No matter how much financial trouble you are in, a prepaid Visa credit card from Kaiku will always help the situation. Although the card can be used just like a Visa credit card, the prepaid option means that you will never spend more money than you deposit on the card in the first place. This means that your purchases will still go towards the improvement of your credit score, but you will never face the consequences of a late payment.

Kaiku offers both vanity prepaid cards as well as Visa cards from major banking institutions. You can also use Kaiku in multiple instances with many prepaid cards for different purposes. Kaiku also allows you to add money online with one of the most convenient and up to date deposit systems on the Internet today.

If you do not have the best credit or you are just looking for a credit card option that will protect your financial health, then you should check out Kaiku. You would do well to note that prepaid cards do have a variety of fees and charges including a monthly fee and a credit card deposit fee.

If you manage your withdrawals and account checks to in-network services, you’ll probably be fine; but if you travel a lot internationally or have to use a fee ATM service, it may not be particularly affordable. However, many pre-paid cards seem to offer similar packages.

The good news is: no need to pay interest rates on your prepaid card, so stuffing one in your wallet may be quite useful at times. Just remember to keep cash in it and monthly rates are $1.95. Oh, and don’t get a paper statement! That’ll set you back $2.95.

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A Title Loan Is…

Many people have heard of a title loan, but don’t know what it really is. With a title loan, you are getting a loan using your car as collateral. You might point out that you need your car, but that is not a problem. Working with Texas auto title loans, you get to keep your car, as long as you pay off your loan. The car is just collateral in the rare case that you don’t make your payments.

My favorite thing about eTitleLoan is their mobile loan agents. Sure, you might need money, but driving to a loan store, doing the paperwork, etc., takes time, and often more time than you have on a lunch break. This is even more important in the case of an emergency need for cash.

With eTitleLoan though, you just give them a call, and they send their loan agents to you. Not only that, but they will tell you right on the phone everything that you need to have with you to process the loan. None of this garbage where you think you’re getting the loan, but end up not having all the paperwork they need so they just send you on your way, still broke.

Obviously no one wants to need emergency cash, but if that day comes, definitely consider giving eTitleLoan a call. Their whole business model, with their mobile loan agents, makes the process as easy as possible, and gets you the cash you need quickly. I highly recommend it.

John In Houston

(Note: Of course, if you don’t keep up payments on your title loan, you may risk losing your car! Now that might be even more inconvenient than not having a little cash! And don’t forget to check the interest rates! Some of these loans have high interest rates, much higher than typical bank loans.)

In a radical departure from previous aid packages, euro zone finance ministers want Cyprus savers to forfeit up to 9.9 percent of their deposits in return for a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) bailout to the island, which has been financially crippled by its exposure to neighboring Greece.

1. Who would leave their deposits in Cyprus, knowing that the greedy eurocrats could easily turn around and say ‘sorry, that didn’t work!’ we need more?

2. Capital outflows will massively erode the foundations of these banks themselves. It’s hard to believe new capital would enter Cyprus when the govt. has shown its eagerness to levy this. If I were an oligarch, euro-expat, or whatever, I would certainly cross Cyprus off my list of favored tax havens.

3. If the locals withdraw their cash, the foreigners remit their cash away, and new deposits dry up, it’s hard to see how those banks will survive anyway. How can they not breach their capital ratios? How can they not be insolvent?

Lastly, the threat of contagion may be minimized for the moment by the hints that this is not going to be repeated. But who can’t forget the admonitions of the prime ministers of Ireland, Portugal, Spain & Greece that they didn’t need bailouts. Really they didn’t. Honest, guv.  Let’s count how many times this is denied as well.

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E*Trade has been one of the top online brokers for stocks & shares since well before the dot com boom of the 1990′s. Now ANZ Share Trading has partnered with E*Trade to bring online dealing to the Antipodean marketplace. Attractive pricing, top quality research and tools make it easy, perhaps too easy, to enter the stock market.

I was intrigued by some of the tools that E*Trade offers its Australian customers, including a popular education center. Though the basics are well covered in terms of actual trading, it’s likely that unless the new investor is tempted towards ETFs, Sharepacks or Managed Funds, she will need to learn and study some of the basics.

Why? Because prices do go down as well as up. And shorting stocks can be the fastest way to send your account to $0. Especially if you’re using borrowed funds! So I’d like to offer readers my how-to guide on getting started in the stockmarket.

Tip #1: Do your reading

Read about the market in general, get a feel for the general situation right now; find out what sectors are doing well and badly. Look for top tier companies that seem, even in adverse situations, to be doing the ‘right’ thing. Don’t buy anything.

