My Personal Finance Blog

Did you notice that S&P has threatened to downgrade our credit rating on the international scene. If that does happen and the dollar drops, there’s an inevitable conclusion. Suddenly everything we import is going to be that much more expensive. Our recovery from the recession has been slow enough. If everything imported goes up in price, families will not be able to cope. Worse, if the world thinks the US might default on its debt, the country will have to pay more interest on the money it borrows. That will force the banks to raise the interest rates for us. Mortgages and loans will go up. Of course, this is all a horror story and it will never happen because the Democrats and Republicans will agree on how to cut the deficit. . .

Meanwhile that leaves us struggling to make ends meet and trying to find every possible dollar of saving there is to be found. When it comes to insurance, there’s an interesting balancing act going on. The number of people driving uninsured has been rising steadily. In some states, it’s as high as 20% of drivers on the road. Mainly this is forced by the high rates although some ignore the law anyway. The irony of this is the more drivers without insurance, the more the rest of us have to pay. That’s either directly as premiums or indirectly because we take out additional cover against uninsured or underinsured drivers crashing into us. All this is putting the profits of the insurers under pressure. If they keep increasing the premiums, this is a vicious cycle and more people stop buying. So the insurers are now playing games with us. They increase the premiums and then offer us discounts or bonuses. The idea is to keep as many people as possible paying about the same total.

So you have to play the game and shop around to find all the discounts and then check out whether you qualify. Let’s see how it works. Any driver passing into their 50s is one of the safest on the road – statistics never lie. So insurers could lower the premiums automatically, or offer a loyalty bonus if you renew, or offer discounts. Most offer discounts to “mature” drivers. To qualify you usually have to go through a defensive driving course. The AARP’s website has a locator tool telling you where the nearest course is being run. This can give you up to 10% saving. At the other end of the scale, young and inexperienced drivers also qualify for a discount if they go on a safety course approved by their insurer. To qualify, ask your insurer which courses are accepted in your area.

So when you get the first round of car insurance quotes, check which discounts you have. Then run the search again changing, say, the amount of the deductible. Each time you run the search, change a variable so you can work out what discounts are available and how much they are worth. It costs nothing to run the search. If you have more time, telephone the insurer offering what looks the best car insurance quote and ask about what additional discounts are available. The rule is, if you never ask, you cannot receive. Find out how you qualify to save money.

Contract for difference is being used by many of the forex traders at the moment around the world and this is because of the advantages the package provides its users. The product simply allows you make a profit from the difference between the buying and selling price. You can also trade stocks anytime since with the product, you don’t need to wait for long as you can make profits anytime you trade. If you search well, you can get a tool that offers CFD and share dealing on the same platform.

Perhaps the main advantage CFDs provide is being able to make a profit whether markets go up or down. This means you can trade both long and short when using CFD and depending on your broker, you make good profits even when everyone is complaining about the poor market conditions. There are no limits as to the number of shares you can trade when it comes to using a CFD and this gives you the freedom to trade what you want. Besides, the initial capital needed is very low.

The fact that you can also trade anytime you want means that the product allows you flexibility since you can even trade when markets are closed. If you choose a good CDF provider, you can have the advantage of trading day and night so you don’t have to worry during the day when you are busy at your work place. You also don’t have to worry about expiries since you will be able to trade within any time frame you want.

CFDs have also the advantage of low transaction costs compared to other stock trading means. For instance, there are no stamp duties costs involved which reduces the costs especially when large transactions take place which can cost you so much in stamp duty. You will find this tool very cost effective too and this is because you do not own the stocks physically just like in financial spread betting. You can get the tool at a much reduced rate too which will reduce the amount of commissions you pay since there are many providers and this means competition is high among them.

There is the automatic stop loss feature that enables you avoid losses anytime you want. Since it is automatic, you don’t have to track trades all day as you simply give it the order and it will stop hence risk management with this trading is very easy. You can also have daily reporting when you open an account so you can know what is going on and how the trading is going on. The other advantage is that you will be able to trade in most of the financial markets available if you want.

With all these advantages, the Contract for difference is also easy to use since it doesn’t have the complexities that most of the other stock trading options have.  Most of the traders find the tool transparent and can work with it without problems.

The customer is king, and this, of course, implies that their verdict is the final one. They can make you or alternatively destroy yo, so swiftly that the end is never apparent. But what if you could see it and change it as per your whims and fancies? Is that possible? Yes, if you are willing to pay whatever it takes. The idea is catchy enough and does not demand a huge debate to prove itself. But the question remains, how to analyze the customer’s reactions?

Mystery shopping provides the easy solution. All it entails are a few dummy customers who pose as real ones and shop. In reality, these trained professionals keep a close eye on every aspect that could be important from the customer’s point of view. They look at the minutest details, like is the floor clean, and at the more important issues, like customer service. This comprehensive coverage can be enough to not only cover your expenses but make profits as well.

The idea is even more promising in busy cities like San Francisco; where the development drive coupled with soaring aspirations hardly leave any scope for the service providers to have a thorough check on the quality of services extended by their employees. The requirement of such services is further valued in areas witnessing high tourism traffic, as in San Francisco.

Brick and Mortar of the Mystery Shopping Business:
Mystery shopping is intended to answer questions related to the service quality and related parameters of customer satisfaction. The initiation phase demands few specific decisions in the initial stages before moving on. The key ones are:

- What sector to cater to.

- The basic employment pattern, i.e., if you intend to hire permanent resources or the business model operates at limited permanent force while the majority of workforce is temporary.

- Employee training.

- Geographical coverage.

