freedom

Playing the Credit Card Game

Credit card companies are established to make money from the service they are rendering for their customers. Though they are always happy if their clients have a good credit rating, but they are not always happy when you pay off their credit card balance each month. Their wish is that you always carry a balance every month so that they can charge interest on your account. Because of this reason, they are responding by becoming more creative at finding ways to make money off you.

So, there is a need for you to be a smart customer so that you don’t fall the victim, as it can end up affecting your credit rating. In this article, we will look at a few ways you can escape their financial traps.

Make sure you read the information you get from your card issuing company. Read every form you get from the potential card company. Also, make sure you study the bill and every other information you get from your credit card company over time because they can change their terms of your card agreement with as little as 15 days and if you are careless to take note of this it may end up affecting your credit.

Make sure you avoid late payments of your fees. If you make a late payment you can be subjected to larger balance on your account and your card issuing company may hike your interest rate as a result of this.

Avoid carrying a balance every month because you will end up paying far more than you should for everything you charge to your card. Make sure you pay for everything your charge within the grace period if there is any and you will not fall victim of high-interest rates. Failure to do this will lead to accumulation of debt, which will end up spoiling your credit report if you are not careful.

If you are not feeling comfortable with the service you are getting from your issuing company or any of their terms make sure your complaint doesn’t die in silence. Because of the competition most of these companies are facing they will be forced to answer your complaint, and as a matter of fact, make adjustment where possible. For example, if you’ve been getting high-interest fees you can have it lowered by just making your request to your issuing company.

You are free to shop around when you are thinking of getting a new card. Why should you be forced to one company you don’t feel you are comfortable with when there are lots of them out there. Shop around you can get whatever you want.

You can get an interest rate you want, grace period or a card without an annual fee charge. So, go out there, compare the rates, and terms of several cards before you make your choice. The choice you make today will surely determine your credit report tomorrow.

Most cardholders are careless when it comes to checking their credit report with the credit bureau or agencies involved. If you pay your balance on time and don’t carry balance often you have to make sure that your card issuing company reports your performance to the bureau on time. You may possibly want to get a loan in the future and your present credit performance will help you a lot in getting approval on time.

Bad spending habits are one of the viruses that have infected most of the card users in recent years. As a matter of fact, the use of the internet has even made it easy for every card used to get anything they want within minutes. So may find it impossible to control their spending. Most of the websites even make it so easy that you will not even know when you are giving them your card information.

There is a way out to make sure that you keep your card away most of the time. Most especially when you are accessing the internet and when you are going out. If it’s a must that you carry the card because of emergencies, take only one along. However, you can reduce or even stop the bad spending virus, if you stop buying things on impulse. If you are to buy anything at all make plan for it in advance.

We hope this information was beneficial. You can have anything you want if you are enthusiastic about putting in the time, effort and plans to get to your goals. Discover the secrets why the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. Click Here to view a video with more life tips!

In closing, we invite you to share your comments on this and our other posts. If you find the information useful, please Like & Share us and subscribe to this channel for an update as we reveal new strategies. Remember to keep an open mind and Shift 4 Freedom.

Manage Money with A Tight Budget

Often, the average salary earner garners just enough money to support and be on a break even with the numerous bills and fees presented to him. There is a common misconception of having to manage money with a tight budget in terms of being given the image of incapacity or lack of capability. However, in an optimistic point of view, having to manage money with a tight budget brings out the good qualities that a human being has in order to survive and exist in harmony with the demands of society. This only requires self-reflection and responsibility to focus on self-needs and thinking.

Tight Means Availability

Having a tight budget would mean that we are able to discern what things are available to us and allows us to properly identify and rank the things we need instead of what we want. In addition to that, we can choose and deliberate on the better benefits that we would be getting from choosing a better alternative than the one we would normally want.

The resources and basic needs of a person are already available in the society. Even as simple as the simple grocery items that we need for the maintenance of our homes is marketed in different brands and their respective offers. All we must do is know and understand the fine printing of each product and know what we really need at the right time.

Tight Means Better Responsibility

Having to deliberate on the hierarchy of needs we should be spending our hard-earned money brings out and develops our sense of responsibility. This responsibility ranges from the actual management of money for needs rather than wants and applies to the choices that we make to manage our existence. We are also developed into thinking about what we must do at certain stimuli presented to us. In this aspect, we learn to juggle and balance a very complex management system and practice perfection and efficiency from within.

Tight Means Better Management Practice

Being able to practice proper management would bring about a more efficient means of existing without much problems of having to look after things other than what we expected. For example, a credit card should be used to acquire things that are not accessible for normal acquisition or when an emergency is at hand. Still, having this power to have advanced “money” in the form of a loan does not mean that we should be using it as normal as if we had the actual money. Remember that this is borrowed money and therefore should be paid back. That is why sometimes a credit card is better left at home to lessen the chances of mismanaging money due to a subconscious thought that we can bend our budgeting anyway.

