The Deferred Payment Scam

Posted on January 31, 2010 by iqrarmulfi

One of the biggest problems facing individuals today is
being able to control their personal finances. The rate of
inflation has leveled off, but individual indebtedness
seems to be going through theceiling with a record number of
bankruptcies being filed each year.

With more people working and earning more than ever before, this
just doesn’t make sense.With all the ads on TV, the radio and in
the newspaper selling everything from home furnishings and
electronics to cars with little or no down payment and small monthly
payments, it is easy to getcaught in the credit trap.

The companies and the advertising execsknow this, and that is
why they keep those ads on TV, the radio and in the newspapers.
Just looking for another sucker.

Most of the ads are honest and informative, but some are a little on
the shady side. You have to check the small print at the bottom of
the ad to see what they are really doing to you.

One of the biggest gimmicks, or rip-offs, now is the stores, especially
electronics and home furnishings, advertising buy with no
down payment and no payments or interest for one year.
WATCH OUT! Read the fine print!

All of the ones I have checked state that if the
full amount is not paid in that time period, interest will be added
from purchase date.Some that I have checked have interest rates as
high as 22% to 24%.When you start making payments you are already a
year behind in interest payments. With the extra interest added each
month, it could take six months or longer just to get paid down
to the original purchase price.

You can, however, make this work to your advantage. Whenever you
make your purchase, take the number of months until the due date,
thedate your first payment is due, and divide that into the purchase
price. This will give you the amount you will need to put back each
month so that you can pay the note off by the due date, and not have
to pay any interest.

If you put this amount in a savings account each month you should
earn enough interest for a dinner on the town.

So you are one of the lucky ones that has the money to pay cash.
Well,go ahead and buy on the deferred payment plan, keep your
money in the savings and pay when due. That way you
are earning interest and not the store.

John Watson

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Is Your Mule In The Well?

Posted on January 30, 2010 by iqrarmulfi

A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule.
The mule fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer
heard the mule ‘braying’ – or – whatever mules do
when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the
situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule,
but decided that neither the mule nor the well was
worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called
his neighbors together and told them what had
happened…and enlisted them to help haul dirt to
bury the old mule in the well and put him out of
his misery.

Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the
farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and
the dirt hit his back…a thought struck him. It
suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel
load of dirt landed on his back…HE SHOULD
SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP! This he did,
blow after blow.

“Shake it off and step up…shake it off and step
up…shake it off and step up!” he repeated to
encourage himself. No matter how painful the
blows, or distressing the situation seemed the old
mule fought “panic” and just kept right on SHAKING
IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!

You’re right! It wasn’t long before the old mule,
battered and exhausted, STEPPED TRIUMPHANTLY
OVER THE WALL OF THAT WELL! What seemed
like it would bury him, actually blessed him…all because
of the manner in which he handled his adversity.

THAT’S LIFE! If we face our problems and respond to
them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness,
or self-pity…THE ADVERSITIES THAT COME ALONG
TO BURY US USUALLY HAVE WITHIN THEM
THE POTENTIAL TO BENEFIT AND BLESS US!
Remember that FORGIVENESS–FAITH–PRAYER–LOVE–
PRAISE and HOPE…all are excellent ways to “SHAKE
IT OFF AND STEP UP” out of the wells in which we find
ourselves!

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IMPROVE YOUR LUCK! Prepare To Recieve What Is Yours!

Posted on January 29, 2010 by iqrarmulfi

You can improve your luck. The saying goes that luck is just being
in the right place at the right time. So, the trick to improving
your luck is to make sure that you are in the right place at the right time.

Have you had friends or neighbors that are always winning
something and you never seem to win anything? Have you ever
wondered how they could be so lucky? There is a secret to it.
It goes right back to being at the right place at the right time.

Now, the question is, “Where is the right place?” It is where the
merchandise is being given away. That makes sense, doesn’t it?
Now, just where is the merchandise being given away? When you find out
where that is you will know where to be.

Some of the best places to go are trade shows such as auto shows,
boat shows, home and garden shows etc. If you live near a large town
that hosts a lot of conventions and trade shows you should be
able to make one every few weeks.

Whenever you go be sure to visit every booth and sign up for
everything being offered. Last year at one home and garden show
I won a three day trip to Branson, MO plus a $400 set of golf clubs.
This year my son won a trip to the Bahamas. Not bad for a $6.00 ticket to get in.

Other good places to go are store grand openings, they always give
door prizes,and fairs. If you have a state or county fair in your
area try to go to it as a lot of the exhibitors have drawings for
their merchandise. Stay away from the carney booths tho, they are a rip off.

The more places you go and the more drawings you enter, the better
chance you have of winning something. Try it, it’s fun. You also get
to meet a lot of new people and keep up with what’s going on in the world.

John Watson

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THE SAVINGS HABIT

Posted on January 28, 2010 by iqrarmulfi

When I was young my dad always taught me to put away
part of my money and “Save for a rainy day.” At the
time I didn’t exactly understand what he meant by “a rainy day”,
but I do now. You never know when the car is going to break
down, the refrigerator quits or a hundred and one
other little accidents will happen that you will need extra
money for. If you have extra money put aside you can shop
around for the best deal, pay cash for it and save a bundle
in interest.

I have since been told by other sources that to be on the safe
side you need savings put away to equal six months salary.
This should be liquid savings, not stocks, bonds etc. You need
to be able to access this easily in case you lose your job or some
other catastrophe strikes. This will be considered your short
term savings.

Dad also told me, “Son, you are going to get old someday and you
are going to need some money to live on.” This is what is
considered to be long term savings. This would be best invested
in stocks, bonds or mutual funds. A good financial planner
could help you select the ones earning the best interest at
the time you are ready to invest.

Some financial analysts are saying that people are not saving as
much as they used to. That seems strange, since most people
are earning more now than they ever did, so let’s see if we can
find a reason for this.

#1. Our population has become too materialistic. Everything
imaginable is advertised on TV, in newspapers etc. with little
or no down payment and easy monthly payments. Everyone
wants instant gratification, they cannot wait long enough to
save the money for what they want so they buy on credit. The
finance people love you for this because it is making them
rich. After going deeper and deeper in debt you have no money
left to save.

#2. The government has instituted various welfare programs to
take care of you in case of catastrophic illness and some
unemployment in case you lose your job. They also have
Social Security to take care of you when you retire. Well, guess
what. That will only take care of the bare necessities, there
will be none left over for enjoyment. Just ask someone who is
trying to live on Social Security. Also, the government says that
the Social Security Trust Fund could run out in another twenty
years. Then What?

#3. There is an underlying belief among some that the earth
is about to self destruct. Everyone from the environmentalists
to some religious sects are predicting total destruction of the
earth, therefore no future and no need to save for the future.

There have been doomsayers all down through history and none
of their predictions have turned out to be true. So, what if the
current predictions turn out to be wrong and you do live to a ripe
old age? What will you do then? Live on Social Security? What
if there is no more Social Security?

If you do not already have a savings plan started, now will be a
good time to consider starting one. A good amount to save
would be 10% of your take home pay each month. It would
also be good to put half of this into an investment such as
stocks or a mutual fund.

So you cannot afford to put 10% into savings right now? Put
whatever amount you can afford if it is only $10.00 per month.
Get the savings habit started and increase it as you are able.
As you see the money start to accumulate you will be proud
of yourself for having the integrity to put aside the extra money
and you will want to put more money into savings as you are able.

May you have a long happy and prosperous future.

John Watson

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