More Options To Supplement Your Family Income

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Most families look for opportunities to supplement or increase there family income. There are a very large number of opportunities that are advertised on the internet and in side bar ads. We have been warned that if it sounds too good then that opportunity is probably not attainable.

There is a site called Real Writing Jobs which offers a large number of writing job listings that are real offers, some full time job offerings, and a large amount of information about opportunities writing for magazines. Look at the opportunities for yourself by clicking on this link Real Writing Jobs

Most of the part time jobs listed are for writing blog information, proofreading, editing , key word optimization , blog writing for specified businesses, maintaining address files, etc. The person is an independent contractor. There are free tests to determine the person’s skill level in writing, bookkeeping, accounting, and more. Once a person is established it is much easier to get assignments on a regular basis.

This site has a “Get paid to write for Magazines” section. Taking the Saturday Evening Post as an example , they are seeking appropriate articles for publication, humorous stories, jokes, photos etc. There is a form that the submitter completes on line and sends to the publishers

There is also a section listing full time work at home assignments working as a personal assistant, call center person, and other bookkeeping type assignments.

Real Writing Jobs offers six different tutorials on ways to make money on line.

Click on this link Real Writing Jobs The cost for this service has a one time fee of less than $40 after a 50% discount coupon on the site.

I have had this service for two years and only had to pay for the service one time. I have taken the tests for English, writing, bookkeeping, and accounting. This information shows for prospective employers. There are several writing contractor companies that advertise for help on this site. Once you have done a few jobs for these companies you can have a webpage resume for prospective employers to see. Some jobs require the person bid on what they will do them for.

Think Outside The Box In Setting Long Range Family Budget Goals

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I took the header photo when I visited the Statue of Liberty on a trip to New York five years ago. I was born on the 4th of July, I used this photo to commemorate the independence of the United States.

I was growing up in the 1940’s and 1950’s after the war. I graduated from college in 1959. My parents made it clear that the way to get ahead and have a secure future was to get a college education, get a job with a large company with insurance and retirement benefits, and work for that company until you retire.

In retrospect, if every person adhered to that philosophy, there would be very few millionaires or successful people. It is true that most young people just out of high school or college have to resign themselves to working for existing successful businesses. In the Kindle book “Time to Make The Donuts” by William Rosenberg, the author tells the ethic that he held to establish and franchise “Dunkin Donuts”. He points out that a positive attitude and open eyes can propel virtually anyone to greater success.

In this internet age reaching out to friends, relatives, and work acquaintances through personal contact and social media can provide ideas and support to expand or change your employment goals and success. It is amazing that some of the most successful people have applied very simple ideas to promote a successful business. Instead of staring into space on breaks or spare time , have a thought process that entails thinking outside the box about your talents and how you could use them to advance your career. William Rosenberg tells how he did everything he could to make his first Dunkin Donuts the best it could possibly be. Then he duplicated that model for a second and third location, and from that he began his highly successful franchising model. In essence he had weeded out most of the bugs so a franchisee has a plan that would work without having to experience some of the growing pains he did.

I remember my first marketing experience selling apricots from our backyard tree by boxing them in strawberry boxes and selling them for five cents a box. I put them in my red wagon and pulled it around the block. I went to each door and offered the apricots. I sold all of them before I returned home. My parents were amazed. William Rosenberg tells that one of his first jobs was selling cups of ice to people in his neighborhood from a cooler during hot muggy weather. These simple experiences give a person confidence to meet and talk to people and teach a child public relations skills.

In the current employment market , it is very difficult for children and teenagers to find employment. Fast food employers do hire teenagers but with increased minimum wage laws and high unemployment older people are filling many of the jobs formerly held by teenagers and college students. Does this mean the younger people are dead in the water when it comes to getting a job? On the contrary. It is very common for children, teenagers, and college students, to have their own tablet or laptop computer.

