Friday, May 29, 2009

I am Sorry dear Credit Cards

My Dear Credit Cards,

I am writing you this letter because it was very difficult for me to face you. Trust me and I mean it. I have got no guts left to see you everyday and your beautiful numbers. I guess from now on whenever I am going for a shopping I will memorize the numbers, but will not see your face at any cost. With all sadness I have to say this to you. Please hold your breadth.

I have to take you out of my wallet and keep you in my isolated cupboard. I have got no other option. I have to forget you at any cost. I have already removed all my credit card statements. I know I will miss you a lot when it comes to payday, but I have to face it. I have to be harsh with you.

I really apologize my dear credit card, but I have to pay you off

My dear credit cards, please understand, you are no longer good to me. I should have understood this on the very 1st day when I saw you and decided to keep you forever in my wallet. I never knew I had to pay so much because of you. Because of you my paychecks are causing me so much of troubles.

You never understood my feelings. I paid you twice and even then you got me into so much of troubles. I don't know, somehow I am just attracted to you. We are together for the last 11 years and I have never left you like this, but today I have to.

You was like my best friend, always attached to me in my bad as well as good times. But the only bad thing you did was that you always encouraged me to spend more and more. You always had one thing in mind, i.e., to buy now and pay it later. You have always forced me to buy those things which I can't afford to pay even later. I always realized my mistakes the next morning.

I know I am not the only special one whom you are with. Maybe you are still a best friends with many other people. But trust me I am not able to take this load of yours anymore. I am tired of paying. Please give me some space in life.

You have always forced me to buy things I can't afford :(

Maybe someday or the other we can be best friends once again, but now I have no other option other than paying you off and keep you inside my cupboard.

I will miss you a lot.

Goodbye Credit Cards.

Betty

P.S. I am very very serious this time. Do not take this as a Joke.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

What Rich People think about Inflation

Maybe you believe inflation is bad but, if you’re me, inflation is a good thing. I make a lot of money from inflation. Hold on! Before you dismiss me as some kind of kook, take a minute and think about what I’m about to tell you.

It won’t take long. Trust me.

I’d like to remove that mistaken fear of inflation that’s been drilled into you since you were young. With my blog you’ll learn how to properly invest in real estate for maximum returns – you’ll take my crazy ideas about inflation and make money too. Lots of money.



Here’s how it works. Let’s use an example to illustrate the concept. This is good stuff.

Say you bought six single-family homes for a grand total of $1 million dollars at ten percent down. That means the balance on your loan is $900,000 the day you close the deal. Let’s further say inflation is 4% and over the next year you pay nothing on the principle, making interest payments only.

At the end of that year, in real terms, your loan just reduced to $864,000. Inflation just paid off $36,000 of your balance while you did nothing but keep breathing!

Do you see how that happens?

You locked in the number $900,000 the day you took out the loan. It will never get any bigger. BUT…inflation reduces the value of that balance at the rate of 4% (or whatever) annually, knocking a chunk off each and every year like clockwork. A dollar a year from now is worth 4% less than a dollar in your pocket right now. That future dollar is only worth ninety-six cents!

In real wealth terms, you just gained four cents on every dollar against the value of the loan your bank holds.

That’s what I call the Great Inflation Payoff.



Read the example passage again if you need to. Think about it. Understand it. That’s how rich people think.

Use inflation to start making great returns with income property investments, history’s best bet. The road to success is shorter than you think.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Why I Failed in making Investments?

On one of my Friend's recommended me to invest in my long term assets. So I decided to give it a try. But I guess I was not at all successful in making good investments. There were many factors that let to my failure. Let me discuss them one by one so that you don't fall in to the same trap.

Lack of Domain Knowledge

With utter excitement I went and just made the investment in my long term assets without even understanding the current market structures and prices. I never considered important to take advices from the professionals and took made all bad decisions which lead to my failure.

No goal in mind

My dad always says that there should always be a proper goal before taking any decision especially in the terms of relationships and finances. I never made any investment goal which lead me to the failure during the last moment. There should always be proper planning in whatever we do. Absence of the same caused me huge money loss.

