Monday, November 12, 2007

Veterans Day Tribute

On this day Veterans Day 2007, I would like to personally give my thanks to all the men and women who sacrificed life and limb in support of their country!

Military service is never easy. The physical training can be brutal. It takes you away from your loved ones. Often you are required to support government policy's that you may not always believe in. Still, your commitment is to serve. Your hope, is that in the end the world will be a better place.

You worked hard, put your life in danger, for the opportunity to serve your country. You did it for you, your neighbors, your family. Your job took you away from your loved ones, into the darkness of war. You were there as brothers and sisters died on the battlefield. The memories are dark. It sometimes hurts to remember. But, remembering those who fought our battles is something that must be done!

Rarely are there winners or losers in war. There are just normal people like you, trying to survive, trying to do the right thing, and trying to make it safely home to your loved ones. Many of you made it home. Many others didn't.

THANK YOU for your willingness to sacrifice, for your heroism in responding to your call to duty, and for putting your life on the line, for me!

Best wishes to you, your friends, your family!

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Simple Habits That Lead To Wealth

Simple Habits That Lead To Wealth by Adam Khoo

Are there certain rules and habits that lead to wealth?

The answer is a definite yes. Wealth creation is a combination of rules and habits. Here's the number one rule, if you want to be wealthy, its not how much money you earn, its not how many cars you drive, it is how much you can save and invest and that's the key.

Here's a personal example I learned from my dad on saving.

My dad's an extremely frugal person. Although he is really wealthy he is someone when he goes to a supermarket to but an item such as toothpaste, he will search the entire store for every toothpaste available. He will calculate the grams to know which toothpaste gave him the most amount of toothpaste for that dollar he spent.

I used to think that this was crazy but he taught me those lessons. So because of that, I learned the first habit which is to pay myself first. In fact, even today, I would say that I save about 50% of what I earned.

Now, when people hear that, they say that the reason I can save so much is because I earn so much money.

To which I retort. If you can't save 50% when you are earning a thousand dollars, you can't save 50% when you are earning a million dollars. And that's been my habit so far. In fact, ever since I was really young, even when I made some money selling stationery, I would never spend it and I would just save that 50% allowing me to compound my wealth.

Here's the second habit I learnt, people who fall within the poor and middle class category tend to spend more than invest. Spending is when you spend 1 dollar, you get back 0 dollars. There's no return when you buy a TV set, CD player, or hand phone, that's spending money.

Rich people think twice, three or even four times before they spend but they never think twice when they invest. Investment is when you put in a dollar. You get back a dollar 20 cents. And to me the best investment in the world are in your own intellectual assets.

Here's another of my personal examples, when I go to the shops and I see a hand phone costing 500 bucks, I would look at it and say my god, its 500 bucks. I would think about it for 2 months before I buy it.

My friends would be saying, "But Adam, you make so much money. What is 500 bucks? Why are you so stingy?" But I can't bear to spend that 500 bucks because it would be gone.

But on the other hand, when I go to the bookshop, I think nothing of spending the same 500 dollars on books. The reason is, by spending that 500 dollars on the books, reading these books, and applying what I've learnt, I am going to make 50 times or 500 times more

The last habit is what I call delayed gratification. To be wealthy, you must learn delayed gratification. You must learn to delay and to invest. But most people want instant luxuries now and they spend. So you must have that investment mindset compared to the spending mindset. Most people, they spend more than invest.

So these are the rules and habits that I've learned and applied leading me to the wealth I have created today.


About the Author:
Adam Khoo is an entrepreneur, best-selling author and a self-made millionaire by the age of 26. Discover his million dollar secrets and claim your FREE bonus CD '6 Ways To Achieve Anything In Life' at Paving The Way To The Top.

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Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Consider The More Credit Card From Discover

By Angelknight

There are a lot of credit cards on the market today offering great value to credit card using consumers. Among those credit cards are the Discover More Cards.