I have been buying and selling items on eBay for over fourteen years. I attended the first “eBay Live” held in Anaheim California in 2001. Over six thousand people attended. I sat next to Meg Whitman , the president of eBay on one occasion. They featured testimonies of people successful in building full time businesses using eBay as the vehicle. One person telling their story was “Bubble-wrap Sally” that sold eBay shipping supplies. Another was a person from Los Angeles that bought big and tall men’s clothes on the east coast from failed businesses and marketed them in California. It is relatively easy to open an account on eBay and PayPal. One of my initial trial eBay marketing items was an Olympus camera two years old and all of the supporting items. I bought the item for $35 including shipping and sold it on eBay for $50 on eBay. It is pretty easy to detect those items sold by an individual with no idea what it is worth. You can see by looking at the other listings for the same item. If you have the cash you might look at lots of CD’s or DVD’s that are new. The lots will list the names of the items included, see if you think you can sell the items individually at a decent price resulting in a 50% profit on the lot. You will not get rich buying and selling on a small scale on eBay but you can supplement your income or provide projects for people that do not have jobs.

Thinking about improving your employment opportunities on a larger scale, ask friends , relatives, civic club members what businesses they think offer better opportunity. I had a black man come to me when I was a Financial Consultant for a member of the NYSE, this man wanted me to call on businesses and get contracts to line parking lots. The man was a janitor but had the lining business with all the frames on the side. He said since he was black and did not have nice clothes, he was not able to get many clients. He thought if he had a white business person get the jobs and he did the work he would get a lot more business. I considered it but I travelled a lot and could not consistently call on businesses. That man found a person to be his front man a few months later. He later told me he made $30,000 lining parking lots on weekends and the front man was paid
$5,000.

Service business are among the most profitable with a low investment in equipment. Rug cleaning, house cleaning, auto detailing, painting, plumbing, electric, lawn care, septic tank pumper, bicycle repair, child care, and the list goes on. Expanding on this a person can set up a business and hire several people to do the work and pay them an hourly wage and keep the profit on the job after paying the help and related payroll expenses.

I hope these ideas will help you to begin thinking outside the box and elevate your earning potential.

A Family Budget Contributes To Success

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The header photo was taken from my deck south of Fairplay, Colorado looking at Buffalo Peak.

My most recent fiction novel was released by Kindle Direct Publishing this week. I am offering the book free on Kindle as a promotion for two days this week May 11th and 12th. Just go to the link at the bottom of this post for “Single Male In Search of Single Female” click on it and you can obtain the book free on May 11th and 12th only. I do request that you write a review of the book when you have completed reading it by going to the “Review” link on the site for the book. Thanks for registering as a user of Easy Personal Budget. If you do not have a Kindle or Kindle on your PC , there is a free download at Amazon Kindle that allows you to read Kindle books on your PC and to shop in the Kindle Store.

IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO START A BUDGET FOR 2016
One third of the year 2016 has passed. How is your family budget working for you? If you do not have a family budget it is not too late to start. There is no sin in setting up an eight month budget for the balance of 2016.

The major steps in setting up a family personal budget are INCOME DETERMINATION. Begin by estimating the amount of income items you are currently receiving monthly and post them by month to a worksheet so you can show variations in the monthly amount if that is case. Then total the monthly expected income and show a TOTAL MONTHLY BUDGETED INCOME

Then list the RECURRING MONTHLY PAYMENTS for example mortgage payments, car payments , rent payments , loan payments , etc. Then list the recurring monthly expense items such as electricity, gas for heat, gasoline, water, trash collection, TV and Internet, tithing and giving to charities , etc.

Then list the items to accrue savings in case of emergency for medical expenses, auto repairs, home repairs, etc. Then list the annual items and show them under the month column they are to be paid. For example, property taxes, auto licenses, auto insurance, home owners insurance, etc.

Then list the items going into reserve accounts for example a vacation fund, new car fund, home improvement fund, education fund, etc.

Then list contributions to retirement accounts and investments

Then have a line for the amount you can put into savings monthly after you have posted the items above. The amount going to savings can vary from month to month depending on what is available after covering the budgeted expense items and availability of income.

AFTER CONSIDERING THAT ABOVE ITEMS DO YOU HAVE EXTRA MONEY OVER EXPENSES AND BUDGETED SAVINGS OR DO YOU HAVE MORE EXPENSES THAN INCOME? IF YOU HAVE MORE INCOME THAN EXPENSES AND BUDGETED SAVINGS, THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULD SAVE MORE? OR MAYBE YOU CAN AFFORD TO BUY A MAJOR ITEM YOU HAVE BEEN DEFERRING UNTIL THAT TIME WHEN YOU HAD THE MONEY AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR IT.

