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Investing in bonds is very safe, and the returns are usually very good. There are four basic types of bonds available and they are sold through the Government, through corporations, state and local governments, and foreign governments. The greatest thing about bonds is that you will get your initial investment back. This makes bonds the perfect investment vehicle for those who are new to investing, or for those who have a low risk tolerance. The United States Government sells Treasury Bonds through the Treasury Department. You can purchase Treasury Bonds with maturity dates ranging from three months to thirty years. Treasury bonds include Treasury Notes (T-Notes), Treasury Bills (T-Bills), and Treasury Bonds. All Treasury bonds are backed by the United States Government, and tax is only charged on the interest that the bonds earn. Corporate bonds are sold through public securities markets. A corporate bond is essentially a company selling its debt. Corporate bonds usually hav...

Accounting fraud is a deliberate and improper manipulation of the recording of sales revenue and/or expenses in order to make a company's profit performance appear better than it actually is. Some things that companies do that can constitute fraud are: --Not listing prepaid expenses or other incidental assets --Not showing certain classifications of current assets and/or liabilities --Collapsing short- and long-term debt into one amount. Over-recording sales revenue is the most common technique of accounting fraud. A business may ship products to customers that they haven't ordered, knowing that those customers will return the products after the end of the year. Until the returns are made, the business records the shipments as if they were actual sales. Or a business may engage in channel stuffing. It delivers products to dealers or final customers that they really don't want, but business makes deals on the side that provide incentives and special privileges if the dealers...

There are several different types of investments, and there are many factors in determining where you should invest your funds. Of course, determining where you will invest begins with researching the various available types of investments, determining your risk tolerance, and determining your investment style – along with your financial goals. If you were going to purchase a new car, you would do quite a bit of research before making a final decision and a purchase. You would never consider purchasing a car that you had not fully looked over and taken for a test drive. Investing works much the same way. You will of course learn as much about the investment as possible, and you would want to see how past investors have done as well. It’s common sense! Learning about the stock market and investments takes a lot of time… but it is time well spent. There are numerous books and websites on the topic, and you can even take college level courses on the topic – which is what stock brokers do....

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. Stocks go up and down all the time, depending on the economy…and of course the economy depends on the stock market as well. This is why it is so hard to determine whether you should sell your stock or not. Stocks go down, but they also tend to go back up. You have to do more research, and you have to keep up with the stability of the companies that you invest in. Changes in corporations have...

The Internet has greatly simplified the process of re-financing a loan. Years ago homeowners had to go to a lender during regular business hours for lengthy consultations and would have to visit several different lenders to determine which one would offer the best rate. The Internet has not only simplified the process but has also given homeowners the luxury of investigating re-financing options at their convenience and also receiving multiple quotes form different lenders by filling out one simple online form. Researching Re-Financing Online The Internet has not only made it easier for homeowners to re-finance but it has also greatly simplified the process of learning more about re-financing. Again homeowners from past generations might have to rely on industry professionals and published books on the subject of re-financing. However, today’s homeowners can look up re-financing and find a wealth of useful information regarding the different types of loans and re-financing options avai...

College credit cards are the credit cards that have been specially designed for college students. College credit cards are more popularly known as student credit cards. College credit cards allow the students to experience the benefits of credit cards much earlier in their life. Through college credit cards, the college students are able to learn more about credit cards and their use. In fact, for most of the students, their college credit card is their first credit card that acts as a gateway to the world of credit cards. Some other students might have previously used supplementary credit cards linked to their father’s credit card account; however, for such students too, their college credit card is the first one that is truly theirs. College credit cards are not very different from other types of credit cards in the basic sense; they function in the same way as any credit card would. However, there are some differences, which basically arise from the fact that college credit cards ar...

Because investing is not a sure thing in most cases, it is much like a game – you don’t know the outcome until the game has been played and a winner has been declared. Anytime you play almost any type of game, you have a strategy. Investing isn’t any different – you need an investment strategy. An investment strategy is basically a plan for investing your money in various types of investments that will help you meet your financial goals in a specific amount of time. Each type of investment contains individual investments that you must choose from. A clothing store sells clothes – but those clothes consist of shirts, pants, dresses, skirts, undergarments, etc. The stock market is a type of investment, but it contains different types of stocks, which all contain different companies that you can invest in. If you haven’t done your research, it can quickly become very confusing – simply because there are so many different types of investments and individual investments to choose from. This...

