April 11th, 2010 by sugig

Whether living in a recession or thriving in a huge economic boom, keeping an eye on your personal finances is very important. Without knowing where you are financially, many problems could occur. And you never know when a recession might be coming, so it’s best to plan for one in case it does come. Here are a few tips that my wife and I follow, and we’ve seen quite a growth in our savings accounts.

1. Make a budget! This is the best advice I can give you. Figure out how much money you spend on everything, from your mortgage/rent payment to your groceries. From your car insurance to your spending money. Everything you have. Then when you calculate how much money you’re making and how much money you’re spending, you will see how much you should save each month. From here on out, pay yourself first. Let’s say your budget shows $100 extra income over your budgeted expenses. Before you do anything, pay the $100 to your savings account. Then, if you’re short on money at the end of the month, take it out of your spending money that you’ve budgeted for.
2. Don’t overspend at the grocery store. A few tips here: Don’t grocery shop while you’re hungry. You’ll end up thinking everything looks good and buy more than you need. Always shop with a list. Without a list, the impulse buying increases and you spend more. Always buy sale items. Grocery store have so many sale items, I always try to do my entire shopping trip without buying anything that’s not on sale. Always buy based on price per ounce. Sometimes sale items are actually more expensive per ounce than another brand, or a store-brand. Buy the best VALUE. And buy bulk. Usually a bigger jar of peanut butter has a much lower price per ounce than the small jar. You’ll save money because each peanut butter sandwich will cost less.
3. Cut out the extras. A satellite dish is much cheaper than cable. Or you can cut the cable altogether and go with just your local channels. Do you have a home phone and a cell phone? Get rid of the home phone. Do you have dial up internet? Get high-speed. Instead of paying for the phone and the internet service (AOL, Netscape, etc), you can find a cheaper option with high-speed, and you’ll have a better internet experience.

4. Cut down on your utilities. During the winter, close the vents to the rooms you don’t go in and close the door. It will be a more efficient way to heat your home. Turn the lights off when you leave a room. Don’t fall asleep with the TV on. Don’t leave your computer on when you leave. These things will cut your utility bills down.

5. Work online when you’re bored. Whether you’re writing blogs/articles or doing surveys, you can make a few extra bucks each month through online work. While the money won’t fly in, you can earn a steady stream of income each month if you find the right websites.

Since taking these on, my wife and I have seen our savings grow nicely. We’re getting more and more comfortable with our finances, and continue to save!

March 16th, 2010 by sugig

Here’s the question for the day. If you managed a business and needed to hire people you could depend on to help make you successful, would you prefer someone with a poor education who demanded a high salary, or would you prefer someone with a better education who would work for a lower wage? A question similar to this was posed to me (as part of a group discussion) by John Sculley, past CEO of PepsiCo and Apple Computer.

We were sailing on the same ship together with a final destination of Bombay, India. From Bombay, my wife and I were flying back to the U.S., and Sculley was going on to Bangalore to have a firsthand look at the outsource-phone-center capital of the world. He explained that there were five reasons why American companies should outsource to India, and low wages was down at the bottom on that list. Here’s Sculley’s five reasons to outsource.

1. A better educated pool of people from which to hire. This is especially true for engineering and technical jobs since five of the six best scientific schools on earth are in India.

2. Eliminates office politics. There seems to be something in the culture of India, probably related to Hinduism, that inhibits people from the backstabbing ploys like credit stealing and rumor mongering which you see so often in the American workplace.

3. Outsourcing breaks the tyranny of the Human Resource department. (I loved this reason in particular. You’d need to have firsthand experience in an American corporation to fully appreciate this).

4. Prevents union and other organized labor problems.

5. Low wages. Scully said that this advantage is only temporary. With American wages declining and Indian wages rising rapidly, wage parity will be achieved, probably within ten years.

John Sculley was of the opinion that outsourcing to India is so beneficial to the productivity of an American company that any CEO would be remiss for not, at least, considering this option. And in his book, “The Earth is Flat,” writer and thinker, Thomas Friedman, claimed that the Intel Corporation has positioned itself to thrive for another 50 years without hiring any American workers. That’s not to say that Intel won’t hire Americans if they have the education and work ethic, but Intel is not willing to tie itself down to an all-American workforce. I know that other major corporations have a similar mind-set, even though they want to stay under the radar for PR reasons.

