Jan5

Rebates – Reward or Rip Off?

Post at: 1:38 PM • No Comment


Rebates have become increasingly popular in the last few years on a lot of items and certainly on electronic items and computers. Rebates of $20, $50 or $100 are not uncommon.

I’ve even seen items advertised as “free after rebate”. Do these rebates come under the heading of “too good to be true”? Some of them do and there are “catches” to watch out for but if you are careful, rebates can help you get some really good deals.

The way a rebate works is that you pay the listed price for an item then mail in a form and the bar code to the manufacturer and they send you a refund thus reducing the price of what you paid for the item except with a time delay of several weeks.

Rule #1. Rebates from reputable companies are usually just fine.

You can be pretty sure you will get the promised rebate from Best Buy, Amazon or Dell but you should probably not count on getting one from a company you’ve never heard of. If you really want the product and are OK with paying the price listed then buy it but don’t count on actually getting the refund.

Rule #2. Check rebate expiration dates.

Many times products will stay on the shelf of a retailer after the date for sending in the rebate offer has expired so check that date carefully.

Rule #3. Be sure you have all the forms required to file for the rebate before you leave the store.

Rebates will almost always require a form to be filled out, a receipt for the purchase and a bar code.

Rule #4. Back up your rebate claim.

Make copies of everything you send in to get your rebate including the bar code. Stuff gets lost in the mail all the time and if the rebate is for $50 it’s worth the trouble to back up your claim.

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Jan5

Avoiding Impulse Spending

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Answer these questions truthfully:

1.)    Does your spouse or partner complain that you spend too much money?

2.)    Are you surprised each month when your credit card bill arrives at how much more you charged than you thought you had?

3.)    Do you have more shoes and clothes in your closet than you could ever possibly wear?

4.)    Do you own every new gadget before it has time to collect dust on a retailer’s shelf?

5.)    Do you buy things you didn’t know you wanted until you saw them on display in a store?

If you answered “yes” to any two of the above questions, you are an impulse spender and indulge yourself in retail therapy.

This is not a good thing. It will prevent you from saving for the important things like a house, a new car, a vacation or retirement. You must set some financial goals and resist spending money on items that really don’t matter in the long run.

Impulse spending will not only put a strain on your finances but your relationships, as well. To overcome the problem, the first thing to do is learn to separate your needs from your wants.

Advertisers blitz us hawking their products at us 24/7. The trick is to give yourself a cooling-off period before you buy anything that you have not planned for.

When you go shopping, make a list and take only enough cash to pay for what you have planned to buy. Leave your credit cards at home.

If you see something you think you really need, give yourself two weeks to decide if it is really something you need or something you can easily do without. By following this simple solution, you will mend your financial fences and your relationships.

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Dec27

How to Know When to Sell Your Stocks

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While quite a bit of time and research goes into selecting stocks, it is often hard to know when to pull out – especially for first time investors. The good news is that if you have chosen your stocks carefully, you won’t need to pull out for a very long time, such as when you are ready to retire. But there are specific instances when you will need to sell your stocks before you have reached your financial goals.

You may think that the time to sell is when the stock value is about to drop – and you may even be advised by your broker to do this. But this isn’t necessarily the right course of action.

Read the rest of the entry… »

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Nov3

8 Steps to Set Up Company in Singapore

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Forming a company requires entrepreneurs to identify the major process and the policies that are commonly used to assist those potential industrialists which is important to guide them towards understanding the Government Law and Regulations, taxes, schemes and other information needed to get their business up and running. Provided here are the steps to set up your business for both local and foreign investors, preparing them to invest on the Singapore soil.

Step 1: Register with EnterpriseOne
Future entrepreneurs are obliged to sign up in EnterpriseOne’s website, a site that caters to the latest updates on law changes, regulations, and assistance schemes provided in the site’s monthly newsletter.

However, for foreign investors and budding entrepreneurs, they are required to adhere to the additional regulations and permits which are compulsory to non-Singaporean citizen stating that they need to apply for their EntrePasses and travelling VISA to allow them to be registered as entrepreneurs and also to make it easier for them to travel in and out of the country for business and investment purposes.

