Lower Interest Rate Benefits

When the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates, you can use it to your advantage!

Adjustable Rate Loans

If you have an Adjustable Rate Mortgage loan, you will probably see a reduction in your mortgage interest during the next interest period. However, there is no need to wait. You can use the interest rate reduction to lock in on a fixed rate mortgage now. Don't wait for your adjustable rate mortgage to climb back up.

Fixed Rate Mortgages

If you already have a fixed rate mortgage, this may provide a window for you to consider refinancing your high interest loan to a lower rate of interest. Check with your mortgage company to see what options are available to you.

Open a Home equity Line-of-Credit

Now may be a good time to open a home equity line of credit. You can use the equity in your home to obtain a lower interest line of credit, which can then be used to pay off high interest credit card and other loans.

Pay Down Credit Card Balances

Even if you can't get a home equity line of credit, consider paying as much as possible on your highest interest rate credit card balances. You should see a slight drop in overall credit card rates, so use this opportunity to pay those credit balances down!

New Car Loans

If you have been looking to purchase a new car, this can be a good time to buy. Some auto dealers are offering zero interest or low interest car loans. In some cases, dealers may be offering dealer incentives and cash back. Check into this possibility to get the new car you have always wanted. Get rid of that clunker!

The 400 Richest Americans

Forbes recently released the list of the 400 Richest Americans. Unfortunately, my name is nowhere to be found on the list.

This is the great American story. Getting rich in America. Everyone wants it, but very few of us ever achieve it. To get into the top 400 this year, your net worth would have had to be at least $1.3 Billion dollars.

Who Made the Top Spot?

William Gates III made the top spot with $59 Billion dollars in net worth. Bill Gates took Microsoft to levels that he probably never imagined possible. Today, he no longer has day-to-day involvement in Microsoft. He prefers to spend his time (and money) on concerns for human welfare and advancement. I applaud Bill Gates for using his power and influence to help others.

The Number 2 Man?

Warren Buffett came in at number two, with $52 Billion dollars in net worth. He is $6 billion richer this year even though he handed over $2.1 billion dollars in Berkshire Hathaway stock to charity in July. It seems he always has been a true businessman, filing his first tax return at age 13 and claiming a $35 deduction for a bicycle. Go Warren Go!

Rounding out the Top Three?

Popping in at number three is Sheldon Adelson with net worth of $28 billion dollars. Not bad for someone who started selling newspapers at 12 years old. His focus is now with the Hotel & Casino business. What he has done there is staggering, with his influence growing from Las Vegas to Asia. His profile is amazing, with multi-billion dollar investments in resorts, hotels, casinos, and convention centers in Las Vegas, Macau, and Singapore. You can see full profiles for everyone at the link below.

See if someone you know made the list:
The 400 Richest Americans List

Consider these toys for when you make the list:
Ultimate Toys For Super-Rich Boys

My Final Thought?

To me, one of the most amazing things I noticed about the 400 Richest Americans list, is that two of the top 10 spots list income sources which include casinos. Gaming and Lotteries have become major attractions for people in America, and indeed throughout the world, as people risk losing their money in order to "GO FOR THE DREAM" of hitting the big jackpot!

As my son told me today, "Casinos weren't built by Winners".

Federal Reserve Interest Rate Reduction Benefits You

The interest rate reduction announced yesterday by the Federal Reserve is like music to my ears! Four years of steadily rising interest rates took their toll on my finances, with interest rate increases on both my adjustable mortgage and revolving credit accounts.

The federal fund interest rate reduction should benefit us all in various ways.

If you have an adjustable rate mortgage, it should adjust down. If you are looking to refinance your mortgage, the rate should be lower. Credit card rates should drop also, even if the effect is minimal. Any savings in interest expense is good for the individual. IF the interest savings is used wisely!

Probably the main motivation for dropping interest rates is to increase consumer spending, and ease credit concerns in the housing market. The fed is hoping we will out go out and increase our credit balances by purchasing new housing and other consumer items. That would be excellent for business and the economy!