Tip #2: Listen to the Pundits

It’s important to have some idea what people in-the-know are talking about these days, what they’re concerns are, what the buzz words are. But don’t let them influence your choices.

Tip #3: Choose a few companies

Choose a few companies, and start to follow their progress in the newspapers, on TV, and online. Check out their accounts, find out if you can read their public documents. If you can’t, start to study them. Find out what they’re doing, and check for the important numbers: EPS, Book Value, etc. You need to know these.

Tip #4: Start Paper Trading

That’s right. Simply trade on paper (or on Excel). Buy imaginary lots in your head, write it down, and see how it feels. Follow the news, chart the progress, and check the dividends. See how you feel, if you can cope with the ‘ownership’ and risk.

Tip #5: Build your watchlist of companies

That’s that simple. Build a watchlist of companies that you are interested in. But don’t buy or sell. And don’t be afraid of missing out. This fear alone contributes to enough mistakes I’ve made.

Tip #6: Get a grip of your finances

That simple. If you are eager to invest, can you answer these three questions positively? Do you have a 6 month emergency fund? Do you think you can afford to not have access to the month for more than 3 years? Do you think you can bear it if you lose all the money?

Tip #7: Choose your broker carefully

Now it’s time to choose your broker carefully. Read the reviews, check the tools and see if you can try the demo accounts. Perhaps you’ll be lucky and find that you can set up fantasy portfolio!

Remember once you start trading, keep your calm, don’t trade more than you can afford, and try not to churn your trades. If you’ve been a trading investor for a few months, you’ll likely find that you can win and lose money. But remember, never invest all of your cash in one stock… just in case.

Please note: these are personal comments, and as such do not represent investment advice. Do your study carefully, make your own choices. And remember, you can lose far more than you intend to in the stockmarket. It may not be a suitable place to invest for your personal life. Consult a specialist if you’re unsure or don’t understand anything about the stockmarket.

Now if you’ve been investing for a while, what do you wish you had known before you go started? Share with us!

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My wife and I have talked about renting out our current apartment to generate additional income. But we encountered three problems that have so far prevented us from making any success on this:

• 1. we like it here and we don’t want to move yet;
• 2. we still wouldn’t make any residual profit from renting our house out without paying off part of the mortgage principal (something we don’t have enough cash yet to do); and
• 3. we can’t decide where we’d like to live other than here. Contribution $0. Potential contribution estimated at $100.

So if you like a rental income property (and who doesn’t?), what do you need to get started? Mmm… it’s hardly like we’ve made a start. So let me list the things that I think I would need:

1. Renovation:

We seriously need to do the tiling work in several rooms: the bathroom, where the tiling is beginning to separate from the walls due to the contraction and expansion of the concrete in summer/winter, and the poor workmanship when the place was finished. I also suspect that we need to replace one of the air conditioners in the study.

2. Redecoration:

We’ve got walls painted in a variety of colors, and it’s been a few years. It’s likely that our tastes aren’t exactly the same as our renters. So we’ve probably got a bit of painting to do, as well as other minor repairs.

3. Insurance:

Not sure how to handle that. I know that you can get landlord’s insurance… but what happens if the tenant absconds or worse? Can that be claimed?

4. Finances:

Since our property is mortgaged, the yields are just not very attractive since rents are fairly low in this neck of the woods. We know that we would have some gross profit, but there’s also a landlord’s tax of 10% on the income. So not sure how that would work. I think the only solution would be to pay off some or a lot of the principle. Still a good return on money invested.

5. Renting:

Finding good tenants would be a priority. The neighboring landlord rents his apartment, the tenants there have been anything but reliable. Dirty, filthy,… with problems paying rent. I think tenant screening would be essential to prevent this, even if it meant the apartment being empty longer.

With a sound plan, it might work. Still a few kinks to work out. I do know that the area is very desirable, with lots of chances to find tenants. Of course, that means we’d have to move! A chance to find a new area.

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Get Your Taxes Started

First, you must decide on whether you are having your personal taxes prepared, your business taxes prepared, or both. Then, you look around to see who is nice and cordial, and who is not. You also look around to see who the expert is and what you need to have done, so there will not be any mistakes.

A couple of useful keywords come to mind when shopping for an attorney: compassion, empathy and honesty. At taxattorney.com they seem to take these into serious consideration when dealing with you and your tax sensitivities.

Sure, you could go to your nearest tax office and get your taxes prepared there, but why not do your taxes online to save your money on gas, time and energy? It takes time to browse around online, but your searching online will be greatly reduced because you will not be wasting time sitting at stop lights or waiting behind slow drivers because the speed limit is only 35mph on the streets.