- The reach, i.e., what aspects you intend to cater to.

- The tariff chart (depends upon the reach).

- Timelines per project.

Once these basic questions have been answered, the second phase entails preparation of a comprehensive marketing plan. These are not one-to-one selling; rather, the target segment is highly organized and demands professional treatment. Having an online presence helps. Get some brochures made and start your marketing cold calls. Seek referrals and approach the brand’s purchase department. Various industrial tradeshows and seminars serve as a prospective platform for networking. If possible, book a speaking slot and try to reach the target audience. Constant follow-up is an important rule of the game here. Conducting researches and thereby reaching out to the potential also is a prominent way to let the industry know that you exist.

Mystery shopping is a growing sector. The mere attributes that enable more in-depth knowledge of one’s own functioning have prompted many to opt for it. If you can work on your delivery standards, mystery shopping has ample buyers in San Francisco.

As a trader, your choices of taking part in trading instruments about the stock market is dependent on the funds your can spare towards this activity. For those who have enough cash to get, then you can do conventional share trading within the cash or physical market. However, if you are constrained for cash or desire to stretch your owndollar towards the maximum, you’ll be able to trade Cfds or contracts for difference as they are known. You may also look at futures trading. The last two trading instruments differ from cash trading within the kind of leverage they permit traders to profit from and therefore are therefore extra speculative anyway than traditional share trading.

As stated, the advantage of CFD trading is based on the manner you can use your capital to create significant profits. However, you have to remember that you may have the ability to trade only some of the stocks within the overall basket of stocks traded on the exchange. You may not be able to trade certain low cap stocks. Conventional share trading however allows you to trade any stock.

About the dividend front, whenever you trade CFDs you still get dividends except that you would not get franking credits or imputation credits. This is because to get these credits, you are expected to hold on to your shares or position not less than 45 days which may not be possible with Cfd trading. Hence there’s some advantage when you share trade as far as dividends are worried.

On the short selling front, CFD trading comes with an obvious edge on share trading. The margins less difficult lower and the restrictions are fewer. In regular share trading, the broker would need to find a counter party and also the costs of trading would be also high. CFD traders also have the opportunity to hedge positions by trading within the physical market.

When you trade CFDs, you may also place guaranteed stops which might not always be possible when you trade in the physical market.

The advantages of CFD trading over share trading can thus be summed up as under:

* Lower costs of trading

* Possibility of overnight financing for your Cfd positions less than 90 days

* The leveraging benefit

* Short selling isn’t a problem

* Possible to get dividends

* Place the guaranteed stops

Overall it does appear that Cfd trading scores over share trading due to the above advantages.

The best mutual funds have been good investments since the 1970s and many will remain so beyond the year 2011. The secret to finding the best funds is to get a handle on the best fund companies: ones that offer good investments from the INVESTOR’S point of view.

Mutual funds haven’t changed all that much in the past 40 years. In 2011 and beyond some will still be good investments, and there will still be 4 basic types to choose from: money market, bond, stock and hybrid types that represent a combination of the other three. The difference between then and now: more fund companies competing with a confusing number of alternatives and cost structures. What hasn’t changed is that all fund companies make money when you invest with them. Some just make more than others.

From the investor’s point of view the best funds have a low cost of investing. In terms of performance, you can’t pick the best funds in any of the 4 categories year in and year out. None of the fund companies stand head and shoulders above the rest as money managers. But you can find good investments by cutting costs; and this directly improves your bottom line – and profits. Avoid loads, which are sales charges and can amount to 5.75% off the top for stock funds. For a $10,000 investment $575 can go to pay for the cost of selling the investment. Such funds may be good investments from the salesman’s point of view, but not so if you are the investor.

The good news is that some of the biggest and best fund companies for 2011 and going forward got that way by offering good service and funds directly to the public at low cost. These fund companies offer NO-LOAD funds, which means that there are NO sales charges. You invest $10,000 or any amount and all of your money goes to work for you. Vanguard, Fidelity, T Rowe Price and American Century have been offering the public low-cost good investments for many years.

In your search for the best funds at low cost you will also want to look for those with low EXPENSE RATIOS, because ALL FUNDS charge your account for expenses year in and year out. If the expense ratio is 2.00, for example, a fund will take $200 from an investment worth $10,000 for yearly expenses. High expenses might represent good investments for salesmen or fund companies… but certainly not from your point of view as the investor.

Simply put, mutual funds are good investments for most people because they manage a diversified portfolio of securities for their investors. Few folks have the time or ability to do this themselves. But why pay big bucks for their services when you can find some very good funds with some of the best fund companies in the business? Now let’s zero in on these low-cost funds.

First, we’re looking for funds with NO upfront sales charges or loads. You can find them by searching the internet for “no-load funds”. Second, we want a low expense ratio… the lower the better. Data for every fund shows sales charges and expenses, this info is not a secret; it is just overlooked by the average investor. Third, to qualify as good investments, stock and bond funds need to perform in line with their benchmark. If you can find fund companies that have funds that meet all three of our criteria, you’ve found some good investment options for 2011 and the future.

The good news here is that these good investments can be found in the short list of fund companies I gave you earlier in the form of INDEX FUNDS. They are low cost because they have no sales loads and low yearly management expenses… because they simply invest to track their appropriate index… which IS their benchmark. This same index or benchmark is used as the standard for all similar funds with similar objectives. The difference is that other funds with a high cost of investing often under perform this same benchmark.

Looking at 2011 and into the future, average investors can put the numbers in their favor by simply investing in good investments offered by some of the best fund companies in America: no-load index funds.