8 Smart Tips To Make Or Create A Family Budget

 For singles, creating a budget is relatively easy. They mostly tend to have a good handle on how much money they have coming in, and when tracking expenses, they only have their own to think about. But creating a family budget is a whole new ball game.
Many families have multiple sources of income, But when there are multiple spenders or Multiple ways of spending, that makes things a whole lot more confusing.

This is one of the main reasons why many families lack a formal budget.
 But having a budget and sticking to it can greatly improve a family's financial outlook.
Making a family budget can be tricky, but it can be done.
Here's how.
1. Take inventory of all income. If a certain source of income fluctuates from month to month, use the lowest amount or average it out.
2. Keep track of all expenses for a month or so. Keep all of your receipts, and ask all family members to turn theirs in to you each day.
3. Add up your monthly expenses. Be sure to include bills, debt payments, groceries, and everyday expenses such as lunch money and transportation costs.
4. Get the family together and discuss ways you can trim the budget.
Getting input from other family members will help you determine which expenses are necessary and which ones could be cut down or eliminated.
Maybe you or your spouse could start taking lunch to work instead of eating out, or maybe the kids can drop an extracurricular activity.
5. In addition to individual expenses, discuss how you can cut down on the electric bill, groceries and other necessary family expenses.
Consider such things as carpooling or taking public transportation, buying more generic foods and adjusting the thermostat.
6. Estimate how much you can save on regular expenses, and cut the completely unnecessary items out of the budget. Then recheck it and see where you stand.
7. If you end up with a surplus, allocate a portion of it to savings. If you're in the red, go back and rework the budget until you have more income than expenses.
8. Being Realistic
One reason that family budgets often fail is because they're just not realistic. It's great to cut down on expenses, but sometimes we tend to go too far.
For example, cutting entertainment out of the budget completely might look good on paper, but we all need a little diversion every now and then.
Instead of cutting such things out of the budget completely, consider finding ways to lower the cost.
Going back to the entertainment example, maybe you've been going to dinner and a movie as a family twice a month.
But eating in and renting a new release would be much cheaper, and you would still get to spend quality time together.
Individual expenses can also be tricky. This can be resolved by allocating a certain amount for each family member to spend each week.
If someone spends his entire amount before the week is up, reevaluate his expenses and adjust if necessary.
Creating a family budget can help keep spending under control, leaving more money to pay down debts and save for future goals.
But in order to succeed, close monitoring is essential. Your efforts will be rewarded, however, with less financial stress and more money in the long run. All The Best.

The Stock Market, Exchange And Shares Explained

A stock market is a place where you can buy and sell shares, stocks, bonds etc.  We call people who buy or sell small numbers of shares, small investors. Organizations, which buy and sell large numbers of shares, are large investors or institutional investors.
Why the need for a Stock Exchange?

A stock exchange is the place where companies can raise money to make their business bigger and better. Companies raise this money by selling shares or stocks to investors. At the same time, the stock exchange gives investors an opportunity to invest in these companies and benefit from any profits they may make. Government can also raise money from stock exchange especially through sale of development stocks, bonds etc.
WHAT IS A SHARE
A share is what one has to become a member of a company.
When you buy a share of a company you become a member (a share holder) of that company.

Being a member or shareholder means that you share in the profits of the company Companies issue shares.
These shares represent the money which shareholders (as members of the company) put down when they first invested in the company.
Owners of shares (shareholders) are presumed to own the company.
If the company makes a profit, the shareholders have the right to a share of the profit which is declared for distribution. 

We call such a slice of the profit a dividend.             
A dividend is not a fixed amount.
Each year the directors of the company make two important recommendations about profits made by the company.
1. First, they recommend what slice of the profit the company should keep in reserve for future expansion.
2. Second, the recommend what slice of the profit the company should pay out to its shareholders as dividend.
The profit that the company makes for the year determines how big each slice will be. Shares are traded on the Stock Exchange during every working day of the year.
FINDING A STOCKBROKER
A stockbroker is a dealing member of The Stock Exchange. He provides services to anyone (an investor) who wants to buy and sell shares.
 A stockbroker provides a personal service. So, before you begin, talk to a few stockbrokers. Find out what services they offer.
What do you do if you don't know any stockbrokers?
You simply contact The Stock Exchange's Corporate Affairs/Research & Information Technology (RITS) Department. They will give you the names of stockbrokers.
There are many shares on the market. Let your stockbroker advise you on which shares you should buy. Talk to him.
Discuss the merits? (Worth) of the company you want to buy or sell shares in.
BUYING SHARES
You normally buy shares in lots of 100. When you give your stockbroker the order to "buy", he will buy your shares.
He will buy them at the best price in the market at that time through The Stock Exchange's trading floors. 