How do credit bureaus compute one’s credit scores? A lot of credit reporting bureaus or agencies gathers information on the subject of the debtor’s credit history or files from reliable private and public sources. They also collect data from the creditors who extended the loan to the debtor. Accordingly, the information is clustered into five sets or categories with the corresponding percentages which reflect the importance of each category in the final computation of scores, namely: (1) Owed Amount – 30%, (2) History of Payments – 30%, (3) Duration of Credit Record – 15%, (4) Nature or Kinds of Credit Currently in Use – 10%, and lastly (5) Latest Credit Inquiries – 10%. Generally, these credit bureaus calculate the debtor’s credit score using a three figure number which range from 300 up to 850. The higher the credit score, the better chance of acquiring low interest rates for the loan being applied for and a better opening for wealth accumulation. The industry of credit-scoring has b...

It is natural for us to resort to credit when we are in great financial need, yet we are running out of cash. Instead of pawning our precious assets in exchange for the amount that we need (which is commonly minus the applied interest), we can apply for different types of loans with convenient terms of payments and affordable interest rates. In addition, there are also instances when the lender provides rebates and other forms of financial incentives to their clients, thus making credit an advantageous alternative when you are in great financial need. However, there are individuals who do not understand the limitations that must be followed when resorting to credit. Since credit allows them to make purchases in the absence of cash, they tend to spend more than what they can afford to pay later on, thus resulting to piles of debt at the end of the billing period. Though credit limit is strictly enforced, there are individuals who manage to slip away from their credit limits, thus they a...

Many homeowners find the Internet to be very useful during the re-financing process. The Internet may be useful because it provides the homeowner with a wealth of information, because it provides the ability to submit loan applications and receive estimates online and because makes it easy for homeowners to consider complicated mathematical equations for a variety of options with ease. While the Internet can be a homeowner’s best friend it can also be the homeowner’s worst enemy. Homeowners who are using the Internet to perform the majority of their re-financing research should be aware of the potential problems associated with finding information online. Additionally, this article will provide the reader with useful information regarding the types of information they may find on the Internet as well as tips for selecting reliable Internet resources. Exploring the Internet Whether you refer to it as the Internet or the World Wide Web, there is no denying the way the Internet has change...

Homeowners who are considering re-financing but are not knowledgeable about the subject have a number of options available to them for finding more accurate information regarding the types of re-financing options available as well as the ways to obtain the best available rates and tips for finding a reputable lender. This information can be obtained through a number of resources including published books, Internet websites and conversations with experts in the financial industry who specialize in the area of re-financing. All of these sources can be very helpful but there are also precautions homeowners must take when using each information source. Taking these precautions will help to ensure the homeowner is receiving accurate information. Using Books for Research Published books are often considered to be one of the most reliable resources for researching re-financing options. However, not all books on the subject are created useful. Readers may find some books provide a great deal o...

If a business breaks the rules of accounting and ethics, it can be liable for legal sanctions against it. It can deliberately deceive its investors and lenders with false or misleading numbers in its financial report. That's where audits come in. Audits are one means of keeping misleading financial reporting to a minimum. CPA auditors are like highway patrol officers who enforce traffic laws and issue tickets to keep speeding to a minimum. An audit exam can uncover problems that the business was not aware of. After completing an audit examination, the CPA prepares a short report stating that the business has prepared its financial statements, according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), or where it has not. All businesses that are publicly traded are required to have annual audits by independent CPAs. Those companies whose stocks are listed on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq must be audited by outside CPA firms. For a publicly traded company, the expense of c...

Although it may be overstated, there is a lot of truth to people ruining their credit score due to missing payments and paying their credit card bills late. The fees can pile up and the interest rates can grow before you know it, and after a while you won’t even be able to pay the minimum amount of payment. If you don’t do something fast - it could be the beginning of the end. To make sure this don’t happen to you, you should always pay your bill on time, and always avoid missing a payment. Sometimes, it can be hard to make your payments on time, although you should always do everything in your power to ensure that you stay on top of things. Below, you’ll find some tips to help you with your credit card payments. As stated above, you should always pay your bill on time. If something comes up and you aren’t able to pay, you’ll be penalized. Even though you may think what has come up will justify a late payment, it doesn’t justify the means in the eyes of your credit card company. ...

