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Make a decision today and take action

Question for you.  Two birds are sitting in a tree and one of them decides to fly away.  How many birds are left in the tree?

If you guessed one you are wrong.  Actually the answer is two.  You see that bird is just like most people. He made a decision to fly away but he never did anything about it so he just sat there. Even though he made the decision he didn't take action.

What decisions have you made but never bothered to put into action.  To make a decision means to leave no other possibility and you cut off all alternatives and pursue your dreams. 

Fly out of the tree today and take action.  Move a step closer to your goals and dreams.

To Your Great Success

Mel Richardson
P.O. Box 538
Jessup, Maryland 20794

During tough economic times don't go see the coach

I was watching a movie some time ago called,” Invincible”, starring Mark Wahlberg. It was a true story based on a bartender trying out for the Philadelphia Eagles football team.  One segment of the movie featured Mark Wahlberg,  going through tryouts and he made it to training camp.  As the tryouts progressed the coach was trimming more and more players from the roster until he finally got down to the team that he would field on opening day. 

 

When all the cutting was going on the assistant coach would go to the hotel that the players were staying and he would knock on the door of the player that was going to be cut that day.  He would always tell that player the same thing, “Hey, coach wants to see you and bring your play book.”  If the assistant coach said that to you then you were good as done.  I liken that situation to how a lot of companies release employees during these tough economic times.   More than likely someone will come out and get you and say hey Mr. Brown wants to see you in the conference room and bring a box.

Having said that here are 10 ways that signal you will be fired:

1.       People that sit in your department that used to talk to you will no longer speak to you.

2.       If you are walking down the hall and people avoid eye contact

3.       If you pass by someone and they appear to be spaced out

4.       If you are called into a meeting late in the evening.  You close at 5:00 pm and the District manager shows up at 4:55pm

5.       If the boss says to you no matter what happens I think you are doing a decent job

6.       If you start hearing a lot of whispering and they shut when you show up.

7.       If you speak to someone and they turn their head side ways and then give you an apologetic/sympathetic smile but they never speak

8.       If the atmosphere suddenly becomes so thick you can sense something is going on

9.       If it becomes so quiet you can hear a pin drop in your department

10.   Someone says the coach wants to see you and bring your play book.

If that should happen to you, and many are experiencing this very thing, don’t panic.  Take a deep breath and relax. Then call the unemployment office and see if you are eligible for unemployment.  Chances are you will be. Take an assessment of your financial situation and see how long your funds will last.  Next start applying for jobs within your expertise or even if they don’t fit your expertise apply.  During these tough economic times finding a job will be challenging.

You may want to consider taking part time work or working through a temporary agency until the economy picks up. Now is not the time to lapse into bad habits such as improper diet or skipping workouts.  These will only help to fuel your despair and depression.  Speak to someone about your situation and don’t be afraid to let others know that you are out of work. You just never know who will be able to help you get a job.  One estimate says 80% of jobs are found by networking.

Finally keep a positive outlook and know that things will eventually turn around.

If you saw the movie then you know that Mark Wahlberg did in fact make the team as a walk on and played several years with the Philadelphia Eagles.  So he never had to go see the coach, hopefully you will be as blessed.

 

 

To your Great Success

 

Mel Richardson

P.O. Box 538

Jessup, Maryland 20794

 

Melvin21@msn.com

 

 

 

 

The Economic Stimulus Package - What's in it for you?

The New Stimulus Package Plan:  What’s in it for you?

The new stimulus plan is designed to stimulate the economy, increase jobs, boost spending in the economy, increase the amount and time frame for collecting unemployment benefits among other things.  Well you are probably wondering, just like every other concerned American, what does that plan have to offer for each of us as individuals?

 

According to the USA Today the total amount of the package is approximately $789 Billion.  This package is about 1100 hundred  pages and inches thick.  Now that’s a lot of money but let’s see if we can dissect it and see where it’s going and who is going to benefit

 

Housing Market

Well we all know what’s going on within the housing market.   In some parts of the country, the price of homes have decreased, as much as 25% which is contributing to the housing crisis.  Well the package is designed to increase home sales because anyone that’s looking to buy a home can receive an $8,000 tax break which you don’t have to pay back to the government.  Housing starts in the country are at the lowest levels in years so hopefully this will provide some type of incentive for people to start purchasing homes again.   If people are buying homes then demand will pick up, and according to the laws of supply and demand the prices of homes should increase.  This can prove to be a very enticing incentive for home buyers.

