You have decided that it's time to upgrade your outdoor space and you want to build this fabulous spot where you can get away from it all. An outdoor oasis if you will. Well, if this is what you want to do, you have to do it right and that's where fabulous teak patio furniture comes into play.
Teak patio furniture is pretty much the best furniture that you can get for your outdoor space. Why? Well, first off, it is extremely durable because of the teak wood that it is made out of. Teak wood is a dense, thick hardwood that is not easily damaged and its natural oils make it very resilient to the elements. Rain, sleet, hail, even extreme cold or overexposure to the sun won't harm it, which is great for you if you have to leave yours outdoors all year round.
In addition to being durable, teak wood is also very pleasing to the eye, creating teak patio furniture that will enhance the appearance of any outdoor setting that it is placed in, whether it be on a porch, deck, patio, or even in a four seasons room. The reason it is so appealing to the eye is that when new, teak wood has a gorgeous golden wooden tone to it that gradually weathers to a distinguished silver gray color. Both looks are extremely beautiful, and will have your space looking better than ever.
What's really nice about teak patio furniture is that it is available in all sorts of styles and designs, making it a synch for you to build any kind of space that you want. Like, if you want that outdoor oasis for just you and the one you love. Then, a great way to go would be by adding some chaise lounges to the space, a few end tables, and an umbrella to finish things off. Or, maybe you want a spot where you can entertain guests, for you then you would want to have a teak bar in place, some bar stools, a teak patio dining table and chairs for eating, a garden arbor to provide shade, and then a few decorative accents in place, like teak planters, to give it a well, rounded completed appearance.
You see, with teak patio furniture there are just a lot of choices and those just mentioned are just a few of the options that are available. There are actually many more to choose from, so many that it would really be silly to list them all. So, you might as well check them out for yourself and a great way to do just that is by going online and doing some comparison shopping. It's fast because you can click through all the selections in no time at all and when you happen upon something that you like, you can purchase and have it shipped right to your home. Now, that's an easy, simple way to shop.
So, if you want a backyard oasis, or just a nice outdoor area, turn to grand teak patio furniture to do it. It's one of the best types of furniture around and because of its durability, beauty, and high comfort level, it is a perfect option for adding to any deck, porch, or patio area.
About The Author: Author Jesse Akre is an owner of a variety of online stores specializing in providing niche items and information.
12/27/07
Teak Patio Furniture – Helping You Create The Perfect Outdoor Oasis
Roof Weather Vanes – How To Install Them
If you have seen the beauty a roof weather vane can offer to your home you may have thought about putting one on your own. But then came the problem how do you do it? It's not like rigging up a bunch of holiday lights, there's a heck of a lot of more work involved to putting roof weather vanes in place. But it's not out of the question.
Here are three ways to install roof weather vanes.
1. Copulas - If you want the full look of copulas and roof weather vanes you will need to first decide on the copula you want on top of your home. Many copulas can either be mounted to the top of your roof (to one of the joists) or attached to a board just above the roof. The important thing is to make sure this part is well mounted as it will be the piece responsible for holding everything in place.
2. Roof Mount – If you don't want the expense or work involved in adding a copula to your house, you may want to try this form of attaching roof weather vanes to your home. A roof mount will use a 'V' shaped bracket that will sit on your roof and be screwed into an anchor point. It's important to make sure this is installed right, so your weather vane will operate properly. Before you fasten it down, put the weather vane in it and check to see if it's level. Off-level roof weather vanes don't work properly. A lot of people like to eyeball this, but it's much smarter to use a real level to make sure. Better to do it once than have to keep climbing back up on the roof to make readjustments.
3. Side Mount – Don't want to play on the roof too much. This attachment will let you set up roof weather vanes while just on a ladder along the side of the house. A side mount attaches to the end caps of your house where the eaves meet. An L-shaped tube comes from a plate that is fastened to the house and you can install the roof weather vanes inside that bracket. Instead of being able to put the roof weather vanes in the middle of your roof, they will be relegated to the side of the house, but that also can make them more visible from the ground. This is especially true if you have a two-story or taller house where it's harder to see what's on the roof.
One final consideration in selecting roof weather vanes is to select one that matches your house and the roof in size. If you have a large home or a very tall house, you are going to need to look at larger roof weather vanes to avoid them looking too dinky on the top of the house. It may look great up close, but you need to think of how far away you will be when you're seeing it. Measure the size of the weather vane and stand at least 20-30 feet away to get an idea how it will look when you have it installed.
About The Author: Author Jesse Akre is an owner of a variety of online stores specializing in providing niche items and information. Today, he shares his insight on décor and furnishing ideas to revamp the look of your outdoor space
Bedroom Furniture - Creating An Oasis Of Relaxation
The old black and white movies on the silver screen had bedroom furniture all figured out. There, in an oasis in a lonely desert, a single tent stood. Inside, was paradise on earth. Luscious silks, overstuffed pillows, and a bed that would surround you in ecstasy.
Sigh…
The truth of the matter is, you can create your own oasis in the middle of the hubbub of life. All it takes is a little imagination, a bit of elbow grease, some paint and bedroom furniture that matches the theme and you're all set.
Imagination is an essential ingredient. A bedroom, particularly a master bedroom, should be your escape from the work-all-day world of stress and strain. It should be welcoming. It should be romantic. And it should reflect your unique tastes. It is, after all, your inner sanctum and only the select few are invited to share it. So why shouldn't it be elegant and comfortable, too.
If your bedroom hasn't received a facelift in a long time, it's time to do some cosmetic surgery. Strip the room of all the wall art and bedroom furniture. Now you have a blank canvas to work with. Spackle all the holes and cracks in the wall and give your walls a new coat of paint. Paint is one of the least expensive ways to give a room an entirely new look.
Once you've put a little makeup on the walls and ceiling, it's time for some foundations. Your bedroom furniture should reflect your tastes as well. Thankfully, there's an endless variety of bedroom furniture to choose from these days, from the traditional to the modern, from Oriental to tropical – the choice is yours.
When selecting your bedroom furniture, keep in mind the theme you're going for. If you're looking to make your room look like a page out of Islands magazine, select bedroom furniture that has a Caribbean, plantation or Key West look to it. The same is true of virtually any theme you can come up with. Want to do an African savanna theme? Go with dark wooded bedroom furniture and accent it with mosquito netting, tribal masks and a few primitive statues. Go with jungle greens for the walls, offset with white trim. In no time you're be sure you're hearing the trumpeting of elephants and the roar of the king of the beasts.
Accent pillows are another nice touch, as are small knickknacks and photos of family and friends. These soften the space and will add character to the room, the bedroom furniture and the fabrics you have in them. Again, choose colors and textures to add interest without causing distraction.
If your furniture is in relatively good repair, you may want to refinish it in new stains or colors to match the look you're going for. And while you're at it, consider rearranging the furniture in the space. It can do wonders for a tired looking room.
Finally, you'll probably want to redo your linens to match the new décor, the new colors and the ambiance of the space. Consider luxurious looking pillows, comforters and linens that will make your bedroom look like an oasis in the desert of life.
About The Author: Jesse Akre is an owner of a variety of online stores specializing in providing niche items and information. Today, he shares his insight on décor and furnishing ideas to revamp the look and feel of your home. Furnish your space in style
An Introduction To RV Window Blinds
Just like window blinds for your house, RV window blinds are coverings made to fit RV windows to provide shade and privacy. These blinds are available in a variety of styles and colors, so it is easy to find window shades that are not only the right size for your RV, but also fit nicely into your room's design.
Some of the more commonplace types of RV window blinds include:
- Aluminum RV window blinds. Aluminum mini blinds are also available in an array of colors and most models include a simple device for opening and closing the slats, as well as raising and lowering the whole shade. These RV window blinds can be bought in a range of sizes and can often be cut to your specifications.
- Windshield privacy wraps. Similar to pleated, pull-down RV window blinds, windshield wraps are made from fabric material and are available in lots of colors. These window blinds are attached on rails along the inside of the windshield so they slide open and closed for easy use.
- Pull-down, pleated blinds. These shades are generally made of a tough, stain-resistant fabric and can be found in day/night options. Day/night window blinds feature a sheer layer that can provide respite from the sun and privacy without concealing all natural light for day time use and an opaque layer for complete privateness at night. Pull-down blinds are available in several colors and open and close without trouble.
Advantages of RV Window Blinds
There are a number of reasons RV owners want to install window blinds to their travel trailer or motor home. RV window blinds are almost similar to the blinds and shades covering windows in our homes. A primary purpose of their use is to add fashion, style and personality to your home away from home. There are plenty of styles and colors to want from, so it is easy to give your RV a personal touch.
Window blinds are also the easiest way to get a sense of privacy inside your RV. RV camping is lots of fun, but most RV parks don't provide a great amount of privateness. While spending time with your camping neighbors is fun, there are times you need your own space. Window blinds can be lowered and closed so that no one can look inside your RV.
These window coverings are the greatest way to protect your RV's interior from the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays from the sun. RV window blinds can shut off direct sunlight so your furniture are protected from fading. They can also regulate the temperature inside your RV.
The Downfalls of Window Blinds for Your RV
Like home window blinds, those designed for RVs can be troublesome to keep clean. Pleated shades can simply be wiped clean with a damp sponge. While this type of blind is usually made of a stain resistant material, it is also much more susceptible to splatters and spills and may require more work than slatted blinds. Aluminum, slatted RV shades do require a more thorough cleaning process because each slat must be cleaned individually. It can also be hard to find RV window blinds for unconventional sized windows, often requiring a custom cutting.
How Much Are RV Window Blinds?
Window blinds are a great enhancement to your RV, whether you're looking for some privacy or hoping to cool the inside of your motor home on a hot summer afternoon. A variety of styles, colors and sizes are generally available from outdoor outfitters and camping suppliers. RV window blinds are also available on the internet. These useful and beautiful window coverings can be found for as little as $30, while some RV window blinds cost more than $100. Professional installations will more expensive.
About The Author: John Robert is the author of http://WindowBlindsArchive.com Visit his site for more free tips on getting the right type of windows blinds for your home.
Home Design Programs-You Don't Have To Be An Interior Design Expert To Achieve Your Dream Home
It is possible to draw the most brilliant home designs with many home design programs available today. You no longer have to fiddle with pencils, paper and erases for hours at end. Visualization is the key when it comes to designing a home. Whether you have a new interior design bedroom idea, bathroom design idea, or any other interior designing idea to implement, this free home design software can help you achieve the home you want.
How to get your vision across to your team of designers, architects and engineers can be a challenge without a proper layout. Now it's no longer a problem for those people who want to create a proper design for their home but lack the experience of an expert designer.
Easy home design programs are getting increasingly popular and make it simple for most of us to design homes that look stunning but most importantly take in to consideration individual needs and preferences.
The best thing about these programs is that some of them are extremely low cost or even free! Imagine not having to spend a single cent on designing your home with the aid of a simple PC.
A lot of these programs are freely available on the internet for anyone to download and are classified as freeware. Some of these programs give out demo versions for a limited amount of time and if you like the program you can invest a small amount of money buying them.
All in all the deals out there on the internet are amazing when it comes to such programs. When it comes to choosing software its best to review some of them and to decide on one that combines ease of use and superior quality graphics. Some these programs are so amazing that they even give you professional blue print type results in minutes.
Most home design programs have a very low learning curve and they can be easily used by even novice computer users. Of course, polishing up a few computer basics can be useful if you do not have any ideas about computers but overall the ease of use and simplicity that is built in to some of these packages makes sure that using them will not be that terribly difficult.
The best way to find the top design programs is to find out what the experts are saying about them. For this, go on websites that review the various programs, because these people will have already utilized these programs themselves, and can therefore help you to find the best.
Obviously, the more money you are willing to spend, the better the program you will be able to get; however, even if you don't spend a dime, you can still get a reasonably high quality machine that will help you achieve the home of your dreams. Is it optimum? No, but if you don't have a lot of money to spend, than a free machine should still work quite well in helping you to get the home you want.
Some of these packages even have a very intuitive interface that makes it even easier for the novice users. It is truly amazing what is possible with some home design programs and how they have empowered the home renovator and builder today.
About The Author: For tips on finding the top home design programs, visit http://interior-design-success.com . Learn about bathroom renovation ideas and more.
Be Creative With New Home Appliances
A person that has a passion for cooking would really enjoy receiving new home appliances for Christmas. The appliances could make cooking more enjoyable because they offer more features that are convenient to use and are equipped with surfaces that make clean up a breeze. A cook would love to have a varied assortment of small appliances to make preparing quick meals and treats that the whole family would love without worrying about heating up the whole house.
A cook could feed an Army with the innovative cook tops that come with home appliances like stoves. The smooth surface of the induction cook tops allow cooks to follow their creative urges and produce several dishes at one time since there are more heating surfaces. For cooking efforts that are fast and efficient, a cook could prepare several meals in one day, and use other home appliances to reheat them later.
A creative cook would not have to travel far to do any kind of baking because the latest home appliances come with double range ovens that offer ample space to cook several dishes at once, and the temperatures of those items does not have to be the same. The happy homemaker could let her creative energies flow in choosing the color scheme for the kitchen appliances too because the cook tops, ranges and ovens are offered in a variety of color shades that will fit in with any lifestyle.
The creative designs in home appliances like refrigerators and freezers allow cooks to access foods in a manner that is convenient and comfortable. Some cooks find the side-by-side refrigerators to be very functional in their busy kitchens. These kitchen appliances are equipped with water in the door features that help homemakers reduce their electrical costs. The refrigerators will have creative storage for freezing foods, and a cook can be very creative when selecting styles for the top and bottom.
The designers for some home plans have gotten very creative on saving space and will often design kitchens around the home appliances that are in the kitchen. Some kitchen floor plans work more efficiently if the stovetop is placed on a island, and all the other home appliances are built-in to the walls and mounted under cabinets. Some perks can be added to space saving kitchens like wine and beverage centers which are perfect for homes that have several children in them.
Older homes might benefit from home appliances like water systems and room air conditioners. Homeowners can get very creative while making home more energy efficient by installing ceiling fans around the home that are color coordinated with the home appliances in the kitchen. The surfaces for home appliances can be made to mimic hardwoods, or be just the right shade of silver to blend in with any formal dining plan.
A cook can buy home appliances with non-marring surfaces and never worry about fingerprints and smudges ever again. Some home designs will allow home appliances to be recessed into the wall to create a customized look that is typical of high style kitchens in homes that are appraised for a high value. The rebates offered on many home appliances will give cooks more incentive to purchase cookware that blends in well with all of the new home appliances in the kitchen.
First Home Buyer Tips When Looking For Finance
First home buyers who have not inherited a large chunk of money from rich parents or grandparents want to find the best packages that will give them the best value for their money. As such, they can be very careful, very meticulous, very detail-conscious to ensure that the home finance package they get is their most affordable and their most reasonable.
First home buyer finance scouters can sure use a few tips.
First, find a real estate agent that can relate with you professionally with full integrity and your best interests in mind. The whole home buying process is a meticulous and tedious one, and you need all the help you can get. There will be no more expert advice provider than a real estate agent. Just make sure that agent has complete rapport with your requirements.
Finding that agent will mean finding one who is very familiar with the local real estate market. That agent will also need to have on his fingertips the available properties out for sale, the sale prices, the trends of real estate buying and selling in the area, the development trends in the area that can affect real property prices. These agents must know and understand, even how to write, real estate contracts and agreements, have legal and technical knowhow to look at property titles and lot plans, at building or house floor plans, and other technical documents. They must also have a working knowledge of prevailing revenue or tax regulations.
After you find that agent, search within yourself now what kind of property you truly need. What kind of house do you really want? How many bedrooms will that house have? How big a family are you bringing in? What construction materials need to be considered that have gone into the construction of that house you want to buy? How long has it been erected? How much has the property depreciated economically?
With that contemplation, you come to contemplating your financial capacities thereafter. How long a timetable do you need to come up with the deposit? How long will the tenor of the home loan be? Will you be paying weekly, fortnightly or monthly? How much of your income can you contribute towards this loan and what are your expenses? What mortgage conditions and financing terms can you afford? Will you opt for fixed rates or variable rates considering your cashflow?
Work then with your agent to find that dream house. If you do find it, work on the purchase offer and present that offer to the home owner with full conviction that you can really make the purchase. First home buyers usually have the shakes when finalising the purchase agreements. Resolve to be decisive so that there will be no last minute change of mind and change of heart.
Also, discuss the process of how the transfer of the Title will be done. Don't get afraid of being tagged as ignorant; it is wise to voice out your concerns especially if you were not knowledgeable of things, especailly on legalities. If you can afford a lawyer, consult with one to teach you on how to go along with the legal processes.
After ironing out the kinks, ensure that your agent is ready with all the documentations to consummate the sale with the seller. Then, close the deal!
Craig Adams has worked with first home buyers for over 10 years.
Dont miss the opportunity to finance your next real estate purchase.
Cover your dog crates and dog cages. Covers for different dog crates ...
Cover your dog crates and dog cages. Covers for different dog crates ...
A range of dog crate or cage covers designed for the Croft and Crufts dog cage range ... Below - Quick Links to the pages you may need Dog cages. Find the correct size for your ...
Source: www.croftonline.co.uk
Dog Crate Covers - Large
Dog Crate Covers - Crate Wear comes as a set including Cover, Bumper and Mattress. Our Crate Wear Bumpers are the only bumpers made high enough to prevent crate related injuries.
Source: www.radiofence.com
Dog Bed Works - Dog Beds, Pet Beds. Dog Crates, Dog Furniture
We also have designer dog crates, soft dog crates, wooden dog crates, wicker crates and crate covers. Be sure to choose a mat or pad to match.
Source: www.dogbedworks.com
El bulo
Desde hace algún tiempo venimos escuchando a diferentes personas, incluso con cantidades exactas, hablaban de 600 euros, que nos decían que la xunta otorgaba subvenciones a quienes pusieran un nombre gallego a sus hijos.
Ayer nos acercamos a informarnos y quedó todo aclarado.
La calle ha vuelto a generar una nueva leyenda urbana.
Los funcionarios de la xunta nos comentaron que no eramos los primeros en preguntar sobre las "fantasmagóricas" subvenciones. Incluso hubo quien llego a decirles que ya que no había subvención, ya no les pondría el nombre en gallego a sus hijos.
Lo que más me asombra de todo esto, y nunca le encontraré explicación, es cómo se generan estas leyendas, por qué hay quien las amplía adjudicando exactitudes como cantidades, etc.....
Somos muy raros los humanos.
El ple del pressupost
L’escenari es senzill. Se’ns presenta un pressupost rígid, condicionat per decisions presses fa temps en relació a infrastructures i inversions, en les que la majoria de les forces a l’oposició havíem deixat clar el nostre desacord. No hi ha marge de maniobra per arribar a acords, doncs els números solen ser molt tossuts i des de fa molt temps, dos i dos, en qüestions d’aquesta mena, sumen quatre. I un equip de govern en minoria, presoner d’aquesta manca de consens, ha de treure endavant un pressupost sense poder donar resposta a les demandes i als projectes dels partits de l’oposició.
Les alternatives són clares.
* Un moment perfecte per deixar en evidència la feblesa d’un govern, tot i que pagant el preu de bloquejar i entorpir el normal funcionament de l’ajuntament.
* Ser responsable, permetre que l’equip de govern tiri endavant uns comptes, que si vols ser respectuós amb els acords de plens anteriors tenen poca alternativa i facilitar un dia a dia més normal en l’administració local
Una cruïlla en la que pots aplicar molts dels comentaris i dels retrets que es fan dels polítics i de la política en el debat, tant estès, sobre l’allunyament entre ciutadania i política. L’oportunitat de canviar les coses, tot i que estiguis a l’oposició, en front al sentiment de pertànyer a una corporació que te com a objectiu prioritari donar servei als ciutadans.
Un debat interessant en que el Grup Municipal de CiU a l’ajuntament d’Olot va optar per ser responsables i no forçar les coses. D’abstenir-nos, en un pressupost que no era el nostre ni ens agradava, però que preferíem a entorpir el normal funcionament de l’administració municipal. Amb la decisió del sentit del nostre vot sabíem que el pressupost tiraria endavant, doncs cap altre combinació de vots podia tombar la proposta, però volíem demostrar, i així ho vàrem explicitar durant el ple, que estem disposats a ser una oposició constructiva i dialogant, preparada per entendre les situacions i els condicionants i que prioritza Olot per damunt de qualsevol altre interès o circumstància.
També vàrem deixar clar que això no és un xec en blanc ni una posició inalterable en el temps. Que tenim molt clar el que esperem a canvi de la nostra actitud d’ahir i que fàcilment podem passar a posicions més bel·ligerants. Crec que ho vàrem deixar prou clar durant el ple però, per si de cas, ho he volgut deixar escrit en aquest bloc que se positivament que compte amb lectors molt propers o lligats a l’equip de govern socialista a l’ajuntament d’Olot.
Feliz Navidad a tod@s!
De momento no voy hacer ningún balance de la trayectoria de este blog, pero si agradecer a cada uno de los lectores, a gente que esta suscrita al feed de noticias, a la gente que me enlaza y los que dejáis comentarios. Muchas gracias, por estar ahí... me dais el apoyo necesario para seguir con el proyecto iniciado hace ya unos meses.
Os deseo Feliz Navidad y que vuestros deseos para estas fechas se puedan hacer realidad.
Om achterover te vallen deel 2!!
Wouter is gisterenmiddag voor verhoor geweest. Wat wij dachten is dus waar, die gast heeft tegenaangifte gedaan van mishandeling. Volgens zijn verklaring heeft wouter hem bewerkt met een boksbeugel. Vier van zijn "vriendjes"verklaren dat ook te hebben gezien!! Heel toevallig!!!!
Me dunkt zo als je een mep krijgt van iemand die een boksbeugel gebruikt dan zie je er denk ik niet zo fraai uit. Die gast heeft geen dokter zkhs o.i.d. geraadpleegd. Het enige wat wouter aan zijn ringvinger draagt is een zilveren herenring. Van de diverse bedreigingen die die gast nadat hij wouter heeft mishandeld geuit heeft , beide vaders zijn nog diverse keren op het bureau geweest om aangifte te doen van bedreiging, wisten zij plotsklaps niets meer van. Hm vreemd. Maar ja hoe rotter je bent hoe harder men voor je loopt!! en dan geloven ze je ook nog op je woord, ja ... zulke mensen spreken natuurlijk altijd de waarheid. Ze zijn natuurlijk ook wel een beetje laat met hun onderzoek begonnen druk, druk druk natuurlijk, en dan heb je geen tijd om videobeelden op te vragen of om te checken of ze er daadwerkelijk op dat punt wel een hebben hangen. DAT DOE JE NIET!!!! Maar goed mijn "crimineel"heeft zich wederom kranig geweerd tijdens het verhoor. Ook deze "soap"wordt vervolgd.
Nu even een klein grapje ter afsluiting: het is groen en het zit op een hekje., weet je de oplossing zet hem bij de reacties.
Post navideño...
Y bien, aquí estamos, 24 de diciembre de 2007, 20:00 horas. Un ratito que puedo dedicar a mi persona (entiéndase por eso, tener tiempo para hacer lo que me venga en gana) antes de ir a aburrirme como ostra en casa de mi abuelita.
Recién leí el último post de Angel, compañero de clase en Progra Avanzada II, quien ahora radica en Mexicali... hablando de lo cursi que se pone la gente en este día... es cierto, según los datos que se tienen, es probable que el Mesías cristiano haya nacido en abril o en octubre, no en diciembre.
No hay mejor pretexto para hacer compras de pánico (y dicho sea de paso, malgastar el aguinaldo), para fingir una sonrisa, o para hacer una comida fastuosa que costará bastante dinero, muchos kilos demás, y muchos trastes que lavar en una época en la que el agua escasea.
Lo peor, uno trata de ir ad hoc con el "espiritu" navideño, y la maldita red de Telcel no da para más, el mensaje navideño que les envié nomás no llegó a todos.
En mi caso, sé qué me espera.... estar de hueva en casa de mi abuelita, intercambiando algún comentario irrelevante con mis tíos/tías/primas, ver cómo mis tíos se embriagan, mis tías en la cocina platicando del último capítulo de la telenovela del 13 o de las conductas de sus respectivos hijos, mis hermanos y primos jugando a las escondidas, en lo que llega la hora de cenar (espero que hoy no se les ocurra ponernos a rezar antes), la ridícula ceremonia de arrullar a los niños dios, con toda la familia Beltrán desafinando y mal-leyendo los rorros del novenario, uno de mis tíos se pone a llorar (efecto retardado del alcohol), y al final todos se van... y un servidor muerto de hueva y pensando: "una buena partida de Unreal desperdiciada".
Antes de que me manden algún comentario negativo: respeto lo que haga cada quien en sus casas, simplemente me frustra que siempre sea lo mismo en mi familia. En especial después de la navidad pasada (la mejor de mi vida!!!), la cual pasé en Nuevo Vallarta, con mi ma y mis hermanos.
Como sea, según sus creencias y costumbres, les deseo una feliz navidad, hanukkah, compras de pánico o cualesquier tradición que festejen por estos días.
De manera especial envío un abrazo muy fuerte a aquellos que están lejos de casa, saben que aquí se les aprecia y recuerda: Leo, Ladislao, Angel, Vaca, Carlos, y quien se me haya olvidado.
Y un abrazo a tí, que estás lejos de mí, sabes que me encantaría dártelo en persona. Traté de llamarte pero nomás no sale la llamada.
Pineapple cheesecake slice
Ok, tried this now, it's incredibly yummy, but the filling didn't really set (not that it matters to the end result, it's very creamy), plus I used a lamington tin (quite large) and found the filling and base wasn't quite enough, and the topping was well short, so I'll post the altered recipe first, and leave the original below it.
The base uses a marge/ kremelta combo as Olivani is too soft by itself, you could use straight margarine if you can find a hard one that is dairy free.
I'll be posting a cooked chocmint cheesecake later when I can track down soy cream cheese again, the local supermarkets seem to have stopped stocking it.
Onion Dip
Gotta have onion dip at Christmas time, because, well ready salted chips are pretty boring really! This isn't quite condensed milk and onion soup, but it's not too bad, if my hubby will eat it it's got to be ok.
Onion Dip
2 heaped Tbsp cornflour
1 cup soy milk
1 Tbsp Maggi onion stock
1 Tbsp Malt Vinegar
60gms Olivani dairy free margarine
Mix the cornflour and soymilk and cook until thick, then cool in a water bath.
Beat Margarine until fluffy with the onion powder. Beat in the cornflour mix and the vinegar, and add more vinegar to taste if needed.
Chill and serve with your favourite dip friendly foods.
Refreshment Drive
After more than a month's wait, I finally gave up and picked up my Mini on Monday.
The mechanic's too busy, so I might as well do the repairs somewhere else. He did repair, of all things, the brakes, which are spongy.
Pending stuffs to repair, are fan belt replacement, clutch release bearing replacement, ball joint repairs, and some more stuffs of smaller importance.
I already felt like giving my car a refresher drive for a few days.
Afterwards, I will get back to using bus.
Did A 140
Only two out of five departments are open today.
By the way, I tried the new KL-Putrajaya highway today.
Some of the prominent points I gathered during the drive was:
- It will be 10km before I even entered the highway.
- Max speed at first will be 60kph, and then 90kph.
- There's a rest area almost immediately, which is the aptly named Seri Kembangan R&R.
- The first exit will be Bukit Jalil, and the first landmark I see there was Sports Complex, and then Endah Parade.
By the way, I ended up doing 48km, almost 6km more than my usual one-way mileage. So I guess, back to taking the bus then...
Car Care and Protection
When you get a new car, youre protective and careful to keep it looking and performing great. As time passes most of us get a little less interested. Taking the time to protect and keep your car looking great not only helps the look, it can also help to maintain the value of your vehicle. For instance, roll up car care covers, which can be custom fit to protect your car anywhere while sitting outdoors. These covers can protect your vehicle from outdoor elements, dirt, pollen, and other items that hamper the looks of your car. Another great alternative to parking your vehicle in a garage is to use a parking shelter or canopy.
Importance of Car Care and Maintenance
Car care and maintenance isnt always convenient but they are necessary components if you want to keep your nice vehicle running. Here are some ideas to make car care less of a hassle: As far as maintenance, keeping up with regular scheduled oil changes, tire rotations, inspections or other special maintenance your vehicle may need can keep you from having many issues later on.
Any time you hear a weird noise, feel vibrating that is unusual or see a warning light that shouldnt be on, the quicker you can get your vehicle to a garage the better chances you have to keep something serious from happening. Continuing to drive longer than necessary in these situations can create big and expensive problems.
Cleaning and Car Care Accessories
Clean your car in a snap without paying the price of a detailing shop. Its easy with the right car care accessories to lighten the load. Foam and spray nozzles like we all used to use at the quick car washes are now available to attach right to your own water hose, making it simple to have soap and rinse options all in one nozzle. Also new at many of your specialty retail stores are the automotive detailing kits that have everything in them to make your car sparkle.
For inside car care, the wet/dry cordless vacuum is a must have item. Not only will you be able to clean up dry messes but also liquid spills as well. If your vehicle includes vinyl or leather, dont forget to use specific car care cleaners on these delicate items especially if they are often in the sun.
12/24/07
Family and Your Retirement
As the years go by, when the kids grow up and leave (if you're lucky!), you will, inevitably, start thinking about retirement and the great value having a good number of years to enjoy the autumn of your lives and your family around you.
It's time to checkout the things you've gotten done in your life, taking the great positives away and really accepting that as phases of our lives pass, new ones open up and give us so much opportunity for joy and exploration.
It helps you set your sights on what's next and how to go about it.
It's a sad fact that many folks get to this point and regret that they hadn't made a better financial provision for their later years.
Yet now there are tremendous opportunities if you look around. Time to have fun and get excited about new opportunities that come your way.
The internet has opened up so many possibilities that it's possible to plan almost the whole of your retirement, from years before it's due, right here on the world wide web.
It's not unusual for older people even into their 80's and 90's to buy their first computer and, say, do their bulky grocery ordering online! Your kids, and more commonly your grandkids will be able to help you find your way around the technology.
And much, much more.
This is a time for remembering the things you used to do before children took all of your time up. Hobbies that you stored away in a cupboard.
Better still are those challenges and adventures that you might have felt had passed you by, yet now, with more older people being catered for, there are almost limitless possibilities. A friend recently went on a package tour of the Italian lakes and found he and his wife were the youngest at 51!
And that also leads to the opportunity to retire somewhere different to where you have lived for the time your family were growing up. Wherever you are in the world, there are retirees upping sticks and moving on out, to new pastures where the winters are milder and the summers are ideal places for the kids, and grandkids, of course, to visit for summer vacations at least.
It has to be a balance between what's important to you for the rest of your lives and the needs of those loved ones around you.
It is vital, that financially you are in as good a shape as possible. Making sure that as much of your outgoing is minimised (debts cleared, house paid for), whilst also ensuring that you have taken every opportunity to make the most of your investments from your mid-to late 40's onwards.