Individuals who possess a good credit score always heads to the finish line first. They are eligible to loans and other forms of credits of lower interest rates and convenient terms of payment. Their good credit score serves as their assurance to the lending institution that they are not of credit risk and they have the capability of repaying any forms of credit that they will avail without committing delinquencies. Thus, individuals with good credit score have the access over loans and other forms of credits of lower interest rate payments and best credit terms. On the other hand, if you possess a bad credit score, expect that you will experience difficulties in securing loans and credit plans of lower interest rate. Your bad credit score makes you a financial risk on the part of the lending institution, thus you are only entitled to loans and other forms of credit with higher interest rate so that the lender will have an assurance that the amount of money you borrowed will return bac...

Many years ago, it would have been extremely difficult for those with bad credit to obtain a mortgage loan in the first place. However, today there are so many loan options available and so many ways for lenders to protect themselves that those with bad credit can not only find a suitable mortgage but can also find appealing re-financing options as well. Those with poor credit should carefully consider whether or not re-financing is ideal for them at the present time but the process is not much different for them as it is for those with good credit. Those with bad credit who want to learn more about re-financing should consult a mortgage advisor who specializes in mortgages for those with bad credit. Additionally the homeowner should carefully evaluate their credit score and whether or not it has improved. Finally the homeowner should evaluate their options carefully to ensure they are making the best possible decision. Consult a Mortgage Advisor Consulting with a mortgage advisor is r...

Having a good credit score rating means everything in today's world. It is something that you should have in order to live life comfortable and as easily as possible. This is why many people work hard in order to have good credit rating score and prevent them from plunging in to a bad credit rating score. You now ask what kind of things that you can benefit from by having a good credit score. First of all, a good credit score can increase your chances of getting the loan you apply for and secondly, it will help you get certain jobs and programs that will require good credit score. These are the two main reasons why you need good credit score. However, if you are plagued with bad credit score in the past, you now ask how you can get good credit score again or how you can repair your credit score. It is important to realize the fact that if you have a bad credit score, you will need to repair it as soon as possible before your credit score becomes much worse. Repairing bad credit sco...

Some homeowners opt to re-finance to consolidate their existing debts. With this type of option, the homeowner can consolidate higher interest debts such as credit card debts under a lower interest home loan. The interest rates associated with home loans are traditionally lower than the rates associated with credit cards by a considerable amount. Deciding whether or not to re-finance for the purpose of debt consolidation can be a rather tricky issue. There are a number of complex factors which enter into the equation including the amount of existing debt, the difference in interest rates as well as the difference in loan terms and the current financial situation of the homeowner. This article will attempt to make this issue less complex by providing a function definition for debt consolidation and providing answer to two key questions homeowners should ask themselves before re-financing. These questions include whether the homeowner will pay more in the long run by consolidating their ...

You say you know where your money goes and you don’t need it all written down to keep up with it? I issue you this challenge. Keep track of every penny you spend for one month and I do mean every penny. You will be shocked at what the itty-bitty expenses add up to. Take the total you spent on just one unnecessary item for the month, multiply it by 12 for months in a year and multiply the result by 5 to represent 5 years. That is how much you could have saved AND drawn interest on in just five years. That, my friend, is the very reason all of us need a budget. If we can get control of the small expenses that really don’t matter to the overall scheme of our lives, we can enjoy financial success. The little things really do count. Cutting what you spend on lunch from five dollars a day to three dollars a day on every work day in a five day work week saves $10 a week… $40 a month… $480 a year… $2400 in five years….plus interest. See what I mean… it really IS the little things and you still...

Your credit score will mean everything in today's society. It is something that creditors and banks will base on whether you are worthy to get approved for the loan you are applying for and it is also something that will determine your credibility to certain employers and also to landlords. With a good credit rating, you will be able to apply for loans and credit cards easily. It will mean that you will have more chance in getting that loan you need. It will also mean that you will have more chance in getting that certain job you have been applying for and it will also mean that you can pay your bills on time with the landlords when you are applying for an apartment. Having a bad credit reduces all these opportunities. You may get approved for a credit card or a loan, but it will usually have higher interest rates. This is because creditors aren’t sure that you can pay your bills on time. It is also riskier for creditors to approve you for the loan if you have a bad credit. When it...

Personal loans are a great way to generate the revenue you need for a variety of needs. Such loans can be secured by banks, loan companies, private investors, and online lenders. It is important that you are aware of personal loan scams and how to avoid them. This type of scam was ranked #5 in the United States for the year 2000. On average, each person scammed lost $464. As a result, the Federal government has been working hard to educate the public about such scams. The advanced fee personal loan scam is the most common method of taking your money and running. Most victims of such a scam never report it to the authorities because they are embarrassed that they feel for such a ruse. Victims also feel angry. They obviously needed money or they wouldn’t have applied for a loan in the first place. They now have less money than they did to begin with. Those who do report the scam are often frustrated because the perpetrators are very seldom caught and brought to justice. It is very import...

