Student Loan Consolidation - Big Benefits

By Dean ShaininCopyright 2005 Dean ShaininYou can benefit from student loan consolidation, but there are things you should consider. It’s a good idea to start looking into how you can consolidate your student loans before the grace period ends. Big monthly student loan payments can be stressful when starting a new career.Why Should I Consolidate My Student Loans Now?There has never been a better time than now, to take advantage of the lowest interest rates in recent history. A student can get the best deals for consolidating debt and lower those monthly payments. Student loan consolidation can save you hundreds of dollars per year on repaying your student loan.How Does Student Loan Consolidation Work?When a student first applied for loans from several different government agencies and loan providers, they each gave a different interest rate and term for paying back the loans. The idea of student loan consolidation, is to take all the different loans and put them into one easy convenient loan. You then only make one monthly loan payment over time. This saves the student both time and money. Having a lower interest rate and less checks to write every month are the big advantages of consolidating a student loan.Student Loan Consolidation Is Now Easy OnlineYou can now get a consolidation loan online quickly and easily. The Internet makes research and finding great programs, easy as a few clicks of the mouse. You can get done in a day, what would in the past, take weeks to accomplish. You can learn everything you need to know from information sites that provide the latest news and data in regards to student loan consolidation. This empowers you to get the best deals on student loan consolidation. With a few clicks of the mouse, you can get loan quotes and compare loan companies that are competing for your business.Consolidation Loans Can Relieve StressStudent loan consolidation can help student loan borrowers focus on their education, instead of debt. With a single new loan and lower monthly payments, you can focus on what’s most important, education and your new career. There is no need to lose sleep at night stressing out about how you’re going to pay back all those student loans.About the author:Dean Shainin is a consultant specializing in student loan consolidation. To get more ideas,articles, resources and information, visit this site: http://www.studentloanconsolidationtips.com

