Do you think this is a joke spending money only $300 a month for the whole family? With this tight budget, what sort of food would make the list? Could you save $25 a month on groceries? How about $50 or $100? Possibly you could cut your bill by almost 50% if you consider some of the following suggestions: 1. Divide the budget you have into three categories; weekly, bi-weekly and monthly. Once you have the totals fixed, try to find a way to make it work. If you budgeted too tight, only then consider how much more you really need to spend. 2. Identify your WEEKLY needs; milk, bread, fruits. These will be your saving graces when the troops are hungry. You can load up every week and always have a healthy snack available. Think about $15/week. 3. Identify your BI-WEEKLY needs; eggs, cheese, vegetables, meat and cheese…

Every now and then I get a call from a new client asking how much of a discount they will receive for obtaining multiple bonds. I immediately know the conversation will take a bit longer than usual, as I will have to explain what surety bonds are in order for them to understand why they will not obtain a discount for placing multiple bonds. Surety bonds are not an investment bond, rather they are a three party (principal, obligee, and surety) guarantee. We will use an example (using mortgage brokers) to make it easier to understand. The state (obligee) the mortgage broker is operating in requires that a surety bond be filed to guarantee the mortgage broker’s performance per the states rules and regulations on the industry. The mortgage broker (principal) goes to a bond producer to write a bond backed by a Federally approved bonding company (surety). If the…

Building small business credit for an existing or newly formed corporation can seem like time intensive work but it doesn’t have to be with the right system. One of the biggest roadblocks preventing most small business owners from getting started is where to begin and what exact steps need to be taken to build corporate credit. Let’s face it there’s a lot information out there and unfortunately most of it is incorrect and outdated. You can easily spend countless hours searching for ways to build business credit history but unless you set up your foundation correctly you can find yourself peddling backwards and scratching your head trying to figure out why you keep getting declined for corporate credit. What I encourage you to do is set up a business credit building strategy for your company immediately because I guarantee that at one point your business will need access to funds…

Each year, the federal government gives out over 150 billion dollars in Government funded grant programs to businesses and individuals. These grants are provided to assist businesses in growing and providing jobs, and to help individuals raise funds for education or other personal needs. Despite the abundance of grant programs available, many businesses and individuals are finding it difficult to locate grants. The system can be very confusing. Luckily, there is progress being made. The federal government actually has a website, Grants.gov that you can visit and you can search by agency, category, or browse the available grant opportunities. Now, this is a step in the right direction, but as you will see, their site is still hard to use and the search function is well, somehow lacking. Also, this is not a complete list of all grant programs that are available. You will likely need to employ additional research…

We have all heard the stories of financial institutions exploiting consumers with shady practices such as exorbitant interest rates, hidden fees, and the like. These accounts anger us and, rightfully, those that practice these deeds should be exposed. Fortunately, not all reports are bad as evidenced in the way many companies are treating their customers in light of recent disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Let’s take a look at how some companies are responding in the wake of disaster. 1.�� �Disaster Relief Programs. If you live in an area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA and own property, you may be eligible for relief depending on your financial institution and the program they have in place. One well known bank, for example, is automatically deferring mortgage and home equity loans for as long as ninety days, or three payments. In addition, this same bank is not…

Los Angeles is the counterfeit document capital of America ID theft business is booming in the Californian metropolis Officials warn that the fake ID business is booming in Los Angeles. Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America says the Federal Trade Commission. It is a practice that victimizes innocent people by using their Social Security Numbers. It has become an epidemic, leaving everyone at risk. And, to make matters worse, most people do not know if their identity has been stolen. “Thieves do that with the greatest of ease, computers make it very easy for them”, says John Davis, a special agent with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service. The computerization of records has made it far easier than ever to gather not just hundreds but hundreds of thousands of identification numbers and other identifying information. “The document vendors themselves, they just make up random numbers,” John…

An IRA or Individual Retirement Account is an account regarding a plan to retire, which provides certain tax advantages. The Individual Retirement Account as most people call it is legally known as the Individual Retirement Arrangement. This can may be an annuity which is usually deferred or have an arrangement for a trust that meets particular requirements the Internal Revenue Service necessitates. This funding and trust by financial vehicles qualifies it as an account. For this reason, the terminology “Individual Retirement Account” is the most usual moniker by which the IRA is known even to experts in the financial turf. There are several various types of IRA’s which include the following; o Roth IRA – It is a retirement account set-up by William Roth. The money is taxed before it is deposited then the earnings that accumulate and withdrawn are tax-free. o Traditional IRA – The difference between this account…