TESTIMONIES FROM PEOPLE THAT REGULARLY BUDGET ARE GENERALLY VERY POSITIVE

Many people have expressed joy and satisfaction that they take the time to budget and discuss with the family where their finances stand. On the other side of the fence those people that have never had a budget and now are ready to get stared tell horror stories of not knowing where they stand financially now and throughout most of their working life. I have had many subscribers to this blog tell me how much it has helped them and their children. Some have said the children encourage them to follow through on the family budget and take a real interest in it. It is truly very good training for children starting at a relatively young age and continuing until they leave home.

BANKS AND FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS USUALLY WANT TO SEE A BALANCE SHEET BEFORE LENDING MONEY TO A PERSON OR BUSINESS
If the family has a budget with current financial information , it should be no problem to transfer figures from the family budget to the bank forms. The lender will be impressed if your family can readily provide the financial information they are requesting prior to approving a loan.

THE FAMILY BUDGET AS A BASE TO DETERMINE IF YOU OR YOUR WIFE SHOULD CONSIDER A JOB CHANGE
If the family knows where they stand financially , they can project into the future what a job change might do to their family budget. If you do not know where you stand and you do not project the effect of a new job on your ability to pay bills, the job change might be a mistake. On the other side of the coin you might reject a job offer that in fact would be financially more beneficial because you do not know where your finances stand.

THESE ARE JUST A FEW CONSIDERATIONS THAT FAMILIES NEED TO CONSIDER THAT DEMONSTRATE THAT A FAMILY PERSONAL BUDGET CAN CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR SUCCESS.

If your family is need of a ADDITIONAL FAMILY INCOME and you enjoy taking digital photos see what this site dealing with drawing and photos can offer you.

On May 7,2016 my latest fiction book called “Single Male In Search Of Single Female” was released by Kindle Direct Publishing and can be obtained by clicking on this Single Male In Search of Single Female

Budgeting for A Family Vacation in 2016

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The header photo was taken from the deck of my home south of Fairplay, Colorado at Campground of the Rockies elevation 9,500 ft.

Vacations should not just happen and we charge everything to credit cards and pay the expenses over time for the next few months or a year. That is not budgeting for a vacation. After a family has filed their income tax and has a pretty good idea how their savings and bank accounts stand ,it may be a good time to forecast and begin a vacation plan.

Several posts ago I went over the budget categories and one of them was setting aside money on a monthly basis for a future vacation or getaways. Look at how much you have accumulated and you have on hand as a result of that budget.

Determine the trend in gasoline and airfare prices and see if one month might be better than another one. For example if the price per gallon of gasoline is going up every week and summer is just around the corner maybe an earlier vacation would be more economical. Fall Vacations are sometimes cheaper than Summer vacations when it comes to transportation and lodging. Food costs do not seem to vary too much from month to month , so fuel and lodging is probably the area where time consideration should be explored.

Walmart has coolers that plug into the cigarette lighter in your car, SUV, or pickup, that keep the contents at 40 degrees. A good food budgeting idea is to buy packaged items such as meats, cheese, and bread for sandwiches, also soft drinks can also be stored in the cooler. It also saves the cost of ice and and not as messy as buying bags of ice for a cooler.

Side trips and admission to theme parks can many times be purchased at a discount on line. Search for the attractions you are considering for your vacation on line and see if they have discount coupons that can be printed or special times that save on ticket costs.

A well planned road trip can save a family time and money. Select the dates you plan to travel and where you plan to stay. Are there friends or relatives that you could stay with some of the nights? If not, search the hotels and motels for each city where you plan to stay and see which ones meet your needs. If you have a motor home or a camper purchasing a Good Sam Membership or KOA Kampground discount card can save you money on each stay. When you pick motels, ask if they have a continental breakfast or full breakfast? Not having to buy breakfast can save quite a bit of money. Having a continental breakfast furnished by the hotel should be considered comparing costs to hotels that do not provide a continental breakfast. Ask if there is a discount for staying three or more days? Ask about room tax and fees? In Las Vegas they have a very high room tax fee that can be as much as $50 a night for many hotels on the strip.