Back Taxes Owed

What if you need special tax help, like an IRS tax audit or unpaid taxes from years ago that you are now ready to pay? Shopping online at taxattorney.com can help you find that specialist to help you get over the financial slump, as a local tax shop may not be able to handle a larger issue.

The taxattorney.com website has a very convenient tool called the “Back Taxes Owed” area where you can select the amount of back taxes owed from a drop-down list. After making your monetary selection of the amount of taxes owed, you would then enter your name, phone number, the best time to call, your email address and any comments you might care to put in.

Website Overview

I like the fact that taxattorney.com has a wealth of informational links right on its home page. You can easily find what you are looking for without having to click on several pages down just to get to where you want to go.

The main information is easily visible. This website also tells you up front what types of services it offers, it tells you that they give expert legal advice, and finally, that they have a strict price guarantee. At taxattorney.com the price that they quote you is the price that they will charge you.

If you need additional services they will only charge you for those additional services quoted. They will not try to sell you anything else such as tax problems related to the IRS or tax debt. They will only charge you what you came there for.

Another great thing I like about this website is that it reveals untrue myths regarding tax issues, such as do you believe that you don’t earn enough to have to pay tax, or do you think that if you need to apply for your tax refund that the IRS will audit your returns? These are just a couple of myths that many people believe, but are not true. Visit the website to see more untrue myths.

One of the special features of taxattorney.com is that they offer assistance from an IRS lawyer. Sometimes we cannot foresee unexpected pitfalls, curveballs and hidden challenges that lie in tax problems, but a very trained and knowledgeable IRS attorney will be familiar with surprising issues and will know how to handle them.

It might be wise to tell your tax lawyer everything. That way you will have complete peace of mind knowing that everything will be resolved because you have told them everything and you have chosen the right attorney. Go with taxattorney.com. You may have a great night’s sleep awaiting you.

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Searching for HR Jobs

A quick online search can yield thousands of potential landing points for someone qualified and looking for a job in human resources. ICS is a fantastic reference to continue the job search in this field, providing additional information about the job, information on potential salary, as well as a plethora of job listing.

Current Jobs: What’s available

When I begin looking for a job, the first thing I will look for is the most current job postings. The older the posting, the more likely it is that the position has already been filled. ICS, has a few very recent posts with jobs that have been posted within the last few weeks, however they have older postings as well.

Older Jobs: Valuable Information

I think it can be beneficial to look through some of the older posts to get more information. So long as the posting is not very old, it won’t hurt to send in a resume either. Information in older posts can give a better idea of an expected salary as well the availability of jobs to expect in the future. If older postings are prevalent, then you can expect that more will be posted in the future as well.

ICS does more than enough to fit the needs of a person looking for a job in this area. Even without the job postings, the website gives a great overview of the job. This includes statistics regarding to the potential of the job from relevant sources including the Bureau of Labor Statistics which called HR one of the fastest growing jobs on the market.

ICS: Informative Overview

The website allows serves both those currently looking to get a job in the field as well as those who are only thinking about the potential. If someone is thinking about getting into the field, they can come to ICS to gain a better understanding as to if they think the job is the right place for them.

Many people will want to get a more in-depth description of the job including the responsibilities and average day to day of an HR specialist. This information, as well as salary and necessary education information can all be attained from the website. ICS meets the needs of the human resources job seeker in these areas.

Having graduated from university with a degree in business administration, I have spent a considerable amount of time browsing the internet for hr jobs as well as other more general positions within the broader spectrum of the business field.

I wish I had found ICS earlier on in my search as it would be been a great resource in my hunt for the perfect job. If you are great with people and interested in business, a career in human resources might be the thing for you.

Mueller

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Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are something of an advanced topic for the typical individual investor — making drilling down to focus on M&As in just one market sector even more daunting. But if you like the idea of adding a little geek cred to your investing knowledge or just want to learn about an area that poses some extra challenges, then boning up on single-sector M&A may be just your thing.

The Chemicals Industry: Not Exempt from M&A frenzy!

And in that case, why not center your attention on the chemicals industry? It’s actually not that easy to find extensive or detailed coverage of M&A prospects and deals-in-progress in chemicals.

Sure, pretty much all of the major market-analysis providers offer a little coverage of the sector. It seems typical that they’ll have one or two chemicals specialists on staff, but rarely are chemicals and materials actually a major focus for the firm as a whole. Which is why it intrigued me when I stumbled upon the Valence Group’s site.

Valence Group: M&A chemical advisors

The Valence Group describes itself as the biggest team of professionals wholly-dedicated to chemical m&a advisory services in the world. It may say a lot about demand for such expertise that I wasn’t able to find mention anywhere of another similarly dedicated firm.

