Automobile Insurance

Automobile insurance is an increasing expense for almost all Americans. We can't afford to have it, and we certainly can't afford to not have it. When researching car insurance companies and comparing policies, it is a good idea to follow these easy guidelines to get the most coverage for your insurance dollars. Get discount car insurance quotes from as many carriers as you can. Automobile insurance rates may vary drastically depending on the model of your car and the type of coverage you need.
Consider as high a deductible as you can reasonably afford, since higher deductibles translate into lower insurance premiums. Review quotes and policies carefully to make sure you are only paying for coverage you really need.

If you have homeowner insurance, ask your agent if you are covered already for certain items you might be charged again for on your auto policy. After you have gotten quotes from different car insurance carriers, it is usually a good idea to create a spreadsheet to help you avoid comparing apples to oranges. Set up a scenario with car repairs and medical expense to best compare the coverage differences under real-life situations. Once you have chosen the two least expensive automobile insurance policies for the coverage you need, contact a reputable body shop in your area for a referral.

Automobile body shops deal with insurance companies every day, and you want to make sure the company you send your premiums to each month will be responsive and fair if you have to make an insurance claim. The body shop probably has a good insider opinion on how the insurance company operates, how long it takes to get an adjuster to view the damaged vehicle, how long it takes to get paid on a claim, how fair the estimate was, were used parts requested versus brand new parts and so on. Trust me, a 10 minute talk with a reputable body shop manager can reveal a lot of great information about an insurance company and how they tend to handle their claims.

A few dollars difference in premium dollars to get coverage from a company that handles their claims properly may save you a world of hassle in the event of an automobile accident.

Alternative Energy for the Home

The trend toward homes that are powered by alternative energy sources, ranging from wind turbines and solar collection cells to hydrogen fuel cells and biomass gases, is one that needs to continue into the 21st century and beyond. We have great need of becoming more energy independent, and not having to rely on the supplying of fossil fuels from unstable nations who are often hostile to us and our interests. But even beyond this factor, we as individuals need to get “off the grid” and also stop having to be so reliant on government-lobbying giant oil corporations who, while they are not really involved in any covert conspiracy, nevertheless have a stranglehold on people when it comes to heating their  homes (and if not through oil, then heat usually supplied by grid-driven electricity, another stranglehold).

As Remi Wilkinson, Senior Analyst with Carbon Free, puts it, inevitably, the growth of distributed generation will lead to the restructuring of the retail electricity market and the generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure. The power providers may have to diversify their business to make up for revenues lost through household energy microgeneration. She is referring to the conclusions by a group of UK analysts, herself included among them, who call themselves Carbon Free. Carbon Free has been studying the ever-growing trend toward alternative energy-using homes in England and the West. This trend is being driven by ever-more government recommendation and sometimes backing of alternative energy research and development, the rising cost of oil and other fossil fuels, concern about environmental degradation, and desires to be energy independent. Carbon Free concludes that, assuming traditional energy prices remain at their current level or rise, microgeneration (meeting all of one's home's energy needs by installing alternative energy technology such as solar panels or wind turbines) will become to home energy supply what the Internet became to home communications and data gathering, and eventually this will have deep effects on the businesses of the existing energy supply companies.

Carbon Free's analyses also show that energy companies themselves have jumped in on the game  and seek to leverage microgeneration to their own advantage for opening up new markets for themselves. Carbon Free cites the example of electricity companies (in the UK) reporting that they are seriously researching and developing ideas for new geothermal energy facilities, as these companies see geothermal energy production as a highly profitable wave of the future. Another conclusion of Carbon Free is that solar energy hot water heating technology is an efficient technology for reducing home water heating costs in the long run, although it is initially quite expensive to install.  However, solar power is not yet cost-effective for corporations, as they require too much in the way of specialized plumbing to implement solar energy hot water heating. Lastly, Carbon Free tells us that installing wind turbines is an efficient way of reducing home electricity costs, while also being more independent. However, again this is initially a very expensive thing to have installed, and companies would do well to begin slashing their prices on these devices or they could find themselves losing market share.

Easy Ways to Save Money

Have you ever noticed that the things you buy every week at the grocery and hardware stores go up a few cents between shopping trips? Not by much…just by a little each week but they continue to creep up and up.

All it takes for the price to jump up by a lot is a little hiccup in the world wide market, note the price of gasoline as it relates to world affairs.

There is a way that we can keep these price increases from impacting our personal finances so much and that is by buying in quantity and finding the best possible prices for the things we use and will continue to use everyday… things that will keep just as well on the shelves in our homes as it does on the shelves at the grocery store or hardware store.

For instance, dog food and cat food costs about 10% less when bought by the case than it does when bought at the single can price and if you wait for close out prices you save a lot more than that.

Set aside some space in your home and make a list of things that you use regularly which will not spoil. Any grain or grain products will need to be stored in airtight containers that rats can’t get into so keep that in mind.

Then set out to find the best prices you can get on quantity purchases of such things as bathroom items and dry and canned food.

You will be surprised at how much you can save by buying a twenty pound bag of rice as opposed to a one pound bag but don’t forget that it must be kept in a rat proof container.

You can buy some clothing items such as men’s socks and underwear because those styles don’t change, avoid buying children’s and women’s clothing, those styles change and sizes change too drastically.

Try to acquire and keep a two year supply of these items and you can save hundreds of dollars.

Home Fire Safety

In the 30 -35 years following 1960 about 93% of American households had their homes protected by installing fire alarms. This was not limited to any one form but apartments, single or family homes and dormitories all got their homes installed with some kind of alarms as required by the law which was made mandatory in 1980s.

How Will Fire Alarms Help
Alarm goes off hooting and alerting you in the event of fire breakout. Very sensitive, as they are, fire alarms alert you early facilitating escape with your kin and kith to safety. It protects loss of lives and property. It has been the single most important savior of lives and properties from fire hazards over years, according to a survey; no doubts about that.

It is fine, but how will it alert the hearing impaired persons who can’t hear the hooter going off? The Federal law, popularly known as Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 makes it mandatory for manufacturers of fire alarms to include strobe lights in addition to audible alarms.

Audible Alarms
Often fire fighters complain of hearing problems early in their lives. And they are not unjustified with this especially when fire alarms making loud sounds in the range of 90 – 100 decibels. The hooter or horn is designed to produce a variety of sounds depending on the distinct purposes. For example, ‘code 3 temporal pattern’ is used only when evacuation is necessary; and thus the alarm pulses too, vary in times. Other patterns include continuous tone, march time etc.

Fire alarms get triggered by sensors which detect either heat or smoke or both in fractions of a second. You can imagine the efficiency of the systems which detect the cause of fire (heat or smoke) first and trigger the hooter to go and still giving the residents enough time to escape.

Buying Fire Alarms
While buying fire alarms you may want to consider a few points. Generally, in public places where large number of people work together, ‘code 3 temporal pattern’ suits better which can well be heard over the rolling noise generated by the crowd, and for a home purpose a continuous tone type would suffice. Buy fire UL listed alarms. In case of confusion, don’t hesitate to consult the fire department. Occasionally, fire departments offer alarms at discounts too.

Offensive fire alarm pranks in hostels or dormitories, when students pull alarms are not viewed lightly in America. Students and pranksters must understand that it wastes the precious time of fire departments and needs evacuation of entire buildings at times.

