Archive for November, 2006

Christian Debt Consolidation Services – Improve Your Financial Health

Thursday, November 30th, 2006

Christian debt consolidation services help people to learn to curtail spending, reduce debts and control money through negotiation and advice. The services provide counsel on the different ways out of debt, and or how to decrease monthly bills. The counselors of Christian debt services help you to determine your credit problems and aid in bringing down high interest rates on your credit cards, student loans, personal loans etc. Most of these Christian debt consolidation services, which are non profit debt consolidation services, offer debt consolidation programs and also online Christian debt consolidation planning.

Why Do We Need Debt Consolidation

Debt consolidation programs help you to create plans, which allow you to lower your unsecured debts. In most cases, unsecured debts include personal loans, credit cards, store credit cards, monthly medical bills, IRS and other utility bills. Please note here that it is always better to find a solution with IRS and work out monthly installments. This way it is often cheaper and you can avoid debt consolidation fees and installments.

With the help of Christian debt consolidation services, you can negotiate with your creditors. Thus Christian debt counselors argue on your behalf and try to get the interest rates on your unsecured loans or debts lowered. The organization puts together all your monthly bills and you have to pay only one monthly installment. You will be surprised to know that at times your monthly bills reduce to less than half of what you have been paying earlier. In most cases, however, the amount reduces to half of your payments.

Once you have reduced your bills with the help of the Christian debt consolidation services, you pay the organization every month. The Christian debt organization distributes these funds to the creditors. The Christian organization charges a certain percentage of payment for its services and efforts. This means that you have to pay a monthly charge to the agency handling your affairs. You should be careful here. See carefully if there are any hidden charges. Do not pay extra money to reduce debts.

Debt consolidation is a process in which you combine several of your unsecured debts into one convenient payment. The program helps you to become debt free and independent sooner than you think. In most cases, Christian debt consolidation services can work with collection agencies to carve a schedule of repayment for the unpaid unsecured debt. This helps the consumer in many ways.

It creates a budget where you can meet all the household expenses along with the monthly bill.
All collection calls are referred to the organization working on your behalf.
You can breathe free air as all credit calls and harassing letters stop as soon as your payments become routine.
You get budget counseling and are educated on the ways to manage your money more efficiently.

best-credit-card-debt-consolidation.com/christian_debt_consolidation_services.html Christian debt consolidation services provide help to the followers of Christian faith to reduce debt. These non profit debt consolidation services also provide services such as online best-credit-card-debt-consolidation.com/christian_debt_consolidation.html Christian debt consolidation planning. For more on ways to reduce Christian debt credit and card debt reduction, visit best-credit-card-debt-consolidation.com Best Credit Card Debt Consolidation

The Forever Strategy

Thursday, November 30th, 2006

As trend timers, we would not have developed our timing strategies without first researching not only the strategies, but the history of the financial markets.

What we found, was that market trends are much more pervasive than most would think. In fact, trends could have been traded just as profitably 200 years ago, as they are today.

Looking back at price data for 100 and 200 years, the very same trending markets existed. They endured short times of sideways (non-trending) movement just as today, and long periods of strong advancing and declining trends. Yesterday, just as today, trading trends would be profitable.

There are several important guidelines to successful trend timing that become easily apparent. Again, whether used 200 years ago or today, they are just as important. And they will be just as important tomorrow, ten years from now, or any time in the future, as long as free markets are traded.

Highly Disciplined Trading Plans

Successful trend timing strategies use highly disciplined trading plans.

In the short term, the markets are run by the majority who are reacting to the emotions of fear and greed. It is “comforting” to be moving along with the crowd. That is why the majority do it. But it is NOT profitable.

The “majority” do not profit.

Executing a trading plan using unemotional buy and sell signals, designed to capture the majority move of all major trends whether up or down, removes destructive emotions from the equation.

A market timer may feel the pressure to disobey the plan. He may be swayed by advice from friends, current events, or the extremely powerful emotions of fear and/or greed. But by sticking to a trading plan that NEVER misses a trend, you will profit over time.