You become the owner of the shares form the time the deal is done.

When you give your order to buy your stockbroker must tell you whether he is acting either as an `agent' or as a `principal'.

 If he acts as an agent your stockbroker will go out to the market place and let other stockbrokers know that you wish to buy shares form their customers if they are willing to sell. 

If, on the other hand, he tells you he is acting as a principal, you will be buying shares that the stockbroker has bought and is holding for his firm's account and which he then can sell directly to you.

You will, however, still have to pay the Government's charges (VAT) according to the value of the shares you buy Within a few days, you will receive a contact note from your broker.

This contract note is an important document. It shows the details of the deal that the stockbroker has carried out for you. It also tells you how you. Keep it safely for your records.

The share certificate will arrive later if the investor chooses to get one. 

If otherwise, he will receive a certificate of stock holding which serves the same purpose. 

But for primary issues, share certificates are issued once in a year. 

Your share certificate or certificate of stock holding shows how many shares you own.

 It is also an important document, so keep it in a safe place. 

You will need the share certificate or certificate of stock holding if you want to sell the shares at a later date. 

You can also use it as collateral for loans in a bank or any financial institution.

WHEN DO YOU PAY?

You must pay for the shares you have brought within four business days from the date of the confirmation of the trade (Transaction Day or a maximum of three days after).

Trading Accounts of broker are debited or credited within three days by the settlement bank.

WHAT DOES IT COST?

You will have to pay the cost of the shares you have bought, PLUS, The negotiated brokerage +VAT+ Withholding Tax on Dividend when a company declares dividend PLUS A stamp duty or other charges by statutory bodies.

Your stockbroker will tell you about these charges. You will find the total amount you need to pay on the broker's note.

You will get this broker's note from your stockbroker.

SELLING SHARES

When you want to sell your shares, contact your stockbroker. Tell him which shares you want to sell. 

He will sell them at the best price in the market. 

Remember, you will have to give him your share certificate or certificate of stock holding for authentication at the depository of The Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS).
Your broker will pay you with a crossed cheque for the shares you have sold.

UNDERSTANDING MORE ABOUT SHARES.

  Many daily newspapers publish the Daily Trading Summary of The Stock Exchange or you can check online.
The format includes names of quoted companies, public quotation price, current market price, information on dividend, business done daily, the price and quantity, the highest and lowest price of the share in the year, Earnings Per Share (EPS) and Price Earnings Ratio (PER).

Business Times publishes weekly the whole content of the Daily Official List. But majority of the daily papers publish The Stock Exchange's daily trading summary.

THE STOCK EXCHANGE.

HOW TO READ THE SHARE PRICE IN THE DAILY OFFICIAL LIST.
Please note that all prices are expressed in per share Column Explanation SHARE Name of Security for the Country's Market.
CURRENT MARKET PRICE:  The current market price which means the price on Board or the ruling price
EX-DIVEX-SCRIP:  After payment of dividend and after issuing bonus shares
BUSINESS DONE: This means the price,date, and quantity at which a share Was last traded
BUY : The price at which the buyer is prepared to purchase
SELL:  The price at which a share is offered for sale
HIGH:  The highest price attained by the share or stock during the year
LOW:  The lowest price attained by the share or stock during the year
EPS:  Earnings per share, which indicates how much income after Tax a unit of share has generated.
P/E:  The price/earnings ratio is the ratio of the price to the earnings,Indicating how long it would take an investor to recoup his Investment if he/she were to buy the stock at current price to Earnings.

Happy Investing.

What Is Wrong With The World Wide Web ?

One of the biggest tools born from the internet is The World Wide Web.
Now, .......What's wrong with the world wide web?