There are great, fun, exciting and almost risk-free investments out there - you just need to have the vision to see the possibilities, whilst ensuring that you balance the risk as well as you can.
Your retirement lasts as long as the end of your life - your family will bring you momentous joy as you benefit from 'being able to give the grandkids back' - every grandparents revenge! Never before have folks been able to achieve so much in their later years.
A little planning and effort, whilst you are up to it, will make you able to squeeze every last drop of joy out of those precious years.
Are You Prepared For Your Demise?
Some folks that are young between the ages of 20 years old and 40 years old take their mortality for granted. Why buy life insurance? I don’t plan to die for another 30 to 40 years many claim. Well, let me tell you a tragic story that will leave you speechless.
My dear friend Frank was a good man with 5 children and his wife was pregnant with number 6. He worked very hard to support is beautiful family. The love they shared was more precious then gold or fine diamonds. They were truly a happy family even through the hardest times imaginable. Well, Frank was not a rich man, but he was young. He was in his early 40’s and he just like most young men never gave thought to his uneventful demise. Then one day the unthinkable happened. While working under his car the jack gave way and crushed him to death. This was unforeseen and he was unprepared. His wife was left alone with 5 children while pregnant with number 6. She obviously could not work and he was her only means of support. This tragic event caught this family totally by surprise and now they will lose more than just Frank.
This happens to thousands every year. Is it that most people don’t want life insurance? Is it that they can’t afford life insurance? Whatever the case may be we need it. Accidents happen all the time and if we are not prepared the devastation can be catastrophic. Take the victims of Hurricane Katrina. They saw it coming, but thousands were not prepared for the aftermath. The horrible devastation of 9/11 left hundreds of family’s without means of support and this was not for seen. My point is that we need to take responsibility for our uneventful deaths while we can. If you don’t have life insurance by all means get it. If you say that you can’t afford it. I say that you can’t afford not to have it. Find a way to get it even if it means sacrificing something you enjoy. If you are a husband then your family depends on you. Just do the right thing. If you are alone remember that your burial costs money, so take responsibility for yourself.
The worst thing you can do is to make your family and friends a victim of your demise. Just do the right thing no matter what the costs. As for my dear friend Frank, his wife and children are doing fine due to the generosity and love of their family and friends. Frank will be remembered for his love and compassion. He is truly missed by those who knew him and loved him.
Estate: How To Legally Avoid Taxes On Gifts And Inheritances
Nobody likes to pay taxes. If done incorrectly, though, the way you inherit an asset can result in you needlessly paying tens of thousands of dollars in taxes. Knowing some simple rules will reduce your tax bill and allow you to keep more of what you inherit. And it will also keep you from creating tax headaches for loved ones to whom you wish to gift assets.
Whenever an asset is sold, Uncle Sam wants to collect capital gains tax. And that tax is figured using cost basis. Cost basis refers to how much money you invested in a given asset. When sold, the cost basis is subtracted from the amount received to determine the gain or loss. Your amount of gain or loss then determines how much you will pay in capital gains tax.
If you buy an asset for $10,000 and sell it for $25,000, your cost basis is $10,000 and the taxable gain is $15,000. Currently, the highest capital gains tax rate is 15%, which means you'd owe capital gains tax of $2,250. Losses can be used to offset other gains, but we won't get into that in this article.
Determining the cost basis can get complicated. If you buy an asset and add money to it, your cost basis increases. If it's a mutual fund and you have the dividends reinvested, that adds to your cost basis. If you sell a portion, that affects your cost basis as well. This means that it is important to keep track of the amounts you paid and received on all of your assets.
An asset can be many things, not only stocks and bonds but also houses, property, jewelry, coins, artwork, etc. Legally, you are required to pay capital gains tax whenever an asset is sold at a profit. In fact, 1099's are issued whenever investments like real estate, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds are sold.
Here's where people lose thousands of dollars. If someone gives you an asset, you 'inherit' the giver's cost basis in that asset. So if mom gives you $10,000 of stock that she's owned for years, you inherit her cost basis and are responsible for paying the capital gains tax on it when you sell it. If she only paid $1,000 for that stock and you sell it for $10,000 then you will owe taxes on the $9,000 gain.
On the other hand, let's say you inherited that stock from mom after her death (through her estate). Then your cost-basis would be the stock's market value at that time. This is called 'stepped-up basis'. So, even if mom only paid $1,000 for the stock, if it is valued at $10,000 when you inherit it you can sell it and not owe any capital gains tax. You just legally avoided the Tax Man!
This stepped-up basis is the government's way of making up for people having to pay taxes on the transfer of their wealth. But estate tax laws are in a state of flux. Under current regulation, the stepped-up basis disappears in 2011. However, there's some talk in Congress of doing away with stepped-up basis altogether, especially since the death tax only affects estates that are larger than $1,500,000. Most likely, if Congress ends the estate tax for all but the largest estates, they will collect revenues from smaller estates by abolishing stepped-up basis.
There are situations where it is better to have an asset given to you instead of it being inherited. It all depends on the size of the estate. Death taxes range from 37% to 50%, while capital gains tax rates are capped at 15%. So if an estate is going to be worth less than $1,500,000 then there will be less tax paid by inheriting an appreciated asset through the estate. If an estate will be worth more than $1,500,000 then less tax will be paid on that appreciated asset if gifted to you prior to death.
I'll provide several examples in my next article that will clearly illustrate real-life situations. That way, you will be able to more easily determine which course of action you should take and can save thousands of dollars in the process! There's no reason to pay tax when you don't have to!
Estate Tax Planning
The estate of a deceased person is subject to estate tax levied by the government. This tax is levied on his taxable estate, the value of which is arrived at by reducing his gross estate by something known as allowable deductions, where the gross estate is the total value of all the assets owned by the deceased at the time of his death. The allowable deductions are funeral expenses of the deceased that are paid out of his estate, marital deductions, deductions for payment to charity as expressed by the deceased, estate administration expenses, and outstanding debts at the time of death. The determination of the taxable estate is done by the IRS.
To arrive at the value of the assets, the fair market value is taken as the standard. The fair market value is the price that the assets fetch if sold in the open market. An option is given to the representative of the benefactor of choosing the date of the evaluation. It can either be the date on which the benefactor died or a date six months thereafter. The purpose is to give the benefit of a lower tax liability. The liability of estate tax arises with the death of the benefactor, and has to be paid within nine months of the date of death. It is incumbent upon the representative of the benefactor to file various forms related to the assets of the benefactor and the income derived therefrom.
Amongst these, two forms are very important: one is Form 706 that contains the details of all the assets, which cumulatively form the estate of the benefactor, and the second is Form 1041, which is meant to give the details of the income derived from the estate. However, all estates do not come under the estate tax net. At the moment, any estate that is less than the gross value of $2,000,000 is not subject to estate taxation. Looking at the structure of estate tax for the forthcoming years you will find the estate tax burden being reduced progressively each year, to be eliminated in the year 2010, and reinstated in 2011. The details are as under:
If the benefactor dies within 2006 to 2008, the exemption limit is $2m. For 2009, the exemption limit is raised to $3.5m, whereas 2010 will be an estate tax free year. In 2011, estate tax will be reinstated with a basic exemption limit of one million dollars and a maximum tax limit of 55%.
Estate tax is mandatory under law. However, the burden can be reduced through intelligent estate tax planning. There are several techniques that can be employed legally to allow a greater part of your assets to be transferred to your loved ones instead of serving to fill the coffers of the government through estate taxes. When you have decided whom you wish to benefit from your estate and by how much, instead of waiting for you demise, you could start gifting them amounts which do not attract gift tax in your lifetime. At present, a single individual can gift up to $12,000 in a year to one person without attracting gift tax. There is a lifetime exemption of $1m on gifts.
This means you can make unlimited numbers of $12000 gifts to various people in one calendar year. You just need to make sure that the gift(s) to a single recipient does not exceed $12000 in a year. The gifts can be made to one or more persons within the total limit of $1m in your lifetime without attracting gift tax. Apart from cash, the exemption limit also covers gifts in the form of a percentage of real estate, business, stocks etc.
Another way is to transfer assets to your spouse during your lifetime. According to the law, such transfers are free from gift or estate tax, irrespective of the value of the transferred asset. This tax benefit is permissible under a provision known as marital deduction, which is considered when the estate tax is calculated after your demise. But the assets will be subject to estate tax (if in excess of the exemption limit) on the demise of the surviving spouse, unless he/she remarries and transfers all assets to the new spouse. Another way would be to create a bypass trust in which the property is held in trust for minor children until they grow up, while continuing to provide for the surviving spouse. Bypass trusts can include insurance trusts, irrevocable trusts etc.
The Reasons Why Estate Planning Is So Important
Many people fail to understand the importance of estate planning. The fact is that if you die intestate, i.e. without making a will, all important decisions such as the raising of your children, the inheritance of real and personal property, and the administration of your estate will be done by the courts, and in the majority of cases your loved ones may have no option but to agree to a court appointed administrator. If there are minors among your heirs or someone who is mentally challenged, the problems increase manifold. Children and spouses from previous marriages further add to these complications.
In the absence of proper estate planning, many times when a second spouse survives, the children from the first spouse may end up with nothing, in spite of the wish of the deceased to provide for them. Or, under court orders, the children may get the bulk of the assets, leaving the surviving spouse in a state where she is unable to maintain the current standards of living. Or, imagine a situation where a husband and wife die together without leaving a will. For adjudication upon the issues of inheritance and administration of the estate, the State would have to decide who died first. The implications of a difference of a few minutes at the time of death can lead to drastically different results for the heirs. The heirs of the one to die first would be left high and dry. In case you do not have an estate plan or one that is properly drafted, all your hard work over so many years may go wasted, as the assets you acquired would be lost and your loved ones deprived of the benefits of your labor.
An estate plan would organize everything in order and not leave your heirs to rummage around searching for whatever papers they can find upon your death or if you become incapacitated. If there is no estate plan, they may not be sure if the documents they find are important, or up to date, or even complete. The only alternative for them then would be to take everything to a lawyer or some other professional in order to find out what he can make out of them. Small things like family heirlooms, or a rosewood table, or some other personal item may lead to squabbles and very unpleasant situations in the family. Even if you think you do not have much, it is important to take steps so that the people you want to benefit inherit your assets, and not be consumed by lawyer fees and estate taxes.
In case of your sudden disablement due to some medical condition, there has to be an arrangement in place for someone to automatically take over the management of your financial affairs. Only then will things continue smoothly, plus there being help for you and your loved ones. This can be ensured through a Durable Power of Attorney, without which even your lawfully wedded spouse will not be able to exercise any right to step in and take over. The Durable Power of Attorney will ensure that your bank accounts are not frozen, and will enable the smooth transfer of property to the rightful beneficiaries.
A properly drafted estate plan envisages all such possibilities and takes care to provide remedial measures, duly supported by legal documents wherever required, preventing problems for you and your family.
The above discourse makes it quite evident the import of having a proper estate plan. If you do not have one yet, you need to go about it while you are healthy and in a position to personally see to the preparation of the plan, as per your wishes.
A Tax Guide To Manage Your Estate Taxes Effectively
Estate taxes eat away a substantial portion of your estate if you are not careful to take necessary steps in time. It is absolutely essential for you to start planning at once if you have property valued above two million dollars. This is the current limit up to which no estate tax is applicable. Your heirs/beneficiaries will have to cough up 45 cents on every dollar that is over $2million dollars of your estate value. The good news is that this limit will rise to $3.5 million in 2009.
Even though it may at first appear that your estate is not big enough to land under the estate tax net, you may be surprised how many people like you can have property above the exemption limit when you take into account life insurance death benefits and savings in 401(K) accounts. If this is indeed your case also, you can make sure that your loved ones get the maximum of the outcome of your lifetime labor just by implementing some simple estate tax planning strategies now. Dont let the fruits of your hard labor go needlessly in government coffers.
Estate tax is proposed to be totally abolished from 2010. However, it is a sunset provision and needs legislative confirmation in 2011 otherwise the tax returns. As you can never be sure of political promises in view of perpetual economic and political changes, it is advisable to take proper steps to reduce the size of your taxable estate now.
Since your life insurance proceeds are subject to estate tax, set up an irrevocable life insurance trust which can own your policies. This can help avoid payment of estate tax. However, any existing policy transferred to the trust would still be counted in your estate till three years from the date of transfer.
Marital deduction allows you to transfer unlimited assets to your spouse without any tax implications to your estate. This leaves you free to move up to $1million to your grandchildren or to others through gifts without paying gift tax. Or you can bequest them up to $2million taking advantage of the estate tax exemption limit.
You are also individually entitled to give away any amount during your lifetime to pay for tuition or for medical expenses not covered by insurance. The payment has to go directly to an educational institution or a medical service provider. For example, you can pay say $20000 to a private college directly to cover only tuition expenses of your grandchild. This attracts no tax and does not affect your $1million gift tax exemption. You can additionally gift another $12000 towards his board, room, books, and other expenses without paying any gift tax. If your spouse is also a tax payer, the same entitlement would be available for him/her. So together, both can gift up to $24000 in a calendar year without paying gift tax.
Taxpaying married couples are entitled to estate tax exemption of $2million individually, which is $4 million together.
Many people fail to understand and take advantage of the full estate tax exemption. Since marital deduction lets property without any value limits to be transferred on death from one spouse to the other, they take no steps and lose the $2million exemption available on the first death. Even though the property passes without estate tax on the first death, it is taxable in the estate of the other spouse who dies at a later date. At that time, only one $2million exemption is available.
This position can be avoided if a bypass trust is formed on the death of one spouse. Through similar stipulations in separate wills of each spouse it can be ensured that the trust would come into existence on the death of any spouse who dies first.
The first death will lead to the creation of the bypass trust and transfer of assets up to the estate duty exemption limit of $2million to the trust. The corpus is to be distributed among kids who are to be the ultimate beneficiaries. The surviving spouse would have full access to the benefits/income from the trust during his/her lifetime and can even withdraw principle up to a certain limit each year. On the second death, the assets of the bypass trust are not counted in the assets of the second to die spouse and are not taxed. This way both exemptions are availed through a bypass trust.
Any residual property above the exemption limit can escape estate taxes by forming a Qualified Terminal Interest Property Trust(Q-TIP). This is formed along with the bypass trust and the whole thing is generally referred to as an A-B trust.
How Can Estate Planning Services Help You?
A carefully crafted estate plan can ensure that only your intended heirs or beneficiaries derive benefit from your estate. If you are unable to make a proper estate plan in time, it may also prove to be very costly in terms of heavy taxes. High estate taxes and administrative costs can consume a sizeable part of your estate with very little left to be passed on to your loved ones. This is surely not what you would want to happen to the fruits of a lifetime of hard labor. Estate taxes can be considerable. For 2007, the rate of estate taxation is 45%.
Professionals rendering estate-planning service can help organize an effective plan to let you transfer your assets to your heirs with the minimum of hassles. The plan would avoid needless tax payments and maximize the amount that your intended heirs receive cutting down costs and time. There may be undeserving heirs you would not like to be recipients of any part of what you leave behind. A proper plan can help you achieve this also.
Once you furnish the details of your business interests and other relevant financial information, an estate-planning professional can work with you to prepare your estate plan. These experts have extensive and specialized training focused on estate planning, tax and financial matters. Broad based experience with a solid financial background and innovative thinking enables them to protect your legacy and reduce taxes through a well-conceived estate tax plan appropriate to your individual situation.
As a preliminary step in the estate-planning process, your financial situation is reviewed and personal goals with respect to the estate plan are established. Usually detailed questionnaires along with personal interviews are used to collect the related data. The information sought relates primarily to the family structure and personal philosophy, values and objectives of the client. Realizing that the information shared is very sensitive and private in nature a high level of confidentiality is maintained.
Once the required data has been obtained, it is analyzed and evaluated to prepare a written report outlining your current financial condition and a proposed asset disposition plan in detail.
The report can consist of alternative techniques and strategies to enable estate tax savings and administrative costs that are in consonance with the stated goals. It takes care of the financial and tax analysis, and suggests alternative estate planning measures to be implemented. This allows you to decide what you are comfortable with and would like to implement.
After the direction in which to proceed for implementing the plan is settled, the actual implementation requires extensive documentation and other action to be taken. In view of the parameters of what an estate plan covers, the participation of your investment advisors, insurance advisors, attorney, and some other people in the implementation process becomes necessary. Professionals in estate tax planning would schedule meetings with these people and play an active role to ensure that appropriate professionals take all steps necessary to carry out proper implementation of the plan.
Since each estate plan is highly customized, quality estate planning services also provide periodical monitoring and review of the estate plan. In the face of constantly changing economical and tax regulations that affect your personal situation, appropriate revisions in the estate plan in line with such regulatory changes are accordingly done.
How Can Gifts Help You Reduce Your Estate Taxes?
US laws heavily tax the estate of a deceased person if the value of the estate exceeds certain limits. For the year 2007 and 2008 this limit is fixed at $2 million. 2009 will see this limit climbing to $3.5 million. The rate of taxation for the amount above the exemption limit is a flat 45%. Every dollar above the limit will lose 45 cents to estate taxes.
There are many ways to avoid or mitigate estate taxes. Transferring property through gifts is one of them. As a general rule, all gifts excluding certain exceptions are subject to gift tax. The exceptions for are :-
Gifts made to ones spouse
Gifts to political organizations for their use
Gifts to charities.
Gifts to cover someones tuition or medical expenses paid directly to an educational institution or medical service provider.
Gifts up to $12000 to a person in one calendar year. This is known as Annual Exclusion.
The lifetime exclusion limit for each taxpayer is $1million. Therefore, any number of $12000 gifts would remain non-taxable even if made in one calendar year but to different persons. You can lower the size of your estate during your lifetime through gifts to escape the estate tax net.
Gifts can be used in estate tax planning by using the annual gift exclusion. Although the annual exclusion limit of $12000 may not appear to be much on the face of it, it can serve to substantially lower the estate size over a period of time. Let us examine how it can do this.
You give $12000 dollars each year to a son/daughter/any other person and pay no tax. In this case, no gift tax return is to be filed. If married, the amount doubles as your spouse is entitled to make a non-taxable gift of a similar amount. This amounts to $24000 a year to a married couple. Now for a person with four children, who receive similar gifts, the amount would total to $96000 every year. When the children are married and the spouses also receive similar gifts the amount of the total non-taxable gift in a year comes to $192,000. This way over a period of five years, one can make TAX FREE transfer of wealth from the estate and lower its taxable value by a figure close to $1Million!
Considering this $1million to be above the estate tax exemption limit, at present rates it would attract an estate tax of $450,000 if allowed to pass on to heirs by inheritance after death.
As already discussed, a married couple can make tax-free gifts of $24000 each calendar year. Even when the gift amount is not evenly contributed by them, they can still make a taxless gift up to that amount by taking advantage of the gift splitting provision.
Both partners must agree to take advantage of gift splitting and each will have to file a gift tax return by filling form 709. Both returns need to be filed even when Below the Exemption Limit Share of one partner does not require a return to be filed in the usual course. Let us examine how this works.
A married couple A and B together gift a total of $39000 to two persons. A gifts $21000 to his nephew C and B gifts $18000 to her niece D. Both gifts are above $12000 and liable for gift tax.
By filling Form 709 for Gift Splitting, As $21000 is treated as being given in equal amounts of $10,500 both to C and D which is within exemption limits. Similarly, Bs $18000 is again treated as being given in equal amounts of $9,000 each to C and D that is within exemption limits. This way a substantial gift tax that would otherwise have been payable on both the gifts is saved through gift splitting.
You can also make gifts without any limits to your spouse without any tax being applicable. This would lower your estate tax liability and can even eliminate it if it can lower the size of your estate to that extent. However, the amount would be taxable in the estate of your spouse on his/her death if the estate were larger than the exemption limit unless suitable plans are implemented before the second death to take care of applicable estate taxes. Other non-taxable gifts mention earlier can also help reduce estate taxes through proper use.
Tips To Curtail Your Estate Taxes
If a person dies possessed of property, the law imposed estate tax if the property has a fair market value above $2 million. Property valued less than that is not subject to estate tax. Estate tax is levied both at the federal and state levels. The high rate of taxation takes away nearly forty-five percent of the estate of the deceased. Most people suffer such high taxes because they are unaware of the ways and tax planning techniques that can avoid or help to considerably reduce the estate tax burden.
There are no federal estate tax structure of two million dollars in 2007 will rise to 3.5 million in 2009 and will be totally eliminated in 2010. 2011 may find estate tax back with an exemption limit of $1000000 if the Congress does not pass a law for a full repeal.
At present, there are some steps that a person can take to effectively reduce estate taxes that may be applicable to his estate after his demise.
a) Take advantage of the estate tax exemption twice- If married, each spouse is entitled to an exemption of $2 million dollars on estate tax. This means that the total exemption available to a couple is $4 million. Usually people do not take any steps before the death of one partner and all assets automatically pass on to the other at the first death by virtue of the provision of marital deduction. Since there is no limit on marital deduction, there is no estate tax payable whatever be the size of the estate. However, the exemption of $2 million is wasted .
On the death of the surviving spouse, the entire estate is taxed, allowing an exemption of just the $2million attributable to the last dying spouse. With due planning, one can form a family trust which will allow availing the benefit of the $2 million exemption available to the spouse who died first giving a total exemption of $4 million.
b) Form a life insurance trust- Proceeds from a life insurance policy are subject to estate tax. By establishing a life insurance trust, a person other than the insured is made the owner of the policy. Usually it is the spouse or child or any other beneficiary. When the insured dies, this owner/beneficiary/trustee invests the trust funds i.e. the insurance proceeds and manages the trust for the benefit of other beneficiaries. Forming an insurance trust can cost below $1000 but can save substantially on estate tax, which can take away nearly half the proceeds if the size of the estate is above the exemption limit.
c) Gift part of your estate- If you are in an advanced age and have lifestyle and expenditure that is within your means, it may be sensible make gifts out of your estate to the people you intend leaving your estate to when you are no more. This would greatly reduce the size of the estate and may bring it within the limits of exemption. This technique may not be proper if you are still young would like your kids to benefit from inheritance in other ways.
d) Form a family liability company- This technique can be combined with the exemptions on gifts to effectively provide a solution to avoid paying estate taxes. If you have a business or property valued at say one million dollars, you can create a Family Limited Liability company where you contribute the property exchanging it for limited liability ownership units. If you break it into one hundred and fifty membership units each is valued at about $6667. These units would be eligible for marketability and/or minority discounts. When you gift these units, you can bring down the value of annual gifts within the exclusion limits by applying these discounts.
For example, when you gift two units to a child, the child would come to have a minority interest in the company. In addition, unlike publicly traded shares there is no real market for the units. Therefore discounts can be applied to the gift to bring their value within the exemption limit of $12000 even though the total value of the gifted units would appear be (6667 x 2) $13,333. These are advanced techniques and should be considered only in consultation with an expert in estate taxes.
These are just some of the ways to save estate taxes. Your estate lawyer would be able to provide you with more/apt solutions that may be suitable to your situation.
Using Trust As An Estate Planning Tool
Ask any financial planner or an estate attorney, and the chances are that he/she will recommend going for a "Living Trust", or an "Inter-Vivos Trust" for complete estate planning. In many states, like California for example, a living trust, in most cases, would not require judicial intervention, better known as probate. This will saves you from increased costs that are incurred due to legalities. Living Trusts are highly suitable and recommended for estates of moderate size. This can be the assets of $300,000 or more for single person, and $500,000 for married person.
Primary Benefits of a Living Trust
. No probate or the resultant costs, for both single and married persons.
. Up to $ 1.0 million in exemption for married persons, which is slated to increase over the period of years
. You can select trustees (either trust companies, or individuals that you have confidence in) to take care, and handle the estate either in your absence, or inability, or death
Other Benefits
While these benefits are not applicable to everyone, the true advantage will be substantial. Here are some of the more indirect, but important benefits, depending on your conditions.
. A trust can help you protect your assets that are put under the trust, from creditors.
. Transferring assets to a disabled or handicapped, or a mentally challenged child via Special Needs Trust is very beneficial. This will ensure that your help is only meant to take care of the supplementary, and the long term need of such a child, so that the child continues to receive the basic state aid. With a Special Needs Trust, the beneficiary will continue to receive state aid like Supplementary Security Income, Medical Insurance, and Long Term Medial Coverage.
. A trust can be used to avoid taxation of life insurance proceeds, which can increase the proceeds available to your child by as much as 50%.
. Trusts can be used to pass property to children for the benefit of grandchildren, so as to avoid estate tax, and gift tax upon the death of your children. This can be done upto the extent permitted in your particular case, under the generation skipping transfer tax rules.
Tips to Reduce Estate and Gift tax
When you from a trust for the property that you intend to gift someone, you still retain the control of the property. Such a property gifted is a share, unit, or a percentage interest in a larger property. Here, the control to manage the property is vested with the trustee, or a general partner, or a manager. Many sophisticated techniques can be used wherein a "fractionalized" interest (like minority share of stock, or a minority partner interest) is gifted. This can be done by law at a lower value than the actual percentage ownership. Such a reduction in the valuation is called a "valuation discount".
Now as the value of the "taxable gift" is reduced, the amount of gift or estate tax payable is also correspondingly reduced. In a community property state, husbands and wives are entitled to "valuation discounts", and so are unmarried couples, partners, or singles that hold property interests as partners.
Estate Tax Planning
The estate of a deceased person is subject to estate tax levied by the government. This tax is levied on his taxable estate, the value of which is arrived at by reducing his gross estate by something known as allowable deductions, where the gross estate is the total value of all the assets owned by the deceased at the time of his death. The allowable deductions are funeral expenses of the deceased that are paid out of his estate, marital deductions, deductions for payment to charity as expressed by the deceased, estate administration expenses, and outstanding debts at the time of death. The determination of the taxable estate is done by the IRS.
To arrive at the value of the assets, the fair market value is taken as the standard. The fair market value is the price that the assets fetch if sold in the open market. An option is given to the representative of the benefactor of choosing the date of the evaluation. It can either be the date on which the benefactor died or a date six months thereafter. The purpose is to give the benefit of a lower tax liability. The liability of estate tax arises with the death of the benefactor, and has to be paid within nine months of the date of death. It is incumbent upon the representative of the benefactor to file various forms related to the assets of the benefactor and the income derived therefrom.
Amongst these, two forms are very important: one is Form 706 that contains the details of all the assets, which cumulatively form the estate of the benefactor, and the second is Form 1041, which is meant to give the details of the income derived from the estate. However, all estates do not come under the estate tax net. At the moment, any estate that is less than the gross value of $2,000,000 is not subject to estate taxation. Looking at the structure of estate tax for the forthcoming years you will find the estate tax burden being reduced progressively each year, to be eliminated in the year 2010, and reinstated in 2011. The details are as under:
If the benefactor dies within 2006 to 2008, the exemption limit is $2m. For 2009, the exemption limit is raised to $3.5m, whereas 2010 will be an estate tax free year. In 2011, estate tax will be reinstated with a basic exemption limit of one million dollars and a maximum tax limit of 55%.
Estate tax is mandatory under law. However, the burden can be reduced through intelligent estate tax planning. There are several techniques that can be employed legally to allow a greater part of your assets to be transferred to your loved ones instead of serving to fill the coffers of the government through estate taxes. When you have decided whom you wish to benefit from your estate and by how much, instead of waiting for you demise, you could start gifting them amounts which do not attract gift tax in your lifetime. At present, a single individual can gift up to $12,000 in a year to one person without attracting gift tax. There is a lifetime exemption of $1m on gifts.
This means you can make unlimited numbers of $12000 gifts to various people in one calendar year. You just need to make sure that the gift(s) to a single recipient does not exceed $12000 in a year. The gifts can be made to one or more persons within the total limit of $1m in your lifetime without attracting gift tax. Apart from cash, the exemption limit also covers gifts in the form of a percentage of real estate, business, stocks etc.
Another way is to transfer assets to your spouse during your lifetime. According to the law, such transfers are free from gift or estate tax, irrespective of the value of the transferred asset. This tax benefit is permissible under a provision known as marital deduction, which is considered when the estate tax is calculated after your demise. But the assets will be subject to estate tax (if in excess of the exemption limit) on the demise of the surviving spouse, unless he/she remarries and transfers all assets to the new spouse. Another way would be to create a bypass trust in which the property is held in trust for minor children until they grow up, while continuing to provide for the surviving spouse. Bypass trusts can include insurance trusts, irrevocable trusts etc.
The Reasons Why Estate Planning Is So Important
Many people fail to understand the importance of estate planning. The fact is that if you die intestate, i.e. without making a will, all important decisions such as the raising of your children, the inheritance of real and personal property, and the administration of your estate will be done by the courts, and in the majority of cases your loved ones may have no option but to agree to a court appointed administrator. If there are minors among your heirs or someone who is mentally challenged, the problems increase manifold. Children and spouses from previous marriages further add to these complications.
In the absence of proper estate planning, many times when a second spouse survives, the children from the first spouse may end up with nothing, in spite of the wish of the deceased to provide for them. Or, under court orders, the children may get the bulk of the assets, leaving the surviving spouse in a state where she is unable to maintain the current standards of living. Or, imagine a situation where a husband and wife die together without leaving a will. For adjudication upon the issues of inheritance and administration of the estate, the State would have to decide who died first. The implications of a difference of a few minutes at the time of death can lead to drastically different results for the heirs. The heirs of the one to die first would be left high and dry. In case you do not have an estate plan or one that is properly drafted, all your hard work over so many years may go wasted, as the assets you acquired would be lost and your loved ones deprived of the benefits of your labor.
An estate plan would organize everything in order and not leave your heirs to rummage around searching for whatever papers they can find upon your death or if you become incapacitated. If there is no estate plan, they may not be sure if the documents they find are important, or up to date, or even complete. The only alternative for them then would be to take everything to a lawyer or some other professional in order to find out what he can make out of them. Small things like family heirlooms, or a rosewood table, or some other personal item may lead to squabbles and very unpleasant situations in the family. Even if you think you do not have much, it is important to take steps so that the people you want to benefit inherit your assets, and not be consumed by lawyer fees and estate taxes.
In case of your sudden disablement due to some medical condition, there has to be an arrangement in place for someone to automatically take over the management of your financial affairs. Only then will things continue smoothly, plus there being help for you and your loved ones. This can be ensured through a Durable Power of Attorney, without which even your lawfully wedded spouse will not be able to exercise any right to step in and take over. The Durable Power of Attorney will ensure that your bank accounts are not frozen, and will enable the smooth transfer of property to the rightful beneficiaries.
A properly drafted estate plan envisages all such possibilities and takes care to provide remedial measures, duly supported by legal documents wherever required, preventing problems for you and your family.
The above discourse makes it quite evident the import of having a proper estate plan. If you do not have one yet, you need to go about it while you are healthy and in a position to personally see to the preparation of the plan, as per your wishes.