Nevertheless, on first glance, you would think that this would make Valence Group, and hopefully their site, the place to find some great information on up-and-coming or at least possible M&A deals. But as it turned out, that wasn’t particularly the case.

Yes, Valence Group has a few pages dedicated to doing glossy deals that they have been a part of in the past. I also got to read up on their corporate philosophy and was impressed at how internally team-oriented they say that they are.

Great Resumes: Hot Tips?

Still, none of that was anywhere near as impressive as the presence of some Morningstar or TABB Group–style analysis would have been. Thoughts on hot takeover prospects, perhaps, or on which chemicals-sector companies have cash reserves they’re just dying to use to buy out a foreign concern — say, one that’ll give them a toehold into an international market they’d be hard-pressed to find entry into otherwise?

But there was no research like that available, although you can download in PDF form a couple issues of Valence Group’s newsletters. (More on that newsletter in a bit.) After all, as I further learned from perusing the site, unlike TABB or Morningstar, Valence Group is not an independent analyst, despite the fact that they actually have put together their own index, fully viewable on their site, of chemicals industry stocks.

Valence Group: Investment Bank

Valence Group is actually a specialized investment bank, which means that all their materials and even those polished-looking newsletters are all designed specifically to get you lusting after the idea of doing some chemicals-sector M&A (and perhaps part of the reason they do not publish their reports…?)

In fact, the primary content of those newsletters were reports indicating what, you guessed it, the climate for M&As in Valence Group’s industry is like and how continues to look very positive.

For the Individual Investor

Probably the most useful item on their Website to an average individual investor is the list of factors in a chemical-sector M&A that Valence Group considers themselves especially well suited to advise any potential M&A participants in; and when I say “useful”, what I mean there is that you could find it educational to read through that page, just to understand what specialty issues might be at hand as part of any deals in this industry.

And their newsletters are certainly worth the free download, if for nothing else than the comparison bar charts they offer about current growth in various chemicals subsectors. So overall, I’d say that if I was looking for M&A investing advice and mainly interested in chemicals, I would look over Valence Group’s site…and keep going.

Investment Analysis

I think an individual investor can do better by looking for specific information on companies that might be involved in an M&A already. Valence Group isn’t offering any insider scoops on their site, and in fact their newsletters each offer the disclaimer, again, that what they offer is not independent investment analysis.

Still, since Valence Group’s site did get me thinking about the sector, reading up on what’s been said about M&A potential in chemicals right now certainly convinced me that chemical-company deals might be worth paying attention to. For example, as it turns out (and I independently confirmed with further research myself), 2011 was a record-breaking year for chemical sector-specific M&A, with total value of deals being made at $82 billion worldwide.

And, 2012 doesn’t necessarily show signs of weakening prospects there. So don’t be afraid to consider teaching yourself more about M&A in general, nor about M&A specifically in chemicals. Just don’t expect, as an average investor, that the Valence Group or their Website is going to be useful as a primary or even sole secondary information source.

Amy Marre

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I’ve never used Zoho, so I thought I would ask a colleague to do a review of the site for you. In fact, Zoho has so many applications that it is hard to focus on one thing, and one thing. But this overview will just look Zoho Project Management tools, in the context of Zoho.

The first thing I noticed when I loaded the company’s page was the great layout. It is a very simple design that is eye catching, and it is easy to find important information. There are several links right away to sign up for free, which is usually the first thing I look for on such a site, so having them readily available on the front page is excellent.

Getting Started

The site gives a good introduction to its service on the front page, so I know what I’m getting into. If the front page is designed to make a case for using the service, it does it very well, by its use of attractive, detailed icons and small simple sentences explaining in plain English exactly what it is that the service does. I followed several of the links to read client testimonials, and they each specifically outlined reasons to use the service.

What is Project Management

Project management online is a growing industry, and I have used it a number of times in the past, with some of the older PHP tools. While conventional face to face management may seem simple, project management online is designed to take these complicated tasks and make them even more simple.

With online project management, everyone sees the documents shared in the collaboration, and all changes are recorded instantly across the whole team. This prevents anyone from accidentally doubling over another team member’s work, and also works hard to make sure that everyone on the team is in the loop on the project itself.

How well does it work

The service works from the top down to make it simple, and it does this the only way possible: It takes control of everything. The service does calendaring, which makes it simple to set milestones, deadlines and more, as well as scheduling meetings.

There are also shared folders, so files for the project can easily be made available. There is a function for an online discussion board and group chat (group chat costs a bit extra) so communication becomes simple.

The project even will have integrated time sheets, so keeping track of who does what and for how long is easy and already integrated into the solution. The site even integrates directly into Google Apps, which is a wonderful solution if Google Apps is already used for a project, company or website.

