Best of Finance Quotes

Money Matters

 

Best of Finance Quotes

http://www.imoney.ph

 

We’ve noticed, that you guys love the quotes we used to share on our Facebook Fanpage, although not all of them are truly finance quotes. That’s why we thought it definitely is time for a blog post dedicated to popular quotes! Below you find the best ones. Make sure, you stay tuned, since we will do that more frequently from now on.

“It’s not how much money you make make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.” – Robert Kiyosaki

 ”Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions,they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character. Watch your character, they become your destiny.” – Author Unknown

“Difficulties in Life do not come to destroy you, but to help you realise your hidden potential and power. Let difficulties find out that you are difficult.” – Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

“I am who I am today because of the choice I made yesterday.” - Eleanor Roosevelt.

“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.” – Maya Angelou

“When you fly high, people will throw stones at you. Don’t look down. Just fly higher so the stones won’t reach you.” - Chetan Bhagat

“Do not value money for anymore nor any less than its worth; it’s a good servant but a bad master.” – Alexander Dumas

“Your attitude not your aptitude will determine your altitude” – Zig Ziglar

“The Actual growth in a person’s life is the rise in his wisdom and not the raise in his pay or income.” - Author Unknown

Money Matters

World's richest sports teams

 http://ca.finance.yahoo.com

1.Manchester United

English Premier League power Manchester United is the world’s most valuable sports team, worth $1.86 billion.The finances of Manchester United continue to look up. This season marked the first year of its new shirt sponsorship with Aon, worth $32 million annually over four years. It represents a 50% bump from its prior deal with AIG. The team is reportedly in line to get a similar increase for its merchandise deal with Nike , which already pays United nearly $40 million per year.

2.Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys are the sports world’s second most valuable team with a worth of $1.81 billion. Cowboys Stadium has 320 luxury suites and 15,000 club seats that generate more than $100 million annually in premium seat revenue.

3.New York Yankees

Major League Baseball club, the New York Yankees, ranked No. 3 with a valuation of $1.7 billion. The Yankees, like the Cowboys, have used a new stadium to dramatically boost revenues.

4.Washington Redskins

Redskins have been the NFL’s most profitable team over  the past decade with an average operating income of $76 million

5.Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers have won six World Series titles and 21 National League pennants

6.Real Madrid

The club is the richest football club in terms of annual revenue, generating €438.6 million in 2011

7.New England Patriots

In the 2000s, the Patriots became one of the most successful teams in NFL history.

8.Barcelona

They are the current Copa del Rey champions and have won 21 La Liga, 26 Copa del Rey, 10 Supercopa de España, 3 Copa Eva Duarte[3] and 2 Copa de la Liga trophies, as well as being the record holder for the latter four competitions. In international club football Barcelona have won four UEFA Champions League, a record four UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, four UEFA Super Cup, a record three Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and a record two FIFA Club World Cup trophies.

9.New York Giants

MetLife is reportedly close to signing a naming rights deal for New Meadowlands Stadium worth up to $18 million per year.

10.Arsenal

One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups. Arsenal holds the record for the longest uninterrupted period in the English top flight and would be placed first in an aggregated league of the entire 20th century.

Money Matters

5 ways thieves steal credit card data

By Janna Herron | Bankrate.com 

Fri, Nov 2, 2012 3:01 PM SGT

Gone are the days of the good old-fashioned purse snatcher. With little brute and more skill, thieves only need a minute, sometimes a second, to pilfer your credit card data.

"Back in the beginning, they got the imprint of credit cards from the carbon copies they dug out of the trash," says William Noonan, assistant special agent in charge of the Secret Service's criminal investigative division. "Technology has changed things."

The number of compromised records has been on the decline the last two years, according to the Secret Service, after reaching a record high of 361 million records in 2008. The trend might reverse this year, however, after a recent string of mishaps.

This spring criminals hacked, phished or skimmed their way into the systems of Michaels Stores, Sony, marketing firm Epsilon, Citibank and even security expert RSA, among others. In some cases, they only obtained names and emails. In the worst cases, they got credit card numbers.

The schemes are simpler than you think. Bankrate presents the most common ways thieves pilfer your credit card information.

