What Do You Think About This Suggestion About How To Reduce The Number Of Home Foreclosures?
Posted on February 3, 2009
Filed Under Family Finances, Finances & the Economy, Money Merge Account program, United First Financial | 7 Comments
The woman in this video is suggesting an interesting solution to the sky-rocketing foreclosure rate and declining home equity most of us are experiencing. I’d like to hear your comments about her proposal!
I can see pros and cons to her suggestion. Of course, if you follow my blog at all you know that I DO believe that the Money Merge Account program from United First Financial is the absolute best vehicle for debt reduction, be it mortgages, student loans, credit cards, personal loans, etc. Her plan only addresses the mortgage issue.
What are your thoughts about her proposal?
Powerhouse New Contact Management, Expense Tracking & Marketing System Launching Soon!
Posted on January 28, 2009
Filed Under Business Tools, Money Merge Account program, United First Financial | 1 Comment
How do you keep in touch with your contacts and clients?
Are you staying in touch with them regularly (or does that take too much time)?
Are you maximizing the dollar value of each of your past and present clients (or are you “leaving money on the table”)?
Are you leaving even more money on the table by not keeping track of all of your business tax deductions?
Do you have an automated system to run your contacts and marketing programs (or are you using a lot of different non-integrated programs)?
There is no secret to being a successful businessperson in today’s technology world! You must have:
- a contact manager program
- a marketing plan and marketing tools
- an online meeting service
- a personal and business development system and
- a way to manage your business income and expenses while tracking tax deductions.
But, until now, it has never all been integrated into one easy-to-use & affordable system. But now it is, and this powerful new business tool is called BizPack. A marketing system of this magnitude is going to be a huge asset in growing your business in 2009 and beyond, plus it will all be done securely online so you can manage your business, expenses and marketing from anywhere you can get online!
This will be the biggest marketing product launch in 2009. Register now to secure your pre-launch pricing of this incredible product.
www.MyBizPack.com/CompleteMarketingSystem
In addition to the incredible product is an amazing business opportunity. If you understand the importance of “timing” and a great opportunity, this is it! Once you register (for free) you will instantly get your own website to forward on to your network of family, friends, associates and partners. Get this out to all of your contacts ASAP.
The founders of BizPack are the same guys who were just awarded the 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year from Ernst & Young for the Utah Region and the creators of the Money Merge Account® Program. What is more incredible than a great first-to-market product is a solid company. United First Financial is located right here in the United States and is setting the pace for 2009.
This is the future of business building and online marketing. It isn’t optional. If you don’t use these services, you’ll quickly fall behind your competition! You’ve got nothing to lose (registration is free during the pre-launch), so do whatever you need to do and register right now. So that’s it. Use the link below to secure your spot.
www.MyBizPack.com/CompleteMarketingSystem
Is the “Law of Attraction” Just Hype??
Posted on January 14, 2009
Filed Under Personal Finances | Leave a Comment
This may seem to be a little off-topic for a blog about personal finance, but in my mind prosperity-thinking and creating abundance have a major impact on how we view our personal finances and the more encompassing American and global economy. So please bear with me while I explore this subject…
Is the “Law of Attraction” Just Hype?
Why, barely 3 years after the revolutionary movie “The Secret” was released, are we facing the worst financial crisis in decades?
Why did over 1.2 million Americans lose their jobs in 2008? Surely not all of them were ignorant of the “Law of Attraction” principles?
Didn’t many of us enthusiastically embrace the concept that we could, by changing our thinking and following the 4 steps outlined in the movie, ring in a new era of prosperity and abundance for ourselves and our families and hence the world? Those 4 “magic” steps from the movie are:
1) Be clear about what you want
2) Ask the Universe (God, Higher Power, etc.) for it
3) Feel & behave as if the object of your desire is on its way to you
4) Be open to receiving it.
We so wanted to believe it and we practiced it diligently and religiously. We wrote down our goals, posted them everywhere (on the ceiling, in the bathroom, in the car, on our computers, on the refrigerator, in the refrigerator…), we meditated, visualized, repeated our affirmations, thought only positive thoughts and squashed any and all negative thoughts. We watched the movie over and over again. We bought the book. We read it. We marked it up with our yellow highlighter. We immersed ourselves in the “Law of Attraction”. We were so sure it would work and that our lives would be forever changed and improved.
And now, when we look at our less than stellar (dare I say dismal?) results, many of us are asking ourselves “Was it all just a lot of hype?” Please read on – you didn’t fail and the “Law of Attraction” didn’t fail (it can’t – it’s a law of nature!).