Looks Do Matter

The site’s good design and layout both contribute to my perception of its reliability. If a company does not care how its website looks, how can I know it cares about its customers at all?

All the information I could possibly want is easy to access from the main page, and the layout makes sense, with all the categories on top divided in ways that are perfectly logical. They even have a contact form to use in case something is not covered.

All in all, it seems this company is dedicated to their customer experience, and the website is an excellent example of that. I’d be tempted to sign up for the paid version of the service. With all the different features available for project management, it seems like it would make the workflow of any group project much more efficient.

Mark Thompson

What project management tools have you tried? What did you like? What did you hate?

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Easily Accessible Rates

I absolutely loved how easy it was to find the various rates on this website. I have been shopping around for a new bank account for my girlfriend for a while, and know how buried some of these rates can be. Even though the law says they need to be out there, some sites still push them into the background.

With one click, (on the “for rates” button) I can instantly have access to the various rates the credit union offers on each account. Now, the fact that this credit union has an APY of 1% on their online savings account is intriguing, I’d switch if I didn’t have a better rate at the moment, but that’s neither here nor there.

Think About the User

I like that I can sign in to my home banking account right from the front page, and that it’s on the left of the page, which is where my eyes fall naturally. I’m a little confused as to why I’m required to sign in to all the different services separately. A unified login feature would be amazing, so I can check my account balance and my credit card status all in one go.

Were I using this site for the first time, I might experience some confusion about where exactly to log in. While the website isn’t exactly hideous, I’m not sure why there are so many colors going on. Not only are there eight different shades of green prominently featured, but red, tan, blue, and orange all make appearances. It all adds up to look a little bit on the messy side.

There’s also an overwhelming amount of links on the front page. I get that the goal is to get me to have to use as little of the page as possible, but it’s frustrating enough that it is kind of hard to figure out where I’m supposed to look. I would love to see the site use more of its pages for practical reasons.

Too Much Mumbo Jumbo?

Some of the services available make me nervous as well. What is a jumbo loan? Is it a loan that is bigger than a regular loan? Are the interests rates higher to go along with it? When it comes to my finances, there is a set of terminology that I am used to, and this certainly is not it.

Words like jumbo to me belong as descriptions for elephants in parades. When dealing with my money, I’d prefer the language be kept professional and typical. I’m grateful that the site makes it easy to find that it is a member of the CU Service Centers.

Accessible Banking Offline, too

But as a credit union member, I’m often asked how I can bank when I’m away from home, and the answer is simple. There are hundreds if not thousands of banks that are within a short distance from me no matter where I am, because of the CU Service Center network.

Functional: Needs TLC

Overall, I think the site is ugly but functional. There are a few tweaks that would make it excellent to use, but overall it certainly is not bad. It is easier to find information here than it is on many similar websites.

How does this site compare to your bank or financial services company? Do they get it? Or is their website just an afterthought? Write and share YOUR feedback with me!

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You can look online at the foreclosure sale notices to see what homes are for sale. Your local newspaper will also list foreclosure notices. You can even subscribe to foreclosure listings, so you can see the best deals on homes. A lender will conduct a foreclosure auction; therefore, you need to arrange to attend the proceedings.

Before attending an auction, make sure that you have enough money available to purchase the property. If you will need to finance the home, you need to get pre-approved for a loan, so the money will be accessible.

Before attending an auction, drive by the home to make sure it is in good condition. You can also look at the neighborhood to see if it is safe and welcoming. When you find a home that you would like to purchase, you need to register with the person conducting the auction. They will want to know information about yourself, and they will need proof that you can afford the home.

You can then attend an auction and bid on the property. Make sure you do not go over your price range. If homes are not sold at auctions, you need to keep checking with the bank. In some cases, banks will be desperate to get rid of a home, so the price will continue to decline.

It also might be a good idea to hire a real estate agent. They will be familiar with properties that are close to foreclosure proceedings. You can then purchase a great home at an excellent price.

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Chart patterns are specific price-action patterns in stock prices that have repeated themselves for decades, giving prudent traders many profitable trading opportunities. However, there are many chart patterns that are unreliable and not profitable. In this article we will cover the 3 highest win rate patterns that almost guarantee long-term profitability and gains.

Pattern #1: Head & Shoulders

The Head & Shoulders is one of the most reliable chart patterns, having accuracy of almost 90% and generating profits for decades. The head & shoulders is a reversal pattern, that indicates a shift in trend and beginning of a reversal.

We will usually trade this pattern when the neckline is broken, and will join the trade right at the breakout. However, for even more accurate entry it is recommended to wait for price to pull back to the neckline, and begin the new trend. The pullback entry is even more accurate than the breakout one, reaching around 95% accuracy. This is a chart pattern you must trade and master.