Tight Means A Means for Proactive Goal Setting

Human nature dictates that when provoked, a human fight back. This is a common and usual occurrence for any aspect that deals with human existence, including managing money for survival and living. When a human is presented with a tight budget, he is presented with a limitation that restricts his freedom. A normal response would be that the person finds ways in which to ease up a little bit of restriction one step at a time. This should ideally be the flow of thinking of proactive goal setting.

Have a plan of projecting yourself several years in the future and look at what you want and need, and plan. This also includes having to find ways of earning a bit more to add to the efficiency of productivity over time. Remember that the way to manage money with a tight budget is to look at it as a stepping stone to look for greener pastures, not as a wall to block your aspirations.

Earn Money at Home with Unique Home Employment Opportunities

Now you can earn money at home with unique home employment opportunities such as offering credit solutions to others, money brokering, free affiliates, etc. Here are some great tips to get started.

For stay at home moms, retirees and anyone that wants a new job, home employment may be the ideal solution. There are many ways to earn money at home within reach of anyone who wants to find them. Join the more than three million people estimated to be working at home now.

Many Advantages when You Earn Money At Home

Anyone willing to work will be able to have a successful home-based business. Whether it is full or part-time is up to you. It doesn’t matter if you have children at home, or have other obligations, you can work at your own pace, and on any schedule you choose. You will be able to earn money at home without having to leave the comfort of your own surroundings.

Think of the advantages of working for yourself at home. You won’t have rigid hours and bosses to answer to. You can have your own business with the computer or other equipment you already have, without costly offices and overhead. You will have the freedom to make your own decisions and will eliminate the stress and costs of commuting.

Working For Others At Home

There are numerous possibilities for home employment. Depending on your interests, you can work for yourself or other companies and earn money at home. There is a unique need for assembling products at home for all manner of companies. There are directories offered on the Internet that will give you a comprehensive listing of companies needing workers.

By purchasing a directory like this, you will be able to study the entries and pick out one or several that appeal to your interests or skills. There are also companies that will pay you to do clerical and computer work, telephone polls, background checks, and process insurance claims.

Be Your Own Boss

If you would like to work as your own boss and earn money at home, there are services that people need and will pay for. Helping people find credit solutions and money brokering is an opportunity that’s in demand today, and you’ll need no prior experience. Some companies will train you in these services. You will collect the fees yourself without going through a middleman.

Start Your Own Business

If you have a unique product or service to offer, you may want to open your own Web business. There are sites on the Internet that will help you get started, and many are free. Another way to earn money at home is to join a free affiliate program online and sell the products of others through your own website. You can earn extra cash by advertising for other companies and receive commissions from the sales it generates.

For anyone with ambition who wants to earn money at home, the sky is the limit. Start looking now for the kind of job that you would enjoy doing at home. Make your life more fulfilling and profitable by taking control of your destiny.

Virtual Careers, Self-Employment, Self-Assess, Or Self-Destruct

Unfortunately, high hopes and large amounts of time, energy and commitment — valuable though they may be — do not ensure the success of an entrepreneurial venture. In fact, research indicates that about 60 percent of all businesses fail within the first two years. Much depends on the individual’s “entrepreneurial profile,” and one of the best ways to discover this is by doing a self-assessment.

Over the years, working with some 4,000 Virtual Assistants and Virtual Professionals in 65+ countries and being entrepreneurs ourselves, we’ve developed a good practical sense of the traits that successful entrepreneurs share. We used this background in designing the application process for our Portable Career & Virtual Assistant Training Program for Military Spouses™, and it has helped substantially in identifying candidates with the greatest likelihood of success both in training and afterward, as they launch and grow their virtual businesses.

The following Entrepreneurial Self-Assessment is adapted from the online application form for our Virtual Assistant training program. This series of 13 questions is one of the tools we use to see if an applicant has characteristics commonly found in successful business owners.

Without peeking at the score key, write down the choice that most closely describes you.

01. Are you a self-starter?
A. I often need help to get a job going.
B. I can decide what needs to get done and get it going quickly.
C. I wait until the last minute to start a project because I work better under deadlines.

02. Why do you want to start your own business?
A. I’m tired of the people I work with.
B. I want the freedom to manage my own business.
C. I want to get rich quickly.

03. How do you feel about other people?
A. Most people irritate me and make my job more difficult.
B. I like people and get along with just about anybody.
C. I like to have a small circle of friends and acquaintances. It makes things simple.

04. How do you manage projects?
A. I take care of everything myself to make sure it’s right.
B. I delegate as much as possible and let people execute tasks with little supervision.
C. I delegate and jump in to help every chance I get.

05. Can you lead others?
A. I must push hard but can make people perform.
B. I don’t have to do much to get people moving.
C. I usually let someone else get things moving.

06. Will you have family support?
A. My family will complain about if I have less free time.
B. My family is likely to know that I am trying to plan for our future and will understand long hours.
C. My family will likely want to get involved with my work and help in any way possible.

07. Can you take responsibility?
A. I’ll take over if I must, but I’d rather let someone else be responsible.
B. I let people who are more outgoing or eager than me take the lead.
C. I like to take charge of and see things through.