Step 2: Certify Business Premises
Certifying the business premises for the company’s commercial, industrial, residential, retails or other types of property and land are also compulsory prior to setting up a company. All premises should be registered with the respective Ministries and most importantly is for the premises to be approved of its safety.

Step 3: Apply Operating License and Permits
All entrepreneurs are required to apply for business operating licenses and permits from the EnterpriseOne website to allow them to legally trade their goods and services in the country. Entrepreneurs are allowed to apply more than one license and permits deemed suitable for the business and investments that they are involved in.

Step 4: Get to Know the Tax Incentives for Business Entrepreneurs
A few schemes were especially created for Start-up Enterprises to help conserve their cash flow and profits. Incentives given to potential entrepreneurs are aimed to attract more people to start their business in Singapore and also to create more job opportunities for its citizen.

Incentives provided by the Singapore Government are exemptions from taxes up to a certain amount of taxable earnings; tax breaks for registered company’s losses involving developing new products, services and processes; and also providing research and development cash grants for the company’s tax losses.

Step 5: Acquire Government Assistance to Start Up Business
By filling the free online assistance form in the EnterpriseOne website, entrepreneurs will be provided with the list of schemes required to start their business. Filling the form will help specify their business needs from the Government agencies that they can tap into to get assistance such as to apply grants, loans and tax incentives.

Step 6: Register Your Business with the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board Prior to Hiring the First Member of Staff
The enterprise will be automatically registered in the CPF Board when it makes its first contribution to its first employee. After the first contribution, CPF Board will provide the company with its own Employer Reference Number, Employee Contribution Form, GIRO Form, and also an e-Submission Form.

Step 7: Submit Post-Registration Requirements with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority
Registration approval to run the business will be given at this stage. All entrepreneurs are advised to study and understand the regulations related to their specific type of business as any break of rules is punishable by fines or face custody by the Government.

Step 8: Business is up and running!
The company is ready to operate.

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May8

10 Keys That Every Home Based Business Owner Should Implement For Success

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1) Attitude–

One very important factor in running a business is your attitude towards it. You should treat your business like a business.

This is very important whether you work your business full-time, or part-time. A very close friend of mine, who is also a colleague, is a mother of 4 who works her home business around her family. In this case, she has put her family first, and at the same time, still been able to develop her business.She works part-time, but she has a full-time attitude. To put it another way, if you have a lacking attitude, you’ll have a lacking income. However, if you have a business attitude, you’ll have a business income.

Keeping your attitude in mind while running your business is one of the first steps to ensuring your success.

Being successful working part-time on your business, or working full-time, is more than achievable. However in saying that, it is highly unlikely that working in your “spare time” will achieve you success.

2) The Environment In Which You Work–
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Apr16

How blog advertising works?

Post at: 10:33 PM • No Comment

Hey you, yes, you, whose reading this post. Let me tell you this, you can make money with your blog by putting some ads on it. But the best income from blog advertising is through paid post. The advertiser will ask you to review, comment, or give your opinion about their services, products, or anything that they want you to publish on your blog. I recently visited a website, PayingPost.com, which brought to my attention one of the most affordable and cost-efficient ways to bringing in quality customers to many businesses.

It is very easy to get your blog recognise this programme. You may submit and verify your blog using the code that they provided. Earning money through blogging can seem to be a daunting task, but with a little hard work, good writing skills, and sites like Paying Post, I’m sure bloggers will have a blast making money through blogging. PayingPost.com is a great place to begin your journey into blog advertising. When you first arrive at their website, you will notice a very pleasant layout. Their site actually has a new design which isn’t too cluttered, is very easy to navigate, and very easily readable and understandable.

There are some characteristics that your blog must meet in order for it to be accepted into the system, like the age of the blog, frequency of posts and updates, and the way you write and what you write about as well.

Who ever think that you can make money by blogging?