Pattern #2: Double Top

The Double Top is another pattern which you must trade, as it provides very good win rate (around 76% winning trades) and very consistent profits in many stocks and Forex pairs.

The Double Top is created when price tries to break a resistance level twice and is unable to, creating a shape resembling the letter ‘M’. Eventually price breaks the neckline downwards, which is the sell signal for chart traders. We will also enter a short trade if price pulls back to the broken neckline from below.

Pattern #3: The Channel

The Channel is one of the most accurate chart patterns that appears in almost any Stock or index, and are the foundation of trends. The Channel consists of two parallel trend lines in a certain direction – it can be either ascending or descending.

The Channel symbolizes a healthy trend in which price moves forward in a certain rhythm. We can trade the channel in several methods: The first one is to take trades on the trend lines themselves (make sure to enter only with the direction of the trend and not against it).

Another trading method that is particularly powerful with channels is to enter after it is broken: entering short when an ascending channel is broken and entering long when a descending channel is broken. For extra accuracy we recommend not to enter the breakout itself but wait for the pullback.

Conclusion

Chart patterns are a very reliable and consistent way of trading, and if you focus just on the 3 patterns mentioned above, you will generate stable profits from any market you trade. Choose one pattern at a time, learn to identify it on historical charts and then proceed to master it in real trading.

Steve Sollheiser is a trading veteran with experience in trading stock chart patterns and trading Forex. In his site he shares his insight about chart trading and trading psychology.

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In reviewing the website U.S. Money Reserve it is interesting to note that there has probably never been a more opportune time to invest in and purchase gold. It is not even an issue of if one should invest in gold anymore, but rather an issue of how much to invest and how quickly to invest in this very important storage of value medium. The ability to store and preserve wealth is indeed one of the most critical elements of gold and precious metal investing.

Federal Reserve: Hardly Reserved

In a world where the Federal Reserve has gone literally haywire, by the unconstrained printing of money with the net effect being unfettered runaway inflation. This has a direct and measurable effect on the value of money. The more the Federal Reserve prints money the less that your money is worth, it is really that simple.

In responding appropriately any investor must find protective measures to insulate their wealth from this reckless kind of policy. U.S. Money Reserve is nicely organized and is easy to navigate when buying precious metals online. The real time ticker at the top of the page offers up to the minute gold and silver prices, this is convenient with all the recent fluctuations in gold and silver prices.

Buy the Dips: Value Investing

While these fluctuations may be a little unsettling, In truth, one would be well advised to just continue to buy on the dips in price. The reason for this is basic and simple. It is understood knowledge that the price of both gold and silver has be artificially and intentionally manipulated and held at a far lower price than normal market conditions would support. This is being done in large part to mask the fact that the US dollar is rapidly decreasing in value.

In other words, if gold were allowed to rise to its true market value it would in effect reveal the true worth of the dollar. This is being prevented from happening because it would then threaten the status of the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency. This is relevant to the precious metal investor because having this knowledge and understanding it makes the decision to regularly invest in gold and silver a rather easy one.

True Market Value

Once the artificial manipulation of precious metals ends, and it will as a law of economics, then the true market value of gold and silver will be reveled. This value will likely be many multiples of the current market value of precious metals. Further analysis of this issue shows that to an even greater degree, silver is more rare and valuable than gold.

All that Glistens: Silver

The historic gold/silver ratio shows that silver is perhaps one of the best investments one can possibly make today. Silver is unique in that it has real and tangible industrial uses. U.S. Money Reserve is a perfect site to track and monitor the change in precious metals prices. What makes it even better is that the site makes it easy to make a gold or silver purchase.

Surival Is the Name of the Game

In the coming days, there will likely be a substantially big paradigm shift in terms of money, finance and the global economy. This shift is unavoidable and will happen according to economic law and laws of the universe in general. A faulty and nonfunctional system will always eventually cease to exist, and equilibrium will eventually return. As a wise investor, looking ahead into the future, gold and silver are not an investment strategy, but rather a survival strategy.

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So, if you are writing about coffee makers, you also have to include other phrases like coffee spoon or coffee beans, if it’s Google’s intentions to stop keyword stuffing like that, then I’m afraid most sites are ‘stuffed’ (to use a colloquial UK slang meaning borked).

I think the only thing that Google is really concerned about is the searcher, and like the focus on the link (in PageRank) or the click (in Adsense), Google is looking for the USER/READER/SEARCHER and will use whatever algos ‘seem to pull that out’.

The problem is that an algo is no substitute for the fickleness of human nature, the cacophony and inconsistencies of human wants/needs/desires… and while Google may get close at times in mimicking reality (perhaps at an individual level), they will only mimic reality not capture its entirety.