Bob Proctor, world-renowned author, teacher, life and prosperity coach and featured presenter in “The Secret” movie, says unequivocally that “The movie based on the Law of Attraction is Pop Culture Fluff!” and “is a really watered down version of the real thing.” Now, before you get all upset, he goes on to say that the reason it hasn’t worked is because we only got part of the story in the movie.
Getting only part of the truth, when it’s being billed as “The Truth,” can lead to disappointment, disillusionment and eventually disbelief. But please realize this – if we get only partial truth we’ll get only partial or, worse yet, no results. Is this what happened to you?
In collaboration with Mary Manin Morrissey, best-selling author of Building Your Field of Dreams and No Less Than Greatness, national co-chair of the Season for Nonviolence and founder of the dynamic church known as Living Enrichment Center, and based on his in depth studies of Working With The Law by Raymond Holliwell, Bob Proctor now reveals “the rest of the story” - the 11 Forgotten Laws that underlie the Law of Attraction and make it the unbreakable force we all prayed it would be.
The problem wasn’t that the Law of Attraction was deficient; it didn’t work because it was incomplete!
Click here to learn more about these powerful Forgotten Laws, such as the Law of Compensation, the Law of Forgiveness, the Law of Non-Resistance, the Law of Increase.
Learn how they all work together to help you actually manifest the magnificent results you want to achieve in your life.
Listen to incredible testimonials from people from all walks of life who have implemented Bob and Mary’s teachings and have dramatically improved their financial situations, their businesses, their sales performance and ultimately their lives.
At last… finally… someone is offering us the whole truth!
How To Pay Off Your Holiday Debts
Posted on January 12, 2009
Filed Under Family Finances, Money Merge Account program, Personal Finances | 2 Comments
I found the first 5 suggestions on my bank’s website, www.USAA.com. The 6th suggestion is mine.
“If you overspent during the holidays, use these ideas to help you lower your debt quickly and potentially avoid repeating the same mistakes this year.
1. Tighten the Reins
Start tracking your expenses, line by line, to see exactly where your money’s going each month. Chances are you’ll find places to cut back. The more you save, the more money you can put toward paying off those credit card bills.
2. Set Realistic Goals
Dropping debt is similar to shedding pounds. You’re more likely to get results if you set a specific goal and give yourself a timeframe for reaching it.
3. Plan Strategically
If you have more than one credit card , focus your biggest payments on the card with the highest interest rate. This will help minimize the amount of money you’re wasting on interest charges. Or try paying off the card with the smallest balance first, which will help you to see progress quickly and give you one fewer bill to pay each month.
4. Card-hop with Care
Consider transferring your balance to a new card with a lower annual percentage rate. It can make sense under the right circumstances, but be careful. Many cards offer extremely low rates for an introductory period, but make it up through extraneous fees and a sky-high rate after several months. Read the fine print carefully to make sure you’re getting a good deal.
5. Start Saving for Next Time
Once you’ve successfully banished that monstrous debt, make sure it stays away for good. As soon as possible, establish a holiday fund and begin putting away a small amount from each paycheck.
Once gift-buying season rolls around, you may be able to make most of your purchases with the money you’ve saved. Better yet, you might want to consider charging those gifts to get your rewards points and then tap your stash to pay your bill in one fell swoop, avoiding interest and finance charges.”
6. Start using the Money Merge Account program from United First Financial
It will automate all of the above processes for you - 1) tracking where your money goes, 2) helping you set and achieve financial goals, 3) designing a strategic payoff plan for all of your debts and tell you specifically which ones to pay off first, 4) guiding you to “merging” your accounts based on saving you the greatest amount of interest and getting to zero debt in the mathematically quickest way possible, 5) helping you to utilize interest float and rewards programs, and getting you to a strong financial position so you don’t repeat your past mistakes next holiday season. You can accomplish all of this in less than 30 minutes per month using the Money Merge Account program along with our unlimited coaching and client support services versus hours trying to do it manually on your own.
Another Really Good Reason to Pay Off Your Mortgage Early
Posted on January 10, 2009
Filed Under Family Finances, Money Merge Account program, United First Financial | 5 Comments
I’ve known a woman for several years now who is a College-Funding consultant. She was in my BNI group, and virtually every week she would mention something in her “infomercial” about the government FASSA form (at least that’s what I thought she called it - turns out its a FAFSA form). My son is only 13 now, and although he is definitely college-bound, I figured I had a few more years before I really needed to think much about college financial aid, scholarships, etc. Wrong!!
There was a Guest Opinion in yesterday’s “The Stump” (?) on The Oregonian newspaper’s website, www.oregonlive.com. The author, Angus McCamant, is pretty upset about how FAFSA (it stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid) calculates wealth in order to determine how much, if any, Federal financial aid your kids can expect to receive to help them out with their college tuition.