Believe it or not this card is available in over 150 card designs that you can personalize and an introductory 0% APR (Annual Percentage Rate) on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months. Plus, as is true with all Discover credit cards, there is no annual fee.


Discover Card More Application


The Discover More Card is a cash back rebate card that gives you more ways to earn cash back rebates than any other credit card currently being issued. Let us take a look at some of the cash back features of the Discover More Card:

1. If using the Discover More card you will get a 5% cash back bonus in popular categories that change four times a year. A few of these categories are travel, apparel, home, gas, restaurants and movies. There are also more cash back bonus categories available.

2. If you make purchases from Discover card retailers, at their exclusive online shopping site, you will get a 5% to 20% cash back bonus.

3. For almost any other Discover More Card purchase you make you will receive a 1% cash bonus, automatically.

4. You have a chance of receiving unlimited cash rewards that never expire.

5. There is an option to increase, or double your cash back bonus rewards when you redeem your More card cash rebate for gift cards from Discover’s 80 cash back bonus partners.

There are more great features of the Discover More Card beginning with complete fraud protection for your peace of mind that includes: a $0 fraud liability guarantee, early warning fraud alerts, account numbers that are secure online, and dedicated fraud specialists to help you 24 hours a day.

Discover More Card customer service is supposed to be one of the best around. They say that they will take care of your customer service request with one call, get you in contact with a knowledgeable customer service agent within minutes, put you in control by offering you the easiest account choices, send out timely email to help you avoid late and other fees, give you a grace period of at least 25 days, when you pay your balance in full each month, offer excess collision damage waiver insurance, scheduled air travel accident insurance and so much more.

The Discover More Card should definitely be among the credit cards you consider acquiring if you are searching for an excellent cash rebate card. The better credit card websites on the internet offer you this exceptional credit card and many more. Maybe today is the day you should seek a good credit card deal online. Perhaps, you will find the credit card you have always wanted.

About the Author:
Art Taylor has been a successful internet marketer for 10 years. He writes articles about credit cards and other topics. For more information or to apply for credit cards visit his websites at: Eshopperworld or Cards.



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Friday, November 02, 2007

Student Loans 101

Student Loans 101 by Peter Kenny

There are many ways for students to finance a college education, but one of the most common ways is through taking out a loan. There are loans specifically designed to cover the cost of higher education.



Discover Student Card


Types of Student Loans
Federal student loans have terms and conditions that are determined by the federal government. Federal loans may come directly from the federal government. Banks can also issue federal student loans.

Private student loans and their associated terms are issued by private banks.

Applying for Student Loans
To apply for federal loans, prospective students need to complete a FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This application will request personal information such as your name, address, and social security number. It will also require you to submit information about your plans for school attendance for the upcoming year, including the type of degree you are working to obtain and your grade level. Lastly, the application will request detailed financial information from you and your parents to determine the type of aid you will be eligible for.

When applying for a private student loan, the application process is less detailed. However, the requirement for loan approval are stricter than with federal loans. Private lenders will check your credit history and your income before approving you for a loan.

With both federal and private lenders, they will confirm that you will actually be attending school before granting you the loan.

Student Loan costs
The rate of interest applied to the loan determines the cost of the loan. The lower the interest rate, the less the loan will cost you.

Be aware that interest begins accruing on your loan as soon as you receive it. If you have a federal loan, the government may pay the interest whild you are in school. With other types of loans, you are responsible for paying the interest while you are enrolled in school. There are options for deferring interest payments until after graduation, but if you choose to defer these payments, the interest will be added to the balance of your loan, thereby increasing the total amount owed.

Repaying Student Loans
You usually have a six month grace period after graduation before you must begin making payments on your loan. Once the grace period ends, you must make regular payments on the student loan if you want to remain in good standing with the lender. You should contact the lender prior to the end of the grace period to determine the exact amount of your monthly payments and to learn what options are available to you.


Apply for the Discover Student Card


About the Author:
Peter Kenny is a writer for Finance 123. Please visit us at Reward Credit Cards and Home Loans


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