Publicly owned companies must report earnings per share (EPS) below the net income line in their income statements. This is mandated by generally accepted accounting practices (GAAP). The EPS gives investors a means of determining the amount the business earned on its stock share investments. In other words, EPS tells investors how much net income the business earned for each stock share they own. It's calculated by dividing net income by the total number of capital stock share. It's important to the stockholders who want the net income of the business to be communicated to them on a per share basis so they can compare it with the market price of their shares. Private businesses don't have to report EPS because stockholders focus more on the business's total net income. Publicly-held companies actually report two EPS figures, unless they have what's known as a simple capital structure. Most publicly-held companies though, have complex capital structures and have to ...

People who are in debt (credit card debt) often get to hear this advice ‘Consolidate credit card debt’. So, what does that ‘Consolidate credit card debt’ mean? Well, pretty simply, ‘Consolidate credit card debt’ means consolidating the debt on various credit cards into one (or two) credit card. This consolidation can be done either through a low interest bank loan or by transferring balance to a new credit card (i.e. transferring the amount you owe, on one or more credit card, to a new credit card(s)). So what should you do when you are looking to consolidate credit cards? Well, the key thing to look for is the APR or the annual percentage rate. Whatever method you adopt to consolidate credit cards, APR will always be the key; in fact, you could say that it is the sole criteria to look for. So, if you use a bank loan to consolidate credit card debt, the interest rate on the bank loan should be lower than the APR of the credit cards whose debt you are consolidating. Similarly, if you ar...

Accounting has been defined as, by Professor of Accounting at the University of Michigan William A Paton as having one basic function: "facilitating the administration of economic activity. This function has two closely related phases: 1) measuring and arraying economic data; and 2) communicating the results of this process to interested parties." As an example, a company's accountants periodically measure the profit and loss for a month, a quarter or a fiscal year and publish these results in a statement of profit and loss that's called an income statement. These statements include elements such as accounts receivable (what's owed to the company) and accounts payable (what the company owes). It can also get pretty complicated with subjects like retained earnings and accelerated depreciation. This at the higher levels of accounting and in the organization. Much of accounting though, is also concerned with basic bookkeeping. This is the process that records every ...

What is a ‘good credit card deal?’ You must have heard people say – ‘I got a good credit card deal’. So if you happen to be looking for a credit card at that moment, do you just go with what your friend has told you as a good credit card deal? Let’s check what one can term as a good credit card deal. A credit card deal is good if it works for you. So, if the credit card fits into your lifestyle in a way that rakes in maximum benefits for you, that is a good credit card deal. The most important thing to realize here is the word ‘your’ as in ‘your lifestyle’. So logically speaking there is nothing like a good credit card deal. What it is - is good credit card deal for ‘you’ i.e. the individual who is going to use that credit card. This is because the lifestyle and the needs differ from person to person (and that is precisely the reason why every credit card supplier offers so many different kinds of credit cards). It might be true in some cases (where the lifestyle of two individuals/fri...

Are you pondering on whether you should apply for a credit card? Well, the answer quite simply is – ‘Yes’ - you should apply for a credit card (this is true for most people). The credit cards seem to have transformed our lives. In fact, one can term credit cards as a revolution. Today, you find ads in TV/newspapers/website/shops and almost anywhere and everywhere; all asking you to apply for a credit card. When you look around, you see that most people have credit cards. In fact, most people have multiple credit cards. Everyone seems to apply for a credit card. So, why should you apply for a credit card? There are a lot of benefits associated with credit cards; however, the most important benefit is the convenience that they offer. For most people, this is the prime and the sole reason that instigates them to apply for a credit card. This wouldn’t have been the case a few years ago, when not many merchants accepted credit cards. However, today, most merchants do accept credit cards. S...

Homeowners who are considering re-financing their home may have a wealth of options available to them. However, these same homeowners may find themselves feeling overwhelmed by this wealth of options. This process doesn’t have to be so difficult though. Homeowners can greatly assist themselves in the process by taking a few simple steps. First the homeowner should determine his refinancing goals. Next the homeowner should consult with a re-financing expert and finally the homeowner should be aware that re-financing is not always the best solution. Determine Your Goals for Re-Financing The first step in any re-financing process should be for the homeowner to determine his goals and why he is considering re-financing. There are many different answers to this question and none of the answers are necessarily right or wrong. The most important thing is that the homeowner is making a decision which helps him achieve his financial goals. While there are no right or wrong answer to why re-fina...

