Monthly Archives: March 2010

Author : Jesse Whitehead

Interested in making each dollar get “more bang for the buck?” Need to save money because of a tight budget? If the answer to either of these questions is “yes,” this article will show you how you can save money by making use of leftover food that might ordinarily go to waste

1) Get every last drop When those ketchup, mustard, salsa, and other condiment bottles and jars are nearly empty, here’s a way to get the last drop out of them Tip the containers upside down and let stand for a couple of hours to collect the remnant food at the lid end Then just squeeze or scrape out what is left Of course there’s always going to be a wee little bit still clinging to the sides If you want to get every last drop, just put a few drops of water or vinegar in the container, shake it, and then pour it out Works great for getting that last bit of salad dressing and ketchup out of the bottles

2) Make pate’ from leftover meat Pate is meat in a paste form that can be spread on crackers or bread Pate’ is not a regular food item on most American menus, but if it’s something you eat, you can save money by making pate’ from leftover meat and fish Just throw the leftover meat into your food processor, add some herbs, butter, and cream, and you have a delicious pate you can spread on your bread and crackers for lunch or a snack

3) Use Your Stale Bread Just because your bread may be dry or stale doesn’t mean it needs to be thrown away There are several things you can do with stale bread such as: (a) make bread crumbs that can be used in meatloaf, burgers meatballs and vegetarian dishes; (b) make croutons, which are great for soups and salads; (c) make bread pudding; (d) make French toast; (e) Use bread crumbs to feed the birds (f) Revive it by dipping in water and baking it

4) Save the drippings O K for the health conscious, this is not the best option, but it will save you money if you do, and that is the point of this article Collect the fat from your chicken and beef and store it in the fridge for later cooking use Some people save their bacon drippings as well Using animal fat for cooking is certainly delicious, but it’s up to you whether you want to use these fats in lieu of vegetable and olive oils

5) Save the chocolate When you melt your chocolate for a dessert you are making, don’t just wash out the chocolate residue that remains in the bowl Let it cool and harden, then scrape out the little pieces, which you can use for decorations and toppings on cakes, pies, puddings, and other desserts It will save you money by not having to buy expensive toppings that are pre-packaged in the store

Jesse Whitehead lives in California with his family and enjoys writing articles on a variety of different subjects. His newest interest is in vintage tubs and baths which are perfect for taking a long hot soaking bath! Come visit his latest website at http://clawfoottubfaucets.net for more information about vintage bathtubs.

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Author : Joshua Ferris

Selling your home ain’t easy You’ve got to find an agent to market the home, keep it in showing condition and deal with the heartaches of no feedback, no shows and canceled tours Even so, there are a few ways to improve your odds of selling your home each time it’s shown Here are seven showing mistakes to avoid:

Leaving the lights off – It’s second nature nowadays and we all do it Leave a room, turn off the light Unfortunately, buyers want to see your home at it’s brightest and best Make sure you turn on all the lights before a showing!

Not taking dogs out of the home – This is a tricky situation It’s okay to have a pet in the home while buyers look through it but if your dog barks a lot it can ruin a tour Often times after seeing a half dozen homes buyers try to remember a sticking point about each home You don’t want yours to be the one with that really loud chiuaua as a lasting reminder of what they won’t be having a second look at

Dirty litter boxes – On the flip side, cats don’t make a lot of noise but can leave a not so fresh smelling surprise for your potential buyers Prior to showing the home you should do your best to ensure all litter boxes have been cleaned

Not putting away or hiding laundry – We all have laundry but unmentionables and other articles of clothing should be out of sight during a tour It’s a better bet to store your laundry in a washer/dryer than it is to leave it in an exposed area

Cooking high odor foods before a showing – Depending on your eating habits you may have an odor problem Foods with lingering or strong odors like steamed broccoli, onions and certain spices can leave a negative lasting impression on a buyer as they walk through your home Sometimes you won’t be able to avoid it (like a showing with one hour notice) but if you can, do it

Being present throughout the buyer’s tour – If you work from home or are able to open the door to let buyers in then you have a great advantage over the competition Give the buyers and their agent a brief overview of your home and then head out the door Sticking around can answer some questions but could also stop the buyers from fully exploring your house (and cabinets) like they would if you weren’t home

