Joy Olivia Miller

Archive for April, 2011

Loans are a way of getting financial help from any financial institution or bank. Money is an important aspect in our lives and at one point or the other one may need financial help. During such hard and difficult times one can opt for a loan.

There are a number of banks and financial institutions which readily offer loans to people. The lending will be repaid by the borrower along with an interest. There are a number of loans and people can take the loan as per their needs and requirements. These loans can be repaid in the form of monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, half yearly installments.

The various loans offered are Auto, home, student and many other business loans. To get a loan one must keep all the relevant documents ready and handy and once these are verified the bank decides to whether grant a loan to an individual or not.

The Auto or car loan is of great help for those people who want to buy a car. However, one must make sure to pay the installments on time. Before opting for this type of loan the bank will verify the relevant documents and residence and ID proofs. Car loans give the borrower an option to buy the car and pay for it in installments instead of paying the big amount all at once.

Home loans are like a gift to many people who want to purchase their own homes but are unable to do so because of lack of funds. With home loans this problem is solved since the bank pays initially and the borrower can then pay the bank in installments.

Student Loans are a great help to students who want to pursue their higher education. With education being so expensive these days, loans like these help and encourage students to pursue their dreams and continue their education.

It was announced on February 18, 2009 by President Obama and people are lining up to get help from the government. There is a housing epidemic in the United States and the government is getting involved and it is getting more and more questionable. The new program is called Making Home Affordable and it has been said it will help 9 million homeowners in the United States. The program rollout will begin on March 3 and we want you to understand the process.

1. A comprehensive $ 75 Billion Home Affordable Modification Program

2. A low cost refinance program

Loan Modification Program

2 Basic Principals:

1) creating a monthly mortgage payment borrower can afford , less taxes and insurance to achieve a payment reduction of 10 percent, and

2) Assisting the protection of investors’ interests by requiring that the cost of the modification will be less than the price paid to foreclose

The program is projected to help as many as 3 to 4 million homeowners that are facing or could potentially be facing foreclosure. There are concise and consistent guidelines that are being put into place by the US Treasury. The plan is to reduce mortgage payments for homeowners that live in properties that have a loan less than $ 729,750, they can not refinance and have payments increasing to unaffordable levels. The program work for homeowners that have had reasons for default that are serious such as temporary loss of income, increased expenses and many others. You do not have to be delinquent to be eligible for the program. The program will bring monthly mortgage payments down to a more sustainable payment for homeowners.

Low Cost Refinance Program

If you have a loan that is owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac you may be eligible for a low cost refinance. More details to come on low cost refinance.

Your organization’s financial health depends upon sound financial management. Nonprofits have an obligation to act as responsible stewards in managing their financial resources. Nonprofits should use their financial resources to accomplish their missions in an effective and efficient manner. In addition, an organization is accountable to its board, staff and the general public to know how much revenue it is receiving and how that money is being spent. It also needs to ensure that grants and all other income are spent in the manner intended. Establishing clear policies and practices to regularly monitor how funds are used will make managing your organization’s finances simpler and easy to account for.

A great place to start is creating and following an annual budget. Look at your budget as a plan that identifies the financial resources to achieve your objectives. Once constructed, this plan assists staff and board in managing the organization financially throughout the year. Unique accounting standards require that nonprofit organizations report contributed income in one of three categories – unrestricted, temporarily restricted, or permanently restricted. It is a good idea to track the revenues by fund category.

It is important to plan ahead for difficult financial times. The demand for services is increasing at the same time that traditional sources of funding are shrinking and changing. Nonprofit leaders know that it will take creativity, innovation, and focus to weather this period. Adapting to these challenges also demands leadership and an open mind. A wise choice would be to develop a reserve fund as well as an investment policy for your organization.

Auditors have always considered the quality and sufficiency of internal controls as a component of an audit. When weaknesses in internal controls are observed, audit firms are more likely to highlight organizational shortcomings by submitting a management letter to an organization’s board of directors citing weaknesses and recommending action. Establishing appropriate internal controls will help prevent improper use of funds and to ensure that costs are controlled. Establishing these controls will also assist your organization in an audit or financial review

Financial Management will help you understand basic practices and build the basic systems and practices needed in a healthy business. For more information visit the Center for Nonprofit Success website at http://www.cfnps.org

Home based candle businesses aren’t exactly in the forefront of the business news, but guess what?

It’s the best-kept secret in network marketing. Why?

Retail sales of scented candles continue to climb, so the market is there — and doesn’t show signs of stopping.

Also, a home based candle business generally has three ways to make money, providing you with multiple streams of income — which is good news, especially in today’s economy!

Retailing Candles

Retail sales is the unsung hero of a candle home business. Why?

Because unlike many network marketing products, candles are usually priced competitively! Instead of trying to compete with a highly-priced health product (even if it is great), you can compete with the “everyday” market.

And any candle aficionado loves smelling (and buying) new candles! It’s one of those inexpensive “little luxuries” that people buy in just about any economic climate.

