The Right Way To Eliminate Debt

By Layla Vanderbilt

Is your debt overwhelming? Are you afraid you will never be able to get a car loan or a mortgage? Do you need a way to consolidate your debt to lower your payments? You are not alone. Many Americans are facing this problem in today?s poor economy. Help is available but you must be very careful when considering using one of the many debt consolidation services that are available today. You should make sure that your situation will actually be improved and that you will not be worse off than you are now. This is often the only choice that some debtors have but there are other options that are better if you can qualify for them.

It is possible to find companies who will negotiate with creditors on your behalf and often they succeed in lowering your debt and negotiating for a payment that you can actually make. This tactic will not work to improve your credit rating but it may take the pressure off if you are actually able to meet all of your monthly expenses by going this route. Your day to day finances may be in better shape but the old debt will still be shown as a liability on your credit report.

Another way to lower your monthly payments and improve your credit rating at the same time is to obtain a debt consolidation loan which will pay off all of your debts in full. Of course, your credit rating must be good enough for you to qualify for one of these loans.

One consolation is that the debt consolidation loan normally comes with an interest rate which is less than what you were paying hitherto, and hence, repaying this loan over a period does not pose to be a problem. You stand to gain substantial money in this manner and your reputation dopes not suffer at the hands of those who gave you the loan.

Another good option for paying off debt is a home equity loan. If you have enough equity in your home, you can obtain a loan at a much lower interest rate than you have on your current debt and, depending on the amount borrowed, your monthly mortgage payment may not increase too much for you to be comfortable with it. This method will save you thousands of dollars in interest payments and can dramatically reduce the number of payments that you have to make each month.

A good credit score and excellent credit history are crucial when purchasing big-ticket items like a home or a vehicle. To secure the best interest rate possible and, as a result, pay less in total for your purchases you want the lowest interest rate available. Damaged credit from bad debt results in high-interest rates, and if there's enough damage you may not even qualify for a high-risk loan. - 23210

About the Author:

Layla Vanderbilt is the webmaster for a leading website that offers for instant bad debt consolidation advice and guidance.

Trading System - Are you A System Trader?

By Maclin Vestor

A trading system is a methodology of trading. An investor who uses one system and follows a specific set of guidelines when making a decision, follows system trading, and will usually never deviate. A trading system is only one method of trading, and usual requires no thinking. It is possible to have one system that is governed by multiple system.

For example, to have 10 different systems, and select only one stock from each system every month according to the main system's qualifications.

Someone that uses several Trading Systems is a multiple system trader. They have to either have an overall system that encompasses all of them, or make their own decision on which to follow. Doing so can be dangerous, as the purpose of system is to prevent human error. It is advised to be a system trader who trades one system at a time, or trade multiple systems within a larger core system, and avoid being a multiple systems trader.

Trading System - Trading can be awfully hectic without some kind of methodology. You can't expect to take on the best traders in the world who have teams and resources at their disposal just by throwing around money at will hoping that it works. You need an actually defined system in order to be able to trade effectively.

Many successful systems are based on earnings and high potential for growth. Stockbee's trading system often swings for the fences. As a result, it requires a solid degree of protection. Obviously you shouldn't limit yourself to someone else's system, you need to find one that is right for you.

There are two kinds of traders, technical traders, and fundamental traders, each has their own system. Of course there are some who use both.

Technical traders

Some system traders, are day traders. Others are swing traders. Still other people are more of a trend trader. Each will have it's unique system. The system will be based on the technicals. Is it volume that triggers the buy? Is it price movement? A combination of both? Or perhaps it's pattern trading.

Some people even have trading machines or robots that do the work for them. Others rely on pattern recognition done by a system. The method is to sign up for email alerts, or some form of alerts, then make a purchase based on the software's recommendation. There are some people that screen down a stock based on strong fundamentals, and only trade those stocks, but trade them based on the technical chart patterns and volume.

They will sell based on a trend break, or rules on when to take gains such as 20% gain according to their system. They will set a stop loss based on their system as well. It might be 4%, or 8%, or it may be a trailing stop.

Fundamental traders

Fundamental traders might do things a little differently. They are looking for improving fundamentals, or stocks that pass through a certain screener. Zacks.com is a great resource if you want to rely on fundamentals. Earnings is always a big part of a system, and the Zacks' ranking uses earnings revision to get in early when the earnings and company internals appear to be improving. Zacks' has several screens, and their software allows you to screen stocks according to many different options.