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Mar20

New Drilling Technology Could Finally Make CBM Very Economic

Post at: 12:22 AM • No Comment

Over the past seven years, Mitchell Drilling has pioneered the Dymaxion drilling technology in Australia. Reports indicate they can extract coalbed methane (CBM) gas for as low as $1.10/mcf. Having drilled more than 250 wells across Australia, Mitchell Drilling has begun exporting the company’s Dymaxion® technology worldwide. In a previous interview about coalbed methane (CBM), Sprott Asset Management CBM analyst Eric Nuttall told us he would remain, “quite excited about the prospects for companies with coal bed methane assets so long as natural gas prices remain above $6 per Mcf (thousand cubic feet). The economics would be very skinny under $6.” That’s because CBM exploration and development can get pricey. What if there was a drilling firm regularly bringing gas out of the ground for under $1.50/mcf? There is and they’ve proven it with more than 250 wells in Australia. They’ve moved into India, where they drilled another 30 to 50 wells and another 70 wells to come. Mitchell has taken acreage in southern Kansas, where the company just finished its first CBM well. And the company formed a joint venture with Pacific Asia China Energy (TSX: PCE) to bring its Dymaxion® technology to China later this year.

Read the rest of the entry… »

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Mar19

Making Money on the Global Warming Crisis

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Bad weather may be heading our way. Many very smart voices have raised their volume over the number of alarming red flags pointing to a worldwide environmental catastrophe coming in a few years or decades hence. One voice, coming from the sharp mind of James Lovelock is resounding across the world’s media nearly every day. His solution: get more nuclear reactors online and sequester the carbon dioxide emissions as fast as possible.

What’s the alternative? Move to the Arctic Circle, where you may someday bask year around with temperatures pleasantly at 74 degrees Fahrenheit. According to findings recently published in the journal Nature. About 55 million years ago, there was something called the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). In this PETM phenomenon, the entire Earth was heated up by a gigantic release of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide. Lovelock has insisted we may see that kind of hot later this century.

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Mar17

The ultimate footballers' car collections

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Football star Wayne Rooney is the Premier League’s king of cars, owning a host of the world’s most expensive automotive exotica – but he’s struggling to get his hands on a £350,000 Mercedes McLaren SLR Convertible.

So who else has an envious collection? 

Wayne Rooney

While most 22-year-olds are happy with a supermini or hatchback, Wayne Rooney isn’t – but then again most 22-year-olds don’t earn more than £100,000 a WEEK. The Manchester United and England star has a Lamborghini Gallardo, Bentley Continental GT, Range Rover, Aston Martin Vanquish and BMW M6 in his motoring stable.

But now Wayne Rooney wants a Mercedes McLaren SLR convertible - with red seats. He’ll need to fork out more than £350,000 for the 207mph Mercedes – and according to press reports, he’s struggling to get his hands on one…

Money spent:  £750,000 +

Claude Makelele

Defensive midfielder Claude Makelele (above) – who cost Chelsea £16 million to buy from Real Madrid – has one of the most expensive motors in the Stamford Bridge car park – a £350,000 Mercedes McLaren SLR.

The SLR hypercar will hit a colossal 207mph. Other cars in his stable include a Ferrari 360 supercar and a Mercedes SL65 AMG (above) - a £150,000 convertible with a more-than-adequate 612bhp and 737lb/ft of pulling power.

Money spent:  £600,000 +

Steven Gerrard

The man who has helped Liverpool out of so many sticky situations is doing his best to help the UK new car market too. Steven Gerrard – the Champions League-winning attacking midfielder – has owned a Porsche 911 Turbo, Mercedes SLK, Aston Martin Vanquish, BMW X5, Bentley Continental and Range Rover Sport HST.

Money spent:  £530,000 +

Rio Ferdinand

The Manchester United and England central defender is as famous for his cars as he is for his hairstyles. Ferdinand loves American motors, and has owned a Cadillac Escalade 4×4 and a Ford F150 pick-up truck.

Rio Ferdinand’s Chrysler 300C was for sale on Auto Trader, a stark contrast from his European cars such as the £190,000 Bentley Arnage, £120,000 Bentley Continental and the obligatory BMW X5.

Car collection: £480,000 +

John Terry

Chelsea and England captain John Terry isn’t afraid to splash the cash, once forking out £80,000 on a watch.

He’s owned a £130,000 Ferrari F430 Spider, Range Rover Sport, BMW X5, Porsche 911 Turbo and a Bentley Continental.