Suspect: the waitress at the diner
Modus operandi: The waitress whisks away your credit card and swipes it through the restaurant's register. Then, she pulls out a small device, about the size of an ice cube, from her apron and swipes it through that, says Sergeant David Schultz of the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office in Texas. While you're scraping the last of the chocolate frosting from your plate, your credit card information has been stored in the device, known as a skimmer. The waitress returns your card and performs the same magic trick on dozens of credit cards in a week.
 

Known whereabouts: The data-stealing waitress has been known to moonlight as a bartender, sales clerk or at any place where she can take your credit card out of sight.

 Suspect: the toy store trio

Modus operandi: Sally, Simon and Bud walk into a toy store. Sally and Simon roam the aisles, while Bud waits in line to check out. When Bud is at the register, Simon comes running up to the clerk, screaming that his wife has fainted. As Sally and Simon distract the sales clerk, Bud switches the credit card reader at the register with a modified one of his own, says FICO's Fraud Chief Mike Urban. For the next week, the sales clerk unwittingly collects credit card data on the modified reader until the trio returns, takes back the modified reader and restores the original terminal.

Known whereabouts: The trio will hit other retailers and restaurants, but sometimes the threesome will instead be a duo or a solo criminal.

Suspect: the Gas Lass

Modus operandi: The Gas Lass parks her car in front of a gasoline station off the turnpike. It's late. There's no one around except a sleepy attendant at the register inside. The Gas Lass attaches a skimmer over the credit card reader at the pump. It's a special skimmer: It emits a Bluetooth signal to a laptop close by, says Noonan. The Gas Lass pays, heads off to the motel next door and sets up her laptop to receive the data from the compromised pump over the next several days.

Known whereabouts: The Gas Lass installs skimmers over ATMs, parking meters, vending machines and any other places with unmanned credit card readers.

Slide 4 of 7

Suspects: Harry the Hacker and Phishing Phil

 

Modus operandi: Harry the Hacker installs malware -- a type of software that damages or infiltrates a computer or network -- onto a legitimate website with low security. The malware instantly downloads onto your computer when you visit the site and allows Harry to access your information. In another scenario, Harry puts malware on public computers and gathers the information you share with that computer, says Urban. Harry also infiltrates the computer system of banks, retailers and other businesses and extracts personal account information, Noonan says.

Phishing Phil uses malware to go after your laptop. He sends emails with attachments that promise dancing kittens or some other bait. When the user opens the attachment, malware instantly downloads onto the computer and leaves confidential information vulnerable. Phil also sends emails from a familiar sender with a link to a contaminated website that installs malware onto your computer. Some malware, called spyware, allows Phil to capture every keystroke including passwords to your financial accounts.

Suspect: the rest of the criminal crew

Modus operandi: So what happens to these pieces of data when they're in no-good hands? They get sold.

The waitress, trio or Gas Lass sells each swipe for $20 to $40 a pop, says Urban. Harry the Hacker and Phishing Phil will get $5 to $10 a card and often sell the information online at the eBay of credit card activity. The person who buys the information verifies it and then sells it to a person who creates fraudulent credit cards with your account information attached to it. The card maker then sells it to other criminals who buy goods such as stereos or baby formula and sells them to regular consumers.

What you can do

1. Set up mobile alerts for your phone if your financial institution provides the feature. That way, you can be aware of unusual activity as quickly as possible.

2. Regularly monitor your accounts online, so you can identify fraudulent transactions faster, says Schultz.

3. Avoid public computers. Don't log onto your email if your bank corresponds with you there. Urban suggests setting up an email account just for your finances and checking it from safe locations.

4. Avoid doing business with unfamiliar online vendors, Noonan says. Stick to established merchants and websites.

5. If your information has been compromised, notify your financial institutions and local law enforcement, which will contact the Secret Service if necessary. Also notify any of the three major credit reporting agencies -- Experian, Equifax and TransUnion -- to set up a fraud alert on your credit reports.

Money Matters

The 40 richest people in the Philippines

ABS-CBNnews.comhttp://www.abs-cbnnews.com

Posted at 06/21/2012

MANILA, Philippines -- SM tycoon Henry Sy tops this year's Forbes list of 40 richest people in the Philippines, which includes the head honchos of some of the largest companies in the country.

Sy had an impressive net worth of $9.1 billion, while Lucio Tan is at a rather far second with a net worth of $4.5 billion.

Notables include port entrepreneur Enrique Razon Jr., Senator Manuel Villar, and others.