Higher Prices Lead to Higher Profits

By Paul LembergI know at first glance this sounds obvious, but it may be worth it for you to think about your prices. At least just for a moment. How did you decide on your current pricing? Did you conduct market research to understand what prospects would pay? Or did you compare yourself to your competitors and base your price on that? Or was it a crapshoot, and random shot in the dark? These are the ways most people do it, and they are all wrong. Because the price you set for your products and services is more important than you think. The following few paragraphs are a bit number heavy, but stay with me because this will be really valuable for you to understand. Let's say you sell a high margin product - information products and software are two good examples. Your price is $60, and your costs are $10 - that means your gross margin (selling price - your costs) is $50 each time you sell one unit. Let's say further that your overhead is $5,000 per month. If you sell 100 units you'll break even, right? Now you want to sell more, and decide you can take some business from a competitor by lowering your price - temporarily. You lower it to $40 - a 33% price cut, and not uncommon. Your costs remain $10 and your overhead is still $5,000, only now your gross margin is $30 - 60% of what it was before. And how many units do you need to break even now? 166! That's 66% more unit sales required to make up for the 33% price cut! But what if you're feeling very aggressive and you cut your price in half (also not unheard of) to $30. Now you have to sell 250 units - just to break even! That's 2-1/2 times as many as before. How easy do you think that's going to be? Let's use a different example - something that has real manufacturing costs. This time, your product sells for $100, and your cost of goods are $50 per unit, for a gross profit of $50. Same $5000 overhead, same number of units to break even. Now imagine you cut your price 20%, to $80, leaving you with $30 of gross margin. You need to sell 66% more units. Ouch! What if you cut the price to $70. This 30% price cut means you have to sell 2-1/2 times more units - just to stay even. Let's go further... Competition is really heating up and you think that matching them cut for cut is the way to go. The price for this amazing widget of yours is now a bargain basement $60. (Shucks, that's only 40% off your original price. Salespeople and business owners do this every day.) How many units do you need to break even? 500. Five hundred? That's five times your original number. Do you really think you can sell five times what you did before - at least without significantly raising your overhead and your variable cost of sale? How many times have you done just this in response to competitive pressures? How many times have you cut prices because you thought it would help you sell more? :(:(:( What we've just done is a simplified version of what's called margin analysis, and I hope it gives you a glimmer of what can happen when you mis-price. For the most part, your price cuts don't automatically enable you to sell 66% more than you did before, and generally - at least not in this universe - you don't sell 250% more, and never, ever do you sell 500% more with this kind of price cutting. But there is some good news - and it's very good. Let's look at what happens when you raise your prices. Remember your high-margin product. It sells for $60 and costs $10 to make. Through good product positioning and excellent marketing you raise the price to $70. That's only a 15% increase. Now you only have to sell 83 units to break even, and if you sell the same 100 units, your profits go from $0 to $1000. Nice increase... And that "hard" product - the one with $50 of costs? Raise the price tag 20% to $120, your margins increase to $70, and now your breakeven drops 71, and you make $2000 if you sell the same number of them. See how this works? :):):) You can do this same analysis in a bit more sophisticated way, considering your marketing costs, sales or affiliate commissions, travel expenses if you have them, and so on. You can see the actual pricing effect varies quite a bit depending on these details. If you have a high-leverage, pay-only-for-results affiliate model, a very high gross margin and almost no fixed overhead, you have a lot of price flexibility. You can cut the price 25% and only need to sell 15% more! That's not too bad at all. But only in that type of model. If you have a office, some staff, and a physical product - in other words, fixed overhead - lower prices can kill you - and you won't even see it coming. And higher prices? They can make you rich. By now you are starting to see the tragic effects of mis-pricing on the downside, and the marvelously enriching possibilities of raising your prices. This only works, of course, when you can