We only have two defences against this onslaught of quasi-AI algo-fakery: our brand and our relationship with our readers. By building our relationship with readers and stating, clarifying and publicising our BRAND, we can & will be able to beat Google’s algo-nonsense.

So build a brand INTO your website and go find your audience, wherever it is. Google’s search engine is fast becoming a very dangerous place to be, as each of us waste our precious hours wondering what we did wrong each & every time the Panda strikes.

The only thing we did wrong: we spent too much time chasing Google and we failed to satisfy our customers properly. That’s it. That’s all.

So get out there, read the A&R and make your readers HAPPY. Make them delighted. Make them want to come back. Make them NEED to come back. And may Google get ‘stuffed’ instead.

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1. Ubuntu 1
2. Google
3. Microsoft
4. Apple

Prices seem all over the place at the moment, as do service standards. Free.

The best free service in terms of space vs. pricing is Microsoft. If you have an account with Microsoft already, you can claim 25GB and go from there. However, there is currently an upper limit, and IT ONLY WORKS ON Windows 7! So if you are like me in anyway, and still managing half a dozen xp systems… well, look elsewhere! But it easily the most affordable at $25 pa for 75GB! That’s less than $2.10 per month! Affordable, limited and only on Win7+.

Google offers the biggest spaces of all the services, though prices are noticeably sharper than Microsoft. But the idea of the service is pretty good, if you DON’T use Google Docs. If you do, then all your Google Docs are available in a rather silly Google Doc format. You can download them in your chosen format, but then you can’t edit them In Google Docs, either. So integration between Docs/Drive and your PC is poor. Notch one point to Microsoft on that! Large space, broader support, and funky formats.

Apple is similar to Microsoft, in that if you use XP, you’re pretty much out of luck. It’s also the most expensive of the four I’m looking at, and if you’re not part of the Apple-verse, it’s rather pointless. The only plus is the iTunes Match service that I can see. I don’t think at the moment, Apple have much chance to become the CLOUD. And they’re flipflops on mobile-me aren’t very encouraging at all. Limited, expensive, but visually attractive.

Ubuntu One is a very interesting alternative to the big three: it’s already multi-platform – 2 OSes at least, as 2 mobile platforms (all the big ones). It seems to be everything Icloud isn’t: supported on many platforms, affordable, and there are options for music streaming, too. I have installed this (along with the others (except Apple, which I removed) but haven’t tested it much yet. The only odd thing is that there are two (two APPS!) in the iTunes store… Weird. Multi-platform, affordable, but unproven.

So I guess that leaves me Dropbox. It’s still more expensive than some of the others, but it’s already available, the technology is already tested, mature and stable. It’s available on multiple platforms (PC and mobi), and Web. You can’t view documents in Dropbox as such, so it’s not a competitor to either Microsoft or Google in that sense (wonder why Google didn’t buy them!). Overall, reliable, affordable (almost), but gets expensive quickly.

So which one are you going to try?

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The site has a truly unique approach that let’s customers choose a plan according to their needs and budget. The products offered have won awards, and the site itself is run by a prestigious and qualified staff in the field. When I first arrived to the site, I was greeted by immediately eye-catching graphics and words. I enjoyed that I knew what I was getting into the moment I clicked on the site’s link.

Product Offerings x3

The goal of Reputation.com is to help individuals to maintain and protect their online presence, which is something that is much more possible online than offline. The site offers a selection of products that come for an annual fee.

The site offers a product called “Reputation defender” whose chief features are the ability to fix results on Google, hide undesirable links, and make you visible online. This service seems like a great deal, because we all know how unforgivable the internet is.

Another product, “my reputation,” seems to act as more of a monitoring service than a fixing one. This seems like a good service especially for people who are just starting their business or online presence.

The third product, “my privacy,” seems like a good service for anyone, even if they aren’t working on an online presence. People would be surprised at the amount of their personal information can be learned from a quick Google search. This tool can help you decide what you want people to see.

Payment Options

I personally think that it might be better to have monthly payment options too. I didn’t see an option for a trial period, but that could be helpful too. Despite this, I believe there are plenty of people out there who would be willing to invest in these services right away. The nice thing is that customers can choose from a simpler or plan or a more advanced plan to fit their budget.

Site Overview: Staff, Styling, Signs

From reading the management page, it appears that your business would be in good hands with Reputation.com. They offer a large, experienced staff who are qualified and dedicated to helping your reputation.

I found the site to be professional, stylish, and easily navigable. It was easy to find the information I was looking for, and it is all arranged neatly. It was a breath of fresh air seeing a site with great information as well as a great design.

