Debt Consolidation Could Be For You

By Layla Vanderbilt

The debt solution landscape today is peopled with debt consolidation companies that have cropped up as a result of the serious financial straits; consumers find themselves in as a result of heavy credit card debt and other unsecured loans. With as much as 80% of Americans carrying a financial obligation of up to $10,000, some have begun to explore debt consolidation to reduce or eliminate crushing debt.

Since many families are paying for up to 8 credit cards with up to 25% interest, debt consolidation companies seem to them like a pretty good solution. These companies can help with several strategies. They can help reduce interest rates, reduce monthly payments, or help pay off loans with long terms. By paying off consumers? accumulated debt, consolidation firms can allow people time to ?get back on their feet? before paying off creditors.

Some solutions these companies may offer include debt consolidation, debt settlement, credit counseling, and teaching consumers how to balance a household budget. A good debt consolidation company can help anyone who doesn?t know how to help himself. Learning how to avoid bad credit situations in the future is an essential part of the process. By teaching consumers how to avoid mistakes, they can help keep history from repeating itself. Some debt can be settled for as little as 25% of the original loan. Debt consolidation specialists can assist consumers by helping them negotiate such settlements.

Debt consolidation is frequently the best way to help a consumer in debt. However, debt consolidation companies will help people find the best solution for their situation. It is possible that by eliminating some household expenses, consumers can make regular monthly payments on already existing loans without consolidation. Counselors can also help refinance or re-negotiate interest rates to reduce monthly payments on already existing loans.

A debt consolidation company can offer no nonsense solutions to the credit card companies and other companies offering non-secured loans. The consolidating company then loans you money at a lower interest rate. You then pay back the debt consolidation company in regular lower monthly payments for an agreed upon length that is always substantially less than your original payments would have been.

When you find the right debt consolidation company, it will protect your credit history. This is an important service. Your credit rating can affect your ability to get a mortgage on a house, a loan for a car and many other purchases you might care to make in the future. You need to maintain a positive credit history. The consolidation company will consolidate your credit card and unsecured debt, and save you future embarrassment and a bundle of money in the short term. So, do your homework and seek out the company that offers you the best deal. You can do your research online and never have to leave the house. They give you a complete analysis and a price quote.

The consumer benefits by repaying the consolidation company loan in one low monthly payment at a lower interest rate that saves them thousands of dollars. With a lower sum to pay each month, the term of the loan is shorter and you can save or begin to repair your credit history and begin to plan for future financial stability. Any number of debt consolidation companies can be found online and many of these companies offer consumers a free debt relief analysis and a quote, making debt consolidation worth looking into at the very least. - 23221

About the Author:

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

Why Investing Online Is The Way Of The Future

By Robert Griffin

A growing number of consumers are turning to the Internet to invest their money online. The benefits are many: Online investing is quick and easy. Consumers can do it from their own homes. And the commissions that online brokerage houses charge are relatively minor.

The Internet is now home to several online stockbrokers. It's easy to set up an account with online brokerage houses such as Etrade, Scotttrade and Zecco. And once you have an account, you can immediately begin selecting stocks that interest you.

The reason for this is simple: When you invest money online, you never really know with whom you're working. The person behind that other computer screen can be anyone. If that bothers you, it might be time to return to traditional investing.

You can ease any concerns you have with investing money online by doing some simple research. The best place to start is with the financial press. Financial print magazines and Web sites often contain rankings of the top online brokerage houses. Working with a top-ranked online broker can help ratchet up your comfort level.

But investing your money online does come with its own risks. When you invest money through an online brokerage, you aren't meeting in person with a stockbroker. You aren't even talking to a broker over the phone. You have no idea who is behind that online home page.

That's why it's important to only do business with online brokerages that have earned a reputation for engaging in honest and ethical business practices. Read the financial press. Visit Web sites devoted to consumer interests. And when you do, read up on the online brokerage houses. It's not difficult to find reputable Web sites and magazines that provide annual rankings of the top online brokers.

Once you select a group of online brokerage houses that can be trusted, look into the commissions each one charges. You want to work with an online broker that doesn't charge exorbitant fees for transactions. Remember, these fees can significantly eat into your profits.

The popularity of online investing only figures to grow. After all, online brokerage houses give consumers the chance to invest their money online easily, with little fuss.

Investing your money online is fast and easy. Online brokerages also tend to charge relatively inexpensive commissions. But that doesn't mean that online investing is for everyone. If you're simply not comfortable investing your money online, meet with a traditional stockbroker instead. - 23221

About the Author:

Spare Dollars is a save money blog which contains information on saving money, how to make money and how to invest money. For more information on these topics, including how to invest money online, check out our site today at SpareDollars.com.

How To Get A Good Price For Your Gold Jewelry

By Zachary Callahan

Selling gold can often be a herculean chore if you don't trade gold or gold jewellery very frequently. There is something that you should realise which will make trading gold quite elementary for you and that is that the simplest way to sell gold and get precisely what you desire, at a positive price, is to understand the primary ingredients of trading gold jewellery. There are numerous unique factors when it comes to getting the best price but there are just a few important concepts that you must understand first.

When trading gold you need to know how much gold is in the item. The way this is measured is by a unit of measurement called karats. The karatage of gold can range from 24 carats, or pure gold, down to 1 karat which may only be 4% gold or less. The reasons that the amount of gold in an piece can change so much is that it is often mixed with other metals e.g., silver, nickel, zinc, and so on and so forth. They do this because it can help the piece last for years longer and be harder. Gold in its natural state is a very soft metal which can be formed and eroded away exceedingly fast - especially if it is used a lot. Well-nigh all gold should have the karats stamped on the item somewhere.