After you have computed the approximate number of gallons of gasoline you will need ,or your air fare, then compute your lodging costs for the nights you are not staying with friend and relatives. Add the cost of entertainment, such horseback riding, theme parks , swimming parks, ocean parks, national parks, state parks. Compute the estimated cost for food purchased and for costs eating in restaurants. What is the Total Cost? Can you afford them amount without spacing it out on a credit card in future months?

If the cost exceeds your budget then look at what you can do to bring the costs in line with your budget. Possibly several mini vacations might be the solution to get costs in line with your budget and cash flow?

HAVE A GREAT VACATION THIS YEAR!

Family Budget For Emergency Preparedness

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The photo was taken last week in Apache Junction, Arizona located just west of Superstition Mountain that appears in the background below the moon.

For many years I am sure most families have heard warnings to prepare your family for an extreme emergency. I know that many years ago we had cans of water , cans of beans, cans of flour, and dried fruits and meat stored in case food items were not available. Then there came a point that we either had to use the emergency items, throw them out, or destroy them. The water cans became rusty, and most of the food was not usable after five years. The dried fruits and meats could be used if used within the expiration dates on the packages. In addition camp stoves, propane, matches or lighters were recommended so families could cook or boil water for purification. Blankets , wood , methods of providing heat in case of power outages are recommended. A good supply of flashlights and batteries are recommended.

Canned vegetables, canned fruits, canned meats, and bottled water are some of the recommended items for food storage at this time. Cases of purified water are cheap when purchased on sale at many stores. Canned food items can be purchased on sale. If the water is rotated using the oldest first , the family should have a fresh usable supply of water. Depending on the items, rotating the food items can result in fresh food always being available in case of emergency.

My son’s family has a food storage area in their basement. He built a can rotating shelf with vertical channels the width of cans and high enough to hold twenty-four cans. When they need a can they pull a can out at the bottom. When the supply of an item is low they add the items to the top of channel. This method of food rotation should eliminate a lot of the waste.

When buying batteries for your flashlights and any emergency items using batteries like am AM FM Weather Radio, rotate the batteries by using them in other items and replenishing the emergency batteries so they will be fresh.

I have two very nice medium priced bicycles that I keep in good repair. It is amazing how far you can travel on a bicycle in a short time. I found a source for bicycle speedometers that cost about $6 each that you can use to see how many miles you are riding daily and cumulatively. I have gone over six hundred miles here in Arizona since we arrived November first. I will have gone over one thousand miles before we leave in May. The reason I mention bicycles is because if there was a fuel shortage and you were unable to buy gasoline or it was rationed, a person could run errands on a bike. You say, well a bike costs quite a bit of money! If you look on Craig’s List there are literally hundreds of bicycles for sale in the larger city areas ranging from $35 to over six thousand dollars. I have purchased bicycles in great condition on Craig’s List for $100 each and have helped a lot of people find bicycles in this area. One of the bikes was a Diamondback Wildwood 21 speed, the other was an 18 speed model 3400 Trek. I ride bicycles every morning with a group of men and women for a distance of 3.5 miles partly up hill and than come back down that area. We call ourselves “The Wild Javelina’s” as opposed to ” The Wild Hogs”. Each member has a badge with our name on it, and a photo of a bike, and a javelina on it.

When buying a bicycle look at the wheels and make sure they are perfectly round and not bent, that all of the spokes are there , and the tires are not checked and have good tread. Ride it and make sure the gears and the de-railer work properly. Make sure the brakes work evenly. If it appears the bicycle just needs adjustment, it still might be a good buy if the frame, wheels, tires , and seat are in good condition. Most older people want a wide comfortable seat. A new seat meeting that description costs $40 to $50 at a bicycle shop. Some bikes do not come with kickstands. If that is the case and you want a kickstand. Walmart has kickstands for less than $7. Walmart also has rear view mirrors that attach to the handlebars. On Amazon or eBay you can buy headlights and a tail light both of which can be set to flash for less than $10. Of course you also need a good bicycle helmet to protect yourself in case you fall and hit your head on the ground. A Schwinn helmet costs about $20 at Walmart.

