Friday, March 12, 2010

The Real Risks in Balance Transfer Credit Card Checks

There are popular apprehensions among credit card users whether balance transfer checks are beneficial. The credit card season is generally from November through February and credit card companies would be approaching you with balance transfer check offers.

There are popular apprehensions among credit card users whether balance transfer checks are beneficial. The credit card season is generally from November through February and credit card companies would be approaching you with balance transfer check offers. You may receive a phone call, or SMS message, or again you may find in your email box offers for balance transfer check offers. Though regular posts are very rare now, you may even receive mails with the offer of balance transfer checks. Or, even the representatives of the credit card companies may approach you with this offer.

With Attractive Offers

Most often these balance transfer check offers are with attractive features. Sometimes they may be with 0% balance transfer. Or, they may be with very low percentage, say 2% or 3.5% and so and hence you can very well use the check to pay off your old debt and can gain in the deal. Hence, in this count the balance transfer check offer will be beneficial for you provided you make use of the offer prudently. Then you can manage you credit card debt more profitably


More Beneficial If

The Transferred Amount Is Big

As the balance transfer check can be credited to your account, you can make use of the money for your more profitable investments. This adds to your capital base. Suppose your outstanding balance rate is 12% and you owe 10000 dollars and the new balance transfer check is for a low rate of 3.99%. Then you can credit the check to your account and can use the amount for your more profitable business deals and can make good profits and can pay back easily the balance amount which now has only a low rate of interest.

Beneficial For Better

Credit Management

A balance transfer check is beneficial in another way also. You can credit the check to your personal account and can use the amount for the better management of your other existing credit card debts. Suppose the interest rate of your balance transfer check is 4% and you have a few other debts which are at higher rates above 10%. Then you can make better use of this facility to manage your credit card debt. By this, you can very well save the higher rate of interest that you owe to the other card companies. This is definitely a beneficial aspect of balance transfer checks.


You Can Capitalize On

The Balance Transfer Check

This is another benefit of the balance transfer check. You can deposit the check in to your personal account and can withdraw for the purchase of some of your valuable assets. It the amount is good enough, you can use it for purchasing some of your necessary assets like car or can meet other expenses like repayment of the loan for your residential unit. Sometimes the balance transfer check is at 0% interest and in that case it will be really worthwhile. You can use the money for holiday shopping or other beneficial purposes of your choice.

You can utilize the balance transfer check for other beneficial purposes like home improvement. You can credit the check to your personal use and can use the mount for buying furniture or home appliances. You can also use the amount for the modification of your house. Or, you can use the money for more profitable uses like the completion of your house or any other construction purpose

Thursday, March 11, 2010

How To Monitor Employee Web Browsing

As an intelligent manager or business owner, you need to know about how to monitor employee web browsing. It is important to know what your employees are doing at all times of the day and if they are being productive or wasting your company time.

As an intelligent manager or business owner, you need to know about how to monitor employee web browsing. It is important to know what your employees are doing at all times of the day and if they are being productive or wasting your company time.

Time, as they say is money, and if your employees are spending your company time surfing the net, playing games, chatting and emailing, they are probably doing a limited amount of work. To add insult to injury, they have their hand out for a pay check on pay day. Do you know what you are paying for? If you monitor employee web browsing
then you know exactly which employees are doing the work, and which ones are doing nothing.

It is common for most work places to have internet access; however, it is difficult to know which employees are using their access for business purposes and which ones are abusing the privilege. When you monitor employee web browsing you will be able to sort out who is visiting which websites and how much time they are spending there.

Your employees should be advised that you will be watching their activities, but you only need to inform them once. After this initial warning, if they do not heed your advice and start to surf questionable websites or carry on with wasting your time, then you will have the evidence that you need to terminate their employment.

It may sound harsh, but you already know that jobs are scarce these days. You want to ensure that you have hired the right person for the job, one who takes it seriously. An employee who does nothing all day is a waste of your business resources. There are many programs that can do the monitoring for you. You only need to determine which one is most suitable for your situation.

Computer Monitoring Software comes in many forms, and theres a lot on the internet to choose from. There's a Comparison website to help you make an informed desicion when choosing monitoring software. Its at http://www.keyloggerdownloads.com

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

How to Make Money Finding Tenants for Landlords with Apartments for Rent

Every day an apartment goes vacant the landlord loses money. This is one reason why some property owners hire outside help to find tenants. With nothing but a cell phone and a reliable car you can earn huge finder fees by locating reliable applicants. Keep reading to find out how.

The first thing you need to do is find clients. Drive through neighborhoods and make note of any “For Rent” signs you see. Call the numbers listed and offer your services. Make sure the person on the other end of the line understands it won't cost him or her anything unless you find a renter. Look on Craigslist for apartment posting that have been up for a long time too.

Next interview clients to find out what they’re offering and what they’re looking for in a tenant. Make sure you cover the basics. How much is the rent? What utilities are included? How long is the lease? Do they allow pets? What kind? Ask them what they’re flexible on and what rules are set in stone.

Get information on the unit too. What’s the parking situation like? Is there a washer and dyer? How about air conditioning? To make things easier create a form with vital questions that your client can fill out for you. When the interview is over have your client sign a contract agreeing to your fee and collect the keys to the apartment.

Now that you have a few clients, start looking for possible tenants. You can't make money if you can't find tenants. Write detailed descriptions of the apartments or houses for rent and put them on Craigslist. Sites like postlets.com offer free templates to make your ads look more professional.

Don't forget to take pictures of the properties (both inside and out) to put in your ads. Also put signs out front of each unit with your phone number.

Soon potential tenants will start calling wanting to see the aparetment for rent. When this happens set up an appointment at the unit. If he or she doesn't like the apartment find out why. You may have another that fits his or her needs.

Once a tenant shows real interest in a unit have him fill out an application. You can find skeleton forms online. Once you have his information, run a credit check. Call his place of work and verify his employment as well. Charge an application fee to cover your costs.

Pass along your findings to the landlord and get a yea or nay. If your tenant is a go get on the phone and tell him the good news. While you have him on the phone set up a lease signing with his new landlord. Let him know he's expected to bring his deposit to this meeting.

Once your client and the renter sign their leases collect your fee. Your end of the deal is done

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

How to increase your income during a recession

Ways to increase your income during a recession

During a recession, it is important to get your creative juices flowing to be able to come up with ways to increase your income. This is not an easy situation and thinking outside the box will definitely help you to make a step towards the right direction.

How to increase your income during a recession

Turn your hobby into a job

Now may be the right time to earn some money by doing something you really love. Perhaps you have been waiting for such an opportunity for years, but never dared to actually go through with it, because you lacked motivation. Looking for ways to increase your income during a recession, might be just the chance you were looking for. If you know how to build up websites, you can start offering your services to friends and neighbours, who in turn will recommend you to others. If you are good at cooking, you can start your own catering business or join forces with an equally talented friend of yours. If you have a flair for writing, now it is the time to start acting on it. With many online freelance writing jobs, it is quite possible to find something that interest you. Just make sure that you have compared prices to see how much you should charge. Offering a slightly lower price than your competitors do might get your foot in the door more quickly, but be careful: Never sell yourself short. If you offer to work for peanuts, then your potential customers will probably think that your work is not of good quality and as a result, they will not pick you.

Do the jobs others do not do

Another great way to increase your income during a recession, is by doing the jobs that others do not do, either because they do not want to, or because they do not have the time. Mowing the lawn, washing the dishes, organizing file cabinets, scraping floors and helping kids with their homework are some of those jobs that can earn you some steady cash. If, over the course of time your services are high in demand, then you can start raising your rates.

Become a problem solver

If you know the solution to a problem, now it is the time to take advantage of it to increase your income. Knowing how to fix a computer, can help your friends and neighbours and your pocket as well. If you are good at plumbing, then you can help your neighbours every time a problems arises and earn some money out of it.

Invest

Pick a secure company in an industry that has not been affected by the recession to invest your money. Conduct a thorough research before making your final decision. After you make your choice, invest on a regular basis. Divide your stocks throughout the year and avoid buying too many at once. This is because during a recession stocks are likely to decline in price, so it is wise to wait until you find the best deal for you. Another thing you can do, is choose companies that keep retaining their dividend yield. You can easily find which those companies are, by checking the stock price: If the stock price has declined, that means that the dividend yield will have increased. Specifically, you should check for companies with dividend yield which surpasses 4%. What is important to note, is that you should not put all your eggs in one basket. Select stocks from different sectors, to broaden your horizons and protect your pocket. If you select stocks only from one sector, if that particular sector gets affected by the economic recession, then you will lose everything.

Learning how to increase your income during a recession is a challenge, that can change your life for the better, if handled well

Monday, March 8, 2010

To Save Or Not To Save Money? A Practical Guide To Personal Finance

To save or not to save money? We are always confronted with the same question of whether we can save money or not while trying to make both ends meet. Here are ways to save money.

To save or not to save money? We are always confronted with the same question of whether we can save money or not while trying to make both ends meet. It is best that we have the skills on financial management to be able to save money, and not to be trapped into debt. Here are practical ways on personal finance :

Reasonable Spending Habits.

* Identify "what you need" and "what you want". It is always like a tug-of-war between these two, but "what you need" should come out as a winner and only let "what you want" if you have already set aside extra funds for it. Failure to do so becomes an impulse buying habit.

* Know what are income generating expenses from lifestyle expenses. Income generating expenses or the basic needs such as utilities, transportation, food,gasoline while lifestyle expenses such as mobile usage, clothing, recreational expenses which can be adjusted or cut off as need arises. In some cases, there can be exceptions for mobile usage if it is use for income-related activities such as in sales while Internet expenses for freelance online jobs.

* Think of long term “things to buy" or expenses that requires bigger funds such as purchasing a new appliance, renovation projects, long term investment and so forth. Moreso,small sacrifices to save money can create funds for long term plans.

* Live moderately and find effective ways to reduce cost at home such as expenses for electrical appliances and Do-It-Yourself skills can spare us from service professional expenses.

Use Credit Card Wisely. Remember that everytime we use it we have a debt to pay. Is the purchase worth buying or are we into impulse buying. Credit card is not bad if we know how to use it for our advantage. Some business people use it as their capital and roll the cash until it is due. By this time, they have earned the profit.

* Study monthly statement carefully and keep track all your expenses if it is properly billed.

* Pay on time before the deadline and try to pay all the amount due. If you are paying only the minimum, you are just paying for the interest rates. The credit card company is just getting richer because of the monthly interest charges.

* For small purchases, pay it in cash instead of using the credit card.

* Do not make a long list of credit cards, get only what you can manage.

In order to save money, live within your means. If you want to live more than what you have, increase your income. Whatever what you have in your hand big or small, savings depends on how you manage money. Make a monthly effort to set aside even a small amount of savings and gradually increase whenever you can. Financial security can be achieved if we know how to save consistently.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Ways To Earn Cash Through Paid Product Testing

There are some legitimate ways to earn cash testing products at home

While there are a variety of ways to earn cash through paid product testing, it is important for an individual seeking to make extra income to approach the industry with a skeptical eye to prevent involvement in scams. There are a good number of paid product testing opportunities that can be found on the internet that are legitimate ways to earn cash, and there are also thousands of scams that are nothing more than a waste of time and sometimes money for a naive person. The best ways to earn cash through paid product testing is to find companies that have solid reputations and long track records of maintaining happy product testers,and avoiding the offers from companies that require a tester to pay an upfront fee to participate.

The easiest ways to earn cash through paid product testing is to do a little research and find a few companies that offer paid testing positions that look appealing. Next, you will usually be required to fill out an application which is basically demographic information, as certain companies want only a particular target audience to test their products. After a short time, the company you have applied to will let you know if you are a match to earn cash through paid product testing of a specific product they are currently testing.

If a tester receives a match to test a product, the item is sent to their home for their examination and use. Along with the product is usually a survey concerning the product's features and quality which must be completed and returned, but sometimes the survey and review of the product can be done online.

The ways to earn cash through product testing begin with payment for your use and opinion of the product presented to you. Amounts paid vary from company to company and even from product to product, but paid product testing is a simple and easy way to earn cash. In most circumstances you get to keep the product you have tested, which is a nice little bonus in addition to any earned cash you may have already made. Some other ways to earn cash through paid product testing is through companies that give gift vouchers to those who do an especially good job of reviewing in addition to any cash that has been earned for completing the basic task. Still other ways to earn cash through paid product testing is by entering free drawings that product testing companies offer for participation.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Great Websites That Can Help When Looking For A Job

It's easier to find a job online than by going door to door.

There are hundreds of great websites that can help when looking for a job, but the amount of assistance they can give to a person in their individual job search varies greatly with each website. In any case, these job listing websites offer a great way to help find a job while sitting at home, all with little more effort required than a few clicks of the mouse - a far departure from the "old days" of running all over town filling out dozens of job applications. The really great websites that help when looking for a job do much more than just list open jobs, they offer excellent advice on every topic associated with job hunting to aid an unemployed person in their quest to locate employment.

Here are a few great websites that can help when looking for a job:

http://www.USAJobs.gov/ - This wonderful website offers an official list of available jobs with the federal government, and serves as a great source for information to job seekers. This website has a list of special hiring events and when and where they are to be held, along with employment information for veterans, students, senior executives and those individuals with disabilities.

http://www.Monster.com - This is a great website that helps when looking for a job because of the excellent features it offers. On Monster.com you can browse for jobs, create a resume, map a strategy for job hunting or get a professionally written resume. This is also a great website to help when looking for a job for those who are young, as they can plan and research careers, get advice from job forums and even use a salary calculator to see what a career field may pay.

http://www.CareerBuilder.com - One of the more popular websites that can help when looking for a job, CareerBuilder.com has 1.6 million jobs listed at last inspection. Here you can search for jobs by category, company, industry and even look for jobs that are open internationally.

Yahoo Hot Jobs - This is a great website that can help when looking for a job by offering advice on resumes, interviews and negotiating salaries. Job listings can be searched by categories and locations, and you can even post your resume here.

It's a good idea when using great websites that can help when looking for a job to register with as many as possible to get your name and skills out there to employers.

Friday, March 5, 2010

What are stock options?

Stock options are what investors get if they want the option to buy or sell shares, at an agreed price, at a certain date. But anyone can get in on the stock options market, as a buyer or seller of stock options.

Stock options can be looked at from two ways, either the buyer, or the seller. In my case, what I was interested in was being the seller of stock options, in order to try to make a better investment of my money. An option is the right to buy or sell an item at a set price, whether or not the item goes up in value. For example, lets say I had $100,000 worth of a particular stock. I could sell you the option of buying the shares for $100,000 in a months time, and the shares could go up or down in value. I would charge you a certain percentage to give you this option, something like 2-5% depending on what the market was like, and what I wanted to do. The same is also true with selling shares at a set price. Let's say you already had $100,000 worth of shares, and you wanted to protect them from a possible crash, you could arrange to sell them to me in a months time for $100,000, which you would probably only want to do if the price of the shares went down more than the percentage that you gave me.

There are two types of stock options: "puts" which give the holder the right to sell the stock at a guaranteed price, and "calls" which give the holder the right to buy stock at a guaranteed price. A good way to sell stock options is to sell the option to buy your stock in the market, at a higher price than what it is, and if the stocks go up to that level, you have to sell it, and you would miss out on any profits over that amount. However you have made a profit not only of the percentage, but the higher value of the stock, and if the stocks go down, you get to keep the percentage which is the price to buy the option. I don't understand it that well, and you want to have solid financial advice before you risk a lot of money on the stock market, but so long as the whole market doesn't crash suddenly, you can make a good living from selling stock options.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

How to Increase Your Personal Wealth

Money makes the world go round and sometimes the more money you have the better your life will be. So how do you go about increasing your personal wealth and savings I hear you say....

Firstly you need to plan, you need to make a plan to decide where you want to be both in the short term, say the next 12 months and the long term, say the next 5 years. Consider, factor in and include in your plan how much money you want to have and why. Including this will keep you motivated, focused and on target to achieve your goals and aims.

There are many ways to increase your personal wealth, and here are just a few. For example you could increase your savings, if perhaps you don't have the disposable income to do this on a regular basis you could start by checking that you have the best savings account possible - ensure that it is earning you a good deal of interest. Making sure that you have your money earning you the most interest it can help you increase your personal wealth, even if it is a small amount, remember that magical thing called compound interest.

Another way to increase your personal wealth is to perhaps dabble in the stock market. Where you are looking for penny stocks or something a bit more costly, stocks and shares could be one of your routes to riches. Just remember to conduct your research and weigh up the risks. Get professional advice before you invest your hard earned money.

TOP TIP: Work out what type of person you are and create a personal wealth action plan around this. For example if you are cautious maybe stocks and share trading is not the right way for you to go.

Property could be the way to increase you personal wealth. For example you could invest in either residential/private property or perhaps commercial rewards. You could buy and sell houses, rent out houses and so on to increase your personal wealth.
There are many ways to increase your personal wealth and there also many scams out there so beware. Be cautious with your money and don't expect to get rich quick or overnight.

I hope you have found this article both useful and helpful and I wish you every success in increasing your personal wealth.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Financial planning for the future

If you want to increase your personal wealth or perhaps save for something specific such as retirement, children or a holiday home then financial planning is a must. First you need to think about where you are now and where you would like to be in the future (both in the short and long term). Creating a financial plan will allow you to see where you are now and where you can realistically expect to be.

When creating the basis for your plan you will be asking and covering lots of questions including: What type of investor am I, How much do we have in savings now, How much would I/we like to have and more importantly how am I going to get there.
Below are a few suggestions as to how you can start creating your own financial plan right now!

Firstly - I would set out where I wanted to be by creating an overall goal. I would then break this down into smaller aims and targets which I would measure and monitor at regular set dates in the near future.

Secondly - I would work out what type of saver or investor I was and then factor this into my plan. For example if I am a risk taker I might want to dabble in the stock market. Finding out what type of person you are will help you create an individual financial plan that is suitable to you, your needs and your wants.

Thirdly - I would research all of the options open to me, in terms of how I could increase both my income and savings in order to achieve my financial goal/s. I would research savings, bonds, ISAs, pensions, property, business, investing and much more. Once you have conducted this research which may take days or weeks you will be able to move onto the next part of your plan which will be deciding what you are going to do to reach your goals and when.

Remember when deciding how to make and save your money to factor in work, family, holidays, home improvements and anything else you may need money for in the foreseeable future, as you need to ensure you have adequate access to your funds should you need them in say an emergency.

I hope you have found this article both helpful and useful and I wish you every success in creating a financial plan and achieving your financial goals.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Understanding management styles

In the context of organizational reality and day-to-day routine tasks, apart from the theoretical parameters that define a managerial style, the cognitive aspects of each individual are those that finally define a manager as democratic, authoritarian or humanist.

Management styles differ in the degree of dominance used in managerial decision making. There are managers, who are good listeners and facilitate the communication between management and employees being always ready to approve an alternative suggestion. On the other hand, there are managers, who slap their doors and disapprove in advance any idea, suggestion or inquiry from subordinates, especially if they feel it contradicts their own theories.

In economics, dominance is defined as "the degree of inequality in market share distribution". In the social hierarchy of an organization, a dominant manager retains full control of the organization, as a result of individual charisma, his position within the system, and his influential personality. So, in a sense, a dominant manager denies any share of organizational success to his subordinates feeling that he should be the only one responsible for the strategic decision making.

To understand management styles, it is useful to investigate the continuum of managerial behavior. Unfolding an evolutionary scale of decreasing dominance, broke down in seven stages, the continuum of managerial behavior relates each action to a certain degree of authority provided by the manager to subordinates. From stage one to stage seven, the manager gradually allows the participation of subordinates to the strategic decision making by presenting ideas or tentative solutions and inviting questions and suggestions.

In particular:

1/ The Autocrat Manager

An autocrat manager defines the problem, considers possible solutions, chooses the most appropriate one and announces it to subordinates. Acting as a ruler having unlimited power, the autocrat manager denies any participation of the organizational members in the strategic decision making, while demanding all tasks and objectives to be performed exactly as requested. The communication pattern involved in this management style is mainly downward, from the manager to the subordinate, often resulting in employee demoralization and high dependence on managerial supervision. On the other hand, by causing fear and discipline to subordinates with his despotic style, the autocrat manager retains full control of the business processes ensuring that organizational goals are met.

2/ The Authoritarian Manager

Similarly to the autocrat manager, the authoritarian manager defines the problem, considers possible solutions, and chooses the most appropriate one. Yet, instead of announcing it to subordinates, the manager tries to persuade them to accept the decision while eliminating them from strategic decision making. The manager, diplomatically, yet authoritatively, tries to "sell" the decision to the organization. In any case though, authoritarian management diminishes the substance of people operating under the assumption that people have to be pushed and always told what to do to get the best possible results from them.

3/ The Bureaucratic manager

The Bureaucratic manager presents ideas and invites questions before decisions are made. Through the establishment of strong lines of authority and control, the bureaucratic manager develops clearly defined and specialized functions and detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all routine tasks. Using the minimum absolute power, he serves the firm and tries hard to meet organizational objectives through the use of legal authority and written rules and procedures. Employee performance on bureaucratic management is measured based on the rate of consistency to the survival and growth of the organization, while promotions are based on competence leading to clearly defined career paths.

4/ The Laissez Faire Manager

The Laissez Faire managerial style is placed at the midpoint of the dominance scale representing a zero balance between managerial domination and employee domination styles. Laissez Faire managers have been heavily criticized for avoiding too much interference in employee behavior.

All employees need guidance, and in addition, employees normally achieve a superior level of performance if they understand what the organization expects of them and why.

5/ The Democratic Manager

The Democratic manager gains his power from what determines to be the majority opinion. Democratic management seeks consensus with subordinates considering this to be the best way to portray the broadest range of resources and get the best results. Democratic managers believe that by addressing employee responsibility and showing confidence in their subordinates, they assist in employee and human development, which in the long run, might also mean less managing on the part of the manager. The democratic managerial style is the basic model of presenting problems and openly asks for suggestions, while a majority vote establishes the future of the firm.

6/ The Participative Manager

The Participative manager sets organizational limits, but he relies profoundly on groups and individuals within the firm for definitive decisions. Providing employees responsibility, accountability, and authority over their work, participative management improves employee performance and boosts organizational performance. To a degree, the Participative manager appears similar to the Democratic manager, but the two managerial styles are different. Participative management is based on incentive compensation system where employees have a stake in the business outcome. In addition, in participative management the group members are progressively gaining power over the requests of the group as an entity.

7/ The Humanist Manager

The Humanist manager sets individual happiness as the ultimate goal. In search of this goal, the organizational objectives are transferred to a subordinate position. In this stage, the manager both allows and requires organizational members to make decisions within prescribed limits, evoking a team scheme where the authority of the manager and the participation in the decision making is equal to the authority of the organizational members.

Regardless of fundamental or smaller differences between these seven managerial styles, managers are human beings, who cope with organizational complexity aiming to sustain a competitive advantage for the organization and to promote stability. In this context, their human nature certainly overpowers their managerial skills and aptitudes and sometimes even their MBA degrees. Reality is much more different than theory. Therefore, in the context of organizational reality and day-to-day routine tasks, apart from the theoretical parameters that define a managerial style, the cognitive aspects of each individual are those that finally define a manager as democratic, authoritarian or humanist. And for these aspects only Organizational Psychology is suitable to provide explanations and answers.
 
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