FD or CFO in your business, even on a part time basis can give your company a real boost and can give you a trusted advisor to turn to for advice on your company finances.

5. Government Agencies

As the Richards Review highlighted it can easily end up feeling like you’re chasing your tail when you deal with these agencies and sometimes the time and effort you put in can feel wasted when you don’t get anywhere. Business Link, which provides somewhat of a hub, has a variable reputation depending on your local region. Some of the Enterprise Hubs are more supportive and operations like Finance South East have built a good reputation for clear and relevant advice.

6. Corporate Finance Firms

There are many companies competing in the market to help you raise money for your company. These are businesses in their own right who are seeking to make a profit but that shouldn’t put you off. It means they are incentivised to help you succeed. Generally these firms do charge an upfront fee but most of them earn more of their fees from a back-end success component (a percentage of whatever is raised). Charges will range from £2k to £15k upfront and success fees are generally in the region of 5%, although they can go up to 20%. Beware of companies that either offer the service for free (on the basis that you generally get what you pay for) or that charge a very high upfront fee. There are also some who appear to guarantee an investment providing you pay for Due Diligence (DD). You end up paying £40k in advance and they find something in DD that prevents them investing (which they never really intended to do anyway). Make sure you understand and agreements before you enter into them.

7. Your Friends and Family

In reality, this is where many people go for initial advice. Now unless your friends and family happen to fall into any of the previous 6 categories, it’s likely that their advice may be somewhat questionable. If they’ve had actual experience of the same issues and they’ve resolved it then by all means listen to them. However, you should always think about the source of your advice. Where has their knowledge and experience come from?

The key lessons here are to consider where the information is coming from, whether that information is based on real world experience and training and how relevant it is to your particular business.

New immigrants to Canada need to make important financial decisions in order to help them get settled and start building their new life. Tips are available on: opening a bank account in Canada before they move; the transfer of money from one country to another; building a credit history; buying a car or home; saving for their children’s education; and starting a business.
Video Rating: 3 / 5

Comments Closed

Finance Budgeting 101: Five Steps To Your First Budget

#160/365 (+1 in comments)
Finance Advice

Image by Kirstea
Day one hundred and sixty: I went to Boots today to grab some lunch and what did I find? Innocent Smoothies are taking part in ‘The Big Knit’ in aid of Age UK so all their little smoothies have little winter hats on! SO COOL! I decided to put mine on my phone and iPod! You can find out more information at www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/bigknit/. Today has been a good day – I really enjoyed my lecture and tutorial and then I went to the Plymouth Business School Graduate and Placement Fair at University – it was such a big help! I got some really good advice from people at The Chartered Institute of Marketing and a few books on CV preparation and interview technique! I’ve also got 10 words to go on my finance essay…some how I think it’s going to be needing a cut down!

Budgeting isn’t rocket science. But, it does take some preparation, consideration and a healthy dose of reality, combined with a willingness to change some unhealthy spending habits.

There are no hard and fast rules when creating a budget that works for your family. Every family is different; and so is every budget. The key is to create a spending plan that fits your income, and that everyone in your household can live with. Setting stringent spending limits that are impractical or unattainable isn’t going to help get you on the right financial track. Being realistic will. A firm commitment to spend less than you make, and save for the more important things in your life is even better. Take the time to begin the budget process right: with good planning. Here’s how:

1: Keep A List of Every Household Expense for One Month.

Everyone usually has a clear idea of the big bills: mortgage, car loans, and groceries. It’s the little stuff that can kill a budget. Before writing out your first set of budget numbers, it’s first important to know exactly where your money has been going. For one month, record every household expense – no matter how small. You may be surprised at how much those little conveniences and splurges really add up to.

2: Make A Complete List of Spending Areas.

Once you see what you’ve been spending your money on, on a regular basis, it’s time to make a thorough list of household and personal expense categories. Most people find their spending areas include such things as: mortgage/rent; car loans; insurance premiums; utilities; groceries; entertainment; school lunches; clothes; business expenses, etc. Include everything! Those school lunches, manicures and even that morning coffee all add up by the end of the month. Don’t forget less regular bills such as annual car insurance premiums, birthday gifts/parties, summer vacations, holiday outings, field trips, membership dues, magazine subscriptions, and more.

3: Compare Your Expenses To Your Income.

Now comes the hard part: add up all of your expenses and compare it to your NET income (this is your take-home pay after taxes, insurances, 401K contributions, etc.). Many people make the mistake of thinking that if they make ,000 a year, they can spend ,000. Wrong! You usually only receive about ,000 to ,000 after normal payroll deductions. If you’re like most Americans, your expenses may be much higher than your income. Now what? It’s time to start getting serious.

