Great financial tips to ensure you make more dollar

Entertaining America The Staggering Cost in Dollars and Lives

Movies are now produced at costs that rival the gross national product of some small nations. Media including TV, music, internet, games, and casual cell phone use cost as much as it would to feed nearly every person in Africa. But there is another cost that cannot be calculated in dollars.

It seems like a competition between film producers that has no top end. The Da Vinci code cost a whopping $125,000,000 while Harry Potter cost $150,000,000. The Chronicles of Narnia comes in at 180,000,000 but falls short of the heaping price tag for King Kong which was $207,000,000. This is big money but after all it is only money.

All media has a by product that costs far more than money, they all pedal influence. That product costs more than the unsuspecting American may ever know and in many instances is more than they want to know. It is hard to believe that the debate about how media influences our young still rages. Hollywood remains aloof while it awaits the final definitive scientific study that proves that our children are worse off for the influence of media. Their fear is that a final answer would at last make them culpable. If they really cared perhaps theyd be willing to give up the cost of the next big movie to do a study of their own, say about $200,000,000. Not likely you say? You would be right about that.

It takes no rocket science to look at Hollywoods record. It is hard to deny the effect even if you can vociferously defend the cause. The effect is the raping of the minds of our youth and people with a low capacity to discern what is moral, decent, safe, and in some cases healthy. While Hollywood still insists that not all the facts are in on this subject lets peruse what is known about it.

Children see between eight and ten thousand murders on TV and films before they graduate from elementary school. Add to that upwards of one hundred thousand acts of violence and aggression. These figures are doubled by the time they are eighteen. Actors and movie makers claim they cant make the connection between those pictures and the behavior of our children even while countless studies and reports have concluded in no uncertain terms that they do adversely affect our children.

Do the sponsors ascribe to the movie producers view of how much their movies, TV programs and games influence youth or the weak minded? Not for a second. If they did they would not foot the average $10,000 dollar a minute cost of producing a commercial. They would not pay upwards of $500,000 for a thirty second spot on the next TV broadcast of the Super Bowl. As Hollywood waits for science to prove whether their wrecking young minds the sponsors are using the humble science of mathematics to influence the buying habits of millions of people throughout the world. Put another way, can a thirty second spot influence millions of consumers while one hour and a half of murder, pummeling, dismemberment and slaughter have no effect on a young persons mind and spirit? I think we all need to do the math here!

Studies dont need to prove what has run parallel in equal and direct proportion to the pro-active influence Hollywood has had on our children and our childrens collective behavior. Hollywood pushes sex and close behind that rape, molestation and pornography run rampant. Switch to violence and kids start killing each other at an alarming rate. Witness Columbine and similar incidents. All the best minds in education and science are debating what if any the negative influences of a few sharply defined and explicit images have on our children. As if it was just not possible to find a real and tangible connection. An obscure Chinese man only one generation behind us was not so nave. Mao Tse-tung mustered the youth of the most populated country in the world in a revolutionary rage that brought to dust centuries of previous dynasties and culture. He did this with a little book full of comic figures. A far cry from TV and films but this little doctrinal comic book nevertheless raised the youthful ire of an entire continent to act in unison against everything the Chinese once held dear. Why didnt someone tell Chairman Mao that youth wouldnt be influenced by his little picture book? Maybe someone from Hollywood should have volunteered to tell him that he should wait until the definitive study was in from the halls of science. They could have saved an entire nation from the ensuing mayhem. Another not likely goes here.

Not just hiding behind their feigned ignorance of the facts, Hollywood often resorts to the old Its just entertainment excuse to wrangle out of any responsibility. I doubt that I didnt know the gun was loaded will make a very good defense when all the dust has settled. I received an e-mail recently from someone who took exception to an article I wrote on Dan Browns movie The Da Vinci Code. He said Surely you must be joking when you ask how so many people can believe whats in the Da Vinci code. Putting aside the fact that I have seen no numbers on how many people actually do believe whats in Dan Browns entertaining bit of historical fiction, I find what he has written no more or less believable than another bit of historical fiction has been translated and retranslated by countless authors over the centuries

Twenty four major translations later the book I believe he was referring to still has only one main message. Last time I looked it was the same as it was in the first century, put simply For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life John 3:16 Hollywoods message should be this immovable, this hopeful, and this comforting. On last check I heard only death, sex, and mayhem coming from the entertainment bunch.

