If You Had To Choose, Would It Be A Ton Of Bricks Or A Ton Of Feathers?

In the world of traditional business and employment, we face several dilemmas. The first dilemma of traditional business is obviously the start-up capital. The amount of capital usually required is enormous in the brick and mortar world. The second dilemma of traditional business is the rise and fall of profits or the "not knowing" if the business will survive. Traditional brick and mortar requires the ownership to participate in a twenty-four hour endeavor just to keep the business in operation. The third. Dealing with employees. I speak to business owners and one of the biggest challenges they face is dealing with employees. Employees in today’s world tend to move around from job to job, therefore for business owners it becomes a continuous, daunting task of hiring.

Being an employee is not without its’ woes either. As an employee, we have to contend with a very competitive business world. In this competitive world of business, we have to compete with competitive wages. I do not know anyone personally who is surviving on today’s wages without having to work two or more jobs to support themselves. It’s a tough world out there, only getting tougher. If we continue down the employee mentality path and not observe more rewarding opportunities out there in the world to benefit our lives, than one thing is for sure. Do not plan on getting ahead if you do not think outside the box.

Now, let’s put together a simple scenario. Here you are now reading this article. Think about your situation.

In the game of life, what really matters is where you end up. What does that mean? After all of the hard work, what is going to happen should you live to be old? A reality we all must face.
Now, what about the quality of life until our passing?

Here is a simple scenario. Imagine there’s a rope in front of you. Now imagine this rope is tied to a hatch above you. When you pull the rope, the hatch opens and something will fall on your head. What falls on your head represents your financial planning decisions. In this case, what falls on your head is either a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers. So, does a ton equal a ton? In weights and measures, yes. But not to the one who pulls the rope.

(c) Copyright 2006.All Rights Reserved

How to Find a Good Inexpensive Hotel

When going on vacation somewhere you have never been it can be hard to find a good quality Hotel working on a budget. So here is a guide to help you find a good place cheap, so you don’t have to worry about where you will stay.

In my life I have done a great deal of traveling, and I have many nightmare stories about the things that have happened to me in some of the cheap hotels I have stayed in. I remember once I was ok a ski trip and half the floor in my room actually dropped about 6 inches. I woke up and my head was lower then the rest of me and was confused for several seconds before I managed to come to my senses. Lucky for me the room was on the first floor. On another trip, the police raided the hotel looking for illegal immigrants, and there was noise all night long. It was probably quiet the next night, but I did not stick around to see.

Finding a good inexpensive hotel should not be a gamble. The best way to find a good hotel is to go to a place you have been before, but assuming that is not an option the next best thing is from someone who has been there.

If you know someone who has been to the same vacation spot as you are planning on going, ask them about the place they stayed, the worst that can happen is they tell you they hated it or that it was too expensive.

But what if no one you know has ever been to where you are going to be? Unless you like to gamble, you can't just make reservations anywhere, if you are looking to gamble on something play blackjack or poker in a casino, but don’t roll the dice with the place you are going to use as your home base for your vacation.

Use the internet to look for hotel reviews. There are many websites that have reviews from people who have stayed in the hotel. Now one mans hell may be another mans heaven, but at least this way you can see that 5 people stayed there and said it was fine and two said it was not good maybe these 2 people were the exception.

Or maybe the two that did not like the hotel were in town for business in an area popular with tourists. This can be an annoying situation when everyone around you is partying and you are trying to sleep, this is one of the reason why no business is conducted in Daytona Beech during Spring Break.

Talking with a travel agent is always a great way to assure your happiness with your lodgings, and helps keep the gambling in the casinos and out of your room.

A good thing to do is to make sure to ask lots of question on the phone with any hotels you are considering staying in.

How do payday cash advances work?

Payday cash advance loans are essentially short-term loans that may use a borrower’s paycheck as collateral. Working individuals who are mainly dependent on their paychecks for money may occasionally find themselves in a spot where an emergency requirement arises and the next paycheck is still far away.


In such instances, lenders offer cash advances to adult individuals with an assured net income of at least $ 1000 per month. The loan amount is to be repaid by the borrower in full on the next payday. Cash advances charge a rate of interest of up to 20% and should ideally be taken in small amounts so that they can be repaid easily. The high rate of interest is charged as these loans are short term and given without a credit check. Most lenders offer a first-time payday cash advance of up to $1000.