Regardless of your trading system, one thing remains important in every single system. Money Management and loss protection.

It doesn't matter what the upside is or win rate is, if you can't protect yourself from major declines, you shouldn't be trading. I don't care if your system is 90% effective (no system is and if they say they are, they're lying), and if the gain is 1,000%. If you put all your money on it repeatedly, eventually you will suffer a loss so catastrophic you will never be able to recover without borrowing money. By taking one loss, you hinder your ability to make money. That is more costly then the potential for greater gains that you would gain by taking additional risk.

Just to illustrate if your system causes you to take a 95% loss, you need a 2000% return just to make up for that loss. You cannot trade like this. No system is better then it's weakest link. That weak link unfortunately for many people is the ability to manage money. Fortunately, it is a skill that can be learned, and doing so will make you a better trader. Better yet, if you do not wish to be a better trader, you can simply follow the rules of a system that contains a methodology on how to manage money and how much to invest before placing a trade.

I recommend that you either have a trailing stop or a hard stop. You can also buy a protective put if you are afraid of a stock bottoming out overnight and plummeting through the stop. Protective puts are like owning insurance. Unfortunately, you have to continue to buy the insurance as it eventually expires if you don't use it. Don't trade options without learning everything about them.

Some puts are not good for some strategies. Longer term trades and Investments will require long-term equity anticipation securities, or LEAPs, where as you may not need to risk as much capital for short term protective puts. A trailing stop should be usually 20%, where a hard stop should be more like 7%. Different systems will require different stops so take this with a grain of salt.

A good investor or trader actually will rarely need to ever be fully invested. There are people that trade on complete margin for a few times the entire year, and the rest of the year they're on the sideline, but generally the best traders that have a career that lasts have lots of money on the side, even more so if they use options and are unhedged. If you are unhedged, that is only playing one side of the market, (all buys, or only playing one theme such as only playing inflation or only playing deflation), you need to have even more cash on the side.

The lower the win rate, the more money on the side you need, and the smaller your positions should be. Any good system won't require you to analyze. Having to do a lot of the thinking can cause you to panic and make incorrect decisions. Most people aren't cut out for that, and that's why it is a smart thing for many to use a trading system.

If you trade within a system, you have a much better chance at placing winning trades. A trading system will have a solid record of success, evidence that it works and has been working, an understanding of the decline and proper money management planning. If you trade within a system, you can estimate your results, and by doing so attain measurable success consistently with a trading system. - 23210

About the Author:

Maclin Vestor teaches about varioustrading systems and teaches you how to buy stock that works for you.

A Forex Tutorial on Opening a Forex Account

By Bart Icles

Before you can start trading in the foreign exchange market, you must first be able to open and setup an account. Any forex tutorial will tell you that having a forex account is a prerequisite to trading. Very much like in trading in the equity market, currency trading will require you to open a trading account.

Each forex account, as well as the services that come with it, is different. Therefore, it is important that you are able to determine which one would best suit you. One of the things that will tell you more about the account you are about to open is leverage. Leverage is simply the ability to manage and influence large sums of capital using a relatively small amount of your own capital. One has to remember that the higher leverage means higher levels of risk.

Nevertheless, many forex investors see leverage as a major currency trading benefit because it can allow you to reap large gains even with just minor investments. On the other hand, leverage can also make you lose more than what you have invested if trading moves against you. Although there are firms that have protective stops to keep an account from going negative, it still helps to exercise extra caution. It also helps to remember these two contradicting scenarios when you try to determine your desired leverage when opening a forex account.

Commissions and fees also make trading accounts different. Major forex accounts normally allow you to trade without having to pay a commission fee to the broker. This is possible because in forex trading, you are dealing directly with market makers and you do not need to go through brokers. However, this does not mean that market makers do not earn money each time you engage in trading. When a trade is made, market makers gain the difference between the bid and ask prices.

There are many ways in which forex firms and the accounts that they offer can differ from one another. It is therefore recommended that you carefully evaluate each firm that you potentially would want to deal with before you commit to them. If you look back to your forex tutorial, it will remind you that each firm will deliver different programs, levels of services, and fees that can be above and beyond the actual trading costs. What is important is that you are able to review them well before making a decision, and when you do, see to it that you are dealing with a reputable firm. - 23210

About the Author:

A forex trader is a powerful tool in your forex education. Why forex trading? Because its the biggest market in the world. Visit our to learn more.