No Risk Knowledge

My friend only told me about the profits that I would gain from investment, but he forgot to tell me about the risks and knowledge. Whenever you are investing in short term or long term assets make sure your risk taking capacity is high.

Lack of patience

Patience is one of the most required quality any investor should possess. Lack of the same will always lead to investment failure. Risk is directly associated with patience.

No Investment Identifications

I never identified which investment is best suitable for me. Long term or short term. I straight away went and invested in the long term investments. Factors like risk, patience, goals should be kept in mind before deciding the type of investments to be made.

No Right Adviser with me

My friend is very new in this profession. He joined this business 6 months back and as a result of this I never got proper and good guidance from anyone. If I had good adviser maybe I wouldn't have committed stupid mistakes.

I was Over Confident

My dad always used to tell me, "Confidence is good, Over confidence is worst". I din respected his words and as a result of this I lost huge amount of money. I was over confident of my success in investments.



I always had a Bad Luck

A good investor is one whose luck always favor him. And my bad luck just goes hand in hand with me. I invested huge sum of money in playing in casinos and lost all of them.

Aggressive Attitude

Since very beginning of my life I have been very aggressive in whatever I do. As a result of my this attitude I never thought about the losses and always concentrated on making only profits.

I know I have built my own graves, but life gives us a learning lesson. I have promised to myself that I will never make any investments until and unless I am confident about the domain.

Things I Learned From My 2009 Tax Refund

Most of the times it has happened that I have neglected my personal as well as business taxes. The month of April will always be remembered as a nightmare to me. I made a new year resolution that I will not repeat the same financial mistakes that I committed last year. And believe me I was able to square my finances quite well. The best part is we are expecting around $3,000 tax refund.


This time I have learned 3 vital things from my 2009 Tax Refund

This years Tax season has taught me things about being honest, handling relationships and last not the least spontaneity.

Let me explain them in details what I learned and how I managed :

1.) All relationships are equally important in financial partnership

Me and my sister Samantha, both are involved with family finances. We both decided last year that we will work and will keep half of the month's salary for household work and emergencies. When I came to know that we are getting around $3,000 tax refund, I became so excited that I forgot to ask Sam what she has planned with that money. Immediately I got hold of it and realized that for making any financial decisions it is better to discuss it with someone who is also responsible with me for earning. Lesson 1 learned and understood well.



2.) Always be an honest citizen when filing your Taxes

This is the best lesson I have learned till date in the terms of personal finances. My accountant wanted me and Sam to do a kind of fraud with the government in terms of salary income. But we both discussed that in case anyone of us is caught then what will happen to the family. At the end we decided not to listen to the accountant and be honest with the government officials. I know life is a risk, we should risk it. But for me my family is more important to me.

3.) Life is very short and not spontaneous

Sam wanted to take out $500 out of the tax refund money and spend that on shopping and other fun activities. But I made her understand that we have already spent enough on renovation of our house and all. She is the best sister in the world. She understood me and kept back those $ 500 immediately. Lesson 3 learned. We can be spontaneous sometimes with money. Its good though.

Life is full of lessons, Make sure you catch them all

Saturday, May 16, 2009

What if you have an Emergency?

The word "if" has got a very important factor in everyone's life. What IF I lose my job? What IF my dad expires tomorrow? What IF I get divorce from my spouse tomorrow. The list is endless. Me and my sister Samantha were out for a drive last night. I was kind of drunk and din see the No Entry board. The police caught us and had he asked us to pay a fine of $200. The worst part is we din had a single penny. It was very embarrassing for us. In time of Emergency we din had a single penny.

Saving a single penny can help you in the case of Emergencies

So, with this we both learnt that we should always get ready to face any kind of emergency at any point of time. I am writing this post to let all of you know what few things I have learned with this unusual night. Basically, ways to get yourself prepared in case of Emergency.

1.) Most importantly, I have started saving more and more money. It is always advisable to have an emergency fund with you. It has always helped me in the most crucial times. I am just waiting for the day when I will be fully funded. Maybe by 2015 or so.

2.) Get yourself Insured : The 1st thing I will do tomorrow is to get myself an Health Insurance as well as Auto Insurance. I know it is very costly but I have consulted a friend and he would help me in getting a cheaper one. Even he will help me in getting a long term Life Insurance. You never know maybe a big accident is waiting for you at the door steps.