One thing that I would take out is the little pop up window that keeps coming up asking you to register. I realize that this is pretty common with these types of websites, but I still think that people who have interest will register of their own free will.

And in the end

Overall, the site was a great experience that offers a unique and useful product. I would definitely recommend checking out this website to anyone interested in buying reputation management services, whether for personal branding, professional or business-related reputational management.

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Why? Simply, viruses can be gotten easy on most PCs these days (Macs, too!), and many kinds of malware can infect PCs. I reckon that’s important to:

• keep backups of your documents (off system);
• get and use uptodate AV software to protect (Microsoft now has a free anti-virus download);
• and maintain vigilance on especially new sites that you haven’t frequented.

It used to be that the main vector for contracting viruses/malware was via attachments, but if you use Google or any other webmail, you can pretty much nix that vector by NOT downloading attachments to your PC.

So now things have shifted: Drive-by Downloads seem increasingly common esp. on unpatched computer systems; malware hides in regular software, and IM (SPIM) in your messenger services all are increasingly common. Also, you may find that you get caught out by Spook (Facebook Spam). As cyber security improves, you can bet your bottom dollar that thieves, criminals, and spies will try anything new to rob us of our cash, our data, and even our identity.

Joining a Gym, or Leaving?

It seems really obvious that joining a gym and then not going every day isn’t really a financially sound practice, but I got so used to belonging to the gym that I basically stopped thinking about physical activity anywhere else.

It’s sort of like the dishwasher breaking and panicking that there are no clean dishes without remembering that you can hand wash dishes by hand. I just stopped thinking about physical exercise outside of the gym.

This article definitely broke it down into actual money I can save. So before terminating my gym membership which is actually cheaper than the $125 fee mentioned in the article, it costs $80 a month so it’s actually less than three dollars a day, I figured I’d try exercising outside of the gym, just to make sure.

Walking: The first thing that’s weird about walking rather than going to the gym is that there’s no machine telling me how fast I’m going or how long I’ve been at it or whether my heart rate has reached some optimal level. All that stuff is easy to readjust to for a few days just by committing to an amount of time you’re going to walk.

Taking a Walk, (c) 2012 TaipeiCityGuide.com, on Flickr, used with permission.

The second thing that took some adjustment was creating a walking route. For some reason it’s easier for me if I have a planned route. So I started with the whole around the block thing which didn’t take up the 45 minutes I know I should be spending walking. The simple solution for me was walking to some nature trails that are about three blocks away from my home.

The third thing I discovered is that I’d come to rely on the TV at the gym. Suddenly I was looking at my surroundings instead of watching TV. Trying to pick up some speed is a sure cure for the TV withdrawal. Paying attention to the ground also takes more focus than moving on a gym machine so I’m missing the TV less.

But I’m not an all-weather walker yet. If it’s raining, I’m not out there. Maybe I will at some point, but it hasn’t happened yet. When I start getting annoyed with myself on days I don’t go outside because of the weather, I think about the days I didn’t go to the gym either! Those were not a few, I can tell you!

Doing some exercises inside can fill the gap but I haven’t incorporated a great routine into my bad weather workouts yet. Also I found out my gym needs thirty days notice for me to terminate so if you’re thinking of doing this, you might want to find out the kind of notice your gym requires. And watch for any penalties that you may get, those contract clauses can come back to bite you!

Lunch Time

As far as the eating smart and saving money advice in the article, I liked the idea of purchasing gourmet meals from the grocery store. Still, I have to admit I like going out for dinner sometimes. There are some pretty reasonable places to eat in my area so instead of going to the most expensive places I can go to one of the less expensive places.

But if food variety is the issue for you, those gourmet meals in the food store sound like a great alternative to try. I do like the portion control (and calorie control) of pre-made meals which kind of force you to stop over-consuming, just make sure you don’t buy the double packs, or extra large servings. So I’m sure I’ll be trying them at some point.

Get a Life Cycle/Bicycle?

And you’ll notice I didn’t talk about the life cycle or bicycle. I’ll be damned if I actually know what a life cycle is! I did ride a couple of ‘special’ bikes at the gym, but I couldn’t remember if that was what they were called. And for bicycling, I’ve never been good at that, … I always get a sore ‘behind’ much quicker than my patience running out. So I’m not sure I’ll be trying either of those out any time soon!

Make Sensible Decisions

Sounds obvious, but there are times where we are spending money and we may actually be impairing our health. So look at your spending, check out the AceCashExpress Blog for some helpful financial advice.

Did you like this blog review? Are you financially and physically in shape in 2012? Or have you already broken your 2012 Resolutions? Share!

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Henry David Thoreau

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Your own business.

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