A Tax Guide To Manage Your Estate Taxes Effectively
Estate taxes eat away a substantial portion of your estate if you are not careful to take necessary steps in time. It is absolutely essential for you to start planning at once if you have property valued above two million dollars. This is the current limit up to which no estate tax is applicable. Your heirs/beneficiaries will have to cough up 45 cents on every dollar that is over $2million dollars of your estate value. The good news is that this limit will rise to $3.5 million in 2009.
Even though it may at first appear that your estate is not big enough to land under the estate tax net, you may be surprised how many people like you can have property above the exemption limit when you take into account life insurance death benefits and savings in 401(K) accounts. If this is indeed your case also, you can make sure that your loved ones get the maximum of the outcome of your lifetime labor just by implementing some simple estate tax planning strategies now. Dont let the fruits of your hard labor go needlessly in government coffers.
Estate tax is proposed to be totally abolished from 2010. However, it is a sunset provision and needs legislative confirmation in 2011 otherwise the tax returns. As you can never be sure of political promises in view of perpetual economic and political changes, it is advisable to take proper steps to reduce the size of your taxable estate now.
Since your life insurance proceeds are subject to estate tax, set up an irrevocable life insurance trust which can own your policies. This can help avoid payment of estate tax. However, any existing policy transferred to the trust would still be counted in your estate till three years from the date of transfer.
Marital deduction allows you to transfer unlimited assets to your spouse without any tax implications to your estate. This leaves you free to move up to $1million to your grandchildren or to others through gifts without paying gift tax. Or you can bequest them up to $2million taking advantage of the estate tax exemption limit.
You are also individually entitled to give away any amount during your lifetime to pay for tuition or for medical expenses not covered by insurance. The payment has to go directly to an educational institution or a medical service provider. For example, you can pay say $20000 to a private college directly to cover only tuition expenses of your grandchild. This attracts no tax and does not affect your $1million gift tax exemption. You can additionally gift another $12000 towards his board, room, books, and other expenses without paying any gift tax. If your spouse is also a tax payer, the same entitlement would be available for him/her. So together, both can gift up to $24000 in a calendar year without paying gift tax.
Taxpaying married couples are entitled to estate tax exemption of $2million individually, which is $4 million together.
Many people fail to understand and take advantage of the full estate tax exemption. Since marital deduction lets property without any value limits to be transferred on death from one spouse to the other, they take no steps and lose the $2million exemption available on the first death. Even though the property passes without estate tax on the first death, it is taxable in the estate of the other spouse who dies at a later date. At that time, only one $2million exemption is available.
This position can be avoided if a bypass trust is formed on the death of one spouse. Through similar stipulations in separate wills of each spouse it can be ensured that the trust would come into existence on the death of any spouse who dies first.
The first death will lead to the creation of the bypass trust and transfer of assets up to the estate duty exemption limit of $2million to the trust. The corpus is to be distributed among kids who are to be the ultimate beneficiaries. The surviving spouse would have full access to the benefits/income from the trust during his/her lifetime and can even withdraw principle up to a certain limit each year. On the second death, the assets of the bypass trust are not counted in the assets of the second to die spouse and are not taxed. This way both exemptions are availed through a bypass trust.
Any residual property above the exemption limit can escape estate taxes by forming a Qualified Terminal Interest Property Trust(Q-TIP). This is formed along with the bypass trust and the whole thing is generally referred to as an A-B trust.
How Can Estate Planning Services Help You?
A carefully crafted estate plan can ensure that only your intended heirs or beneficiaries derive benefit from your estate. If you are unable to make a proper estate plan in time, it may also prove to be very costly in terms of heavy taxes. High estate taxes and administrative costs can consume a sizeable part of your estate with very little left to be passed on to your loved ones. This is surely not what you would want to happen to the fruits of a lifetime of hard labor. Estate taxes can be considerable. For 2007, the rate of estate taxation is 45%.
Professionals rendering estate-planning service can help organize an effective plan to let you transfer your assets to your heirs with the minimum of hassles. The plan would avoid needless tax payments and maximize the amount that your intended heirs receive cutting down costs and time. There may be undeserving heirs you would not like to be recipients of any part of what you leave behind. A proper plan can help you achieve this also.
Once you furnish the details of your business interests and other relevant financial information, an estate-planning professional can work with you to prepare your estate plan. These experts have extensive and specialized training focused on estate planning, tax and financial matters. Broad based experience with a solid financial background and innovative thinking enables them to protect your legacy and reduce taxes through a well-conceived estate tax plan appropriate to your individual situation.
As a preliminary step in the estate-planning process, your financial situation is reviewed and personal goals with respect to the estate plan are established. Usually detailed questionnaires along with personal interviews are used to collect the related data. The information sought relates primarily to the family structure and personal philosophy, values and objectives of the client. Realizing that the information shared is very sensitive and private in nature a high level of confidentiality is maintained.
Once the required data has been obtained, it is analyzed and evaluated to prepare a written report outlining your current financial condition and a proposed asset disposition plan in detail.
The report can consist of alternative techniques and strategies to enable estate tax savings and administrative costs that are in consonance with the stated goals. It takes care of the financial and tax analysis, and suggests alternative estate planning measures to be implemented. This allows you to decide what you are comfortable with and would like to implement.
After the direction in which to proceed for implementing the plan is settled, the actual implementation requires extensive documentation and other action to be taken. In view of the parameters of what an estate plan covers, the participation of your investment advisors, insurance advisors, attorney, and some other people in the implementation process becomes necessary. Professionals in estate tax planning would schedule meetings with these people and play an active role to ensure that appropriate professionals take all steps necessary to carry out proper implementation of the plan.
Since each estate plan is highly customized, quality estate planning services also provide periodical monitoring and review of the estate plan. In the face of constantly changing economical and tax regulations that affect your personal situation, appropriate revisions in the estate plan in line with such regulatory changes are accordingly done.
How Can Gifts Help You Reduce Your Estate Taxes?
US laws heavily tax the estate of a deceased person if the value of the estate exceeds certain limits. For the year 2007 and 2008 this limit is fixed at $2 million. 2009 will see this limit climbing to $3.5 million. The rate of taxation for the amount above the exemption limit is a flat 45%. Every dollar above the limit will lose 45 cents to estate taxes.
There are many ways to avoid or mitigate estate taxes. Transferring property through gifts is one of them. As a general rule, all gifts excluding certain exceptions are subject to gift tax. The exceptions for are :-
Gifts made to ones spouse
Gifts to political organizations for their use
Gifts to charities.
Gifts to cover someones tuition or medical expenses paid directly to an educational institution or medical service provider.
Gifts up to $12000 to a person in one calendar year. This is known as Annual Exclusion.
The lifetime exclusion limit for each taxpayer is $1million. Therefore, any number of $12000 gifts would remain non-taxable even if made in one calendar year but to different persons. You can lower the size of your estate during your lifetime through gifts to escape the estate tax net.
Gifts can be used in estate tax planning by using the annual gift exclusion. Although the annual exclusion limit of $12000 may not appear to be much on the face of it, it can serve to substantially lower the estate size over a period of time. Let us examine how it can do this.
You give $12000 dollars each year to a son/daughter/any other person and pay no tax. In this case, no gift tax return is to be filed. If married, the amount doubles as your spouse is entitled to make a non-taxable gift of a similar amount. This amounts to $24000 a year to a married couple. Now for a person with four children, who receive similar gifts, the amount would total to $96000 every year. When the children are married and the spouses also receive similar gifts the amount of the total non-taxable gift in a year comes to $192,000. This way over a period of five years, one can make TAX FREE transfer of wealth from the estate and lower its taxable value by a figure close to $1Million!
Considering this $1million to be above the estate tax exemption limit, at present rates it would attract an estate tax of $450,000 if allowed to pass on to heirs by inheritance after death.
As already discussed, a married couple can make tax-free gifts of $24000 each calendar year. Even when the gift amount is not evenly contributed by them, they can still make a taxless gift up to that amount by taking advantage of the gift splitting provision.
Both partners must agree to take advantage of gift splitting and each will have to file a gift tax return by filling form 709. Both returns need to be filed even when Below the Exemption Limit Share of one partner does not require a return to be filed in the usual course. Let us examine how this works.
A married couple A and B together gift a total of $39000 to two persons. A gifts $21000 to his nephew C and B gifts $18000 to her niece D. Both gifts are above $12000 and liable for gift tax.
By filling Form 709 for Gift Splitting, As $21000 is treated as being given in equal amounts of $10,500 both to C and D which is within exemption limits. Similarly, Bs $18000 is again treated as being given in equal amounts of $9,000 each to C and D that is within exemption limits. This way a substantial gift tax that would otherwise have been payable on both the gifts is saved through gift splitting.
You can also make gifts without any limits to your spouse without any tax being applicable. This would lower your estate tax liability and can even eliminate it if it can lower the size of your estate to that extent. However, the amount would be taxable in the estate of your spouse on his/her death if the estate were larger than the exemption limit unless suitable plans are implemented before the second death to take care of applicable estate taxes. Other non-taxable gifts mention earlier can also help reduce estate taxes through proper use.
Tips To Curtail Your Estate Taxes
If a person dies possessed of property, the law imposed estate tax if the property has a fair market value above $2 million. Property valued less than that is not subject to estate tax. Estate tax is levied both at the federal and state levels. The high rate of taxation takes away nearly forty-five percent of the estate of the deceased. Most people suffer such high taxes because they are unaware of the ways and tax planning techniques that can avoid or help to considerably reduce the estate tax burden.
There are no federal estate tax structure of two million dollars in 2007 will rise to 3.5 million in 2009 and will be totally eliminated in 2010. 2011 may find estate tax back with an exemption limit of $1000000 if the Congress does not pass a law for a full repeal.
At present, there are some steps that a person can take to effectively reduce estate taxes that may be applicable to his estate after his demise.
a) Take advantage of the estate tax exemption twice- If married, each spouse is entitled to an exemption of $2 million dollars on estate tax. This means that the total exemption available to a couple is $4 million. Usually people do not take any steps before the death of one partner and all assets automatically pass on to the other at the first death by virtue of the provision of marital deduction. Since there is no limit on marital deduction, there is no estate tax payable whatever be the size of the estate. However, the exemption of $2 million is wasted .
On the death of the surviving spouse, the entire estate is taxed, allowing an exemption of just the $2million attributable to the last dying spouse. With due planning, one can form a family trust which will allow availing the benefit of the $2 million exemption available to the spouse who died first giving a total exemption of $4 million.
b) Form a life insurance trust- Proceeds from a life insurance policy are subject to estate tax. By establishing a life insurance trust, a person other than the insured is made the owner of the policy. Usually it is the spouse or child or any other beneficiary. When the insured dies, this owner/beneficiary/trustee invests the trust funds i.e. the insurance proceeds and manages the trust for the benefit of other beneficiaries. Forming an insurance trust can cost below $1000 but can save substantially on estate tax, which can take away nearly half the proceeds if the size of the estate is above the exemption limit.
c) Gift part of your estate- If you are in an advanced age and have lifestyle and expenditure that is within your means, it may be sensible make gifts out of your estate to the people you intend leaving your estate to when you are no more. This would greatly reduce the size of the estate and may bring it within the limits of exemption. This technique may not be proper if you are still young would like your kids to benefit from inheritance in other ways.
d) Form a family liability company- This technique can be combined with the exemptions on gifts to effectively provide a solution to avoid paying estate taxes. If you have a business or property valued at say one million dollars, you can create a Family Limited Liability company where you contribute the property exchanging it for limited liability ownership units. If you break it into one hundred and fifty membership units each is valued at about $6667. These units would be eligible for marketability and/or minority discounts. When you gift these units, you can bring down the value of annual gifts within the exclusion limits by applying these discounts.
For example, when you gift two units to a child, the child would come to have a minority interest in the company. In addition, unlike publicly traded shares there is no real market for the units. Therefore discounts can be applied to the gift to bring their value within the exemption limit of $12000 even though the total value of the gifted units would appear be (6667 x 2) $13,333. These are advanced techniques and should be considered only in consultation with an expert in estate taxes.
These are just some of the ways to save estate taxes. Your estate lawyer would be able to provide you with more/apt solutions that may be suitable to your situation.
Using Trust As An Estate Planning Tool
Ask any financial planner or an estate attorney, and the chances are that he/she will recommend going for a "Living Trust", or an "Inter-Vivos Trust" for complete estate planning. In many states, like California for example, a living trust, in most cases, would not require judicial intervention, better known as probate. This will saves you from increased costs that are incurred due to legalities. Living Trusts are highly suitable and recommended for estates of moderate size. This can be the assets of $300,000 or more for single person, and $500,000 for married person.
Primary Benefits of a Living Trust
. No probate or the resultant costs, for both single and married persons.
. Up to $ 1.0 million in exemption for married persons, which is slated to increase over the period of years
. You can select trustees (either trust companies, or individuals that you have confidence in) to take care, and handle the estate either in your absence, or inability, or death
Other Benefits
While these benefits are not applicable to everyone, the true advantage will be substantial. Here are some of the more indirect, but important benefits, depending on your conditions.
. A trust can help you protect your assets that are put under the trust, from creditors.
. Transferring assets to a disabled or handicapped, or a mentally challenged child via Special Needs Trust is very beneficial. This will ensure that your help is only meant to take care of the supplementary, and the long term need of such a child, so that the child continues to receive the basic state aid. With a Special Needs Trust, the beneficiary will continue to receive state aid like Supplementary Security Income, Medical Insurance, and Long Term Medial Coverage.
. A trust can be used to avoid taxation of life insurance proceeds, which can increase the proceeds available to your child by as much as 50%.
. Trusts can be used to pass property to children for the benefit of grandchildren, so as to avoid estate tax, and gift tax upon the death of your children. This can be done upto the extent permitted in your particular case, under the generation skipping transfer tax rules.
Tips to Reduce Estate and Gift tax
When you from a trust for the property that you intend to gift someone, you still retain the control of the property. Such a property gifted is a share, unit, or a percentage interest in a larger property. Here, the control to manage the property is vested with the trustee, or a general partner, or a manager. Many sophisticated techniques can be used wherein a "fractionalized" interest (like minority share of stock, or a minority partner interest) is gifted. This can be done by law at a lower value than the actual percentage ownership. Such a reduction in the valuation is called a "valuation discount".
Now as the value of the "taxable gift" is reduced, the amount of gift or estate tax payable is also correspondingly reduced. In a community property state, husbands and wives are entitled to "valuation discounts", and so are unmarried couples, partners, or singles that hold property interests as partners.
Estate Tax Saving Strategies
The word 'Tax' raises brows as nobody loves to pay taxes; each one keeps finding ways to evade it. Estate taxes are the most frowned upon and avoided tax payment as it eats away a substantial amount of the estate if you don't initiate necessary steps. Estate tax planning should be done once you acquire a property above two million dollars, as this is the current limit up to which no estate tax is applicable. In case you avoid it then your beneficiaries or your heir may have to shell out 45 cents on every dollar of your estate value. There are chances that the excluding tax limit may increase by 2009.
Initially you may feel that your estate is not big enough for paying estate tax, but you may be surprised at the number of people, who own properties beyond the exemption limit even after considering life insurance death benefits, saving on 401(K) etc. If this is the situation you are facing, then you should ensure that your loved ones get the maximum from the property that you have saved for them. So implement some simple estate tax saving strategies and let them enjoy the fruit of your hard labor instead of it going into the government treasury.
. Life insurance proceeds are subjected to estate tax. Set up an irrevocable life insurance trust that can own your policies. This strategy saves you from paying estate tax. However if you wish to transfer any existing policy to the trust then you would be liable to pay estate tax for the next three years from the date of transfer.
. Marriage can also save you from tax deduction. You can transfer your estate to your spouse name and save on tax, this is called marital deduction and this leaves you free to leave up to $1 million for your grandchildren or to others without shelling out a single penny as gift tax. You can leave a legacy behind which can amount to $2 million by taking advantage of the tax exemption limit. The theory behind this tax code is that the wealth should be treated equally among married couples.
But this marital deduction is not considered permanent; it just postpones it. On the death of a spouse, the surviving spouse has to pay estate tax to the level that he or she retained the property until death.
. You are permitted to shell out an unlimited amount during your lifetime as education fees or for medical expenses not covered under insurance. This payment should be made directly to the institution. These payments are exempted from tax and it does not affect your $1million gift tax exemption. You can give an additional gift to your ward of around $12,000 towards books, or other expenses without paying tax. If your spouse is under the tax bracket then he or she is also eligible to get such privileges.
. Married couples, who pay taxes are entitled to estate tax exemption of about $2million individually, which amounts to about $4million! Even though in this case the property passes through tax exemption during the initial stages, later on the death of a spouse, one part becomes taxable.
Tips On Easy Estate Planning
Estate planning is largely done based on the tax exemptions and taxes payable. The federal tax exemption that is granted at present is set at $ 2 million. This means that those who have assets below this amount are safe and can do as they please. A complicated estate with many heirs, different assets etc will require one to get professional help to develop a good plan. Nevertheless, there are ways in which you can identify your estate beneficiaries and at the same time reduce expenses, and increase the inheritance.
The first step towards planning is to find out what the tax exemption is set to in your state. You can do this easily by logging on to the appropriate website. On finding this limit, you can start with the other legal requirements that you need to get done. There are websites that give you information and provide you with a will, power of attorney agreements and other legal documents that you may need. These power of attorney agreement contracts may be priced about $20 or so.
You must review your life insurance policies and retirement policies. The insurance accounts can easily be transferred to the beneficiaries or whoever you may choose. You can do the same with the other taxable accounts in your possession. This includes savings accounts, mutual funds and other investment accounts. To make these transfers valid, the benefactor needs to entitle the accounts as 'transfer on death' or 'pay on death' to the respective heirs. Only then will the proceeds of these accounts be transferred to the beneficiaries. However, if you have a complicated financial situation then you cannot use such simple methods to plan your estate.
A large estate or one that does not qualify for the tax exemption may require legal or professional help. Many estate planners help with proper plans, but ensure that these planners are certified if not, then a lawyer is the better option. You can use title assets to simplify the financial transfer of your life and retirement insurance in the case of your death. For your other investments you can initiate a living trust to stockpile the assets.
You may also have property or other assets that you own in another state or country. This may get difficult to handle when you wish to transfer the ownership upon death. To simplify matters it is best that a lawyer who is an expert in international law and also one who has had experience in real estate planning be appointed. In this way, you will be able to have the best of both worlds by ensuring the lawyer takes care of the legal matters and at the same time provides you with a good plan.
You also have the option of sharing your wealth with the beneficiaries now, so that you avoid paying exorbitant taxes in case of death. In this way you save not only yourself the trouble of estate planning and the expense you incur in getting expert advice, but you also save the heirs a lot of money that they would be paying in taxes.
Understanding The Need For Proper Estate Tax Planning
The government provides estate tax as a levy against the taxable estate of a deceased person. Taxable estate is gross estate that is reduced by some allowable deductions. The value of an asset is determined on the basis of "fair market value" or the amount that it would fetch if sold in the open market. Every benefactor needs to have a personal representative who will be choosing the date for valuation to ascertain the asset's value.
It can either be the date when the benefactor dies or six months later. The date of alternative valuation is followed only if there is lower tax incidence. The estate's liability for taxation starts with the death of the benefactor and it is paid out of the estate before the property is distributed to the beneficiaries. Unless there is an extension the estate tax needs to be paid within nine months from the day the benefactor dies.
Estate tax planning is essential if you want to preserve your wealth for the coming generations. In order to start planning, you need to know the potential estate tax liability. According to the law that was enacted in the year 2001, whatever you own will be subject to the federal estate tax when you die, until 2010. There will be no federal taxation on the estate till 2010. This law will expire by the end of 2010.
No financial plan can be considered complete without estate planning. It is the best method of preserving the assets you have for your future generations. Many people think of estate planning as legal wills. They need to know that it is not a will but a series of legal steps through which they can allow beneficiaries to avoid the probate and minimize the incurred taxes. Estate planning helps you get a direct control on how you will like your asset to be treated when you die.
Till the year 2005 there was no estate tax levied on the first 1.5 million dollars of the net estate, but there will be an increase in the basic exemption level in 2009 to 3.5 million dollars. Although this tax will be removed in 2010, it will be reinstated to an exemption of 1 million dollars in 2011. There are many ways through which you can bring about a reduction in estate tax. One technique is to gift the asset during your lifetime. Since 2006, the federal tax law permits every individual to gift approximately 12000 dollars every year to as many people as possible without incurring gift tax.
Another option would be to give such gifts every month when alive instead of giving a lump sump after death so that the taxable estate can be reduced. Stocks, business or a percentage of ownership in real estate can also be given as a gift till it is below the 12000 dollars amount. There is no estate or gift tax applicable if you are transferring assets to your spouse in your lifetime, irrespective of the amount. But the surviving spouse should marry again and transfer the property to the new spouse in order to be able to enjoy the unlimited marital deductions.
Estate Planning Tax Tips For Heirs Of The Deceased
The right time to planning estates is when alive, but unfortunately, this cannot always be done. This is when beneficiaries end up owning large estates and with huge taxes to pay. Good news is that even after the death of the person, you can evade huge sums as tax payments.
The person dying is now allowed to pass on $ 2 million in assets and the person receiving this is exempt from the estate tax. This exemption also includes life insurance proceeds received, gifts in excess of the annual exclusion, which is now at $12,000 and the value of all the investments and property of the descendant on the day of death. So how to plan your estate taxes? It is not as difficult as you may think it is. The first thing to do is value the assets of the benefactor.
You should do so in the lowest amount that you can. If the deceased did not have total control of the assets or there is no controlling interest vested in the ownership. Then a minority discount or 'one for a lack' marketability can be considered to reduce the value of the property. These are simple methods of acquiring a discount on the assets value.
You can avail of these discounts by calculating the value of the property based on the actual use rather than the highest and best use. For example: if the said property is a farmland and its value is estimated at $2,600,000 and when used for farming the value of the farmland is only $1,300,000 then the value that can be included in the estate will be $1,700,000. This is because $ 900,000 is the maximum discount that is allowed. However, in this way you are able to reduce the value of the asset.
Another method that one can use is a disclaimer by which one can redirect the assets. In this manner, the beneficiary chooses to write off or disclaims all or part of his inheritance and allows the other beneficiaries in the will to have access to the assets. You have to remember that you can disclaim the assets. This will enable the beneficiaries to enjoy their inheritance as well as reduce the amount of estate taxes that they would have otherwise been compelled to pay.
The executor fees can also be saved in the case of estate taxes. This can be done when a family member is made the executor. The more the fees, the higher your savings and the maximum the beneficiaries can deduct from the executor's fee is 46 percent. However, the maximum income allowed to the executor is 35 percent. The family can save 11 percent or more of the fee amount.
It is by using simple methods that one can save oneself from estate taxes even after the death of the death of a loved one who has made you heir to the assets. If you are able to follow any of the above methods, it can help you plan your estate taxes and help you save a considerable amount of money.
Business Succession And Estate Tax Planning Strategies
Many work hard and meet with success, as they batter through storms, handle market swings and keep consumers satisfied. You achieved all this for yourself and your family. But have you spent one minute and thought about what would happen to your business when you are not there? If you haven't, then it is high time you gave it a serious thought. So here are some simple business succession and estate tax planning strategies.
According to a market survey, 25 percent of the family business shareholders who are senior citizens have not thought of any estate succession planning other than writing a will. They have not bothered to conduct any research. If you are one of them then wake up, succession planning for business involves more than just deciding whom you intend to give your assets to, after your death.
Basically, succession planning is like a road map for successors, heirs and partners to follow when you are no more or when you are unable to handle the business issues due to disability or old age. This plan can include the business stock distribution, assets and life insurance distribution details. It can also include debt retirement services, buying and selling agreements between heirs and partners, division of responsibility allotted to successors and any other aspects that would be related to the business. The plan can also establish the value of the business.
So where should you start from?
A succession planning strategy must clearly explain your objectives and goals as well as your company's present financial resources and the current human resources. It should also explain your stand in the company and the details of the stock you hold. You can also mention the person whom you feel can manage the business once you are out of the picture. Calculate if you have enough assets to pay estate tax so as to balance the estate and keep the business and the monetary resources you need to reach your financial goal. Don't forget to clarify each goal and you should be open to communicate and share your vision with partners, key players, and family.
How to develop a sound succession plan?
. A succession plan should be flexible- Your plan must be easy to amend and modify as business, family and health situations are dynamic.
. Select the right individual to handle the company in your absence- Select a person, whom you find capable to navigate through the minefield. This is necessary if you have more than one qualified successor. Distribution of money and assets among the siblings sometimes can be really discordant.
. Knowledge of federal estate tax- Economic Growth and Tax Relief Recognition Act of 2001 attempted to eliminate or reduce the federal estate tax transfer system, but instead it created a tax system that features repeal, relief and reappearance. From 2004, the gift tax exemption was freezed at $1 million. Thus, a businessman can easily pass on more assets after his death than during his lifetime.
Learn about various exemptions, deductions, exclusions- You can reduce the estate tax by adapting the annual gift tax exclusion in which you can relax the gift tax to the tune of $11,000 per year.
The Secrets To Preparing A Last Will & Testament That Protects Your Family and Preserves Your Assets
You are a busy professional or business executive who must serve his clients or build his business. However, you also have a family and significant personal assets that require your attention. How can you find the time to both grow your business and ensure that your assets are not devoured by estate taxes upon your death? Selecting an experienced trust and estate planning attorney is critical.
Federal and State estate taxes can erode as much as 70 percent of your estate leaving your loved ones with significantly less money than you had anticipated. A credit shelter or tax savings trust, included in your Will and that of your spouse, can eliminate or reduce these devastating taxes. In order for a tax savings trust to work, assets owned by you and your spouse must be titled so that each owns approximately the same amount of assets in their own name. Upon the death of the first spouse, assets are transferred to the trust. The assets then pass tax free to your children upon the death of your spouse.
For some individuals, the use of an irrevocable life insurance trust is also a key component to reduce the bite of death taxes. This trust will become the owner of a life insurance contract and will receive the death benefit upon the death of the surviving spouse in a marriage. The proceeds from the policy will be excluded from the estate of the surviving spouse, thereby eliminating or reducing the estate tax to be paid. Furthermore, the remaining monies in the trust can then be distributed tax free to your children or other chosen beneficiaries.
In addition to preserving your financial estate, protecting your children in the event you and your spouse die before they are eighteen (18) is a fundamental goal of any successful estate plan. The Will should designate an individual known as a guardian who will assume parenting responsibilities. This person should share your child rearing philosophy and be mentally and physically able to perform this difficult and challenging task. Naming an elderly parent as guardian is not recommended. Many individuals will name a trusted brother or sister and their spouse. It is not a good idea to name a brother-in-law or sister-in-law to serve with your sibling as a co-guardian. Who is to say if that in-law will remain married to your sibling? You do not want an estranged in-law with a legal claim to raise your children.
Careful consideration should also be given to the choice of an executor for your estate. An executor should be a responsible and organized person. This individual could be a spouse, adult child or trusted professional. An executor will work with an attorney to probate the Will and to value the assets of the decedent as of the date of death. Thereafter, estate debts and taxes will be paid by the executor with the balance of the estate being distributed to the beneficiaries in accordance with the terms of his Will.
It is important to realize that without a properly prepared Will the State and Federal government will receive more of your estate than you may believe. Moreover, without a Will the beneficiaries of the estate you have worked a lifetime to accumulate will be decided by the State and not you. In many instances, these State mandated beneficiaries are not the same people you would have named in a Will.
In conclusion, a properly prepared Last Will and Testament with the appropriate tax savings trust and the proper selection of an executor and guardian will preserve your assets and provide the peace of mind you and your loved ones deserve.
12/22/07
Cupid Quotient
Love and romance, mankind has paired into couples ever since Adam and Eve, but what makes some relationships sizzle and others fizzle? Some say it may well be the romantic nature of the individuals who make up the couple. However, whether you are single, searching or happily married, it is human nature to seek romance and love.
So why don't you take my quiz and test your Cupid Quotient?!?
1. In what country would a man send a woman a Valentine letter containing a rhyme and signed with a series of dots to represent his name? According to this country's tradition, if the woman guessed his identity correctly on Valentine's Day he would reward her with a gift.
A. Denmark
B. Italy
C. England
D. America
A. Denmark
QQ. In Denmark, a man would send a woman a Valentine letter containing a rhyme and signed with a series of dots to represent his name. If the woman guessed his identity correctly on Valentine's Day he would reward her with a gift.
2. In what country would young ladies awaken before sunrise and look out their window? According to tradition, the first man they saw would be either the man they would marry or someone who looked like their future husband.
A. Denmark
B. Italy
C. England
D. America
B. Italy
QQ. In Italy, young ladies would awaken before sunrise and look out their window. Tradition said the first man they saw would be either the man they would marry or look like their future husband.
3. In what country would a suitor leave a basket of gifts on his beloved's doorstep and run off?
A. Denmark
B. Italy
C. England
D. America
C. England
QQ. In England, a suitor would leave a basket of gifts on his beloved's doorstep and run off.
4. In what country would young ladies write their names on slips of paper and at Valentine's Day party young men would draw names.
According to this country's tradition, the young man would then wear the name of his lady on his sleeve for days to claim her as his valentine, originating the saying "wearing your heart on your sleeve."
A. Denmark
B. Italy
C. England
D. America
D. America
QQ. In America, young ladies would write their names on slips of paper and at a Valentine's Day party young men would draw names. A young man would wear the name of his lady on his sleeve for days to claim her as his valentine, originating the saying "wearing your heart on your sleeve."
5. The tradition of pairing lovers in February comes from:
A. A pagan festival called Lupercalia when young men and women drew names to choose partners, exchanged gifts and often married after the festival pairing.
B. Geoffrey Chaucer who chose the date because the 14th of February was the day birds began to pair for the spring nesting season.
C. Pope Gelasius chose Feb. 14th as the day to honor St. Valentine.
D. The Romans once honored Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage, and Pan, the god of nature, during a festival on Feb. 15.
E. They are all true
E. They are all true
QQ: Interesting how many reasons there are to become a couple on a specific date!
6. Valentine's Day-celebrated Feb. 14-is a festival of love and romance. Its history can be traced back to which civilization?
A. Rome
B. Greece
C. Celts
D. None of the above, it was created by the greedy card, chocolate and flower companies.
A. Rome
QQ: While admittedly the holiday has become excessively commercialized, it is not a manufactured holiday but one with a long tradition extending back to Rome
7. Why was Cupid chosen as the symbol of Valentine's Day and lovers?
A. He was the Roman god of love.
B. A celebrated marksman from Greece, he won the hand of his beloved through an archery match.
C. According to Celtic tradition, Cupid was an unfortunate suitor killed by the arrow of an outraged father who refused to let his daughter wed for love.
D. There is no reason other than the fact greedy card, chocolate and flower moguls thought that was the cutest design created by their marketing staff.