4: Be Realistic.

Let’s get real here: no one can continually spend more money than they make without serious repercussions. Eventually you won’t be able to juggle the payments anymore, and something won’t get paid. You’re walking a slippery slope headed toward financial ruin, and it’s time to be realistic. Now that you’ve had a chance to clearly see where your money is going ever month, it’s time to start chipping away at all the waste.

Start big or start small: the decision is yours. The goal is to slash as much frivolous waste as possible from your current spending plan. That may mean taking your lunch to work twice a week, and coloring your own hair, or it may mean selling your second car and taking the train to work. The severity of the things you’re forced to give up depends on how much overspending leeway you’ve been allowing your family.

5: Together Come Up With A New Spending Plan.

Once you’ve cut out all of the things you know you can do without, it’s time to prioritize your spending list to see what else can go. List the most important life expenses first: your house or apartment; food; health insurance; car costs; school fees; etc. As you move further down the list, add entertainment; eating out; taking the kids to an amusement park; summer pool fees.

You know, all the things you think you need, but may be able to do without. Now, if you’re expenses remain higher than your income, its time to start condensing and cutting from the bottom of this list. Sure, having a pool in the backyard may be great, but if you both work, and the kids are at summer camp all day, is the cost of its upkeep really worth being in debt? Or, would that money be better spent in some other category? How about fast food? If your family is spending more than 0 a month eating out, it may be time to reevaluate why you’re not cooking a home.

Are your kids involved in too many extracurricular activities, not leaving you the time to cook and eat in? Or have you just allowed yourselves the luxury of easy dinners so long they now feel like a necessity? Now’s the time for you to discuss, as a family, what is really important. If eating out three times a week is more important than going to the movies on Saturdays, or going on that beach vacation, so be it. That’s your choice. Just remember, that every expense has an impact on your financial future.

Looking at your finances with open eyes and a new attitude won’t be easy. Changing your spending habits will be even harder. But, establishing a solid budget, and learning to live within your means may make the difference between a life filled with financial struggles and stress, and a worry-free existence that allows you to spend money on the important things with little or no angst at all.

No Comments »

How Invoice Finance Can Help Fund Your Business

Numbers, the ‘beautiful’ spreadsheet app
Finance Advice

Image by nimboo
Love it!

Macworld review

Slowly, but surely, Apple’s iWork is turning into a full-fledged office suite, as iWork ’08 gains Numbers, Apple’s latest foray into the world of spreadsheet programs. So what is Numbers? Is it at long last a replacement for the spreadsheet component of AppleWorks? Is it a direct competitor to Excel? Will it enable users looking for alternatives to finally move from either AppleWorks or Microsoft Office to iWork?
The answer to these questions is any of yes, no, and maybe, depending on your specific spreadsheet needs. Those with basic needs will be impressed with Numbers’ ability to make short work of their projects. People with more complex requirements, and those hoping to migrate from Excel or AppleWorks, will find the transition more difficult. And some people—scientific users, students, and advanced Excel users in particular—may find that certain details in Numbers make it impossible to use the product in its current form.

All in the family
Numbers is part of iWork ’08 (Best Current Price: .41), which means you have access to a lot of common features—the Inspector pane; the new Format Bar for making quick changes to common formatting settings; the Media Browser for placing artwork; powerful image-editing features such as transparency and shadows; the ability to easily place shapes; colorful and well-designed charts; and a customizable toolbar.

A new approach to spreadsheets
Traditionally, spreadsheet programs have presented users with a full-screen grid of rows and columns. Numbers, however, is more like a page layout program—you start with a blank canvas, into which you can drag as many tables as you need onto the work area. Each table is a miniature spreadsheet of its own, complete with its own grid of rows and columns, cell formatting options, and row and column heights and widths. There are even handy styles, shown in the left-hand of the document window, that can be applied to any of your inserted tables. These tables are treated like separate objects, and they can be positioned anywhere on the page.
This free-form layout feature overcomes one of the big problems with traditional spreadsheet programs: it’s difficult to make all of the rows and columns look attractive when printed (wide cells in one column will throw off rows above and below, for example). Since each table in Numbers is an independent object, setting differing heights and widths for rows and columns has no impact on other tables, and you can easily align tables wherever you want them on the page.
If you’re an experienced spreadsheet user, you may find that this new approach takes some getting used to—it’s visually very different from an Excel or AppleWorks spreadsheet module. It’s worth the effort, though, because it provides real flexibility and aesthetic value.