Get tips on installation and mock drills from fire department.

Marketing Your Business Online

Link marketing has become something of a wonder. Some will say that if you do it, you’ll end up hurt. Others will tell you that you have to follow specific steps to being successful. In any case, the bottom line is that anything positive that you can do to aid your website in getting more visitors should be something that you do, at least to a point. Today, there are hundreds of strategies about what will work in search engine ranking. Some people believe in optimization while others believe in quality content. When it comes to link marketing, there are several things that you should know.

First, realize that there are several types of link marketing to consider.

One way links: To be short, this is one of the best ways to use link marketing. If you use one way links, you are having other website owners list your website link on their page. That may sound strange and you may not realize why anyone would actually want to do that, but the truth is that you can do it. One way links help you to build traffic to your website. They are also highly regarded by the search engines because someone is saying that your website is high quality enough to direct others to it. To use them, visit article directories. Add in a few directories with your link attached and off you go.

Reciprocal links: This type of link is like a trade off. You will place your link on someone’s website and then you’ll need to place their link on yours. It’s a fair trade, so to speak. But, the difference here is how you do it. If you go about adding links to your website that do not have anything to do with your site, or add a ton of them all at once because you purchased them, your website may actually be lowered in the search engine ranks. This is because this is considered a way of cheating the search engines and therefore its not worth it. But, if you put them on correctly, from relevant websites in the proper way, they can help you to improve your website ranking.

The important thing to know about link marketing is that it should not be the only thing that you use to get your website ranking well. There are many things to consider that may actually be more important. For example, having quality content on your site, an easy flowing site and even one that will have your visitors coming back are better choices.

When it comes down to it, using link marketing in your website business is important. It should be a part of your strategy of building a well founded, high quality website. After all, you do want the search engines to rank you well enough to get visitors. Why not use other people’s rankings to help you to get a few of those visitors as well? In short, using link marketing is a tool you should consider for a successful website design that ranks well with the search engines.

Staging Your Home For Sale

Are you considering putting your house up for sale, but not sure where to start? Afraid it will take too long to sell, or that you won’t get the price you want? Think about “staging” your home, or in other words, setting the scene for immediate buyer interest in your property.

To be really effective, you need to look at both the outside and the inside of your home. Here are 3 tips to get you started with the outside of your home:

1. Go stand on the street to see what clients see when driving up to the house. Be aware that any negative impressions they get outside the house (landscaping not maintained or non-existent, peeling paint, etc.) is just going to make them think that the house itself has not been well taken care of. So even if you have spent the time and money to fix up the interior, it would all be wasted if the clients get a bad first impression as they drive up to the house.

2. Next, step outside your front door and close the door; then stand on the stoop and look around for 5 minutes. While the realtor fumbles for keys and tries to figure out how to open the door, the clients are standing behind and looking around. So what are they seeing? Dead plants, old Halloween decorations in the middle of January, cobwebs?  Again, not a good first impression!

It’s definitely worth it to take some time and clean it up. Want to go a step further? Try a new coat of paint or some new furniture or accessories.

3. Don’t forget the backyard. While that might not be part of the potential buyers’ first impression experience, you still should make sure it’s in the best condition possible. Pull up weeds, water plants, do some sweeping (if that’s applicable in your case) and maybe even purchase new furniture or accessories (plant pots, bird houses, etc.)

And the biggest tip of all? Imagine yourself as a potential buyer looking at your property for the very first time. What impressions are you getting? Would YOU buy your house? What would you like to see changed before you put an offer on your house?

And don’t worry about spending several thousand dollars to get your house ready to sell – you’ll get it all back when your house sells. Proper staging helps you sell your house in a shorter time and at the price you want.

Do You Know; You can Sell Your Digital Pics

How to Drive Targeted Traffic To Your Website

In this article I will outline how you can drive targeted traffic to your website either for no or very little cost by writing and submitting articles. Read on to learn more.

When your website has been created then your next objective is to drive traffic (or visitors) to your website to give it exposure. There are a number of ways to do this including the use of Search Engines, Safelists, PPC (Pay Per Click) Search Engines, Banner Ads, Ezine Ads, Bulk Traffic plus many more methods. Of these methods a Search Engine listing will bring you the best targeted visitors for the least cost. In order to get a high search engine listing however you will need to create backlinks to your website (i.e. hyperlinks to your website from other websites). This can be done best by submitting your website to directories or exchanging links with other websites. However a relatively new and popular way to do this is by writing articles containing a link to your website(s) and posting your articles to article directories. This method gives you free backlinks, which are extremely important to your search engine position, and also gives you free direct targeted visitors when they click on your link in the article.

When you are writing your articles you will need to make sure you are giving people good and useful information and not overtly selling anything in particular. If possible you should try to write about a subject you know a lot about. Write intelligently, making sure you spell check and proofread before you are in a position to show your articles to the world. You could also try to use the same phrase or keyword a few times in your articles to drive the right interest to them.

When you have created a good article or articles then you will need to submit or publish your articles to the web. The first method to do this is by manually submitting your article to article directories. By typing “article directory” and other similar terms in search engines you will easily find a plethora of sites willing to accept your submissions for free. A couple of good article directories to submit to and get you started are www.ezinearticles.com or www.article-world.net  .You could also use a special piece of software which will submit your article to multiple article directories for you. A couple of good examples of pieces of software like this are Article Submitter Pro or Article Announcer. A final good method for publishing your articles is to use an article submission service such as Isnare or Article Marketer. These services will submit your article for you to multiple article directories for a fee.

Articles really are one of the most effective and cheapest methods of driving targeted visitors to your website, so good luck and happy writing!

Adjustable Rate Mortgage Loans - Understanding The Basics

Adjustable rate mortgages (ARM), developed when mortgage interest rates were high, can help you finance the purchase of a home with low interest rates. An ideal choice for those who expect their income to rise or move in a couple of years, an ARM also increases your risk for higher payments. Fortunately, lenders also offer safeguards to limit some of your risk to excessively high interest rates.

ARM Features

An ARM starts with a low interest rate, up to 3% lower than a fixed rate mortgage. With lower rates, you usually qualify to borrow more than with a fixed rate home loan.

ARMs usually start with a fixed rate period and end with fluctuating yearly interest rates, increasing or decreasing your monthly payment. So a 3/1 ARM means 3 years of fixed rates with interest rates changing every year after that. Interest rates are based on an index, usually the rate on the T-bill or LIBOR, and the margin the lender adds to the index.

ARM Safeguards

In order to protect borrowers from sky-rocketing monthly payments, mortgage lenders put in place safeguards. For example, a point cap limits how much interest rates can rise monthly and over the life of the loan. There are also ceiling limits on how low rates can go, protecting the lender.

Another safeguard is a dollar cap on monthly payments. However, if interest rates rise higher than the dollar cap allows, you may end up with a longer loan. Many financing companies also allow you to convert your ARM to a fixed rate mortgage after a predetermined period.

ARM Considerations

While an ARM has many benefits, there are other considerations to look at. For instance, interest rates can rise 4% or more over the course of your home loan. If you plan to stay in your home for several years, a fixed rate may offer lower interest costs in the long term. ARMs are also unpredictable, which makes planning long term financing goals difficult.

Before you apply for an ARM, make sure you are comfortable with the level of risk involve. However, if you expect your income to rise in the future or to move, then you may be saving yourself a lot of money in interest payments with an ARM.

