Keep An Eye Out – ID Theft Is Serious Business

by: admin - November 12th, 2008   Filed under: Life Lessons, Money Thoughts 2 Comments

Did you know that crime rates rise during difficult economic periods? Unfortunately, we are learning this may be true for identity related offences, as well. As the effects of an ID theft can be drastic and reek havoc on your credit rating as well as other aspects of your financial situation, it’s important to stay vigilant. Here are some ways to keep protected:

1. Keep Safe Online.

“Spoof” or “Phishing” emails are common and can be very convincing. Ensure that you don’t inadvertently provide your financial details to those pretending to be from a bank or other financial institution, by accessing your banks website directly and never through an email link. Also, if you receive an email asking (or demanding) for you to update your information, call the financial institution to ensure the request is legitimate.

2. Practice Vigilance When Using An ATM.

Use your body and hands to cover the keypad as you input your pin number. Also, be sure to handle your ATM card in a manner that prevents others from trying to read its numbers. It’s more common than you might think to have this information subtly stolen while visiting an ATM machine.

3. Take advantage of free credit reports.

We’ve all seen the commercials plugging free credit reports, and while I’m not endorsing any particular company, you should regularly monitor your credit. This is important in order to ensure that your identity has not been compromised, as well as it will give you the chance to be aware of, and correct, any errors present on your credit profile.

4. Don’t leave financial statements lying around!

All documents containing financial information should be kept under lock and key. If your house is broken into thieves may enjoy not only the items they are able to handle, but your financial wealth, as well.

Also, consider turning off the paper portion of your bills, and take advantage of online services offered. Almost all companies now allow this, and this step will ensure that your documents are not stolen from your home or mailbox.

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Mobile Marketing Gaining Acceptance

by: admin - November 12th, 2008   Filed under: Money Thoughts Add Comment

The following post describes a new way of acquiring and retaining customers for any business, with the use of mobile phones.

Mobile phones are becoming as important as computers. The personal computer became popular when the hardware components could be miniaturized and when software makers started the creation of applications that were useful for home users. As a results computers became cheaper to own and had gained worldwide acceptance in millions of homes. This massive growth is similarly taking place within the mobile phone market.

The smart phones that are being introduced now are capable of many functions, such as: web browsing, taking pictures and video, short message services, playing and storing music, global positioning, and much more.

Advertising on mobile phone is also taking hold. For advertisers who wish to reach millions of people on a daily basis, the website cellitmarketing.com may offer just the right services. Cellit Mobile Marketing is offering services that are geared for both small business as well as large companies by leveraging the power of Mobile Marketing.

The services utilize either text messaging, mobile Internet, or voice messaging using user-friendly  application. The company also offers a coupon service call Couponzap which can be used for restaurants, bars, and nightclubs.

Another serviced called House4Cell provides SMS solutions for real estate professionals and home buyers. With this service, real estate agents can send listing information such as pricing info, square footage, photos etc’ to the potential buyers’ cell phones. All the potential buyer has to do is text a short code found on the real estate sign and within a few seconds they will receive the property information. Home buyers can request more information to be sent to them by fax or email. Also, the agent receives the potential buyers contact information so they can follow up with them regarding the property for sale. All these properties can be displayed as a map so the agent can visualize which area is offering the most interest.

Essentially any business can benefit from mobile advertising. The services offered by Cellit can be custom made to offer text-for-info for instant messaging, text-for-content for rich media such as ringtones, pictures, video etc’, contests and games for creating interest for a particular event by attracting attention with fun application, text-to-vote for collecting customer data by using interactive polls via the phone, appointment reminders for clients regarding upcoming events, and customer relationship management programs to maintain and enhance interaction with customers.

Advertisers can easily monitor and manage their marketing campaigns on the website. The company has already established a large client base, involving such companies as: HSBC, Prudential, the Hearst Corporation, and almost 60% of all Broadway shows.