3.) I have decided to write my own will : In any case I am not alive I would be very happy if my family will be able to utilize my income. No matter I am single or married, I would always want my family to take care of my income in any case of emergency.

4.) My dad advised me to keep the copies of all the important documents like birth certificates, important bills, all my health records, power of attorney etc.

Get Yourself prepared in any sort of Emergencies like Fire Break out in your home.

5.) I have also decided to make an inventory of all my belongings. I have a great plan for this. I will take a snap or a video of all my important documents and data. Then I ll record all the items in the spreadsheet of my laptop and give the password to my mom. So, whenever I am not there she ll be able to take care of it.

6.) Also, I have decided to make a list of emergency phone numbers. These can include local police station number, family doctor's number or maybe neighbor's personal phone number.

7.) Emergency Kit for my Car : Whenever I am going for long drives with my friends or family there are many things which I should keep in my car which might be helpful to me in the case of emergency. Things like : first-aid box, blanket, towel, books, plastic bags etc.

8.) I ll keep in mind to do things before hand in the case of natural disasters. So i have decided to make a list of few things that I need to carry with me If I am suppose to leave a house in emergencies like fire breakout, or earthquake hit. Things like medicines, food, water, my hard drive, box of my jewelery, my wallet etc.

9.) Life line file : This is a file where I will record all my email id's and bank account passwords and all.

Now I have got enough of emergency funds that will me in case of Emergencies

10.) plan plan and plan : I had make sure that I will always plan things before hand not even getting a chance of emergency to happen.

If you have any other emergency plan do share it with us.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Payday Loans are an eye of emergencies

Have you ever seen anyone helping you in the times of financial crisis? If anyone has really helped you then I must say that you are very lucky. I wish I could have a friend who would helped me in my financial crisis. Last weekend I was so down with my finances, had not a single penny in my pocket.All my money was spent on my sister's birthday celebration. At that time an idea came into my mind, that was, taking help of payday loan companies.



I wanted my car to get repaired badly and so I decided to call a payday loan company and ask for a loan from them. This is something really a very great idea, indeed the best one. The most important advantage of payday loan companies are that you get a cash loan approval within 24 hours and they instantly transfer money into your bank accounts.

No matter I had a bad credit history, the payday loan company was ready to help me in the best possible manner. Payday loans is basically a help to those who are facing the most challenging financial crisis of their life.

But as the coin have a other side, in the same manner payday loans have few disadvantages too. The only problem I faced was that it had a high interest rate and it was very difficult for me to manage payments without any monthly budgets. But now I have to think about repaying the payday loan as soon as possible so that I do not fall into any other kind of problem.



But I made sure that I have chosen the best payday loan company of my city. They are not at all harassing me to pay back their payments.

Are You Aware of These Types of Mortgage Loans?

Mortgages can be categorized into various types in two different ways. To start with mortgages can be based on loan provider. As such there are two divisions - government and conventional loans. Second categorization is made based on type of interest rate - fixed or adjustable rate & their combinations.


a) Loan Provider



Government loans are like FHA and VA loans, Rural Housing Service Loan Programs and State & Local Housing Programs.


  • FHA Loans: Federal Housing Administration administers many loan programs and these are easier to qualify for compared to conventional loans. They have lower down payment requirements but have statutory limits, meaning the loan amount cannot be more than the set limit.


  • VA Loans: These are guaranteed by U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs. The veterans & service persons are able to get mortgage loans with suitable terms and usually without down payment requirement because of the VA guaranty.


  • RHS Loans: Rural Housing Service guarantees mortgages for rural residents without requirement of any down payment and minimal closing costs.


  • State & Local Housing Programs: In many states low to moderate housing finance programs, programs which are modeled specifically for first time buyers & down payment assistance programs are made available for borrowers. The advantage borrowers get is that these programs have lenient qualification guidelines & lower upfront fees.


Convention loans


These loans are further divided into two types; conforming and non-conforming.

