“The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.”
–Dale Carnegie
|
||||||
 |
The premise of this book, The Difference: How Anyone Can Prosper in Even The Toughest Times, focuses on the commonalities that the wealthy, financially comfortable and successful people share. Many candid interviews were conducted among successful individuals to understand how they arrived at their success and what particular traits they possess that have helped lead to their success. A study was also performed on more than 5,000 individuals focusing on 4 subjects: their specific behaviors, attitudes, goals (both financial and nonfinancial) and their personality traits. Four economic groups were discovered:
The results from the study showed that the differences between these groups of individuals were enormous. Here are a few insights into the wealthy, financially comfortable and successful: Continue reading The Difference  Image from: http://www.livinglifeauthentically.com
Sometimes our passions might not be immediately obvious to us. We simply might only acknowledge that we want to be successful at something but we aren’t sure what that something is. While I feel very grateful to have a financially great day job, it isn’t the most rewarding of careers-only because I am not mentally challenged. The idea of owning a business of my own has been an interesting concept to me because I feel I have the motivation, desire and passion to succeed. But, the hard part is deciding what kind of business I would be passionate about. For several years now, I have kicked around the idea of pursuing my undetermined “passion” by purchasing an existing established business. I figured it would be a great start into a business that is already up and running. The previous owner could train me and set me free. Feeling confident in a business I was interested in, I decided to run the idea by my husband’s friend, who is a quite successful businessman. To be honest, I was expecting to hear him support my idea, which was to buy an existing commercial cleaning company. He said, “Do you enjoy cleaning that much?” My answer was, “No, because I wasn’t planning on doing the work. This company has a good record of retaining their hired staff so I would, for the most part, just run the business.” He said, “That’s what you think.” He basically brought me in to reality by telling me that if that if cleaning isn’t your passion, then having passion based off of the profits that you might make wasn’t a good idea. You have to find that spark that motivates you to achieve more. That will motivate you to succeed further. He’s right; I don’t enjoy cleaning and would probably bore quickly with the idea. So, how can you help find your passion if it isn’t obviously apparent? Ask yourself a few questions: What do you enjoy doing? What types of books, magazines or websites spark your interest? Do you have special skills that help to define that hidden passion? Do those questions help you to find your passion? They definitely helped me to understand that my true passion surrounds the outdoor arena of ponds and other speciality outdoor accessories. I have been educating myself on how to successfully start an e-commerce site focused around my passion. More to come on that! CarA~  Image from http://egyptiangumbo.com I never understood the power of resilience until I was around someone who actually possessed it. You see, I was raised in a middle-class environment by a single mother. Granted, she taught me a lot about being an independent person but not so much about resilience. One example that comes to mind is when I was a child; our washing machine broke-as they do throughout our lives. My mother was completely devastated. She couldn’t express enough that she had no idea what she was going to do. As a child, I was worried and scared because my role model was worried and scared. So, I learned from my mother early on that even a small bump in the road equated to devastation. Is it Within Our Control? Don’t Dwell on the Negative, Grow from the Positive Are you having negative thoughts and need a reminder of the good in your life? Write them down daily to remind yourself of what good things you have in your life. I have been doing this activity and I have learned to be appreciative of many things in my life that I feel I have taken for granted for so long. I feel blessed that I have a great income, great health, a great son, etc. Take a Breather CarA~
Since I recently opened an online savings account through Ally Bank, I thought it would be an ideal time to write a review of my experience. An entity of the GMAC Financial Services, Ally Bank was launched in May in 2009 and was named to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s “2009 Best List” in the Credit & Banking category as “Best Bank Account” for its online savings account. They also boast the claim as one of the most capitalized banks in the country. In layman’s terms, it is a financial indicator of their overall health. In general, the more capitalized the healthier. Ally’s checking, savings and money market accounts offer no minimum balance, no monthly maintenance fees, $0 to open an account and the FDIC insured $250,000 per depositor. All accounts, with the exception of the online interest checking, offer daily compounded interest. They currently have five ways to save money online: Online Interest Checking Current Rates (Updated 2/10/2010): Ally’s newest addition to their online banking was introduced to the public on January 20, 2010. They offer competitive rates when compared to other reputable online banks such as ING Direct, which currently offers 0.25% APY for balances less than $50,000. Other great highlights:
Online Savings Account Current Rate (Updated 2/10/2010): Ally, again, offers yet another comparable interest rate with regard to other reputable online banking institutions. For example, HSBC Direct offers a 1.35% APY. Even worse is Citibank who offers a 0.75% APY, with a $100 minimum deposit. Money Market Account Current Rate (Updated 2/10/2010): Several services offered with the money market account:
No Penalty Certificate of Deposit (CD) Current Rate (Updated 2/10/2010): Ally offers a 10 day best rate guarantee which assures that you receive the best rate within ten days of opening your account. This particular CD offers no fees or penalties for early withdrawal after the first 6 days of deposit. High Yield Certificate of Deposit (CD) Current Rate (Updated 2/10/2010): This CD also offers a 10 day best guarantee which assures that you receive the best rate within ten days of opening your account. Ally’s great rate is easy to see when compared to Bank of America, who offers a meager 1 year 0.90% APY with a minimum balance of $5,000. Summary Ally offers competitive rates in comparison with other reputable online banks. They also offer liberal customer service options, which are available 24/7 by phone, email or chat. If having an ATM card with your high yield online savings account is important to you, then you might want to consider a money market account. It does offer the ATM card and their rates and services offered are equivalent to the savings account. Overall, I’m very pleased with my experience with Ally. CarA~
If you’ve happen to have read my “About Me” section, you might have noticed some of my goals that I’ve established for myself. While I’ve spent most of my postings focused on financial information, the one goal that I’ve barely discussed yet on this site is being a happier person. The one single biggest contributor to my sadness is that I’m not happily married. Matter of fact, we don’t even live together. The short story here is that I purchased a house after I transferred jobs to cut my commute time in half. The work-week separation wasn’t the beginning of our marital woes; there were many issues before that. I recently posted a comment on frugaldad‘s blog regarding marriage and living apart. I didn’t go into details of my issues, just merely how my husband and I handle our financial situation living apart. Unfortunately, I clearly don’t have the same relationship that frugaldad has with his wife. And I’m feeling that divorce is quite imminent this year. Yes, this will definitely affect my financial goals but my happiness is very important as well. If being a happier person long term involves dealing with short term grieve of divorce, then I feel that is the right thing for me to do. I realize that I have insecurity issues but staying with someone for the wrong reasons isn’t acceptable. My husband and I both deserve to be happy and if that means ending this marriage, that’s what I’m ready to do. So, what am I doing to help myself remain strong mentally? Physical Activity Stay Close to People Blogging Reading and Learning Volunteering I truly want to be the best and happiest person that I can be. And I will be. Any other ideas? I’d love to hear them. CarA~ Earn more with a high yield savings account from WTDirect.