Personally, I will use the lower interest rates to eliminate more debt. I plan to pay down as many credit accounts as possible. I want to be debt and interest FREE!

Do you ever wonder how people get rich? I do... One thing I believe strongly, is that I will never get rich by paying exorbitant interest charges to billion dollar finance companies!

If you are looking to reduce your interest charges and pay down your debt also, you might want to try our Personal Finance Analyzer. If this tool is used properly, it can provide you with serious long term financial relief, and provide you with real money savings every month!

Now is the time to seize one huge benefit of the Federal Reserve interest rate reduction. Take the savings in interest expense, and use that savings to pay down all your existing debt!

In the long term, this can be the greatest benefit of all!

Home Business - Online Opinion Survey Review

Can you produce an income taking home based opinion surveys?

I've recently taken considerable interest in all the information and opportunities being announced and discussed around the Internet, for making an income using online opinion surveys. So I decided to try the process and see how it works.

I joined a company called Vindale Research who advertises as "an Internet market research firm specializing in the evaluation of online products and services. We help companies evaluate their products, services and processes. Evaluations are performed by our members who are compensated for their time and effort".

Sounds great!

I completed the enrollment steps, which were all relatively simple. I then entered into 5 surveys. The surveys I was offered paid between $10 and $30 dollars upon completing the survey steps. Vindale provides a step-by-step process for the user, which describes everything they need to complete in order to earn money.

Many of the surveys have an "Acquisition Fee", which means you have to pay money in order to obtain and evaluate the product. This requirement is clearly communicated by Vindale. This fee is then reimbursed back to the user as part of the payout for completed the survey. For example, I took one survey that paid $15, and there was a $4.95 Acquisition Fee. The actual money I made for completing this survey was $10.05.

NOTE: Like most people, I have reservations about submitting my credit card number. But this is a requirement to complete the product evaluation. I was careful to use a card with a small credit limit in case of fraud.

Three of the surveys required shipment of the product to my home address. On two of those surveys I could not review the product until after I received it. This required waiting more than 5 days for the product to arrive. Also, all of the surveys had a trial period included. After the trial, the user is automatically enrolled in a continuing monthly replenishment program.

This forces the user to carefully monitor the trial period to make sure they cancel the membership before the monthly replenishment kicks in. In one case, my monthly replenishment charge would have been an expected $89.

For the five surveys I enrolled in, this portion of the process was the most cumbersome. I had to manually track each item to be sure I cancelled before the trial period ended. Each cancellation required a customer service phone call to cancel.

For one survey, I was told they would cancel my ongoing membership, but I would still be required to pay $89 for the first product shipment. It was only after I pressed the customer service rep that he finally agreed I could return the product and not be charged. Returning this product cost me another $3.63 for return shipping.

I created a tracking spreadsheet for the surveys to make sure I responded to the trial periods before they ended. If not for this spreadsheet, it would have been difficult to keep all the requirements in order.

I found the surveys to be a lot more time consuming that I originally estimated. The process doesn't stop after you complete the survey. It requires follow up calls to cancel ongoing shipments and trial periods.

Overall, you can make money if you take lots of surveys. Just be sure to read the fine print and don't be caught off guard for unexpected charges. The survey company is not liable for any of those additional charges.

If you would like a sample of the survey tracking spreadsheet I used, I have OpenOffice and Microsoft Excel versions availible for download. Just follow the link below to download.

Download - Survey Tracking Spreadsheets

If you have survey experiences you want to share, I would love to see your comments.

Tips to Reduce Expenses

Our Personal Finance Analyzer site has put together some tips to help you reduce your monthly expenses. We have listed expense reduction tips that can help you save money on grocery, utilities, auto expenses, and other miscellaneous expenses.

The list is availible on the web site at: Tips to Reduce Monthly Expenses

We also added RSS feeds from our article directory to supply articles on credit, mortgage, budgeting, and other topics. You can reach these feeds from our Personal Finance Analyzer main page.