If a trend fails, the trading plan will quickly reverse. If the trend becomes a long term highly profitable one, the plan keeps you fully invested and does not allow you to exit in times of emotional corrections when the crowd is exiting in droves.

Ignoring Short Term Volatility

Successful trend timing strategies ignore short term volatility in the attempt to realize superior profits during major trending markets.

Trends can last months, and even years. During those profitable trends there will be corrections to the trend. Exiting at every correction leaves a trend timer on the outside looking in. Reacting to counter trend corrections usually results in losses. This is why FibTimer stands steady during such corrections.

The is an almost overwhelming desire to “act” in the face of an adverse market move.

Often it is labelled “avoiding volatility” with the assumption being that volatility is bad.

But avoiding volatility often inhibits the ability to stay with the current long term trend. The desire to have close stops, and to preserve “open trade” profits has enormous costs over time.

Long term timing strategies do not avoid volatility. They patiently sit though it. This reduces the chances of being forced out of a position in the middle of a long term move.

Finally, a successful Trend Timing strategy, never allows losses to accumulate. Trend timers are protected from large losses by their strategy which never allows a failed trend to hurt capital. Trendless and/or volatile markets are inevitable. But a good timing strategy protects capital.

You cannot avoid the occasional failed trend and you cannot avoid the occasional trendless market. We had both in the first half of 2004. But a good timing strategy will not allow losses to accumulate. Capital is kept intact so when the next profitable trend begins, we are ready to jump on board and ride it to the end.

Conclusion

At FibTimer we do offer weekly analysis to prepare subscribers for what is “likely” to come. Better to be prepared than to be hit with surprises.

But we never presuppose that we are so smart we can tell, unerringly, what the markets will do next.

Trend timers do not try to anticipate reversals or breakouts. They respond to them.

Trend timers are not prognosticators. We just identify and follow trends.

Trend timers believe the markets are smarter than any of us. We make it our business not to try to figure out why the markets are going up or down, or even where they are going to stop.

Successful trend timers identify trends, and patiently allow them to play out.

We will now make a prediction, even though we say predictions are a fools game. This is a prediction (we predict) that will stand the test of time.

Prediction: Stocks will never go up forever because trends always reverse themselves. Stocks will never go down forever because trends eventually reverse themselves. At FibTimer, we will “always” be on board all major and profitable trends. During sideways non-trending markets, we may not profit, but we will always preserve capital. And lastly, over any fair time frame (2-3 years) FibTimer will always profit and successfully “beat” the markets.

www.fibtimer.com

Bad Credit Habits ‘Learned From Elders’

Thursday, November 30th, 2006

Lax attitude towards spending reflection of parent’s habits

Following a report into the borrowing beliefs of teenagers, an investment expert has said that children should be educated and not bullied into saving money if they are to avoid a life of bad debt.

Ben Yearsley, from Hargreaves Lansdown, said that the young people’s lax attitude towards spending and debt is probably a reflection of their parents’ habits.

His comments follow a survey from the Personal Finance Education Group (pfeg) that found the majority of teenagers in England have been or are in debt by the time they are 17-years-old and have a “worryingly laidback” approach to money.

Mr Yearsley said that the 1.25 trillion of personal debt among the adult population is a bad example to children, a fact that parents “need to think about” before making their children behave more responsibly.

“I don’t think it is necessarily about forcing children to save it’s educating and teaching them about what is going to be needed later in life,” he said.

Teenagers believe credit card debt does not need to be repaid

One of the most significant findings of the pfeg survey is that some teenagers think that credit card credit debt does not need to be repaid at all.

Experts are concerned that a lack of understanding on such matters will lead to a rise in individual voluntary arrangements and bankruptcies, which will impact on people’s ability to borrow credit in the future.

At least one in five consumers in the north-east face serious financial hardship because of bad debt, new research suggests.

22% of people in North East likely to declare insolvency

Debt consultancy Thomas Charles told the Observer that 22 per cent of people in the north-east are either ‘likely’ or ‘certain’ to declare to go insolvent in the near future. It said that 21 per cent owe more than 10,000 in unsecured credit, including personal loans, credit cards, student loans and overdrafts.

Also revealed by the firm is that 19 per cent of Londoners owe at least 10,000 in unsecured debt.