Well actually there's nothing wrong with the web itself, but there's a lot wrong with many peoples' perception of what the web can do.

In case you are unclear as to exactly what the web consists of, here's a little basic knowledge...

The web is basically made up of  Different websites. (Sometimes referred to as "home pages".)
 These sites consist of one or more pages of information.
 The information contained on these pages consists of just about everything you can imagine.

Everyone with access to the web can find a page by entering it's URL (Uniform Resource Location) or web address.

Additionally, You can find almost any available page via the search engines. (Such as Google, Bing, Ask, Yahoo Search, etc.) 

These search engines will find pages for you by allowing you to search on a word or words related to the subject you wish to explore.

Speaking from an online marketing stand point, building a website would seem like an excellent business decision, right?
 Well, it's not as simple as it seems though. Let me explain...

The most traditional form of online advertising consists of building a site on the World Wide Web.
What most people don't realize is that web marketing doesn't even come close to email marketing in terms of effectiveness!

  Many people are putting up a web page or two and expecting customers to flock to it.
 Unfortunately, that's just not the way it works!
The fact is, you shouldn't be waiting for customers to find you, when you can take your message to them!

Now don't get me wrong here. A web page can be a great marketing tool.
That's if, and only if, you advertise the site heavily. Many small companies cannot afford to do this!
And if you can't, your prospects may as well be trying to find a needle in a haystack!

If you do plan on setting up a web page, be prepared to include the web address on all of your sales literature, business cards, email correspondence (in the form of a signature), and any other business transaction you make.
This is the best way to get people to visit.

Another must after setting up a web page is to register it with all the search engines you can find on the internet.
This will allow surfers to search on a subject related to your business and find your web page. 

As of the writing of this report, the easiest way to register your web address or URL with many search engines is to visit the following address.

http://www.pingler.com

http://www.pingomatic.com

Remember, marketing on the internet is now really growing Big.

The entrepreneurs that keep their eyes (and minds) open to new ideas and concepts as they develop stand to make the biggest profits. Best Wishes ....:)

How To Profit From Selling Advert Spaces On Blogs And Websites

If you observe companies that deliver daily Newspapers to your doorstep as a business case study. 
As many already know,  these newspaper publishers hire reporters, writers and other important staff to create their contents and deliver the papers to their readers.

 But anyone can also do this, if you own a website or Blog, which is the machinery.

In addition to the above mentioned, the publishers need to invest regularly in heavy duty machinery and tons of papers in printing tons of newspapers on a daily basis.

And in order to ensure that the newspapers are delivered on time, the publisher appoints agents to function at every part of the covered territory. So, how does the newspaper company make money? It is obvious that selling a copy of the papers at less than a dollar would not even be able to even fund the operations. The answer? Selling advertising spaces!

 You have definitely seen lots of advertisements in the newspaper.
The publisher simply sells advertising space in the papers to advertisers who want to leverage their advertising efforts on the paper’s high readership. On that same analogy, you can make money the exact way from your websites, Blogs and newsletter: simply by selling advertising space to prospective advertisers!

For example, if your mailing list size exceeds 5,000 (10,000 is recommended) subscribers and beyond, you can start selling advertising space for lets say, $10.00 per sponsor ad space weekly. In this manner, you turn every issue you send out to your subscribers into a profit-pulling device. 

And since there is virtually no end to the stream of advertisers as products, services and businesses are cropping every single day in every industry imaginable, so are your money making opportunities. 

This is as simple smart way to make more profit from Blogging. Have a wonderful day.

The Basic Ideas Of Managing Debt

Debt has a way of creeping up on us if we let it. 
It's important to keep our debt at reasonable and manageable levels, or we could end up incurring insane interest charges and scraping to make our payments. 

Even for those who manage debt well, unexpected life changes can result in difficulty making ends meet. When we find ourselves having problems with debt, the first course of action is to take a look at the budget. 