Credit score could be a dire stuff to talk about, especially if you are a "cold cash patriot" for quite some time now. Why talk about credit score, if you can afford to purchase a real estate property using thick bundles of 100 dollar bills. It is just a waste of time, and you would not be interested in dealing with credit scores or its attributes. That is, if you have plenty of cold cash to spend. But what if time comes that you do not have even a single dime at all? Do you think a credit score is still a dire stuff to talk about? Think again: may be this is the right time that we talk about credit score not just by an "inch below the water" but by "at least six feet underground". Keep in mind that your credit score could be your "best of friend" or the "worst of your enemies". The higher your credit score is the higher chance you have to qualify for loans and credit cards with lower interest rates and easier terms of payments. The low...

A lot of people just look at low interest credit cards when they are looking to get a credit card for themselves. The credit card suppliers too advertise low interest credit cards more that any other kind of credit cards. However, should low interest credit cards be the only ones on your list when you are hunting for a credit card? Probably not. For some people, interest rate or the APR is probably the most important thing to look for when selecting a credit card. However, that doesn’t hold good for everyone. Low interest credit cards are good and should surely be on your list, but APR is not the only thing to look for. Let’s start with understanding what an APR (annual percentage rate) is and where its importance lies. APR is simply the interest rate that is used to calculate interest on the balance in your credit account with the credit card supplier. There is no interest charge if you make the full payment of your credit card bill (by the due date). However, in case of a partial pay...

Anyone who's worked in an office at some point or another has had to go to accounting. They're the people who pay and send out the bills that keep the business running. They do a lot more than that, though. Sometimes referred to as "bean counters" they also keep their eye on profits, costs and losses. Unless you're running your own business and acting as your own accountant, you'd have no way of knowing just how profitable - or not - your business is without some form of accounting. No matter what business you're in, even if all you do is balance a checkbook, that's still accounting. It's part of even a kid's life. Saving an allowance, spending it all at once - these are accounting principles. What are some other businesses where accounting is critical? Well, farmers need to follow careful accounting procedures. Many of them run their farms year to year by taking loans to plant the crops. If it's a good year, a profitable one, then they ...

Personal loans can offer individuals a way to have the funds for an array of uses. Some are necessary while others are for pure enjoyment. It is important that you consider the financial obligation that comes with personal loans. Too often, individuals access money quickly then struggle to repay it. If you don’t have a good budget in place you may find yourself unable to make the payments on your personal loan. An area where many individuals get into trouble with personal loans is debt consolidation. Within a year most people who use personal loans for this find themselves in even worse financial shape. This is because they have not altered their spending habits any. The result is they charge their credit cards up to the limit and now have those payments to make again as well as a personal loan payment. They may soon find they are drowning in the swimming pool of debt. Enrolling in a debt management plan may be a great alternative for you to help you meet your financial obligations. Mo...

A balance sheet is a quick picture of the financial condition of a business at a specific period in time. The activities of a business fall into two separate groups that are reported by an accountant. They are profit-making activities, which includes sales and expenses. This can also be referred to as operating activities. There are also financing and investing activities that include securing money from debt and equity sources of capital, returning capital to these sources, making distributions from profit to the owners, making investments in assets and eventually disposing of the assets. Profit making activities are reported in the income statement; financing and investing activities are found in the statement of cash flows. In other words, two different financial statements are prepared for the two different types of transactions. The statement of cash flows also reports the cash increase or decrease from profit during the year as opposed to the amount of profit that is reported in ...

Each individual has a risk tolerance that should not be ignored. Any good stock broker or financial planner knows this, and they should make the effort to help you determine what your risk tolerance is. Then, they should work with you to find investments that do not exceed your risk tolerance. Determining one’s risk tolerance involves several different things. First, you need to know how much money you have to invest, and what your investment and financial goals are. For instance, if you plan to retire in ten years, and you’ve not saved a single penny towards that end, you need to have a high risk tolerance – because you will need to do some aggressive – risky – investing in order to reach your financial goal. On the other side of the coin, if you are in your early twenties and you want to start investing for your retirement, your risk tolerance will be low. You can afford to watch your money grow slowly over time. Realize of course, that your need for a high risk tolerance or your nee...