Credibility - The Most Neglected Thing In Real Estate

There are several different ways I built credibility.

First of all, like it or not, people make value judgements about you before you even open your mouth.  Think about it.  What preconceived ideas do you have about a bag lady vs. a movie star?  You get an image but the reality is you don't really know anything about them.  It is in your best interest to present a well-groomed professional image and make sure your staff members comply as well.

This professional image extends to the meeting location you choose, the marketing items you provide, and your presentation.

This is whether you want to borrow money, buy their house or sell them a home.

The first verbal message should be to gain rapport with the guests.  I share that I have lived in the area for 10 years and I have kids in school.  I establish credibility as a member of the community.  We are in this together.  If you lose, I lose - and I'm not gonna lose because I have a lot at stake.

The actual presentation sends one clear, consistent message such as "you loan me money and I'll give you high interest payments".  That's it.  While I have other facets to my business and other interests, I do not waiver in my message.

Sending a straightforward message in an easy-to-understand way, to convey credibility because there is no "small print."  You let them know this is a simple program.  These are the simple forms.  This is the way it works.  Period.

Current action conveys credibility.  I always mention one of my most recent deals which is usually that I bought and/or sold a property yesterday or within the last few days.

In my presentation I acknowledge their fears and openly address a big one when I show the slide that says, "What Happens to my Investment if Alan Dies."  They usually chuckle because they thought of that but didn't want to say it.  I let them know that the corporation is structured to sell properties and their principle and interest will be paid as agreed.  Talk about credibility.  Have I not crossed all the T’s and dotted all the I's with this presentation?

Also, If you say you are going to do it, DO IT.

Someone might be testing you by loaning a small amount just to see if you are for real.  Make sure you send them their interest check at exactly the agreed upon time for the correct amount.  I've seen this happen time and time again where the lender comes back a couple months later with more money.  Then a few months later they come back with even more money.  You must prove that you are for real and that you do what you say.

If you break that trust, it's over.

Finally, I build credibility by being reachable.  I have an office that they can stop by.  I have an answering service that picks up my calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and relays important messages quickly.  I have a web site where the lender can see what I'm doing and, they can send me email and I respond promptly.

Credibility is powerful...  Learn to use it to your advantage.

Finding the Cheapest Home Insurance Quote

While the Press and Media are always telling us to shop around for the cheapest home insurance quote, it can be difficult to do if you don’t know where to start. Here we explain the best places to look – and how to ensure you get the best price on your home insurance quote.

Did you know that complacency is the biggest reason why we overpay on our insurance? And that’s not just home insurance, but motor insurance too. The renewal notice drops through your letterbox once a year from your current insurer and the premium doesn’t look much more expensive than last year. So, you decide, for ease (and – dare we say it – out of sheer laziness!) to stick with the same insurer.

Big mistake!

While you may be happy with your current insurer, if you want to pay less for your insurance, then you really do need to shop around – if only to satisfy yourself that you really have got the best deal going!

And this needn’t be an exhaustive exercise that eats in to your precious time – you don’t have to trawl the High Street or make lots of ‘phone calls - you can do it simply and quickly from the comfort of your PC.

The great thing about using the internet to search out home insurance quotes is that it is speedy, free and you don’t have to converse with anyone, thus saving you time and effort! You can also do it 24/7, giving you the freedom to do your research at a time convenient to you.

And because the with online quotes and purchases there is less administration to do for the insurer, they can offer you discounts, typically 5%-15% off the normal premium!

Finally, to ensure you find the right policy at the best price, do get at least three home insurance quotes so that you can compare terms and conditions etc. Try to get each quote on a like for like basis so that you can make a true cost comparison – do not make the mistake of choosing the cheapest premium without checking out that there is no compromise on the cover offered.

Car Loans

Buying a new car is one of the biggest purchases most people are likely to make in their life. Other than their home and maybe their education, there is not really much personal expenditure that can compare in size to the purchase of a new car. Therefore it is not surprising that most people cannot afford to pay for a car outright. This is so even if they have a very good income. It is a simple fact of life that to buy a new car, most people will need to use a car loan to do so.

If you are considering taking out a car loan to finance the purchase of a new car, then you should make sure you are completely aware of all the financing options that are available to you so that you get the best deal available. It is highly likely that to car dealer that is selling you the car will have some sort of financing options available to you. This may be in the form of a loan to purchase the car or leasing options that are also available. You should be clear of the vital difference between a loan and a leasing arrangement. With a loan, you are borrowing the money so that you can purchase the car. With a lease, you are only paying for the use of the car, and at the end of the leasing period, you simply return the car and that is the end of the arrangement.

There are some leases that will give you an option to buy the car at the end of the leasing period. If you borrow the entire amount for purchase of the car, it is likely that your monthly repayment amounts on the car loan will be higher than those for a lease, this is because you are paying for the full price of the car and at the end of this time, after you have made all the repayments on the term of the loan, you will be the owner of the car.

There are a number of factors that you should look at when deciding which car loan to opt for. First of all, you should know that you do not have to accept the financing options that the dealer offers you. You can also shop around with other lenders, such as banks, and make sure you get the best deal on offer. Car loans are expensive and you should be willing to look into the various options that are available before settling on any one option.

Advantages of Payday Loans

It happens to everybody: a week before payday, your roof starts to leak, your computer crashes and the technician tells you that it’s cheaper to buy a new one than to have it repaired, or a friend invites you to join her for a weekend vacation at a hotel with a limited promo.

These are the financial emergencies that you can’t quite factor into your budget. You can afford to pay for it, you just don’t have the money with you right now— and for one reason or another, you can’t use a credit card. One option available to you is a payday loan.

Payday loans are short-term loans where you are lent a small amount to tide you over until your salary comes in. Many payday loan companies can be found on the Internet (allowing for a quick search, for that quick solution to an urgent problem). These companies, in turn, will be the one to find the lending institutions that can spot you for that amount. Your application will be processed within days, and when you need it, the money appears in your account, ready to be spent as you wished. They simply withdraw the money from the bank account, with interest, when your salary comes in.

When should you get a payday loan?

1. When the purposes of your loan may not be accepted by other lending institutions.

One advantage of a payday loan is that you can use it for whatever purposes you like; you do not need to justify your expense. Whether it’s a vacation to France, a new laptop, or your daughter’s tuition fees, you do not have to go through the lengthy and often stringent evaluation process that other lending institutions demand. Try telling a bank officer that you always wanted to see Paris. You won’t get very far. When you take a payday loan, you don’t even have to explain.

2. When you need the money very quickly.

Another advantage is that it is very quickly processed, you have the money in days ,whereas most lending institutions will take days just to look at your application. If you process the payday loan on a Monday, you’ll get it before the end of the week. If you turn it in on a Friday, you may have to wait a little longer because of the non-banking holidays, but it’s still going to move much faster than if you had applied for an advance at your office.

3. When you have credit card problems.

Ironically, it’s the people who need money most who have a hard time borrowing it. But not everyone is so financially secure that you had a gold credit card to charge all emergencies. You may be struggling with maxed out credit cards, but then your car breaks down, or your child gets sick. In this situation, payday loans may be your only solution. At least you know it’s available.