The process of applying for and obtaining a cash advance is automated and can be carried out online. The borrower is required to submit a short application, which is usually replied to via email. The money is transferred to the borrower’s account upon the signing of the loan agreement and submission of postdated checks. Alternatively, the lender can directly withdraw money from the borrower’s account on the designated due date. Inability on part of the borrower to pay the loan in full may imply a violation of the loan agreement which can prompt the lender to demand non-sufficient funds (NSF) costs. If a lending agency chooses to refer a borrower’s poor payment record to the credit bureau, it can harm a person’s credit score and affect his chances of obtaining a loan.


Ideally, a person should refrain from taking payday cash advances often as these incur a high rate of interest. They should be kept as the final option when loans from friends cannot be availed and credit cards cannot be used. Factors that affect the approval of a payday cash advance include federal and state lending regulations, net income, and existing previous payday advances or other loans. Usually payday cash advances are scheduled for payment 15-18 days from the application date. Individuals can avail only one payday cash advance at a time from a given lender.


Lenders allow for an extension of the payment date and deduct an extension of payment fee on the original due date. There is a limit to the number of extensions allowed by the lender. Most allow up to four extensions of the payment date. The next scheduled date for repayment is usually the date of receiving a paycheck.

So, Do You Need Financial Planning?

Well do you need Financial Planning? In this article, I will show you how you can answer this question.

Immediately after we complete our college education, we automatically participate in a race call rat race.

Everyone started the race with a cart. In this cart, we have personal bills, loans and our allowance. As we are single, everything is good and manageable. We can spend what we earn without worry.

Then we meet our partners and get married. Thus we begin our next chapter in life. Our cart becomes heavier and we now worry about our spouse's bills and loans and kids allowance. Some of us must support our parents too. We may even need to bring our family to vocation. As we grow older, our carts get heavier and heavier. Do you have enough savings to meet these expenses?

As we know, life is never a straight and smooth path. We will encounter obstacles. Some of these obstacles may set us back in terms of our financial standing .If we do encounter a big obstacle (e.g. critical illness, operation, surgery, business failure) and need a huge sum of money to recover, Do you have enough money to meet this expense? What if the big obstacle results in us being permanently bed-ridden or out of work for a long time, what is going to happen to our cart? Do you have enough money to support yourself and family if that happens?

Many may say, well we have friends and relatives to turn to for help. But our friends and family have their own carts to pull too. If they help push our cart, who is going to push theirs?

We will all retire from work eventually. From then on till we all rest in peace, we do not have regular income but our life must still go on. We still need to pay our bills and we still need to eat. Do you have enough money to support yourself during retirement?

At old age, our body is no longer working as well as they used to. Our health conditions deteriorate, as we get older. We will need to seek medical help frequently. We may even need to employ a person to take good care of us. Do you have enough money to spend on these medical expenses?

So do you need Financial Planning? If you answer ‘Yes’ to all the above questions, then you are safe and need not worry about Financial Planning. Otherwise, I suggest you start thinking about it.

Why You Need a Virtual Safety Deposit Box

Advances in information technology, paired with recent weather-related disasters and a growing awareness of the need for access to vital documents has lead to the creation of a new solution designed to protect your most important documents: a virtual safety deposit box. Whether you are looking for a safe place to store vital records such as birth certificates or marriage licenses, or other important documents such as health records, insurance policies, living wills or financial data, a virtual safety deposit box can help keep your critical documents just a few keystrokes away from any computer in the world.

Considered a safe alternative to traditional archives in bank deposit boxes or in-home lockboxes, a virtual safety deposit box provides peace of mind paired with instant access in times of need. Gaining popularity during the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, this safe method of document storage has become a preferred method of protecting assets around the world. The news media is filled with stories of families who lost everything during the hurricanes, banks whose records were in shambles and law offices whose records perished in high water and storm-damaged conditions.

Elsewhere in the country and the world, stories are common about houses burning to the ground with vital records still inside, families denied access to important documents after a loved one’s death and important paperwork swept away by vicious tornados. Any asset that you have that is paper-based can easily be converted for storage in a virtual safety deposit box. For a small monthly or yearly fee – comparable to the price you would pay for a bank deposit box and less than the purchase price of an in-home safe – you can choose to upload copies of your documents on your own, fax or mail documents to secured processing sites, or have a technician visit your home or office to complete your archival work for you.