Whether someone believes in the bible or not it doesnt alter the fact that the best Hollywood has ever done cannot make up for the wholesale damage it does to the collective psyche of a nation. But lets get more specific. If even one life is adversely affected in the flimsy name of entertainment isnt that one too many? Or have we become so comfortable with statistics that we can allow media to ruin the lives of just a few people, because after all its just a few. Is it OK to accept the percentages or are all people equally important in this land where Abraham Lincoln dared to think that all men are indeed created equal.

Media may indulge itself by touting the low percentage of people who actually did their worst because of the medias influence, but is that acceptable. The media influenced Charles Manson through a Beatles song to engage in one of Americas goriest murders. John Hinckley influenced by a Jodie Foster movie tried to murder one of our most beloved presidents Mr. Ronald Reagan. In 1994 Oliver Stone released his movie Natural Born Killers after which a young couple from Oklahoma deeply inspired by that film went on a killing rampage. One person was killed and another was left paralyzed before they were stopped. This extreme behavior was undoubtedly caused by the media but it is tucked away in the Hollywood conscience by the soothing idea that its just a few extremist, just a very few people out of a nation of three hundred million souls. Lets examine this kind of thinking.

In Luke 15:7 Jesus said I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth Conversely can anyone argue that if one sinners repentance brings joy, then one sinners final demise would bring sorrow? Would we try to placate Gods sorrow over the loss of one of the creatures he made in his image and offered his Sons life to redeem by saying it was just one or perhaps a few out of the whole bunch. If a woman had six children she loved dearly and you destroyed just one could she be assuaged or comforted by the fact that after all it is only one sixth of her family.

No, a whole nation is not likely to go awash because of the Da Vinci code movie. The God of this world will get whatever mileage he can squeeze out of it. Someone who is teetering between decision and indecision about Jesus Christ will be made to doubt. Some souls somewhere will start down a path to judgment because of this film. How many may do this is not certain. What is certain is that if only one is lost it is far too many.

To lead even one of Gods creatures to perdition has a price tag no one in media could ever imagine. The online Wikipedia encyclopedia has a list of over one hundred of Hollywoods most expensive movies. Those top one hundred are in the list only because the spent $100,000,000 or more. Millions of people along with the media crowd have chosen to hide behind the old adage that the Bible is open to too many interpretations. I will offer yet one more interpretation for them to doubt. Luke 15:7 is clearly saying that in the end the price of all one hundred of the most expensive films cannot cover the loss of even one lost soul.

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More than $117 billion passed hands from Internet shoppers to Internet vendors in 2004, according to the statistical research firm comScore. Thats billion, with a B. Compared to the year before, the figure represents a whopping 24 percent increase in sales. Compared to the early 1990s, when the Web was a questionable commercial venture, todays $117 billion is proof-positive that the Web is the full-fledged money-making machine. It seems to be a big enough pie that any merchant with a Web site can cut out his heaping slice.

Not so fast. As any merchant whos tried to take a bite out of the Internet will tell you, turning a profit online is not as simple as throwing a few pages together. Professional Web sites cost big bucks for design, consultation, and upkeep. Either you have to hire a full-time editor or technician to manage your Web store, or you need to pay three-digit hourly rates to contract Web professionals. Then you have to face fees for Web hosting, broadband access, and IT maintenance.

Even after you expend all of this capital and launch your Web site, youre still not guaranteed anything. Your site will only be one among millions, if not billions. Yes, thats billions with a B again. The Internet, after all, is like a clear sky on a dark night. How can you expect a customer to pick your star out from among all of the others that shimmer for their attention?

On the Web youll quickly learn that attracting your clienteleand building your Internet-based businessis just as tough as it was when you first started your brick-and-mortar shop. It takes smart investing, creative marketing, a little luck, and a lot more know-how.

Whats great about the business side of the Web, however, is that your old-fashioned know-how translates quite well on the Web. A great example is the timeless merchant adage: Location, location, location. This saying holds true on the Web, too. You can place your stores site in a spot on the Web where no one will discover you, or you could position it on a busy corner on the Internet.

One such spot are online classified sites. These sites provide similar services as you would get from a newspaper classified. Sellers can place ads online that describe a particular product for sale. Buyers browse these ads and contact sellers when theyre interested. Online classifieds, though, are far more dynamic. They allow a merchant to display dozens, if not hundreds, of their goods with pictures and descriptions. And believe it or not, some online classified sites allow you to do this for free. Yes, thats free with an F.