4. When you want a short-term debt.

And since the amount you borrow is paid back to your creditor by the very next payday, you aren’t tempted to sit on the debt as you would if you had used your credit card (or borrowed from your mother).. In a way, it is a good solution for those who would’ve paid for that emergency in cash, except for a small logistical problem of when your pay check is released.

Car Loans Offer Risky Cash

Payday loans have received a lot of negative press lately as states and municipalities try to regulate an industry that legally lends small amounts of money at interest rates that can reach a breathtaking 1000% per year. A less well-publicized variation on the payday loan is the car title loan, which requires the borrower to provide his or her automobile as collateral for the loan amount. While this type of loan is not as widely publicized as the payday loan, the car title loan is even more dangerous, as it could cost the borrower their car!

Payday loans, also known as cash advance loans, are unsecured loans. The lender trusts the borrower to pay back the money within two weeks. This type of loan is risky for the lender, but that risk is more than offset by the high interest rates charged for the loans, which can easily top 400% on an annualized basis.

A car title loan works differently, however. With this type of loan, the borrower offers his or her car as collateral and is often asked to provide a spare set of keys when the loan is granted. Should he or she default on the loan, the car will be forfeited and sold to repay it. In some states, the lender may sell the car and keep all of the proceeds from the sale, even if they exceed the value of the loan.

With collateral, one would think that the interest rates for such loans would be far less than for payday loans, but that is not the case. Nationally, interest rates for auto title loans average about 300% per year, which hardly makes the loans a bargain. In addition, the loan amounts rarely represent more than a fraction of the value of the vehicle. A loan of even half the vehicle's value would be regarded in the industry as quite generous.

The same sorts of problems that occur with payday loans also happen with title loans. The borrower is often unable to repay on time and must extend the loan by paying an additional fee. Under some circumstances, it is possible for the fees to eventually exceed the value of the loan itself. And unlike other loans, the borrower is under pressure to avoid losing their car.

This type of loan is overwhelmingly weighted in favor of the lender, who will end up with something of far greater value than the loan should the borrower forfeit. Those who have short-term cashflow needs would be well advised to borrow from friends, relatives or a credit card instead.

Email Automatic Responders. Automating Your Business

If you want to take control of your online business and automate your business tasks, you need a fully functional automatic response system. This will handle all of your email tasks and deliver your messages to your leads 24/7 with ease.

 Setting up your fully functional autoresponder system on your own domain is very easy, this is how you will avoid paying another monthly fee to those big companies that charge high prices for their services. Email automatic responders give you the power to streamline your business and free up more time to concentrate on your marketing efforts instead of spending hours replying to customer responses and follow up emails.

 This will definitely help you to potentially explode your mailing list to thousands of leads in a very short time. We all know that the moneys in the list. If you have no list, then chances are pretty good that your sales will be somewhat of a disappointment.

 Subscription boxes on your homepage offers the visitor to subscribe to your list, ezine, marketing course or whatever you are offering, eliminating the chances of SPAM. As a result, helping you effortlessly build your mailing list. Surviving in the online business world almost always require you to build a list. Email automatic responders help you to do just that.

How To Attract Targeted Traffic To Your Website

You may have the mentality required to succeed in any online business. You may have all the knowledge required to convert visitors to sales. You may have all the tools required to build your online business, including a unique and amazing website which could make lots of money for you and make your dreams come true. But one thing you need to know, all these would only happens if you understand how to attract visitors to your website.

Getting visitors to see your website is not so easy because there are competitors anywhere waiting to beat you. With all the websites competing among the internet, how would you be able to stand out?

Here are some tips to drive targeted visitors to your site:

1. Search Engines

The first thing you need do is to submit your website to search engines. search engine traffic is free and highly targeted, they should not be neglected by all means. Once a website is on the top position of the search result, it is easily accessible to anyone who wants to see it. In order to have a top search engine ranking, a proven way is by creating good link popularity, and optimizing your webpages for the right keywords.

2. Exchange Links

Another method to attract targeted visitors to your website is by exchanging links with other websites. You can search sites that are related to your site’s main theme and then contact their webmasters for link exchanges. You can also join link exchange services to fasten and automate this process.

3. Writing Article

The third mean is by writing articles related to your website. This is an effective method in promoting a website,since high quality content are highly appreciated by readers, and this will lead them to visit the writer’s website. Just add a resource box in your article, and introduce your website in the resource box. Then submit your articles to article directory. If you want others to submit articles for you, try “Article Marketer” here:
http://www.marktse.com/recommend/article-submission/

4. Joint Venture Marketing

The fourth way is through joint venture marketing. This is the most effective means of promoting any product or service. Arrange ad swap or link exchange with your JV partner is great to both parties since it allows both to reach a larger customer base in a very short period of time.

5. Start An Affiliate Program

Another way is by starting an affiliate program for your website. Having affiliates to promote your program brings tons of free traffic to your website. Successful affiliates will help you make lots of sales while you need not to pay a dime in advertising.

6. Build A List

Finally, You should have a list of subscribers so that you can refer products and service related to them easily. One common method is to write personalized newsletters. Another way is to write a short ecourse.

Traffic creating is very important in any online business. I hope the above tips can help you get more traffic to your website. To your online business success.

How To Change Auto Insurance Companies

There are many reasons why you may choose to change your auto insurance coverage to another company. Perhaps you’ve found another company that offers you the same amount of coverage for considerably less money. You might have changed jobs and are eligible for a group discount through another insurer, or maybe you’re unhappy with the service that your present company provides. With the growth of the internet and quote comparison sites, investigating your options has never been easier!

Why change to a new Auto insurance carrier?

You need to regularly review your auto insurance coverage to make sure that you are receiving the best insurance value for your money. You will discover that it pays to shop around. In some states, premiums for identical policies vary widely among different auto insurance companies. The reasons for this price variation can be very complicated, but they boil down to a company's claims experience with policyholders in a coverage group (e.g. people of similar age, number of accidents, type of vehicle). For example, if a large number of people in a coverage group files claims during a given year, their rates will likely rise. When this happens, better discounts and lower overall premiums may be available at other insurance companies. When you decide to switch your auto insurance to another company, you’ll find that it's fairly easy to do so.

How to cancel your old Auto Insurance policy

Generally, all you need to do to cancel your auto insurance policy is to inform your insurance company in writing, specifying the date you want the policy canceled. In some states, the new agent must notify the previous agent of the policy change. Some auto insurance companies ask the policyholder send back the actual printed policy. The insurance company will send a cancellation request form that will need to be signed and returned. Examine the form carefully to make sure that all information regarding the policy is correct. If the form is not received within two weeks of sending the letter, call the agent or company immediately to check on the status of the cancellation. Don't just walk away from the old policy without formally canceling it. Each state requires that auto Insurance policies be cancelled with notice, thus the insurance company might assume one wished to continue the coverage, and it might eventually terminate the policy for failure to pay premiums and report the lack of coverage to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. This can hurt your credit rating and ability to get a new policy.

Be sure to get a new Auto Insurance policy first

Always have a new policy in place before canceling the old auto insurance coverage. Otherwise you might have a gap in protection for a day or more! Most states require all drivers to carry a minimum level of auto insurance and most insurance companies require policyholders to present proof of new coverage before they will cancel an active policy. The new company will be able to time the beginning of the new policy to coincide with the cancellation of the prior coverage.