Mr. McCamant says “What I should have done is pay off the mortgage, buy expensive cars, and maximize investment in retirement accounts. Here is a quote from Fafsaonline.com: ‘The more cash and cash equivalents you have on hand, the less aid you’ll be qualified for. Here are some strategies (some more ethical than others) to dump cash quickly before completing your FAFSA.’”
He goes on to explain that FAFSA takes into account only certain types of wealth when determining how much college financial aid your family could qualify for. It does NOT take into account the equity in your home, the value of your vehicles or your assets that are sitting in retirement accounts.
In my mind, this is just one more compelling reason why the Money Merge Account program from United First Financial is such a necessary financial tool. By properly leveraging your discretionary income, you can pay off your mortgage (saving potentially tens of thousands of dollars in interest charges), invest in your retirement accounts and/or tax sheltered vehicles (such as annuities) and go out and buy really cool cars! (Just joking!)
End 2008, Begin 2009
Posted on January 6, 2009
Filed Under Finances & the Economy, Money Merge Account program, Personal Finances, United First Financial | 2 Comments
First, my apologies to the readers of this www.MrsMoneyMerge.com blog for the length of time since my last post - I had major computer problems and we had to go to the “computer doctor” to get rid of the viruses. But, we’re all better now!
I’ve been thinking about what I’d like to say about the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, but then I found (with the help of a Twitter tweet) an article by Terry Savage, who is a nationally known expert on personal finance and a regular television commentator on CNN, CNBC, PBS and NBC, that I think best describes what I think and feel about where we’ve been and where we’re going, from a financial standpoint.
Ms. Savage starts out by stating “Let’s look back on 2008 without recriminations, and look forward to 2009 with only the resolve to face reality.” Normally, the part about “facing reality” makes me a little nervous because so many people’s perception of reality is tinged with a great deal of negativity, especially in the current economic climate.
But in her article Ms. Savage reviews both the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Panic of 1873. And, she draws some excellent conclusions:
“There is much to be learned from history, but perhaps the first lesson is that human nature does not change. Fear and greed push markets and people to extremes.
An equally valuable lesson from these depressions or financial panics of the past two centuries is that they could not deter America from rebounding and growing into another round of even greater prosperity.
In the depths of each one of these American financial collapses were the seeds of the next round of opportunity — for those who had saved a bit of cash and maintained an optimistic belief in the future.”
Click here to read the entire article by Terry Savage.
The message that I take from the author’s comments is that, during times of economic insecurity, we need to focus on putting our own financial house in order. For many of us, that means controlling our spending, reducing our debt and building up our savings.
The Money Merge Account program from United First Financial is a very viable vehicle for accomplishing these goals with little to no change to our current lifestyle. Virtually anyone who has a mortgage (or multiple mortgages), credit card debt, student loans, auto loans, personal loans or any other type of consumer debt can use the Money Merge Account program to leverage their income to pay off all of their debts, manage their personal finances and build up their savings account balances.
Let’s face it - it’s not always easy to “tighten our belts” and consistently work toward achieving our financial goals. The Money Merge Account program provides a road map to financial security and freedom from debt, and acts as a GPS system for personal finances. If we make a wrong turn (ie: a bad financial decision) the program helps us get back on track to reach our destination (zero debt) in the quickest way possible, significantly reducing the amount of interest that we pay to our creditors (and allowing us to keep that money in our own pocket or savings account!).
Ms. Savage concludes her article by saying “But my firm belief — also based on history — is that America, and Americans, will make it through this current pain, and will survive and prosper. That’s the real lesson of history.”
It is my certain belief that those Americans (and Canadians) who have the foresight to use the most advanced tools, namely the Money Merge Account program, to get their personal finances in order and under control will weather this current financial storm, as well as what is still to come, much better than those who will try to struggle through on their own.
More About Kids & Money - Specifically Girls
Posted on December 17, 2008
Filed Under Kids and Money | 3 Comments
One of the readers who commented on my post about educating our kids about money was Andrea Stein, the creator of GirlMogul.com. She created her information and shopping site to empower girls (aged 5 through tween and teen) to think outside the “Princess” box and offers encouraging messages along with great gifts and apparel (GirlPower gear).
The GirlMogul blog (GirlMogulMagazine.com) has a series of posts pertaining to girls and financial literacy that I recommend for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers of girls. The articles help girls explore feelings and beliefs they may have about money, determining “wants” versus “needs” (tough to do with any kid!), and provide good contructive exercises for girls to do to better understand money and budgeting. Follow up posts are planned covering additional financial literacy topics and you can subscribe yourself or your favorite girl by signing up for the GirlMogulMagazine newsletter on their blog.
Start Educating Your Kids about Money Now!