American patriots want you to believe that all of this is driven by the rise of China and India as economic powers. What nobody talks about is the fact that for the first time in modern world history the next generation of Americans will NOT be better educated than the generation previous to them. Within the developed world, the unbroken record of each generation improving on what they inherited that record has now been broken in the United States of America. Corporation heads are not stupid. They know this and acknowledge it even if the politicians avoid it.

It’s another election year. Here’s a tip for evaluating candidates. If a politician tells us that they will keep American jobs from going overseas, he or she is delusional. And if a politician says that they will bring outsourced jobs back from overseas, they are telling you an outright lie.

March 14th, 2010 by sugig

Life insurance premiums don’t have to be expensive in relation to the coverage you receive. This misconception stems from many consumers’ poor experiences with life insurance agents who are more concerned with their commissions than their customers. The good news is that there are plenty of options for people who don’t have much disposable cash!

I recently had an opportunity to spend some time with Tom, a great life insurance agent who explained different types of policies, and gave me some insight as to how they fit various customers’ budgets. He says the best way to serve his customers is to realistically determine how much coverage is needed, then find a policy that doesn’t hurt the wallet.

Tom broke down the available policies into two main categories: term and permanent. Term policies allow consumers to purchase a large amount of coverage at lower prices for a specific period of time, while permanent plans provide a fixed payment over the policyholder’s entire life.

Most people managing a tight budget will find term life insurance to provide the most favorable premium-to-benefit ratio. Tom showed me that I could purchase a $50,000 policy with a 10-year term for less than $10 per month. The best part is that premiums don’t increase on a linear scale with coverage amounts; increasing the coverage to $500,000 would only add about $6 per month to my plan.

I asked Tom how this would suit one of my friends. My buddy is supporting a family of five, including himself, three small children, and his disabled wife. Tom says my friend should consider a term plan in the range of roughly $1 million, due to his limited monthly resources and the extra needs of his family, given his wife’s condition. For a young man in good health, such a plan could be as little as $25-30 per month.

Tom, on the other hand, is in a different financial boat. He has more money to spare for insurance, so he combines different types of policies for maximum benefit. In order to ensure the family’s needs are met, he has a term policy with a large payout. He also carries whole life insurance that builds cash value over the life of the policy. Tom’s children are covered by whole life or universal life policies, which locks them into a low rate for the rest of their lives while getting a head start on investing for their future.

Permanent policies - whole life, universal life, and variable universal life - offer more options for customers that can afford to put a bit of extra cash into their insurance. Generally, it is more expensive than purchasing comparable coverage under a term plan, but the policy premiums are invested to provide a cash value component. These options can be exercised as tax shelters, or they can diversify the portfolio of savvy investors who may have already utilized other retirement accounts to the maximum allowable limits.

At the end of my session with Tom, it was clear that I really have no immediate need for life insurance at all. I’m a young, single veteran, which leaves no one to care for in the event of my untimely demise, and no burial expenses due to my Veterans Administration benefits. If I happen to find some disposable cash, Tom said he’d steer me towards universal or variable universal policies as an investment that also insures any incidental needs are covered if necessary.

Your life insurance benefits could easily outweigh the premiums if you take the time to find an honest agent who will cater to your individual needs. Be wary of insurance representatives who immediately steer you toward high-dollar policies without taking a serious look at your circumstances, as they are likely looking out for their commissions, and you will end up paying more than necessary. The right agent offering you the right products at the right time could save you a small fortune and alleviate a lot of headaches.

March 8th, 2010 by sugig

It’s a fact of life that car insurance for students is expensive. That doesn’t mean that you can’t use the system to your advantage. Knowing what to look for when buying insurance can keep money in your pocket. Knowing what coverage you need, what discounts you can get, and how to compare insurance companies will definitely change what you pay in premiums.

Know what coverage you need.