Conforming loans have terms & conditions as set by Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac while non-conforming loans also called B/C loans are for borrowers who do not meet the credit requirements set by Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac. These loans are offered to borrowers who may have recently filed bankruptcy, had gone through foreclosure or have late payments on credit report.


b) Type of interest rate



Fixed rate mortgages


Fixed rate mortgage have fixed interest rates and monthly payments on the loan remain fixed for the full term of the loan. These loans are available for terms which can be 40, 30, 25, 20, 15 and 10 years.


Payments on these type of loans are calculated in a way that when the term of the loan ends the mortgage will get paid off in full and is also called as fully amortizing loan.


Adjustable Rate Mortgages


For adjustable/variable rate loans the interest rate as well as monthly payments change over the term of the loan. The interest rate adjusts according to changes that occur on an index on which the interest rate is based.


Hybrid Loans


These loans are combination of adjustable and fixed rate mortgages and have different variations:


  • Fixed period ARMs

  • Two-Step Mortgages

  • Convertible ARMs

  • Graduated Payment Mortgages

  • Buydown Mortgages

With so many loan options selecting the right type can become difficult. The right type mainly depends on how long a person plans on staying in the house & amount of monthly payments he can comfortably afford.

Friday, May 8, 2009

The Most Odd Things about Betty Parker

Now since its been so long I am writing a blog, its time that all of you know fee craziest and odd things about me. I have just tried to make it interesting for all of you so that you enjoy each and every part of it.

Ok now it is a time to buckle up your seat belts and hold back yourself tightly. Here we go!!

1.) I eat cheese pasta almost everyday. (especially when Samantha cooks it for me)

I just love eating Cheese Pasta
2.) Before going for a drink with friends I always visit the church nearby my house.
3.) I am addicted to TV show Big Brother.
4.) Every time I say I hate the music of Enrique, but the truth is he is my favorite singer.
5.) People believe I am a very good singer, but the fact is I have never sung any song in my entire life..hahaha...

Isn't he good looking??? Enrique.. my favorite singer..

6.) My parents think I am a very decent girl, but I am not so decent. I have tried everything from drugs to alcohol.
7.) My favorite drink is Virgin Mary followed by 8 cubes of Ice.
8.) At age of 17 I ran with my ex-bf to Miami and came back after couple of days.
9.) I am a national level Lawn Tennis player.
10.) I become very competitive when I am playing rugby.
11.) I hold a degree in Linux Software Programming.
12.) I always say I hate back bitching...though personally I love doing it... (top secret)

Miami, the hottest holiday destination and my favorite too..
13.) I try experimenting with my hairstyle. I have tried almost more than 60 hairstyles till date.
14.) Writing is my passion since school days. I have won loads of awards for creative writing in school.
15.) I thought I will be able to complete this post in less than 15 minutes, but I actually spent 40 minutes on it.
16.) I have dated more than 25 guys till date. But I found no one of my type till date. I have got approx more than 75 proposals till date. (no wonder I am so pretty)
17.) I love to dance. As soon as I hear fast music my feet automatically starts moving.
18.) I am a big animal fan. And I have decided to open an animal farm very soon.
19.) Nobody at my place knows that I had been arrested twice for rash driving.
20) I can spend any amount of money for pineapple cake.
21.) I hate people with body odor.
22.) I still do not understand why guys wear low waist jeans. They look so dumb in that.
23.) My sister Samantha is my best friend and will always be.
24.) Once I won a lottery of $ 5000 but I lost the ticket.
25.) I love traveling. I have been on world tour when I was in college with one of my ex Bf.

There are many many more things and secrets of Betty Parker which people are not aware. Obviously I can't include everything here but I hope all of you now know many things about ME. Do leave your comments and views about Me. :)

My Sister's Birthday : An analysis of what we spent


Few days back I praised about my sister's saving plan here. It was her birthday yesterday which proved to me extremely expensive and though I was not at all guilty of spending huge sum of money for my loving sis, yet I learnt a lot with these expenses and trying to make myself prepared for next year. I have decided that from now on for any family occasion even I will save money like my sis do.