Leaving large objects in potential walking paths – Animal toys, doll houses, toy boxes, treadmills and more If you have any significant objects that you normally shuffle yourself around it is time to take them out of the house Buyers aren’t conditioned to remember the precise walking route around a treadmill and will leave feeling cramped for having experienced it

Utilizing the seven tips above will take you a long way in selling your home faster than the competition and often for more money The value of your home starts with what you have in it (granite, hardwood floors) but showing that it’s a tranquil place to live is of equal, if not greater, value to a buyer

Joshua Ferris is an associate real estate broker in Orange County NY and specializes in both Monroe New York and Newburgh New York real estate. Learn more about Orange County by visiting Josh’s Orange County NY Real Estate website.

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Author : James Monahan

Albert Einstein has referred to interest as the eighth wonder of the world, the greates invention of the human race, and the most powerful force in the universe

Why is this so? Interest has three major functions in finance It is the surcharge placed on the repayment of borrowed money or goods; it is the return which is derived from investments; and interest also refers to a person’s right or claim to a corporation, such as that of a creditor or owner

In economics, interest is referred to as rent on money Rent, or economic rent, is further defined as a payment to a factor of production (land, labor, and capital goods)

Like any other form of rental, interest rates constantly change to reflect market conditions Interest rate is the percentage by which balances grow, and the initial balance is referred to as the principal Interest rates have remarkable effects on finance and economics, thus, they are the most watched market indicators

History suggests that the Sumerian civilization is the first to have developed a structural credit system based on grain and silver, the two main commodities Before the advent of coins, Sumerians practiced a credit system where loans were made in the form of metals based on their weights

Loans of grain and silver made trading possible Silver was used by towns, and the country economies used grain

As proof to this historical claim, archaeologists have uncovered metal pieces believed to be used in trade in Troy, Minoan, and Mycenaean civilizations They have also found similar items in Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt, and Persia

Today, credit has changed into an entirely new system Banks, individuals, and other financing institutions have developed their own system of collecting interest for the repayment of borrowed money, or debt

This practice; however, is considered usury by religious orders such as the Jewish and Christian In Islam, a special type of banking is practiced, which is consistent with Islamic laws, such that the collection and repayment of interest is prohibited There are Islamic banks which cater to this specific banking system

Interest accumulates in two ways: by growing linearly with time (simple interest), and by growing exponentially over time (compound interest) Simple interest, the method by which interest accumulate linearly with time, is seldom practiced because the interest earned by the money previously is assumed to have remained in the account

When this happens, the amount of money which is subject to interest increases because the previous interest remained with the capital money

With compound interest, outstanding balances, which may include the principal and other add-on amounts, balance grow exponentially through time This means that periodically, the total balance grows by percentages of the total of the principal and the interest paid in previous periods

In this mode of interest, the rate of compounding influences the whole amount of interest which is paid over the duration of the loan The growth function in compound interest is an exponential function with regards to time

Today, there are two general types of interest rates for debt instruments Debt instruments are also called income streams, which pertains to the stream of income for the person who lends money

There are a number of debt instruments such as business-based, collateral-based, consumer-based, contingency-based, government-based, and insurance-based instruments These interest rates are fixed-rate and variable rate

Fixed-rate instruments, the more common between the two, have fixed value throughout the instrument’s duration This interest rate is usually used in bonds

Variable-rate instruments are typically attached to an index which floats according to the economic conditions such as prime rate (interest rate given by lenders to customers who are considered trustworthy) and CPI or consumer price index (statistical measure of the average of prices of a set of economic goods and services bought by wage earners in urban areas)

James Monahan is the owner and Senior Editor of
InterestBase.com and writes expert
articles about interest.