Get ready to Ride, it is fun, healthy , and can save on gasoline

Have You Ever Considered Writing A Book?

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Before I get into the opportunities available to everyone that has considered writing a book, I will provide a few suggestions for the year 2016.

Are You Getting a Large Refund From The IRS?
If you are getting a large refund back from the IRS, why let them use your money all year so you can wait for it in early 2017? If you have this situation, possibly you should get a W-4 form if you are salaried and increase the number of exemptions. If you pay quarterly tax estimates possibly your quarterly tax estimates are too high. if you get a large refund on your 2015 Tax Return. A person in this situation has the option of applying the refund to their first or second quarter tax estimate in the new tax year , 2016 in this case.

If You Are Having to pay a Large amount when you file your 2015 tax return?
There is a good chance you are also going to have a penalty assessed plus interest for not paying quarterly estimates that match the period when you received the income. If you are paying estimates religiously, compute how much income is taxable in that quarter so you will not incur a penalty.

If you are having to pay a significant amount of additional income taxes, in addition to what was withheld by your employer based on your W-4 form, probably you need to decrease the number of exemptions you are using or enter a percentage you want withheld on the W-4 form.

The main requirement is to match your taxes paid to the IRS to the periods when the income was received.

Amazon Kindle What Can You Do?
I am sure most of you have heard of a Amazon Kindle. Recently Kindle offered a Kindle Fire for less than $40. The Kindle Fire can receive email if you have WIFI service and can access sites on the internet.
In addition just like the original Kindles that came out for the purpose of downloading and reading books sold by Amazon, the Kindle Fire allows you to download books and read them. The Kindle Fire has the screens in color just like a PC. Originally the Kindles only allowed a person to read books on black and white screens. I can assure you , that you are getting your money’s worth at $40 for the Kindle Fire Amazon is offering.

If you do not have a Kindle from Amazon, you have the option of going out on the internet and entering Kindle for PC as a search and it will direct you to software so you can purchase and read Kindle books on your PC just like a Kindle.

You Want To Write A Book?
Just about everyone has commented that they should write a book and later qualify that statement with the statement, “If I knew how?” First of all to write a book you need an idea and to act on that idea. Discipline yourself to write and expand on that idea every day until you have a complete manuscript. Then read and re-read the manuscript about ten times to get all the bugs out of it and improve what you have written. There are very reasonable services found on the internet that will proofread your manuscript , do a cover for it , and format it to match Kindle Direct Publishing’s requirements.

When you think your manuscript is ready to be published. Go to Kindle Direct Publishing on the internet and read the tutorial for getting a book published on for Kindle. There are several short books on Kindle that are guides on how to get your manuscript on to Kindle and how to market it. It is a tedious process to get the book ready but after you get it submitted and accepted by Kindle, you will have a great feeling of accomplishment.

Marketing Your Book on Kindle

Marketing the book is the most challenging part of the process. Kindle Direct Publishing offers you the opportunity to join an organization that will allow you to offer your book for free for several days two times during a three month period. The object of offering it free is to get a lot of copies in circulation and hopefully the people will write positive reviews about your book so it will sell copies after the free period ends.

I have a book called “Lottery Lingo ‘Sorry Not A Winner'” on Kindle and will be releasing another book on Kindle called “Single Male In Search of Single Female” very soon.

Writing is fun and can be rewarding. The marketing aspect is the most challenging.

Good Luck and I hope to read your book soon!

How Much Are You Paying For Income Tax Preparation?

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It is the time of the year when many families are starting to get their information ready to prepare their 2015 Federal and State Income Tax returns.
I have friends that have paid large amounts for a CPA firm or tax preparation service to prepare their tax returns in past years. Is that really necessary? In cases where a person has a business that necessitates the preparation of a Schedule C to accompany their form 1040, possibly they should hire a professional to prepare the return.

If a couple has only W-2 Forms that come from their employer or employers, interest income, dividend income, and retirement income with the appropriate forms received, then possibly they should be preparing their tax return themselves.