The top 40 richest in the Philippines are:

1) Henry Sy         -    $9.1 billion (SM Prime)
2) Lucio Tan        -    $4.5 billion (Phillip Morris Fortune Tobacco)
3) Enrique Razon Jr. - $3.6 billion (International Container Terminal Services)
4) John Gokongwei Jr. - $3.2 billion (JG Summit)
5) David Consunji  - $2.7 billion (DMCI)

6) Andrew Tan        - $2.3 billion (Alliance Global)
7) Jaime Zobel de Ayala - $2.2 billion (Ayala Corp.)
8) George Ty          - $1.7 billion (Metropolitan Bank)
9) Roberto Ongpin - $1.5 billion (Atok-Big Wedge)
10) Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. - $1.4 billion (San Miguel)

11) Roberto Coyiuto Jr. - $1.3 billion (National Grid)
12) Tony Tan Caktiong  - $1.25 billion (Jollibee Foods)
13) Lucio and Susan Co - $1.2 billion (Puregold Price Club)
14) Iñigo and Mercedes Zobel - $1.15 billion (Ayala Corp.)
15) Emilio Yap      - $1.1 billion (Philtrust Bank)

16) Jon Ramon Aboitiz - $955 million (Aboitiz Equity Ventures)
17) Andrew Gotianun - $825 million (Filinvest Development)
18) Manuel Villar  - $720 million (Vista Land and Lifescapes)
19) Beatrice Campos - $700 million (Unilab)
20) Vivian Que Azcona - $690 million (Mercury Drug)

21) Alfonso Yuchengco - $570 million (Rizal Commercial Bank)
22) Mariano Tan Jr. - $420 million (Unilab)
23) Enrique Aboitiz - $400 million (Aboitiz & Co.)
24) Eric Recto         - $365 million (Alphaland)
25) Jose Antonio     - $300 million (Century Properties Group)

26) Gilberto Duavit  - $270 million (GMA Network)
27) Menardo Jimenez - $265 million (GMA Network)
28) Frederick Dy     - $260 million (Security Bank)
29) Manuel Zamora Jr. - $255 million (Nickel Asia)
30) Alfredo Ramos  - $$250 million (Atlas Consolidated 
Mining and Development)

31) Oscar Lopez     - $245 million (ABS-CBN)
32) Felipe Gozon    - $240 million (GMA Network)
33) Betty Ang          - $235 million (Monde Nissin)
34) Wilfred Uytengsu Jr. - $230 million (Alaska Milk)
35) Juliette Romualdez - $200 million (Banco de Oro)

36) Bienvenido Tantoco Sr. - $195 million (Rustan Commercial)
37) Jacinto Ng Sr.    - $190 million (Rebisco)
38) Tomas Alcantara - $160 million (Alsons Consolidated Resources)
39) Michael Cosiquien - $150 million (Megawide Construction)
40) Edgar Sia II       - $140 million (Mang Inasal)
 

Today's Money Tips

                          
                                          Wealthcheck

7 Habits of Highly Frugal People

by Guest Contributor
http://moneyning.com

The book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has sold over 15 million copies since it was first published in 1989, teaching people all over the world how to live a happier, more successful and more satisfying life. One of the prevailing themes of the book is the fact that to change your life you need to change your attitude because no one else is responsible for what happens to you but you, so you can either complain about the things you don’t like in your life or you can set about changing them. Not surprisingly, this directly relates to the state of your finances. This post is a parody to the concepts presented in the book.

If you are tired of living paycheck to paycheck, of having your phone regularly cut off or having to make excuses to skip dinners with your friends if the money has run out before the end of the month then you can use the seven habits of highly effective people to take control of your money situation and live a more frugal lifestyle, and a happier one.


Habit One: Be Proactive

The first habit of highly effective people is to take responsibility for their own lives; if they fail, they have no one to blame but themselves. Regardless of how you were raised or how you were treated at school you are able to choose your behavior now. Being proactive means understanding that you are in control of the direction your life takes and in control of your day to day interactions. Whereas a reactive person is often affected by their environment and will find external sources to blame for their behavior, for example if the weather is good they are in a good mood but if the weather is bad it affects their attitude and so the weather is to blame for their bad mood.