Posted on December 10, 2008
Filed Under Family Finances, Kids and Money, Money Merge Account program | 5 Comments
Darren Hardy, the publisher of Success magazine, has a great blog post with 6 constructive ideas about how to teach your kids about money and how to handle it.
Why teach them about this topic? Well, do you really want your kids to handle thier money the way you/we’ve handled your/our money? Personally, I want my son, Ryan, to be a much better financial manager than I have been. The first step in his education (and mine) has been for us to get on to the Money Merge Account program. When he says he wants something expensive (after all, he is a 13 year boy!), it’s great to be able to explain to him what the impact of spending that money will be on our family goal of living debt-free - rather than just saying “no, we can’t afford that right now.” There is tremendous power in having a goal and being able to show how our spending decisions impact achieving that goal!
The six lessons that Darren Hardy recommends you teach are:
1) Start saving from Day 1: teach your kids about the power of compound interest with the (factorial math) example of a single panny doubling every day for 31 days.
2) Don’t buy junk you don’t need: encourage your kids to ask themselves “Do I need (fill in the blank) or do I just want it?” and “If I want it - how badly do I want it? What would I give up to have it?”
3) Don’t drink from one river: Mr. Hardy recommends tapping in to multiple streams of income. In addition to their allowance, how else can your kids make money? Let them brainstorm now so they won’t be limited to one stream when they grow up.
4) Don’t let your house be bigger than your wallet: this is a more advanced lesson for your kids about debt-to-income ratio but your kids should still be taught about living within their means, and use this topic as an opportunity to educate about monthly living expenses and budgeting.
5) Don’t leave your eggs exposed: here he talks about diversifying - again an advanced topic - but as your child’s savings grow you can teach this lesson by talking about 529 college funds, CDs, savings bonds, savings accounts and other elementary investment strategies and how best to “invest” their savings.
6) Grow your money tree: teach your child that he/she is their own money tree and that the biggest investment they can make is in their education and self-development. Find them an age-appropriate book about money and encourage them to read it together. Check out this awesome list of books from Amazon.com about kids and money.
Just like sex, your kids are going to learn about money somehow or from someone. Don’t you want to be the one to teach them??
Click here to read Darren Hardy’s entire article.
Kevin, a fellow Twitterer and author of the great blog CreditShout, also posted an excellent article called “Teaching Your Children How To Control Debt.” Check it out for more thoughts and advice about this important topic!
For These Teachers It’s Not About the Money!
Posted on December 10, 2008
Filed Under Finances & the Economy | Leave a Comment
We’ve all heard about budget cuts to our public education system, but have you ever stopped to wonder what the specific impact is on our teachers and children? I have to admit I never thought very deeply about it until I watched a news clip on ABC World News Tonight.
Each year teachers traditionally buy supplies for their classroom, spending anywhere from $400 to $600 out of their own pockets. But there are still shortages of sometimes even the most basic supplies - paper, pencils, hand-sanitizer.
It warmed my heart to hear that the 22,000 teachers in the Montgomery County, Maryland (my home state) public school system have agreed to waive their 5% pay increase for next year in order to save $89,000,000 and avoid over-crowding in their top-ranked schools. Click here to watch and read the news clip.
DonorsChoose.org is a nonprofit organization that brings together public school teachers with people who want to support classroom learning. Teachers submit a project, describing what they need to make their vision happen in the classroom, and many project are funded. Click here for their teacher resources and to see their frequently asked questions for teachers.
Whether or not you have children in a public school, those kids are the future of this country and will impact your life in future years. Let’s all help our teachers to teach them well!
To Pay Off or Not To Pay Off Your Mortgage - a question on many people’s minds
Posted on November 24, 2008
Filed Under Family Finances, Money Merge Account program | 10 Comments
As the stock market continues to decline, savings account & CD interest rates are disgustingly low, and the lending market becomes increasingly tighter, many people are wondering where they will reap the greatest return on and benefit from any money they may have to invest.
Elizabeth Razzi, a writer for the Washington Post, suggests that first, you invest as much as you need to in your 401(K) in order to qualify for any employer-matching program, as this provides a 100% return on the matched funds.
Second, in an article dated August 17, 2008, Ms. Razzi discusses the pros and cons of applying extra money to pay off your mortgage more quickly and accelerate your equity position. She states “It’s almost as conservative as stashing cash under the mattress - but with better protection against burglars.”
Particularly for those who are approaching retirement age, this can be an excellent financial management strategy. To read the entire article, click here.
For those who embrace the philosophy of eliminating your biggest debt, I suggest that you investigate the Money Merge Account program from United First Financial. This innovative program acts as a GPS system for your personal finances and helps you to pay off all of your debts in the quickest way possible, with virtually no change to your current budget or lifestyle. “Make it yours, free and clear!”
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