Time saving templates ease workload
Templates for spreadsheet programs aren’t new; Excel has had them for years. What is new with Numbers is the quality of the provided templates, thanks in part to the flexibility of the spreadsheet anywhere design of the program, and in part to the skill of Apple’s designers. When starting a project, you can choose from 18 templates spread across four categories, covering typical projects from Budget to Travel Planner to Science Lab. Within each template, you’ll find well-designed worksheets, with comments that help explain how they work. Plug in your numbers, customize the graphics, and you’re ready to print without any further work. You can even save your own customized templates (with the Save As Template command), and from then on they’ll be available in the Template Chooser.

Useful new data features
In addition to rethinking the basics of spreadsheet layout, Numbers also provides some new ways of working with the numbers on the spreadsheet itself. Drag-and-drop formulas, for instance, make it simple to place a sum, average, minimum, maximum, or count formula on your worksheet. Highlight a column of numbers, and you’ll see the current value for each of those formulas in the left-hand sidebar. Just drag-and-drop the one you’d like to use into an empty cell on your worksheet, and you’re done.
There are also four special formats you can apply to cells via the Inspector: Pop-up Menu, Checkbox, Stepper, and Slider. The first two are self-explanatory; Stepper and Slider are methods of quickly changing a value within a cell. When you apply a Stepper or a Slider to a cell, you specify a minimum value, maximum value, and step size. When you click on a cell with a Stepper format, an up/down arrow pair appears next to the cell; click and hold the arrows to increase or decrease the value in the cell. Click on a Slider-formatted cell, and you can then pull a sliding dot on a bar to the left and right to change the cell’s values. Both are great ways to see what effect a range of values will have on your model’s results.
Drop-down menus on row and column headers make it easy to sort, add, delete, and hide rows and columns. You can also add rows and columns by simply dragging and resizing the corners of the table.
Printing has also been given special attention in Numbers. Instead of setting a print range, a special Print View lets you see and control exactly how your printout will appear. This mode is fully interactive, so you can rearrange your document as you wish, and a scaling slider at the bottom of the screen resizes your output in real time as you change the scaling factor. The downside of this method is that you can’t easily print just one section of your document, unless you can scale it so that it takes up a full page. Instead, you’ll have to design your document such that the one section you wish to print is on a page of its own.

Excel compatibility
Numbers features compatibility, to some degree, with the vast majority of Excel spreadsheets, except for password-protected worksheets, which cannot be opened.
There are some caveats, of course. Numbers has no macro support, so if you import a macro-enabled Excel worksheet, the macros will be lost. Numbers also doesn’t have as many functions as Excel (about 100 fewer), so cells that use unsupported formulas will be converted to values. There are other differences relative to print settings, cell formatting, and sorting that may cause Numbers to modify your Excel file as well. Any changes Numbers makes will be shown in a summary report, and the specific cells will be flagged with a small blue triangle. Mouse over the triangle, and a pop-up window will display exactly why that cell was changed; in the case of unsupported functions, you’ll be able to see the original Excel function.
In my testing, basic Excel files imported either perfectly or in need of only minor correction. Such files can also be successfully exported back to Excel. More advanced spreadsheets, though, cause more problems. Depending on how heavily the imported worksheet relies on macros, formulas, and unsupported formatting options, it may not be possible to replicate Excel’s functionality within Numbers.
Exporting an original Numbers document to Excel is possible, but the end result will likely not resemble the original, due to the free-form nature of Numbers. When exported to Excel, each separate table on a Numbers worksheet becomes a separate sheet in an Excel workbook. So your perfect layout from Numbers won’t be saved, but all of your data and formulas will be.
Numbers can read Office 2007 for Windows Open XML formatted files, as well as the older .xls format, but the current version of Numbers can export only to .xls and CSV (as well as PDF), not Open XML. Numbers can also read AppleWorks files, OFX files from Quicken and other financial institutions, and CSV and tab-delimited text files. You can also work with Apple Address Book contacts via drag-and-drop from the Address Book, though you have to format your table properly to accept the dragged-in data.