Candle Fundraising

Do you know a school, church, charity or other worthy organization that doesn’t need to raise money? Candle fundraisers are a way for a these organizations to earn the needed dollars, while at the same time providing a great value for the buyer.

While you might not make much on a per-candle basis (the organization gets the lion’s share), you make up for it in quantity sold. And the beauty is — you didn’t have to sell any of them yourself! The fund-raising organization did it all.

Building a Home Based Candle Organization

You can also choose to make money with a home based candle business by building your own organization. You create a substantial income by making a tiny bit of commission on every sale each person in your organization makes.

If you think about it, it’s kind of like fundraising, because you make money on candles that you didn’t directly sell. Company statistics show that the “little candle business” can reward you with a very large income indeed!

Want Another (Secret) Benefit?

Believe it or not, there are fewer than ten candle network marketing companies. Imagine the opportunities that opens up!

Consider how many health and wellness organizations are out there — hundreds, if not thousands. Which odds do you prefer?

You need to find ways to save money during the divorce so you don’t end up going into debt or needing a second job. When your marriage is over, the last thing on your mind should be your money, but it usually is the first. You have to learn ways to protect yourself so that you have money to live on through the divorce and after the divorce. You will find yourself angry and confused after you have announced your split, but you shouldn’t feel overwhelmed about the money you may lose. Many people find out the hard way what divorce really means, and it usually means they leave you with half your stuff.

First, you should never get married without a pre-nuptual agreement (prenup). If you don’t have the prenup, you will be in so much water when the divorce comes. You don’t need a prenup just if you are rich, you need a prenup regardless off your assets. When it comes to your finances, why on earth take any chances of losing good, hard-earned money? Secondly, you need to know your finances throughout the marriage. You need to know where at least 80% of the money, if not all the money, goes.

You need to know your wealth. Your wealth is your assets minus your debts. If you have $10,000 in the bank, and you have a total owing of $50,000 (which is a combination of credit cards, mortgages, car payments, and other things that you may owe), then you have $40,000 worth of debt, and you’re wealth is nothing. However, if you own you own home and paid $40,000 for it, and have a couple thousand on credit and a couple grand left on a car payment, you have a lot of wealth that needs to be protected. Even if you have debt, you want to make sure that you don’t get stuck with it, by protecting yourself with a clause in your prenup.

As for refinancing during the divorce, anything that the other person wants, make sure you take your name off the deed. If your cars are in both names, get the name taken off just so if they fall behind in payments, you don’t have to worry about your credit being ruined. Usually, the house has to be sold and divided so you shouldn’t have to do anything about your name on the deed. However, they can buy you out and then you will need to get your name off the deed and the mortgage.

To really know your finances you should get your credit report. Many credit vendors like credit card companies and credit lenders will let you know what your credit is for free. However, there is a $15 fee if you get it from a credit report company. You should also open your own bank accounts and always keep your money separate. This way you know what is yours and what is theirs. You will also want to keep your credit cards separate as well. This way you can keep your debt separate too.

When going through the divorce you will want to think about cutting them off your health benefits at work. This way you can save money, plus get them off your benefits completely. You will want to change beneficiaries of any policies that you may have with your Ex as the beneficiary. If you took his name when you married, you can file paper work to regain your maiden name, however, it is costly; you may want to save this for later. You will also want to talk to your lawyer about the house. The house should, by rights, be sold and the proceeds divided up.

We now live in a world where people choose to get their news from their iPhones, Blackberrys and online, the newspapers taking big financial losses. Newspaper subscriptions and advertising revenues are way down and some newspaper are even closing up shop altogether. For those newspaper that are still operational upper level management are cutting back staff at a remarkable rate. Many professional photojournalists, editors and reporters are being laid off or forced to do twice the amount of work they were originally hired to do. However the demand for quality news photos and videos remains high. With reduced amount of staff photographers newspapers must still provide photos for their newspaper daily, but it isn’t always that easy.

As newspapers continue to struggle to provide the best news coverage with their reduced staff they often turn to freelance photographers also known as Stringers to fill the pages with breaking news photos as well as video clips for their website. These newspaper Stringers earn anywhere from $75-200 per photo and sometimes even more for video content that is used on a national television show.

Breaking into the news photo business isn’t as hard as it may sound and you can actually get started today if you have the proper equipment and motivation.

What are some of the things you will need to get started?

Digital SLR camera Police Scanner Cellphone Laptop with wireless access Reliable vehicle Long zoom lens 70-200mm is fine

As a Stringer you will be spending a majority of your time monitoring your police scanner and listening for major car crashes, fires, shootings, SWAT stand offs and even severe weather such as brush fires and tornadoes happening in your town.

The objective is to get to the scene and make dramatic photos of the scene before newspaper or television photographers get there. The best time to hunt for news is late at night from 12am-4am as this is when most of the news staff is off, meaning no competition for you. It is possible to get exclusive content during the day but is usually more difficult because of the increased competition and traffic.

A reliable stringer with proven results can also accept photo assignments from newspapers, magazines and TV stations around the world adding to the money you make nightly chasing spot news.