Have you ever wondered if banks have a tendency to approve credit cards and loans for one sex more than the other? If you are married (or plan to be) I will share with you five vital keys every married person should know before signing any credit application.

VITAL KEY #1: According to the Federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act (FECOA) creditors cannot deny consumers access to credit because of their sex. However, on average (in surveys) it’s reported that women earn less money than men. Regardless of what the FECOA states, the relationship of credit to income is very strong.

In our society if you make less money you will get less credit, period. The sad fact is that women on there own have less access to credit. It’s for this reason (I believe) it is imperative that women learn and acquire more knowledge about credit than men. Knowledge is power; and in the world of credit that knowledge will often times prove to be priceless, especially for women.

VITAL KEY #2: If you are a married woman with JOINT credit (meaning all your credit accounts are jointly held with your husband) you have NO CREDIT yourself. Many women in America find this out the hard way every year when they get divorced and lose all their credit privileges since all their accounts were jointly held with their spouse. If you are a woman in this position you can greatly benefit by beginning to build your own credit in your own name starting today! The benefits are two fold. 1.) If your spouse has financial difficulties (for any reason) and is forced to file bankruptcy or their credit becomes derogatory, you and your spouse will have your credit in reserve to survive on.

2.) If you ever get divorced down the road (over 50% do and 76% in the state of California) you will NOT end up in financial hardship due to no credit and/or derogatory credit. Instead, you will have your credit to transition to and (believe me) this can be the difference between sailing off in the sunset or drowning in a storm.

VITAL KEY #3: If you are currently married (with some credit or no credit) to a spouse who has excellent credit, you can leverage their credit to build credit in your own name much faster than if you had to build it by yourself. Later, once you have established enough accounts on your own, you may choose to cancel accounts that were held jointly with your spouse.

VITAL KEY #4: If you are a single woman with excellent credit and are getting married you may want to think twice about adding your new lover to all your credit accounts. If he messes up or you end up in divorce down the road your credit will end up taking the beating (regardless of how many years you diligently spent building it up). For this reason, I strongly suggest married couples keep their credit separate.

Why?

In most cases spouses have far more to lose than to gain. Naturally, some credit will have to be joint no matter what you do. If you purchase a home (which may require both incomes to qualify) this will appear as a joint account on the credit report. However, the potential abuse with a home mortgage is almost non existent as opposed to Credit Cards.

VITAL KEY #5: Spouses have more to gain by each building strong individual credit reports rather than joining all accounts and building one joint report. For obvious reasons, banks and credit card companies love the “credit ignorance” of spouses who join all their credit accounts upon marriage.

Here’s why: If you take 500,000 couples with credit before they got married, those 500,000 couples actually represent one million credit accounts and liabilities for the banks and lenders. When those couples got married, those one million credit liabilities were instantly were cut in half from one million to only 500,000. For banks this is a very advantageous situation. For the couples getting married (if they have financial trouble) the deal is a little raw. If they have trouble, although they are two people, they are represented by only one credit report. The bank now has the right to go after two different people for one account (regardless of who was financially negligent).

For moment, let’s play out the same scenario with a couple which is financially savvy (note: they’re both on the same “team” but financially savvy). In this scenario, the couple gets married, but instead of joining account each builds their individual credit reports. Now this couple (team) has not one credit report representing them but two. Metaphorically, if the perfect storm (financially) is to rise, this is the difference between the couple being in the ocean with two ships instead of one. If the one ship starts to sink, the couple can always “jump ship” to the second.

While some may criticize this thinking it is no different than buying any kind of insurance. You buy insurance not because you plan on a problem. You buy insurance because you are thinking ahead. This type of thinking is no different. However, if you want to be ahead of the pack that you need to think ahead of the pack.