The benefits dont stop there. As a merchant on a classified site, you can enjoy:

A store that never closes. Your goods are for sale 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The Internet never turns off.

A mall of online shoppers. Think of a classified site as a virtual shopping mall, with your grouping of ads under your own virtual storefront. By having a storefront, this allows you to have your own web page and listings, under the umbrella of the classified site.

A chain reaction of shopping. Real shoppers go to a mall to visit one store, but often they end up browsing through all of the stores in the mall. The same is true of virtual shoppers. Even when they visit a classified site looking for one particular thing, theyre likely to spill over to your storefront out of curiosity. At the very least, it leads to advertising for your store; at best, business.

An advantage over pure Web merchants. Your classified site will pit you against wily online vendors who only sell their wares on the Web. This is where your brick-and-mortar business comes in handy. Its proven that shoppers seem to trust online merchants that have a real address and a real store somewhere.

A solution to the intricacies of the Internet. Many classified sites can help with setting up your ads and with designing your storefront, providing you with instant IT IQ. For your buyers, the sites offer the security that Web shoppers demand to protect them from identify theft and fraud.

As mentioned before, many classified sites charge absolutely nothing for all of these benefits. The listings, the shopping traffic, the sense of business community, the advertisingyou receive all of these perks for free. Oh, and dont forget your piece of the $117 billion dollar pie.

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Getting a mortgage loan or a mortgage loan refinanced without a financial plan is one of the worst decisions Americans make every day.

Unbeknownst to the average American, they are losing over $1,000,000 for their retirement!

Dont get me wrong. Mortgage loans are a necessity of life. However, mortgage loans in Nevada can be dangerous if a family doesnt get a financial advisor to help them.

Nevada mortgages can be dangerous because:

* Lenders in Nevada only need to fill out a form to get their mortgage license.
Thats right! Anyone with a pulse can offer a mortgage loan to consumers simply because he or she turned in a form. Most of the mortgage lenders in Nevada became mortgage brokers simply because they heard of the growing housing market and are desperate to make high commissions off of those who dont know any better.

* Private mortgage companies can only offer one or two specific mortgage loans.
Private mortgage companies are not looking out for the consumers interest. They will do anything to sell you on a mortgage loan, even if it isnt right for you, your lifestyle, or your budget. Because they have contracts with certain loan companies, they can only sell you one or two specific mortgages, and their commission depends on it.

* Desperate mortgage brokers will do anything to make a sale and I mean ANYTHING.
While many of us are optimistic that the person we are dealing with is being honest, oftentimes, mortgage brokers are not as honest as we would hope. Any of us who have signed mortgage papers before, know what a mountainous stack it can truly be. Do any of us really read the find print on each page? That would take over a month! So usually, a mortgage lender will summarize each page for you, so you dont have to read the fine print. How nice of them or is it? Sometimes, the mortgage market is so tough that mortgage brokers will tell a family one thing, but the fine print will say another. For example, the mortgage broker might not mention that a fee will incur of three years payment if a family refinances their home before 5 years after the first mortgage.

What is a Family to do?

The answer is simple. Get a financial planner. A financial planner is not only a PROFESSIONAL that can help you with your mortgage, but they can help you in other aspects of your finances as well.

Las Vegas financial planners can be life saving because:

* They are professionals in financial planning, INCLUDING MORTGAGES, so you dont have to worry about their qualifications.

* They arent tied down by contracts with mortgage lending companies, so they can offer you hundreds of different options for mortgages verses the one or two from private mortgage companies. THIS CAN GUARANTEE YOU THE LOWEST INTEREST RATE IN NEVADA!

* Financial planners have an established career as financial planners, so you dont have to worry about dishonesty to make a sale.

* Financial planners can help to eliminate credit card debt and help with other debt management at the same time you are purchasing a mortgage, which can ultimately help you save hundreds of thousands of dollars.

* Some financial advisors will help you for free!

* Financial planners can show families how to house their savings in a FOREVER TAX FREE accumulating account with up to a 12% interest rate. THIS CAN ULTIMATELY HELP FAMILIES RETIRE WITH $1,000,000 OR MORE!

* Financial planners dont just plan, they teach. They will teach you everything you need to know about your mortgage loan and any other savings plans so you know what is happening with your money.

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Selling a home can be difficult. But by employing the right tactics, you can find a buyer who’s willing to pay the price you want.