When to Change Auto Insurance policies

At Renewal

Renewal is a convenient time to change auto insurance policies, as you don’t have to wait for a refund from your current carrier. A renewal notice will be sent to you approximately 30 days before a new policy begins, depending on the regulations in your state. Should you decide to switch companies, you’ll need to have a new policy by the time the current policy renews. Though a company might say there is 10-30 days to get your payment in before a policy terminates, you do not have coverage until the carrier receives the payment. If you have an accident during this time period you most likely will have no coverage since the premium wasn’t paid!

Anytime:

All Auto insurance policies contain a provision allowing you to cancel your policy with proper notice at any time. In a few states auto insurance companies “short rate” the policy that means one pays a penalty for canceling before the policy renews. Most insurance companies pro-rate their policies so there is no penalty. The advantage of switching before the renewal date can save you a lot of money. For example if you have a policy that runs from Jan 15th to Aug 15th and you have an accident or ticket that will be over 36 months on March 15th. By switching Auto insurance companies on March 16th, you get a discount for having a clean driving record. Your current carrier won’t apply this discount until the policy renews on August 15th! This can save you Hundreds of dollars immediately!

How long does it take to change Auto insurance?

When you change auto insurance companies, the new agent or insurer can generally change carriers while you wait! Generally they’ll just need a copy of your current declaration page, driver’s license and down payment to get the policy issued.

So why not get started today and Get Free Auto Insurance Quotes from Top Companies?

Brief History Of The Mortgage

Most people know what a mortgage is, due to the fact that many people have one. But, do you know how the mortgage itself came about? Here is some basic history on the mortgage and where it came from:-

In the beginning, a mortgage was just a conveyance of land for a fee. The buyer paid the seller a set rate, with no interest, and the seller would sign over the land to the buyer. There were usually conditions that had to be met before the land would be the property of the buyer, just like today, but usually it was based upon the assumption that the land would produce the money to pay back the seller. So, a mortgage was written due to this fact, and the mortgage stayed in effect no matter if the land produced or not.

But this old arrangement was very lopsided in that the seller of the property, or the lender who was holding the deed to the land, had absolute power over it and could do whatever they liked, which included selling it, not allowing payment, refusing payoff, and other issues which caused major problems for the buyer, who held no ground at all. With time, and blatant abuse of the mortgage system, the courts began to uphold more of the buyer's rights so that they had more to stand on when it came to owning their land. Eventually, they were allowed to demand the deed be free and clear upon the payoff of the property. There were still steps taken to ensure that the seller still had enough rights to keep their interest safe and make sure that their money was paid.

In the U.S., some states have created their own version of the mortgage, which is why they are referred to as “lien states”. In England and Wales, the Law of Property Act of 1925 created a close parallel to the U.S.'s stance on mortgages. In 1934, mortgages began to be widely used again in the U.S., and the Federal Housing Administration helped to lower the down payments on homes to make it easier for buyers to purchase a home. During that time, around 40% of people in the United Sates owned homes. Now, that number is closer to 70%, due to the lower interest rates.

Although mortgages today have evolved into many different forms, they are still basically the same essential contract that they were in the beginning. Now, there are many more laws and regulations to help protect the buyer, seller, and creditor. There are also many different ways to lock in a low interest rate, you just need to talk to your mortgage broker about what the rates are now and what kinds of programs they offer to keep those interest rates low throughout the life of your loan.

Buying a Home – Dealing With Lender Letters

Most people who set out to buy a home, be it house, townhouse, condo, apartment, or mansion on a hill, know they need to have a lender letter in hand saying they are qualified for a loan. What most “Citizen's” (people not in the real estate business) don’t realize is how much the value of a lender letter varies.

Let’s look at some of the general ways a lender letter varies, which sort you want, and how to present it to a seller to put you in the best possible position to buy that seller’s property. If you’re working with a broker, he or she will coach you in these matters. If you’re shopping on your own, and especially if you’re looking at FSBOs (for sale by owner properties), you need to know this stuff.

Lender letters come in two general types, pre-qualification letters and pre-approval letters. The bold print on the page may call it one thing, and when the letter is read, it actually proves to be the other, so pay attention. A pre-qualification letter is weaker than a pre-approval letter.

Pre-Qualification Letter

The weakest pre-qualification letter basically says that “if everything the borrower has told me is correct, he/she is eligible to borrow money” All you really have here is the buyer’s word paraphrased by a lender. Unfortunately, there is an old adage in real estate that “buyers are liars”. This is well known, so presenting this type of a letter tells a seller you are not in a very strong position with the lender.

A stronger version says “I have looked at an ‘in file’ credit report, and based on that and what the borrower has told me, he/she is eligible to borrow money” This is still not great, but it is a step in the right direction.

Pre-Approval Letter

The pre-approval letter says “I have checked this person’s credit reports, seen all necessary substantiating materials relative to income…assets…etc., and my firm is committed to making a loan subject only to receiving a copy of a contract to purchase and the property’s appraisal for the contract price or higher.” The letter may not say it, but it is also subject to the underwriting process that includes looking at updated credit information. Regardless, this letter carries a lot of power and sellers will be very happy to see you.

A Word to the Wise

The above discussion of lender letters brings up something you should be keenly aware of as a buyer. Your credit must not change in any substantial way between the time you first apply for a loan and the time you go to settlement on your new home.

If you’re buying waterfront property, do not go out and buy a boat until after you’ve closed on the property. I once saw someone make this mistake and almost lose the property purchase because of it. He had to quickly find a new lender and accept a higher interest rate to keep the deal from going south.

If you’re moving from a small condo to a larger place, there’s the temptation to run right out and buy more furniture for your new quarters. Fine. Just wait until after you’re the proud new owner.

If you are serious about buying a home, a lender letter is a key part of your negotiating ammunition. To save yourself a lot of aggravation during escrow, get a pre-approval letter before you go house hunting.

Email Marketing Made Easy

What is email marketing?

Basically, in plain English, email marketing is a targeted mass mailing done via email. The purpose of email marketing could be advertising in order to recruit new clients, introducing a new set of products or services to an existing client base, keeping your clients informed by means of a newsletter, etc. All of the before mentioned activities are very legitimate business efforts, as long as you respect some unwritten rules and as long as the list of emails you use is what is called 'targeted', in other words the names came from a database generated by your marketing division and represents your existing client base, a carefully selected list of potential prospects or a list of people who opted in to receive your messages.

If instead of the above you use a list that you bought (you know, "25 million guaranteed AOL email addresses for only 19.95 - plus shipping"), or are doing it without warning the people on your list, or using other shady methods, then you are considered a spammer and what you are sending is spam, bulk mail, unsolicited email, basically, the main enemy of all things virtue and life in general. Yes folks, it is that easy to be labeled as a spammer, and very hard to get out of it.
Once your message is considered unsolicited, you will immediately be put on zillions of black lists, side by side with those who promise inches and inches of extra extremities and hours and hours of ecstatic pleasures (for only 3 easy payments and some handling fees).

Sound pretty risky, so why bother?

Obviously, opt-in email advertising is far more cost effective than direct marketing via regular mail, door-to-door sales, or telemarketing. Paper, printing, envelopes, and postage can add up quickly. Door to door sales require paying out commissions. Telemarketing results in high long distance bills, often without great results, as people become more and more blood thirsty toward the people on the other end of the so called cold call.

So why not just use my personal email or my company's mail server and some mailing software?