08. How are your organizational skills?
A. I like to have a plan before I start.
B. I often have trouble setting priorities.
C. I have trouble juggling many types of responsibility.

09. Can you “stick with it”?
A. I don’t let anything stop me from pursuing my goals, even if it means sacrificing other activities or projects.
B. If a plan isn’t going as expected, I don’t waste any more time on it.
C. I put in as much time as necessary to make a project successful, while balancing it with other priorities, and don’t stop until it’s done.

10. What expectations do you have for your work schedule?
A. I’d like to have more free time in my new business.
B. When someone starts their own business, they’re always on the clock.
C. I plan to work hard but want to limit the amount of time I spend on the business.

11. Can you make decisions effectively?
A. I need plenty of time to decide, or I regret it.
B. I am a fast thinker and usually make an acceptable decision.
C. I usually let other people make decisions because I’m afraid of being wrong.

12. Can people trust what you say?
A. Sometimes I just say what people want to hear.
B. My word is as good as gold.
C. All’s fair in business, right? I say what I must

13. When I am in an unfamiliar place with new people, I usually
A. Sit back and observe other people.
B. Talk to many people about myself and my business.
C. Ask many questions to get to know new people.

Scoring your responses:
A number value (in parenthesis) has been assigned to each of the possible responses to the 13 questions. Simply write the corresponding number next to the letter you selected for each question.

01. A (3), B (8), C (5)
02. A (2), B (8), C (4)
03. A (2), B (8), C (5)
04. A (1), B (8), C (6)
05. A (5), B (8), C (4)
06. A (2), B (6), C (7)
07. A (2), B (5), C (8)
08. A (7), B (3), C (4)
09. A (5), B (2), C (7)
10. A (1), B (7), C (5)
11. A (4), B (8), C (2)
12. A (4), B (8), C (1)
13. A (1), B (4), C (8)

What your score means:

42 or less
If you scored 42 or less, it’s unlikely you possess the characteristics necessary to be successful in running your own business.

43 to 54
While a score between 43 and 54 indicates you exhibit some of the core characteristics necessary to succeed in running your own business, you are likely to find many difficulties in self-employment and could often feel obliged to “act out of character” to succeed.

55 to 65
Achieving a score between 55 and 65 indicates you possess good entrepreneurial traits and should have a very good chance of being a successful entrepreneur.

66 or higher
Achieving a score of 66 or higher indicates you possess top-notch entrepreneurial characteristics and should have an excellent chance of success in your own small business.

Of course, successful people come in many shapes and forms, and there is no “one size fits all” assessment tool for entrepreneurship. Although this self-evaluation should help you better understand the mindset and character traits of successful entrepreneurs, and how you “stack up” relative to that group, in the end, it will be your own unique personality and circumstances that will determine your own unique future.

In closing, we invite you to share your comments on this and or other posts. If you find the information useful, please Like & Share us and subscribe to this site for an update as we reveal new strategies. Remember to keep an open mind and Shift 4 Freedom.

Work at Home Employment

Work at home employment is like a diet plan. And a plan is only as good as the one who made it, right? It’s true that work at home employment can earn you lots of money and offer you more benefits than you can think of – but only, if you follow the plan exactly as it was meant to be followed.

Take diets, for example. Diets only work if you adhere strictly to the portions and exercise regularly. If you do this, you can lose weight in no time at all. However, most people only use a diet program to reach a weight goal and then afterward, quickly go back to their unhealthy eating habits and stop exercising. The result is that they’re fatter than ever.

The same thing happens with work at home employment plans. If you’re considering finding work at home employment by engaging in a small business, find out how to run it first and do something. If you do all this, you will eventually succeed. Sure, your first try may fail. That happens a lot, but persistence is the key. Nobody can do things automatically (unless you’re a robot) and nobody can be successful overnight. Like diets, work at home employment plans needs effort on your part for them to work.

For work at home employment plan to work, you must have the right attitude, the right outlook, and the right state of mind. Avoid negatives. Avoid BUTs. Here are some BUTs that you might find yourself facing when considering a work at home employment:

* I don’t think I can succeed. Success takes time and effort for it to manifest itself. A good way to find out how to succeed in work at home employment is to observe what successful people are doing and copy what they do.

* I’m not disciplined enough. For you to succeed in work at home employment, you need some semblance of discipline. Think of it this way: If you are disciplined enough to go to work every day five days a week, then you ought to be disciplined enough to start your own business.

* I don’t want all that responsibility. You are responsible for running your household, aren’t you? Plus, you assume many responsibilities for your boss. You’ll be surprised at how responsible you really are.

* It’s not a real job, and I need a real job to fulfill my needs. It’s true that you might feel like this at first. But after a while, that feeling disappears. There’s nothing more real than a work at home employment position at your own business.

You can have anything you want if you are willing to put in the time, effort and plans to get to your goals. Discover the secrets why the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor. Click Here to view a video with more life tips! In closing, We invite you to share your comments on this subject and the other posts. If you find the information useful, Like & Share us on Facebook, Google Plus and other social media platforms. Remember to keep an open mind and Shift 4 Freedom.