Start by finding out what the required minimum coverage is in your state, think about your situation. Different states require different coverages. Now when you get a “minimum coverage” quote, from an insurance company, you have something to compare it to. A company’s “minimum coverage” can be quite different than a states minimum coverage, and cost you more money per month.

You always need liability coverage, but if your vehicle is only worth $1000 you may not need collision coverage. Every person’s situation is different, you have to look at what coverage you need, above and beyond the minimum coverage that you are required to have.

What kind of discounts, can you qualify for.

Every company has discounts that you can use to your advantage. Here are just a few examples for students:

1. Responsible student discount(having a 3.0 GPA), insurance companies feel that good students are good drivers.
2. Taking a defensive driving course. With some insurers that could save you up to $200 a year.
3. Having antilock brakes on your vehicle.
4. Having car insurance and renters insurance with the same company.
5. Keeping a good driving record.
Always ask about all the discounts the company offers, and how you can qualify for them. Sometimes, insurance companies need prodding to get them to the maximum number of discounts that you qualify for.

Compare apples to apples.

Student insurance is considered high risk insurance. Statistics show that a 17-year-old driver is five times more likely to have an auto accident then a 35-year-old driver, so the cost of insuring risk is also higher. Each insurance company has slightly different criteria and ways of analyzing risk. That means that prices vary between insurance companies for the same exact coverage. It can even vary up to double the price. You can use that to your advantage by comparing insurance companies and their policies.

Don’t just compare prices, but compare policies and benefits to find ways to save you money. A policy that is cheaper but doesn’t give you the coverage that you need is a waste of money.

The more companies that you compare, the better your chances are of saving money. Never compare less than three quotes from three different companies.

By knowing what coverage you need, getting all the discounts that you can, and comparing insurance companies to get the best possible deal, you can save money. Although car insurance for students will always be more expensive than standard rate insurance, by using these ideas you can make it more manageable for your budget.

March 5th, 2010 by sugig

An online affiliate marketing business is one of the best ways to start earning an income on the internet. In addition to the low startup costs this particular business model allows online entrepreneurs to focus exclusively on learning how to generate traffic. Another reason affiliate marketing is often considered the best business to start online is because most products you promote are already in demand.

With a vast selection of proven products to sell and having to focus only on traffic generation this allows the affiliate marketer the opportunity to promote many products simultaneously.

Now this leads us to the question: When you are marketing on the internet should you be promoting more than one product at a time? Are you diluting the marketing effectiveness you may otherwise experience if your efforts were focused on just one product?

Let’s examine the pros and cons of focusing all your marketing efforts on just one product.

The Pros

By concentrating your promotional efforts on just one product you can increase the intensity of your marketing blitz. It also allows you additional time to more closely watch and evaluate your advertising results so that necessary adjustments can be made. This would result in being able to more closely maximize the sales potential of the product

The Cons

By placing ‘all your eggs in one basket’ you risk losing all your income if and/or when the product fails to generate the needed demand for you to profit.

Too many things could go wrong that are out of your control such as a product recall, or discontinuation. Also a competitive product could be introduced that could quickly diminish demand for the existing product you are currently marketing on the internet.

The Conclusion

By diversifying you can minimize the negative impact you may experience when one product drops off in popularity. You (hopefully) still have other products experiencing strong demand/sales to pick up the slack.

On the other hand you may not be able to reap the full benefits of a hot product since your promotional efforts aren’t as intense as they may be if you focused solely on that particular product.

In the end diversification is probably more prudent due to the volatility and fickleness of consumer demand as it relates to any particular product. The inability to accurately predict market trends will always be a constant. That being said, in the long run, diversification would seem to be the better business decision in most cases. There is however no clear cut answer in this case.

One of the most compelling benefits of an online affiliate marketing business is that it allows for you to focus primarily on traffic generation. This gives most online entrepreneurs the opportunity to quickly sharpen their promotional skills since no time will be spent in the creation and shipping of products they are marketing on the internet. Now as a result the option of promoting many products simultaneously exists. When you also consider the low startup costs it is no wonder why many regard affiliate marketing as the best business to start online. The question as to whether promoting multiple products will negatively impact marketing efforts due to a lack of focus is a legitimate one. The final decision on that however should ultimately be made on an individual basis according to the motivational skills, promotional talents and experience of each marketer.