This is despite warnings from experts that severe, unaffordable debt often leads to people being refused credit in the future and can make it more difficult to take out a competitive mortgage.

Alliance & Leicester told the newspaper that the north-east is one of the most indebted areas of the country, with unsecured debt equivalent to 26.9 per cent to the average income.

Meanwhile, a study by Experian for the BBC has found that people in Manchester and Glasgow feel under more financial pressure than other Brits, while the south-west was dubbed the UK’s bankruptcy hotspot.

On What Basis Does The Borrower Grant Secured Loans?

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

Homeowners in the UK have a great advantage over others, as they can easily get loans and that too on a reasonable rate of interest with added advantages like flexible repayment options. Homeowners need not hunt for loans like tenants and other non-homeowners. Lenders in the UK loan market prefer granting loans to those who can pledge their home as security, as personal insolvencies in UK are increasing at an alarming rate, and lenders don’t want to take chances by offering unsecured loans.

Secured loans are availed by borrowers who need hefty amounts at low interest rates. These loans are beneficial for the lender as well as the borrower. Secured loans are granted on the basis of the following:

Home Equity- It is the market value of the house minus all the debts incurred against the home. This may include the first charge on the loan. The amount given by the lender as secured loans is directly proportional to the home equity. So, home equity is the most important factor for the lender. Nowadays, the lenders also give up to 125% of the equity value if the borrower has a good credit score or DTI ratio.

Credit Score- It can be defined as the score ranging from 300 to 900 which reflects the credit worthiness of a borrower, and is primarily determined by timeliness of past loan payments. Anything above 700 is a good credit score, with which a borrower has a good chance of acquiring a loan. However, in case of secured loans, if the home equity value is good enough, lenders sometimes may ignore a bad credit score.

Disposable income- This reflects the paying capacity of the borrower and is judged by the DTI i.e., Debt to income ratio. DTI is calculated by dividing the incomes of the borrower by his expenditures and if it comes out to be greater than 3.6, there are good chances for the borrower to avail a loan comfortably. The lender doesn’t usually ignore DTI because a borrower may have equity in his house; but, to repay the loan, his income should be greater than his expenses.

So, lenders granting secured loans keep in mind the above stated factors.

About The Author: The author is a business writer specializing in finance and credit products and has written authoritative articles on the finance industry. He has done his masters in business administration and is currently assisting Shakespearefinance as a finance specialist.

For more information about shakespearefinance.co.uk/personal-loans.html personal loans please visit: shakespearefinance.co.uk shakespearefinance.co.uk

Using And Practising The Traditional Weapons Of Jujitsu

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

An ancient art of self defense, Juitsu can be traced back 2500 years, although much of the history of jujitsu has been lost over the centuries with other Asian cultures combining to form what we now call Jujitsu. The first mention of Jujitsu can be dated around 772-481 BC in Choon Chu, China. During this era empty hand techniques were used as opposed to the later jujitsu weapons. Legend has it that the gods Kajima and Kadori used the art against the people of an eastern province as a punishment for their crimes.

It was in 525 AD that a Zen monk known as Boddidharma visited the Shaolin monastery and combined Japanese –Kenpo and a form of yogic breathing to form Shaolin chuan. Legend has it that he kept developing this style and came up with go-shin-jutsu-karate, which translates to self-defense art of the empty hand. It is believed that between 794 and 1185 AD, during the Heian period the empty hand technique was taught to Samurai warriors as well as their weapons training, although weapons did dominate during this period. In 880 Ad Prince Teijun formed a school and taught the use of circular hand motions to help in the defense from attackers with weapons. But it is Hisamori Teninuchi who is given the credit for formalizing jujitsu in Japan in 1532 and Jigoro Kano developed Judo in 1882 and this set the tone for a combining of many skills used in competition today.