Finding ways to cut back on unnecessary expenses can help us pay down debts and keep monthly bills current.
But what happens when we can't solve our debt problems with budgeting?
Sometimes we need outside help. It's hard to go to someone else when you're having money troubles, but if you don't gain control over your debts, your credit rating will suffer.
 So it's important to take charge before it's too late.
Some debtors turn to debt consolidation as an answer to debt problems. 
They transfer high-interest debts to a lower interest credit card, or they put up the equity in their homes to get the money to pay them off. 
While these options can provide lower payments, they are not without drawbacks. 
Closing numerous accounts and putting all of your debt into one account can negatively affect your ratio of debt to available credit, lowering your credit score. 
And if you use your home equity to secure the money needed to pay off debt, you're putting your home at an unnecessary risk.

Another popular option for those with debt problems is credit counseling. 

Credit counseling agencies offer help with budgeting, and in some cases, they will set you up with a debt management plan. 

A debt management plan involves negotiation with creditors to obtain lower interest rates and lower payments. 

The debtor makes one monthly payment to the credit counseling agency and the agent forwards payments to each creditor.

A debt management plan can help you get out of debt faster, but it can also impact your credit.
 A note is added to your credit report stating that you are undergoing credit counseling.
This means that you can't get new credit. However, the notation is removed once you've paid off your debts. It's also important to make sure you're dealing with a reputable credit counseling agency. 

Some charge high fees or fail to make payments to creditors on time. There have also been some that were found to be outright scams, keeping the money that debtors sent them to pay their bills with.

When considering credit counseling agencies, make sure they're members of the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA) or the National Foundation of Credit Counseling (NFCC). These organizations regulate and monitor member agencies, making sure that they operate legally and ethically.
An overabundance of debt can wreak havoc on our finances and our credit scores. It can also be the cause of undue stress.
 By seeking help at the first sign of trouble, we can often prevent our debts from spiraling Out of control.
All the Best.

7 Important Steps To Make Sure You Are Seen Online

The Internet has now become an important medium for product and service advertisements. Almost every company that can afford print, radio and TV advertisements have also ventured into placing ads on the Internet.

But with millions of websites out there being visited by millions of computer users, how can you make sure that your ad can be seen by your target customers and that your leads will be followed by these users?

 Here are a few tips.

1.      Place an ad on the websites frequented by your target customers. Before doing this, you need to define who will be your target customers. Placing an ad on sites that they usually visit will increase the possibility that your ad will gain the attention and will be followed your target customers. 

Also, consider the website's search engine placement, traffic, external linking and the other ads placed on it. External linking will determine if there are other sites that link to this site. This will mean that people can get to the site where your ad is placed, even if they are browsing a different site.  Check if many of your competitors have ads on this site.

2.      Placing ads on some sites cost some money.  However, there are also sites that can place a link to your site, product or service in exchange of having their link being displayed on your site. This is also true about the newsletters sent by site owners to its mailing list members regularly. Also, having helpful links placed on your site and having sites link to your pages help in boosting search engine ranking. This is similar to making a statement that your site's content is important that other sites have links to your web pages.

3.  Pay-per-click (PPC) is also a good method in Internet marketing. You will only need to pay for the ad if the link is clicked. If you prefer this method of advertisement, make sure that you are using services that set limits on daily expenses.  There are also services that help you determine effective keywords and monitor the PPC results.

4. Choose your domain name wisely.  It is still being debated if domain names matter when it comes to search engine placement. Whether it does or not, having product related domain names help consumers remember your domain, that they can go back to your site even without the links.

5. Make sure you have useful content on your sites.  While keyword density is important in search engine placement, having useless information or annoying repetition of keywords will not increase your customer's confidence in your site. It may even affect your sites traffic and can get your site removed from search engines.  So make sure that keywords are used strategically. 

6. When thinking of keywords, think like your target customers. What do you think are they going to search so they can get to your site?  

Also, use specific keywords or key phrases. Submitting a single word or a very general phrase to a search engine will not get you to the top of the search results compared to submitting specific keywords that describe your product and services perfectly. 

7. Track your ads.  Always check how much you have spent on placing links on frequently visited sites and on PPC. There are services that allow you to monitor PPC transactions and how many of these end in sales.

You always need to consider if the ads that you have placed on these websites are getting you to your target consumers and if these ads can lead to revenue. One final tip on marketing products and services, sell the benefits.  It will help your marketing strategies a lot if you highlight the benefits of choosing your products and services instead of merely discussing the product specifications. Product specifications may not mean much to customers, unless they know what these stand for (how these specifications affect the quality of the product or service). 