The next thing you have to understand is how much your gold weighs. This is referred to as gram weight. The gram weight will help you to figure out how much your gold is worth by finding out the current price of gold (you can find this on almost every major fiscal related site, multiplying that by the gram weight and then by a chart based on what carats the gold is.

The craftsmanship and design of your gold jewelry is another matter to consider when dealing with gold. It can have a huge impact on the price you acquire if you decide to sell to a jeweler or pawnshop instead of a gold refiner. There is almost no question that antique handmade jewelry is of higher quality than machine made, so you can generally get more cash for that type.

The last factor and in all likelihood one of the most noteworthy is the price of the piece. Merely understanding the things mentioned above will help you work out a good price with the jeweler. You can find many discounts around you just have to be willing to look. Just make sure before you even go out and start looking that you have a clear picture in your mind of what exactly you want. Picture the karats, weight, design and craftsmanship that you desire beforehand. That way when you go out will all ready know your budget and what precisely you're looking for.

So if you observe all of these tips, you will be able to sell gold jewellery rather well. But of course you always need to do your own research into each and every jeweler and jewelry store. You might even consider pawnbroker's shops. That is really the only way that you can buy and sell gold jewellery safely. - 23221

About the Author:

Zachary writes about gold and gold related news on his site that teaches people where to sell gold jewelry and how tosell scrap gold. If you would like to learn more about the selling of gold please visit his site.

Tips for Trading Ascending Wedges Short with CFDs

By Jeff Cartridge

Ascending wedges traditionally have been popular with traders on the short side and are not so often traded when it breaks in the upward direction. The data we have collected suggests this is not the best approach. An ascending wedge is defined by two lines, one on the lower boundary of the price movement which slopes up steeply towards the line on the upper side which also slopes up at a less of an angle.

Ascending Wedges Best Traded Long

The ascending wedge breaks up more than it breaks down with downside breaks only occurring in 32% of the patterns. A downside breakout is profitable 42% of the time delivering an average profit of just 0.02% in 8 days, it is barely profitable. As with other patterns it can be improved with the addition of filters.

Refine Your Entries

Trading ascending wedges when the stock and the market are in an up trend or consolidating improves your trading results. The sector should be falling or in consolidation to make the best profits.

Breakouts can occur anywhere along the length of the ascending wedge pattern. The best pattern length is between 5 and 30 days, so very short term patterns and very long term patterns are best avoided.

Ensure that the volume is supportive of the breakout, i.e. volume as the stock falls is greater than volume as the stock rises. Avoid patterns that have two closes the same prior to the breakout as this is often a sign of an illiquid stock. Lower highs or lower lows prior to the breakout produce better results.

Ascending Wedges Profitable Sometimes

You can improve your trading results by using a series of filters that have been outlined here. These filters are harsh, significantly reducing the number of trades to get good results. (1275 trades are reduced to just 74). This select group of ascending wedges delivers an average profit of 1.46% in 10 days and is profitable on 48% of the trades. Overall this makes ascending wedges possible to trade short.

Note: Statistics for this article have been provided by Patterns Trader after analyzing over 60,000 chart patterns on the Australian market from 2000 - 2008. - 23221

About the Author:

Jeff Cartridge is a private trader and created the website LearnCFDs.com Discover Patterns of Success

Getting the Best Value For Your Home

By Angelita Robins

If you are trying to sell your home, you might have a difficult time getting a great price for it unless it is in tip-top condition. Buyers these days want the home they purchase to be picture perfect and ready for occupancy immediately. Unless you have painted the entire home inside and out, replaced aging electrical appliances, and footed the bill for a new roof, you may not get your asking price.

It can be difficult to get potential buyers to see what a gem your home is unless it looks absolutely perfect. They cant see and dont care how great the living room would look with a different colored carpet. They arent interested in how much safer the yard would be for their kids if it was surrounded by a chain-link fence. They are bringing their hard-earned money to the table and expect to get something thats already suited to their wants and needs.

Before putting your home on the market, you must correct every flaw if you expect to get top dollar for it. Paint the inside and outside, replace the roof if its worn, re-carpet where necessary, and enhance every little detail. Look at your home through a potential buyers eyes to determine what things they would like to see in place. You should expect to spend some money getting your home in order before you sell it.

Some people just dont have the time or money required to prepare their houses for the real estate market. They may be forced to move unexpectedly due to a job transfer or they may be in financial trouble, which pretty much prevents them from investing any more money into their homes.

If you are in any of the above circumstances, then you need to consider selling your home to a private real estate investor or real estate investment firm. If you can get one of them interested in purchasing your home, you will be able to move right away without having to make any further mortgage payments. Of course, you might not get top dollar for it but you wont get it anyway unless you are willing to pay the price ahead of time by repainting, re-carpeting, re-roofing, and fixing anything that needs repair.

Real estate investors can see beyond the normal wear and tear your home has undergone. They will not expect you to sink thousands of dollars into the home so that it will look perfect. They will buy your home the way it is and do all the work before putting it out there on the real estate market.

Selling to a real estate investor will be your best option if you need to sell your home as quickly as possible. He or she will buy it outright and you will not have to make any special arrangements, make any more payments, correct any of the problems it has, or pay anyone a commission. All you must do is find an interested investor and your - 23221

About the Author:

Learn the easy way to do a property course and how to find what you need to know about purchasing a property in Australia and how to use a real estate equity accelerator software .