Money spent: £450,000 +

William Gallas

A former colleague of Claude Makelele at Chelsea, Arsenal captain William Gallas also counts the Mercedes McLaren SLR hypercar as one of his cars. But unlike Makelele, Gallas also owns a Mercedes ML63 AMG 4×4 – an off-roader which will still accelerate from 0-60mph in five seconds.

Money spent: £425,000 +

View more images of ultimate footballers’ cars

Frank Lampard

Chelsea’s high scoring midfielder has a penchant for luxury tourers. Over the past couple of years the England international has had a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti and Aston Martin DB9 parked on the drive of his million pound Surrey home.

The Ferrari 612 is a £182,000 four-seat beast with a top speed of 199mph, while the £110,000 DB9 will top out at 186mph. Lampard bucks the BMW X5 trend, opting for a £75,000 Mercedes ML63 AMG 4×4 instead – an off-roader which hits 60mph from standing in five seconds.

Money spent:  £375,000 +

Michael Owen

Liverpool’s past hero and international football star Michael Owen owns a cool collection of cars, including a Jaguar X-type (above), Range Rover V8 Vogue and a Chrysler Voyager.

Michael Owen’s garage was also home to a jet black Jaguar XKR 460 Typhoon, extensively modified by Jaguar specialists Racing Green Cars. To top off his collection, an Aston Martin DB7 Vanquish sits outside the Newcastle striker’s home.

Money spent: £300,000 +

Jermaine Defoe

Portsmouth striker Jermaine Defoe owns a couple of top-of-the-range SUVs, including a BMW X5 and Range Rover Sport.

The ex-Tottenham lad also owns an Aston Martin V8 Vantage and Mercedes ML63 AMG.

Money spent: £250,000 +

Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo is arguably the world’s best footballer, so fittingly he’s after the world’s ultimate car - the 253mph Bugatti Veyron. Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo raced a Veyron in a recent commercial – and has now got his name down on the list for the £830,000 hypercar, but he’ll have to wait a year before he can show up at the training ground in the 1,001bhp.

In the meantime he’ll have to make do with his Audi R8 supercar, which will only manage 187mph. Ronaldo has also counted a BMW X5 and Ferrari 360 among his cars.

Money spent:  £250,000 + (+ £830,000 for the Bugatti)

But that’s nothing against a particular England legend plying his trade in Los Angeles…

David Beckham

David Beckham, Goldenballs himself, has had an almost perfect football career, winning a cluster of trophies with Man United and Real Madrid, while picking up 99 caps for England. And David Beckham’s car collection is just as mind-bogglingly brilliant. His motors include a Ferrari 575, Ferrari F430, Lamborghini Gallardo, two Bentley Arnages, a Porsche 911 Turbo, Rolls-Royce Phantom and the retro Aston Martin V8.

If he wanted to go off-roading he could take his armour-plated BMW X5, Range Rover and practically every American 4×4 and pick-up built over the past decade from a Ford F150 and Lincoln Navigator to the GMC Yukon Denali and Cadillac Escallade.

Plus he owned an Aston Martin DB7 with the registration plate DB7 – saluting not only the car but also his initials and shirt number at Manchester United. Tally in the BMW M3, Mercedes S Classes, Bentley Continental, TVRs, Audi Q7 and Hummer and it’s a hell of a figure. And Beckham’s Mercedes S500 was for sale on Auto Trader last year.

But how did David Beckham start his motoring career? In 1991 with a Ford Escort.

Money spent: £2 million +

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Mar4

Executive Recruitment

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The economic downturn has increase the number of jobless people around the world. No level escapes this problems as workers starting for production operator, management staff, technical staff, or even executive level staff. People got laid off and now trying so hard to find new job. If you are amoung the executive level workers that either have been laid off, given voluntary separation scheme (VSS), try go to this Executive Recruitment Firm. They areoffering helps on how to get you, as an executive to gain a job at another company. They also cover the list where to get the most best site thats offering executive level job to other company.

The offering may help either you are trying to get new job or even better they will help you if you need an executive level workers to be hired.

You can do you own search, or you can just go ahead for this company, an expert in executive recruitment and search firms, Spencer Stuart is the firm to call when it comes to CEO headhunting and senior leadership needs. Head over to Spencer Stuart’s page for more information on the company’s background.

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