E. All are correct
A. He was the Roman god of love.
QQ: Sometimes we get a little silly
8. The original Valentine, who was sainted after his death, was:
A. A Christian priest who lived in Rome and was jailed and later beheaded for aiding persecuted Christians in 270 AD
B. Was killed on the site of ancient altar to Juno (the Roman goddess of women and marriage).
C. A bishop of Terni who was persecuted for converted Romans to Christianity and performing Christian marriages.
D. Was actually two different Christian martyrs.
E. All are correct
E. All are correct
QQ: You couldn't miss!
9. Deep red carnations tell your loved one that...
A. Your heart is broken.
B. Celibacy
C. Friendship
D. True Love
A. Your heart is broken.
QQ: Your heart is broken because they mean "alas, my poor heart".
10. Roses are among the most popular flowers for lovers to give, but what does the gift mean?
A. Hopeless love
B. Be mine
C. Love
D. Farewell
C. Love
QQ: That one was easy, wasn't it?
11. However, the combination of white and red roses sends what message?
A. Unity
B. Declaration of love
C. Farewell
D. Distrust
A. Unity
QQ: You could get bonus points for that!
12. If you hope to propose, what flowers should make up the bouquet you present to your intended?
A. Ivy
B. Blue violets
C. Globe amaranth
D. Rose
E. Any and All
E. Any and All
QQ: I think combining all these flowers would make a beautiful gesture as: Ivy means fidelity and marriage, Blue violets mean faithfulness, Globe amaranth means unfading love, and Roses mean love
Romantic Birthday
You are in love and your beloved's birthday is coming soon. Imagine the explosion of feelings. Already in romance, a person loses all his sanity. Combine that with birthday of the beloved and you will get a perfect madcap.
I know of a lover who had sent 32 mails to his beloved on her 32nd birthday. He had no chance of sending anything else. It was difficult to select 32 ecards, and hence all the mails went together, each expressing one particular message of love. Why does one act like this? It is because of love. Love brings out the best in our nature. We feel on clouds all the time. Waiting to hear the beloveds voice itself becomes a great celebration. Looking at her/him is a bonus, and if one can be together for some time it is as if Gods themselves gifted this. It is romance.
A person in love will have the most difficult time on his/her beloveds birthday. What to do? What gift to give? Where to meet? When to meet? Mind goes in a spin thinking of all this. And the feeling of love is the icing on the cake. Till now we have spoken of love. Now let us talk of birthdays. You will find even people well beyond their every age, enjoying their birthday as if there will be no tomorrow. I have always wondered, why the birthday changes everything. The mood is different.
How the day manages to do this trick has always been a question for me. In the case of beloveds birthday, the combination is of love with birthday. The result as I said earlier is explosive. Enjoy this explosion. Not everyone is lucky.
Enjoy life. Please do not let a single moment of pleasure slip away from your hands. You never know what the next minute will bring. Life can be treacherous at times. Enjoy the moment with all your might and float in the bliss. The day may never come again, as it happened with the lover of the story above. He was never given a chance to send 33 mails. The beloved had turned into his biggest foe. The protector had turned the killer. Let that not happen to anyone again. So please, enjoy. I wouldsay, birthday or no birthday, enjoy your romance at all the times.
Are You Made For Each other
The couple was walking on the sidewalk. They looked to be totally absorbed with each other. They were not speaking to each other, but a glance at them could tell that they were in deep love and were made for each other. What is this mystical quality of being made for each other? What qualities does this kind of relationship have? Are all the choices same? Or as we say in science, opposites attract. So the choices are totally different? Will a couple having different choices in every aspect love each other or fight over the choices? We can say that at least most of the choices should be very common. If I say that my partner and I are made for each other, what I must mean is this - he/she is the right person for me. There is no other person in the world other than him/her who can make a better couple with me. We are happiest being together and our happiness comes from our relationship.
Are choices the only factor that matter in our life? Is it enough if my eating habits, my dressing choices, my color preferences, my weather preferences and all my other likings are same as my partner, we are made for each other? Is that all to the relationship supposed to be made for each other? There must be something more? What can be that? Let us find out.
Love for each other, a deep longing for others body, heart and words and a feeling of deep satisfaction that is derived when the couple is together. The couple has only one desire- to share everything, every thought, and every emotion. The main goal in life - make and keep the partner happy and feel happy in his/her happiness. Whenever we look at a mother with her child, we never say that they are made for each other, but they share a bond that is very deep. If a couple can somehow share that kind of bond, it can be called 'made for each other.'
Love- About Loyalty In Love
Loyalty or fidelity means devoted commitment that cannot be broken easily. To be loyal, means to adhere to all the promises made for the lifetime. To keep all the commitments made forever. Loyalty is rather a very easy word but a very laudable quality that is difficult to keep for a lot many people.
Loyalty does not consider change in circumstances. If I am loyal to my partner and my partner meets with an accident that disfigures him/her badly, does not mean that I go away to somebody better looking. If I commit to someone about my relationship and that person goes broke after sometime, does not mean that I will look for richer persons. Every situation that comes tests loyalty. In some countries the law allows you to break your marriage owes if your partner goes lunatic. But many loyal people don't break the relationship even at that time.
Every relationship rests on trust and truth. If the relationship began with lies, it can never sustain. The foundation is of lies. How truth can grow from the seed of lie? The first need or requirement of going in a long-term relationship is to be truthful in all respects. Fooling others into believing untruths is a sin.
Once you have decided to and committed loyalty, you should never break it under any circumstances. There can be no excuse for that. By doing any such act, we hurt the other partner who believed in us, and we hurt ourselves by becoming an unfaithful and unreliable person. We lose our self-esteem totally after that. Once that happens, the path is only downhill, all the way to hell. Love and loyalty go together.How can we be disloyal in love? That is an impossible thought.
To love and to be loved is a blessing. To break that by being disloyal is sinning against goodness and God. If by any chance one does an act of disloyalty, one must immediately confess and ask for forgiveness. Will the relationship ever remain same after this act of disloyalty? No. Unless one is lucky to have an extra ordinary partner, the relationship will never remain the same. Better to be a loyal and truthful person always.
Kiss Your Mate Day
What a lovely name for a day. A must celebration for those in love. April 28th is Kiss Your Mate Day. And obviously all the readers know what it means. Send ecards full of love messages if you are away with a promise to kiss him or her when you meet. Send an ecard planted with kiss - that will be difficult, but not impossible. And if you are with your mate on 28th April, you know what to do.
Rather than talking about kiss, how about talking of mate? The dictionary defines mate as companion, chum, friend, buddy and so on. In short, some one who is your real good friend. In common parlance, mate refers to a girl friend / boy friend with whom you are in love. Love and kisses obviously go together. A kiss seals the promise of love. But we were speaking about mate, so let us continue. Who do you call your mate? Do you have one? Did you have one? How was your life when you were together? How is your life now, if you have a mate?
Life is heavenly. Life is great. Life is lovely. Life is divine. Life is celestial. Life is marvelous. Life is pleasant. Life is delightful. Life is enchanting. One lives life when one is with one's mate. Am I correct? There is nothing better in life than to have a mate for life with whom we can share everything - all that is good and all that is bad. Many a times, we find that those in love try to hide certain bad things from their mate. A man will find it difficult to tell his mate that he is facing money problems when he is wooing her. Isn't it? Similarly girls will always try to show their best side.
When we call someone a mate, we cross all these limits that we have set for ourselves. We become one heart, one mind in two bodies. Nothing is hidden from each other. All our joys, worries, pleasures and anxieties, our phobias, our pains and our pleasures, we share all with our mate whom we love. Unless we can do that, our love and togetherness will be missing the essential joy that comes out of baring all.
Please kiss your mate on April 28th and make sure that you both become true mates for life with nothing left to hide. Unless you do that, the kiss will miss the purest love. Good Luck.
Your in Love, So Now What?
Falling in love is wonderful, it’s exciting and truly the adventure of a lifetime. I believe in Love at First Sight and I believe in people being “meant for each other”. I also believe that learning to love and be loved is a life long learning experience. That is what this article is about.
There are different ways of looking at love. If you feel love in your heart for your partner, you might consider yourself “In Love” with them. That is a wonderful thing, and obviously where it all starts. Staying in love means you need to “do love”, not just feel it. It means you take time to communicate, compromise, and deeply relate to each other.
The challenge is to discover how to “Do Love” in a way that benefits your own love partnership. I believe the first step is to take very good care of you. Offering your partner your best self is a most excellent gift. Attend to your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs to the best of your ability. Pursue activities that help you develop the best self to offer to your partner. You want to make sure you are as healthy as you can be to fully accept the love your partner is showering back on you too.
You will also want to take a close look at the preconceived ideas you have about love and your relationship with that special person. As you are growing up, you form beliefs about what roles people “should” play in your life. For example, a man might just take it for granted that the women he falls in love with will always cook his dinner and do the laundry. A woman might think the man should be the one that knows how to fix the car or other home maintenance issues.
Be very honest with yourself in making your list of expectations. After you have your list throw it away. The minute you start putting your preconceived expectations on another person, you are in for trouble. Take the time to communicate and compromise with your partner when it comes to domestic responsibilities. Find solutions that work best for both of you.
Now, go on an exploration of what both you and your partner need to feel loved. People experience love in different ways. Perhaps you need to hear love and can ask your partner to tell you often how much they love you and enjoy being with you. Other’s need to feel love. They feel loved when their partner takes the time to be affectionate, kiss them hello and good-bye and freely give hugs and hand holding.
In order to “Do Love”, you want to know what sort of activities to pursue that will help your partner stay reassured of your love for them, in ways they best experience love. You also want to be able to communicate to them how you experience love so they can do the same for you.
Another one of the absolute best things you can do for the love of your life is to stay aware. This is probably the most important and least talked about area of relationships. Your immediate presence is by far the best present you can give to those you care about! Look at them as if they are brand new in your life every day. People change and grow and you want to be in relationship with the person you love today, not the image you have in your head about them. This also helps maintain appreciation for the person sharing their life with you.
Doing Love is something you recommit to every day. It’s an excellent adventure and will help assure that the love you feel for each other stays exciting and fresh for years to come! If you would like more specific suggestions for your unique love life, or want to learn more about the topics discussed in this article, please feel free to email me at anytime.
How To Send eCards With Gifts On Valentine's Day
There was a time when there were no eCards. Everyone used to send printed or hand written cards on days such as Christmas, Valentine etc. Now the times have changed. The comfort of sending eCards give a big advantage over printed cards. The other advantage that ecards enjoy over their printed friends is animation. Can one get such animations on printed cards? It is like difference between a printed photograph and a video film. The difference is in animation.
One sends so many gifts on Valentine's Day. Beginning with flowers, people gift very expensive jewelry. How to combine the gifts with the card? The gifts may include chocolates, dresses, jeweler, flowers, candies and anything else that a lover feels, will be loved by his/her beloved. It is the day to express love and no one wants to spare any effort doing that.
How does one combine the gift and the eCard? Many of us must be coming across such a situation. Yes, online gift options are available, but the eCards that one likes may be on other website. What should be done? There is a simple solution to this. Send the eCard first. In the text section write something like - Darling, a surprise gift is on your way. Let the gift reach after the eCard reaches with the message and creates curiosity.
Valentine's Day is for love. Express your love in all the ways and spare no effort looking for the best. love is like a plant. the more you water and take care, the more it grows. Don't take love for granted, because it is also like a free bird. It flies away leaving a trail of pain. Take care of your love and your love will take care of you. Valentine's Day gives us this opportunity of strengthening our love in all the ways. make the best use of this day. It comes only ones in a year! Win your beloved forever.
Love Messages
Love, the very word brings forth feelings of warmth. Love, a relationship, which makes us whole. A companion with whom we share all our emotions, our life, our thoughts, our body, our everything. That is love and lucky are those who fall in love.
During the initial phase of love, there is a tremendous passion and a desire to keep on sharing everything. Keep on telling about how one loves their beloved in so many different ways. In this phase, lovers speak of flowers, stars, moon, and so many other objects that one can find to define love.
All of us have our own style of sending love messages. Some write their own poems. Some send small notes. Some send very long letters and some search for poems that can reflect their emotions. Searching for gifts, and sending messages, meeting, enjoying life together, and so many other such activities mark the initial phase of love. Love is indeed mysterious because you will find poems being written by those about whom you had never suspected this. Your most ordinary looking practical gardener will develop dreamy eyes and start sending love notes after falling in love! PG Wodehouse wrote about this in most of his stories with great fun and understanding.
The best part of love messages arrives after many years. Show a lover what he/she did many years ago and they will themselves not believe that they wrote all that gibberish. That is love.
Words Of Love - What Your Girlfriend Is Really Trying To Tell You!
Do you sometimes have trouble understanding exactly what your girlfriend means when you meet or talk to her? Don't worry, the following is a humorous and irreverent translation designed to enable you to understand the nuances and sub-plots of her conversations. It provides clear, albeit outrageous examples of what the fairer sex REALLY means when she says...
HONEST as in "Let’s be honest with each other."
Variations: "I want us to tell each other everything ... Let’s promise to never have any secrets from each other ... Let’s open our hearts and minds and souls to each other."
Fine and dandy. We’re all decent people. This is an honourable goal. Let’s shake on it.
But remember one thing. This is the same girl who was upset when you praised the waitress for her good service at dinner the other night. You remember the one, she was more or less twice your age and perhaps three times your weight.
Yet your sweetheart was troubled. She couldn’t understand why you were so impressed by this woman - “this brazen floozy” were her words, actually - who answered perfectly to your every whim for three hours.
If she was ruffled by that episode, will it really be such a good idea tomorrow to tap her on the shoulder and - being completely honest, because that is what she wants, isn’t it? - say, “See the blonde over there? The one in the very short skirt. I think she has a fantastic ass. I do, honestly.”
As for that odd tingling feeling you get in your stomach every time her sister Sue walks into the room, perhaps it would be better to keep that to yourself no matter how many secrets she wants to share.
Fortunately, she isn’t actually interested in this kind of information when she is talking about “honesty”. What she wants is for you to feel free to tell her how wonderful she is, anytime you want, night or day. As for anything negative, keep that to yourself, please.
JEALOUS as in "I’m not the jealous type."
Variations: "I know what men are like ... I trust you.... You don’t have to worry about me coming after you with a hammer because I see you talking with some pretty girl."
Wouldn’t it be fine if this were true? And wouldn’t it be fine if your team always won? And money grew on trees? And pigs could fly?
Alas, we have to live in the real world and in the real world she is as likely to be immune to jealousy as she is to have wings or laugh at your jokes all the time.
In her mind, jealousy is a good quality. It is the best practical evidence of her deep affection for you. The fact that it also means no woman is allowed to come within several hundred yards of you for fear of her life is not her intention, just a convenient by-product.
If you are still naive enough to believe her in this domain, at least try the waters by artificially contriving a test before finding yourself in a real life situation.
Arrange for her to see you having coffee in some private intimate cafe with some old girlfriend who you have grown a little tired of anyway. That way, if your current squeeze does go berserk and pour a bottle of water over your “ex’s” head, definitively ruining the relationship forever, nothing much will be lost.
The tragedy is that even if your lovely passes this test, you mustn’t assume too much. It may mean nothing! For all their failings, women are actually often uncannily astute when it comes to figuring out which women are a threat and which aren’t.
What she really means when she says she is “not the jealous type” is that she is not ... until there is the slightest reason to be!
INTERESTED as in "You’re not interested in me."
Variations: "You don’t understand me ... You never want to know my opinion ... You don’t care what I think."
Picture this. She’s been in the library or supermarket or dry cleaners or hairdressers or even the gym, for goodness sake, and struck up a conversation with some passing male and he has looked her in the eye and said, “What’s the weather like outside?” That’s what this is all about. He’s asked her opinion.
He has sincerely wanted to know what she thought - merely about the chance of rain, of course. But the subject doesn’t matter. What counts is that he has paused from his busy schedule, from picking up his frilly pressed shirts or wiping the sweat off his heaving chest between sets or whatever - and focussed his attention on her.
You never do that, of course. Well, not in the way he did. A different tone of voice. No baggage intended. The world full of promise. It was so refreshing, so uplifting. Whereas with you, well, it’s always the same old thing, isn’t it?
Solution? Voice lessons perhaps? Or even take up singing. Anything that will help her notice the next time you ask her a question that that is what you are doing - asking her a question. Soliciting an opinion. Actually, maybe forget the voice. Get a sign and hold it up in front of her: “I am asking you a question. I am interested in your opinion.”
Sometimes bold initiatives are called for. This may be clumsy but it’s certain to get her attention.
LIKE as in "I do like you."
Variations: "You’re a good person ... You have some fine qualities ...If only I wasn’t going out with / or hoping to go out with someone better... or someone who I might like a lot more."
This is similar to her saying I "like" all kinds of food. It sounds positive, a quality, something to admire her for. Something for you to feel good about. But in truth?
What happens when you offer her something a little unusual to eat, like dog, snake or monkey eyes? Suddenly you realise that her “liking" doesn’t carry much weight.
That she “likes all kinds of foods” merely means she "likes all the kinds of foods that she likes" - which may be a great many or actually just a few but that is fine by her because that is what she likes and seems a lot to her.
As for “liking” you, rather than standing as a testament to her deep affection, it means something closer to the precise opposite : “I don’t like you.”
Or, more subtly: “I do like you ... so little that I can’t even be bothered to tell you that I don’t like you.”
This is bad, undoubtedly. But at least it isn’t the worst. She is partly saying, “I don’t want to never never never see you again.” Or at least: “I don’t want to argue with you and part on bad terms." Or at the very least: “I don’t want to put you in a sack with a stack of rocks and drop you in the middle of the ocean.”
At least not overtly. And in some relationships, this could count for quite a positive thing.
Still, it is a lethal phrase because it offers no comeback. Since she doesn’t mean what she is saying - since she means in fact that she doesn’t "like" you - nothing that you can say will matter to her.
OBVIOUS as in "Must you be so obvious?"
Variations: "Do you have no tact at all? ... Don’t you have any feelings for me?"
Whatever have you done this time? Punched a doorman? Stripped naked in the street? Shagged a neighbour on the dining room table.... while your parents / her parents were over for dinner?
Now that would be "obvious". Something that you could expect to have confirmed with solid physical evidence. Perhaps even photographs. As you would in a court of law. But this isn’t court. This is a relationship. And there are no laws. So “obvious” in this case means some minor infraction that only her super sensitive radar could possibly pick up.
A rarefied pitch that only her finely turned and ever vigilant warning system would
notice. There is no use asking your friends if they saw you doing anything wrong. And no use asking hers either - they won’t have seen anything but will side with her.
One of the conditions of belonging to the Females of the Universe’s Union of Offence Finders. As for the offence itself, don’t try to think of what you might have done - fastened your seatbelt before she did hers, given a cripple on the tube a seat that she wanted, whatever.
For the sake of harmony, just nod and say, “You are right. I don’t know what I was thinking of. I will try to do better.”
QUARREL as in "I don't want to quarrel."
Variations: "Let’s not talk about that now ... Can we leave it, please? ... Why do you have to go on about it all the time?...You know I don’t like to argue ... It was only your favourite VHS / CD / DVD / book / jumper / pet rock / or whatever."
For once, she doesn’t want to talk. Funny that, isn’t it? If the subject is her or the two of you doing things together or a birthday present for some distant 105 year old aunt or how “nice” it would be to paint the sitting room pink, she is rearing to go and ready to stay up half the night chatting.
But as soon as it is something that matters, something virtually life threatening - like a programme you want to see or a match you would like to go to or whatever the damage is that she has done to your mobile phone memory or PC hard drive - she behaves as if verbal communication is precious, at a premium. That it has to be saved.
Suddenly she reacts as if it’s a dangerous thing. Like starting to laugh in a sacred place. Or making noise in a war zone. A word too many here or there and disaster might ensue. But it is so hard to quell the fires, isn’t it, when you know you are right - for once, at least - and that if you let it go now, it will simmer and stew inside you, driving you mad for weeks.
Yet if you do go on about it, she’ll nail you to the wall for being petty, for refusing to move on. Sadly, she’s got you and there is probably no alternative for you but a few hours out with a mate or two reviewing the situation.
At least you can count on their wholehearted support in this case. Undoubtedly, they’ll have been there.
RELATIONSHIP as in "You call this a relationship?"
Variations: "What do you want from me? ... Where are we going? ... Don’t you value me at all?"
At the risk of sounding pedantic, everyone has a relationship with everyone else in the world. You have a relationship with the person - male or female - who sells you a paper in the morning, travels the road with you to work, sees you stopping off for a drink on the way home, or dies in the darkness on the other side of the world.
It may not be a profound relationship but it is a relationship nonetheless. No man is an island, remember. She, however, is talking about something more specific. Something that involves terms like “spending time together”, telling her she is “beautiful” even when she looks her worst and helping with the washing up after dinner.
You know very well that other things are more important to a relationship. Like sharing your thoughts on who will win the Premiership. Pointing out to her in detail how easy it is to fix a carburettor. And letting her have the last word now and then.
What more could any girl seriously expect? If you gave anymore, what would be left of yourself? Alright, quite a lot actually. But life wouldn’t be so easy.
And this is where relationships get tough. She won’t think you have one unless you are always upping the ante, adding a new wrinkle, doing a little more than yesterday.
It’s like the freshener in a toilet - it is always being depleted and needs attention.
This needn’t be as frightening as it sounds. Sometimes she will be pleased by things you actually want to do.
Wooing vs. Courtship
As I spread the word about conscious dating and conscious relationships I'm amazed that not everyone agrees with me. I'm learning that for some singles "conscious" is a turnoff.
OK, it's just a word, so if Conscious Dating doesn't work let's use another one to get our point across. How about "Courtship?" Now there's an old-fashioned term few can take issue with!
According to the dictionary, Courtship means 1. The act, process, or period of courting. 2. Specialized behavior that leads to or initiates mating.
By contrast, Wooing means 1. To seek the affection of with intent to romance. 2a. To seek to achieve; try to gain. b. To tempt or invite. 3. To entreat, solicit, or importune.
So here's my take on the difference- Courtship is a conscious process of selecting and building a relationship with a potential life partner, and wooing is pursuing someone you're highly attracted to with a specific goal in mind; typically sex or to "get" the man or woman in some way.
Wooing seems romantic and desireable to some folks. To me it seems self-centered and impulsive. You are pursuing what YOU want based upon your feelings of attraction and immediate goals for sex, companionship, etc, and you've decided that THIS person is your target. People who woo are concerned with what they can do and say to accomplish their immediate goal.
Courtship takes the long view, respecting your potential life partner as someone to get to know and determine mutual fit over time. In our culture being patient and delaying gratification is undervalued.
Courtship means you're honest with yourself and the person you're courting about your intentions, and they are interested in you as well. When you're authentic there is a risk of rejection, which might be why wooing seems more attractive to some singles.
Conscious Dating means to be clear and intentional about dating. If you are simply seeking sex, that's OK, we call it "Recreational Dating" and recommend being honest about it. In spite of your scarcity fears, you'll find plenty of takers if you know where to look (such as Craig's List "Casual Encounters"). If you don't like to think of this as being "conscious," then go ahead and call it "wooing!" If you're single and seeking your life partner, I will stick to my guns and continue advocating being conscious, intentional, and authentic if your goal is to find the love of your life and the life that you love.
What does it mean to be 'Conscious?'
1. Unconscious (awake but unaware)
This is when you forget where you put your keys, leave the headlights on and are surprised by a dead battery, drive past your freeway exit, etc. You're simply not paying attention.
If life is like an iceberg, when we're unconscious we crash and sink before we see it.
2. Semi-conscious (aware of what’s in front of you)
This is when you're sure you know what's what. We believe that our stories (beliefs, interpretations, etc) and sensory perceptions (see, hear, feel, etc) are true and correct.
If life is like an iceberg, when we're semi-conscious we're aware of the iceberg and truly believe we know how to avoid it, then crash and sink because it's larger than we thought.
3. Conscious (aware of the big picture)
This is when we humbly understand that 'you don't know what you don't know,' and realize that there may be more to a situation than we can see or understand at the time. We are aware of our goal and do our best to learn more about the situation and examine our options to make the best possible choice.
If life is like an iceberg, when we're conscious we realize that we need to know more about what's under the surface before making our choices about how to proceed.
Is Love Important in Marriage?
Have you ever fallen in love? Do you wish that the person you are with right now is the same person who will share the rest of your life with? Is there a reason a person to be in love?
Everybody wants to love and be loved in return. Falling in love is one of the best feelings ever to feel by an individual. When in love, a person has all the reasons to smile and be happy.
But sometime love is misunderstood. Most people think that love is merely an emotion. That it is something that you feel. Yes love gives you an emotion but you can not feel it. In marriage, it something that fades when time passes by.
Love is how you decide to act and treat someone on a particular way. It is more on the actions you intend to show than you feel. Love is the promise and the vow you and your partner had made on your wedding. It is a pledge, a security.
This is the reason why you promised to love and cherish each for all eternity. You both did not promise to feel a certain way. Instead, the promise and the vow was made and sealed for better or for worst.
…. Is love really important in marriage?
Definitely it is important! It is because feelings usually rise and fall, come and go. There may be times that you are upset or you have hurt the person you love. Instances like this may happen, but it does not mean you have to give up easily. Actually, this is the best time that love calls for your attention.
Because you love your partner, chances are you will learn to forgive, mend, encourage, cherish and improve your marriage into the better. It is not that everything will always be easy and simple. There will be times that those good feeling is just around the corner and sometimes they are left unrecognized. However, your continuous commitment to love as you have promised will make sure that the feeling will come up always.
Love must be a commitment. Most marriages failed because one of the couple falls in love to someone else. This is because of what people call the “feelings” and lust. The feelings will always change.
Making a comparison between your spouse and the other person is not right. It actually leads your attention out of your partner. Once this happen, it would be very easy to look for third party and destroy your marriage relationship. It will be easier for you to set aside your commitment and your promise to your marriage.
Therefore it is necessary to keep love in mind always. Do not forget the commitment you have for your partner. This is important since you two can help each other face difficult trials and solve problems the natural way.
It is actually your decision to love your partner that will help you get through. When you and your partner remember the promise of love and be together through thick and thin then, the marriage is secure. Without the commitment, the marriage will be weak to endure the problems that are unavoidably to come.
Lastly, keep in mind, love is not merely a feeling. It is a decision to make and to perform a certain way with the person you choose marry and be with forever.
Learning To Let Go With Love
One of the hardest things for any person, man or woman, is letting go of a relationship that's not meant to be. We are often attached to the illusion that this person is "the One" for us, and that if we don't have him or her, we'll never find somebody new.
Holding on to disappointment, hurt, blame, anger, resentment, and bitterness, we convince ourselves that "all men are jerks" or "all women are bitches."
If you've just got out of a relationship and are harbouring a lot of resentment against your partner or against the opposite sex, now is NOT the time to start dating again. Your anger and bitterness will poison even the most loving relationship.
When we hang on to baggage from past relationships, we end up projecting our pain on to others in our lives, our families, children and, eventually, our new partners.
Our emotional baggage is usually rooted in our relationships with our own parents, or in bad relationships we've had in the past. We have to lighten our load and heal our pain before we can love again.
Some of the practices you need to cultivate in order to heal yourself are:
· Radical Personal Responsibility: Take responsibility for the role you played in your relationship, either by taking inappropriate action, not acting altogether or expecting too much. Stop blaming your partner. Own your feelings, so you can change them.
· Self-Awareness: Are there patterns that keep repeating in your relationships? Do you have a tendency to get into relationships with abusive people, or become abusive yourself? Become mindful of your reactions to people and situations. Learn to identify your patterns, and the unhealthy beliefs that are causing them.
· Acceptance: Accept yourself and your partner the way you are. Accept the fact that the relationship was not meant to be, that it didn't work because it was not your highest and best.
· Forgiveness: Learn to forgive yourself for all the damage that your anger and pain may have caused, and forgive others for being human and acting out their own anger and pain.
· Gratitude: Be grateful that you're out of a bad relationship, so you can be with someone better suited to your needs. Be grateful for all the lessons you've learned from your partner.
· Compassion: Learn to look at all people as human beings dealing with their own pain. Spend some time seeing the world through their eyes and you'll become less judgmental.
· Detachment: Learn to let go of unhealthy attachments to people, things and situations.
· Independence: Stop expecting other people to give you the love and acceptance you should be giving yourself. Learn to meet your own needs, let go of expectations, and enter a healthy, inter-dependent relationship.
· Optimism: Optimism is not essential, but it makes life so much easier. An optimistic outlook, positive attitude and belief that everything happens for the best, can help you bounce back from your loss. Have faith that the best is yet to come.
It takes a lot of tears, hard work, and introspection to break the chains of the past. But it's worth every moment! The feeling of freedom and contentment that you experience is just awesome.
Getting rid of your anger and hurt will help you stop blaming others for your pain, and allowed you to see your former partner as they really are, a wonderful, sensitive human being with the capacity to love, to care, and to hurt just as deeply as you.
It will allow you to love life again, to see the beauty in every experience, to be non-judgmental and open to new relationships.
No time spent in a relationship is ever wasted. Ever experience is a lesson and only when you learn the lesson will you progress to the next level. So stop beating yourself up over all the years you "wasted" with that "loser."
If it didn't work, it was probably not meant to be. You can't force someone to love you, just as you can't force commitment or marriage. These are stages that should happen naturally, when it feels right for both people.
Contrary to popular opinion (and sad love songs) love is not meant to hurt. If you're in pain, what you're experiencing is not love, but attachment or codependence. Too often we fall in love, not with our partner, but with the IDEA of being in love.
It's best to let go of a relationship that's causing too much pain. Instead of wallowing in the past and writing your own sad love song, do your inner work, get rid of the anger and disappointment and get on with your life.
Let go of your partner with love, so you can move past your hurt and learn to love again.
Dreams for Love
I woke today, wondering where you were. We were together just moments before. I could still feel you near to me. I could smell you on my pillows. I knew what you felt like in my arms. But then they were empty. My dreams are the only place I can spend time with you. I remember when we first met. I was still in grade school and it was our wedding day. I was chasing you through our fort. Your white gown made it hard to crawl through the rooms and passages but you gave it your all. I pursued, nipping at your ankles, and we giggled like the kids we were. Then, out on the gleaming green grass of a late summer’s day, we met in front of the Great Tree. Your dark curls spiraled down your back like a drape of beautiful darkness and you glowed from wedding shoe to smile. We said our vows, with the birds as our witness. Then we were one. Since that day, we’ve been many places together. We’ve held hands under starry sky and winter snow. We’ve seen Niagara’s Falls and white southern shores. We’ve sailed, swam and skied mountains together, relaxed by billowing fire and cottage dock. We’ve laughed, shared and explored the depths of sorrow. Our life together has begun without ever having met. I wish to sleep every waking moment of the day, in hopes that we’ll be together again. Until that time – goodnight, my one true love….
