Some Interesting Credit Card Facts

There are over 1.2 billion credit cards in use in the United States. At least 37 percent of all personal spending is paid for by using credit and debit cards. The average US consumer, not including mortgage debt, is about $14,500 in the hole. A typical Credit Card purchase will end up costing you 112% more than if cash were used. About 40% of all American Families spend more than they make each year. About 60% of active credit card accounts are not paid off monthly. The typical American Family spends about $1,560 annually in credit card interest. The average credit card rates are currently 14.37 % and has been increasing since the beginning of 2006 when it was 12.82%. About 70% of all gas purchases are done by shell credit card. A year ago, when gas prices averaged $1.87, banks involved in credit card processing made about $12.5 million a day on fees. Now, with prices averaging $2.75 nationally, the credit card companies are raking in $18.4 million a day. Albert Einstein was once asked what he felt was mankind’s greatest invention… His answer… “compound interest”…..

Investing in Your Business: Turning Cash into Cash!

Many business owners don’t like to part with their money and with good reason. The constant barrage of vendors who want a piece of your cash pie can cause you to cling tightly to the purse strings. But have you ever considered that you could be missing opportunities to invest in your businesses and turn some of that valuable cash into even more cash?
Marketing and Advertising
Some business owners view advertising as a business expense when it should really be considered an investment in your business. When done right, the dollars spent on spreading the word about your business should come back to you. Though it doesn’t make sense to spend thousands on an ad that will only generate a few hundred dollars in sales, it does make sense to narrow the focus of your efforts and spend what you know you can earn back.
Education
Books, information products, and industry training classes provide additional opportunities to invest in your business. If you spend $20 on a book, even if you only learn one new strategy from reading the publication, that strategy could potentially earn thousands in the long run.
Outsourcing
Speaking of hours, consider what your time is worth. If you earn $100 per hour for consulting, and you spend five hours per week working on paperwork, you’re essentially spending $500 a week—or $2000 per month—on this tedious task. Instead, you could hire a Virtual Assistant or part-time employee to handle your paperwork for you. If you can hire someone for less than $500 per week, you will actually save from your investment while freeing up your time to focus on generating new business.
Business Image
Many small businesses cut corners by trying to do everything in-house. As a result, the professional image can be compromised. For example, an unattractive website can actually detract business if it lacks professionalism, if the content has grammatical errors, or if the site isn’t drawing traffic from search engines. A Web designer, copywriter and search engine optimization expert could transform a website from an ineffective online business card into a money-making machine!

Back on Topic...

Starting your own business, don't forget about building the team.
If you want to grow your business, if you want to move beyond doing everything yourself, you need other people to play the game with you. How do you get them to want to play the game your way?

Paradox: A statement, seemingly absurd or contradictory, yet in fact true.

What is a team? A team is something special that's created when individuals are free to do their jobs. Teamwork is a paradox. Team members perform individually, yet are dependent on the other members for their success. How do you build a team? By helping individuals win. By helping each person on the team succeed individually, and contribute to the whole.

Contactless Credit Cards - Are They Worthness?

Today the popularity of contactless payments is growing. Why so? I have looked through a lot of news and articles on non-swipe credit cards, but do not know still, what this technology comes with. Some people assert that such offers reduce instances of credit card fraud and thefts. On the other hand, there are people who are sure, contactless plastics can be dangerous threats to privacy and, then, can lead to identity theft. Really, the name, expiration date, and card number on such a plastic are readable with any card reader. So, what are your two cents? To use or not to use?

Invest on Your Own

If you invest on your own in the stock exchange, you can reduce your expenses considerably. If you buy shares or the exchange traded fund, you pay a brokerage of 0.3%. There is no annual fee.
If you are not sure about the shares to select, invest in the STI exchange traded fund. It is invested mainly in about 30 Singapore blue chips that make up the ST index. This gives you diversification.
1,000 STI ETF will cost you abotu $3,200 now. If you are investing your monthly savings, you may have to wait for 1 year to accumulate sufficient savings to buy 1,000 shares.
You can offer a price between the buy and sell price quoted on the exchange. Your order will stand in the queue, waiting for someone to sell to you. If you are keen to buy immediately, you can pay a higher price to match the sell price on the board.
If you have a large sum to invest (say $100,000 or more), you can select 5 to 10 blue chips and invest $10,000 to $20,000 in each share. This will give you some degree of diversification. It is like creating your own portfolio.
You will need to open an account with a stockbroker and a CDP account.

What I Am Going to Do with the $600 Rebate Check...

I am sure you are aware of the rebate check that the gov't will send us; as a way to prevent our economy from a recession and the stock market from tumbling. Single tax payers can receive up to $600. (hmmm... this kind of wording makes me think that I will not receive the full $600.) Anyway, if I were to receive the full $600, I will most likely put it all toward my Roth IRA. (if I haven't maxed out this year's limit by then.) If I can't put it in my Roth. I will most likely save it and wait for another buy opportunity in the stock market.