Here are four tips to help you sell your home for top dollar:

* Create competition for the property. Create an environment where multiple buyers are competing to buy. Stack appointments to show the house in a narrow window so that several buyers are at the property at the same time. This strategy taps into a buyer’s fear of loss, the single greatest spark to get a buyer to buy now.

* List it with the very best agent in the area. Interview agents and choose one who has a record of selling homes for a high percentage of the listing price. You should interview at least three agents, ask for referrals and ask for proof of their ability to do what they say they can do. Get in writing what the agent will do to market the house. Be clear that if the agent doesn’t live up to his or her promises, you want the option of canceling the listing.

* Set the right scene in your house. Make sure the house is bright, clean and open. Get the temperature right, and make sure the house smells nice. The three most important views of the house are the view from the front curb at the front of the house, the view at the front door, and the view at the front entranceway when someone first walks into the house. The combination of these three views gives the prospective buyer his or her first impression of the house. Make sure it’s a good one.

To improve the front view, use flowers with color and ensure the front porch looks tidy. The door should be either freshly painted or brand new.

The kitchen and master bedroom deserve special attention. Simple things like new hand towels in the bathroom or fresh flowers in the kitchen go a long way.

* Spend money for the upgrades that buyers want most. Before you rush off to make repairs in the property or pay for expensive upgrades, tour five or more homes of similar value that are selling in your area. See what final touches are popular with actual buyers. For example, a Jacuzzi tub can be an important feature on homes in certain price ranges but can be a waste of money in others. The key is to ensure upgrades generate at least twice their cost in the home’s final selling price.

David Finkel is co-author of the Wall Street Journal best seller “Making Big Money Investing in Foreclosures Without Cash or Credit.” He also is a full-time real estate investor and the host of the nationally broadcast “Real Estate Radio.”

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How to make a million dollars in real estate investment

I remember starting out as a real estate investor I had learned a very simple, yet mind-blowing strategy to make a million dollars in real estate. The concept was taught by Marshall Reddick, who is an avid real estate investor, and to date, he has over 200+ real estate rental properties in his portfolio.

It could not have been said better than Marshall himself. To make a million dollars in real estate, you must:

1. Borrower a million dollars
2. Have someone else pay it back for you

Simple as that. How does it apply to real estate investing, you may ask? Well, all you need to do is purchase enough investment properties worth a million dollars total, and have them rented out. That essentially is borrowing a million dollars in mortgage debt, and have your renters pay back the debt for you.

For many people, borrowing a million dollars may seem out of reach, but just as you would eat an elephant one bite at a time, so is buying real estate properties – you buy one house at a time. Unless you live in California, there are still many states that you can purchase a home for around $100k. Even if you are residing in California, you will need to stretch your vision and reach out-of-state.

Many people fear owning a property, let alone owning an investment property out of state. However, as a true real estate investor, you must put yourself in the mode of a business owner. Real estate investment is a business, and like any business, it may come necessary for you to hire people to work for you. That’s what realtors and property managers are there for. In order to really expand your real estate investing business, you must get comfortable with hiring property managers to manage your properties.

We have all heard good debt and bad debt, so don’t let the concept of owing money scare you off – especially when you can have someone else pay it back for you! As an added bonus, real estate value on average has never gone down in value in history. You hear people losing money in real estate because they could not hold on to their properties and they let them go at unfortunate times. Even if real estate value do go down, you should never fear because you have someone else paying your mortgage – your renters. As good as the concept of making a million dollar in real estate may sound, fear not and take the first step in your real estate investing.

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Little Ideas That Bring Big Dollar Increases When Selling Your Home

by Dan Pool 2006

When you’re selling, home price is everything. Your goal is to maximize the amount you get for your home as much as possible. Many people believe that – in order to significantly raise their home’s value – they must perform extensive and costly renovations. While adding a new bathroom or bedroom certainly does increase your asking price when selling, home improvements don’t need to be that dramatic to be of help. Here are several little home selling tips that can bring big dollar increases.

Aesthetics are vitally important when selling a home. For little or no money, you can greatly improve your home’s appearance and, in turn, its selling price. In return, buyers will have a more favorable impression of your residence.