Keeping the Flame of Love Burning
To keep the flame of love burning in your relationship, you shall have to add the wood to keep this fire burning at the same rate at which it gets consumed.
The beginning of any romantic relationship is full of spark. The spark becomes brighter and mightier when you add fuel such as chocolates, flowers, love notes, love bites, candle light dinners and just being together. Soon routine sets in and you and I, let other things to consume us. Our work, kids, housework seem to take all our time, and we are left with no time for keeping the flame of love burning brightly.
No longer are candle light dinners, long walks, hugs, holding hands and doing other things together, important. Instead the man finds warmth on the couch in front of the TV and the wife finds her affection in a book.
Many of you, who are still with me, must be thinking – “Wow, this is really us!” So how can we ensure that the romance and passion stay alive?
If we desire something with a deep intensity and passion, we shall also have to work hard with purposeful intention to make it work. So in order to keep the fire burning, you shall have to work, be ready to make the effort and also be prepared to do things which you would never have done, before.
1. Be prepared for the cold and harsh winters before they come
An intelligent person will always try to be prepared knowing that cold season is approaching. This means that the person shall have enough firewood cut and stored to keep him warm and comfortable. Similarly, you should set aside some money to indulge yourself in things that can keep the passion alive in your relation. Plan special dates, candle light dinners, or just some time away from everyone and stay warm.
2. Do not wait for too long; feed the fire on time to keep it burning
Understand that you sometimes need to get away from the regular environment and go to someplace new. This shall help you feed the fire regularly and continuously. Send your beloved flowers, gifts, or just go for a long drive. Surprise your partner by calling him and saying ‘I just called to say, I love you’. This is very effective. Watch the sparks fly once again.
3. Know your firewood
Make serious attempts to know your likes and dislikes. Find out what your lover likes to eat, what’s his favorite color, what kind of movies does he like etc. And if you are not sure what turns him on or off, Ask! It’s better to ask than experiment.
However if your relationship has died and grown cold, you shall have to start all over again. The best way to revive the fire is to feed it a little at a time. Revisit your courting days and do the same things you did back then. Late night phone calls, flowers, candy, perfumes, toys, hugs, stealing kisses and watch the fire come back to life. Remember, when the fire dies, it’s not just the fireplace which becomes cold, but the whole house!
For more relationship advice and to rekindle or re-ignite your relationship, visit www.TheSinglesNetwork.com, the largest local dating network in the world.
Fibs and Falsehoods About Love
We have all heard that there are romance myths...Do you know the ten biggest romance myths?
The first romance myth is that you should not have to work at romance and that if you are in love it should just happen without effort. Romance takes work; it takes spontaneity so that you do not become bored with each other. Romance grows if you open yourself up to each other, do kind things for each other and try new things.
The second of the 10 biggest romance myths is that sexual pleasure is for the young and if you two have grown apart sexually over the years it's just natural.
The only reason for abstinence is physical illness. Those who have lost their sexual desires need to seek counseling to determine the root cause.
The third of the 10 biggest romance myths is that marriage and other long term relationships are more beneficial to men than they are to women. There are some understandable reasons for the start of this myth, when women began to understand their right to equality and some women found themselves happily leaving the home each day to enjoy a career. The fact is that for many women the marriage is their most important career, and they happily enjoy their husbands and their marriage.
Romance myth number four is that luck and sex are the keys to a long and happy personal partnership. This is far from the truth. Commitment to each other and the ability to be each other's best friend are the primary ingredients in successful long term relationships.
Myth number five about romance is that couples who live together before they get married to each other are able to find out how well they are suited for a life together and this will lead to greater likelihood of a happy marriage. Statistics don't bear this out. In fact, it seems that the opposite is true.
Myth number six is that the chances of people staying committed to one partner for a lifetime are lessened now that we live longer. Nowadays people are waiting longer to marry and then settling down at a later age. This tends to mean better choices as the partners are more mature when they commit.
The seventh of the 10 biggest romance myths is that unhappy people will become happy once they find that perfect mate. The fact is that unhappy people are unhappy, and generally are more apt to make their partners miserable than their partners are apt to resolve their unhappiness for them.
The eighth of the 10 biggest romance myths is that we can marry or make a long term commitment to someone and then change what we don't like about them. Rarely does this happen. All that happens is that the person who wants the partner to change gets frustrated and the person who is expected to change gets angry. Not a good recipe for marital harmony at all.
Myth number nine is that people simply fall out of love with their long term partners. What they're usually saying is the sex isn't as spicy and exciting as it used to be. That can be resolved. Infatuation doesn't stay forever, nor should it. Most marriages can be "saved" if both partners want to try.
The last of the 10 biggest romance myths is that people who are too different should divorce. It's far more likely that each partner is trying to make the other responsible for fulfillment of his or her needs, instead of working together to compromise and be each others' companions.
Finding Perfection in Love
The question of what defines the perfect relationship need not be that complicated. This type of relationship is defined, simply, as one in which two people who want the same things from the relationship are paired with each other.
That doesn't mean that what defines a perfect relationship is that both love to play baseball, and drink margaritas. Nor does it mean that both love mystery novels and horror movies. What it does mean is that both enter the relationship for the same level of commitment and agreeing on the major issues.
A woman who wants to get married and have three kids is not going to have the perfect relationship with someone who thinks the most commitment he'll ever make is moving in together. Nor is this type of relationship one in which they both want marriage but only one of them wants to have children.
The perfect relationship is possible, though perfection is seldom achieved. Having something close to perfection in a relationship, or at least the absence of disaster, takes a lot of introspection and quite a bit of effort. Before you really start looking for that perfect relationship you must know what defines a perfect relationship for you. Not doing so and entering the dating arena would be tantamount to entering a contest without knowing what determines the winner.
When it comes time for you to think about what defines the perfect relationship question you need to think about several things.
You need to think, first of all, if marriage defines your perfect relationship. Have you thought for years about your beautiful wedding day? Have you fantasized about the white picket fence and the two children you and your spouse will have and raise? Or might you be perfectly happy, or even prefer, a live-in arrangement with maybe only a mortgage or business commitment together?
When you think about your perfect relationship do you see it defined as one in which the two of you grow old and grey together? Or might you be monogamous with one partner for a few years and then perhaps go on to another and go it alone for awhile?
How do you feel about children? Are they part of what defines your relationship? Might you tolerate a blended family in which you would be raising someone else's children, the children of your new partner by a prior relationship? Or do you run kicking and screaming the other way when a potential mate mentions children? Is being your best friend part of what defines your perfect relationship? Or, do you prefer something more casual, with the title best friend kept for your drinking buddy?
Just how independent you are also is a large part of deciding what defines your perfect relationship. Are you looking for a partner who will be by your side for every special occasion, meal and recreation, or do you need a few nights with friends, or by yourself?
The answer, then, to what defines the perfect relationship, lies within you. After all, it's your relationship!
I LUV U: New Valentine's Day Greetings
Love letters just aren't what they used to be.
I doubt tomorrow's married woman will have a box full of yellowing love letters in a cardboard box in the attic. These memories will never be cherished be the long handwritten letter of a young man away at college for the first time or serving in the military.
How can they be? Today's love letters are electronic. Today's love letters are short, probably no more than 160 characters long tops. Today's love letters are sent by text message. I doubt there's much poetry involved either (now there's a definite improvement).
While young adults have long committed their love and commitment throughout the generations via pen and paper, writing with a pen and paper is so yesterday. And, then there's the problem of finding an envelope and a stamp with the correct value on it. In fact, recent studies show that only 5% of all written communication from 15 to 24-year-olds is done by pen and paper. The leader: text messaging followed by instant messaging and then email. Heck, even email is outdated today.
Today's courting, like the rest of life, is done on the run. The passion of yesterday's Valentine's Day love letters have morphed into text and instant message affection. Confessions once sealed in envelopes and sprinkled with perfume are now nothing more than a 37 character text message that will be cherished for...well until the recipient replaces his or her cell phone. And, the average American replaces his or her cell phone every 18 months.
The love letters of today will soon be gone forever. Unsaved emails disappear. Instant messages are gone almost immediately. Text message last until there is a newer, sexier, and sleeker Razor phone available. The army is even aware of this problem. The army is asking loved ones back home to save and print out any emails or text messages from service people overseas in Iraq or Afghanistan for chance that the unthinkable happens and lovers and young children will not know how much they were loved.
Of course, there are advantages to the electronic era. Young people in love are not going to carry around love letters in their purses or wallets. That would be really cheesey and there's always the possibility of these falling into the wrong hands. With a text message, however, they can check out their love letters whenever they are feeling down and need a lift, no matter where they are.
That's the real beauty of text messaging, isn't it? It's anytime, anywhere, anyplace. I guess love will survive after all.
Message in a Bottle and Love
Don’t love and a Message in a Bottle just fit together like Fred and Ginger, like Lucy and Ricky, like Brad and Jennifer, well, used to?
A Message in a Bottle and love are just naturally perfect together. What man or woman could resist finding a love poem or love note waiting for them in a Message in a Bottle?
No one I know, that’s for sure, unless, maybe it’s that strange guy holding a Will Work For Food sign at the intersection. But that’s another story.
Really, saying I love you with a Message in a Bottle is sooo intimate. Imagine the excitement you’ll feel tucking a Message in a Bottle holding your own special love message into your significant other’s purse or briefcase for them to find!
Oh, and imagine the excitement that person will feel when they find your Message in a Bottle love note or poem. Talk about appreciation! The person may be so happy and excited that they rush to you and whisk you away for a romantic lunch or dinner—or to the nearest bedroom!
Seriously, it could happen! Taking the time and effort to say I love you in your own special way in a Message in a Bottle shows that you’re no slouch in the love department. It shows that you’ve put more thought, energy, and, more important, care into saying I love you than you could ever do just by buying a card. And that’s bound to reap you a lot of, um, rewards. Not that that’s why you’d use a Message in a Bottle to say I love you, of course, but, hey, when opportunity knocks . . .
And when it comes to saying I love you with a Message in a Bottle, dare to think out of the bottle! Can you imagine how delighted a special child in your life would feel if you gave them their own personal I love you message tucked in a Message in a Bottle! Just thinking of the smile on that special kid’s face is enough to make me need to pull out a tissue.
Because after all, love just isn’t for lovers, now is it? And all people, young, old, large, small, and in between need to know and be shown that they’re loved. Got a teenager that you’re having just a wee bit of trouble communicating with these days? Remind him or her that you still love them and are there for them with a Message in a Bottle. They won’t feel pressured or bothered or, worse, uncool—they’ll feel loved! They may not tell you that, but take it from me, they’ll feel it. And they’ll remember it.
And how about that friend who you’ve known since college and who means so much to you? A Message in a Bottle with a special I love you message in it just for them will mean the world to them. Especially if you do it when they least expect it!
After all, surprising the people you love with a Message in a Bottle love you message is large part of the fun! Anybody can say I love you on a person’s birthday or around holidays. But it’s just somehow more, er, loving when you say I love you in an unexpected way at an unexpected time.
So you’ll want to order a lot of Message in a Bottles. Because you love a lot of people and you want to show them you love them with a Message in a Bottle. But be sneaky about it, okay? Everyone has more fun that way. I promise.
11 Tips On How To Write A Love Poem
Writing a love poem for that special person in your life doesn't have to be daunting.
Even if you remember the correct grammatical terms for verse and rhyme is not important here? Whilst that's great to know when you're studying literature, it might hold you back when you're starting out on your very own love poem.
Only two things are important here.
1. To think from the heart
2. To write from the heart
So how to start?
1. First of all get yourself some paper and a pen and block off a bit of time when you won't be undisturbed. If you want to play some music fine, but let it be inspiring stuff, rather than loud and aggressive. I've often found that setting aside a particular block of time, (say ½ hour) helps.
2. Sit down quietly, close your eyes and remember all the good things about your loved one. Try to focus on three main areas for the moment (you can choose others if you like). Think about a) How you felt when you first saw them. When and where did you meet them, what was said,and what were they wearing? b) How you felt when you knew you really loved them. When was the moment? How did you know? How did you feel and how did you tell them about it? c) How you feel now that you're with them. How do you look forward to the future together? What plans do you have? How do you compare your life now with your partner to times before, without them? What dreams do you share?
4. Now start to write your thought down onto paper. This is called prose. Prose is more every day speech than poetry, and it just describes your thoughts and the facts (for a fuller description see www.wikipedia.com). You could think of prose as just an outpouring of your feelings onto paper. Don't hold back. Just go for it. It can all be edited later. For now, just spill it out and get it down.
5. When you feel that you've written enough (you decide how much that is), it's time to review it. A review is your own chance to really look back at what you've put down on paper.
Are there parts you don't like or areas you want to write more about? Perhaps there are sections, words or sentences that you really don't want in there? Be honest with yourself. No-one's looking at it at this stage, and you're not trying to rival Shakespeare. It's more important that these are your honest feelings, even if you might ‘flounce them up', poetically, later on.
6. Most ‘love poem' advice now recommends that you replace common nouns with proper nouns. It's not too complicated. It means Instead of saying ‘flower' - which is pretty general, be more specific and choose a type of flower - say ‘Rose' for example. Make sure your choice of flower begins with a Capital Letter.
7. The next stage is to put a 'strong' verb in place of a 'weak' one. Don't fret too much about this. Instinct should tell you if it sounds right. For a really detailed explanation of our two English types of nouns (no – I didn't know that either) take a look at the www.bbb.co.uk website.
8. And finally, the general advice is to bring all these three memories together with a metaphor. Remember them? When you use as… like. It's a comparison. Again Google comes up with a good explanation. This page also has come good poetry metaphors to get your started.
9. The last stage is to re-read your prose – either out loud, or in your head, making note of all those conscious thoughts you have about it. You can make notes on the paper at this stage or just ‘feel' what it says to you. This process breaks up the prose into poetry.
10. You may want to give your poem a title. You can either pick something from what you've written or write something general such as ‘What you mean to me'.
11. Once you've done that, decide if it is to go into a blank card, be handwritten, or computer generated – there are loads of fine scripts out there that you can print off. With a bit of placement planning, you can fold and insert your print-off into your card).
Remember that it's love poem. The one you give it to will be more touched by the genuine effort and feeling involved than the ‘correct English'. For more inspiration take a look at some of the classic love poems out there.
Steps To Write Your Love Epistle
Everyone wants to be loved but our busy schedule never seems to slow down and really relish that central relationship that is priceless. Oftentimes we are unable to express our love and feelings to those closest to us due to lack of time and communication. Also it happened several time that we tried a few lines only to delete them all and start over and over again. It is really confusing to find it difficult to express our love to the loved one in our life and equally strenuous to find the words to properly convey how we feel for them both while writing as well as saying.
Here are few guidelines to write a unique love letter that you will feel proud to give and one that your loved one will cherish for all time.
First steps begins with jotting down five points that you love about your partner and be as specific as possible.
Second step is to write down at least five things that they have done to you that confirms how much they love you.
Third steps is to weave the best examples in your letter making your epistle weighty with emphasizing how their actions made you feel and how grateful you are to have them in your life.
Fourthly it is advisable to write a draft first and then go over it to see if you can improve it and make it real and impressive and then write a fresh one.
Fifth steps tells us not to use cheap paper which will produce a bad impression instead use some special paper to write your message. It is better to write by yourself because the more personal you can make your letter the more your loved one will cherish it.
The last step is the most vital step which requires care and cautious, is the delivering of your letter so that your immense efforts do not get wasted. There are various ways to deliver your lovely epistle either by slipping it in their briefcase or mail it or leave it under the pillow. If you want to witness their reaction, then it is best to hand it to them directly. You can also team the letter up with a small gift like flowers or chocolate or any other thing you wished to make it more beautiful but make sure that the gift does not decrease the importance of your letter which is your sole purpose.
12/19/07
The Truth About Low Rate Credit Cards
Low rate credit cards or as some know them as low APR credit cards can be very great for those individuals that carry a balance forward every month. The problem is that most people that really need or want low rate credit cards are unable to receive one because most credit card companies will only offer low rate credit cards to people with above average or excellent credit. This puts the majority of the population out of the market for low rate credit cards.
These low rate credit cards are out there, you can see them advertised on the television, on the internet and even in your email, but unfortunately, you may not qualify. The average rate for low rate credit cards is around 9 percent and some even go as low as 3.99 percent for certain individuals with an excellent credit rating. If you have credit that is less than appealing, you can always negotiate and possibly receive low rate credit cards if you have been employed with the same company for a certain amount of time, and the credit card company believes your income will stay steady.
However, many companies that offer low rate credit cards also have a pretty hefty annual fee or membership fee, which can be as high as $100. This can cost you more in the long run that owning a credit card with a higher APR from the start. Watch out for those introductory specials as well, just because the low rate looks wonderful, it may only be for 3 months and then the rate can go up drastically to up to 17%. You can always discuss these fees with the credit card company to see if they may waive this fee.
low rate credit cards may only be for an introductory period. You can even find a few with a 0% APR, the problem is once again that after the special there will be an increase. Some introductory specials for low rate credit cards are for 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, and in some rare cases 15 months. If you are sure you will be able to pay off your balance before this period is over then it would be a great deal, however, if you will have it paid off you may notice that you will be paying 17% APR on your balance.
Just because, there are low rate credit cards out there does not mean that everything will be cheaper, the balance transfers can be expensive as well at around 3%. So, be sure that you read all the terms and conditions carefully before you even apply for low rate credit cards, or choose your Low APR Credit Card.
Many low rate credit cards offer a variable or a fixed rate of interest. If you choose a fixed rate of credit, this means that the rate will stay the same, however, with a variable interest the rate can fluctuate.
Profiting from 0 Interest Credit Cards
Everyone knows that credit cards are synonymous with debt. However, many people are taking advantage of 0 interest credit cards and making a profit. You just have to learn how to do it before you start. There is no reason whatsoever to make small profits if you are already paying out large sums of money on other debts that you already have. You must first pay off all your high interest credit card debts to benefit.
You must pay close attention to when the introductory offer expires with 0 interest credit cards. If you pay off all your debt prior to the expiration, you will, of course, be saving money.
When using 0 interest credit cards you must try to forget about them and only use them when it is absolutely necessary. You do not want to incur a large debt that you cannot pay back prior to the expiration.
Be sure you have a good credit rating prior to starting on your adventure with 0 interest credit cards.
Now, look for credit card companies that are offering a 0% interest rate. You can find some that offer 0% for six months, 9 months and even some up to a total of 12 months.
Here’s how to profit from the use of 0 interest cards. First, transfer the credit limit available on your 0 interest credit card into your bank account as a direct transfer or as cash. Now, transfer the balance you have on your other credit card onto your 0 interest credit card as well, in order to pay off your balance on that card. The money you just received should go into a high interest savings account at your bank. Do not touch this money until your 0% percent is about to expire. You will still owe the money that you transferred on to it, but you will be earning interest on the money in the bank. You will now be able to pay off the balance with the money in the bank and have as well as a chunk of earned interest for yourself.
Remember, for this to work, you cannot run up your payments or charge more on your other card. As long as you have an excellent credit rating, this will work wonders for your bank account and your wallet, if you pay very close attention to the expiration of the 0 interest credit cards before they begin charging the higher APR’s. If you do not remember to pay it off prior to the expiration of the 0% interest introductory rate, then you will find yourself owing money at a higher interest rate.
Airlines Credit Card - How To Find the Best Available
Just because one of your friends says they have the best airlines card does not mean it will be the best one for you. In order to find the best available, there are a few things you must look at before deciding which airlines credit card is the one that fits you perfectly. You will need to not only look at the airline cards and what they have to offer but also at your spending habits and traveling habits.
First look at the applicable interest rates of the airlines credit card that you you wish to apply for. Most airline cards have higher interest rates than ones without any type of rewards program. If you normally carry a balance on your card from one billing cycle to another, then airline cards may not be the right answer for you. If you still wish to reap the benefits offered by airline cards, then you should be sure to choose one with the lowest interest rates.
Some airline cards offer you points for every dollar spent while others only give you points if you purchase at certain stores or make certain purchases. If you only get points for shopping at certain stores and they are not ones you normally use, then the card will be worthless to you. The same goes for which airline you normally use. Some airline cards are only for one airline, if you do not use that airline or seldom use it, then you will not be accumulating points that you can redeem and use.
There are also restrictions placed on airline cards, such as how many points you can receive in a year and many have expiration dates on the points earned. You could be saving up thousands of points and they may expire before you ever get to use them.
Now look at your overall purchases in one year that you place on your credit card. If you normally only spend $15,000 with your credit card but you need to spend $20,000 to receive a free trip with your earned points then the airline card will not be the one for you, unless you wish to spend thousands more to reap the rewards. Remember, bundled into paying off your debt you will also be paying higher finance charges and annual fees and you may never get that free trip.
If you travel quite a bit then airline cards are well worth your time to check into, however if you only travel a couple of times per year it may not be worth the higher interest rates, higher finance charges and annual fees that come along with an airlines credit card. Some companies offer extra incentives such as a free companion ticket, but if you normally travel by yourself then this offer is one you will not need.
You will find than an airlines credit card in some cases will offer you an upgrade if you travel a lot giving you the luxury of first class, but you may find out that you will receive more points with an airlines credit card that does not give upgrades.
Credit Card Rebates Rule The Roost
Put the power of credit card rebates in your wallet! This can be done very easily if you have good or excellent credit, pay your balance monthly, and enjoy spending money to receive cash back on your purchases.
These unique credit card rebates are all over the place and they provide cardholders with cash rewards or rebates when they shop just like they normally would. All you have to do is use your credit card and purchase items that you always buy from your favorite store and you earn a percentage that you spend back in rebates. The average percentage rate is around 1% to 5% according to which credit card company you choose.
You may first wonder, what the gimmick is, because you know there is one. Well, to put it simply, the credit card rebates are given to you because the credit card company charges the business a fee. This fee is used to give you a rebate. You may also notice that with some credit card rebates you may be paying higher interest fees and annual fees than you would with a regular credit card. These annual fees are usually between $25 and $100 per year.
Many times with credit card rebates such things as balance transfers and cash advances do not count toward your rebate, but there are a few credit card companies that do offer $5 with all balance transfers. You will have to read the terms and conditions and of course the fine print to learn which credit card companies offer credit card rebates with balance transfers and cash advances.
Most credit card rebates are great even if you may have to pay a higher APR. Today, there are some credit card companies that are still keeping the APR as low as possible while offering credit card rebates. However, if you do not pay your balance on time you will soon learn that the money you would be earning is gone due to paying interest on your balance. The best way to avoid paying interest is to pay off your entire balance monthly. You may find that you are paying more in interest than you are actually earning in rebates if you carry a balance.
Remember, all credit card rebates are a great way to get something back for all your spending but for most credit card companies they only give these type of credit cards to individuals with good or excellent credit.
Rewards Credit Cards Programs
The very first credit card was the Diners club card, which was created by Frank McNamara in 1950. From there many companies, stores, and banks began offering credit cards. These credit cards gave the cardholder the ability to purchase on credit and pay it back at a later date with interest payments added if the entire balance was not paid on time. Not only did this give the customer the freedom to have credit, but they also did not have to carry around large sums of money and could purchase larger items and pay for them later. In 1996, the rewards credit cards hit the market.
Today, you can find all kinds of rewards credit cards. Discover was the first to offer a rewards credit card, which gave the cardholder the chance to receive a percentage of their spending to be returned to them in the form of rebates. This is similar to the cash back rewards credit cards that you see everywhere. The cardholder can receive a percentage back on some of their purchases either monthly or yearly, however, you must purchase at the stores or type of stores the credit card company offers the with their cash back policy.
Next, in line was Continental Airlines that began to offer frequent flier miles. Now, every airline and many major credit card companies have jumped on these rewards credit cards, each with their own special incentives to use their credit cards. For every purchase, you make with the air miles rewards credit cards you accumulate points, these points can then be transferred into air miles. The air miles can be used for airline tickets, hotel accommodations, and car rentals. Some however, only allow certain airlines, hotel chains, and car rental agencies. Many times other fees such as membership fees and higher interest rates can be applied. Be sure you learn when the points you accumulate will expire or any applicable black out dates.
Many people prefer rewards credit cards that fit their lifestyle such as saving points for a trip to the Super Bowl, paying off your mortgage, visiting Disney Land, or taking a cruise. No matter what you would enjoy to do with your reward points, you are sure to find rewards credit cards with you in mind.
There are however, limitations on most rewards credit cards. Once you get the most points available that is it, you are no longer eligible for the benefits offered by the rewards credit card. Another thing to consider is that all points you receive are calculated on how much you spend. The more you spend the more points you will earn. Be sure that you are not just spending to earn a terrific prize, you maybe able to purchase that prize for quite a bit less if you saved for it instead of spending more and paying interest to earn it. You will more than likely be paying more annual fees and even transaction fees to redeem your points into rewards.
Is A 0 APR Credit Card Legitimate?
You see all the ads for 0 APR credit cards all around you today. However, are they for real? The truth is yes, they are for real, however, this special 0% APR does not last. You can find all kinds of credit card companies offering a 0 APR credit card for people with excellent credit. Many credit card companies are now offering 0 APR credit cards as part of their incentive program to get you to apply and begin using their credit card for all their purchases. However, there are downsides to some of these offers.
Although they are advertising a 0 APR credit card, the 0 percent APR is not for the entire time that you are a cardholder. You will have to pay close attention to learn how many months they are offering this “special 0% APR”, you can find them for 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months and if you are lucky for 15 months. However, now you must check if the offer also includes all new purchases and balance transfers. One company may offer 0% only on balance transfers. If you are using one of these 0 APR credit cards, you will find that you will have to pay the normal interest rate for all new purchases and all money that you pay monthly will be for paying off the original balance, so you will get stuck paying the higher interest rate on your purchases.
It goes something like this … say you did a balance transfer of $5,000. This money will not incur finance charges. But then you make a purchase of $1,000 and this money will incur finance charges. You then pay off the $1,000 before you think you will incur any finance charges, however, the $1,000 is applied against the original $5,000 balance transfer. So now you will have $4,000 on the original balance transfer without any interest being charged but the $1,000 in additional purchases is being charged the regular APR, which tends to be pretty steep. Therefore, you may find that it really was not worth the money to use this 0 APR credit card after all.
Another downfall to the 0 APR credit card is that if you do not pay off the entire balance transfer before the introductory offer expires, you may find that you are paying a higher interest rate than you were with your other credit card. Reading all the terms and conditions can aid you in making an educated decision about a 0 APR credit card and whether it is for you.
As such, many of the 0 APR credit cards may sound appealing, however, after the introductory period ends on these offers, the ongoing interest rates and other fees tend to be higher than average, so you may find yourself between a financial rock and a hard place. Just because you can find a 0 APR credit card and get approved this does not mean that you are necessarily going to enjoy a financial life of luxury. Remember, however, there are other fees that are applicable so the credit card issuers are still making tidy profits with annual membership fees and fees for balance transfers. So as usual, it always pays to read the fine print.
Cash Back Credit Card Tips
Wouldn’t it be great if you could get an extra cash rebate on every purchase you made? Well, that is completely possible with cash back credit cards. This type of credit card gives you a certain percentage back on many of your purchases. You can receive the money from your credit card either monthly or yearly according to the credit card company.
You may be wondering what type of items count for your cash back credit card rebates. Most of the time such things like balance transfers and cash advances do not count and you will not receive any type of credit card rebates. You will have to check with each credit card company to learn which cash back credit card applies to purchases that you normally buy.
How much can you get from a cash back credit card is another issue. You can search and determine which ones yield the best percentage, however, make sure they are stores that you personally shop at or are items that you normally purchase.
You may even enjoy more cash back with different cash back credit card policies if you shop at certain stores such as Wal-Mart or Sears. This can give you more money in the way of cash back.
Redeeming points from your cash back credit card is easy. Normally, you do not have to do anything. It is according to how often the credit card disburses the cash back. Some credit card companies are now offering the cardholder to redeem points on their cash back credit card rewards to be applied to their balance. You can even use your cash back for charitable contributions.
There are fees with any credit card receiving cash back is just a reward so to speak. A cash back credit card can have other fees such as balance transfer fees, annual fees, high interest, high APR, or other charges that may make the cash back credit card less desirable.
Be sure to read the terms and conditions when applying for a cash back credit card. Be sure to find out if you can shop at your favorite stores with the card. Also, find out all you can regarding the applicable fees for the card for cash advances, balance transfers etc., as these extra charges may make this card an expensive proposition. However, if you do choose a cash back credit card, it can be incredibly useful if you shop at those stores and receive money for purchases you normally buy all the time. Just an added bonus for using products you love while shopping at your favorite stores.
Miles Credit Cards - Questions Answered
Before you decide to apply for miles credit cards there are a couple of questions you should ask yourself. What benefits are offered by the airlines for their respective miles credit card? What miles card would give me the most in a small amount of time?
Whether you choose a miles credit card that is sponsored by an airline or one that is sponsored by more than one, they normally allow the cardholder the benefit of collecting points to use on their airline or any respective airline that is sponsoring that specific card. The problem may be that the airline or airlines with this miles card do not have regular flights to your destinations.
Many banks are now offering miles credit cards with many more benefits such as choosing from a list of airlines and destinations. If you only use one airline then you may wish to choose the miles credit card from your airline that will only allow you to gain points while traveling with them and only use them for transferring your points into free flights, hotel accommodations, and car rentals. However, if you normally do not travel with just one airline, choosing one that gives you the freedom to use several airlines will be much more beneficial to you in the long run.
Miles credit cards are very advantageous to those that travel regularly for business purposes, as they will be accumulating a significant amount of air miles points over time. Then these points can be redeemed for free airline tickets from the earned air miles. In essence, everything you purchase utilizing your miles credit card will be working toward free air miles and free travel. You can use your points to gain such things as free or discounted airline tickets to your favorite destinations, hotel accommodations and car rentals.
Every airline or credit card company that offers miles credit cards have different credit card tiers such as gold, platinum, or bronze. Each one of these also carries different incentives. Most of these miles credit cards will have either what they call a membership fee or an annual fee. What this really means is the more rewards you are offered the more you will be paying in fees. You will be able to get a higher credit limit, however, your annual fees may be higher as well.
Many miles credit cards have introductory offers that will give you 0% APR for the first few months or sometimes as long as 12 months, after which the APR usually raises considerably. Therefore, you must pay close attention to what the APR will be after the introductory special.
Remember, if you do not use your accumulated points in a designated amount of time the points that you gained while using the miles credit cards will expire. If you do not plan on traveling and making enough purchases to redeem the points then
Save Money With A Credit Card Balance Transfer
Around one third of all credit cardholders do not pay off their credit card balances in full each month, which means they are paying interest on the money for their purchases. However, in today’s competitive market many credit card companies are offering 0% credit card balance transfers for new customers. This can really help those people that are becoming farther and farther in debt by not paying off their balance.
With a 0% credit card balance transfer offer you can transfer the balance that you have on one card that is charging you 17% to a card that offers 0%. The new card pays off the debt that you have on the old card and then the balance is on your new card at the lower, better rate. Then you will have the time until this introductory feature ends to pay off the debt without incurring any interest fees.