also increase your value proposition... Stay tuned for part 2. Follow this link at the bottom of the page to get a copy of an Excel spreadsheet to play with. Get the spreadsheet, plug in your own numbers. It will really blow your mind. Also, feel free to pass this article or the spreadsheet on to your friends and associates. They will definitely appreciate it. http://www.paullemberg.com/higher-part1.html About the author:Paul Lemberg is the President of Quantum Growth Coaching, the world's only business coaching franchise system built from the ground up to rapidly create more profits and more life for entrepreneurs. Paul is also Executive Director of the Stratamax Research Institute, a business coaching and consulting firm specializing in helping entrepreneurial companies quickly increase short term profits for sustainable long term growth. http://www.quantumgrowthcoachingfranchise.com

Bad Credit Loans

By Paul HeathObtaining can be a real challenge. If you have a bad credit history and you’re seeking a loan to buy a home, a car, or a personal unsecured loan, you will usually have to work a bit harder convincing a lender to underwrite your loan. You’ll almost certainly pay a higher interest rate than someone with a good credit history and the amount available for you to borrow will likely be lower. What Is A Credit History? Before you pursue a loan of any type, it’s important to know more about your credit history. It is a record of all your past financial commitments and contains information about your repayment reliability and the total amount of debt you’re carrying. Banks and other lenders look at this record to determine your credit worthiness, usually by assigning you a credit score. The lower your credit score the less likely a lender is to underwrite your loan. How Did I Get A Bad Credit History? Your credit history is an ongoing compilation of information about you, so anytime you make a late payment or miss a payment it is captured in the file. Likewise, if you have ever defaulted on a debt or otherwise failed to fulfil a financial contract it will show up in your credit history. Credit reference agencies collect other information about you, such as changes in employment or address. If your record shows that you make such changes frequently this will also lower your credit score. Will I Ever Qualify For A Loan? Yes, most people with bad credit will be able to qualify for some type of loan but usually with some restrictions and limitations. There are numerous lenders who focus specifically on loans for people with bad credit so don’t give up. Just keep in mind that you will probably be charged a higher interest and offered a lower loan amount. The positive part of this is that once you’ve secured the loan you can start repairing your bad credit history by making regular, on-time payments. It happens slowly, but over time your credit history will show improvement. What Type Of Loan Can I Get? There are two types of loans available to you if you have poor credit – unsecured and secured. Unsecured loans are more difficult to get because you don’t put up collateral as security for the loan. This is risky for the lender so expect them to require more stringent loan terms in this situation. Secured loans, on the other hand, require you to provide some form of asset as collateral. Most of the time this means you will secure the loan with your house. The amount of money you can borrow and the interest rate you will pay are influenced by your credit history, your total amount of debt, and your home’s value. Different lenders weight these items different ways, so be sure to check with several to find one with a program suited for you. I Have Bad Credit – Where Can I Find A Loan? Before you submit any loan applications, gather some information from several potential lenders. Find out about their interest rates, any special loan terms they may require, and any other specifics about their loan process. One word of warning – researching lenders is different than actually submitting loan applications. You can do all the research you want, but be careful not to submit a large number of loan applications over a short time period. This kind of activity can actually damage your credit history further. Another option is to contact an independent loan broker to help you find appropriate lenders and loan programs. Other Resources For Finding Bad Credit Loans One of the most popular resources for researching bad credit loans is the Internet. Almost all lenders have web sites that provide guidelines and information about their loan programs for people with bad credit, and some even offer online application processes. As noted above, though, don’t fill out large numbers of applications or you may damage your credit rating further. About the author:For Online Loans Home Loans Please visit us at www.1st-onlineloans.com