February 18th, 2010 by sugig

Need some affordable car insurance? Keep these things in mind when you start looking.

Enter a high deductible into your quote

Even though having a high deductible means you will pay more in the case of a car accident, it will help you find more affordable car insurance based on the monthly premium being lower. As long as you do not plan on giving him a lot of car accidents (which is probably the plan), then the cheapest auto insurance will always include a higher deductible.

Find out what discounts you are eligible for

Another key to finding affordable car insurance is to know what kind of discounts you can receive. There aren’t a lot of different discounts based on your car such as a safe car discount, A new car discount, or an economy car discount.

There are also some auto insurance discounts like a good student discount or a military discount that are more based on your occupation rather than just your car. If you are a senior citizen, there is often a discount for that. The best way to find these discounts for car insurance is to call and ask your agent. They also might have some of these discounts posted on their website too.

Shop around and get quotes from lots of companies

The most important thing to do to find affordable car insurance is simply to shop around and get auto insurance quotes from lots of different companies.

One interesting thing you might find is that a lot of the time the smaller companies will offer you policies with lower monthly premiums than the larger companies. This is because they do not have to pay for all of the advertising that the large companies do, which will help them offer you a cheaper auto insurance policy.

February 1st, 2010 by sugig

When you are in a customer-driven business, customer service becomes the life blood to your success. Coming from a retail background, I have seen what a difference excellent customer service makes. And, while difficult to quantify the term “customer service,” I’ve seen first hand what it is, and can share it with you.

Excellent customer service is never having to say you’re sorry. Where I work, we have a philosophy that we “just say yes.” Is the customer always right? No. But we do whatever we can to say yes to the customer. What does that do for our business? We provide a small oasis in a person’s day where they can actually come in and be treated like a human being. Whether they want a little extra at no cost, or are simply looking for a smiling face that looks like its enjoying their business, customers want to know the place they are spending their money appreciates their business. Just saying yes helps them feel appreciated.

Customer service is caring. You can pretend to enjoy what you’re doing, but before long, the charade will fall victim to the pressure of the job and the irritations that follow a customer driven business. If you are to provide great customer service, you should enjoy what you do - for the most part. Everyone has bad days. But if you’re involved in a business where customer service is important, like what you do. Discerning customers are like children - they can smell a fake a mile away. Care about your job. Do your best. Take poor situations and work to make them better. When a customer sees an employee truly caring about them, they are more likely to return time after time to your business.

Customer service is service. I know that sounds obvious, but how many times have you been to a place and felt like you were inconvenience the person who was serving you? In our business, we make a point to bend over backwards to serve the person who walks through our doors. After all, if I hear a place is famous for “legendary customer service,” I expect them to back up their claims with actions. Service is defined in many ways, but includes things like, “the occupation or condition of a servant,” “an act giving assistance or advantage to another,” and “friendly help; also, professional aid or attention” (yourdictionary.com). Customers expecting good service are simply looking to a fulfillment of that definition.

In our society, it seems like many businesses have lost the essence of what good customer service is. Somewhere along the path, we’ve forgotten that a business exists to serve the needs of its customers. A return to solid customer service principles would be a refreshing breeze blown across the business world. it doesn’t have to be rocket science. Remember to make the customer first. Enjoy what you do, and be competent. And keep the definition of “service” at the forefront of what you do. Good customer service will naturally follow these precepts.

January 15th, 2010 by sugig

Cash advance lenders are organizations that offer quick loans or advance money to individuals. They are recommendable because they offer quick solution to cash problems one may be incurring in case of an emergency. They save an individual from looking for the cash advance also from the worry of getting collateral because they can use what they have like a pay slip or a cheque.

They are also recommendable because in comparison to other loan givers they do not discriminate if one credit is not so good. The repayment of the cash advanced is simpler because one can have the option to repay through installments or as a lump some because the loaned amount is minimal.