Here are 6 Action Steps to Take When You Feel Financially Vulnerable

However what most people forget is that between the stimulus and your response is your freedom to choose your response, and one of the most important things you choose are your words. The language you use is an effective indication of how you see yourself and if you use proactive language such as ‘I can’ or ‘I will’ you are starting with a more positive attitude than a reactive person who uses language like ‘I can’t’ or ‘I have to’ or ‘if only…’


How to be proactive for effective frugality:

• Take the first step. You cannot take control of your finances until you make the commitment to do so because the more you ignore the situation the worse it will get. Instead take a long hard look at your finances and your budget, your debts, income and expenses and understand where your money is going and where you can budget better. (To help you out, here are 25 ways to pay off your debt more easily.)
• Tell people. Using proactive language to vocalize your goal of being more frugal and more financially responsible not only helps you crystallize your goal but can also help you avoid the peer pressure which can make budgeting and frugality hard. If you explain to your friends and family how you are trying to live a more frugal lifestyle then they are less likely to pressure you into one more round of drinks at the pub or dinner out, again.
• Listen. Listen to yourself and listen to the reasons you give each time you make a purchase outside of your budget or decide not to put those spare funds into your savings account. Taking the time to stop and listen to the reasons you give yourself for spending more than you earn will give you the opportunity to hear just how shallow many of those reasons are, and can stop you from making purchases which can impede your goal of effective frugality.

 

Habit Two: Begin with the End in Mind

Those who are effective in achieving their goals are able to envisage their end result despite the obstacles. Highly effective people adhere to this habit based on the principle that all things are created twice, there is the first mental creation and then the second physical creation, and the physical creation follows the mental creation in the same way as the building follows its blueprints.

If you don’t visualize what you want out of life then you are at risk of other people and external circumstances influencing your life because you are not influencing it yourself. Instead begin every day and every task with a clear vision of where you want to go and how you’re going to get there and make that vision a reality with your proactive skills from habit one.

How to visualize effective frugality:

• Define your goal. There are many ways to live a frugal lifestyle and you need to decide on how frugal you want to be. Do you want to be debt free, do you want to build a savings account balance of a certain value or do you want to be able to live on one income in a two income household?
• Decide how you’re going to get there. This will again draw on your budget, but you also need to be aware of the obstacles which are standing in your way. These may be literal obstacles such as credit card debts, or they may be obstacles you have identified in your behavior; for example are you spending $10 every day on junk food on your way home from work because you’re starving when you could be packing a two dollar muesli bar or a low GI lunch to keep you going until dinner. Or do you find that when you go shopping with your sister she always helps you justify a frivolous purchase when you could leave your credit card at home?

Make sure your goals are SMART! Here’s what I mean by that.

Habit Three: Put First Things First

Knowing why you are doing something is an effective motivator in helping you take the mental creation and transform that into an actual physical creation of your goal. Therefore ask yourself which are the things you find most valuable and worthy to you. When you put these things first you will be organizing and managing your time around your personal priorities to make them a reality.

However for many people it is hard to say no but this is exactly the skill you have to learn to be able to keep your goals as your first priority. While we have all of these time-saving devices and we are told we can have it all if we just achieve that elusive work-life balance, in reality having it all is really about prioritizing which it is most important to you to have, and then doing that properly.

How to put effective frugality first:

• Recognize the effects of your finances. You may not dedicate as much time as you should to managing your finances and practicing frugal principles because you feel there is always something more important to be doing, whether it is work, taking the kids to soccer practice or getting ready for dinner with the girls. However, if your finances are not under control and you are regularly spending more than you earn, then this is having a negative impact on every other aspect of your life from your work to your family to your friends. Therefore you need to recognize that being frugal is your first priority.
• Just say no. It is easy to spend more than your budgeted amount each month when you are worried about missing out on a dinner with friends, feel as though you have to cater a birthday party for your son and 50 of his closest friends or you can’t possibly wear the same suit you wore last year to a work conference. However if you recognize that you don’t have to take on everything and that it is all right to say no then you will find you are more in control of your spending and your budget.

 

Habit Four: Think Win-Win

Most of us are taught to base our self-worth on comparisons to others and competition against our peers. We think we can only succeed if someone else has failed and if you win, then that must mean I lost. We are also taught that there is only so much pie to go around and if you get a big piece then I’m going to be missing out. When you think like this you are always going to feel like you’re missing out on something and nothing is ever fair. As a result many of us retaliate and take the pie before someone else can take it from us.