Bad Credit Debt Consolidation Loans - Getting A Debt Consolidation Loan, Even With Poor Credit

By Carrie ReederAn online debt consolidation loan allows even people with a poor credit to reduce their overall monthly payments and regain their financial footing. While there are personal loans that allow you to do this, tapping into your home’s equity is a better option. Choosing A Loan Refinancing your home to access your home’s equity enables you to pay off your short-term debt and write off the interest on your taxes. A line of credit won’t let you do that. With bad credit, your interest rates will be slightly higher than a traditional mortgage, but they will be lower than a line of credit. You also have the option to refinance your loan in two years, after you have established a good credit record. Applying To Online Lenders Online mortgage lenders offer financing to all sorts of credit situations, including those with bankruptcy or a foreclosure in their records. Before you begin the process, take the time to research refinance options by different lenders. Compare rates and terms to find the best fit for your situation by requesting quotes. One you have picked a lender, go ahead and apply online for the deepest discounts. Usually a lender will reduce fees or interest rates for online applications. Unlike a regular mortgage, your home equity loan will take some time to approve since the lender has to verify the value of your home. If you believe the listed price of your home is undervalued, request an appraisal. With today’s hot real estate market, home values are rising between 5nd 50year. Plan To Refinance In The Future When you have received your home equity loan, make plans to refinance again in two years. In those two years, you can build your credit score to good by making regular payments on all your bills. You can also raise your score by closing credit card accounts with lenders. If your lender doesn’t automatically refinance your loan, approach them with a request for a quote to refinance. Typically, your lender will give you a better than market rate. However, you still should compare quotes of other lenders to see if you can find a better finance deal. About the author:Carrie Reeder is the owner of http://www.abcloanguide.com,an informational website about various types of loans. To view our list of recommended debt consolidation companies online, visit this page: http://www.abcloanguide.com/debtconsolidation.shtml