Clean, Clean, Clean

No one will be impressed with a house that is dirty. One of the best (and cheapest) investments you can make is in a thorough spring-season cleaning for your home. In addition to the regular mopping and dusting you do, clean the windows (inside and out), clean carpets, wipe down walls and baseboards, clean fingerprint marks off interior and exterior doors, and sweep the fireplace (if you have one). People are always more inclined to pay higher amounts for homes that look as though they have been well cared for.

Pack Personal Items & Clutter

Once you have cleaned your home to prepare it for selling, home clutter is the next project to tackle. One of the best home selling tips I offer is to keep packing boxes on hand. As you go through your belongings, immediately put items you want to keep into boxes and label them. This accomplishes two things. First, it helps you stay ahead of all the packing you must do for your move. Second, it allows you to keep clutter at bay. Another great use for packing boxes is for spur of the moment hiding places for clutter. If a prospect wants to see your home at the last minute, temporarily toss piles of clutter into moving boxes and close the lids.

Curb Appeal

Another great home selling tip is to increase your curb appeal. When prospective buyers drive up to your home, are they immediately impressed with what they see? A fresh coat of exterior paint, an extensive pressure washing of vinyl siding and some new, inexpensive shutters can really make an impact on buyers. In addition, adding or upgrading landscaping details can be helpful as well. Replace old, faded mulch or pine straw with fresh. Edge your driveway and sidewalk as well as your flowerbeds, and make sure bushes and scrubs are neatly trimmed. These items are a small investment that will pay off with a quicker sale at a potentially higher price.

Single Fee Real Estate Broker

Even greater than the money you can gain with small improvements is the money you can save on real estate commissions. Fees and commissions certainly take away from the amount you earn on the sale, yet most sellers don’t have a plan for saving money in this phase of the process. The best home selling tip I can offer is to use a single fee broker. Single fee brokers will sell your home for free if you agree to purchase your next home through their office. This can save a typical homeowner thousands of dollars in commission fees and is, without a doubt, the best way (and the easiest way) to make more money on your home sale.

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Penny Stocks – Turn Your Pennies Into Dollars

We’ve all heard about the investor how bragged about his 100% or 1000% return on a stock or about the guy who made it rich by investing in small caps, undiscovered stocks that made it big. In theory, it seems to be too easy. Invest in a couple of penny stocks, then sell them when they move up. Unfortunately, it is too easy. Too easy to lose money unless you know what to look for.

First, lets have a look at what types of companies trade on the OTC BB or Pink Sheets.

Stocks that no longer trade over $1 on the Nasdaq
These include companies that fell from grace (Enron). While it is possible that they may see better days in the future, the odds are stacked against them. Its usually best to avoid trading these stocks. If you feel that the temptation is too much, wait until the stock begins to rebound. If you try catching a falling knife, you will get hurt.

New Start Ups
Every year there are hundreds if not thousands of companies who decided to go public. Whether they need the money to expand their business, or are looking to cash out their equity, its a natural progression for a company with a compelling story, and a great track record to go public. While many of these companies will file for an IPO, many others will start off trading on the OTC BB as a penny stock

Second, lets look at some tips to help the penny stock trader avoid making costly mistakes.

Due Diligence
Stocks listed on the Pink Sheets don’t have to file annual or quarterly statements. This makes starting your due diligence difficult. Often, the information is sketchy at best, and typically, its biased. You should expect a shareholder to say good things about the company. If the company didn’t have potential, they wouldn’t be holding it. Or, they might be hoping to unload their shares and hope to talk you into buying.

Stocks listed on the OTC BB file annual and quarterly statements. This provides some measure of financial success. You’ll find most penny stocks lose money, whether through managerial incompetence, or research and development. The key is to identify the companies whose management has a record of consistently making money, or at the very least, delivering on their business plan, and decreasing expenses.

Penny Stock Newsletters
Being a writer for The Leading Source (http://www.1source4stocks.com) puts me in a biased position when speaking to penny stock newsletters. Here’s what I can tell you: be careful! Check the disclaimer for the amount the newsletter is being paid to carry the profile. Are they being paid in cash or in shares? You’ll likely find a corelation between the number of shares they are being paid, and the rating on the hype meter. Does that mean that you should avoid any stock where the company is paying IR professionals in shares? No. Just keep in mind that they are selling a story, and if they sell the story to other shareholders, they will gain. This is not a problem if you get in early, but could be a problem if you aren’t able to jump in right away.

Take a look at the track record of the newsletter. Have they profiled winners? Do they state the facts, or state the hype? Do they also offer unpaid stock profiles? If they do, you’ll likely find that they do their own research in all companies, and are looking to ensure that they aren’t passing a weak stock your way just to pay the bills.