Thinking in a win-win mindset allows you to see mutual benefits from all of your interactions and as a result, you will see that when you share the pie it tastes even better.

If you are able to approach conflicts and problems with a win-win attitude by showing integrity and standing up for your true feelings and values, it allows you to express your ideas and feelings with courage while having consideration for the feelings and ideas of others. When you focus on an abundance mentality, you are able to see that there is enough for everyone and you can see that balancing your confidence with empathy can help you achieve your goals while helping others achieve theirs.

How to create frugal win-win situations:

• Recognize that you don’t always know the full story. As you aim to implement frugal principles and stick to a budget, you may often find yourself thinking ‘it’s not fair’. It’s not fair that they get to go out to dinner. It’s not fair that they get a new car, and it’s not fair that they get to go on holiday and I don’t. However, take the time to realize that you are only seeing a small part of the finances of your friends and family who seem to ‘have it all’. And even though your best friend is taking that dream European holiday of yours or your brother is buying a sports car before you are, you will get there too if you manage your finances frugally and there will still be plenty of holiday destinations and plenty of fast cars when you can afford the expense.
• Understand the difference between possessions and net worth. While your friends and family may seem to have a fuller lifestyle because their house is bigger or their car is newer, you need to consider that it could just be a facade to cover their mountains of debt. True wealth is not measured in possessions but in assets and when the value of your assets is greater than the amount you owe in mortgages, car loans and credit card debts, then you have a strong net worth and are truly wealthy. And in aiming to live a more effectively frugal lifestyle you will be able to achieve true wealth rather than just a life full of stuff.

When building wealth, remember to look at the big picture too.

 

Habit Five: Communication

Communication is often the desire to be heard and understood and most people will listen with the intention to reply to what you’re saying rather than to understand what you have said. However, to effectively communicate you need to first understand and then be understood because if you communicate with the sole intention of being understood you can find that you ignore what others are saying and miss their meaning entirely.

How listening can help you be effectively frugal:

• You are not the only person in your life. Chances are you are married, in a relationship, have children or all of the above. As a result, you are not the only person being affected by your decision to live a more frugal lifestyle. To be effective in your goal of frugality, you need to be able to listen to and understand the goals and behaviors of the other people in your life too. Consider how effective your frugality would be if you were taking packed lunches to work and avoiding the afternoon coffee run with your partner going on shopping sprees during their lunch break. Instead of living a more frugal lifestyle, you are really saving on one end and spending it on the other.
• Understand the goals and needs of others. While it is important to explain your desire to live more frugal lifestyle, it is also important that you understand the goals and needs of your family so that you can find a way to be more frugal without them having to give up all of the things which are most important to them. You can’t know what those things are unless you listen.

 

Habit Six: Synergize

Interactions and teamwork are some of the most important ways you can learn new skills and more effective behaviors. To synergize is the habit of creative cooperation where you work as a team to find new solutions to existing problems. Synergy is not something which just happens but is a process where you need to bring all of your personal experiences and expertise to the table to enable more effective results than you would have been able to achieve individually – the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

When you have genuine interactions with people you are able to gain new insights and see new approaches to your problems which you would not have otherwise thought of.

How to synergize for effective frugality:

• Look for new ways. In a society which has become so good at consumerism you have probably already realized that you need to find new ways of doing just about everything to be frugal. It is easy to buy your lunch every day but it is more frugal to take a packed lunch. It is easy to drive to work but it is more frugal to catch the train. It is easy to buy a new cocktail dress but it is more frugal to make one.
• Surround yourself with other frugal people. To be successful surround yourself with people who are where you want to be and whether you join online forums on frugal living websites or strike up a friendship with the woman who runs the local shop you will be able to share ideas and learn from others to be successful.

 

Habit Seven: Sharpen the Saw

You are the greatest asset you have on your journey to achieving the lifestyle you want and so you need to look after yourself physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. When you take time to renew yourself in all four areas of your life you are creating growth and change which allow you to continue with the previous six habits you have mastered, which still need to be maintained to achieve success.