Bad Credit Car Loans - Why They Are Easier To Get Than They Ever Have Been

By Carrie ReederCar loans are easier to get by using an online financing company, even if you have bad credit. You can compare financing rates for the purchase of a new or used car, apply in minutes, and receive a blank check within days. Car Loans Online Online technology allows easy shopping for car loans. Through connected databases, call centers, and streamlined processes, you can connect to lenders to find low rates regardless of where you live. Sub prime lenders, who specialize in financing people with poor credit, now have to compete for your business. Even with a bankruptcy or foreclosure, you can find financing to purchase your vehicle. Depending on your credit score, you may decide to work with a sub prime lender who partners with certain car dealerships. In these cases, be sure to compare both the loan’s and car’s price. You can also put down a large down payment to improve your prospects. Easy Comparisons Comparing car loans is especially important if you have poor credit. You can receive free online quotes from lenders within minutes so you can compare both rates and terms. By comparing financing packages, you can be assured that you have found the lowest rate. Speedy Applications Technology has also sped up the application process. When you apply online for a car loan, your application will typically be processed within an hour. Through databases, lenders can verify your information and approve you for a loan amount. You can decide to use part or all of the amount to purchase an automobile. Quick Money Once your application has been approved, you will receive a blank check and final paperwork in the mail within a couple of days. With the check you can purchase your car or truck from a dealership or private individual. When you decide on a purchase price, you simply fill in the amount on the check. Refinancing Option You can also refinance your car loan in the future. By making regular payments and reducing short-term debt, you can build your credit score to good within two years. You can then decide to refinance your loan with a traditional lender with lower rates. About the author:Carrie Reeder is the owner of http://www.abcloanguide.com,an informational website about various types of loans. To view our list of recommended auto finance companies online, visit this page: http://www.abcloanguide.com/autoloans.shtml

Goals Setting Worksheet

I. Steps to goal-setting.
A. Brainstorming.
Jot down every thought you have about what you want or need. Don’t think about whether you can do them or have them, just write them down as fast as you can. Each item will make you think about other things. Write them all down. _______________________________________
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B. Pick your primary objective.
Your mind can only concentrate on one major idea at a time. Narrow down your brainstorming list to your most important goals. You can pick one primary goal for each of the major areas of your life: mental, spiritual, physical, family, financial. ___________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________
C. Write your goal in present-tense terms - concrete, measurable, time limit. ________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A goal must be stated in present-tense terms before it can be evident that we believe it. The secret to achieving goals is to get a crystal clear image in our subconscious minds. God said in innumerable ways throughout the New Testament, "Whatever you ask, believing, it is yours." Our problem is that we can't believe some things because of past conditioning. The secret is to bypass the conscious part of our minds and record the thing we want to accomplish as a subconscious "memory" that we can believe. This is done by visualization; i.e., picturing the end result in our subconscious minds, “as if” it is already a reality.
Identify hurdles or obstacles to achieving your goal.
With enough faith, we could probably skip to the last step. However, being human beings, the old saying that, "God helps those who help themselves" may fit here. This is simply the first step in breaking the goal down into smaller pieces that will lead us to the larger result we want to achieve. Brainstorm for a few minutes and list things that could get in the way and hinder our efforts. Don't try to think about solutions, just list problems. Do it now. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________
Devise strategies for getting around obstacles or over hurdles.
Make each strategy into a short-term or interim goal to help achieve the main goal. A huge goal is not so formidable when broken into smaller, more easily achievable steps. Set time limits on each smaller goal to lead you toward achieving the main goal. _____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Visualize the reward; i.e., create a vivid image of the goal already achieved and thank God for bringing it to fruition.
Once you have restated the goal into present-tense form, the next step is to create an image of the goal already achieved. I believe that our subconscious minds are our direct link with God. There is no way to use the limited vocabulary we have to communicate adequately with God. While it is true that He already knows what we are thinking, unless we have clarified our prayer we may not be thinking clearly enough. So, the next task is to relax and create a vision of the goal as already achieved as vividly as possible. In this visualization, incorporate all five senses; i.e., see the results of the goal in your mind's eye, hear what people are saying and the sounds around you, smell the odors in the air, feel objects in the vision and taste something that reminds you of the situation you are visualizing.
Here is the secret to achieving any goal and the answer to our prayers. Our subconscious minds cannot tell the difference between a real event and one that is vividly imagined. That simple fact has enormous implications. The key to making your goal a reality is simply to vividly imagine the goal as if it has already happened enough times that your subconscious mind accepts that image as a fact.
Studies have shown that it takes about twenty-one days for a new thought or habit to become a part of our being. Set aside a few minutes each day, preferably just upon waking or just before going to sleep, and simply visualize the picture you have formed. At this time we are not trying to believe the picture. We are not trying to understand how it will occur. We are not thinking about how hard it will be. We are simply visualizing the image we have created. Leave the rest up to God. Resources you could never dream of will unfold before your eyes.
As your subconscious mind accepts the image as a fact or a "memory", you can simply thank God for bringing it to fruition. I Thes. 5:18, "In all things give thanks . . ." has far deeper implications than we first think. As part of our prayer, we can thank God for all the events that have led us to where we are at this moment, even if we didn't understand at the time why they happened, as well as for the result we already know He is bringing to fruition. Rom. 8:28 tells us that, "all things work toward good for those who are working toward God's will." Even our past failures or problems had a purpose. We just didn't always know what that purpose was at the time.
Entering prayer in a thankful frame of mind for the events of the past and for the events that are going to happen in the future has a tremendous effect on prayer. If we pray because we "want" something, we are acknowledging "want", or "lack" of that for which we are praying. That doesn't sound much like we "believe" does it? Instead, our prayers should be prayers of thanksgiving. Thank God for providing that for which we pray because we know that He has already granted our prayer. This is the most powerful form of prayer.
If we accomplish all the steps outlined above, there is nothing that can prevent us from accomplishing every one of the goals we set. Just make sure your goals are in tune with God's plan for your life ;o)
II. Use your will power and your belief power.
How do you reach your goals? By the application of the twin principles: will power and belief power. Will power is the process by which you bring out of yourself all the enthusiasm, vitality and drive you can muster. Believing is the process by which you bring out of yourself the power of God. So, to will means to bring out your personal power; to believe means to bring out God’s power.