Today there are many forms of jujitsu, all based on the original forms. Some styles using only hands and feet, others using weapons and some a combination of all. Jujitsu weapons, especially the swords are very ornate with expertly carved handles. The longest of the jujitsu weapons is the bo or kon, which is a long staff, originally made of tapered hard wood or bamboo. The art of wielding the bo is called bojutsu. The bo is used to increase the force delivered in a strike, through leverage. The Bo may also be thrown at an opponent. This weapon mainly used for self-defense and can be used in combination with kicks and blocks or in combined with other weapons or techniques. Other weapons include the hanbo which is a three-foot staff, a katana or long sword , wakizashi or kodachi which is a short sword, tanto knife, or a jitte -short one hook truncheon. There is also an array of other weapons used in jujitsu. Using and practicing with traditional weapons of jujitsu needs excellent first hand instruction and involves a lot of repartition to come somewhere close to perfecting the techniques.

Although there are three main forms of jujitsu today there are actually many styles with completions at all levels. Jujitsu weapons also have their place in competition under very controlled rules and regulations as with all martial arts codes which ensures safety for competitors.

Yoshi E Kundagawa is a freelance journalist. He covers the
mixed martial arts industry. For a free report on

How to Use a Discount Broker to Get Cheaper Life Insurance

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

Most of us know that a life insurance broker is a middleman; someone who acts as an intermediary between an insurance company and a person who wants to buy life cover. A discount broker is different in that some or all of their commission from selling a life insurance policy is sacrificed to reduce your premiums.

If you’re on a budget, using an independent discount broker can help you get a good deal on your life cover and allow you to save as much as 40%. Note that the term ‘discount’ doesn’t mean the insurance you buy is of any lesser quality. The insurance policy you buy is exactly the same as the policy you’d buy directly from the company, but you pay less.

Using a discount life insurance broker is typically cheaper than buying directly from an insurance company for three reasons:

1.First, the broker has access to a large number of companies, so they’re able to quickly and easily search for cheaper policies that match what you want. 2.Second, a broker typically does a large amount of business and can often access volume discounts from insurance companies that the general public can’t. They receive commissions from the insurance companies they work with, and sacrifice some or all of these earnings to maximise the premium savings for customers. 3.Third, a discount broker does not offer any financial advice so won’t tell you which policies will work best for you. This way, the brokers operating costs are reduced which is passed on to you in the form of commission discounts.

This third reason is perhaps the only real disadvantage of using a discount broker. When it comes to deciding which policy will best meet your needs, you’re on your own, which means you must spend time researching various policies so you can decide which will provide the most advantages.

But the main reason for using a discount life insurance broker is the cost. By sacrificing some or all of their commissions, your premiums can be reduced by 20%-30% when compared to buying exactly the same policy from the same insurer. If you compared the savings to buying cover from a bank or mortgage lender, the savings can be even higher.

Finding discount life insurance brokers online isn’t difficult, but it can be tough to sort through them all to find the best. Don’t assume that all brokers are created equal; they vary widely in the amount of commission they will sacrifice and in the number of life insurance companies they have access to. When you’re searching for a broker, look for one who offers minimal fees and has access to a large range of insurance companies. They’re the ones who are most likely to give you the best prices.

Using a discount broker isn’t necessarily faster than buying direct from an insurance company. Instead of spending time comparison shopping for insurance, you’ll most likely end up shopping for brokers, instead. However, even if you don’t save much time, you’ll save some money by using a discount life insurance broker.

Pay up to 40% less for the same life insurance policy from the same insurer with Life Saver. Compare life-saver.co.uk” target=”_blank discounted life insurance quotes from up to twenty UK insurers in seconds and apply for cover in a matter of minutes.

SUV and Truck Bike Racks

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

Truck and SUV drivers may not know that they have an option for a car bike rack for their vehicle, too. A receiver car bike rack is what they need, rather than letting their bikes ride in the back of the truck or SUV. This car bike rack will fit their vehicle perfectly and it will keep your bicycle safe.

Without a car bike rack, you may find that your bicycle is susceptible to damage. Your bicycle is not going to be stable in the back of your truck or SUV, which will mean that it moves around. This can cause dents, dings, and scratches to your bicycle and your vehicle, which is bad news. In a SUV, it is irritating to have to fold down the seats every time that you want to load up your bike, which is why you will want to check into a receiver car bike rack for your truck or SUV.