Many people say getting to the top of search engine results is difficult since millions of websites exist, which can be using the same keywords.  While this is true, this doesn't mean that your website has to stacked under your competitors' websites when presenting search engine results. Strategic advertising and linking, together with useful content, can also get you to the top of the search results.

All the best in your efforts.

The Common Requirements To Start A Business From Scratch

If you are just starting from scratch in your own business (that's probably you……Right ?), there are a few business matters that will need to be addressed. 

It's a good idea to take care of these matters relatively early in your business venture so you can concentrate on the heart of your business plan, which is, actually making money like every Body want to…Right?  

I'd like to touch briefly on a few of the more important issues. The first issue to concern yourself with is licensing, registration. 

  And Get an I. D. Card also for security Reasons.

There are many companies in existence today that have not taken the time to concern themselves with these "details" and therefore are not operating ‘legally’ as in the Official Term. 

Don't let your company become one of these "under the table" operations. Not only are there many tax benefits when operating legally, but the feeling of clear conscience alone can be just as important.

The first step in the licensing and registration of your business is to call or stop by your local town hall and tell them you are interested in starting your own business.

Ask them if you need to register this business and if there are any special requirements or licenses for a home based business in your area.
More than likely, you will not need any special permits or licenses to operate a business out of your home, however you may need to register this business at a local and or state level.

 This is so that the public will be informed of your new business venture. The next issue you may run into when checking into these business matters is zoning.

Many of the zoning laws in Countries Like the U.S., India, Nigeria, South Africa and many others have been on the books for a long time and are largely ignored by home business owners.

I do recommend however, that you become aware of the zoning laws in your area, even though the type of business you'll be operating is usually not subject to zoning problems. Most of the zoning laws on the books are there to protect your neighbors' rights.

Many officials realize that home businesses are on the increase everywhere and they tend to look the other way, unless requested to do otherwise by angry neighbors of a zoning violator.

RULES AND REGULATIONS
Since you are planning to start your own business, you need to be familiar with some of the rules that govern this industry. For all intents and purposes, this business would fall under the category of a Small business, especially if you plan to offer information products or Smaller Products.

As long as you plan to run your business on the up and up, you should have no problems with any of the laws on the books. Lets run through the major issues and see how they will pertain to you and your new business. 

Although there are many more regulations than what we will cover here, the thing to remember is this. Don't cheat anyone out of their hard earned money. When you run a honest business you stand a much better chance at success. All The Best.

10 Ways To Speaking A Better And Correct English

1. Observe the mouth movements of those who speak English well and try to imitate them.
When you are watching television, observe the mouth movements of the speakers.
Repeat what they are saying, while imitating the intonation and rhythm of their speech.

2. Until you learn the correct intonation and rhythm of English, slow your speech down.
If you speak too quickly, and with the wrong intonation and rhythm, native speakers will have a hard time understanding you.

Don't worry about your listener getting impatient with your slow speech -- it is more important that everything you say be understood.

3. Listen to the 'music' of English.
Do not use the 'music' of your native language when you speak English. Each language has its own way of 'singing'.

4. Use the dictionary.
 
Try and familiarize yourself with the phonetic symbols of your dictionary. Look up the correct pronunciation of words that are hard for you to say.

5. Make a list of frequently used words that you find difficult to pronounce and ask someone who speaks the language well to pronounce them for you.

Record these words, listen to them and practice saying them. Listen and read at the same time.

6. Buy books on Tape Or Mp3's.

Record yourself reading some sections of the book. Compare the sound of your English with that of the person reading the book on the tape.

7. Pronounce the ending of each word.

Pay special attention to 'S' and 'ED' endings. This will help you strengthen the mouth muscles that you use when you speak English.
 
8. Read aloud in English for 15-20 minutes every day.
Research has shown it takes about three months of daily practice to develop strong mouth muscles for speaking a new language.

9. Record your own voice and listen for pronunciation mistakes.

Many people hate to hear the sound of their voice and avoid listening to themselves speak.
However, this is a very important exercise because doing it will help you become conscious of the mistakes you are making.