 

Automobiles

 

The auto industry is really taking it on the chin.  We are seeing automobile sales dip to the lowest levels we have ever seen.   Right now, as part of the stimulus package, you can receive a sales tax credit for your automobile purchase.   If you purchase a $30,000 car in a state where the sales tax is 5% then you your credit would be $1,500.  

 

Taxes

The stimulus package will put more money back in your pay checks.   With a cut in taxes consumers will have more disposable income to make more purchases thereby stimulating the economy and helping to increase aggregate demand.  There package also includes a $2,500 tax credit for parents who have children in college.  According to the USA today this credit would only be good for the first two years of college. 

Energy

 

Everyone is looking for ways to save money.  Another way you can do this is to winterize your home, which includes a tax credit if you decide to take on this endeavor.  On average you can save over $250 per year if you winterize your home. 

 

 

Unemployed

 

If you lost your job and you are currently collecting unemployment or will be collecting unemployment in the future then your weekly amount will now be $25 more.  Once again people have more money to spend and it will be thrust into the economy as another method for stimulating the economy.

 

These are some of the more popular sections of the stimulus package but rest assured there are some more things which are designed to turn our sagging economy around, put more money in the pockets of consumers, create more jobs and put us in a favorable economic position globally as well.

 

To Your Success

 

Melvin Richardson

P.o. Box 538

Jessup, Maryland 20794

Are you 30 days past due on credit accounts?

 

Every where you look someone is loosing their job by way of layoffs which is reducing or eliminating the income of a household completely. When there is no money or a substantial reduction the bills go unpaid. Now here's the bad part. Once you fall past due your accounts are reported to the credit bureau. Any credit accounts are reported whether you are past due or not, usually at the first of the month.

When exactly does your past due account get reported to a credit reporting agency? As soon as you fall 30 days past due your credit accounts are reflected as past due. Everyone is not clear when you are past due 30 days. Let's say you have an account that is due May 1, 2009 and you miss this payment for whatever reason. At this point in time your account is not reported to the credit reporting agency as past due. Now if June 1, 2009 comes and goes and you still have not paid your account it will be reported to the credit bureau because you are now 30 days past due.

Information regarding your credit accounts are reported to the credit bureau during the first week of every month. With the above example you account would be reported as a 30 day delinquent account on July 1, 2009. If you catch this account up to date before July 1, 2009 it will still be reported as 30 days delinquent for that time frame. When August 1, 2009 rolls around your account status, whatever it might be at that point in time, will be reported once again.

How serious is a 30 day delinquency? Of course you don't want any of your accounts to fall past due, unfortunately it does happen. The good news is a 30 day delinquency is not that serious of a delinquency especially if you bring the account current in a reasonable time frame. Now if you are applying for a mortgage and you have 30 day delinquencies it could cause you to receive a higher rate of interest, which equates to more money out of your pocket in terms of finance charges over the life of the mortgage. You may have some explaining to do as well. A loan officer will probably want to know why you were past due. This could impact your ability to get a mortgage loan depending on what the rest of your credit report looks like.

Now even though your credit accounts are not reported to the credit bureau until they are 30 days past due there is a very good chance that you will receive a late charge on that account, which could be as much as $29 or $39, depending on the company and their policies. The late charge could be much more with your mortgage.

Making Money on the Side

Check out this link and find a list of things other people are doing to make money on the side.

There are a lot of very interesting things there.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/community/message/thread.asp?threadid=469790&boardname=Hide&header=SearchOnly&footer=Show&boardsparam=Page%3d1&linktarget=_parent&pagestyle=money1&forumid=18&board=YourMoney

To Your Great Success

Mel

P.O. Box 538

Jessup, Maryland 20794

Make Some Extra Cash

 

Does the economy have you down?  Things appear to be getting tougher and tougher.  Today there were 50,000 more employees laid off from various companies.   Are you looking to make some money from the comfort of your own home?  If you answered yes go to the link below and sign up:

 

http://www.associatedcontent.com/join.html?refer=83156

 

Looking to make extra money to pay off holiday debt?   Go to the link above and they pay you for writing articles.  You can receive between $5 and $10 per article.  You just need an email account as well as a paypal account.   If you write an article today you will have the money put into your pay pal account in about 7 days.

Your articles can be about anything you want including the following:  computers, goal setting, leadership, spirituality, automobiles, gardening, relationships, arts and humanity, creative writing, pets and animals, careers and jobs, legal, hobbies and games, the NBA, the NFL, health and fitness, food and drink, parenting, personal finance, politics, science, news, travel, business, entrepreneurship, home based business, and style, beauty, fashion, electronics, and the internet.     