You can put a receiver car bike rack on the receiver hitch on your truck or SUV. This will help keep your bicycle safe and will keep your vehicle from being damaged as well. You will like the ease of installation and use that a receiver car bike rack can give you.

If you are tired of having to put down or remove seats in your SUV to get your bicycle to fit, then you will enjoy the receiver car bike rack. This will give you more room for your family and you will not have to concern yourself with how to get everything and everyone to the location that you want to go biking.

Convenience abounds with a receiver hitch car bike rack. You will find that you will go bicycling more, simply because it is easy to load and install. It doesn’t make it more difficult to drive, either, as a roof car bike rack would, so you have the best of both worlds.

If you want to keep the money that you spend on your bicycle safe, then you will want to be sure that you use a car bike rack. This will help you to keep it from bouncing around and damaging your bicycle or your vehicle. It will fit tightly to your receiver hitch and keep your bike sturdy.

The good news is that with a receiver car bike car you can carry your entire family’s bicycles. You are even able to haul your recumbent bicycle. Everyone’s bicycle can be loaded onto your receiver car bike rack. The ease of use will cause you to go bicycling even more.

If you enjoy bicycling, then you know how fun and exciting it can be. By having a receiver car bike rack, you will be able to take you and your family’s bicycles anywhere that you want. You can find a car bike rack for any vehicle that you can imagine. Just do your research.

Alastair Hamilton is the author and editor of many bicycle carriers articles and newsletters published at bikecyclingreviews.com bikecyclingreviews.com . Find more publications about bikecyclingreviews.com/car_racks.html car bike rack at his website.

Steps To Eliminate Credit Card Debt

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

Today, as everything moves towards becoming more and more compact and hassle free so has the shoppers belief in credit cards increased. There has been such an explosion in demand that the number of such companies offering services has shot up drastically. Many of these companies also provide the cards immediately on application. Even a common man on the street nowadays, has more than two credit cards in his wallet.

However there is a flip side to this craze. A person ends up purchasing all that he fancies. This causes the debts to accumulate, the monthly installments rise, the time period to pay it off increases and so does the rate of interest. This will add up to an inability to pay off the loan and you will be swamped with phone calls from the credit card companies. The harsh truth is that though you are facing difficulties due to an increasing debt, as the time flies your debts only get bigger.

In order to avoid getting into such a mess, it is essential to effectively manage your finances. Each time you go out shopping, make a list of all that you absolutely need to purchase and take only the required amount of money. Leave your credit cards at home. Avoid buying any fancy or luxurious goods and stick to the basics. Make a budget to control your expenses each month and ensure that your income always exceeds the expenditure. This will lead to a decent amount being saved each month.

When it is time to pay your bills, try to pay more than the minimum stipulated amount. Doing so will ensure you pay off your debt faster. Otherwise you will have to bear the brunt of the increasing interest rates for a longer period and this will eat into your hard earned money. If the credit card company offers to increase your credit limit, decline at all cost, as this will only further increase your financial burdens. Never fall back or delay your payments as this will result I a poor credit history.

Credit card management is all about exercising self restraint and showing responsibility. Avoid simply splurging on articles that are of no use to you. Try to stick to your budget planned and do not exceed the limits. Try to use the credit cards only in cases of emergency and not for daily general use.

These steps will enable you to reduce your credit card debt.

Jeremiah Williams is the founder of

The Basics of Global Forex Trading – A Beginner’s Perspective

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

Forex market is the largest financial market in the world. It refers to the trading of one foreign exchange or currency for the other. Thus a forex market exists whenever a currency is traded for another currency.

The major players in forex trade are central banks, other large banks, financial institutions, forex speculators, multinational corporations, governments and individuals, also called retail traders.

The volume of forex trading has grown phenomenally from $600 billion in 1998 to close to $3 million a day now. Major players make up the bulk of this trade. Individuals make a small portion of about $50 billion. This in itself is not that small. They operate indirectly through forex brokers and banks, using their forex trading platform.

A forex market is unique because of huge trading volume, extreme liquidity, variance of participants, extensive geographical coverage, long trading hours, simplicity, macro economic factors etc.