How To Learn Forex Online?

By Jane MacRae

Forex (or foreign exchange) trading presents small, independent investors with an exciting opportunity to make money. However, before you dive into this type of investing, it is important to learn as much about the forex market as possible. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to learn forex online.

* Get Acquainted With the Jargon

As in any specialized area, the forex market is filled with terms and jargon that can be hard for a beginner to understand. Learning these terms will put you at a definite advantage. You can simply go to any search engine and type "forex terms" into the search box. Once you find a good list of terms, spend some time familiarizing yourself with the unfamiliar jargon.

* Take Free Online Courses

If you are new to Forex market, it is a good idea to start with some free online courses. Again, you can do so by searching for "free online forex course" on the like with your favorite search engine. Alternatively, you can go to a message board frequented by investors and ask if anyone there knows of any good, free courses you should try.

* Learn From the Experts

There are many professionals, with years of experience in forex trading, who offer their teaching services online. The downside of such courses is that they usually are not free. But the upside is that taking such a course is almost like having a personal tutor, or a mentor who will be there to answer any of your questions, and help clear up anything you find confusing.

Again, probably the best way to find a good, reputable expert to teach you about the forex market is to ask around. Others who were once in the same boat you are in now will be happy to help steer you in the right direction.

* Make Use of Free Trial

Once you have begun to learn about forex trading (whether on your own, or with the help of a professional "teacher") you will want to put your knowledge to the test, but without financial risk. There are many sites where you can sign up for a free demo or test account. For about thirty days, in most cases, you can actually try your hands at forex trading for free. These demo accounts will not only let you know whether you are ready to risk your money on the real thing, they will also help you gain hands-on experience.

People can easily get excited about the success stories of others in the Forex market. But, keep in mind that there is always some pay for the gain. Do yourself a favor by studying the essentials in Forex trading and, as discussed, you can easily learn forex online. - 23210

About the Author:

Click here for our review of one of the leading automatic forex trading software in the market, which will grant you an unfair advantage over your competitors. You may also like to check out this related article about forex trading broker.

Improve Work Order Management

By Layla Vanderbilt

Investors know that managing an investment property is a difficult task. It involves dealing with upkeep, keeping tenants and collecting rent payments. This can turn into more than a full-time job. Appliances breaking at odd hours and having to solve tenant complaints can take up valuable time. The time and money it takes to maintain an investment property can build up, and investors can become weighed down with the task. There is a solution for investors in this situation, and that is to contract a reputable property management company.

An excellent property management company frees the investor?s time and keeps excellent records and maintenance in the property. Hiring a company to manage the property will modernize your business if they present the services you need at an approved upon cost. So, what should you consider if you are interested in hiring a manager for your property?

One important fact you want to know is how much the company fees are. The national average is around 4 percent on the income from a large rental property, while single homes are often over 12 percent. Be aware of the fees charged, the necessary cost schedule and what services are included before you sign an agreement and exchange some cash. Do they deduct their cost from the monthly rent collected? Spend several times finding out how they deal with additional expenses as fine. Will they send invoices to you to be paid and other expenses in their fee?

It's a good idea to hire a reputable property management company, so find out about other properties that they have managed. Ask for the addresses of these properties and see how they are doing. Also, the property management you hire should have experience with the type of investment you own. A manager with experience in single home management may not be a good match for a job with an apartment building.

Good communication is good business, so speak with the person who will actually be dealing with the property. Poor communication early in the business relationship can lead to hassles in the future. Be sure to get references from the company's previous clients. The property management company also deals with advertising, so take a look at their previous advertising work and ask about advertising costs. Costs will differ between newspapers, television and the internet. Ask about a website, and check out its ease of use and if a prospective tenant can apply online.

Other questions to be enquired are of hiring cleaning contractors for preparing vacancies and can the cleaning be done quickly to ensure you are not losing valuable time and money while the place is prepared for tenants?,do they have contractors for repair and landscaping needs?,what are the hours the property management company is available and if they are available after working hours for emergencies?,how close is the management office located to the investment property?.Also their viability of approach.Another aspect that should be kept in mind is their proximity to the investment property to solve the problems as they occur.

Hiring a property management company to oversee your property saves your time wasted on daily problems.The company also allows the owner to find time for other deals which can be passed onto the same company to manage them as well. - 23210

About the Author:

Layla Vanderbilt is the webmaster for a leading property management software review website which connects people with the leading property management tools.