In the early days of email marketing (that is, before the art of penile enlargement was crafted), that's exactly what people did. They would gather all their emails into some primitive version of a spreadsheet, fire up some mail merging program, hook it up to their corporate mail system and voila, thousands of emails were flying away.

Today, the scenario is certainly possible, but let me tell you in a simple set of scenarios what can happen:

One of the many not-for-profit groups that decided to police the internet will intercept that a large number of emails were generated and sent by a server near you (yep, they can do that). In order to protect the civilized world from those who spread spam, viruses and other vermin, they will put you on a list of threats to humanity. Those other nice corporate folks who were your indented recipients, have an IT department that gets constantly yelled at by angry users who get emails with naked people. Well - Mel, their IT guy decides to put up an anti-spam system that links to that not-for-profit's database of known spammers (oh yeah, did I mention you are now a 'known spammer'?) and block your emails. Your emails might actually be blocked so well that your company will have a real trouble communicating via email and your IT folks will all go nuts and/or get fired.

Basically, not so good. Other things that can happen are: you'll have to build some opt-in / opt-out system, in some states there are laws that require that you make it very easy for your audience to unsubscribe, you'll have a hard time formatting your emails in a decent, eye pleasing way, etc.

Lastly, the process of sending thousands of emails and managing lists, subscribing and unsubscribing people is tedious and just plain annoying. The only way to do it is with a maximum degree of automation, or, the better solution - to outsource to a company that does it professionally.

Folks, I am known for promoting the "do it in house" concept, and am not that big on outsourcing. But when it comes to mass mailing... I say stay away from it and let the professionals do what they do.

If you are worried about cost, know that the fee you pay for email marketing services, will still cost less than the continued overhead and expenses of the traditional options, not to mention the great possibilities of reaching a much larger audience, much faster (practically instantly).

What to look for in an email marketing company?

1. Automating Your Subscribe and Unsubscribe Requests

Many email marketing companies will provide you with exact HTML code you need to paste to your site to have a subscription form on your web site. The better services also provide a link at the bottom of each email that enables subscribers to update their information or unsubscribe from a list, automating everything for you.

2. Personalization of Emails

Another powerful feature of many email marketing services is the ability to use mail merge capabilities to personalize each email that you send. The better services allow to have custom fields, additional to the standard first name and last name.

3. Bounceback email handling

Bouncebacks are emails that are sent to email accounts that no longer exist or are full, blocked, etc. Essentially, you'll get a response stating that your message did not make it. All email list management software programs are able to manage subscribe and unsubscribe requests and send out messages, however without integrated bounceback email handling all the non-deliverable emails will be sent back to you, a rather big nuisance if your list is large. Ideally, the email software you use will be able to manage your bouncebacks for you. Whenever a bounceback is received, the software makes a note of the address and if another bounceback is received the email address will be sent to a list of dead addresses.

This remove capability is extremely important since if you continuously send out emails with many bouncebacks you may be blacklisted as a spammer. This is something you really want to avoid at all cost.

4. HTML email

The ability to send out HTML emails has been around for quite some time. Most email marketing companies support the ability to send out messages that include graphics and formatted text. This is surely something you'll want to look for.

However, not all of your users have the ability to view email messages in HTML format. This percentage is usually between 10-20%. Instead of seeing your aesthetically pleasing email they might see a string of meaningless code. Using most email list management programs, these 10-20% of users will open up emails from you and be very inclined to call you a spammer.

To avoid this, look for companies that use multi-part MIME to send out messages. When you send an HTML email in multi-part MIME, users who do not have the ability to view HTML messages will receive the email in the usual text format.

CCTV/ Video Equipment Surveillance

When you find yourself in need of a reliable, compact, affordable and dependable surveillance system, a DVR surveillance security system should be at the top of your list of products to check out. This type of surveillance equipment is easy to operate, simple to install, and can be utilized for a variety of purposes. Most of these systems are also economically priced.

Many of the DVR surveillance security systems on the market today offer many of the same universal features. Some of these systems offer units that can be placed on the dashboard of a vehicle for monitoring outdoor events, placed in your pocket for easy portability, and units that can also be used in homes as well as offices.

If you have hired help who are in your home when you are not, and suspect that something is just not right, or just need piece of mind, you will want to find a DVR surveillance security system that features wide angle views, covert pinhole lenses for the camera unit, a motion detection sensitivity mode, a time and date stamp as well as a searchable play-back mode.

Some DVR surveillance security systems available today even feature television playback so there is no need for software or transferring the information recorded to a VCR tape in order to be viewed. Most units operate on batteries, but it is important to remember that an A/C adapter will come in handy. Make sure that this common accessory is included with the system that you decide to purchase. A DVR surveillance security system that is to be used in the home or office with the aforementioned features will cost approximately a few hundred dollars.

There are also professional DVR surveillance security systems that are used by corporations, large companies, and places where large masses of people gather such as shopping malls, hospitals, and government buildings. Systems such as these feature advanced software, central station managers, numerous channel sensor inputs, as well as multiple video capabilities.

Smaller DVR surveillance security systems, like those used for the home, can be purchased at any major electronics retailer, and at finer camera shops specializing in security recording equipment. The larger systems utilized by corporations can be purchased through professional security companies dealing in recording equipment, and cost thousands of dollars.

The World Wide Web offers those looking for either type of DVR surveillance security system many options. There are a variety of online vendors, many of whom offer special pricing, from which a security system can be purchased.

No matter what your surveillance security needs are, you can rest assured that there is a DVR surveillance security system that will be just what you are looking for.

Are Student Loans Better Than Credit Cards?

When applying for student loans, it’s so important for prospective college students to calculate their finances as best they can to receive the appropriate funding. From tuition and books to room and board, living expenses and food, students should make sure to secure the funds they actually will need to get them through each semester at college.

By applying for the correct amount, students won’t find themselves in a bind or get themselves into a credit card nightmare.

Way too many college students these days get into big trouble with credit cards. It’s unfortunate that students too inexperienced to know better receive enticing credit card offers in the mail. Usually when a credit card offer looms over a student, it’s like dangling a carrot in front of a rabbit. The student grabs the credit card offer without thinking ahead. Credit cards oftentimes appear to be a quick fix or a type of “free money,” and they then become the remedy students think they need.

Student Loans versus Credit Cards

If anything, it’s the opposite. Like student loans, credit card debt must be paid back. There’s a huge difference though. Student loans usually are taken out with fixed interest rates, depending on the type of loan and a students’ credit rating, amount of loan, repayment terms, etc.

However, there’s usually a catch when students receive those “amazing” credit card offers. The catch is sky-high finance charges, some as high as 22 percent! However, oftentimes students don’t think about the finance charges when they accept the credit card offers. It’s kind of like, “I’ll think about that later.”

Some students who haven’t taken out enough student loans to cover their college expenses resort to credit cards to pay for necessities, books and even rent! They’ll use their credit cards to take out cash advances, which usually have even higher finance charges than by simply charging.

Never-ending Cycle of Debt

There are students who accept more than one credit card offer. After hitting the limit on one credit card, it’s easy to accept another and then another, and so on. With the high interest rates and finance charges attached to these credit card offers, students easily can rake up more than they bargain for. When students pay off credit cards by only paying minimum monthly payments, they are making their financial situation worse. Finance charges accrue month after month. It could take almost a lifetime to pay off the credit card bills.

