Financial Solution News

I’m glad to be done with July.  I finished the month with a realized gain of $595.96, but have a pile of paper losses waiting for a rebound or to be realized when I close my positions.  On paper, I lost $4,434.45, but the bright side of that is that I was down around $7,000 briefly.  I’m heading in the right direction again, finally.  I’m still doing better than all the major indexes for the past year except for the S&P Midcap 400.  I have a lot of time value that is available to deteriorate and expect a good August.
My current account value according to Quicken is $95,973.14.14 and according to TD Ameritrade is $96,348.21.  I’m planning to skip making a deposit in August since I sent in double my normal deposit in July.  I did that for no other reason than I wanted to hit $100,000 by my July 6th birthday.  I came within $500 and […]

Original post by Alex Fotopoulos

This is a guest post from Debt Lead, who has a debt consolidation website by Kimberly Credit Counseling.
With the economy the way it is, many people have severe financial difficulties. For most, it is usually the last resort but there are some people that give up early and declare bankruptcy, sometimes without even considering any alternatives.
If most of your debt are in credit card debt and you do not want to declare bankruptcy. One option is to obtain a debt consolidation loan and closing all existing credit lines, using the funds to pay off your outstanding debts.
What an unsecured debt consolidation loan will do is consolidate all your unsecured debt and help you avoid bankruptcy. This new money can save you hundreds of dollars per month if you choose to use your loan to pay off existing debt, especially if its used to pay off high interest credit cards.
Debt consolidation […]

Original post by MoneyNing

While I think few would argue that paying off debts is a good thing, there is a better way to accurately see the big picture of your finances. It is called your NET WORTH.
And no it is not just a number that rich people talk about at cocktail parties. It is what financially saavy people use to track their progress.
The simple definition of it is:
Assets(stuff you own) - Liabilities(debts) = Net Worth
It is simple to calculate and I will get to that shortly, but first…
Why Net Worth rather than just debt?
Your Net Worth is more encouraging
The primary reason for using your Net Worth as a gauge of your financial progress rather than the amount of debt you have is because it is more encouraging. When you look at your amount of debt to track progress you are only seeing the fruit of paying down those debts. On the other hand, […]

Original post by bob

Every business goes through its ups and downs and franchising business is no different. But here nobody is alone; franchisor and franchisees are always there to help each other to pull through. The best way to prepare for tough times is making proper plans when things are going really well. Remember the biblical story of the seven years of plenty followed by seven years of plague? That is exactly how you go about facing your tough times. Hence, when things start to slow down and business is not picking up, try these fundamentals for getting out:
1.Know where you stand: It is of utmost importance to know the exact condition of your franchising business. Always keep a note on your profit and loss and turnover per year. When you face a problem for the first time and come out of it, make a note of it. When the same problem happens […]

Original post by mikejohns

Almost all of us have debt. One way or another we owe someone money. Sometimes our debts are small and easy to take care of, and other times they are large and seemingly impossible to work around. Our credit score is our life blood in the financial world.
We use credit cards for everything from a pack of gum to used cars and rarely consider the impact of our credit score when we go charging. It’s a simple fact that the more debt we have the more we struggle to repay it.
Debt Consolidation
If you’re in trouble with your creditors and wish to get out of the trap, then a debt consolidation company will probably be a desirable option. Obtaining a personal loans doesn’t restrict what you do with the money. You get the loan and pay for items as you are able. A debt consolidation loan is intended as […]

Original post by mikejohns

Emma and I went to a pretty fancy restaurant to celebrate my wife’s birthday.  After we sat down, our waitress pleasantly asked us “Would you like some wine tonight?”  We just experienced a form of up-sell.
What is Up-Sell
Up-sell is the act of suggesting a higher priced product or service to a customer who is about to purchase.  What we experienced at the restaurant is no different than the cashier at Starbucks asking us to buy a grande sized mocha instead of tall or at McDonald’s when the cashier asked whether we wanted a combo rather than just the sandwich.
What It Means for the Company
These forms of up-sell are very popular because it works.  While at the restaurant, almost everyone that she asked ordered wine.  If she didn’t ask on the other hand, I bet half of those people will forget to do so.
What It Mean for Customers Like Us
On many […]

Original post by MoneyNing

Our greatest battles as Christians are in our minds.

I have noticed in my life that whenever I face a challenging situation (aka opportunity for growth) I almost always have to go through the same three steps…

I have to open my mind to a new way of thinking or doing something
I have to make a decision to do it
Then I can take action

I have found that when I am challenged by something, I either open my mind to the possibility of it or I don’t. If I do open my mind to it, then I have to count the cost to decide if I want to do it. If so, the last and often easiest step is to just do it.
For example: Before I started walking with God and even a couple years after, if I thought about sharing the Gospel with someone, I would not have opened my mind to […]

Original post by bob

The response to the gas gift card giveaway was simply amazing. If you haven’t joined yet, I suggest you go over there and give yourself a chance to win a free $50 gas gift card! The winner will be announced on August 18th, 2008!
Some readers also asked where the gift cards come from so I will share with everyone here. The gas gift cards come courtesy of my credit card reward points. As a salesperson, I have a lot of travel expenses which allowed me to rack up a ton of reward points. So I figured I will just give them away to my loyal readers!
Almost all credit cards are offering reward points now. As long as you pay the balance off every month, using a credit card that gives rewards for gas purchases is like getting a discount every time we are at […]

Original post by MoneyNing

Sometimes when someone gives you a piece of advice, it just resonates and almost creates an imprint in your mind. I know I have gotten some advice that even though I didn’t want to hear or believe, I just couldn’t shake it because deep down I knew it was true.
The recent issue of Money has a great article with over 30 well known people contributing their best pieces of advice they’ve received. I really agree with a whole bunch that were listed. And these are my favorites….
The best advice
1. Live within your means.
The simple basic rule of personal finance: spend less than you earn. As Dave Ramsey says, “it isn’t rocket science.” It is such a simple thing, but yet so few people successfully pull it off. If you have successfully done this, you know the freedom that it brings. If you haven’t you are probably aware (or you will […]

Original post by bob

I finished July options expiration with a full profit on QCOM and planned to get back in last week, but had some other orders hit before my QCOM order could.  I don’t like selling all of my month’s options within a day or two of each other in case there’s a big market move against me I like to have the cash on hand to sell puts into a dip.  Before I could adjust my order on QCOM they settled the lawsuit (in favor of QCOM) with Nokia regarding patent infringements.   This has been the big issue holding them back and now that it’s resolved, QCOM has room to run some.  Before I could make a trade, QCOM was already up big.  I waited to see if it would slide back some, but instead it inched up a little more. 
Seeing it up a little this morning I changed my order […]

Original post by Alex Fotopoulos