If a company is paying an IR professional money to profile a stock to its subscribers, should you avoid it? Of course not. Think of the payment as advertising. They are promoting the company, and trying to get exposure. Like any company, the only way to get exposure is through some method of advertising. So dont dismiss a paid profile as hype. Keep it in the back of your mind while you are reading the profile, but pay attention to the profile. You may find a diamond in the rough that no one has discovered.

Volume
If you want to make money, you have to be able to buy and sell enough shares to lock in your profit, or protect your capital. If ABC company’s daily volume is only 500 shares a day, it may take you several days to accumulate a position worth taking. If there is bad news, who is going to buy your shares? If the volume is low, stay away. Its not worth it. If you feel that strongly about owning the company, consider contacting the company directly and working out a deal.

Buy Results, Not the Story
If you buy the hype, odds are, you will end up being the last one to own the shares, while everyone else has sold off their position. Look at a company, take a look at what their business plan was, and confirm if they have followed through on that plan. Were they successful? Did they bring a product to market on time? Did the company follow through on its acquisition strategy in the manner they set out? The hype might get you a quick pop, however, unless you are watching your trading screen every second of the trading day, you will miss out.

Size matters
There are thousands upon thousands of penny stocks. The size of your position should not be anymore than $2000 – $3000. While this may not seem like much, keep in mind that its not unusual for a $0.10 company to drop to $0.05. That’s a 50% loss. If your position is $10 000, a 50% haircut leaves you with only $5000. Keep your losses to a minimum. If the company has done well, and you are up, either take your profits off the table, or add to your position, and be sure to reset your stop loss so as to protect your previous profits. Capital preservation is the key to successful trading.

Have a plan before you buy. What are your reasons for buying. What is your exit strategy? Where is your stop loss? At what point will you take your profit? Write down these answers before you place that buy order.

Penny stock investing can be profitable. Remember, you are taking larger risks than you would if you were purchasing shares in a bank stock. That risk can be rewarded with returns that you cant get with a bank stock, or, it will be met with a large loss and a bad taste in your mouth for investing in penny stocks.

Do your homework, don’t believe the hype, and protect your capital.

Note: The Leading Source provides its subscribers with both paid and unpaid profiles. Follow those tips and you will watch your pennies grow into dollars.

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Tips On How Your Bookkeeper Can Reduce Your Taxes By Hundreds Of Dollars

Standard monthly expenses for your Business are transferred from you to your Tax Professional to be put on your Schedule C. No problem, most people get this part right. Its the thousands of dollars in miscellaneous receipts that many people forget when under the haze of tax season. These miscellaneous expenditures can save a small business owner hundreds if not thousands of dollars in tax liabilities. Examples:

1. Advertising Cost The standard deductions are always there, Newspaper Ads, Business Cards, Outside Signs, Yellow Page Ad.. But what about the one time cost for the Search Engine submission $450, or the renewal of your three domain names at $8.95 per name, and the special pay per click campaign of $720.00 Total $1196.85

2. And what about the little gifts you purchased for clients that had referred new clients to you? $25.00 each, 10 gifts. Total $300.00

3. Shipping cost, of yes, remember those 3 rush jobs when you shipped documents to the clients using Fed Ex? You dont know where the receipts are, however, it was $17.50 each time. $17.50 x 3 = 52.50

4. Oh yes, what about that time you rented the carpet cleaning machine to clean the office carpet? It was cheaper then calling a professional carpet cleaning service or so you thought! $55.00

5. And dont forget that your spouses bosss son was selling that Pre-Paid Legal Service that cost $19.95 per month. It is to be used 100% for Business. Ya, I guess! OK, $19.95 x 12 = $239.40

6. Remember that time when the kids at the bus stop broke the office window throwing the football back and forth. You were so upset that you accidentally locked your keys in the office. $180.00 window replacement and $85.00 for a Mobile Locksmith. $180 + 85.00 = $265.00

7. Now, was there anything else besides paying your niece $25.00 a month to pick up the trash around the office building? $25.00 x 12 = $300.00

8. Yes, the Christmas party for the clients. $1500 for the caterer, $480 for the wine, $230 for the flowers and decorations and $350 for the Entertainment. Total $2780.00

The total amount of legal tax deductions listed above is over $5,000.00. Can you afford to loose $5000 worth of deductions?