A credit card balance transfer can be great if you can find one that will have the 0% long enough for you to be able to pay off your entire balance. Many of these credit card companies that are now offering the 0% balance transfer give you 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, or 15 months to pay off your debt before you begin paying any interest on your balance. You should however, read the fine print of each credit card company to ensure that you will not have any other miscellaneous fees, and if possible, 0% on all new purchases as well.
If you do not believe that you can pay off the entire balance in the allotted time then a card balance can also be transferred to a credit card with competitively lower interest rates. American Express offers a fixed, low APR for credit card balance transfers for the entire life of the balance.
As you begin searching for a credit card balance transfer offer there are a few things you should take into consideration, which include:
- Does the credit card company charges for balance transfers?
- Do you pay off your card balance each month?
- Will you need to charge additional purchases with the balance transfer card?
- Will you pay off the card balance before the intro rate expires?
Some credit card companies may offer 0% credit card balance transfers but they may also charge you fees for the transfer. Most charge between 2 - 3% for the total balance transfer. You should always pay the minimum payment or you can find yourself paying finance charges. Most of the time, new purchases on the new card will not be given the same 0% APR and you will end up paying interest charges, since the money that you pay on the card balance will be put toward the balance transfer and you will be paying interest on the new purchases. Changing credit card companies before the expiration of the 0% or low APR may be the way to go if you still have a large balance left on your credit card.
Airlines Credit Card - Pros and Cons
Travel from here to there whether for business or pleasure has become very expensive, especially if you travel a lot or do not have in your possession an airlines credit card. An airlines credit card normally works in a way that you earn points for every flight that you take with the airline. These points can earn the airline card holder future flights, free stays in hotels, car rentals, and other unique rewards just for using the airline card. You should compare the points that you receive per flight before you choose your airlines credit card. On average a 25,000 points per flight is charged.
Many airline cards do give great incentives for all flyer miles per trip and do give a charitable point total for every flight. However, not all airlines credit cards are the same, so you should compare before you make that final decision.
When you begin your search for an airlines credit card, you may also wish to look under mileage credit cards, as some airlines prefer to call them by this name. Practically, all airlines offer these airline cards and some even have the option of choosing which airline you prefer to use instead of always flying with the same airline. This will give you more options and possibly save you money when one airline is running a special to your destination and the one you normal use is not. Either way you will be gaining points for those great rewards.
A few major airlines offer an airline card with added benefits that may give you more than choosing one with several airlines, such as earning a specified amount of points for every flight taken instead of them putting stipulations on your flights. However, you must use their airline for all flights to ensure you receive your points and rewards.
There are a few disadvantages of an airlines credit card such as the points must be used in a certain amount of time, normally one year. Therefore, if you do not travel enough you will never accumulate enough points to enjoy the rewards. You may also wish to keep racking up the points to get a larger reward just to learn that the points have expired. So, be sure to learn about the expiration on points earned.
Most airline cards do charge a higher interest rate and annual fees than a regular credit card. However, if you do travel quite a bit, then the rewards may just outweigh the charges. This is something you should put pen and paper to before deciding on an airlines credit card. Will you be spending more in interest rates and annual fees then you will be getting back in the rewards program?
When you are checking out your options for an airlines credit card be sure to learn all about their point system, what you can earn, what flights earn points, how many points you can earn per flight, when the points expire, their interest rate and annual fees. Once you have collected this information you will be able to make an educated decision on an airlines credit card.
How does a Miles Card Work?
You may be considering looking into applying for a miles credit card, however you are also wondering how they work. The idea behind a miles card is quite simple. Many credit card companies wanted to give their customers better incentives to apply and carry their credit card, so they joined with different airlines to offer free travel miles etc. to give them more for their spending. This means that their customers that travel a lot could earn mileage points for flights they made and then after so many points were accumulated they could travel free to certain destinations.
Okay, now you are still wondering what all that means. Well, to put it simply, a miles card gives you points for every dollar or maybe two dollars that you charge on your miles credit card. These miles when you have accumulated enough can be converted into hotel stays, car rentals, flights, etc… that the miles credit cards allows. This is great for people that travel all the time.
Since today there are many different miles credit cards available you will have to pay close attention to the incentives and of course the interest rate, annual fees, and finance charges that each miles card offers to ensure you choose the one that fits your lifestyle and gives you the most in rewards.
You will find that one miles card will offer no annual fees, 5000 bonus miles with your first purchase using the miles card, a zero percent APR for the first 12 months and one mile for every dollar that you charge. They even go so far as to allow balance transfers and after the first 12 months, the APR is at 10.99 percent. This ARP may change however due to the other changes throughout the year. Some miles credit cards can be used for any airline, any seat you desire, and no blackout dates. This is a great one if you can choose your own airline. However, this type of miles card is only given to people with an excellent credit rating.
You will also find that a miles card is offered in Bronze, Platinum and Gold. Each card offered varies on what their incentives are for bonus miles. A Bronze miles card may offer 5000 bonus miles with your first charge with one mile given for every two dollars you charge. A Platinum miles card may offer 20,000 bonus miles for every dollar spent with your first charge.
Just remember, to look at what airlines you can use, what hotels are offered, even the car rental companies that are included in the incentive program for the miles card you have chosen. Every miles card will be different according to which company offers the credit.
The major complaint centered on a miles card is the high interest rate. The normal rate after the first 12 months of 0% APR is usually around 17.49% with most major miles credit cards.
Getting the Most from Your Credit Card Rewards
Several credit card companies today are offering their customers credit card rewards for being loyal customers. This gives the cardholder the chance to earn points to gain all kinds of prizes. These incentives are great ways to keep customers loyal and using their rewards credit card to earn more points to receive their prizes faster. The more points you earn the more you can receive in the way of prizes they offer. The credit card companies understand that when their loyal customers use their cards more often they are also making more profit, so the system works for everyone involved.
There are many different types of rewards credit cards available. Some offer cash back, which gives the cardholder a certain percentage back from the amount that they spend. This is normally done either monthly or yearly. This can be a great way for person that do not wish to earn points for prizes but would enjoy the cash to spend anyway they desire.
Other credit card rewards are in either a point system or air miles. These types of credit card rewards give you a certain amount of points or air miles for every dollar or two dollars that you charge with your rewards credit card. These points or air miles can then be transferred into free airline tickets, hotel accommodations, and car rentals. However, these are more for people that fly often. The miles normally expire within one year, so if you do not fly but once or twice a year the benefit will not be profitable.
There are some other forms of prizes as well for credit card rewards such as gasoline purchases, etc…
To get the most from your credit card rewards you have to, of course, use them. Many people never redeem their points for their rewards. Credit card companies cannot believe the amount of people that never receive their prizes after accumulating enough points to reap the rewards. The important thing to remember is if you are not holding a cash back credit card you will have to contact the credit card company that issued the credit card, so you can claim your rewards. The problem is many people just do not take out the time from their busy life to redeem their points from their rewards credit card program.
However, if you pay attention and just spend a little bit of time you will soon be enjoying the prizes that you can claim with credit card rewards. All you have to do is to use your card instead of using cash, pay off your balance before you have to pay interest and you will be earning points. Now, you are very close to receiving a wonderful thank you from the credit card company.
Quit being one of those people that just forget about their credit card rewards and contact the company once you have enough points for the prize that you wish. You may have enough air miles accumulated to take the entire family on a great vacation and not have to pay for airline tickets!
Small Business Credit Card - The Good, the Bad and The Ugly
A small business credit card can help your company in many ways but of course, there is a downside if you do not know what to expect from your credit card company. Many people jump right in and apply for small business credit cards, get approved and start charging before they even read over the terms and conditions, that can be a very big mistake. However, a small business credit card can also benefit your company in several ways with great rewards and introductory offers.
Small business credit cards can be very efficient, providing you with consolidated yearly statements of your company’s expense charges and aids in preventing employees from overspending. With a small business credit card, you will be able to use one single payment method and monitor your monthly billing statements. This will give you a list of all the expenses and you will be able to learn just what your company really needs to spend on a monthly basis and how to budget more wisely. You will be able to give your employees their own small business credit card for your company with a pre-set limit. This will ensure that they do not spend more than you have allotted for their department, but giving them a sense of trust for purchasing items that are needed.
On the downside, a small business credit card is still a credit card, and any overspending or unnecessary charges on your part or your employees can damage your credit rating. With a credit card, no matter what kind it may be there is a tendency to overspend unless you have a pre-set limit and pay off your balance on a monthly basis. If you carry a balance, then you will of course be paying interest on the balance. If you did not apply for a small business credit card with a low interest rate, you may find yourself going in debt more than you had planned.
If you do not make your payments on time, this will be reported to the credit bureaus. Usually this does not affect your personal credit rating but it can do some damage to your company’s credit and then you may find that some companies may not wish to do business with your company.
No matter what you decide regarding a small business credit card, be sure that you find the proper credit card that suits your company with a pre-set limit for spending for your employees. If you are on an introductory offer be sure you know when it will change and what happens afterwards. If you have a 0% interest rate and it will change in 6 months, be sure you know what the new interest rate will be. This can save your company quite a bit of money and yourself many headaches.
Mileage Credit Card - Choosing The Best Available
If you love flying to tropical islands and enjoying the sun and fun or travel to other locations for business and pleasure on your favorite airline then a mileage credit card may be something you would really enjoy. With a mileage credit card, you can earn points to redeem for such trips. If you choose the right mileage card, you will be able to receive enough points to take a trip to Acapulco for a unique vacation or just jump on a flight to visit your high school friends in Atlanta, San Diego, or any other city in the United States. Mileage cards are very popular and are the best way to earn free trips.
The mileage credit card is growing in popularity for one very good reason. If you choose the right mileage credit card you will enjoy accumulating enough points to take not only yourself on an expensive vacation but every member in your family without paying for airline tickets. All you have to do to determine which mileage credit card fits your needs is to read and learn the differences each one offers.
Some people prefer to apply for a mileage credit card with only one airline. This means that you will only accumulate points when you travel on their airline and will only be able to use them for your free or discounted travel plans. However, you can find mileage cards that offer you the choice between different airlines for collecting points and for your free trips. In addition, you must be sure that if you choose one airline that they travel to your favorite destination, or you may not be saving toward that trip to Acapulco. So, check with each mileage credit card before you make your final decision to ensure you can travel to all locations that you wish.
Some mileage credit cards have membership or annual fees that you must pay. Some people do not enjoy paying these yearly fees, but you must remember that these fees may actually aid you in getting more air miles in a shorter amount of time. If you use your mileage credit card for any type of business travel, it can also be a tax deduction.
Another thing to check with every mileage credit card is their mileage plan. You should look for answers to these important questions, will by points or air miles expire, can I receive double miles, and if they have any blackout dates.
Learn what the annual percentage rate will be after their introductory special. Many mileage credit card companies offer 0 percent for the first twelve months and then the rates rise drastically. Learn what these means if you normally carry a balance on your credit instead of paying if off.
Learn everything you can charge purchases for to accumulate points. Some mileage cards offer benefits such as added points when you purchase such items as gas for your car, groceries, and more.
Now you kind of have an idea of what to look for, now get out there and search, so you can enjoy that much-needed vacation in the setting of your choice.
Understanding Rebate Credit Cards
You may notice that wherever you go today, you will see all kinds of advertisements for all kinds of credit cards from regular credit cards to cash back credit cards. With rebate credit cards, the cardholder is given back a portion of his purchase in the way of a percentage of the total amount spent in a billing period or annually. These rebates are normally somewhere between 1% and 5%.
There are so many credit card companies for you to choose from and each one of them really wants your business. Without consumers, the credit card companies cannot make profits to keep them up and running, therefore they are all battling over you. Yes, you! Every one of them desires to have you as a loyal cardholder especially if you have good or excellent credit. To make their credit cards more appealing they come up with many unique incentives to draw you in and use their credit cards. This is where rebate credit cards are so appealing. You can purchase all the items you normally purchase at your favorite stores and receive credit card rebates just for using these cards.
You can receive up to 5% cash back with many of these cash back card offers just for shopping at grocery stores, drug stores and gas stations. Many even give you 1% cash back for shopping at discount or department stores.
However, just because the rebate credit cards sound great they are not for every person that desires such a credit card. If you are the type of person that always carries a balance on your credit card the money you earn can be gobbled up rather quickly by interest rate charges. You can find some rebate credit cards that do offer 0% APR for an introductory period which could be a better way to go, if you pay off the balance quickly before the introductory offer expires. However, you must also remember if the 0% APR is only for balance transfers and not for new purchases then you may find yourself deeper in debt and not collecting any cash back. Any payments you make will be applied to the original balance transfer and then you will be paying interest on the new purchases. Some credit card companies are also offering $5 cash back for every balance transfer, so this is something else you should look at before applying for in a cash back card.
When you decide among rebate credit cards, you may really make a tidy little profit if you always are sure to pay off your card balance every month. Think about it. Use coupons at the grocery store, you can save up to 30% off your grocery bill just by remembering those coupons. Now, just use your rebate credit card and you will be receiving another 5% for shopping and using your cash back card.
What about all that money you spend on gasoline for you car? It would be nice to put some of that money back in your pocket. Many of these rebate credit cards give you up to 5% cash back at the pumps as well.
Finding the Best College Credit Card
High school students and college freshman are always receiving all kinds of advertisements in their email boxes, on websites and even on television regarding information on applying for and receiving a college credit card. There are so many that offer great incentives that the student may not be able to say “no” to the gimmicks provided by the credit card companies such as the popular pre-approved for a college credit card.
Although it is generally a good idea for college students to have a college credit card, parents should take the time to sit and talk with their soon to college student to help them find the best college credit cards to fit their needs without all the bells and whistles. Parents should be sure their college students understand the terminology, interest rates, introductory offer, rewards, etc. of the different credit card companies. Not only should parents explain the ramifications of a credit card but also what it can do to their credit rating if they do not pay on time and how much more they will be spending in interest on any unpaid balances.
A college credit card can be set up with a modest limit for the first year college student to ensure they learn how to budget before they are given full reign with a larger spending limit, especially if the parents will be making the payments. However, if the college student is making his own monthly payments they will need to learn to budget so they will be able to pay their balance each and every month in a timely manner.
Parents should also aid their college students in searching for a college credit card with a low APR or annual percentage rate. If the student chooses a card with a 0% APR, have them read the fine print to learn just how long this APR will last. Most of the time, this is only an introductory special and will rise within 3 to 12 months. Some low APR college credit cards are much better in the long run than ones that only offer 0% in the beginning and then go up considerably after the introductory period.
Have your college student investigate all the cash back and points carefully before they decide on a card that offers this type of incentive. Many college students may not understand that these points may not be worth the cost and can expire if not used within a certain amount of time such as miles points.
One of the best parts about college credit cards is that today students can access their account online and learn if they are close to getting in trouble before it actually happens and they receive the statement in the mail. This can aid them in learning more about budgeting.
Not only will the student be able to access his college credit card account online but also so can his parents. This way if their student is in trouble, they will be able to help before it is too late.
College students should also only apply for a card that has a fraud and theft prevention feature. There are many other students living in dorms at colleges and you will need to protect your card from theft, which can be very hard with a college student’s busy lifestyle.
Mileage Credit Card - Tips for How to Apply
There are many people out there that would love to benefit from owning a mileage credit card but some do not have any idea of where to begin when it comes to applying. Some people like the idea of using a mileage card to earn points for free airline tickets, car rentals and hotel accommodations while others just use it like normal credit card instead of working toward a specific goal. Then they enjoy learning what they have earned at a later date kind of like a big surprise. However, knowing where to start can be a problem when applying for a mileage card.
There are several ways to apply for a mileage card. You can apply online, call the mileage card company, and contact the airline with the mileage card that you have chosen or even fill out an application and send it by mail. Remember when you apply for a mileage card, you will have to give out your personal information. All mileage credit card companies will need your social security number, as they will use it to run a credit check on you. This is why it is so important to have good credit before you apply, many of the mileage card companies will not even give you chance if you have bad credit.
Before you apply for a mileage card, you should do some research on which mileage cards has the best APR rate, incentive and bonus programs, and how you earn points. Many mileage cards have a low introductory APR rate for new cardholders. Some mileage cards even offer 0% APR for the first 12 months. Once again, good credit is what you will need to get this type of great deal.
Another thing you should take into consideration when you apply for mileage cards is if there is an annual fee to have the card and what your credit limit is and if the annual fee will change after the introductory offer. Most mileage cards have an annual fee or some may call it a membership fee. Also be sure to look at your credit limit, you will not one that is too high for your income or your normal spending.
The most important thing to remember when applying for mileage cards is to do your research. There are several different companies that offer mileage cards from airlines to major credit card companies. You will want to be sure that you are getting the best interest rate, the cheapest annual fee, and of course, the most air miles for your money. You may also want to be sure that the mileage card you choose have destinations to all places you travel and that give you the option for your favorite airline. Find out about points or air miles expirations and if there are any blackouts for you to redeem your points.
Remember to weigh the fees against what you will be receiving in points or air miles to ensure that you are really getting your moneys worth.
Understanding Small Business Credit Cards
When you are searching for small business credit cards, you want to protect yourself from wasting money. Wasting money can have your business in bankruptcy in no time.
The major things you should search in a small business credit card are competitively low interest rates, generous credit lines, and of course, good customer service. You do not want a card with a high interest rate, particularly if you carry a balance on your credit card and do not have the time to sit on hold to talk with customer service if you have a problem with the card.
Do some investigating prior to applying for the card by calling customer service in advance. Be sure they are friendly and courteous. Ask them about how they handle late payments. You should try your best to find a small business credit card that is flexible especially if you are just starting out in your business.
While searching for small business credit cards, do not just look for those great introductory offers that may be a great deal for a few months only to lower the boom on you later. You may see that you can get a small business credit card with a 0% interest rate and even 0% balance transfers, however, this interest rate may only be good for the first three months and, more than likely, you will be charged a higher APR for purchases over and above your initial balance transfer. So be sure to read all the small print, including all of the terms and conditions prior to making your decision.
Some of the companies that are now offering small business credit cards have teamed up with other well-established retailers and merchants to give your business other great rewards and discounts on such items as office supplies or shipping costs.
Here are two wonderful credit card companies that offer some great things for small business credit cards. The American Express Business Gold Card has no annual fee for the first 12 months, no set spending limit, savings with leading merchant suppliers such as Hertz and FedEx. You can earn points that can be cashed in for rewards, manage your account online and car rental loss and damage insurance. In addition, the CitiBusiness Platinum Select Card offers a liberal credit line, low interest rate on purchases, free cards for employees, and free 24/7 concierge service.
The best resource for finding small business credit cards is by searching online. You should be able to find more than one website that compares all the major small business credit cards by interest rate, APR, rewards, balance transfers and more. This way you will be able to make an educated decision on which small business credit card is best for your company. The one thing to remember before applying for a small business credit card -- be absolutely sure that you have read all of the card's terms and conditions so that you may avoid any unpleasant financial surprises down the road.
History of the Cash Back Credit Card
Cash back credit cards have been an option for cardholders for around 15 years. Despite having been around for awhile, cash back credit cards continue to remain popular with consumers. The reasons for this are obvious - everyone enjoys receiving free money!
A Change in Thinking
When cash back credit cards were introduced to the market, they were warmly received. Three out of four credit card holders are still primarily concerned about obtaining a credit card with a low interest rate or a 0.00% introductory APR, but the demand for cash back credit cards remains strong.
The Target Market
Credit card companies hoped to draw in large numbers of new cardholders when they introduced the cash back credit card - and the strategy worked. As time has gone on, however, more people have started to realize that the best candidates for cash back credit cards are those that pay off their balance at the end of each billing cycle. This is because cash back credit cards tend to have higher APRs than credit cards that do not offer special programs. Therefore, you will probably pay more in finance charges each year than you earn from the program if you do not pay off the balance in full at the end of each billing cycle.
The Evolving Percentage of Rewards
When cash back credit cards were first introduced, they simply offered a flat percentage rate of return. With most cards, this rate was 1% and the rebate was sent to the customer at the end of the year. This practice, however, became too costly for credit card companies. Therefore, they began introducing earning structures. With these structures, cardholders earned back a fraction of the original 1% on their purchases for all purchases below a specific amount. Often, this specific amount was $2,500 each month. The form of determining rewards continues with most cash back credit cards today.
Breaking the Mould
Although many cash back credit cards follow a strict earning schedule, some of the best cash back credit cards are still quite generous. The Citi Dividend Rewards MasterCard, for example, provides cardholders with a 5% return on purchases made at gas stations, grocery stores, and drug stores. All other purchases receive a 1% cash back return - and there are no caps on how much can be spent, and earned.
Keeping You Organized
Cash back credit cards have also changed to make keeping track of the money you earn. Many cash back credit cards simply print the amount of money earned back onto the billing statement each month. Some will send the money automatically after it reaches a certain amount or at the end of the year. Yet others require cardholders to call to order a check after the earned cash reaches a certain threshold.
Beware, however, that some cash back credit cards are not quite as simple to understand and to follow. Some can be a bit confusing because the credit card company does not show the amount of money earned on the billing statement and does not specify how much is earned for certain purchases. Sometimes, you will have to contact customer service in order to find out how much money you have earned up to a certain point.
If you are somebody that is not very organized, you might want to take advantage of a cash back credit card that automatically sends a check to you and that keeps track of your earnings for you. Credit card companies that require cardholders to call to request their checks are counting on your forgetfulness and hoping you will never ask for your check. Of course, this results in greater profits for the credit card company and leaves you without the reward you have earned. So, be sure to know yourself well enough to take full advantage of the rewards offered by cash back credit cards.
Airline Miles Credit Cards - Survey & Comparison
At one time, there were not many airline credit cards available for you to choose from. The first of the airline miles credit cards was the Citi AAdvantage MasterCard, which is still available today. Though this card had plenty to offer, it wasn't necessarily the best airline credit card for everyone.
The Evolution of Airline Credit Cards
Over time, airline miles credit cards began to evolve. Soon after the Citi AAdvantage MasterCard hit the market, the United Airlines Mileage Plus card was offered by through a partnership with United Airlines. Shortly after, Continental Airlines followed suit with the Continental Airlines World MasterCard. These leaders in the airline miles credit card industry started what has become a widespread credit card option for frequent travelers.
Partnering with Airlines
The partnerships formed between credit card companies and airlines put a new face on airline credit cards. Today, there are just as many airline credit cards to choose from as there are airlines. The majority of these airline credit cards pretty much the same, though the subtle nuances can vary from card to card. With all of these cards, the miles you earn are good for use with just the airline named on the card. The only exception to this is if the airline has sister companies. In this case, the miles may be good with the sister airlines as well.
Generic Airline Credit Cards
In addition to the vast number of airline credit cards that are formed in partnership with airlines, there are many generic credit cards. In this case, the word "generic" doesn't stand for off brand or low quality. Rather, these cards allow you to earn airline miles that you can use with any airline of your choice. Usually, these cards work by assigning each airline mile a monetary value, usually 1 or 2 cents per mile. You can then use these miles to purchase a ticket through the credit card company that the company has acquired from the airline at a discounted price.
With generic airline credit cards, you are provided far more freedom in deciding which airline to use. This allows you to select the airline that is running a flight at the time and location that is best for you. It also allows you to take advantage of market fluctuations in ticket prices from one airline to the next.
Additional Perks
In addition to the number of miles it takes to earn free travel with airline credit cards, you should consider the additional perks offered. For example, so airline credit cards only provide special discounts for air travel. On the other hand, some cards allow you to redeem your points for other travel related necessities, such as car rentals, cruises, hotel stays, and vacation packages.
You should also pay attention to the special incentives offered by airline miles credit cards. Some allow you to earn bonus miles through certain purchases. For example, you might be able to earn bonus miles with a credit card that has partnered with a specific airline if you make purchases from that airline on the credit card.
In addition to incentives, some airline credit cards provide sign up bonuses. It is fairly common for an airline credit card to offer 5,000 bonus miles after using the card for the first time. The Gold Delta Skymiles Credit Card and American Express Credit Cards offer 10,000 bonus miles. Of course, you need to look out for how many miles it takes to earn a free ticket. The average number of miles needed with airline credit cards is 25,000, but you should always read all of the fine print first before making a decision.
Compare Cash Back Credit Cards Before You Decide
If you are considering applying for a cash back credit card, you need to be sure to take a close look at all of the options available to you. You might think all cash back credit cards are the same. After all, all of them result in money in your pocket, right? Well, not exactly. Yes, you will earn money with any cash back credit card you select. But, just how much money you earn and how you earn the money in the first place may vary.
When It All Began
Cash back credit cards made their first splash when AT&T Universal offered its card, which was free of annual fees. This fact alone was fairly new to the credit card world. To top it off, they offered cash back on all purchases made with the card, with the earned rewards going toward paying off the cardholder's phone bill.
Soon after AT&T's revolutionary cash back credit card, the Discover Card started offering a special cash back credit card that provided cardholders with cash back at the end of the year. From here, credit cards evolved to offering outstanding cash back incentives of up to 5% of the purchases made with the card. Although Discover Card is still considered to be one of the best cash back credit cards by many people, Visa and MasterCard also have several cash back credit cards of their own to offer. In today's market, which is very competitive, credit card companies view the money they give to their customers as a business expenditure necessary to get clients and to maintain them.
Analyze Spending Habits
When it comes to choosing a cash back credit card, you should first analyze your spending habits. First of all, you should never use a cash back credit card if you are unable to pay off the balance in full at the end of each billing cycle. Cash back credit cards have a higher interest rate than credit cards without special rewards and incentives. Therefore, carrying a balance on your cash back credit card will result in high finance charges, which will negate the money you earn.
Decide What You Want to Earn
When selecting a cash back credit card, you also need to consider what type of reward you want to receive. If you would rather earn points, which can be exchanged later for goods or services, and airline miles, you need to get a reward credit card. If, however, you are interested in receiving cold, hard cash, then a cash back credit card is right for you.
At the same time, not all cash back credit cards operate the same. If you want a no hassles check to be automatically mailed to you, then be sure to choose a card that does just that. Some cash back credit cards require you to keep an eye on your own rewards and to request a check when the balance reaches a certain threshold. Or, you might want to consider a cash back credit card that simply uses the money you earn to help pay off your credit card balance. This type of credit card does not require any work on your part and can be a much simpler option and a better choice for those that don't have time to spend monitoring the rewards from their credit card.
Fees
You also need to consider any fees that might be associated with the cash back credit cards you are looking at. If there are annual fees or monthly fees, chances are that you will not earn enough cash back to make the card worthwhile. The best cash back credit cards have no hidden fees and offer a high percentage of return.
Instant Approval Credit Cards - Frequently Asked Questions
Instant approval credit cards online are becoming increasingly popular among consumers. In a fast-paced society, the speed of an instant approval credit card is sought after by many individuals. But, it is important to understand as much as you can about instant approval credit cards before you choose to apply for one.
What are Instant Approval Credit Cards?
Instant approval credit cards are those that can be approved within a matter of seconds. To qualify for one of these instant approval credit cards, online applications are completed on a secure website. Using the information gained from the application, the credit card company can determine instantly if you qualify for a credit card.
Am I Guaranteed to Get an Instant Approval Credit Card?
No. Instant approval credit cards are not secured credit cards. Therefore, they still need to look at your credit history in order to determine whether or not you qualify for a credit card. If you have a poor credit history, you may be turned down for an instant approval credit card. Whether or not you receive credit approval depends on the guidelines followed by the credit card company and your personal credit history.
Can I Still Be Approved, Even if it's Not Instant?
Yes. Instant approval credit cards sometimes need more information than what can be gained instantly in order to decide if they will approve your application. In this case, they will send you a notification letting you know that your application is being reviewed further. In this case, you will generally still know whether or not you have been approved for the credit card within a week or two, which is still much faster than non-instant approval credit cards.
Can I Start Spending Immediately?
No. Although instant approval credit cards can tell you within seconds whether or not you have been approved for an instant approval credit card online, you will have to wait to physically receive the credit card before you can start using it. Usually, your instant approval credit card will arrive to you within a couple of weeks, which is still much faster than traditional credit card application that typically take six to eight weeks.
Are There Any Differences in the Way Instant Approval Credit Cards Look?
No. Instant approval credit cards look the same as any other credit card. No one but you will know it was an instant approval credit card.
Are There Any Drawbacks to Instant Approval Credit Cards?
Maybe. Some instant approval credit cards do assess a processing fee for the convenience of receiving instant approval. If this concerns you, shop around for an instant approval credit card that does not assess these fees. There are plenty of options available. Furthermore, you might want to reconsider applying for an instant approval credit card if you do not have a need to get the card right away. If you can wait to receive the card, it better to apply for a traditional credit card in order to avoid paying unnecessary fees.
Do Instant Approval Credit Cards Have the Same Benefits as Other Credit Cards?
Yes. No two credit cards, whether they are instant approval credit cards or traditional credit cards, are the same. Therefore, they do not always include benefits such as travel insurance, purchase protection, and extended warranty coverage. Nonetheless, there are plenty of instant approval credit cards available with desirable benefits such as those found on traditional credit cards.
Can I Participate in a Special Rewards Program with Instant Approval Credit Cards?
Yes. There are instant approval credit cards available that offer special cash back and rewards programs to cardholders. If you are interested in participating in one of these programs, browse through the many instant approval credit cards available in order to find one that best suits your lifestyle and needs.
History of Airline Credit Cards
Airline credit cards have not been around for as long as you may think. In fact, they are a fairly new option available to credit cardholders. Nonetheless, airline credit cards have quickly gained in popularity and can be found partnered with every major airline.
The First Airline Credit Card
The first airline credit card to be offered to consumers was the City AAdvantage MasterCard. When it came out, the card allowed consumers to earn miles with every purchase made. These miles could then be redeemed for free air travel through a variety of airlines. This card remains one of the major players in the airline credit card industry. Today, you can redeem your airline miles at over 25 different airlines. In addition, you can redeem miles for discounts at numerous hotels and car rental companies.
Airlines Follow Suit
Realizing what a great idea airline miles credit cards was, airlines started following suit and partnering with credit card companies to create their own airline credit card. The United Airlines Plus card was next. This card was the first airline credit card to be specific to an airline. Although the card did not offer the flexibility of receiving discounted tickets with numerous airlines, those who frequently traveled on United Airlines enthusiastically embraced this United Airlines credit card.
Not to be outdone, Continental Airlines unveiled its airline credit card, the Continental Airlines World MasterCard, shortly after United Airlines. Both airlines still offer their own airline miles credit cards, but provide their own special incentives to set them apart from the competition. Today, the United Airlines Plus Signature Visa Credit Card offers 17,500 bonus miles after the first purchase with the card, a certificate for a free one-way 1,000 mile one-class upgrade, and a $25 certificate for discount travel. The Continental Airlines World MasterCard offers 15,000 OnePass bonus miles after completing your first purchase. In addition, you can earn double OnePass miles with purchases made at Continental Airlines and with partner merchants and a 5% discount on Continental Fares purchased at their website using the card.