Ultimate Steps To Marketing Success

Hello, I’m over here
Getting noticed on the web

Getting noticed on the web is the holy grail of most webmasters and rightfully so. Not only can you turn visitors into dollars, if done properly, but it also gives a feeling of accomplishment. In all honesty getting people to your sight is really not that difficult. There is probably 1000 things that you can do to attract visitors. The real trick is making use of all of them. The mistake that a lot of people make is believing that there is one magical way, some mystical ritual that will invoke the visitor magnet spell. Ok, so I’m being facetious but the reality is it does take work and diligence to make things happen. This is by no means a complete list, for a beginning webmaster or someone who is interested in becoming a webmaster, to follow. I am going to assume that an idea for a web site has already been decided upon.

1.  The web site itself. This is a very important aspect of web marketing but I am focusing primarily on external web marketing. There are, however a few things that I want to cover here because I believe they are very important.
CONVENIENCE This is a big one. People today are accustomed to getting things fast from drive thru pharmacies to high speed internet. Instant gratification has become the rule of the day. With this in mind, web pages should load quickly. Believe it or not a 4 second load time for a page is extremely slow today. When the page is loaded potential customers expect to find what they are looking for immediately. Your site should be very well laid out and everything should be easily and quickly navigated. The brick and mortar days of putting the most popular items in the back so customers have to walk through the whole store are not effective for online businesses. This strategy should be avoided at all costs. Some studies have shown that if customers do not find what they are looking for in the first 15 seconds they will move on.

2. The first steps in getting the word out. Visit the popular business directories. http://dir.yahoo.com/, http://sbd.bcentral.com/, http://yellowpages.aol.com/#,. There are hundreds more.

3. Search engine submittal. A lot of web sites offer this service for a fee. I personally have never found it worth it. I recommend doing this yourself. It is easy and does not take that long to do if you submit it to the top search engines.

4. Forums. Get to know your market. There really is no better research than visiting forums related to your market and reading. Find out what your customers concerns are. Keep reading until you feel comfortable enough to post. Don’t spam the forums and be sure to read the rules for posting. A lot of forums will allow you to leave a link and some will not. Either way make sure you respect the guidelines for posting. I did come across a trick for getting recognized by search engines. Most forums allow you an avatar. That is a picture that appears when you post. You can usually set that up in your preferences when you sign up at most any forums. Typically it is a link to offsite where the picture is hosted. Make sure it is hosted from your web site and named after it. I made a bunch of avatars for a lot of friends and hosted them from my web site. To my surprise, it definitely caught the attention of the search engines.  You goal here is to help not only advertise. After long enough you might just  be the person everyone has questions for.

       By starting with these four marketing strategies you can lay the foundation for a strong presence on the web. It will not happen over night but it will increase the popularity of your web site. Remember, web marketing is a cumulative proposition. The more marketing strategies you use the better.

Mortgage Interest Rate Analysis

In the very beginning of the month of August the mortgage interest rates remained quite stable. Except a few mortgage program interest rates most of then remained unchanged to what it was in the last week of July. Interest rates of mortgage programs like 10-Year Treasury and 30-Year Treasury were down by 0.06% and 0.04% respectively. And the interest rate of programs like USD LIBOR 6-month and USD LIBOR 1 Year were up by very nominal 0.015% and 0.022%. Other than these, the interest rates of 30 year fixed average, 15 year fixed average, 5/1 ARM average, 3/1 ARM average and some other programs remained unchanged.

On the third day of the month most of the mortgage interest rates fell down by units in decimal due to change in market conditions. But the interest of short-term mortgage loans like USD LIBOR 6-month and 1-year were raised up to 5.318% and 5.230%.

During the first 15 days of the month the mortgage interest rate fluctuated a lot. Though the average fluctuation rate was very low but it kept on fluctuating up and down. On most of the occasions the short-term loan interests got affected and kept changing everyday.

Analysts believe that the decline in the mortgage industry is due to the higher unemployment in the recent times. Some believe that the recent drastic drop in mortgage market is due to the tighter lending standards and cooling home prices. This fall in the mortgage interest rate has in fact started to affect the sub-prime lending too.

Due to the fall in mortgage interest rates the U.S. mortgage applications rose for the second straight week. Experts believe that the recent disturbance in the mortgage market is the reason behind the rising applications. The housing sector and the homebuilders market are down and so are the financial companies including mortgage companies. Last week, the fall in the mortgage market spread to the financial markets with a rapid speed and provoked the fear that tighter credit will have a bigger impact on consumers, markets and the economy.

It has been forecasted that the interest rates for the 80% of homeowners and buyers that qualify for A-paper mortgages will probably remain stable or slightly increase in the near future. Those who are with sub-prime credit or don't have proper documents to prove income, may face difficulty in getting the loans or they might be charged with higher interest rates or huge down payment.

Why You Should Consider Pet Insurance For Your Family Pet

If you have ever thought about the benefits of insuring your family pet, then you may want to consider the following pointers as to why you should consider pet insurance for your family pet:

 1 in every 3 family pets will visit a vet this year for treatment
  40 percent of all vet fees are caused by ‘unforeseen’ illnesses or accidents
  less than 15 percent of family pets in the UK are covered by pet insurance
  the average vet bill for care and attention needed following a road accident involving a cat or dog last year was like. £750 - £1,000
  2 out of every 3 pet owners in the UK have admitted to having gone overdrawn at some time during their lives in order to pay for their pet’s vet bills.

All of these are fairly scary statistics.  They’re event more scary when you consider that will a simple family pet insurance policy, paying a minimum premium of somewhere between £25 and £75 (depending on the size of the pet), all of these are totally unnecessary.

If you want to get you pet insured and avoid any of these statistics happening to you, you can choose from

As the name suggests, with a pet accident insurance you are getting the basic minimum in pet insurance – accident coverage.  Under this policy the insurance company will reimburse you for all costs and expenses you incur caused as a result of your pet having been involved in an accident (unfortunately, more often than not, this means a road accident).

With pet accident and illness insurance you get full coverage insurance; namely, your insurance company will agree to pay for all the costs and expenses incurred as a result of your family pet having suffered any illness or accident.

One thing you do need to keep in mind when arranging your family pet insurance is the excess amount.  As with all insurance policies, the excess amount is the amount you and the insurance company agree you’ll pay before you are entitled to claim against the insurance policy.  While it is always a good idea to set an excess amount that would cover you for any mundane visits to the vet, so as to keep the premium down if nothing else, you don’t want to see the excess too high that you end up having to pay for care and attention you thought would be covered by the pet insurance policy.  It is, therefore, advisable that you have a look at some of your more recent vet bills and try and mind a medium between these sums so you have some idea of the excess before you set off arranging your family pet insurance.

Selling Your Life Insurance

Selling your life insurance is an option you might consider if you're in a difficult financial situation for which you don't see a close end. A terminal illness or old age could cause you to think twice about paying those hefty premiums at this stage of your life. Selling your life insurance carries with it complex implications and substantial risks, so it is important that you educate yourself regarding the big picture. If you're interested in selling your life insurance, this is a good starting point to obtain some basic information.

If you've already done any research on selling your life insurance, chances are good that you've come across two main terms: viaticals and life settlements. Both refer to the selling of your life insurance to a third party. So what's the difference? "Viatical" is typically used to refer to the transaction involving a chronically or terminally ill insured, while a "life settlement" is a transaction involving a senior (generally over the age of 65) who is not terminally ill.