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Author : Aydan Corkern

With the economy in its current shambled state, investing may seem like the last thing you would want to do with your money But in fact, investing in a growing company could be a good source of alternative income while you are trying to get through things financially All you need to do is consider a series of factors that will determine whether you have invested wisely or if you are just throwing your money down the drain

Before you invest in a company or other venture, you need to be reasonably sure that the company will still be around a year from now For example, year after year people invest in restaurants that might do not last very long There are several reasons why a business of this nature could fail Location and population are very important factors If the location of such a business is far and out of the way, then there is a slim chance of there being thriving business If the population of the town you choose is very small, then there may not be enough consumers to keep your business afloat Another consideration is that when times are tough, eating out is one of the first luxuries consumers will cut out of their budget

The next thing to consider is if the business you are investing in is a growth industry In other words, if the business you are investing in is not going to immediately catch on, what are the odds that it will? For example, technologies come and go year after year So, if you were to invest into something technological, you need to be sure that you are investing in what is going to replace the previous generation of technology If you were to invest in such a field, it is a good idea to keep an eye on that market, as competition can be fierce

Another factor to consider when investing is to make sure you are not being scammed Year after year many would be investors are taken to the cleaners by people who set up good presentations that turn out to be scams It is important that if you do invest, to look into the person or persons you are giving your money to and what you are investing in Make sure there is no doubt in your mind about their reputability If possible, find other people who are investing and see what they have to say about the matter Remember, investing can be a big undertaking and there is almost always at least some risk involved, so do not put up money that you can not afford to lose just in case you were to

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Author : Melanie Taylor

It’s been well publicised lately that the housing market is on the brink of a crisis – in fact, the crisis has hit the US already As mortgages become harder to come by and homeowners begin to struggle with rising interest rates and lower demand from buyers, the market is faced with a vicious circle in which prices keep falling, but there are not enough mortgages being offered to increase demand

What happened? – a timeline

The problems can be traced back to the housing market in the US, in which people with poor credit history (known as ‘sub-prime’ borrowers) were allowed to take out mortgages – many of whom subsequently could not keep up with payments

Many of these mortgage debts had been ‘bought’ by UK banks, meaning they were now responsible for receiving the repayments However, due to the amount of times these debts had been bought and resold, it was often difficult for banks to predict how much of the debts would be repaid

When many of these sub-prime borrowers began to fall behind on repayments, it hit whoever ‘owned’ the mortgage debts – meaning both the US and the UK were affected This is what became known as the ‘sub-prime mortgage crisis’

What is happening now?

UK banks’ losses have in fact been small so far – but there is a risk that they could get a lot bigger For this reason, they are very cautious about new lending, and so they are tightening the criteria needed to qualify for mortgages

The knock-on effect of this is that houses are harder to sell, meaning prices are getting lower However, lower mortgage availability means that demand isn’t getting any higher – so house prices are likely to fall further – and so the cycle continues

The Bank of England has acted on two fronts Most significantly, they have swapped 50bn GBP of secure Government Bonds in return for banks’ mortgage debts – effectively a show of confidence that sub-prime losses will not be as big as the banks feared This move is designed to calm the insecurity that is causing the tighter lending policies and prevent any particularly dangerous drops in house prices

Additionally, they have lowered the basic interest rate in order to convince banks to lower mortgage interest rates – but this is currently not working, and so the problems continue

What happens next?

There are mixed opinions amongst the experts:

RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors)

* Predict that house prices at the end of 2008 will be down by 5pc from the end of 2007

* Sales will be down by 40pc

CML (Council of Mortgage Lenders)

* House prices at the end of 2008 will be down by 7pc from the end of 2007

* Sales will be down by 35pc to 770,000 sales

Although the extent of the predictions vary, nearly all experts agree that the housing market is increasingly on the downturn House prices have only fallen slightly so far – but if the trend continues, the housing market will decrease in value significantly in the coming months

The US have already been through what the UK is going through now – a tightening in lending criteria combined with fewer mortgages – and they have seen some sharp falls in house prices Many economists believe the UK will follow this pattern

Banks need to continue borrowing and lending, if a little more carefully than before, if the market is to recover If they don’t, house prices will continue to fall, and it could be years before they begin to rise again

Melanie Taylor is associated with GregoryPennington.com, one of the UK’s leading debt management companies, providing debt help, debt advice and debt management plans to over 40,000 clients.