As an example if someone wants great software to prepare their 2015 Federal and State Income Tax returns, they should consider TurboTax or some of the other personal income tax software that is available at Sam’s, Costco, Walmart, etc. The reason I mention those three outlets is that they usually discount the online price. TurboTax can be purchased totally online.

I found a source five years ago on eBay that offers TurboTax at a really large discount.
You might want to look at eBay and Amazon and see what is available for tax preparation software from them.

You need to know what version of TurboTax you need. There is a version for taxpayers that only have W-2 Income, retirement income, interest, and dividend income. There is a business version that has the forms and instructions for preparing the return which includes Schedule C for small businesses.

Partnership, Sub-Chapter S, and Corporate tax return software is also available if taxpayers want to do those returns on their own.

One of the disadvantages of going to a tax return preparer is they want to sell you support coverage for an additional Fee, a processing charge including an extremely high interest rate for a loan for immediate refunds.

Let’s say a family has been paying a tax preparation service $100 past years for preparation of a simple tax return. For approximately $50 they could purchase TurboTax for Federal and one State or some other tax software and have it for more then one tax return. Families with working children will need to file returns for them to get their refund money back. TurboTax has a tutorial that flows throw the return, it checks for errors and reports them to you. The return is not ready for submission until the errors are corrected. Then when the return is finished it can be electronically transmitted and you can print a copy of the return for your records.

When you purchase TurboTax you are allowed one state return which you select when you begin preparing the State Return after you have finished the Federal Return.

Starting A Small Business To Supplement Your Budget

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WILL A PART TIME BUSINESS ADD TO YOUR INCOME?
One scenario that seems fairly common is couples with one or both working for an employer, is for them to look for a small business to supplement their income. The search for a small business that will truly supplement your income may not be easy. Most couples find that there are numerous multi-level marketing plans that their friends and relatives and strangers want to show them. There are many many so called business opportunities that really will not supplement a families income, in fact, they may be the cause of additional expenditures that destroy the family budget.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE EXPERIENCES FOR PREVIOUS PARTIES ENROLLING IN A PARTICULAR BUSINESS?
If you are introduced to a part time home business that you feel will help supplement your income, be sure to investigate it fully before enrolling. The world wide web has lots of testimonials concerning businesses. Google the company you are considering doing business with and see if you find useful information about the experiences others have had with that company. If you do enroll take the stance of the coach that pumps up the team before every game. There will be disappointments and positive experiences, the husband and wife need to be prepared to weather the storms and share in the victory celebration. For example if a part time business encourages you to put up several thousand dollars and carry an inventory of the product in your garage, do some research on the web to see what experiences others have had with this company. If you find that it appears there has been negative feedback for this company, probably you will want to pass on this business.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES THAT DROP SHIP OR DO NOT REQUIRE INVENTORY OFFER A BETTER CHANCE FOR INCOME
If a business compensates the home marketers based on the sales the person makes and drop ships the products, this might be an income possibility. Your family needs to be sold on the product or plan and you need to be able to sell the product. There must be a demand for the product marketed in this manner. Also if you are required to enroll other people to enhance your income , make sure you have a concrete idea of how you plan to find the people and successfully enroll them in the business. Fully investigate the promises a person might give you that they will train you to do the business and your success is guaranteed.

An example of a couple that has succeeded in a marketing business is my son and his wife. They began marketing pure therapeutic grade essential oils with a company just prior to the launch of the company. They recruit people that are sold on the benefits of therapeutic grade essential oils in promoting better health, alternative treatments , and better living using essential oils for cleaning, cooking etc. it is eight years later , the company has grown beyond their greatest expectations. My daughter-in-law quit the job as a emergency room nurse supervisor three years ago and my son and her devote full time to the essential oil business. This business requires that each person enrolled use the products on a regular basis. They are compensated based on their sales and the sales of those they enroll. My son and his wife have people they have enrolled in a large number of states, some in Canada , and in Mexico. Their income is dramatically higher than when they depended on an employer to pay them enough to fulfill their financial needs. The people interested in the benefits of the pure therapeutic grade essential oils continues to increase as medical and hospitalization costs rise and in many cases are not effective. There is an unlimited number of people available worldwide guarding against a saturated market for the products. The job of those doing this business is show the product to families and let them decide if it is beneficial to them?

