Do you have enormous credit card debt? You are certainly not alone. According to research, the average family in the United States has $7000 in credit card debt and pays about $1000 in interest each year! Throw in a late payment or two, or an over-the-limit charge, and that number skyrockets. Imagine what you could do with that $1000 if it weren't being spent on interest. Let's imagine for a moment that you have $5000 debt on one credit card that...more
Top businesses that continually lead their industry clearly understand a simple fact: People are their most vital assets. Every employee plays a key role in the company. In today's climate, your company cannot afford redundant employees. All businesses are run and operated by people. Each person makes decisions every day based on what that person believes and values. When a person makes better value decisions, it generates better results for the...more
It happens to the majority of us, credit card debt accumulates and before we quite realize it, we are carrying a debt load that is far beyond our means. When this happens, we need to take immediate positive steps to knock down the debt as quickly as possible. One of the most efficient ways to do this is to reduce the amount of interest we pay by shopping around for a better rate and having our balances transferred over. By doing this, we pay more towards the principal, thereby reducing the duration of the loan and saving ourselves potentially thousands of dollars over the lifetime of the loan. Typically, a credit card carrying a balance of $5000 dollars, with an interest rate of 17.5 % and a minimum monthly payment of $150 would take you 3 years and 10 months to pay off. The total interest accrued would amount to $1, 846. However, if you were to transfer your credit card debt to a lower interest rate loan of 7 %, that same $5000 paid in increments of $150 a month, would be paid off in 3 years, 2 months, substantially reducing the amount of interest to just $564. That's a savings of $1,282. There are several options available for lowering your interest rates. Each one has its...more
Just when most people finish with school and can stop worrying about test scores, there's a new kind of scoring that enters the picture. It's called credit scoring. And, its impact on your financial future can mean more to you than a college degree. You may never know your precise credit score, but you need to know if you're at risk!Credit Scoring...more
In part 1, we covered the basics about credit scoring - what it is and how it is calculated. It's time to address the critical question ... What happens if you are denied credit or don't get the terms you want?The Equal Credit Opportunity Act requires that the creditor give you a notice either with the specific reasons your application was...more
Many business owners are sabotaging their business without even realizing it. They are completely out of the loop when it comes to all technology aspects of their operation such as websites, computers and software. They become completely dependent on their technical people and naively believe that things are "being taken care of". This "head in the sand" approach is very dangerous. Here are just a few scenarios of what can happen: Your webmaster is the only person who knows the username, password and other improtant settings for your website. If the webmaster suddenly stops responding to your phone calls or e-mails (which I've seen happen many times), you would have no idea how to hand off the website updates to another person. Your programmer no longer wishes to work with you. When you hire a replacement, it turns out that there is no documentation for the program, the code is unreadable, and it will be cheaper for you to buy a new program than salvage this "sinking ship". The software that was developed for your business theoretically does all that was required, but there is one big problem: it is sitting idle because it is so confusing that nobody wants to use it....more
In virtually any business first impressions are lasting impressions. Most people have heard this statement for years, and yet some people completely ignore the first impression they are conveying to potential customers or clients. Regardless of the...more
Do you have what it takes to be really successful?Have you ever thought about what you must be prepared to endure and do in order to be successful in business or your career?I think I have been asked at least 5,000 times what it really takes to be...more
Often times, upper management is uncertain about the best way to present a Mystery Shopping program to their employees. The initial rollout of the Mystery Shopping/Employee Incentive Program is crucial to its success. Your company's executives must...more
Delivering an effective presentation to 20 or to 200 people is difficult. Because listeners have better access to information since the internet became commonplace, audiences expect more content from speakers today. In addition, because of the...more
Centuries ago great speakers often spoke two hours and more. But today when sound bytes on television news are the norm and serious problems are solved in an hour on a television drama, audiences are most interested in speakers that get their points...more
Let's start by taking a look at 7 key elements of an adjustable rate mortgage:1) ARM defined: While a fixed rate loan is constant and never changes throughout the life of the loan, an adjustable rate mortgage changes periodically. The interest rate...more