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Author : Javaid Kiyani

Every property investor will agree that without tenants you do not really have a property business

Your tenants will pay the rent set by you This rent will be used to pay for:

Your mortgage repayments

Recurring property maintenance

Fixtures and furnishings in a furnished property

Any money left over will be used by the property investor for

Advertising

Finders fees for further property acquisitions

Further acquisition financing costs

Legal fees

etc

As you can see, there are numerous expenses here To be successful, you need to treat property investing as a business and not just a hobby

I know of a lot of people who have tried property investment only to find that their costs far exceed any income This is certainly NOT the right way to run a successful business

As with any business you need to look for ways to reduce costs or increase the income Now the only way for you to increase the money coming in would be to increase the rent This is not as easy as it may at first look

If you were to increase the rent over and above the rent dictated by the market you may never be able to rent out your property A tenant will only ever pay market rent unless your property is one of the best properties on the market and in an exclusive area where it is very difficult to find rented accommodation

Unless your property meets the above two criteria, I would forget about increasing the rent You must therefore focus on reducing costs

One way to reduce costs is by making the best use of your tenants

For example, you could ask your tenants to do a lot of the simple upgrading tasks on your property for you I have often asked tenants to paint my properties for me! If I supply the paint in a colour that is agreeable to both myself and the tenant I find that they are only too happy to paint the house for me

By painting the house, the tenants feel more involved in their property and also house proud; hence they often stay longer resulting in fewer voids

I also make it clear to tenants that I am looking for other properties in their area If they know of any vendors that may be looking to sell, please let me know This is another way to find that elusive deal I am happy to pay the tenant a finders fee for this service

Finally, when a tenant decides to move on, I ask them if they know of anyone that might want to rent the same property I normally ask them to put a notice up at their place of work or local pub

Again, I will offer the tenant a small financial incentive if they are successful in finding me someone

This financial incentive is far less than it would cost me to advertise the property, hence Im saving money straightaway

Im sure you can probably think of a few more ways your tenants can help you run your business The bottom line is that you must treat your tenants as an asset and help them help you grow your business

Dr Javaid Kiyani is a successful Property Investor and Internet Marketeer. With 10 years experience of property, his knowledge of property investment is vast as evidenced by the books he has written.

For his FREE Property Investment Course, visit http://www.hmopropertyriches.com/

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Author : Paul Hata

With the institution of malls, affordability of technology, and rising cost of health care, loans, and rising inflation, it has become very difficult for one to spend less and save money for future use

Current statistics show that banks are showing a considerable decline on each bank account holder’s savings and have shown an increased in the number of withdrawals per month leaving people little money to spend before the next salary strikes their account

Along this fact shows a relative increase in the amount of spending made in private institutions marketing different products

While these facts and a host of temptations are a commonplace scenario in the real world, there are many ways by which you can keep yourself from getting into the hype and aid you in creating and developing your personal and unique habit of saving a few dollars from your basic salary

1 Compulsive Buying – Given enough money, 7 out of 10 people lure into the idea of buying a personal item they like in a store at a first glance

In a simulated sociological study, people who originally planned on window-shopping ended up buying personal stuff if they are taking their personal bankcards with them

If you are doing window-shopping, limit your spending to a few bucks and try making your list the next time you plan on buying such items Buy only the store items you need and abandon those that do not satisfy an immediate need

2 Budgeting – Along with your pursuit to saving money, it is also important to keep an organized and effective, yet reasonable budgeting technique Budgeting eliminates buying temptations that would tend to build up during malling and help you save money along the process due to preformed lists of items you need to buy

3 Performing Price Comparison – The World Wide Web provides a great avenue on providing a checklist of prices on specific items that you plan on buying

This is great for you if you are into bulk buying and plan on conducting your malling activity in one place This will give you a good idea if the usual store from where you usually get all your everyday household needs provides you a reasonable price for specific products

4 Take All the Convenience At Home – Lunch, snacks, and major meals are something which you can prepare at home If you are serious on saving money, you can prepare all this from home and get away with some amenities of the gut by replacing soda with water This is not only beneficial to your pocket but does a great deal for your health as well

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