How to frugally renew yourself:

• Physically. By eating better you will feel better and if you start your own vegetable patch for example you will be able to save at the supermarket and will be eating better at the same time. Exercising keeps you fit and healthy and it doesn’t cost you anything to go for a walk or bike ride or even skip rope in the backyard. To rest your body you don’t need to go to a day spa you can simply slide into the tub at home and relax.
• Emotionally. Interacting socially with others allows you to make meaningful connections and this can come back to a conversation with the woman at the op shop or even scheduling in coffee and a chat with your mum once a week.
• Mentally. Exercising and expanding your mind through learning, reading, writing and teaching can be done frugally at your local library or even by volunteering at a school or retirement home to teach others a skill you may be taking for granted.
• Spiritually. Spending time close to nature to expand your spiritual self through meditation, music, art or prayer can be done frugally by taking a quiet moment to center yourself and empty your mind before you go to bed or going for a bush walk and being grateful for the beauty of nature surrounding you.

Frugality does not mean having to give up all the luxuries and things which make you happy because if you go through developing habits 1 to 6 without spending the time to renew yourself this is how you burn out, and frugality is something you want to develop and maintain for the long-term and with these seven habits you can be a highly frugal person.

This post is originally written by Alban, a personal finance writer.

Money Matters

Getty images

 

 

‘Aftershock’ Book Predicts Economic Disaster Amid Controversy

Newsmax

Robert Wiedemer’s new book, “Aftershock: Protect Yourself and Profit in the Next Global Financial Meltdown,” quickly is becoming the survival guide for the 21st century. And Newsmax’s eye-opening Aftershock Survival Summit video, with exclusive interviews and prophetic predictions, already has affected millions around the world — but not without ruffling a few feathers.

Initially screened for a private audience, this gripping video exposed harsh economic truths and garnered an overwhelming amount of feedback.

“People were sitting up and taking notice, and they begged us to make the video public so they could easily share it,” said Newsmax Financial Publisher Aaron DeHoog.

But that wasn’t as simple as it seems. Various online networks repeatedly shut down the controversial video. “People were sending their friends and family to dead links, so we had to create a dedicated home for it,” DeHoog said.

(Editor's Note: Watch Bob Wiedemer’s Aftershock Survival Summit video)

This wasn’t the first time Wiedemer’s predictions hit a nerve. In 2006, he was one of three economists who co-authored a book correctly warning that the real estate boom and Wall Street bull run were about to end. A prediction Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, were not about to support publicly.

Realizing that the worst was yet to come, Wiedemer and company quickly penned “Aftershock.” However, just before it was publicly released, the publisher yanked the final chapter, deeming it too controversial for newsstand and online outlets such as Amazon.com.

“We got lucky,” DeHoog said. “I happened to read the original version, which contained this ‘unpublished chapter,’ which I think is the most crucial in the entire book. Wiedemer gave Newsmax permission to share this chapter with our readers.”

With daily economic forecasts projecting doom and gloom and no recovery in sight, people need to learn how to survive economic disaster. During the past quarter alone, unemployment skyrocketed to 9 percent. Inflation continues to soar and the U.S. national debt crisis is still on the fence between raising the debt ceiling or massive budget cuts, with no resolution in sight.

During Newsmax’s Aftershock Survival Summit video, Wiedemer discusses the dire consequences of Washington, D.C.’s, bipartisan, multi-decade “borrow-and-spend” agenda. He also explores the inflation nightmare, the impending plunge in home prices, the looming collapse of the stock and bond markets, a possible historic surge in unemployment, and how to survive what life in America will be like in the days of the “Aftershock.”

Despite appearances, Aftershock is not a book with the singular intention of scaring the heck out of people. Although it does provide a harsh outlook for the economic future of America, the true value lies in the wealth of investment tips, analyses, predictions, budget advice, and sound economic guidance that people can act on immediately, offering a ray of recovery hope and an indispensable blueprint for life after shock.

Viewers of Newsmax’s Aftershock Survival Summit video heard detailed advice for handling credit card debt, home and car loans, life insurance, unemployment issues, how to beat inflation, making personal budget cuts and many more recovery tools to survive the economic aftershock. They also took advantage of a special Newsmax offer for a free copy of the new edition of “Aftershock,” which includes the final “unpublished chapter.”

(Editor's Note: Watch Bob Wiedemer’s Aftershock Survival Summit video)

For a limited time, Newsmax is showing the Aftershock Survival Summit and supplying viewers with free copies of the “Aftershock” book (while supplies last).

The 10 Golden Rules of Saving on Everything

Money Matters 

 

The 10 Golden Rules of Saving on Everything

 

By Brandon Ballenger

Source: Money Talks

You resolved to save more this year, but it's just not happening. Take heart - it's still early in the year. Use these tips and you're guaranteed to spend less on the things you want.