I cannot tell you how many times I have talked to loving married couples in financial trouble who only WISHED they would have known about these five vital keys before they got into financial trouble. Take them, study them, apply them to your life. As I heard one woman put it “In business and in life I’ve learned to expect the best but plan for the worst”. I thought her words were brilliant. However, I have found that when I expect the best… many times I tend to get it! Take these five vital keys. Study them. Apply them. Then pass them on to someone else who can benefit from them.

 About the Author

The “CREDIT SECRETS BIBLE” has been in print since 1994 and is published by Consumer Publishing Group. For more information on the “CREDIT SECRETS BIBLE” you may visit:

http://www.BestCreditLife.com

By Terry Price

 >>>>

 How can you get an extra hour from each day? This is a basic
challenge for all of us. I’ve discussed this challenge with
action and results-oriented people I know. Together, we’ve come
up with many practical ways to secure one more precious hour
from each day. (Remember that each of these tips is probably
adaptable to your particular situation.) Here they are. I hope
you’ll find them helpful an useful to you…

- Make up and follow a detailed, daily schedule.

- Get up earlier.

- Do less passive reading, TV watching and the like.

- Avoid allowing others to waste your time.

- If you commute to work, use the time to study or plan.          Read more >>>

 Source:  Life and Happiness Reports

More articles from Life and Happiness  reports

• Beating the blues with exercise
• Get an extra hour out of every day
• How to command, influence and control people
• How to conquer fear quickly, easily and permanently
• How to unlock your winning powers
• Plain talk about depression
• The insiders’ guide to getting along with your boss

Read more >>>

A shocking report in the Los Angeles Times showed that single Baby Boomer women are at the greatest risk of living in poverty. Why? This is due because of lower wages, more spending and only bringing in a single paycheck. Many of us Baby Boomer women have to dramatically downsize our lives as we grow older. Instead of basking in retirement, many of us cannot even mutter the word ‘retirement’ let alone think of it. Instead, many of us have to work three jobs to stay afloat. But why?

Boomers Spend, Baby, Spend
‘The American Dream’ portrays the idea that having more is equated with being more. The bigger the house, the bigger the car and the bigger the shoe collection is correlated with being higher on the socio-economic ladder. Susan Sterne of the Economic Analysis Association notes that, “The consumer spree arose because consumers between 35 and 44 spend about 20% more than average consumers. Those between 45 and 54 spend about 30% more. Put these two age groups together and you have 40% of US households. This same group is responsible for half of the nation’s spending”.

Breadwinning Women?
In the past, many ‘Baby Boomer’ women in their relationships had no direct control of their finances. I know that I fell victim to indirectly to this same feat. It was not that we did not care; we were just not educated in managing and budgeting our capitol. Many of us feel and act uncomfortable around the topic of money. We (and I find myself guilty of this) wish that there was a man to come to the rescue and save the day.

What Rainy Day?
Hmmmm. What to do? Do you buy a new pair of Cheetah print Sling-backs or put an extra $100 in savings? (My closet has the tell tale signs of my shoe addiction.) Instead of saving for retirement, Boomers have spent their lives ‘living in the now’. Unfortunately, many of us have not saved enough to support our lifestyle leaving us in debt.

A recent Los Angeles Times article reported that, “Ellen Tucker Emerson cut short her nursing career to help raise her children, but money was never a worry. “He bought me furs and jewelry. We stayed at the best hotels.” Once her marriage was over, her financial life looked very different. Instead of taking glamorous trips, she sweats bullets to pay her bills. At age 51, Ellen wonders how she will get by in retirement

Bounce Back and Bounce Better
Regardless of your age or situation, the time to take action is today! It’s NEVER too late. It has been gratifying to see that even if you have had a rocky financial road, you can make a change anytime you decide. Trust me, I know. I had $88,000 of corporate credit card debt as the result of losing my marriage and business the same year. In four years I paid off my debt and moved from a pool house to a lovely home.

As a life coach, it has been extremely rewarding to me to see women in their 60’s make successful career changes. You are never too old to take control of your life!