When you arrived at the Tax office, you forgot about most of the above deductionsno problem, because you had a GOOD Bookkeeper, and each month you fax your receipts, credit card statements and check book register to her. Her Bookkeeping Service provided Monthly reports as well as an Annual Report of your expenditures to your Tax Person. You had nothing to worry about!

Oh, thats not how it happened?

As it turns out many small business owners do not keep up with ALL expenditures each month. As a result hundreds of dollars and in some cases thousands of dollars worth of legal tax deductions are loss.

Maintaining recording and even faxing or delivering your receipts to your bookkeeper is a habit that can be developed. It is a habit that can reduce your tax liability tremendously.

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Work From Home – Become A Business Executive For Under 200 Dollars

The cost to start an online work from home business is under $200.00. All you need to start working from home is a computer, Internet connection, a domain name and hosting company. You can hang out your shingle saying “Open For Business” within days of making the decision to have a business online.

Once your plans are finalized as to what type of work at home business you want to start, you can find the products or services that complement your idea. The planning and execution of your planned business venture will cost you nothing but your time.

The day-to day operation of a work at home business opportunity can be automated to a level where your time commitment is minimal. When all the pieces of the business are in place, you can appoint yourself a CEO of your home based business. Officially, you will need to decide on a business structure that will support your CEO status.

Starting a home-based business is not without risks. The success and promised wealth will not just materialize overnight. A home based business or any new business venture is never a sure thing in terms of guaranteed success. But the upside of owning your own business has benefits that no JOB can ever provide you. You are in control of your life, your destiny, your income.

If the entrepreneurial spirit is alive, you can capitalize on the work at home phenomenon. Thinking like an entrepreneur will push you to use the knowledge and skills that you already have. You can then obtain the skill required to run your business from home. You will need some specialized skills and knowledge to succeed in your own home-based business.

The excitement of starting a home-based business is exhilarating. All of the excitement is not an invitation to just quit your day job. However, you should begin trying to plant the seeds online for the type of business that interests you.

What is it that you enjoy doing or have experience with off line? Do You have a passion for a sport , video games or a person? You could always start a sport’s chat room, provide updates and strategies for online gamers. You could be the next dating site owner. You can use something you love to create a business online.

While you are making the transition from worker bee to owner, open your eyes and your mind will open to the innovative ways you can use the Internet for your business. It is hard to imagine the number of people that are available to you. It is estimated that there are over 700 million people on the Internet. Your ability to reach customers from all over the world has been reduced to a mouse click. The world is your marketplace. The opportunity for wealth has never been as available to the everyday entrepreneur. The opportunity to work from home is available to everyone.

You can be open for business twenty-four hours a day. There are no employee problems or restrictive access because of weather conditions. Just the availability of Internet businesses make them very profitable.

Your work at home business can be a global empire within a matter of months. The work from home business trend shows no indication that it will slow down in the near future. The competition is fierce on the Internet for the almighty dollar but the Internet is still in its infancy. There is plenty of room for your work at home business to grow and prosper using the Internet.

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10 Reasons Why The Market-Correction Triggered Money Flow Into Dollar Denominated Bonds Is The Wrong Move

Many people think of any type of dollar denominated bonds, whether they are U.S. corporate bonds or U.S. Treasury bonds as a safe place to park your money for reliable sources of income stream. In fact, the U.S. Treasury Department on their own website, even tout U.S. Treasury Securities as a great way to invest and save for the future.

Many people believe this nonsense because they are advised of this by a horde of financial consultants that have zero understanding of how the political-corporate-banking triumvirate operates, and how this financial triumvirate has produced a most unattractive likely scenario for dollar-denominated bonds going forward from 2007. Many people think of U.S. Treasury bonds as safe because of the federal guarantee. The ten reasons below render that federal guarantee irrelevant.

And dont think this doesnt affect you just because you arent American. Non-Americans aggregately hold a lot more U.S. dollars in this world than Americans do. If you are one of those misled people, American or non-American, reading the below ten reasons can save you a lot of grief in the future.

(1)The often repeated financial consultant statement that bonds are a safe place to park your money, especially if you are older, is a myth.