Source: Money Talks (http://s.tt/12mMM)

You resolved to save more this year, but it's just not happening. Take heart - it's still early in the year. Use these tips and you're guaranteed to spend less on the things you want.

Below, as well as others like it, you’ll find thousands of individual tips to save money on virtually everything you buy, from groceries to funerals. But when you boil it down, most ways to save can be condensed into some simple rules – use them and you’ll painlessly find ways to meet your savings goals.

1. Never buy new what you can buy used.

That brand-new sparkle comes at a high price, on everything from cars to furniture to clothes. Let somebody else take the hit. Instead of heading to the department store, head to the consignment store, thrift shop, yard sale, or sites like Craigslist or eBay.

2. Never buy this generation when last generation will do.

Ignore the commercials that entice you to buy the latest and greatest. From cars to computers, buying yesterday’s technology can save you 20-50 percent. Early adopters are often paying for nothing more than bragging rights – why not wait and brag about how much money you saved?

3. Always ask for a lower price.

People say you get what you pay for. We say you get what you ask for. In addition to negotiating more traditional things like houses and cars, our writers have succeeded in scoring lower prices on hotel rooms, doctor’s visits, cable bills, and car repairs, as well as asking for and receiving lower rates on loans and higher rates on savings. Check out Confessions of a Serial Haggler.

From now on, consider the price of services or big-ticket items as what they are: an opening bid.

4. Stop paying for name brands.

What’s in a name? Often nothing more than a higher cost. Paying more is OK if the higher cost means higher quality. But it’s not OK to pay more simply to help pay for some company’s annoying commercials.

One of many examples: More often than not, generic patent medicines like aspirin and cough syrup aren’t similar to their brand name counterparts. They’re identical. There’s only one reason anyone would pay up to 50 percent more for an identical item - some commercial told them to.

5. Share with your friends and neighbors.

It’s probably not practical to share a car with your neighbor, but what about his ladder, or your lawn mower? If it’s something neither of you need to use on a regular basis — and you get along well enough — get together with one or more people on your block and form a neighborhood co-op. In addition to reducing the cost of common household items by 50 percent or more, you also reduce clutter.

And if you use something really infrequently, rent it instead of buying it.

6. Try to substitute imagination for money.

People often pay for pre-packaged ideas by habit when they could easily come up with lower-cost ideas that are also better. Instead of buying cards and gifts, make your own. Instead of taking your date to a restaurant, take her on a picnic. Instead of meeting at a bar, have your friends over. Instead of heading to hotel, camp out.

Use your mind instead of your money and your life will be more interesting and less expensive.

7. Try to make it or fix it yourself.

Just because something’s available in a store doesn’t mean that’s the only place you can buy it. Check out 6 Alternatives to Expensive Household Cleaners, Do-It-Yourself Laundry Detergent and Household Products Vinegar Can Replace.

And that’s the tip of the iceberg. From Homemade Halloween Costumes to Home Repairs to growing your own food, you can save a bundle by using your hands instead of cash. And you can find help with just about anything online.

Additional benefit? You feel more independent, because you are.

8. Always use the Internet.

While using the Internet to comparison shop should be obvious, there are new techniques and technologies evolving constantly. For example, PriceBlink: This browser add-on automatically searches for a lower price and/or coupons on anything you’re looking at or searching for online.

Don’t ever buy anything online or off without first searching the web to see if you can find a coupon or discount. But the Internet is a double-edged sword…

9. Never subscribe to “deal” websites.

While it’s smart to be able to find online coupons and deals on the things you want, it’s dumb to allow websites to fill your in-box with dozens of potential impulse buys. Tell the Internet what you need: Don’t let the Internet (or TV commercials or your friends) tell you what you want.

10. Sell before you buy.

Before you buy anything you want, make it a habit to first sell something you don’t. Your garage and closets are full of stuff you no longer use. So before you go to the store or click that online “checkout” button, stop. Put off the purchase – first, take some clothes to the consignment shop, or take a picture of something you’re no longer using and put it on Craigslist. It only takes a minute.

As soon as it sells, apply the money to the purchase you were going to make. Now you’ve saved on something you wanted, and gotten rid of something you didn’t.

Source: Money Talks