Airline Miles Credit Cards Today
Today, airline credit cards are in abundance. Every major airline has partnered with a credit card company in order to bring their own airline credit card to the consumer. In addition, competition to gain and to retain flying customers is fierce. Therefore, airline credit cards offer a number of incentives, bonuses, and special deals to entice customers into acquiring their credit card.
In addition, the number of "generic" airline miles credit cards is on the rise. It is not unheard of for an airline credit card to allow the consumer to choose from over 200 different airlines when redeeming earned miles. Many of these airline credit cards also offer other discount options, such as hotel, car rental, and vacation package discounts that can be purchased with earned miles.
The Future of Airline Credit Cards
With the competition being so strong when it comes to airline customers and credit card customers, the future of airline credit cards looks bright for consumers. In all likelihood, the number of incentives and bonuses will continue to rise in order to draw in new cardholders. A trend that is currently starting to develop are special low APRs and annual fees. Traditionally, airline miles credit cards have had annual fees and high APRs when compared to credit cards without rewards programs. While this remains true, more and more airline credit cards are starting to offer competitive APRs and waiving annual fees in an attempt to attract more customers.
One thing is for certain: airline miles credit cards will continue to be popular among consumers, particularly for those that can pay off their balance in full at the end of each month and take full advantage of the special rewards.
Balance Transfer Credit Card Rules
A balance transfer credit card aids in consolidating credit card debt and sometimes can also be a way of steering clear of the burden of debt. You will find as you are searching through all those credit card company offers you receive all the time that they are now offering balance transfers in a variety of ways. You will also notice they all these credit card companies are all competing for your business so the incentives are becoming more and more appealing all the time especially when it comes to credit card balance transfer offers.
The dream of most Americans is to have an interest free credit card all the time, not only during an introductory special. There are a few rules that you can use to ensure that you get the most out of a balance transfer.
Pay close attention to any balance transfer offers that you may find. They change all the time and you do not want to apply after they are no longer offering this special deal on Balance Transfers.
Watch that your credit card balance transfers are completed on time without any overlapping time from one credit card to another. You will find yourself paying a lot more in interest charges. When you are responding to banks and credit card companies by mail, remember to take in consideration the delay that normally happens with mail. The company must have time to receive your correspondence and then reply to you.
Are you going to have a balance transfer to a store card or a major credit card? You should pay attention to the APR on the credit card that you plan to place your balance transfer. Many store cards have a higher APR than major credit cards; choose a credit card for your balance transfer that has a low APR. The way in which you handle your credit card balance transfer can be practical and expedient, and can be a great way in which to evade extra credit card debt.
Always read the fine print. If you are applying for a 0 APR credit card then that is what you should be receiving, make sure the 0% includes your balance transfer and the length of time you have before the APR changes.
Do not apply with any company that you do not trust. You should be able to understand their terms and conditions, their rules regarding balance transfers, etc… If you have never heard of the company do your own investigating, never feel pressured to applying because you are afraid of missing a good thing, you may be in fact saving yourself some heartache and financial drawbacks.
Find out as much as you can about the company that you are applying with, are they quick with balance transfers and do they respond quickly with answers to your questions and information regarding your account.
Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards - Helping to Eliminate Debt
If you are seriously looking to eliminate debt, then you need to consider applying for a balance transfer credit card. With the help of balance transfer cards, you can get yourself back on track and back in control of your finances.
The Cold, Hard Facts
Astoundingly, the average household in America has a revolving debt, which is basically credit card debt, of over $9,000. If you are among them, you can take comfort in knowing that you are not alone. At the same time, you shouldn't get too comfortable. Debt means bills and, more often than not, the payment of finance charges. Basically, being in debt costs you money. Fortunately, balance transfer credit cards and a few other easy to follow steps can help you get out of debt and stop paying high interest fees.
Don't Spend Above Your Means
The first step in getting out of debt is to stop spending above your means. Obviously, if you are spending more than you are capable of paying back, you will only dig your hole of debt deeper. In addition, if you are already in debt, you need to cut back your spending to the bare minimum. After all, your goal is to reduce your debt, not to keep adding to it.
To help you keep your spending within your means, it is wise to set up a budget. For many, it is difficult to restrict spending because we have become so used to the easy access provided by credit cards. When you sit down and form a budget, however, you will probably be amazed when you realize how much wasteful spending you engage in without even thinking about it. In fact, you can probably eliminate some expenses without really noticing. Of course, you will still need to put money aside for regular expenses such as rent or mortgage, insurance, and food. You can also set aside a little "play money," but be sure to never spend more than what you have set aside.
Set the Plastic Aside
After you use your balance transfer credit card to consolidate your debts, set the card aside. First of all, balance transfer credit cards often have a high APR on purchases made outside of the transfer. After all, the credit card company needs to make up for the loss somehow. Secondly, carrying your credit card with you only makes it more difficult to resist temptation and impulse buying. Instead, use cash whenever possible. Many people don't truly attach the cash value of what they are spending when the use a credit card. Counting out your money and watching it leave your hands and go into the cashier's hands, however, really makes you notice.
In fact, research has shown that people spend an average of 112% more when making purchases with a credit card as opposed to making purchases with cash. With this kind of data, it is no surprise that most merchants accept credit cards or even encourage the use of credit cards.
Watch Your Interest Rate
If you absolutely must use a credit card and carry a balance on it, make sure it has a low interest rate. If your balance transfer credit card has a high interest rate on purchases, set it aside and use a different card for every day use. The amount of money you can save by using a credit card with a lower interest rate is outstanding and can translate to hundreds of dollars in savings every year. Then, make sure to apply the money you save back to toward paying off your debt. When you find yourself debt-free, the small sacrifices you made to get there will be well worth it.
Business Credit Cards - Bookkeeping Made Easy
A small business credit card has a number of advantages. In addition to being able to help with start up costs and providing special rewards that are meaningful to business owners, business credit cards can make bookkeeping much easier. In fact, using a business credit card can take nearly all of the headaches of keeping track of expenses out of your hands, giving you time to focus on company growth.
Business Expenses
To help keep bookkeeping a snap, you can place all of your business expenditures on your business credit card. By having a separate personal credit card and business credit card, you don't have to worry about sorting through your credit card statement to determine which were for your business and which purchases were for personal reasons. In addition, this helps keep the liability for repayment on your business rather than on you personally, which is particularly important if you form any type of business configuration other than a sole proprietorship. In the eyes of the law, other business formations, such as LLCs, are their own entity. Therefore, you are not held personally responsible for the business expenditures because the company is responsible.
Itemized Statements
Generally, business credit cards also provide the cardholder with itemized statements. These may be monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on the card. Therefore, when you compare business credit cards, you should inquire about how often these statements are issued and choose the one that best suits your business needs. This feature is quite helpful because it frees you from having to keep track of all of your receipts. Instead of sorting through numerous receipts at tax time, you can simply use your itemized statement or take the statement to your accountant. To help make things easier, some of these itemized statements will even categorize your purchases into different areas needed for filing taxes, such as Office Supplies, Entertainment, and Postage.
Earning Rewards
In addition to assisting you with bookkeeping, business credit cards can also help you save money. Many offer travel rewards, special business related discounts, or cash back rewards. When you compare business credit cards, be sure to look at the various incentives they offer in order to find the one that best suits your business. If you purchase a great deal of office equipment, for example, you will want a card that provides points or cash for making such purchases.
If your business requires you to travel frequently, you might want to get a business credit card that provides airline mile rewards. These cards typically offer other benefits that are attractive to the traveling businessperson, such as baggage protection, travel insurance, rental car insurance, and discounts at hotels. Again, these cards take away some of your bookkeeping hassles because you don't have to worry about acquiring these forms of extra protection on your own. Simply use your business credit card and you are covered.
Carrying a Balance
If you anticipate carrying a balance on your credit card from one billing cycle to the next, you should definitely look into acquiring a business credit card with a low APR. Some offer special introductory rates that can last for up to a year depending on the credit card and your credit history. Take full advantage of these cards to get your business up and running and work toward being capable of paying the balance off at the end of each billing cycle. For some businesses, however, carrying a balance is inevitable. Sometimes, paying the balance depends on customer invoicing and customers may not always be reliable about paying their invoices on time. Or, your business may have slow periods where more cash is going out than coming in. In these cases, it is best to acquire a card with a low APR, but that still provides you with all of the desirable bookkeeping features.
Business Credit Cards - Corporate and Small Business Credit Cards Compared
Business credit cards come in a variety of forms, which can seem a little overwhelming to someone that doesn't know the difference between the different types of cards. When it comes to business credit cards, the largest percentage of the market is small business owners. In fact, small businesses are the driving force behind the American economy and create the most new jobs every year. Therefore, credit card companies have developed business credit cards with the small business in mind, but there are some differences between business credit cards for small businesses as compared to those for corporations.
Where You Find It
One major difference between corporate credit cards and small business credit cards is how you found out about it in the first place. For the most part, small business credit cards are those that you see advertised on the Internet and for which you might receive a pre-approval invitation. Corporate credit cards are not advertised in the mass media because they are set up differently, operate differently, and target a different group of people.
Customizing
When it comes to small business credit cards, you have to take what you can find. Of course, you can compare business credit cards to find the ones that suit you best, but you don't really have much room for making changes to the card to meet your needs. When it comes to corporate credit cards, the business can request options to be custom-made to work with the company. The reason for this increased flexibility comes down to revenue. A corporation placing millions of dollars of transactions on the credit card can have more say in how the card is set up. This ability to customize is another reason why you generally don't see corporate business credit cards being advertised within the mass media.
Of course, corporations generally have greater needs when it comes to their financial responsibilities than a small business owner. Options they might need to have included on the card are often meant to help the corporation keep track of expenditures and to review and approve them in order to reimburse employees for entertainment and travel. The ability to track all of these expenses so closely requires the use of specialized software that is designed to interface with platforms from human resources.
Payment Responsibility
Another major difference between corporate credit cards and small business credit cards is the matter of who is responsible for repaying the debt. As a small business owner with a sole proprietorship, you and the business are one and the same. This means you are personally responsible for repaying any debt that may have incurred. If you default on payments, it is your personal credit history that is hurt. A corporation, on the other hand, is separate from the owner. Therefore, the corporation is responsible for repaying the debt. As such, the corporation may default on the credit card loan and file for bankruptcy, but you do not personally file.
It's in the Name
Since a small business owner is generally a sole proprietorship and you are personally responsible for the debt, another difference between corporate credit cards and small business credit cards is the name on the card. In the case of a small business credit card, your name is generally what is listed on the front of the card. A corporate credit card, on the other hand, will have the corporation name on the front. In addition to the corporation name, it will usually have your name as well in order to verify that you are an authorized user. This also helps the corporation track the expenses of each employee. But, the primary name is the corporation name since financial responsibility falls back on the company.
Earn Free Airline Tickets with an Airline Credit Card
If you have signed up for an airline credit card, you are probably trying to figure out how to get the most of its reward system. More than likely, you are paying an annual fee for your airline credit card, plus a higher interest rate than what you would pay for a card without rewards. Therefore, it makes financial sense to want to be sure you are getting something in return for the investment. The best way to ensure that you use your airline credit cards to their fullest is to earn those free tickets sooner rather than later.
Choose the Card Wisely
When selecting an airline credit card, keep in mind that there are several to choose from. Some airline miles credit cards are formed in partnership with specific airlines, which means your rewards will be restricted to just that airline. Others are more generic and allow you to collect miles for a variety of airlines. These cards work by purchasing a discounted ticket for you on the airline of your choice based on the cash value of every mile you earn. If you don't want to be restricted to just one airline, this type of airline credit card is a good option for you. You can often earn a ticket quicker this way since ticket prices vary among competing airlines.
You also need to pay attention to how many dollars you need to spend in order to earn free tickets. This requires looking at two components: how many miles each dollar you spend is worth and how many miles it takes to earn a ticket. If you earn 5 miles per dollar, but it takes 100,000 miles to earn a ticket, it is better to go with a card that only rewards 1 mile per dollar but provides a ticket after accumulating 10,000 miles.
Take Advantage of the Incentives
Airline miles credit cards generally have a number of special incentives built into the program. For example, you might earn more miles for purchases made with certain partners. Or, you might earn bonus miles for making purchases through the airline that has partnered with the card if the card is a partnership between an airline and a credit card company. Learn as much as you can about how you can earn extra miles with your card - and take advantage of it.
Many airline miles credit cards offer similar incentives. For example, several provide incentives for making car rentals or hotel reservations with their business partners. Or, some packaged vacation deals can be created in partnership with the credit card company or airline. If you purchase these packages with the credit card, you might receive a significant number of bonus miles.
Fly Often and Use Your Card
The fastest way to earn your free airline ticket is to fly often and to be sure you charge the tickets to your airline credit card. Doing so can help you accumulate thousands of airline miles in just one year. If you travel for business, make sure to charge the expense to your airline credit card to increase your miles earned.
On the other hand, you can still pump up your earned airline miles even if you do not travel for business. You can charge all of your gasoline, groceries, and other expenses to your airline credit card. You can even set up your regular monthly bills to be charged to your credit card. Paying all of the bills at one time at the end of the month when you pay off your credit card balance isn't just convenient, it is also a smart way to earn rewards for money you will spend anyway. Make the bills work for you and help you earn more miles.
Balance Transfer Credit Cards FAQ
When it comes to using balance transfer credit cards, many consumers are filled with questions and concerns. While there are many benefits to using a balance transfer credit card, it is always best to have these questions answered and the concerns satisfied before moving forward with applying for one of these cards.
How Can Balance Transfer Credit Cards Save Me Money?
Balance transfer credit cards can save you money by reducing the amount of finance charges you pay every year. If you transfer even a small amount of money, such a $1,000, from a card with a higher APR to one with a lower APR, you will see a difference. For example, if you have a credit card with a 20% APR, you will pay $200 per year to maintain that $1,000 balance. On the other hand, you will pay only $80 on that same balance if you have a credit card with an 8% APR. That is a savings of $120! Imagine how much you will save on larger balances.
Even better, the best balance transfer credit cards offer 0.00% introductory APRs, which means you will pay no finance charges while that introductory period is active. With some balance transfer credit cards, this special rate remains in place until the entire amount you transferred is paid off.
What is an "Introductory Rate?"
An introductory rate is a special APR that lasts for a limited time. Often, the length of time this rate is in place is determined by your credit history. The introductory rate can be in place for as long as one year, though more common durations are six months, three months, and one month.
What is a "Fixed Rate?"
A fixed rate is a rate that does not change. Balance transfer credit cards with a low fixed rate may not offer a 0.00% introductory APR, but they might offer a 7.99% APR that remains this low no matter how long it takes you to pay off your balance, rather than skyrocketing up to 19.99% after the introductory period is over.
Why Does Everyone Say Balance Transfer Credit Cards are More Convenient?
Many people feel balance transfer credit cards are more convenient because it places all of your debt in one place. This makes it easier to track your expenses, to create a budget, and to get your bills paid on time.
Is it OK to Pay Only the Minimum Payment on My Balance Transfer Credit Card?
From a legal standpoint, all you are required to pay on your balance transfer credit card is the minimum payment. From a financial standpoint, however, this is a bad habit to get into. If you pay only the minimum payment, it can take you decades to pay off your debt - and that assumes you are not adding any more debt to your balance. So, if you want to get out of debt (and who doesn't?), it is best to pay off more than your minimum payment. Set up a budget that allows for regular payments above your minimum payment to be sent to the credit card company - and stick to it.
Will a Balance Transfer Credit Card Get Me Out of Debt?
Yes and no. If used alone, a balance transfer credit card will not get you out of debt. If you transfer all of your credit card balances to your balance transfer credit card and pay only the minimum payment, it can still take you years to pay off the debt. Therefore, a balance transfer credit card should be viewed as one tool in you tool belt for helping you work your way out of debt. If used correctly and to its fullest advantage, it can help you get out - and stay out - of debt.
Balance Transfer Credit Card - Debt Consolidation
Balance transfer credit cards can provide an excellent option for debt consolidation. Many Americans are currently in debt and struggling for a way out. Some choose to use a home equity loan to help get themselves out of debt, but not everyone has a home with built up equity to use for this purpose. In addition, putting your home up as collateral for debt consolidation can be a bit nerve-wracking and many banks enforce annual maintenance fees and monetary penalties if you try to close the equity line before a specified period of time.
Rising Interest Rates
Anyone that has been a credit card holder for some time or who pays attention to the financial marketplace knows that credit card rates on many cards have been on the rise. Often, credit card companies are more than happy to increase interest rates when the prime rate is raised, but they are not so quick to bring the rates down when the prime rate decreases. By consolidating your debt with a balance transfer credit card, you can remove your debt from your high interest cards and place it on your card with a lower interest rate. The best balance transfer credit cards offer low introductory rates or low fixed rates on balance transfers, making them a great option for debt consolidation.
What to Look For
When looking for a balance transfer card for debt consolidation, you generally want to find the card with the lowest long-term rate. More than likely, you will be consolidating a debt that you will be unable to pay in a short period of time. If this is the case, your low interest introductory period may be over long before you are done paying off the debt.
You also need to be cautious about fees when looking to consolidate debt with a balance transfer credit card. Many credit cards charge a fee for transferring balances from another card onto theirs. The best balance transfer credit cards will not charge an additional fee. In addition, some balance transfer credit cards require transferred balances to be requested at the time of application for the card in order to be eligible for the special introductory offer. While this may be fine for some people, you might want to have the flexibility to transfer balances. In this case, you will want to select a card that allows you to transfer balances any time throughout the introductory period.
For the very best balance transfer credit cards, you will want to find one that maintains the low APR throughout the life of the balance you have transferred. In other words, a balance you transfer on a card may have a 0.00% APR for the first six months, but then rocket to 19.99% when the period is over. On the best balance transfer credit cards, however, the low introductory offer remains in place until you pay off the entire amount you have transferred.
Self-Discipline
Obviously, a balance transfer credit card cannot do all of the work for you. While you can consolidate all of your bills onto just one card, you will need to be disciplined enough to pay the balance off. If your introductory period expires after so many months, you should create a budgetary plan that will have the balance paid off by the time the period is over. You might need to cut out some of the extras, such as the cup of fancy coffee you grab every morning, to help create a little extra cash flow. It will be well worth it when you find yourself out of debt. In addition, the money you are saving in finance charges should be paid toward your credit card debt
The Benefits of Credit Repair
Credit repair has several benefits. One benefit is you can do it yourself. The downside is you’ll need truckloads of patience and a generous amount of time to do it.
Our society lives by the rules of the money game. No matter what people say about money not buying happiness, cash is still king. If you don’t have it, you’ve got to borrow it, but with bad credit, you’re going to have a tough time convincing your banker that you’ve got an ounce of credit worthiness left. So getting your act together today to do credit repair is to your best interest.
Credit repair – an indispensable tool
If you’d like to do credit repair yourself, you’ve got to know the ins and outs of the credit repair industry. You can always hire a credit repair specialist to do it for you, but if you’re short of cash, it may be better to roll up your sleeves and start boning up on credit repair procedures and learn the most effective ways of going about it. Familiarizing yourself with the essentials of credit repair is indispensable. It’s the only way to get out of a vicious cycle of rejection and suspicion. Who likes going around with a sign around the neck saying, “I’ve got lousy credit”?
The idea is to start digging around for information. Request all your credit reports and scrutinize them with a fine-toothed comb. You’ll want to correct any false information that is listed on those reports and remove anything that might hamper your efforts in doing your credit repair. Of course you need to do so legitimately, with a certain degree of formality.
Anything you do about credit repair must be done in writing. This way, you can come up with documented evidence that you’ve done due diligence.
Credit repair: legislation to protect you
To ensure consumer protection from the tactics of credit reporting agencies, financial institutions, and credit reporters and investigators, there is legislation that governs this particular industry. For example the Legal Information Institute of Cornell University cites a provision from the US Code Collection (title 15, chapter 41) that deals with fairness and accuracy of credit reporting. If you feel that information has been unfairly cited in your credit report, you can take steps to correct that. It’s perfectly within your rights, and it’s one of the first steps you can take in credit repair.
Remember, knowledge is power. The more you know, the better you’ll be equipped with credit information repair; who knows, you may stumble on a credit repair secret that you could use to your advantage.
Get Out of Credit Card Debt
Credit cards seems to be really helpful when you are in emergency and do not have hard cash with you. However, most people do not use credit cards only during emergency, they use it to fulfill their desires which is the main cause that makes them fall into credit card debt. These times are very stressful and can cause serious financial problems.
Here we recommend you some useful tips to eliminate your credit card debt.
1) Create a Budget and stick to it: If it is very difficult for you to control your spending habit and to live in your budget. Therefore it is better for you to prepare a budget for yourself. Try to avoid extra expenditure and stick to your prepared budget. Do not carry your credit card with you, if you cannot control your expenses.
2) Restrict yourself to One or Two Cards: Always try not to signup for more than two credit cards. At some super markets this technique might cause you some problem but after all, you will be able to save money.
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3) Avoid using the available credit line fully: People think that credit card is a facility, yes to some extent it is correct but you must think that no one will give you this service without any advantage. They add interest and other fees in your account. So avoid using credit carda frequently. Use your credit cards economically and wisely.
4) Spend money within your means. This is easier said than done as we often use the credit cards to simply get some credit. And that credit is something we need as we don´t have the means available in any other way.
5) Try to pay more than minimum payment: To recover your credit card debt, try to pay as much as you can. Pay more than the minimum decided payment. In this way you will get rid of your credit card debt very soon. If you stretch the time limit to pay, then you have more interest to pay. By making some extra efforts it will be easier for you to repay the debt.
6) High interest debt should be paid first: We recommend you to pay the high interest debt first. It is better for you to manage all your money to pay high interest loans first and then move to other loans. If you are facing a problem with this option then we will advise you one more option. That is to pay off all of your smaller loans and and then come to larger ones.
7) How to manage money for repayment: If you cannot manage money, you can take a personal loan or a loan against your life insurance or loan for credit card consolidation. In this way you get a loan with much lower interest rate and a pay plan that often has a longer payback time.
8) Take advantage of the possibilities to get help. It is great to have a live person to talk to about this kind of problems. You can find them in your bank and there are also public officials to turn to. A search on the internet will help you find them.
With all these tips we are sure that you will soon get rid of your credit card debt.
Understanding Business Lines Of Credit
Business Lines of credit are on-demand loans generally guaranteed by the lenders. The repayment is short term, ranging from six months to a year, and can be straight, fixed, or revolving in nature. Revolving lines of credit allow a company to borrow a particular amount for a particular period with no fixed payment terms. The cost for a revolving line of credit is based on an adjustable market-based interest rate. Straight lines of credit are short-term loans with a large payment paid at the end. Fixed lines are short-term loans with the payments based on the revenues from the company.
The Advantages
Business lines of credit are an excellent way to obtain extra funds when the company needs them, whether it is to meet seasonal inventory demands, remodeling of the office space, or any other short-term financial need. They provide necessary funds to complete a project or make it through a cash flow crunch. They help with payrolls, accounts receivables, accounts payables, short-term business expenses, and working capital. With this type of credit the company pays the interest for the outstanding monthly installment based on the funds used.
The Features
The personal credit rating no longer affects the company's transactions, and the personal assets are not kept as collateral. Owners often use their personal lines of credit to finance their company during the initial phase. Once the company gets through the initial phase it is advantageous to apply for a business line of credit. By establishing a Limited Liability Company (LLC) and getting an employer ID number, the owner can use the company assets as collateral to open a new business line of credit and separate the personal credit rating from that of the firm. They are generally based on the value of assets and hard assets are used as collateral. When applying, be ready with financial documentation such as income statements and tax returns.
The Uses
Business lines of credit are often more difficult to get than personal ones, but once you have it, the owner can leverage the buying and borrowing power. The amount loaned to the firm from them depends on the past business performance in terms of revenues and projected annual cash flows. A positive cash flow and the ability of the firm to repay debt on a regular monthly basis are essential factors in obtaining them.
Many financial institutions are in a race to lend, and offer attractive benefits. It is the responsibility of the business associates to decide which is best suited for them.
Additional Help
Software packages are available in the market, which ease the difficulty of preparing the financial position of a firm and assessing credit lines. This software is geared toward small as well as large businesses and is affordably priced.
Work at Home Series: Know Your Credit
This series of articles are written specifically for work at home moms. In this article, we will discuss how many thousands of home-based business startups have started with very little money. In fact, most are usually started with a few hundred dollars of personal savings.
Though this approach of financing a startup business is one of the better ways there may come a time when additional financing will be needed to grow the business. Traditionally when additional financing is being sought, banks are approached for a small business loan. One of the criteria used by the banks to evaluate your ability to pay them back is through your credit report. Knowing this, you should obtain a copy of your report so that you will know what is contained in your credit report before approaching a bank.
To obtain a copy of your report, you have two options, you can pay for a report from any one of hundreds of websites, or if you want a truly free credit report (without strings attached) you should type in in goolge free federal credit report and you will find results that will show you where you can obtain your free report. Legislation passed by the federal government allows you to obtain three free credit reports on an annual basis.
Here are some areas of your report you should investigate:
Are there any errors?
Is there any missing information?
How accurate is your report?
If you find anything wrong with your report, you should notify the credit bureau in writing immediately.
Credit scores give an indication to lenders of how risky it is to do business with you. Your credit score is your personal report card on how well you manage both money (assets) and debt (liability).
Credit scores range from a low of 300 to the rare high of 850. A score of 760 typically will earn you the best rates, while scores in the low 600's will earn the worse rates.
Here are some ways to improve your credit
Pay your bills on time
Payoff all debit
Do not open credit accounts rapidly
Do not only pay only the minimum balance each month
Do not max out on all of your credit accounts
Do not close out all accounts
If you would like to test your credit knowledge, type into google consumer fed score and the results should appear.
I hope that you have enjoyed this article, and that it will help you make your business more successful.
Credit Cards For Easier Payments
No need to carry cash anymore to make your payments. With the introduction of credit cards life has become simpler with easy payments and you no longer need to carry a fat wallet when you go shopping.
VISA and MasterCard are the most popular credit card companies throughout the world. Commercial banks in collaboration with these companies help provide credit card services, also known as plastic money. With so many options in the credit card market, it is important to know what features your credit card provides.
First and foremost is the annual fee that credit card companies charge. The annual credit card fees may range from $25 to more than $100. The fee depends on the type of card you choose. To attract customers banks sometimes waive the first year annual fee and often offer a one-time credit card membership charge. You should also find out beforehand the other type of fees that the company charges – balance transfer fee, over-the-credit-limit fee, credit-limit-increase fee and others.
The grace period to make payments is another important consideration. The grace period is normally a certain number of days from the credit card statement date. Payments not made within the grace period will incur late payment fees.
Most credit cards allow cash advances from ATMs. For cash advances, a cash advance fee is charged, which is normally a percentage of the cash withdrawal made. Most credit cards do not allow any grace period for cash advances and interest is charged from the day of the cash advance.
Credit cards may be of many types – silver, gold or platinum. The credit limit normally depends on the type of card you choose. The type of card offered depends on your income level. Cards with higher credit limits normally attract higher fees but also come with additional features. Additional features may include discounts on purchases, money back on frequent use, accident insurance etc.
It is important that you carefully read the credit card application form before signing on the dotted line. An application does not imply acceptance by the company. Credit card processing takes time and your personal details will be thoroughly checked before your application is accepted.
It is always advisable to make purchases within your financial limits. However, there are many people who face credit card debt problems. The best way to eliminate credit card debt is to enroll in a credit card debt consolidation program. Debt consolidation programs help reduce the debt burden and allow repayment with easy monthly installments. Do a thorough research and check the credibility of the company before choosing a debt consolidation plan.
Credit Card Debt and Living Within Your Means
Credit cards can be a blessing or a curse. It all depends on how you use them. They are great when you have an emergency or an unexpected expense. However, if you buy every new style of shoes that comes out or eat out 4 or 5 times a week you are likely to find yourself with mounting debt on those credit cards.
Credit card debt is on the rise in this country and reaching an all time high. Credit card companies are making very easy to get credit. You can have all your credit cards maxed out, but as long as you make that minimum monthly payment, these companies will be willing to extend you more credit.
But, who is benefiting by you having all this credit? Do the credit card companies have your best interests in mind, by giving you all this credit? The credit card companies have everything to gain, especially your interest payments. As long as you are making your minimum payment, these companies are happy, because they are also making a substantial amount off of you in interest payments.
Having spent time working in the credit card industry, it was very obvious that if you make only minimum payments you are going to be in debt a long time. I have seen people who had minimum payments due of $200 and $195 of that payment went to pay there interest charges.
Credit card companies have designed their payment system to keep you in debt. It is up to you to make the necessary changes to get yourself out of debt. It was said that at the beginning of 2006, minimum credit card payments would increase from 2% to 4% of the balance. I have not really seen where that has happened.
Bottom line is you are going to have to make some decisions if you wish to have a debt free future. You are robbing yourself of your dreams if you spend many years making the credit card companies richer. Credit cards have their place. You just have to figure out where it is.
If you have an excessive amount of credit card debt, now is the time to make a debt management plan that will help you become debt free within a reasonable amount of time (5 years or less). If you do not know where to start, there are many non-profit debt counseling agencies that can help you get started. Credit cards can work for you, but if they are used for the wrong reasons, they can be a burden to you for a long time.
What Is The National Average Credit Score?
Because everyone has a credit score these can be used to calculate what is called the national average credit score. Combining what everyone else's credits score is and determining what the average is between them can be telling of the national mean credit rating. A national credit score can definitely say a lot about the nation.
The national score can help determine where most people should be. The usual national average credit score is between six hundred and fifty and seven hundred. This is completely in the middle, because eight hundred is the highest and three hundred is the lowest. Being in the middle or even on the low end of the national average could leave you room to improve and should be done if possible.
One way of getting closer to at least the national average credit rating is by paying your bills on time or even before they are due. Late payments can be detrimental to your credit score. Paying on time can make it easier to become debt free by lowering your balances. Another thing to get closer to the national mean credit rating is by is to stay away from high interest loans or credit cards. These are harder to get rid of and will remain on your report longer lowering your score.
Another thing to consider when trying improving your credit score is consolidation. This is an option for those who are having an even more difficult time than average paying off their debts. These loans can help you get your debts paid off and make it easier and more convenient for you to do so. This can then improve your score enough to make into the national score range.
Besides this you should also make sure you double-check your report at least once a year. Going online and finding a free credit-reporting agency is very simple and should be done. This will help you spot any mistakes a lot faster and therefore fix them a lot faster and keep them from ruining your report any longer than they have to.
Basically making responsible decisions can help you stay within the national average credit score, which is the very least you, want when it comes to your credit score. Knowing that a good score can affect your life and your future greatly is the first step in wanting to take responsibility for it and improving it. At the very least being part of the national score range can greatly improve your chances of getting what you need from a loan or credit card.