THE POINT OF THIS EXAMPLE IS THAT A PERSON OR COUPLE CAN CHANGE THEIR LIFE STYLE AND BE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL IF THEY ARE SOLD ON THE BUSINESS AND ARE WILLING TO WORK VERY HARD TO MAKE THE BUSINESS GO. THERE IS NO MIDDLE OF THE ROAD OR PROCRASTINATION DEFERRING ACTION. IT IS A CASE OF CLIMBING A LADDER WITHOUT A STEP LIMIT, STEP BY STEP, AND LOOKING DOWN PERIODICALLY TO PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK TO SEE WHERE YOU HAVE COME FROM.

If you have considered getting a generator as a back up source of electricity for your home, possibly the instructions on generating your own power with the use of a small solar system in your backyard could offer the most economical way to accomplish that task.
Making Electricity Click Here!

If your family is need of a ADDITIONAL FAMILY INCOME and you enjoy taking digital photos see what this site dealing with drawing and photos can offer you.

A good source for pure therapeutic grade essential oils can be found here Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils Explanations and a virtual catalog of available oils is accestsible through the website.

Danger Signs That Personal Financial Disaster Might Be Ahead

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There was a link on Yahoo to an article that pointed out five of the danger signs that financial instability might be in the future of a person or family. The link to that article is Five Danger Signs that may signal financial disaster may be on the horizon.

HAVING TOO MANY CREDIT CARDS WITH LIMITS HIGHER THAN CAN BE PAID OFF MONTHLY is an indicator that a person is digging a hole for themselves. Also it affects your credit score dramatically with a large number of different credit cards are approved for you and your spouse. The credit rating services take into consideration that the person could charge the maximum on each card which dramatically affect their ability to pay other debts. Also if the person is paying interest on the cards it is usually at a very high rate as high as 13% up to over 30%.

BEWARE OF ZERO INTEREST CREDIT OFFERS FOR UP TO A YEAR OR SOMETIMES EVEN LONGER. There are transaction fees associated with transferring balances from other cards or from writing checks that are charged to the credit card to pay bills. The transaction fee may be anywhere from 3% to 10% of the total amount paid using the zero interest credit card offer. Also you must be sure to pay the credit card on time monthly. A delinquent payment after the specified payment date will cause the card to revert to normal interest rates usually going back to the inception date of the amount borrowed.

FINANCIAL EMERGENCIES MAY NECESSITATE BORROWING MORE MONEY THAN YOU PROJECTED IN YOUR FAMILY BUDGET. If it is necessary to borrow a larger amount than your monthly budget can handle. Determine the amount you can pay back on the necessary amount monthly. It might be wise to go to the bank or credit union and request a loan to pay this debt. The interest rate will almost always be significantly less than the credit card rates. A signature loan is preferable. If it is necessary to offer collateral for the loan, than possibly another alternative needs to be investigated. Possibly an emergency loan from a retirement fund or insurance policy if those options are available in your case. Many times only medical emergencies are a reason to borrow from a retirement fund or insurance policy. An exception is if an insurance policy permits sometimes it might be advantageous to borrow to help with the down payment on the purchase of a home.

THE MAIN ADVICE IS TO USE GOOD JUDGEMENT AND DO NOT PANIC IF AN EMERGENCY OCCURS. A SOUND PLAN HAS PULLED A LOT OF FAMILIES OUT OF UNEXPECTED EMERGENCIES. PEOPLE MAY HAVE A TEMPORARY LAPSE IN GOOD JUDGEMENT AND NEED TO ADJUST THEIR BUDGET TO COMPENSATE FOR THIS ADVENT.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF 401-K, 403-B, IRA, AND 457 FEDERAL RETIREMENT PROGRAMS IF ELIGIBLE

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It is generally beneficial to invest in the individual retirement program (401-K) offered by your employer which is usually a corporation or private employer, or partnership. If you or your spouse work for an educational employer or a State institution, usually you are eligible to invest in a 403-B Program. Government employees are usually eligible to invest in a 457-B Program. You will find that there are many different 401-K programs designed and set up for the various employers. The 403-B programs have several major financial companies that offer a variety of variable mutual fund options or a fixed a annuity option.