Tips:

? Get Real If your financial goals and needs are fuzzy, you will never be able to get ahead. Take a month and track all of your expenses and your income. If credit cards have been a problem, take a month and just use cash for your expenses. It is astonishing how cash will wake you up. When it’s gone it’s gone. I have found it helpful to put cash in separate envelopes. Groceries, gas, entertainment, medical, etc.

? Write Down Your Goals Seeing is believing. When you write down your goals, you are first acknowledging the situation, the first step to a turnaround. By putting your goals on paper, you are creating your plan of action and that you will achieve.

? Do Not Let Fear or Shame Stop You Many women feel ashamed of being in tight financial situations. Remember there is strength in numbers, so take refuge with a friend. Many times, money problems are more strenuous and difficult to talk about than relationship problems. Step up and get out, seek the help you need. Just speaking to another woman can help you get back to enjoying your life.

? Get Help Seeking financial assistance will help to alleviate the problem. By speaking to experts who are trained in this field of expertise, they will be able to give you hands on information and support to steer you in the right direction. As you reach out will learn there are other ‘Boomers’ just like you dealing with the same issues.

About the Author

Collect your Power Tools for Success when sign up for Eli’s newsletter through her website and check out her blog at http://www.funkytofabulous.blogspot.com/. Contact Eli at mailto: info@elidavidson.com or at (310) 842.8076.

Eli Davidson

Everybody loves a winner - and you can release the winner in you
by following this simple four-step plan which is based on
positive thinking:

1. THINK LIKE A WINNER, AND NOT A LOSER:  Emotions are like
muscles, the ones you use most grow the strongest. If you always
look at the negative side of things, you’ll become a downbeat,
pessimistic person.

Even slightly negative thoughts have a greater impact on you and
last longer than powerful positive thoughts.              

Negative thinking doesn’t do you any good, it just holds you
back from accomplishing the things you want to do. When a
negative thought creeps into your mind, replace it by reminding
yourself of your strengths and talents.
2. START LIVING TODAY:  What’s done is done. Everyone has gotten
a raw deal at one time or another. Don’t be so hung up on what
may have happened to you in the past that you lose sight of your
future. Get on with your life… starting now.
3. DON’T FEEL GUILTY:  Fretting over past failures only wastes
energy that you could be channeling in other directions.
Instead, focus on what you have accomplished, even if it was
something small.

Allow yourself to be human, be realistic in your expectations -
most people put a greater expectation on themselves than they
should.
4. TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR EMOTIONS:  When you are faced with a
difficult situation, keep your emotions in check and remember
you can’t control every person and situation, but you can
control how you feel about them.

For example, you may be forced to work closely with someone you
don’t like or be asked to do a job you dislike. If you let your
feelings get in the way, it will only hurt you because the job
won’t get done properly.

Instead, find a positive trait in the other person or
concentrate on a positive outcome to the difficult situation.
Think about any rewards you may get for finishing the work early
or doing an exceptional job. That way you will turn a negative
emotion into a positive one that will help you to reach your
goal.

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OXYGEN:  Fills the body and beats fatigue. If you’re feeling
tired, just take a few deep breaths. Revitalize your mind by
finding a quiet place and breathing deeply for ten minutes.

QUICK-FIX FOODS:  These should  not include candy. When you’re
feeling low, reach for fruit, pasta or whole-grain muffins.
Don’t snack on sugar filled sweets if you want to pep up. After
the initial sugar high, you will just sink lower than ever.

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Taxation law is a complex and in-depth area of concern for the small business owner.  With potential pecuniary and criminal consequences, it is of paramount importance to ensure as a business owner, you are familiar with the tax consequences in your jurisdictions, and the ways in which you can minimise your liability.  Whilst one of the most legally important things to understand as a small business owner, taxation law also provides an excellent opportunity for saving money and increasing profitability within a small business environment.  In this article, we will look at some of the main and most common tax implications of running a small business, and some of the most effective ways of ensuring you pay less tax through your small business operation.  

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