Recommendable cash advance lenders are those that have who have means of delivering the money in a secure and efficient structure. The means of application is not demand and time consuming as compared to the bans or other loaning service firms. They are also recommendable because the money loaned is normally available in very short period. Hence, are very suitable for emergencies. They also offer loans of small amount on issues that other loaning services to do not offered on like advancement on utility bill payment. The repayment fees incurred are normally affordable and reasonable. The terms and conditions required by cash advance lenders are user friendly as well as can accommodate your user needs with no problem.

They are also recommendable because they make life easier, this so because there a variety of cash advance lenders in different firms. For example in the phone service, they can advance airtime, which you repay in the next top up of credit therefore making life easier. They are also recommendable over other loan service firms because they help you save because the cares incurred in the log run in are less due the less documentation, less time no collateral or the collateral is the cheque incase it is a bank. They are also easily accessible because they are online cash advance lenders. Online cash advance lenders take approximately 24 hours to process a loan or advance in cash and then wire the money to your bank account.

By the way, by researching and comparing the several direct cash advance lenders in the market, you will be able to determine the one that meets your specific financial situation, plus the cheaper interest rates offered. This way you will save time getting the cash you need in the shortest period of time and money by saving on commissions.

January 15th, 2010 by sugig

Being in the middle of the month and you get lack of cash. Suddenly you have an urgent cash needs. It is impossible for you to wait until next month to get your next paycheck. But now, you also do not have any savings in your bank account to cover your emergency needs. I think this situation sometimes can happen to some of us. Well, if you are in that situation, what will you do?

If I were you, I would go in front of my computer, turn it on, and connect to the internet. What for? Of course, to visit urgentcashloan.com. This is a site that can help you overcome this situation, because they can give you a personal payday loan. It is the simplest way to get cash, even without get outside your house. I just have to fill out the available online form, submit it to the lenders, then wait until my application is approved. Just one business day after my application is approved, the fund will be in my bank account and I can use it directly.

So simple like that. Now you know how I get along my cash problem. What about you? Want to join my way?

January 14th, 2010 by sugig

If you can get health insurance through your employer, do it. Seeking out individual health coverage is a costly and complicated procedure, and there is no guarantee that you will be able to find a company willing to cover your medical needs. The best thing to do is seek out job covered health care, and know your rights.

- You have the right to information disclosure.
This means that you can ask for clarification in types of coverage, or any general questions about insurance and are guaranteed a response. You also have the right to ask for assistance when it comes to making health insurance decisions.

-You have the right to request information regarding your insurance and policy, including enrollment dates, your requirements in the plan, and if those requirements have been met.

-You have the right to confidentiality. The employer cannot request information on your health status and change your position because of it.

-You have the right to question how the system works, and receive an answer. Insurance can be complicated, and the administrator for your company should answer any questions you have, or point you in the direction of someone who can.

-You have the right to opt out of the health insurance program provided by your employer at any time. If you have insurance coverage through your spouse, or if you find a program you prefer, it is your right to leave the company’s policy.

-You have the right to request changes in your policy. In case of divorce or marriage, you should be able to add that person to your insurance plan, depending on the company’s policy.

-You have the right to ask for, and receive, preventive procedures and check ups for issues relating to women’s health, as ordered by law.

-You have the right to receive care from a specialist, if your primary physician cannot treat your condition.

-You have the right to continue health care coverage from your employer, even if you are no longer employed. COBRA allows former employees to stay on the company’s health plan as long as the employee agrees to pay the entire deductible and monthly premium.

-You have the right to seek emergency service if the need arises.

-You have the right to be covered under your employer’s insurance program despite pre-existing conditions. A job based insurance policy cannot (by law) refuse to cover an employee because of a pre-existing condition or lifestyle.

There is a disturbing trend in the US where less and less employers are offering health insurance benefits. It is partly the rising costs associated with insurance, and also the decreasing number of employees who see the benefits. The more employees that are covered, the better rate the company will receive. If less employees are interested in health insurance, the company might decide to terminate the plan. However the companies that do offer insurance to its employees, are likely to have better and healthier workers.

Hopefully the tips above will help you understand your rights under job based health insurance. If you have questions about your policy, make sure to check with the health administrator at your company. They are a valuable source of information.