WEIGHT LOSS – It’s no secret

What I am about to tell you will change your perspective on losing weight. Although many diet companies have made a fortune on the guilt and vanity of the general weight-conscious public, the concept of losing weight is actually quite simple. Here are the facts:
What is your SET POINT? – Basically, the set point is the weight at which your body is happiest. This means that your body will consistently do what it can to keep you at that weight (through a variety of natural mechanisms). For example, if your set point is 200 lbs, once you hit 190, your metabolism decreases and your hunger increases dramatically. Although your set point is generally genetically determined, here is the catch: Over time, your set point can INCREASE but CANNOT DECREASE. Ever wonder why people who lose weight gain it all back?
Fab Diets don’t work – 95% of people who lose weight will gain it back within 3 months. The remaining 5% will have to continue to DECREASE the amount of calories they consume on a daily basis just to maintain their weight. Why? – SET POINT. Of course, diet companies don’t want people to know this fact because all they care about is making money. Sure, some programs will help you lose some weight, but you can be SURE that these effects are temporary unless you are moving towards a DRAMATIC change of lifestyle. Have you ever read the fine print during weight loss commercials? The say things like “results are not typical” or “in addition to proper diet and exercise”!!!!! DUUUUHHHHHHH. To cap it all off, here is a final startling fact: Out of those 95% of people who gain their weight back, almost 100% experience an INCREASE in their SET POINT by 10% leaving them heavier than they were before they started!!!
It’s all about input and output – i.e. If the amount of energy (calories) you burn a day is greater than the amount of energy you consume, you will lose weight. Vice versa and you will gain weight. This is the basic principle of growth. The fact is that our bodies need energy ALL THE TIME to keep us warm, mobile, and our brains working. Obviously, this energy has to come from somewhere so if we can’t get it from food, our bodies quite literally digest themselves, thereby losing weight.
Starving yourself doesn’t work – I have said it over and over again – our bodies are adaptive systems. If you go off of food for a long period of time, your body will defend itself by doing 2 things – slowing down your metabolism and craving calorie-rich foods. Let’s face it, eventually you are going to eat something and when you do, you will regret starving yourself. What’s going to happen is when your hunger eventually becomes unbearable, you are going to give into your desire and reach for fatty, sugar-rich foods with a high GI to get your blood sugar up. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to stop at just 5 or 6 twinkies. Remember, because your metabolism is LOW, the foods that you eat are getting absorbed much slower and thus, you actually tend to eat much, much more. The result – your body doesn’t use the majority of what you just ate and instead, stores it as FAT. Batta bing batta boom – you gain weight by starving yourself.
SKIPPING BREAKFAST is the worst thing you can DO – When we sleep, our bodies slow everything down – our heart rate, our breathing and consequently, our metabolism. When we wake up, our metabolism increases momentarily letting our brains know that we need food. If we consume food, then our metabolism steadily increases throughout the day hitting a peak at around mid-day. Now, if you decide to SKIP food in the morning, our metabolism goes back DOWN and stays low for the ENTIRE day! The result is everything you eat that day is stored more readily that normal and you end up gaining weight. This of course is in addition to the impairment in cognitive function that day resulting from the systemic effects of a slow metabolism.
THE HORMONE PROBLEM – What exactly IS hunger? How do we know to stop eating? The answer to both of these questions is physiological. Unfortunately for humans, our brains can only use 1 form of energy – glucose. That’s it. Without a constant supply of glucose (and oxygen of course) to our brains, we die. So, when our blood glucose (blood sugar) level gets low, our brains release hormones to tell us that we need to eat. Once our blood sugar level literally levels off after a meal, our brains release another hormone to tell us to stop eating. This hormone is called leptin and it is very important because if our brains don’t release it, we can quite literally eat ourselves to death. Imagine eating and eating and never feeling satisfied. Unfortunately, when it comes down to weight loss, our hormone levels are hereditary so there is nothing you can do about them. This means that if you are hungry all the time regardless of a sedentary lifestyle and knowing that you’ve had enough, you’ll just have to deal with it. You may have heard of weight loss clinics that give people injections. Well, this is exactly what they are doing. They are injecting individuals with hormones that will keep them from feeling hungry and therefore, keep them from eating.
WATER KEEPS OUR BODIES RUNNING SMOOTHLY – Just like a car engine, our bodies need oil except that our oil is water. Many people don’t understand that our bodies have difficulty distinguishing between hunger and thirst. When in doubt, reach for a glass of water and not a granola bar. Bottom line – if you want to keep your metabolism up and your hunger down, stay HYDRATED all the time.
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT – This cliché, although technically inaccurate, makes an important point. The fact is that everything that we eat and don’t use right away is stored in our body as glycogen or fat. This means that you can get fat by eating too much of pretty much ANYTHING. You are asking yourself – but WHY FAT? Well, fat (adipose) tissue is a remarkably effective method of storing energy. If you take into account that you can get 12 times the energy from a single fat molecule than you can from a glucose molecule you begin to appreciate why our bodies would want several mechanisms to convert all forms of energy to fat. The bottom line is that our bodies are lazy. They would much rather take the fat already in a twinkie and store it right away than take the excess glucose from an apple and convert it to fat and then store it. Eat right and keep your body working.
IT’S MOSTLY ABOUT FOOD, NOT EXERCISE!!!! – The misconception is that changing one will do the trick. WRONG. If you keep your diet the same and increase your exercise, you will surely become more tired, but you probably won’t lose much weight (besides water weight). BUT, if you starve yourself and train your mind to cope with the hunger, your weight will decrease dramatically (not to mention dangerously). The key is to have a balance of both but to design a program primarily around the food you eat. See point #3.
Although this may have been a lot to digest (pun intended) the principles to weight loss are simple:
SUMMARY:
BE HAPPY WITH YOUR GENETICS – everybody is different and responds differently to changes in lifestyle. Know thyself and plan accordingly.
Choose the right foods and don’t increase your SET POINT
Make sure you burn more calories than you consume each day – EXERCISE and EAT RIGHT (not necessarily less)
Don’t starve yourself
Don’t skip breakfast
Stay hydrated all the time
STAY FOCUSED on your goal – Mind power is key to overcoming adversity
And now for a glass of water…