Paying tens of thousands of dollars for a timeshare is a thing of the past. I can attest to this as I recently purchased a time share for .01 cent, yes, 1 penny! And the seller even paid all the closing costs associated with the transfer. Like home mortgages, many people simply can’t afford the maintenance fees on these luxuries and, in most cases, will basically give them away. Not a bad deal for the buyer, huh? There are a lot of deals like that now, if you can afford to buy one of these bargains. How did I buy it? I bought it on E-bay. Simple as that. My annual family vacation consists of a week’s stay at the “World’s Most Famous Beach”, Daytona Beach. This involves staying in a beachside hotel for a week at approximately $190 a night for a 7 night stay. That equals a whopping $1330 a week in lodging alone. Feeling like I was spending an escalated amount of money on something we were just renting, I decided to do some research on buying a resort that was appealing to the family’s needs. And the rest is history, as they say. I am the proud owner of a timeshare. How did I research for that perfect resort? I shoped the on-line auctions and Craig’s List. There are also plenty of other websites specializing in the sale of these resorts. I recommend that do your homework on these sites as their prices seem to be inflated. If you have a particular resort in mind, check their website. They usually post all available units for sale. Some of the resorts also have a “bulletin board” area for current owners who are wanting to sell. Before you buy:
CarA~ Since I’ve set a goal to eliminate over $14,000 in credit card debt this year, I thought it would be a great idea to calculate my current debt-to-income ratio, or DTI for short. Simply put, this calculation is the ratio between your recurring debt and your gross income. Along with other financial calculations, it’s a great indicator of your current financial situation. The higher your DTI ratio, the more likely your debt is becoming unmanageable. For example, most mortgage lenders utilize this ratio to determine if you are financially stable enough for a loan. Calculate your Debt Add up all your fixed monthly bills. Examples include: your mortgage payment (principal, interest, taxes and insurance), car payment, minimum credit card payments, child support payments, personal or student loans, etc. Groceries, utilities, gasoline and entertainment are excluded from this calculation.  Figure 1 Calculate Your Income Add up your monthly gross income. Be sure to include overtime, bonuses, etc.  Figure 2
Calculate Your DTI To calculate your DTI, divide your monthly debt by your monthly gross income. Figure 3 shows the decimal values of my DTI, both including and excluding overtime. By looking at my debt-to-income ratio, you can tell how much overtime is helping with my monthly expenses. With overtime, my debt-to- income ratio is an acceptable rate of 33%. Without that overtime, I’m cutting it close every month with an unacceptable 42.4%. Anything higher than 42% is considered a high risk situation. These results help to reaffirm my need for reducing my credit card debt.  Figure 3
My Recommendation To You Do you know your debt-to-income ratio? If not, take the time to determine this calculation. Get to know and understand your financial health a little more. CarA~ Are you familiar with high yield savings accounts? If you’re not, it’s definitely worth investing some of your time to research. Especially if you have cash sitting in a traditional bank, like I do, that is earning about .25%. A high yield savings account is a variable rate account that gives you some flexibility allowing you to withdraw up to 6 times a calendar month. The 6-withdraw limit is government regulated, but the great thing about these accounts is that they have much better interest rates than the typical brick and mortar banks. Here’s just a few of the more popular banking accounts.
FNBO also offers a service called POPmoney, or Pay Other People. This allows you to send money from your online account directly to a mobile number, bank account or an email address. Extra Earnings Visa Card
To Summarize All of the above banks offer competitive interest rates, as well as, other services. Before committing to any bank, consider what services are of particular importance to you. For example, if ATM access is more important than electronic withdraws, then FNBO Direct or HSBC Direct will be two possible prospects. If online bill pay is important, then FNBO Direct would be your choice. CarA~ |
 |
||||
|
Copyright © 2010 A Girl With Goals - All Rights Reserved |
||||||