ACTUALLY JUST ABOUT ANYTHING YOU CAN WRITE ABOUT.  You don’t have to be an expert writer.

sign up: 

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The advantages of writing articles:

·         Millions of people will see your articles

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·         You can make extra money from the comfort of your own home

·         You immediately become a published author, you can add this to your resume or profile.

·         Get paid in 7 to 10 days. The money gets transferred to your paypal account and you transfer to your bank account.

·         It’s completely FREE to join

·         Go Here to  Join

 http://www.associatedcontent.com/join.html?refer=83156

 

To Your Great Success

 

Mel Richardson

P.O. Box 538

Jessup, Maryland 20794

Melvin21@msn.com

Go here to join:

 http://www.associatedcontent.com/join.html?refer=83156

 

P.S.  Any questions send me an email and I will work you through the steps. Note you will not get paid for every article and sometimes it will be less than $5, but I get paid 9 out of 10 times for articles I submit. 

Go here to join:

  http://www.associatedcontent.com/join.html?refer=83156

 

P.P.S  If you are looking to start your internet marketing business or take it to the next level go here:

www.freeonlinemarketingstrategies.com

P.P.P. S   Looking for some good financial advice subscribe to my personal finance blog.  It will show you ways to save money, make money, market your business and increase your net worth.  Go here:

www.moneycashfinance.com

 

 

 

Get Informed About Subprime Mortgages

I came across an article on the website Econ4U.org and it's all about subprime mortgages and the things you should be aware of.

 

A mortgage is a type of loan usually used by homebuyers to finance their houses.  The house is the security or collateral for the loan.  That is, if the homebuyer is ever unable to make the loan payments, the lender can sell the house to get the money owed.  This is called foreclosing on the loan.

Because foreclosure can be costly and troublesome, lenders are hesitant to lend to homebuyers who might not be able to repay.  The lenders use information about the borrowers to determine how risky lending to them might be.  This information might include your credit rating (FICO score), job and earnings history, and evaluation of the borrower’s assets.  In the past, the requirements for a traditional loan prevented many people from buying a house of their own.

Subprime mortgages have opened up the possibility of homeownership to those who may not have a sufficiently high credit rating or the necessary down payment for a traditional mortgage.  The problem is that these higher risk borrowers are more likely to find they cannot make their mortgage payments at some time.  This can lead to foreclosure.

When mortgages are foreclosed, both homeowners and lenders lose.  The lenders will not get all of their money back and the homeowners lose their houses.  For this reason, lenders require a higher interest rate (APR) for subprime mortgages.

These loans are rarely advertised to the borrowers as “subprime.”  The term is used in transactions among financial institutions to describe the riskiness of the loan.

• Interest-only Mortgages
  With an interest-only mortgage you only make interest payments for the first five or ten years.  This means that you do nothing to pay down the loan during the initial period.  After the five or ten years are up, you still owe the full amount of the loan.  Even worse, your mortgage payment will rise once the interest-only period ends.  If you are not ready, you could be in trouble.
• Adjustable Rate Mortgages
  With an adjustable-rate mortgage, your monthly payment changes as the market interest rate changes.  The difference can amount to hundreds of dollars per month.  It is a bad idea to get an adjustable-rate mortgage if you would be unable to afford the highest possible monthly payment.
• Balloon Mortgages
  With a balloon mortgage, you make payments just as you would with a normal, fixed-rate mortgage, but you must refinance when the five or seven year period of the loan ends.  After seven years, this balance will be nearly 90 percent of the initial amount borrowed.  If interest rates have gone up, you will be faced with higher monthly payments.
• Mortgages with No Escrow Account
  With an escrow account, you are able to pay your property taxes and homeowners insurance monthly.  Without an escrow account you will have to pay these large bills in lump sums.  Property taxes alone can be thousands of dollars per year.  For most people, it is easier to budget on a monthly basis.

 

To Your Great Success

Mel Richardson

P.O. Box 538

Jessup, MD 20794

Melvin21@msn.com

Happy New Year!!!!

Wishing everyone a Happy and prosperous New Year!!!!

Mel Richardson

5 Biggest Credit Myths

According   to the Washington Post and Econ4u.org the five Biggest Credit Myths are below.  Take a look and see how familiar you are with the terms of each one.

Myth  1.  Making the minimum payment on your credit card is paying down your debt.