The flaws
As noted up front, Numbers isn’t ideal for everyone. Scientific users will find the chart options lacking—there aren’t many pure scientific graphing options.
Students may find that Numbers makes it hard to display a formula (instead of its result) in their worksheet (some teachers require this on printouts to show how the model was built). To show formulas in Numbers, you need to format the formulas as text, and manually adjust cell widths to show all of the formula. In Excel, you simply check a box in its preferences, and all this happens automatically.
Advanced Excel users may find Numbers’ lack of macro support (there’s no AppleScript support, either) and smaller function set a limiting factor. There are also quite a few power user features missing from Numbers, such as custom number formats, pivot tables, cell naming, cell locking, password protection, splitting windows, and text orientation within a cell, among others.
The other problem for advanced Excel users is Numbers’ poor performance with larger models. I tested a couple of large financial models from my prior career as a finance MBA for a number of businesses, and although Numbers loaded the files, basic operations—typing numbers, adding and deleting rows—were quite slow, often taking 10 to 15 seconds to complete.
Even a smaller test sheet I created, with 1,500 rows and seven columns of random number calculations, led to slowdowns of a few seconds when trying to add anything new to the file—and that’s on a 2.66GHz quad-core Mac Pro. Opening the exact same file in Excel 2004 caused no such delays, even though it’s running in Rosetta on the Mac Pro. Similarly, scrolling the file from top to bottom took over twice as long in Numbers as it did in Excel. I even ran this file through AppleWorks, and found it performed just as well as Excel.
For users of large worksheets, such performance issues are just not acceptable. To make matters worse, Numbers lacks a manual recalculation feature, which would allow you to control when the sheet recalculates.
There are minor annoyances as well. For instance, Find and Replace works on entire files, not just text you’ve selected within the current table or sheet. The useful Sort and Filter tool applies its sorting to all columns in a table, even if you have only one column selected. This will also cause troubles for formulas in adjacent cells. For now, the only way to work around this problem is to isolate data to be sorted in a table of its own. In short, if you’re coming from Excel, the way these tools work is notably different.

Macworld’s buying advice
Numbers ’08 is a strong entry for Apple in the spreadsheet arena, especially for those who find Excel’s feature set overwhelming. With its free-form layout, easy-to-use templates, and elegant interface, Numbers is a powerful, yet approachable, tool. If you work with large data models, rely on Excel’s macros, or some of its more advanced functions and features, you probably won’t be migrating all your work to Numbers just yet—at least not with this first version. You may still find Numbers useful for smaller projects, though, as its ability to quickly create stunning reports could help you win some clients or promotions.

Invoice Finance remains a mystery to many businesses in the UK. Unfortunately, although the benefits of this solution are slowly becoming increasingly well known, Invoice Finance is still a largely undiscovered gem amongst the possible funding options available to SMEs.

Invoice finance is increasingly becoming a more popular way to fund a business as an alternative to the traditional overdraft. Unlike an overdraft, which is usually secured on personal and/or property guarantees and set at a rigid limit, an invoice finance facility is secured on sales invoices and will increase as your business grows.

There are facilities to suit most businesses, from new-starts to long-established, from 100k to 50 millon pound turnovers, from those with only UK customers to those trading overseas. As long as you have business customers being sold to on credit terms, then funding may be provided against their invoices.

There are two main types of facility; factoring and invoice discounting. Within these are a variety of options.

Factoring – a service, not just funding

The services available with a factoring facility can free up a great deal of management time, allowing you to concentrate on what you do best. It will also take away the pressures of managing your cash-flow, as the facility will be growing as your business does.

Up to 90% of the value of your outstanding invoices could be made available to you immediately and credit limits will be provided for your main debtors. Credit control & collections services are provided by the factor and an internet based facility enables you to manage the funds available.

There may be the option of the facility being ‘confidential’. It’s also possible for you to do your own credit control if you can demonstrate good procedures.

Invoice discounting, funding with the funder staying at arm’s length

This is normally for companies who have good systems in place. If the company can demonstrate this as well as being profitable, then the facility may be offered as confidential (your customers don’t know the involvement of an invoice discounting provider).

Less management of the facility by the provider is required and so, can prove a cheaper alternative to a full factoring facility.

As with Factoring, up to 90% of the value of your outstanding invoices could be made available to you immediately, credit limits will be provided for your main debtors & an internet based facility enables you to manage the funds available to you. In addition, you will retain control of your sales ledger management

Charges: Two charges apply to the facilities, a service charge for the administration of the facility and an interest charge, which is calculated for the funds you are using at any time. The service charge is calculated as a % of your projected turnover. The % will depend on the turnover and amount of invoices you are raising.

Providers: There are around a hundred providers ranging from high street banks to independent lenders. On the surface, many appear to offer the same facilities but a specialist brokers can ensure that you are introduced to the most suitable for your needs.