Even though you now know the difference, it does not mean that your state does. These terms might be used interchangeably, or your state might use one of them to refer to both transactions. For example, your state could use "Viatical Settlement" to refer to any type of transaction regarding selling your insurance. Be aware that this kind of ambiguity may exist in relation to the vocabulary used in the sale of your life insurance.

How it Works
The owner of the life insurance policy will sell it for a percentage of the death benefit a lump sum to a third party and, in exchange, receives an often substantial lump sum payment. The third party then becomes the new owner and/or beneficiary of the policy and pays all of the future premiums and eventually collects the death benefit when the insured passes away.

Those considering selling their life insurance may either directly approach a viatical company or settlement firm, or they may choose to work with a broker. The broker will act as an intermediary and present the information to several different companies/firms in an effort to find the highest price for the sale.

The settlement firms buy the insurance on behalf of investors. In this situation, the investors become the owners and beneficiaries, and the settlement firm pays the premium until the insured dies. The firm then collects the death benefit and either pays its investors a percentage of the annual return or repackages the policy for sale to another party.

Take comfort in know that the process of selling one's life insurance is typically very confidential. Most viatical companies and settlement firms understand the discretion necessary to make the process run smoothly and easily. However, a company may act disrespectfully and become borderline intrusive by trying to keep track of the insured's condition. For this reason, it is important to work with a respectful, experienced organization.

Who Considers Selling
Those with serious, life-threatening illnesses are most likely to consider selling their life insurance to provide cash for various expenses, such as mounting medical bills. For those who are not terminally ill, selling the life insurance might be a good idea for a number of reasons. If the owner's beneficiary has died or if the owner can't afford to keep paying the premiums, it would appear that they no longer have sufficient use for the life insurance. Seniors around retirement age may also consider selling their life insurance, even if they are free of debt, in order to receive a lump sum of money with which they may do whatever they please.
Keep in mind that different companies may have different eligibility requirements to be able to sell your life insurance policy.

Advantages to Selling Your Life Insurance
It might be easy to see some of these benefits, but others are a little less obvious.
You'll receive a lump sum cash payment right now. As mentioned above, this is especially useful to the terminally ill who have mounting medical bills.
You will receive more by selling your life insurance than you would if you simply surrendered it to the insurance company. It is possible for an insured person who is 65 or older or who is terminally ill to sell a policy with little or no cash value for a $100,000.00 or much more.
You won't have to pay any more insurance premiums. If your financial situation is becoming strained with no end in sight, eliminating premiums is a way to alleviate the burden.
You don't have to repay the money, like you do when you borrow against your insurance policy.
Even though your life insurance benefits won't be available once you die, you can still leave money to a certain person or organization – it will just come from the money that is leftover after using the funds from selling your policy. So, selling your life insurance does not mean that you're definitely robbing your beneficiaries of their gift. In some cases, the money you receive is tax-free.
There are no regulations or restrictions on how you make use of the money you receive. You may spend as much of it or as little of it as you wish, however you please.

Risks of Selling Your Life Insurance
Understanding the risks associated with selling your life insurance will help you make an informed decision. Be sure to consult a financial advisor or tax attorney to make sure you understand the implications of the sale
You might lose your eligibility for some public assistance benefits, especially those based on your income and assets (such as food stamps, welfare, Medicaid and some Social Security benefits).
There could be tax issues. Selling the policy will
result in a tax bill if the settlement amount exceeds your cost basis.
With improved medical care, the ill person may live longer than expected.
You might face unhappy heirs. This might not be a problem for you, but it could lead to a long road of (possibly legal) complications and battles. Some settlement actually companies require the beneficiaries to also sign off on any sale, which could be good or bad, depending on whether or not you're dealing with a cooperative beneficiary.

Other Options
If you come to the conclusion that selling your life insurance policy is not for you, there are other options (though none that would provide you with such a large lump sum). An insurance agent should be able to help give you more information on some of these ideas.
 Borrow against your insurance policy
Cash out the policy if it has surrender value
Look into accelerated benefits or living benefits
Borrow money (from family or friends perhaps) and use the life insurance policy as collateral

If you believe that selling your life insurance policy is the right decision for you, make sure you deal with a dependable, experienced broker or settlement company to ensure that you get the best service and results from your transaction.

Importance of a Business Credit Card

Among the so many varieties of credit cards, one of the most underestimated is the value of a business credit card. Many people do not choose to apply for a business credit card because aside from having a definite target market— the business owners or business executives—it seems to be complicated to use. Although a business credit card has more requirements and has higher interests compared to other types of credit cards there is, contrary to the common conception, t can be very helpful if used properly.

What is a business credit card?
Basically, business credit card is for the business people’s consumption. Compared to the regular credit card, a business credit card has a high limit plus low interest rates. Depending on the manner of choosing, a business credit card may also bring a lot of automatic benefits.

Since it is targeted towards businessmen or those people who are heading towards building a business, a business credit card can definitely benefit these small businesses. A business credit card helps the budding business by extending payments while improving the cash flow. Aside from bearing the image of a dependable credit card, business credit card boasts of having detailed reports and giving quality customer service as its major trademarks.

Aside from having limits and low interest rates, a business credit card provides many alternatives and numerous credit options for small businesses. A business credit card also caters to large corporations that are crafted to aid those people who are starting with their own business to grow while closely monitoring the baseline of credit.

Simplifying business credit cards
It really pays to go to the bank when one applies for a credit card to get the chance to answer all immediate inquiries. But since business credit card is for business people who are always on the go, many business credit card issuers offers online applications for business credit cards.  When one applies for a business credit card, there is no need to visit the bank. There is also no need to wait in the queue just to talk to a bank representative. When you apply business credit card online, all you have to do is to select the business credit card option that would perfectly suit your small business or corporate credit requirements right from the comforts of your home or office. Aside from offering safe, secured, and simple processes that are designed help you take care of your starting business, most business credit cards online offer accessible features for the convenience of the business credit card holder like the online payment and reporting. Customized company logos and access to instant cash are also available on line. Other business credit card online offers detailed reporting features for easy monitoring and access.

Most business credit card applications offer free fee for the first year and no pre-set spending limit or finance charges. Other business credit card offers viable membership rewards program that enables the member to earn points towards travel, merchandise and other rewards for his or her business. Some of these business credit cards offer small businesses a line of credit up to $100,000 at a competitive APR as low as prime + 1.99% for both cash and check purchases; 100% of the line is available as cash and no collateral is required. The business credit card holder or customer might receive fee-free checks as well as a card to access the account. Everyday savings or exclusive savings, express approvals, no annual fee, up to 5 percent rebates on all qualified purchases, and 0% introductory annual percentage rate (APR) on purchases during first half of the year of card membership are some of the great offers of most business credit cards.

Although majority of the business credit card issuers offer great value deals, it is very important to research first what does your business needs. Whether your business credit card is meant for investing in inventory or just for payroll, it is significant to look for a flexible business credit card that can handle almost anything. Whether you opt to go directly to the bank or apply for a business credit card online, a number of premier business credit card suppliers are there to help you find the right credit card product as easy and convenient as possible.

True Finance

This blog will surely make a difference in the field of finance.