I was a stockbroker specializing in municipal bonds and the full spectrum of stocks for seven years. I was also a financial consultant marketing variable and fixed annuities to employees of school districts, colleges, and state institutions for five years.

EXAMPLE OF A 401-K PROGRAM
Let’s say an employer offers to match the employees contribution at a 50% rate up to 3% with a maximum contribution of 6% by the employee for matching purposes. That means if the employee chooses to contribute 6% the employer will contribute 3%. If the employee contributes 2% the employer will contribute 1% to the employee’s account. The employee usually deals with one investment company the employer has chosen. The investment company gives the employee a prospectus outlining the investment option available to the employee. Usually several mutual funds are available that the employee can choose from. The more common choices are a STOCK INDEX FUND, A BALANCED FUND(meaning the fund is invested in stocks and bonds), EUROPEAN STOCK FUND, CORPORATE BOND FUND, TECHNOLOGY FUND, INTERNATIONAL FUND, etc. The employee can choose from the fund choices , usually the choice is limited to three funds from those offered with the right for the employee to allocate their contribution. An example might be contribute one third to each of three funds. The age and point in the employees working life influence the best choices of funds for an employee. If the employee is close to retirement , THE BALANCED FUND, that is more conservative than the STOCK INDEX FUND, might be a better choice. If an employee is planning to work for ten or more years , THE STOCK INDEX FUND , might be the best choice for them. Statistically, over a period of ten years most STOCK INDEX FUNDS have a positive performance record that out performs fixed interest type investments. Also an employee can invest more than 6% in most cases if they want to but the investment over 6% would not be matched and also it is possible that the employee might have to pay income tax on the the contribution above the allowed amount depending on the tax laws at the time of the investment. Usually the money invested in a 401-K program up to the allowed limit is tax deferred meaning that the employee does not pay tax on the investment at the time it is invested, they are liable for income taxes when they withdraw amounts from the 401-K which usually is in retirement years when their income is normally less than their working years. Also also this tax deferred money is generating income in most cases which is also not taxed until withdrawn. If an employee needs to withdraw money earlier than age 55 , they may incur a 10% penalty in addition to the income taxes for early withdrawal.

AN EXAMPLE OF A 403-B PROGRAM
If an employee is employed by a school district, college, university, non-profit organization, or some states, they will probably have a 403-B retirement program which they may participate in. There are several large companies that specialize in offering a variety of mutual funds with different investment goals that the employee can choose from There are percentage limits governing the amount the employee can contribute. In some cases the employer matches exactly the percentage the employee contributes, in some cases the employer contributes a larger percentage than the employee. There are withdrawal restrictions and a tax penalty would be incurred if funds are withdrawn before the age of 55. The employees are each given a prospectus by the company they are enrolled with for the 403-B Program. In some cases the employee may only change the contribution percentage once a year usually in September. Variable annuities offered under this program have investments in securities and bonds and fluctuate with the financial markets. Fixed annuities guarantee a fixed amount at retirement and the investments are in fixed securities that help protect the investment. Fixed annuities are sometimes called defensive investments for those close to retirement when the investor cannot afford to take a change that their retirement funds are going to decrease significantly in value.

AN EXAMPLE OF A 457 PROGRAM
Civil Service U.S. Government employees have different rules than the 403-B program and this program is called the section 457 program. Investment companies offering products eligible for the 457 Programs will have a prospectus and other historical data so the eligible employee can make decisions best for their age and future investment expectations.

IF YOU OR YOUR SPOUSE IS ELIGIBLE FOR ANY OF THESE PROGRAMS BE SURE TO MAKE AN EFFORT TO PARTICIPATE. IT WILL REALLY BE BENEFICIAL FOR YOUR RETIREMENT INCOME OR INCOME IF FOR SOME EMERGENCY MAKING IT NECESSARY TO MAKE SOME EARLY WITHDRAWALS EVEN
IF YOU HAVE TO PAY A 10% PENALTY IN ADDITION TO THE CURRENT TAX RATE AT THE TIME OF WITHDRAWAL.