What is Currency Markets?
The currency market includes the Foreign Currency Market and the Euro-currency Market. The Foreign Currency Market is virtual. There is no one central physical location that is the foreign currency market. It exists in the dealing rooms of various central banks, large international banks, and some large corporations. The dealing rooms are connected via telephone, computer, and fax. Some countries co-locate their dealing rooms in one center. The Euro-currency Market is where borrowing and lending of currency takes place. Interest rates for the various currencies are set in this market.
Trading on the Foreign Exchange Market establishes rates of exchange for currency. Exchange rates are constantly fluctuating on the forex market. As demand rises and falls for particular currencies, their exchange rates adjust accordingly. Instantaneous rate quotes are available from a service provided by Reuters. A rate of exchange for currencies is the ratio at which one currency is exchanged for another.
The foreign exchange market has no regulation, no restrictions or overseeing board. Should there be a world monetary crisis in this market; there is no mechanism to stop trading. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York publishes guidelines for Foreign Exchange trading. In their "Guidelines for Foreign Exchange Trading", they outline 50 best practices for trading on the forex market.
Spot Exchange
The spot exchange is the simplest contract. A spot exchange contract identifies two parties, the currency they are buying or selling and the currency they expect to receive in exchange. The currencies are exchanged at the prevailing spot rate at the time of the contract. The spot rate is constantly fluctuating. When a spot exchange is agreed upon, the contract is defined to be executed immediately. In reality, a series of confirmations occurs between the two parties. Documentation is sent and received from both parties detailing the exchange rate agreed upon and the amounts of currency involved. The funds actually move between banks two days after the spot transaction is agreed upon.
Forward Exchange
The forward exchange contract is similar to the spot exchange. However, the time period of the contract is significantly longer. These contracts use a forward exchange rate that differs from the spot rate. The difference between the forward rate and the spot rate reflects the difference in interest rates between the two currencies. This prevents an opportunity for arbitrage. If the rates did not differ, there would be a profit difference in the currencies. That is, investing in one currency for a year and then selling it should be the same profit or loss as setting up a forward contract at the forward rate one year in the future. Investing in one currency would be more profitable than investing in the other. Thus there would exist an opportunity for arbitrage. Forward exchange contracts are settled at a specified date in the future. The parties exchange funds at this date. Forward contracts are typically custom written between the party needing currency and the bank, or between banks.
Currency Futures and Swap Transactions
Currency futures are standardized forward contracts. The amounts of currency, time to expiry, and exchange rates are standardized. The standardized expiry times are specific dates in March, June, September, and December. These futures are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). Futures give the buyer an option of setting up a contract to exchange currency in the future. This contract can be purchased on an exchange, rather than custom negotiated with a bank like a forward contract.
A currency swap is an agreement to two exchanges in currency, one a spot and one a forward. An immediate spot exchange is executed, followed later by a reverse exchange. The two exchanges occur at different exchange rates. It is the difference in the two exchange rates that determines the swap price. There is also something called a currency swap. This is a method to exchange an income stream of one currency for another.
Currency Options
A currency option gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, either to buy (call) from the option writer, or to sell (put) to the option writer, a stated quantity of one currency in exchange for another at a fixed rate of exchange, called the strike price. The options can be American, which allows an option to be exercised until a fixed day, called the day of expiry, or European, which allows exercise only on the day of expiry, not before. The option holder pays a premium to the option writer for the option.
The option differs from other currency contracts in that the holder has a choice, or option, of whether they will exercise it or not. If exchange rates are more favorable than the rate guaranteed by the option when the holder needs to exchange currency, they can choose to exchange the currency on the spot exchange rather than use the option. They lose only the option premium. Options allow holders to limit their risk of exposure to adverse changes in the exchange rates.
Hedging
It is also common for currency options to be used to hedge cash positions. Companies are not typically in the business of gambling with their profits on deals. It is in the company's best interest to lock in an exchange rate they can count on. They are motivated to insure that their profits are as expected. Two ways they might do this are to enter forward contracts or to buy options.
They would select an exchange rate that would be acceptable but not too expensive. They might choose to buy a slightly out-of-the-money call option to cover them if the currency exchange rate falls. If it stays the same or rises, they will exchange at the spot exchange rate at the time the payment is due.
Credit Repair, Learn More About It
Ok. Your mother and father taught you to always take care of your credit (at least mine did) and you shudder every time you think of them rambling on about "be careful with credit cards," "save your money," and "you might need a new car or home someday." Well, they're right, credit is important and sometimes we may forget it in our busy lives. So, what do we do if we find ourselves in need of credit repair? Many times you can solve the problem yourself, especially if you're on a budget. Doing it yourself can help you to feel better because you'll feel in control of what's going on in the process, and you can be sure to take care of each out of line item on your report.
Well how do we find out if we need credit repair? Well we need to get a copy of our credit report from those big scary companies that keep track of our credit information, that's the only way to really get started. It isn't too hard to do because you can get a copy of your credit report because federal law states you can get a copy every twelve months for free from the credit bureaus. You can contact the agencies to get it. All you need is your basic information like name, social security, address, and so on.
Now that you have your credit report you're going to go over it and see if there is anything on it needing credit repair attention. Do you see anything on there you don't recognize? Is there one of your credit items that shows you have paid late even though you're meticulous about your bill paying and it shouldn't be there? The good news is all of the credit bureaus make the credit repair process relatively easy because mistakes and errors on your report are pretty common. You can even contact your creditor directly about the error on your report or ask them why you have the item reported in error on your report, and then sometimes they will change what they've reported.
As you get used the steps needed for credit repair and can find the erroneous information on your report, you can send in a proper letter to get things rolling. This may seem obvious, but sometimes people forget to makes themselves copies of everything they're doing and keep it in a simple file. Don't be one of them that forgets! As you get your credit repair needs taken care of these large credit reporting bureaus get a ton of requests regularly and at times things can "get lost in the shuffle." So having your own copies or records can save you hassle and frustration. It of course makes you stay on task and makes things easy to follow up on.
So if you are getting rejected applications for credit cards, loans, mortgages and so on for things you really stand in need of, you need to find out what's going on. Credit shouldn't feel like a surprise or a gamble. You should know what's going on and pretty much know what credit you are worthy of obtaining. Doing credit repair should be pretty simple for the obvious for the easier repairs. You may want to consider a credit repair company if you have a big mess or if you have had major money management problems for a long time. Having the inaccurate or damaging information on your report fixed can be time consuming at times, but it will be well worth it when you need credit.
Obtaining A Sub Prime Credit Card
If you have a poor credit rating or simply none at all, you may be worried about building credit. However, there are some credit cards out there especially designed for you. All you need to do is research!
Credit Options for People with Low or No Credit. Credit cards are surprisingly easy to acquire, regardless of whether or not you have a good credit rating. There are always options available to you no matter what your credit history. Some credit cards even come directly through the mail with a card already fixed and you just have to call to confirm it.
These credit cards are designed to help you build a credit history. However, if you are not careful, you could end up getting yourself into a lot of debt! It is incredibly easy to find these credit cards. A simple search on the internet will bring up dozens of companies offering their cards for poor credit ratings. The thing with these kinds of cards, however, is that they often have a higher interest rate than any other card. While this is not always the case, it is still good to make sure you shop around before applying for one.
Often, the credit cards you are offered are also Gold or Platinum cards, so you really do have to be careful with what you use them for!
How to apply and what is required.
It is extremely easy to apply for a credit card. If you do a search online, you will literally find hundreds if not thousands, of websites offering credit cards to people with poor credit ratings. All you have to do then is visit the sites, then you just need to fill in a simple online form.
All you really need to fill in are details about where you live, your social security number, your date of birth and other personal details. It is very rare that a credit card company for people with poor credit will want to see a credit report. However, even if they do, they often do not really take much notice of it.
If applying online, it usually only takes a couple of minutes to find out if you are accepted. You may need to call somebody from the company or they may do it for you just to confirm that you have applied, etc. They also will usually go though more details with you to see if you further fit the bill for one of their credit cards.
You can also apply through the mail since credit card offers are often sent in junk mail. With these, they usually include a short form or ask you to call a special number to apply. Overall, it really will not take long at all to do and you should have your new card within a week.
How Does A Credit Score Determine A Poor Credit Rating?
A credit score is usually between 300 and 850 with 600 to 700 classed as average. A higher score tells lenders that you are a trustworthy borrower and you are often more likely to get credit. A poor credit rating will be below 400 and this stops a lot of companies from giving you credit. However, there are companies set up especially for people with no credit history or poor credit history and those generally do not bother too much about it.
Every time you forget to pay a bill on time or if you have outstanding debt, it goes on your credit rating. Points are taken off and as mentioned earlier, if it reaches below 400 it tells potential companies that you are unreliable and they might have problems with you paying any money back to them.
Overall, if you do want a credit card and you have poor credit, it is not too much of a problem to get one. However, the interest rates are often higher and you really do have to watch that you pay the minimum each month when you spend with it. If you are not careful, you will end up with an even worse credit report than you had before. However, if you are sensible, it can help to build up your credit rating. You just have to shop around first and do your research in order to find the right card for you.
No Significant Financing For Your Business Without Business Credit Scores
Many entrepreneurs seeking financing for their business don't realize that without first having excellent business credit scores their business will never obtain significant financing. Business credit scores function exactly like personal credit scores, and so you have to build your credit scores up properly before you can seek large amounts of capital for your business from any lending institution. It is nearly impossible to obtain capital from a lending institution without having first establishing excellent credit scores for your company.
The question that companies face is how do they go about establishing the business credit scores that are a prerequisite for financing them. First, every owner must make sure that all of their business lines of credit or any aspect of financing for their company is reporting to the major business credit bureaus. Unfortunately, less than ten percent (10%) of all corporate lending in the United States gets reported to the major credit agencies. This means that while your business may have existing financing, if that financing is not being reporting then your company will never build business credit scores up to where they need to be.
To properly establish credit scores it often times can take three to six months to get a business credit score that is worthy of large amounts of financing in the eyes of the lender. A lender wants to make sure that their loan has the chance of being repaid, and one of the only ways they can justify that is to see if you have established a business credit history with a solid score. This is the same concept as when you attempt to get a personal loan or a car loan. They will pull your personal credit history, and if you have a poor credit history or no credit history you are either denied, or are forced to pay higher interest rates on the loans.
The secret to building excellent credit scores for your company is a 1-3-5. That is starting with five vendor lines of credit, three business credit cards, and one business bank loan, all of which report to the business credit agencies and none of which are reporting against your personal credit.
There are many firms now that offer to build your credit for you without you having to do a thing. Ask yourself, "could that happen with my personal credit?" And you know the answer is NO! Beware of business credit building services that claim they will build your credit overnight. They charge exorbitant rates for their services, which will do you no good. A good rule of thumb to live by is that if it sounds too good to be true, than it probably is. Business credit building is a process that you must do yourself, just like you built (or destroyed) your own personal credit scores. The best services are those that give you all the tools and guidelines to do it yourself, not those services that make false promises.
Make sure that as you go along the process of obtaining capital that you never submit a loan request to a lender that you are not pre-qualified for. Credit inquiries can kill any business credit scores that you already have. Make sure you avoid the practice of submitting a business loan application to multiple sources.
Another thing to be cautious of are Internet businesses that allow you to store your business loan application information in one place. You may find that your application gets automatically submitted to hundreds of sources at once. This is finance suicide for your corporation, and all you will end up with will be a destroyed business credit scores and no funding.
Financing your business is not simple, and to get approved there are other aspects beyond just having excellent business credit scores. It is highly recommended that you look into a good business finance coach to help guide you along the way.
Cash Back Credit Cards: How to Make the Most of Your Money
Cash back credit cards are a big deal right now. Every major credit card company is pushing them hard, and you can stand to earn back a nice little chunk of change on your purchases. Below are some suggestions on how you can take advantage of these offers and get the most out of your cash back credit card.
So What’s the Catch?
So the idea of getting paid to spend money is a little counterintuitive, right? Most people think there is probably some catch, or a slew of fees and pages of “fine print.” A few years ago that might have been true; companies made these offers that were less than straightforward. But as competition increased and the concept gained momentum, these offers improved dramatically. As a consequence they are usually pretty straightforward, and not many will stick you with fees.
Pick a Card, Any Card…
If you are considering a cash back card you will need to know about the different options in order to find the right one. Many potential customers are either unsure or confused on how these little guys work. There is no single explanation, but because as the market has grown competitive, companies have introduced new exciting features. Here are the two basic ideas:
The General Cash Back Card - Your general cash back card is pretty straightforward. It is probably best for the person who has a broad and unpredictable spending pattern. Citi, Discover, and Chase all offer very nice packages for everyday spending. “Every day items” can earn you up to 5% back, where as other purchases will get you 1%. You will typically get your cash back at the end of an established cycle, or after you cross a value threshold.
Points Card – Point cards are a little tweak on the traditional cash back card. Purchases earn you points, sometimes more points if you spend with specific vendors. Amazon.com springs to mind, as does Overstock.com, and Universal Entertainment. Many points cards are targeted on specific purchases. Discover has a gas card, and the Chase 6 for 1 Flexible Rewards offers 6 points for every dollar of gas, groceries and drug stores.
Tips for Maximizing Your Rewards
There are some very simple common-sense-tips to drive up your cash back or point rewards. First and foremost, determine your spending pattern. If you are swamped with day-to-day household expenses you will definitely want to find a card tailored to that situation. Determining the nature of your spending habits can concentrate your rewards from what you are doing most, because there is probably a card that targets that market.
Make sure you read the fine print. Some points redemption cards are restricted to specific kinds of purchases. For instance, Blue by American Express limits your point redemption to retail shopping deals and entertainment packages. That’s great if it is up your alley, but look into the details to make sure you are getting what you expect.
Finally, create more opportunity to purchase. If you carry a balance from month-to-month you are limiting how much you can earn back from your card. If you have more capacity to buy, you have more capacity to earn cash or points rewards. Carrying a balance limits your available purchasing power. Also, by paying your card’s balance each month, you will see a credit line increase more quickly. This is the cash-back jackpot. Upping your limit, as with paying your balance, gives you more purchasing power, and thus more rewards. Start that cycle early, and watch your rewards pile up.
Repair Your Credit Rating With A Secured Credit Card
Most people who have taken out a loan or use a credit card have credit rating. However, if you miss a payment or owe money to a creditor, the creditor will report this to a credit reporting agency that keeps records of your credit report. If you do not repair your credit immediately, you will have a negative credit rating and you will not be able to get any credit or loan in the future. You must take immediate steps to remedy this and repair your credit rating.
A good place to start your credit repair is by using a secured credit card. It is usually impossible to apply for a credit card once you have bad credit, which in turn does not afford you any opportunity of proving to your creditor that you are capable of paying your bills responsibly and on time.
To repair your credit with credit cards, obtaining a secured credit card is a good option. Secured credit card is targeted specifically to people with bad credit. When applying for a secured credit card, you are required to place with the secure credit card issuer an initial deposit equal to the amount of your credit limit; that is, you will have a credit limit of $1,000 if you place a deposit of $1,000. The issuer has the right to deduct from your deposit any outstanding balance on your card statement that you fail to pay on time. This plan thus benefits both you and the issuer; in other words the issuer carries no risk thanks to your initial deposit, and you will not fall into your old habit of being behind on or failing to make payment,
Once you have received your secured credit card, you must start practicing good money management habits in order to repair your credit. Use the card but use it sparingly, and also make sure you pay on time. By doing so, you are demonstrating to your creditors that you can be trusted and are responsible, and in this way you will slowly repair your credit.
If you do not take any steps towards credit repair, the credit reporting agency will negatively mark your credit report for seven years, so that you will not be able to get any credit or loan for all those years. By taking a positive step towards credit repair such as by applying for a secured credit card and using it responsibly, you will not have to wait that long to get good credit again.
Getting Your Credit Card When You Have Little Or No Credit History
We always think that those that have abused their credit or have bad credit for other reasons will have trouble getting a credit card. However, if you have very little or no credit, be prepared for similar problems. I know, I know, not fair. But that's the way this credit card stuff works so now at least you know. Credit card companies are very suspicious of those with little or no credit because they don't have much to go on when making a decision on whether or not they can trust you.
So is this like some kind of oxy moron, like jumbo shrimp? You mean I can't get credit without credit history and can't get credit history without credit? Now what? I know what you're thinking; I can't get a hotel room or even rent a car without a credit card, so this is frustrating. Let's see if I can't help you out here.
Potential Credit Options
Many people never think to try this, but it can be quite effective in getting started building credit history. Often, department stores will give you a credit card where a normal credit card company will not. If you look around and call around a little bit, you'll find one that will accept your application. Boom! You can now start building a credit history and a regular credit card will not be far off into the future. Be sure to use the card and make timely payments, or it will just hurt you more than having no credit at all. Good credit history is the goal, not just getting the dang thing in the first place.
You want a company that will consider your total situation and not just your credit history, or lack thereof. Often times lenders will consider whether you rent or own, your employment status, and how many times or how often you move from place to place. If things look pretty good, approval of your application is going to be more likely. Just use the card properly.
Don't Forget Credit Unions
Are you a member of a credit union? If not, check and see if you are possibly eligible for membership in one. You can check with them to see what you need to get a credit card issued to you. Credit unions sometimes have more flexible options in issuing credit cards to their membership. It can be worth the extra effort on your part in checking with these companies to get the card you're looking for.
What About Secured Credit Cards?
Another option you probably think you aren't intersted in is a secured credit card. This card basically gives you an available limit that is the same as or sometimes slightly more than a deposit you leave with them that they hold onto. The longer you have the card and use it responsibly the higher they may raise your limit without a further deposit. Doing this builds credit history and will allow you to apply to regular credit card offers.
Thought About A Student Credit Card?
Are you a hard studying student? You will want to consider a student credit card if this is you. This is an excellent way to build credit history that you'll need once you enter the real world after all your schooling is finished. Once again, be sure to use it correctly. A lot of companies will give you a student credit card; check with the banks in your town where your school is.
Now don't forget that once you get the credit card you wanted you must be intelligent in its use to build your credit history in a positive way. You want future lenders to see you as reliable and someone who pays their bills when they said they would.
Neat Stuff About Business Credit Cards
Business credit cards are usually meant for those that own small businesses, but you may want to think about getting one due to the large amount of excellent offers and programs available that would benefit you. Often you can get cards with an excellent interest rate, good balance transfer possibilities, nice rewards, zero introductory interest rates, and other nice options. You can also often get discounted travel, cheaper car rental, free or low cost travel insurance, frequent flyer miles, and evern save a few bucks on discounts with some places to eat.
Many business credit cards can give you high credit limits while regularly offering low interest rates. Be aware that good credit history is pretty much going to be expected. The credit card companies that offer these business credit cards offer all of these great deals and options becuase most of the time business owners spend much more and retain higher balances. More money in the card issuer's pocket, of course.
These cards work out well for small or big spending. It could be costly furniture or measly supplies for your office. Who needs petty cash with these cards? Also, there are those unforseen suprises that can come up where access to a lot of money can be very helpful. The high limits on these cards would be nice at such a time.
It is common for these cards to list all of your spending in reports either annually or sometimes even quarterly. This is usually free too. Now you have an easier job during tax time for making sure you have your tax write offs in an easy to read format. We wouldn't want to forget any write offs now, would we?
The fact is that business credit card companies like to do business with others in business for themselves. You'll find your customer services issues are handled better. There's a lot of money in it for the card issuer so whoever you get on the end of a customer service line are often quite helpful.
More than one person can be added as a qualified user of the card. In many cases it is possible for a large number of cards with different account numbers to be issued to whatever number of employees you might have. Now keeping track of expeditures is more neat and tidy.
This also makes anyone who isn't using the card in a way not quite in line with the intended way to be discovered and corrected quickly and easily. You can get rid of that account number with a simple call if needed, and it will not affect the main account. You can still be accountable for the charges, so you may want to possibly consider pre paid cards instead. Now your liability is much more limited.
Now if you have customers that don't always pay in a timely manner, these cards can be useful in evening out times of poor cash flow. When your paid invoices come in you can take care of the card.
Pretty much all major financial companies offer good business credit card deals. Some even have a large array of programs for you to choose from. You can get debit cards and even platinum cards with the same rates and no pesky yearly charge. Here's the nice part which is good for you; usually anyone can be a business owner. Many times you don't need to offer any proof like some kind of a license. Check around on web sites and see their terms and conditions, you may be suprised.
You can get business credit cards online pretty easily. If you do actually own a business and are probably therefore busy, it is convenient.
Everything You Wanted To Know About Credit Repair Software
Some companies advertise that they have a credit report repair Software and also they will teach you credit repair secrets, for a fee of course. There is a lot of free information here, if you know where to look. Before you take a credit repair course or sign up for credit report repair, read the facts and the laws relating to credit repair. In this way you may avoid some disappointment and save some money.
What is credit report repair or software? The best kept "secret" is that creditors and credit reporting agencies (commonly referred to as the credit bureaus) make mistakes. What can you learn in a credit repair course? You can learn the basics of bad credit repair, without paying a penny. If you cannot achieve results on your own, then you may need to hire a credit repair lawyer to help you. If you feel that you have exhausted all of the free options, identify what information that you still need and make sure that the credit repair course or software program that you are considering includes that information.
A secret may be defined as "beyond simple understanding". Using this definition, credit report program is credit report repair that is beyond ordinary understanding. The average person does not understand how credit scores are calculated. Most people do not know what information is on their credit reports. Many people do not know their rights under the law.
Credit repair is a popular subject. It seems that almost everyone wants learn about credit repair. Books and software programs that claim to contain everything you wanted to know about credit repair are being sold on the internet and in retail locations all over the country. There are some questionable credit repair schemes and some companies suggest action which is illegal. Consumers can learn to repair their own credit, but it takes time and patience. The safest bet when hiring someone to do the work for you is to hire a credit repair attorney. In this way, you can be sure that you will achieve results; they know everything there is to know about credit repair. You can also be sure that a credit repair attorney will not advise you to do anything that is illegal. Most of the popular credit repair lawyers do not charge more than the other credit repair companies and some offer money back guarantees.
The Federal Trade Commission regulates credit repair organizations and states that "certain advertising and business practices of some companies engaged in the business of credit repair services have worked a financial hardship upon consumers, particularly those of limited economic means and who are inexperienced in credit matters." Under the laws regulating credit repair organizations, any company that advertises secret credit report repair or credit repair in general must provide the consumer with certain information. These regulations do not apply to companies that offer a credit repair course or seminar. Most of these are simply rehashing information that has been available for years. If you look in the public library, you will see that individuals have been writing books about credit report repair for years.
There was an individual who advertised his informational packages on TV. One of his reports was "how to get AAA credit" or something like that. This was not any spectacular secret credit report repair. It was not a credit repair course. He advised consumers to make a $500 deposit into a savings account at any bank. Then, using the deposit as security, apply for a loan. Repay the loan and according to him, you would have great credit. This may be information that the average person does not know. It is similar to the secured credit card programs that so many companies offer. The thing about credit is that, it is harder to get, if you really need it. If you have $500 to deposit into a savings account or a secured credit card program, if you have the money to pay off the debts that you owe, you can improve your credit score over time.
Companies that advertise quick free credit report repair are banking on the theory that you do not know how to review your credit reports for inaccurate information. If you have inaccurate, obsolete, misleading or unverifiable information on your credit reports, then the credit bureaus must delete the information. You must "dispute" the information. In other words, you must notify the credit bureaus about the negative information that needs to be deleted. This is the credit report repair that is often the subject of a credit repair course.
Why Credit Can Destroy You
Credit is a good thing and for most of us without it we can never buy some of the large ticket items such as a home or car. But like any good thing it has its bad side too. Basically these days if you have a job then credit is an easy thing to get. Think about it. Credit card companies exist to make money off of loaning money to you and collecting the interest payments as a result of it. They are not primarily there to help you as you might think. So you should approach credit with a high level of respect much as you approach a Cobra. Although folks in the United States rarely use the term it was used as far back as Biblical times. The term is "usury." It is technically illegal in the United States but in reality it goes on all the time. Usury refers to charging unusually high rates of interest for borrowing money. Just take a look at any title loan or payday loan business in the United States (these are very common in New Mexico) and you will see that usury is alive and well in practice if not in name.
As a real life example, a loan of $400.00 U.S. at one payday loan business will have to be paid in two weeks and have an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of 570.31%. This means that in order to pay off the loan in two weeks you will have to pay $500.00 for the $400.00 you borrowed. If you ask for an extension, that will mean another interest period (as interest is compounded every two weeks) and in order to pay off the loan you will have to pay $600.00. As you can see that someone can be easily destroyed.
But it doesn't necessarily have to be payday loan place. Some credit cards charge in the neighborhood of 30 percent and you end up paying quite a bit of interest. This could mean that 60 to 80 percent of your monthly payment goes toward paying interest that will be compounding in the next billing cycle. If you have high debt then you quickly become enslaved. And if you miss your payments, you suddenly have bad credit or at least a higher interest rate and a late charge.
The damage credit can do to you if your balances get to high goes much farther than just high payments. When you get into a high-balance situation you can suffer from things like depression and hopelessness as all you see is that there is no way out. Those will be your first reactions anyways. And who knows what some people do when they are depressed. Some can't handle it well and the problems begin to multiply. If you find yourself in a situation of credit and balances gone badly, you must tell yourself that this could happen to anyone and keep your mental attitude straight.
Some employers have even gone so far as to check job applicants' credit histories which is probably one of the most unfair actions anyone can take but that is the reality of it. Many times people have a spell of poor credit history due to circumstances beyond their control. So take care of your credit and if you have not reached a high-balance situation then don't get there and if you are in one, do everything you can to start sending those balances the other way.
All About Poor Credit History
Credit history or bad credit history becomes a problem when there is a default in loan payments or repayments. This is when the loan is not paid as previously agreed by the lender and the borrower. The credit reports will be informed of the unpaid load and then this "bad credit" becomes part of the borrowers credit history and can be a huge problem for borrowing in the future.
If you have a large amount of debt and a poor credit history there are still a few options that you have to overcome your financial problems. Options to get you on a better financial footing. One of the options is a debt consolidation loan which could help cut down the payments that you pay each month and also lowering the interest rates. As there would be just one interest rate for the loan rather than many interest rates for the different loans you are paying. A debt consolidation program helps to service your debt and also negotiate lower interest rates for you, so this is also an option. This can sometimes cause longer term problems with your credit history though so it is worth looking into it first and only using it as a last option.
Loans that are offered to people with poor credit history can sometimes be a good thing. For instance, a person living as a tenant with no home to secure against a home and who also has bad credit history who was struggling to pay the rent, this person would have no other option but to take out this type of loan. The interest rates are high but sometimes the cost of the loan outweighs the reason for the loan. All loans must be taken seriously and carefully though out before decisions are made.
People who are in great need of funds are all to grateful to be given a poor credit loan when they have bad credit history. Even at the point when they are told how much they are going to have to pay back they are still not worried as they are getting the money that at that point they so much need. The lender also knows this fact and they also know that this is the only sort of loan that someone with a poor credit history can get. A lot of people don't realise the disadvantages of these loans until it is too late and the papers are signed and it is too late to change their minds or do anything about it.
A new business that is trying to establish itself may need a loan to make payments at the beginning of its life before it is bringing in the money that it hopes to in the future. A poor credit business loan would offer the person owning the business an opportunity to improve on bad credit history. The money is borrowed to help the business overcome financial difficulties and also to grow. This will allow the owner of the business to be able to pay the new loan and to increase the credit scores by being able to continue to pay the monthly scheduled payments.
Poor or bad credit history loans are available to homeowners and also to those who don't have collateral to put up against a loan. Having the collateral has benefits such as low interest rates and also better terms of the loan. There is so much competition among the different lenders and this is ever increasing. Lenders are able and willing to offer poor credit history loans to people with bad credit scores but also with competitive interest rates. If a person has collateral to put up for a poor credit history loan, up to $100,000 could be borrowed.
4 Things To Consider Before Signing Up For A Retail Store Credit Card
We have all probably been through this at some stage. You are at one of your favorite retail outlets for new clothes and when you get to the check out counter, the sales assistant asks you if you want to sign up for their retail store credit card. Then she goes on to explain that you will save 15% on everything you purchase that day if you sign up for their card offer. It sounds great, doesn't it? I mean who wouldn't want to save more money? So you fill out the form and then happily leave the store with your purchases.
Although the initial saving of 15% is a good deal, you will find that it may not the case in the long run. Today many people have some sort of retail store credit card and it is big business for the retailers as they make a lot of money from them. Furthermore, these cards served as a form of free advertisements for the retail stores.
However, such a card also has its share of drawbacks as well. Here are 4 of them:
1. Interest Rates
A retail store credit card tends to have an interest rate as high as 20 to 30%. On the other hand, a regular bank credit card usually has an interest rate that is less than 15%. As you can see, the increase in interest rate can be detrimental to your financial health if you do not pay your balance in full at the end of each billing cycle.
2. Credit Score Rating
Such credit cards can have a negative effect on a person's credit score. The credit bureaus use a specific formula to calculate a person's credit score and they will calculate retail store credit cards differently from those regular bank credit cards. The credit bureaus may rate you as high risk if you possess such card with high interest rate. This in turn could lower your credit score. Moreover, having too many credit cards can add more negative points to your credit score.
3. Even if you do not use the card, the effect on your credit score is still not desirable.
4. Many retail stores will often take personal information from you and then share it with other third party companies. They do this as they can make money from it. What happens is the other companies buy such lists from the retail outlets and then send those people on the lists their own offers in the mail or to an email address if one is provided. You can potentially receive more junk mail in your mailbox.
Before you sign up for any sort of retail store credit card, ask yourself if you really need it. If you visit the particular retail store on a regular basis and you have a strict discipline when it comes to managing your personal finance, such a card may be beneficial to you.
How To Find The Best Credit Rates
The best way you can find the best credit rates for your cards is do research. The fact that you are reading this article means that you have started your research already, so you are already on your way to getting the rates for you.
You need to compare various credit card companies to discover the best credit rates and those that will benefit you the most. Comparing the different cards and rates can help you make the best choice for you. There are also other factors to think about when choosing a new card, such as other charges and fees.
You must asses your personal needs and think about how you are planning to use your new card. The most ideal credit card for you will be the one that will work best with your spending habits and your personal needs.
Many independent companies offer expert advice and also great tips about all different aspects regarding credit cards and the best credit rates.
There are so many different credit cards available on the market today. They are all offering various deals and what they say is the best credit rates. These are all being offered right now and you only have to look in the shops, magazines, television and internet to see the world plastered with advertisements for credit cards. You must remember to choose the best credit card with the best credit rates for your personal needs. It is advisable to have as many facts as you can so that you can decide wisely about the best option for you.
Sometimes looking for a new credit card can me like searching for a needle in a haystack and it can be really quite confusing. To make the it