10. Be patient.

You can change the way you speak but it won't happen overnight. People often expect instant results and give up too soon.

 You can change the way you sound if you are willing to put some effort into it.

Enjoy your day.

How To Maximize Your Potentials

As much as you can afford, enroll yourself for formal training. If you’re gifted in music, for instance, try to enroll in a music school. Every individual on the surface of the earth has been given an assignment by God to fulfill. This innate ability with which each one of us has been endowed is referred to as ‘potentials.’ Each one of us has a responsibility to discover our potentials and then maximize them, in order to fulfill our God-given assignment on earth. First, let’s briefly consider how we can go about discovering our potentials before going ahead to discuss how they can be maximized.

 

DISCOVERING YOUR POTENTIALS

  The following questions will be of help to you on the pathway to discovering your potentials.

Try to give an answer to them.

a. Consider what the Lord has impressed on your heart as a special talent or unique gift.

b. What is your heart’s deepest desire? What stirs your passion? What do you enjoy doing so much that you forget to eat? What naturally flows out of you? Whatever you were designed to do will feel right and natural when you do it.

Although it may be complex for someone else, it will be simple for you. Find out and write down the gifts that naturally come out of you. Ask yourself, “What do people say I do well?” Where do you produce good results? What ideas, visions or dreams are impossible to get out of your mind?

To what can you give 100% of your life? If you knew you wouldn’t fail and you had all the power you will ever need, what would you do?

I hope the questions above will really be of help to you in discovering your God given potentials. Having discussed the issue of discovering your potentials, let’s now consider how to maximize them. The following tips will certainly be of help.

Diligence: No matter how gifted you may be, if you’re lazy, it will be difficult or rather impossible to go very far.

Successful people have diligence as one of their major hallmarks those who have made outstanding impacts in various fields of endeavor in life have practiced the principle of diligence, examples abound in the field of sports, music, arts, literature, science, as well as  the gospel ministry.

 Diligence will help you to use your potential to the fullest, says “………. Be even more diligent to make your call and election sure”.

Law of use and disuse: What so ever gift you have, put it to use. Do not hesitate at every opportunity you have to put your gift to use.

 It is a natural law that the more you use your gift, the better you are at them. This lesson is clearly taught in the parable of the talents.

Association: The kind of people you associate with will go a long way to determine how effective you will be in making the best use of the potentials (i.e. gifts & abilities) that have been embedded in you.

Be careful who your friends are; be determined to associate with people that will motivate and inspire you towards excellence.

Be determined to walk with people that will influence you positively and add value to your personality.

Get information: Information is power. Go for information in other words, seek knowledge. Get to know more about your area of gifting.

Read books that are relevant to your area of interest. Buying books is one of the most important investments you can ever make.

Furthermore, as much as you can afford, enroll yourself for formal training. If you’re gifted in music, for instance, try to enroll at a music school.

Get a mentor: E.g. Do you have a desire to be a Pastor, then look out for a Pastor you admire most and who has made a success of the pastoral ministry.  

For every area of interest that one has discovered, it is necessary to seek out someone who has excelled there in; if possible, one should seek to establish a personal relationship with such a person.

Such a person will serve as a mentor and a role model that could be looked up to for guidance, advice, counsel and encouragement.

Furthermore, as much as you can afford, enroll yourself for formal training. If you’re gifted in music, for instance, try to enroll at a music school.

Humility: Pride is one of the greatest enemies of success.  Life is full of stories of peoples who have fallen from great heights because they were not humble. “…God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble”. No matter how gifted you are, remain humble. Only then will God keep promoting you from one stage to another.

 Those who are humble before God will be made great by Him. In conclusion, many people have lived through this life without discovering or maximizing their potentials. Such lives are wasted lives. That is the truth!

May God grant you greater illumination as you put the above principles to practice.

May your life not be wasted. May you live to express your potentials to the fullest. May you live to become great!  

Furthermore, as much as you can afford, enroll yourself for formal training.

 If you’re gifted in music, for instance, try to enroll at a music school. It will be of great help if you enroll at a formal institution that will help you excel in your area of Talent. Have a nice day.