Who cares if you earn a 5% revenue stream from bonds if the currency they are denominated in loses 15% in value over that same time span? Think of the losses of the U.S. dollar versus other major global currencies in 2006. An 11% decline against the Euro; An 11% decline against the New Zealand dollar; A whopping 14% decline versus the Pound Sterling; and a incredulous 15% against the Thai Baht ( I mention the New Zealand dollar and Thai baht because these currencies are commonly held currencies in Asian currency baskets offered by major banks as a hedge against the falling dollar). If you hold dollar denominated bonds with a 5% income stream and your dollars just lost 15% of purchasing power, are you really happy with a net 10% loss?

(2)Many of those in the retirement phase of their lives are convinced to invest in longer maturity bonds because of poorer yields of short-term bonds. This strategy comes with risk because of the following.

As the Euro gradually replaces the U.S. dollar as the international currency of choice, the longer maturity necessary to ensure a return of face value on bonds presents a significantly greater risk.

(3)As interest rates go up, the face value of bonds go down. Although Wall Street strongly expects the U.S. Federal Reserve to cut interest rates soon to stimulate a faltering U.S. economy, this is how I see it.

At some point and time, the U.S. Federal Reserve will try to block global flight from the U.S. dollar by propping up interest rates, not cutting them. Here you suffer twice. Once from a loss of purchasing power and twice, from a devaluation of the face value. See number (2) why holding a long term bond until maturity may not be an option. And even if the Federal Reserve keeps in line with Wall Street expectations, thats bad news too. Even if interest rates stay flat or go down, then the dollars that your bonds are denominated in lose value. This is pretty much a lose-lose situation and not one that I want any part of.

(4)As the dollar loses value over time, banks and other financial institutions will increase interest rates on loans and other financial instruments to compensate for the heavy losses they are incurring on a weakening dollar.

As your costs of doing business and living rise, yields from bonds wont cut it anymore. In addition to the three strikes listed above, this is strike four. Need more reasons? Then continue reading.

(5)As the massive yen carry trade continues to unwind, and the Bank of Japan takes increasing measures to strengthen the Yen as the Japanese economy continues emerging from its recession, the strengthening of the Japanese Yen in addition to the Pound Sterling and Euro will threaten dollar supremacy.

Last year as every single major world currency pounded the dollar, the Yen was just about flat against the dollar. In the coming year to eighteen months, it will be the Yens turn to pound the dollar.

(6)While most people think that there has been no further attack on the U.S. by terrorists since 9/11, there has been a far more devastating ongoing attack – an ongoing economic war.

Though this fact is not discussed at all in the mainstream media, Osama bin Ladens has repeatedly stated that his number one goal to topple the U.S. as an economic power. The attacks on the Twin Towers were symbolic of that goal. However, if he achieves his goal of debilitating the U.S. economy through the draining of U.S. resources in the current prolonged Iraqi war, this would make him far happier than any overt attack he could accomplish.

(7)In response to (6), the U.S. Federal Reserve has expanded the dollar money supply to provide funding for the war.

With no end in sight to this war, we can expect the dollar money supply to continue to expand, therefore placing more downward pressure on the dollar. No matter that U.S. Secretary of Treasury Hank Paulson publicly declared that the U.S. economy is strong and in good shape in March of 2007. This simply is not true.

(8)The U.S. has no powerful allies to keep the dollar strong.

Don’t underestimate the importance of the above statement. With protectionism sentiment growing stronger among the newly elected Democratic U.S. Congress, the U.S. certainly has no friends in China, the largest holder of dollar denominated debt at over $1 trillion. Certainly when the U.S. Congress moved to block the Chinese state-sponsored bid for U.S. oil giant Unocal because they viewed such an acquisition as a threat to national security, the Chinese government certainly viewed this action as hostile to their business interests. Certainly, this incident will remain fresh in the minds of Chinese government officials when U.S. Secretary of Treasury Hank Paulson or U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernank make continued please to the Chinese government for assistance.

(9)The largest holders of Petrodollar reserves include Russia, Venezuela, Iran and other Middle Eastern countries.

Read that list again. There is not a single nation strongly friendly to the U.S. on that list.

(10)When people finally realize that (1) through (9) are not only true, but inevitable, there may be a flight from the bond market, causing bond prices to tumble.

When you realize the shakiness of your situation as a dollar-denominated bond holder, think about this? Dont you think foreign governments and wealthy private institutions and individuals, holders of dollar-denominated assets in massively greater quantities, realize the same? When they realize the facts that Ive laid out above, their aggregate actions will reflect poorly upon dollar denominated bonds as well.

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