                Reality:  This is technically true, but if you only pay the minimum every month your debt will be

                more expensive than you’d suspect.  Most credit cards have a minimum payment of 4% of your        

                balance.  On a credit card with a typical 18% interest rate, it will take more than 10 years to pay

                off a balance of $3,000 and you will end up paying more than $1,700 in interest.  If you pay                 

                $150 per month, you will save $1,100 and be debt-free in two years.   

 

 

Myth 2.   If you don’t have enough cash to cover your bills, it’s better to pay them late than to get a short term payday loan.

                          

Reality:  Not paying your bills on time can be more expensive than you’d think.   Late payment fees are often as much as $50.  And a late payment on a credit card c an raise your interest rates, even on your other cards.  While it’s best to keep enough savings to cover unexpected expenses, the typical fee on a short term payday loan can be an affordable way to avoid much bigger charges from other options.  The typical fee on a two-week short term loan is 15%, as long as you pay it off in the agreed upon time period.

 

Myth 3.  It is Okay if your mortgage payment is 50% of your monthly take-home pay.

 

Reality:   Many inexperienced homebuyers rely on advice from mortgage brokers and real estate agents, who may suggest that 50% is a good rule of thumb for mortgage payments.  Payments that high leave little room for unexpected debts and changes in lifestyle.  It’s best to stick to mortgage payments equal to or less than 33% of your after tax income.

 

 

Myth 4.  To boost your credit score, you should cancel any credit cards you haven’t used in a while.

 

Reality:  Credit scores are based on a variety of factors, and canceling unused credit cards can actually hurt your score.  10% of your credit score is based on the length of your credit history, so it’s a good idea to keep your oldest credit card account open, even if you don’t use it.  A low credit score means other loans will be more costly.

 

 

Myth 5.   You pay no interest on a 0% APR car loan.

 

Reality:  Instead of just thinking about interest rates, look at the total amount you’ll end up paying.  For a $20,000 car, you might have the choice between a 3-year loan at 0%, or a $3,000 cash rebate.  If you take the 0% loan you’ll pay $20,000.  If you pay up front and take the rebate, you’re getting the car for $17,000, plus financing costs that may be more or less than the $3,000.

 

 

To Your Great Success

 

Mel Richardson

P.O. Box 538

Jessup, Maryland 20794

Melvin21@msn.com

Ten Tips To Help Your Strive During Winter Economic Times

Looking for ways to go forward during these periods of doom and gloom?  There certainly is enough negative news to go around keep us completely overwhelmed and feeling fearful.

Here are ten tips, by James Ray Motivational Speaker, to help you survive during these tough winter economic times.

1. Clearly define what inspires you.
   There's a big difference between taking action out of inspiration versus desperation. Use this season as an opportunity to hibernate into the recesses of your own mind and define what you choose to create in your next spring.
2. Control your focus.
   Energy flows where attention goes. Are you focusing on lack or opportunity?
3. Feed your mind.
   What's your constant mental diet? Do you spend hours in front of the scare news or are you reading good books, attending more positive seminars, watching uplifting DVDs and listening to powerful CDs?
4. Strengthen your body.
   Your physical health and vitality have a tremendous impact on your performance as well as your mental and emotional fitness. Exercise releases stress as well as strengthen your body and mind.
5. Inventory your friends.
   Doom and gloom attracts more doom and gloom. Jettison those "energy vampires" around you and surround yourself with opportunity seekers.
6. Quiet your mind.
   Take time to meditate daily and to slow down if only for a few minutes. Ten to fifteen minutes of meditation will relieve hours of stress and increase creativity and resourcefulness.
7. Rid your life of escapist activities.
   Overindulgence in TV, sleep and alcohol only accelerate the problems you're attempting to avoid.
8. Make a daily gratitude list.
   Focusing on all the good, gifts and God in your life puts you in the right line of thought, feeling and their subsequent actions, which will attract and create more good, gifts and God.
9. Change your attitude.
   Realize that everything that's happened in your life thus far is here to serve you, teach you and help you grow. Find the lessons in your past results, forgive yourself for anything you could have done better and apply the lesson to move forward and create a better future.
10. Get resourceful.
    For the next three days, go to a place where you can have uninterrupted time... Come up with 20 new ideas to grow your income, create new results and improve your life. You cannot leave your spot until you have twenty. And no editing! All ideas are good ideas. Do this for three successive days with 20 new ideas each day.

To Your Great Success

 

Mel Richardson

P.O. Box 538

Jessup, Maryland 20794

Melvin21@msn.com