Forex trading started in 1970’s after gold deregulation and free exchange rates and floating currencies. The volume grew slowly till the end of 1990’s. After that it grew markedly. In fact the increase in volume was as much as 38% during April 2005 to April 206 alone. This indicates unmatched growth of forex currency trading in such a brief period of time.

The above underscores the growing importance of foreign exchange as a component of overall assets and as a fund management asset. Hedge and pension funds are increasingly using foreign currency exchange for maintaining and balancing their portfolios.

Unlike the stock or commodity markets, there is no central exchange and clearing house. All trades are directly settled over the counter. London is believed to be the biggest trading center with more than 32 percent of forex trading volume.

There is some variation in the prices of currencies at different access levels. Banks and financial institutions which trade in huge amounts of money have small bid / ask spreads as compared to lower level players like individuals.

It is believed that the growth of online forex trading will continue unabated. More and more retail traders are going to participate in foreign exchange trading. Main reason being the simplicity and ease of trading and globalization.

businesses-jobs-careers.com/Forex/EasyForex.html If you want to be a part of this thrilling online business, then please follow this link

What Happens When You Default On Student Loans and Credit Cards- Part 3/4

Tuesday, November 28th, 2006

Many not-so-pleasant things can happen to you if you don’t pay your credit card and student loans.

Here’s what happened to me…

I started getting letters asking me to pay the loans in full. When I ignored them, I started getting more letters. At first the letters are kind of friendly.

“In case you’ve forgotten or didn’t receive the last letter”… Then they get stronger. “Warning: You are late with your payment”… Then they get threatening. “Legal Action Pending”…

Then, One day a letter comes saying – This is your FINAL notice.

I thought “Good, at least I won’t have to hear from them anymore” – WRONG! – More letters keep coming. I ignored these letters for a very long time.

And then one day THE letter comes telling me that I will NOT be receiving my State Income Tax Refund Money. The money is being withheld to pay a debt. Oh Crap!… I was counting on that money.

Oh well, let me just get on with my life.

Time passes, I forget about it. Life is good. And then one I go to the bank to withdraw some cash out of the ATM machine.

“Sorry, that transaction is not available at this time”.

“Stupid ATM machines” I think. I call customer service to tell them off and complain, and I’m informed that there is a “Freeze” on my account.

A “freeze” on your account is like a banking Black Hole. NOTHING can escape. You can put money in, but you can’t take it back out. Nothing comes out… No money. The account is now dead and the money in the account stays there until the matter is cleared up.

Or so I thought… Meanwhile, the automatic deductions that I had previously set up and which had worked just fine for such a long time, no longer go through or get paid.

So, what does the bank do?

They charge you with a $30 insufficient fund charge… …each occurance.

“But the money is in the account” I protest. “Not anymore, deadbeat” is what the banker was probably thinking. What they actually say to you is that you have to take the matter up with the company that froze the account. I’m thinking “But I don’t even know who froze the account”. They offer no help.

But Meanwhile, the bank is happy to keep charging you $30 everytime an auto-debit attempts – until ALL the money is sucked out the account.

So, why not just close the account. Because YOU CAN’T. It’s frozen.

And that’s not the end of it! Oh no…

Until you stop the auto-debits, they keep charging you. You had money in the account, the bank takes ALL OF IT and keeps charging you.

And now you owe the bank money!

And your creditors, which are NOT getting paid, start slamming you with late fees, sometimes over limit fees and start calling you on the phone with some “friendly” reminders that you still owe them money.

And it doesn’t stop there… No, No, No…

All right I think – “Screw Citibank”. I’ll just open an account elsewhere. And so I did.

The thing is… Now I’m afraid to leave any money in the account, wondering when “Big Brother” will find this account and seize and freeze the money.

And you start wondering if they will place a “freeze” on your credit cards (if you’re lucky to have any left).

Carl Willoughby has worked as a Licensed Registered Representative for the Prudential Insurance Company, as a Computer Programmer for the New England Telephone Company, as a Computer Salesman for SEARS and is self-employed as an Internet Marketing Consultant and Musician.
This is part 3 of a 4 part series by the same title. For the complete story, go to: