My Personal Finance Blog

Return on investment can be managed to a certain extent with three basic things; the speed of return (SOR), Leverage and Personal Cash control. In this article, we will discuss these three basic elements.

1- Speed of Return

One of the easiest ways an annual compounding rate can be increased is to invest for faster turn around cycles. If you can discover investments that essentially have a one or two week cycle, that is much stronger than an annual cycle.

2- Leverage

The capital on hand can be exaggerated using leverage. A $50 dollar account can be made into a $5000 using borrowed money. If the yield is 10%, therefore on $100, you would have made $10. On the other hand, if you made a bigger purchase with borrowed money, the same yield is 10% of $1000 which is equivalent to $100; hence in actual terms you have gained a 100% return.

3- Personal Cash Control

If you have an instant access to your cash, you are really in a position to grab some golden opportunities when they offer themselves. There is an overabundance of opportunities that can be had, for investors with the accessible funds.

The ideal way to boost your speed of return can have a spectacular impact on your annual compounding goals and with the help of an organized financial planning; you can achieve compounding rates of 100% or even more each year. Achieving this target is not at all difficult, if you successfully adopt the above three strategies that will make you successful in your stock investment career.

Do you remember the Blues Brothers? They were unstoppable. They were “on a mission from God”. Seems like almost everyone standing behind the counter in the rental agency is a Blues Brother when you come into collect the vehicle. They always want to sell you something, usually additional insurance. The most common special offer is loss damage waiver (LDW). It sounds such a good idea to have complete cover against any loss caused to the vehicle while under your control. The magic word is “waiver”. You are excluded from liability even if you drive the vehicle off the end of a pier and it sinks without trace (hopefully without you still inside it). The only problem is this good idea can seriously damage your bank balance when the final bill comes in. That hourly or daily rate just got heavy. So when should you add LDW? The answer is deceptively simple. If you do not own another vehicle and have no insurance cover in place, it may be a good buy. But most insurance policies on your own vehicle cover you while driving a rental. So it all comes down to the extent of that cover on your own vehicle.

To get the maximum discount in these hard economic times, most people have been pushing up the deductibles. In many cases, the potential losses can be managed to keep to the low end. It’s your vehicle. You can talk to the repair shop and get all the work you want done at the best price. But when it’s a rental vehicle, everything is out of your hands. The rental company has no interest in protecting your bank balance. It pays top dollar to get the vehicle repaired and sends you the bill. No searching around to find the cheapest replacement parts and lowest price body shops. Everything is top of the range and then comes the kicker. It’s called the “loss of use” charge. You are expected to cover their estimated loss of profit while the vehicle is off the road. And guess what. If you are paying their loss of profit, they have no incentive to rush the repairs. They can take their own sweet time and, in most cases, you pay – most private policies do not cover loss of use charges. Some credit card companies offer limited cover, but read the small print before relying on it. Limited cover means very little actual money will ever be paid out.

If you are only renting for a few days, it’s probably worth paying for LDW. It may not be cheap car insurance, but it protects you. But if the end bill is going to be too high, trust to luck and your own insurance policy. Hopefully, your own cheap car insurance policy will give you enough of a buffer against claims Remembering, of course, that only the best private policies cover you against the dreaded loss of use charges. If nothing else, all this bad news should give you the incentive to drive like your wheels are passing over egg shells. Drive as safely and carefully as possible. If you are going to break some eggs, make sure the damage is minor and the losses are small.

A traffic accident is never a think to be happy about. Having even the smallest car accident will surely give you a lot of stress and headache. Not to say that things will be a lot worse if there’s someone injured or the damage to vehicles or property is serious. The best thing to do in such a case is to remain calm and not panic. You will need your cool head for evaluating the extent of damage and injuries before you even contact your insurance company to report the accident. And here are some things to keep in mind if you want to do that right.

Remain cool-headed

The first thing you should do is to calm down. It will certainly be hard especially if you never had accidents before. But this is very important for properly analyzing the situation and helping other people involved if they need help. You have to keep focus on all of the details so you can report them to your insurance agent or the police officer when you will be asked questions.

Call for help first

Prior to evaluating the damage and injuries there’s another thing you have to do. Call 911 and report if there’s anyone injured at the scene. If the accident took place in a location where it is dangerous to remain (heavy traffic, high risk of collision) it is better to move the vehicles to a safer place rather than waiting for the police officer to document the accident. This will save you from additional risk of damage or injury. When you have all of these things done you can take your camera and notepad for documenting the crash.

Gather evidence

Try to get as many pictures and notes from the scene while it is still as-is before the police start moving the vehicles. Then write down how the accident happened step by step as you remember it. If there’s someone who saw it happen around the scene, get their names and contacts, and ask for their version of the accident. It’s not wise to start arguing with them if you don’t agree with them. Just document as many evidences as you can to have plenty of information that can be presented to your auto insurance company or the police.

Help the authorities

When the police arrive to the scene you should cooperate and do everything they say. Report everything you are asked about and ask for an additional copy of the report when it’s compiled. It can be a bit stressful to deal with so much documents but it will make it easier for your auto insurance claim to be processed faster.

Here are some things you have to pay utmost attention when documenting the aftermath of the crash:

1. Compile a list of any personal items that are missing after the accident.

2. Document the physical condition of all the people involved in the crash, even if it’s a light headache. Sometimes a light pain in the arm can turn out to be a fracture a few days later.

3. Take pictures of all the damage resulted from the accident. Take close up pictures of the damaged car parts and any infrastructure that has been affected by the crash.

4. Don’t sign any documents or agreements if you aren’t aware of their content. Contact your lawyer or your cheap auto insurance company to learn what you should do in such a situation.

Unless you step up to the challenge of controlling your finances, your debt level and your financial future, who else will? Preparing a budget is the ideal tool to get you started. It’s also really quite easy.

#1. A budget will show your current financial position.

Without a budget you are not able to clearly see the extent of your spending compared to your income. This is the most important role of your budget. It will show you whether you are living within your means or whether you are living on borrowed funds. It is also the tool that can show you where all your money is being spent. This allows you to answer important questions, such as “Am I wasting money on things I don’t really need?” “Is my credit card debt to blame for my predicament?” and “How much better off would I be if I could manage to be debt free?”

#2. A budget points you to the areas that need your attention.

There are reasons why you are in this worrying financial position. It could be that you are spending more than you earn, you are not paying off the credit cards quickly enough and are paying interest on the interest. Or it could be that you’re not saving for those inevitable emergencies and large financial bills that arise from time to time. The budget can provide answers that show you what is required to fix each situation.

#3. A budget helps you set goals to pay down the debt and save for emergencies.

A budget can help you calculate how much you need to put aside to save for emergencies and large unexpected bills. Is it the children’s education? Is it a holiday for the family or yourself? Is it to set some money aside for retirement? Or, is it to replace the car, furniture or washing machine? If you are spending all you earn and not saving any, you may be condemning yourself to lifelong poverty. Not a happy prospect.

#4. A budget shows whose money you are really spending.

The budget can show you how much of your spending is being funded by others. How much is being funded by the Credit Card provider or the bank. The cost of this funding is interest. The interest costs are most likely the reason you are in this situation, currently. It can clearly show how much you need to reduce your spending to live within your means

#5. A budget can keep you on track and motivated.

Once you have set up a budget it is no use putting it into the drawer and forgetting it ever existed. It is meant to be a living document that can help you often. It can keep you motivated to stick to your plan by tracking your progress towards the goal and seeing your savings rising and debt falling.

A budget is the key to getting your finances under control and the debt worry off your back. Preparing your own budget is very enlightening and offers you the chance of finally getting control of your financial future. Isn’t it worth a little effort? Don’t you deserve it?

Even at the outset, one should know that all stones, used for decorative and finishing purposes, are not alike – though some of them may look similar, they are not identical. The natural stones can be broadly classified as belonging to three predominant groups – Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic. Experts suggest that these differences are due to mineral components and the stone formation process.

Granite is a classic example of igneous rock that has cooled and crystallized beneath the earth’s outer surface. Sandstone, Coral stones, Limestone are some of the sedimentary type of natural stones.  Metamorphic denotes a change in form. This changing of one rock type into another type takes place due to an increase in temperature or pressure or a combination of both factors.

Colors of the natural stones depend on which part of the world they come from and on the nature of minerals in the earth through mining. As people may be aware blocks are removed from the quarry mines and then cut into slabs.

Each stone is obviously made up of different characteristics. Pitting is nothing to be abhorred as it does not make a stone inferior in appearance or quality. As a matter of fact, pitting is considered a natural characteristic of stone based on industry standards.

It may be purposeful to know some characteristics of various natural stones before buying natural stone products:

Granite is arguably the hardest natural material available for countertops.   Granite should be preferred not only for its beauty, but for its durability and easy maintenance. Granite can offer a wide range of color choices.

Marble is indeed a widely favored stone and many feel marble is irresistibly fascinating. Marble is also a hard material, though less hard than granite. But like granite, marble is available in multiple colors. Marble is ubiquitously used in hearths, pub counters, and bathrooms and to a lesser extent as kitchen countertops.

Limestone, it must be said, is a very porous material which offers a more rugged look – though many still prefer it.  Limestone is not an ideal choice for countertops because it is susceptible to staining and scratching and leaving indelible marks. Limestone may instead used for flooring, and fireplace adjoining areas. Limestone is also available in different colors.   

Soapstone is less favored by many for countertops as the appearance steadily darkens with age due to oxidation process. Soap may be appealing to a select few who desire an aged or weathered look for their countertops

Onyx is widely recognized as a gemstone. It is a semiprecious variety of quartz that is used often in jewelry-making. Onyx is a very aesthetic stone with variegated spots and layers – though somewhat fragile. Onyx is mostly used for furniture, fireplace surrounds and bar tops but may not be suited for kitchen countertops..

The important characteristics to be considered by the buyer of natural stones are Durability, hardness, strength, range of colors and overall appearance. One cannot expect all these qualifications in one particular natural stone.

Some natural stones that have atmospheric Influences are ill-suited as kitchen or bathroom countertops. A very porous stone will absorb water, which may freeze and cause crystals near the surface to flake off. A persistent exposure of fresh surfaces to such atmospheric elements may sooner or later cause disintegration

However, a natural stone whose strength and durability are high, will have sufficiently good looks – and more so, if the appropriate color is chosen..