After your virtual safety deposit box is set up, you can access your information safely and securely 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year from any internet-connected computer on the planet. All archived data is guaranteed against breaches in security and fraud and virtual safety deposit box providers utilize many reliable, prove and trustworthy safeguards against any wrong-doing. Securing your family’s future and well-being is job one, and using a virtual safety deposit box only makes that job easier.

Money Counters – Simplifying Money Management

When you hear the word “money counter”, the first thing that comes to your mind is someone who counts money. Money counters do count money, but they are not persons. A money counter is a machine that can count, add, stack, and detect money. Money counters are used by banks, arcades, casinos, restaurants, multi national companies and any firm that handles a lot of cash or change in a day.

Money counters are used all across the world to increase speed of counting cash, eliminate errors and simplify money handling. There are machines that can handle international currencies. These machines can detect the currency from various countries and display their values.

Money sorters come in all kind of shapes, sizes and types, as well as configurations and price ranges. There are simple banks meant for children that help them count their allowance and there are complex counters that place coins into rolls and tally the exact amount. There are other money counters that count and sort cash as well.

Counterfeit Detectors

A counterfeit detector is a built-in setting in a money counter that detects fake currency from the rest of the bundle. If the currency is counterfeit, an alarm alerts the user. A counterfeit detector has the following components

· A magnetic detector scans the bills for the magnetic component that is used while making bills. In case of US bills, the bills when passed over the detector will produce a positive magnetic response.

· A magnifying detector is used to detect and check micro printing, fine-line printing pattern, serial number, inscribed security thread etc that is customized on various currencies. These cannot be seen with the naked eye. Hence magnifying detectors are used.

· A watermark is a specialized marking found on the US currency. It is produced by applying pressure on the bill mold. Holding the currency against a UV bulb will detect the quality of the watermark. A weak watermark means fake currency.

· Every US dollar bill has unique color shifting property on its lower right hand side corner. If you focus the bill on the lighted reflector, that part changes color from green to black. If there is no change in color, then it means the currency is counterfeit.

Use counters to improvise your money management mechanism!

Linking Debt to Solutions

I owe, I owe, it is off to work I go. This is a common no nonsense saying that has been used for many years. Most of the people that make this statement are saying I am in debt.

When you are in debt, you just have to start linking debt to solutions. When you think solutions, your mind often opens up to new ideas. New ideas are a guider that directs you to discovering your choices.

Your choices include

Debt management

Time management

Debt consolidation

Debt counseling

Bankruptcy

The last option of course is something you want to avoid, so start thinking debt management. Debt management is a structural process. You begin by evaluating your debt. Think of each item you pay for weekly. Once you create a list you commence to eliminating, some of your debt by terminates some of your expenses. For instance, if you pay weekly for cable television, you can save money by thinking of your package. If you spend $11 weekly, which amounts to $55 monthly you may have options to reduce your monthly cable bill. Perhaps you can accommodate to basic cable rather than pay full cost for all features.

With time management, you construct a debt management solution. Instead of focusing first on your debt, you compare the time you spend each week to progress. If you spend too much time eating out, you see that by cutting back on dining out you can save money and time.

Debt consolidation is an option, yet you want to explore each company. The goal is to reduce debt, not increase the debt you owe. Some debt consolidation companies will charge fees, hidden fees, high interest, etc to help you payoff your debt. Look for debt management solutions instead of going this route. If you see no other recourse, then check the background of each company you are considering debt consolidation.

Debt counseling is another option. Like debt consolidation options, you want to find a way to reduce debt, rather than take on additional debt. Check the background of each company to make sure it has a good reputation, certifications, license, etc to offer you debt alternatives.

As I mentioned earlier, you want to avoid bankruptcy. Therefore, start linking debt to solutions to find a way to manage your money.

The best alternative is debt management. If you can set up a structural pattern, you will reduce your debt dramatically. Instead of spending time saying, "I owe, I owe, it's off to work I go" - do something about your debt problem now.

Visit your local library and take out some systematic guides to relieving debt. These resources offer you great solutions that link to debt reduction.