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Your Initial Meeting with a Financial Adviser

by: admin - November 12th, 2008   Filed under: Money Thoughts Add Comment

For many of us, how to make smart investments is a mystery, thus having a financial adviser is invaluable. While some advisers may be unwilling to give away free advice during the initial meeting, it is important for you as the potential new client to walk away with some useful information. Before that though, the analyst would need to gain some basic understanding of the potential client’s current status.

Potential clients have a somewhat unique financial status and, at times, different goals. As a result, the same solution cannot be sufficient, nor is it personable. Since money matters represent such pivotal importance to our lives, you should expect a high service quality from your financial adviser.

Before going to see the expert for the first time, review their website and see if there is a potential match to your needs. Once you are in their office, expect to fill out a client profile. Even if it takes an hour, this time is well worth it since an hour is negligible compared to what you can get back in terms of good investment advice.

Expect to hear back from the analyst whether you are on the right track and to some extent how diversified your portfolio is. Any additional advice such as highlighting some badly performing mutual funds you may have in your portfolio would be a nice bonus input to have. Expect to receive some general information on whether your portfolio is under-performing and what your performance goals should be. The how to get to achieving these goals would be discussed once you sign an agreement. Lastly, in the first meeting, expect the cost of the service to be discussed.

It’s important to shop around before making a decision on which analyst to go with. Stay away from analysts who give vague or very little details and already have an agreement for you to sign without giving you time to think about it on your own. The overall value of service for the price is what you need to consider here.

In a future post, we will describe the types of questions to ask the adviser during your first and future  meetings with them.

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How to Show You Deserve a Raise

by: admin - November 11th, 2008   Filed under: Money Thoughts 1 Comment

Here are 4 ways to get a larger income from your current job:

1) Overperform – Nowadays it’s a good idea to stand out of the crowd of employees and minimize the risk of layoffs by working exceptionally. For instance, if the performance goal for you is to grow sales by 5%, try achieving a higher goal.

2) Timing -  Although there is an economic downturn, if from your knowledge of your workplace, it is conceivable that you could get a raise, then ask for it.

3) Avoid asking coworkers for their opinions – Try not to be tempted to ask coworkers how much to ask for, since they may not have your interest primary in their mind. In addition, asking them can start a flood of requests for raises.

4) Request more work prior to asking for a raise – When asking for a raise you cannot simply hope that the boss will only look at your past performance without expecting more in the future. Therefore, when asking for a raise, it’s important to mention that you wish to help further to sustain and grow the company.

You can find out from your boss what they expect of you and make a list so that when you are ready to ask for the raise you can bring the list with you as proof of delivering on expectations. Inform the boss and document on a regular basis how you are doing so you will always stay in their mind as a hard worker and a contributor.

Also, make sure you are not underpaid for your job. Check out websites such as Glassdoor.com, Salary.com or Payscale.com to find out what other people in your profession are making.

Also keep a great attitude when you work as well as when you ask for a raise since a positive outlook can make the difference in getting a bigger paycheck.

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Get Your Own Website and Advertising on Autopilot

by: admin - November 6th, 2008   Filed under: Money Thoughts Add Comment

Many home business entrepreneurs find that they are wasting more time than ever trying to figure out which advertising campaign to run. Although large companies have the budget to hire marketing executives to conduct these tasks, the average small business entrepreneur cannot afford to hire out for such a position.

In 2007, Stone Evans has developed an advertising and Home Business Marketing system called Plug-In Profit. Using the service, he is offering entrepreneurs the chance to benefit substantially from selling high demand products with targeted advertising. There is no technical or advertising knowledge needed by members of this program.

Basically what the service offers is an easy to setup website that contains 6 affiliate income services which the user can promote on their own, with the help of forum members, or an Advertising Co-Op online and offline promotion campaign. The traffic generated from the ads is directed back to the Plug-In Profit member websites.

The system can generate web traffic, offer article submission and private label articles for blogging, include social networking and much more which could translate into higher sales for the members. Since the co-op is fully automated, business owners don’t have to spend time on at least one major part of their work, but still reap the rewards of a professional advertising campaign.

If you would like to supplement your income, you may wish to consider the Home Business Opportunity as described above.

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