Many Many Happy Returns of the Day Sam





I wanted with my readers to share where our money was actually spent :


1. loads and loads of Roses (as Samantha loves them a lot) : $ 100
2. two dozen of birthday balloons : $ 10
3. yummy pineapple cake : $ 15 (approx.)
4. Decoration papers : $ 5
5. A beautiful hand bag for Samantha : $ 100
6. birthday cards : $ 5
7. Gas for cooking : $ 15
8. Organized Dinner : $ 150

Total : $ 400 (Gosh!!!)

We made a budget of around $ 250 and all the extra amount of money was paid by me. The reason was I organized for the party, I invited all her friends and relatives. But I was not at all aware that she had a huge group of friends. I have saved some amount of my free money and kept them for my mobile phone bills. But now i do not have a single penny for the bills. But more than these payments was important my sister's happiness which I believe I was successful in.

Nothing is more important to me than my Sister's happiness...love u lots...!!

Its better to make a card with hand rather purchasing it from market. So, I guess I have realized my mistake and that is it is very important to save money in advance and as a result of all this I have decided to save money this year for Christmas. I hope you had a great birthday Samantha!!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

I don’t trust Wall Street

I’m not sure when it started. It’s been going on so long that everyone takes it for granted. What am I talking about? The pitiful returns that the financial industry titans train you to expect on your stock or mutual fund investments.

I’d like the name of the evil genius on Wall Street who decided to brain wash the investing public into believing that a 5% to 15% rate of return on investment was good enough and you ought to be happy with it.

Now the financial ‘gurus’ and their willing accomplices in the media parrot these painful numbers as if they were gospel.

I have to laugh, but it covers up my cringe. The wool is being pulled over your eyes! If you only average 10% returns on your investments, you are treading water. That’s barely keeping up with the true rate of inflation.

If I couldn’t crush that return blindfolded I’d close down Platinum Properties Investor Network today! 30% is our low end target and we normally do better than that.

I am a nice girl and don’t want to beat up the Wall Street advisers for fun, but it makes me mad to hear the dangerous information they peddle under the guise of investment advice. It’s not an understatement to call it dangerous. It’s dangerous to you and the solidity of the financial empire you’re building.

Lower Wall Street
The cold, hard truth is Wall Street is one of the best snake oil salesman in history, pushing a product that’s a poor quality asset class (stocks, bonds, mutual funds). Fancy words and clothes don’t hide the fact that the Street has always been a terrible place to put your money when compared to a genuine quality asset class like investment properties.

Don’t believe the lie. It could hurt you where it really counts – in the pocketbook.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Secret Strategies for Successful Forex Trading

Turning $ 2 trillion dollars daily is the result of most liquid markets in the forex business. Trading forex has become one of the most rewarding strategies for the traders. Education of the domain knowledge is very vital to survive in the forex market, in order to attain the number one position in the market. That is the reason I have decided to educate my readers of the vital areas in the forex industry where they should keep a complete focus. These information I have collected from the professions in this field.


A forex broker working on his forex trading system with his own strategies

The main motive of the post is to bring infront of you some great strategies that will prove to you very useful in the long term forex trading. Let me provide you with simple methods in getting long term trends for a month or a year.

1.) Always try to trade on the confirmation of break outs. It is nothing but a move on the forex charts where we can figure out new highs and lows. As we all know the leading moves often starts with new highs and lows. Always try to note them down while working on the forex trading. It might always happen that you are not buying and selling at the highest level, but you should never wait for the breakouts to come back and get in at the better price. The rule that is applicable here is that when ever the breakouts happen then you have to have a strong trend and then you will easily be able to make good profits.

2.) Always try to confirm your deals, do not just make a blind guess. Breakouts will always not give you good profits, there are chances of getting equal amount of losses too. It is very important for you to confirm each and every move with precision. It is advisable to put momentum indicators in your forex system to have good dealing signals. These indicators will help you in attaining price velocity.

A visual example of a foreign exchange breakout

3.) Take care of your stop points and targets. These are very easy to handle during breakouts. If you are making serious trends then you have to be very careful. But if you have a huge move then 40 day moving average is not at all a bad choice. You should never predict your trends, who knows it might just be opposite what you have predicted.

4.) With the above strategies it is also very important for you to keep the best forex broker with you. These forex brokers will always help you in getting good amount of large trends at every level.

Do watch the following foreign exchange strategies too before signing out from here: