Real Estate Health

We can buy a spread that has a lot of time value left at almost the same price as we can sell one with less time value left. The reason really opened my eyes and gave me new insight into options. Here is what I came to realize.

I started comparing how expensive options were in relation to the other strike prices in the same month and to the other months. I wanted to know based on the price per day which options were more expensive.

The first 1 or 2 option months, as everyone knows loses time value quickly. The at the money strike prices are very expensive compared to the out of the money strike prices. Since there is not that much time left, how much can they charge for an out of the money option? Not much.

The next several months, the opposite is true. Compared to each other, the strikes that are closer to the money are cheaper in terms of price per day than the options further out of the money. Let me explain it another way using the S&P market.

6 days left at the money option cost 12 points
6 days left out of the money option cost 2 points

70 days left at the money option cost 43 points
70 days left out of the money option cost 29 points

There is more than 10X the time left but the 70 day at the money option (43 points) is only less than 4X the price than the 6 day at the money option (12 points).

The 70 day out of the money option (29 points) is almost 15X the cost of the 6 day out of the money option (2 points) but only has 10X the time value. We will buy the cheaper per day options and sell the more expensive per day ones.

Sell 6 day at the money and sell 70 day out of the money. Buy 6 day out of the money and buy 70 day at the money. This will be done for a 4 point debit. We are now buying a spread that has 10X more time value than the one we are selling and are only paying 4 points for it.

When the 6 day options expire we can sell the next month to take in more premium, still keeping the 70 day option spread.

What goes up, must come down! We have all heard this before in reference to the laws of Gravity. We have laws in the commodity markets as well. What comes down, must go up! The greatest traders of our time like Warren Buffet know this. He is perhaps the greatest Stock trader ever. He had never traded commodities until a few years ago. He bought silver in the futures market. When the market went even lower he bought more.

The “smart money”, commercials will not be scared into selling when a market they have purchased drops even further. They know better than anyone that a commodity has real value and will always be worth something.

There is a famous book, “You Can’t Lose Trading Commodities”. The author buys commodities and then just waits for the market to go higher. He would purchase more as the market fell.

You need a big bankroll for this. Personally I know corn won’t go to $1.00 but what if it did? I want to minimize the risk in case I want to end the trade.

I started trading the Soy Complex this way several years ago. Not with options. Strictly futures. I bought what was similar to a crush spread. I increased the contracts as the market went against me until the spread rebounded a little. Since I increased the contracts I didn’t need the market to come back to where I started. It only had to rebound to the next level.

Black Jack players did this until Casinos caught on and put limits on bets. It is a known fact that futures traders make good gamblers and professional gamblers make good futures traders. I am against gambling but even gambling done with a system is not really gambling.

These card players would bet something like this: $5 lose, $10 lose, $20 lose, $40 lose, $80 win. The losses add up to $75. They would win $80, so the profit is $5. Not a lot, but they would do this all day. Black Jack is just under 50% probability for the player.

The problem is there is a slight chance that you could lose 40 times in a row. Now with Commodities we have a 50% probability and we won’t lose 50 times in a row because the market can’t go below zero.

Now before I go any further, I need to tell you that I am not recommending you double down on your trades. What you can find are markets that are near their lows where you can do a small scale trade. Spreads offer even better opportunities. They have a closer range (high to low).

By now you can see we only use this to go long a market since we can never be sure how much a market can go higher. First we need to find a market that is low already so we won’t have to wait that long and also so there will be less capital needed.

I prefer to trade this using options. There are many ways to do this. You could buy an option in a market like soybeans and choose how many cents the market will drop before you buy more. The problem is, an option is a wasting asset. The Theta (time decay) would cause you to lose money.

I use spreads so I am not paying for time decay. I will probably sell more Theta than I buy, so if the market does nothing I will make money just on time decay.]]>

Anyone can join up with these organizations that provide survey opportunities, and people with specialized business professional backgrounds such as IT, business management, law, accounting, etc. are ideal for this line of research. Average consumers who drink coffee, taste ice cream, buy power tools or electronic products, watch television or own a certain type of car can benefit from numerous surveys and focus groups. The possibilities for different types of surveys being offered are as endless as there are ways to create and market products to the public. The Internet is your best source of finding places to join for either one of these kinds of surveys, free of cost. Some businesses advertise to do all the footwork for you and will charge a fee for doing it. So it’s a good idea to learn as much as possible on these services in order to understand what you will receive if you decide to pay for the information.

The paid surveys are mostly given over the Internet. With this method you will receive e-mail most of the time with links to the survey being given. Because they are given over the Internet, it will take generally between 2 to 4 weeks for your honorarium check to arrive either through the mail or by an online payment solution like PayPal. Signing up with as many survey organizations as you can find can result in a stream of invitations. When filling out their online forms, give as much information about yourself and your background to maximize your chances. And if you are married, have your spouse sign up if they are interested. Sometimes if one doesn’t qualify for a survey, the other may. Plus when filling out the forms for signing up, if they ask if you can be contacted by phone for opportunities, say yes. This can help to expose you to higher paying focus groups.

A focus group survey is generally performed with a number of participants consisting from 5 to 50 people that meet in a designated place to give a more in-depth opinion on tasting food, driving SUV’s, drinking certain brands of water or the like. Sometimes they pay cash on the spot after you are done. One can sign up online with some of the focus groups that have websites. There are times that you may have to call the centers that offer focus groups to let them know you want to participate. (If you are in a rural area, a long drive may be what it takes to get you involved so be sure the money is worthwhile to you.) And remember that most of the time they call you at home, so if they do call take them up on the offer. You will enjoy it and get paid too!]]>

When we got married we had over $34,000 in outstanding debts, much of it on credit cards. After sitting down to have a good cry I got things into perspective. With a solid plan and the determination to stick with it, we could have those debts completely paid off within a couple of years.

The time it takes to clear those debts depends on your income and ability to trim other expenses in order to funnel as much money as possible toward those debts. It does NOT mean that you will have no life and no fun. You will have to make tough choices so your life should be different, but you can always make it fun.

There are several ways to play the credit card game and win. You can consolidate your balances into a lower interest loan, you could refinance your mortgage and roll those debts into your home loan, or you could play the game of transferring higher interest balances to low or zero interest credit cards. I chose the latter option, you will need to consider which option is best for you based on your own credit rating, your ability to secure low interest loans, your ability to repay and most importantly, your level of discipline.

If you have no discipline when it comes to money, then the process of transferring balances could be hard for you, as it requires you to pay attention to when your zero interest credit card offer expires and move that balance to the next card at the right time. If this is too time consuming for you, then you’ll definitely want to look into refinancing your mortgage or getting a consolidation loan to cover all your credit cards.

I love numbers, I love math, and playing with money like this is a game for me not a chore. So transferring balances to new credit cards every few months was fun. Watching those balances shrink as I paid ZERO interest the entire time was a thrill. I felt victorious over the credit card companies… and over my debt. As a result we paid off over $34,000 in debts in about 18 months. When you’re not paying any interest and you don’t stray from the plan it can work. It really can. You don’t have to love the game in order to win it. You just have to keep playing and don’t lose sight of the goal. Pay off the debt.]]>

Press Releases are vitally are a great way to make the community aware of your event and it will also be good for your group image. Send out your first press release announcing that you are having a fundraising event, why you are having your event, include your target amount and what the money is going to be used for. You can have your newsletter distributed online for free on many sites. You may be wondering what good will that do if my fundraiser is local, but you never know who may be interested in sponsoring and supporting your fundraising efforts!

Also send out a press release after your fundraising event has ended and thank all those that participated, announce what you did with the money raised and give a brief description of the outcome and success of your fundraising event. The viral marketing and word of mouth you will receive is priceless!

Ask your volunteers to distribute flyers at laundry mats, supermarkets, day care centers, small businesses and the like. To attract small businesses you can add their name to your flyer or pamphlet so they also receive some attention for sponsoring and/or participating in your fundraising event.

Utilize online methods to helps spread the word of your upcoming fundraising event. Post on community message boards, if you have a website post it on there as well. You can also create business cards on your own computer to distribute just for this occasion. The more people you tell, the more people will be involved in your fundraising event.]]>

Being a landlord can be an extremely profitable business. There is a lot of money to be made by renting apartments or a home out to renters. However, this enterprise can quickly sour if your renters are unable to pay the rent each month or worse destroy your property. If you are either a landlord or are considering purchasing a property, it is important that you read up on how to be a landlord, and understand your rights. Landlord guides can help.

There are plenty of landlord guides, many found online in ebook form. You can easily understand how to rent your property using legal tools such as background checks, credit checks and criminal checks. These tools are just one way to protect yourself against renters that can possibly ruin your investment. You will also learn how to write a strong contract, understand your tenants legal rights and how to watch out for major pit falls. So if you are a landlord, look into a landlord guide to protect your investment.

More information on real estate can be found in http://www.home-00.info/real-estate/]]>

However, more often than not, women find themselves in dire need of divorce help due to the fact that their male counterparts generally make more money and have more financial power than they do. This can be quite unfair, particularly when women usually gain custody of the children and naturally incur higher expenses.

After a divorce, a woman’s cost of living can increase dramatically, hence the reason why court-ordered alimony and child support payments most often go to women; even so, experts report that the average woman experiences a 45% decrease in her standard of living after going through a divorce. Meanwhile, the average man experiences a 15% improvement in his standard of living (Long Island University’s National Center for Women & Retirement Research).

Given these eye-opening statistics, it is no wonder that women are scouring the Internet for divorce information and divorce help. By learning how to get a divorce and by seeking divorce help, spouses who find themselves on the short end of the financial stick are finding ways to protect their assets and to live a reasonable life after divorce.]]>

If you have bad credit and believe you are out of luck when it comes to refinancing or purchasing a new home, you may want to reconsider your options.
Just because you have bad credit, it does not mean you will be unable to get a loan, nor does it mean that you are at the mercy of the mortgage companies. You are not.
The mortgage industry is a very diverse one with literally thousands of lenders across the country that just might offer a program that fits your needs.
These lenders that offer programs to consumers with poor credit are known as wholesale lenders.
Wholesale lenders work directly with mortgage brokers, whose job it is to assist you in finding a mortgage lender regardless of your credit score.
It is also the responsibility of the mortgage broker to counsel and educate you through the entire mortgage process.
If you decide that you do not want to do the shopping around yourself, than you should seriously consider finding a mortgage broker to help you. They have relationships with hundreds of wholesale lenders, and they will work to find a program that fits your needs.
Keep in mind, brokers are paid on commission, so it is just as important to them as it is to you to get to the closing table.
A good place to start for tracking down a mortgage broker is the internet. Contact a few brokers, allow for them to assess your situation, than work with the one that best fits your needs and budget.
Best of luck.

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By using a debt consolidation refinance plan, the equity you built up in your home can be used to pay off personal loan and credit card debts, among other things; however, you must not forget that borrowing for debt consolidation is actually adding another debt to the previous debt load.

On the other hand, taking a debt consolidation refinance loan will just mean using your own money from your built-up home equity to pay off your existing creditors.

How will refinance help to consolidate my debt?

Debt consolidation refinance will help you break free from debt you may have accumulated through poor money management or a chain of unfortunate events and bad financial habits.

It can help you get rid of the feeling that you are working only to pay your bills with no life at present. You can address the issue of increasing debt and regain control of your money, rather then being controlled by your debt.

It can set you back on the solid ground of fiscal responsibility that will help you sleep better at night and make life good once again.

How should I begin?

You can begin by doing a little research on programs and companies that can get you out of debt. Debt consolidation refinance companies may be loan companies, banks, or mortgage companies. The programs they offer vary from state to state and region to region.

Doing your research up-front and planning your best move is crucial to your debt reduction strategy. Check the interest rates and payoff amounts and decide what will work best for you. Also consider the monthly payments and closing cost.

Your next step is committing to a debt consolidation refinance plan. Slowly you can begin to reap the benefits.

If you carefully step into a debt consolidation refinance and plan every step, it will work for you. This can be your first step back into fiscal solvency.

Debt consolidation refinance is a simple way to regain your financial footing by refinancing your debt load.

By using a debt consolidation refinance plan, the equity you built up in your home can be used to pay off personal loan and credit card debts, among other things; however, you must not forget that borrowing for debt consolidation is actually adding another debt to the previous debt load.

On the other hand, taking a debt consolidation refinance loan will just mean using your own money from your built-up home equity to pay off your existing creditors.

How will refinance help to consolidate my debt?

Debt consolidation refinance will help you break free from debt you may have accumulated through poor money management or a chain of unfortunate events and bad financial habits.

It can help you get rid of the feeling that you are working only to pay your bills with no life at present. You can address the issue of increasing debt and regain control of your money, rather then being controlled by your debt.

It can set you back on the solid ground of fiscal responsibility that will help you sleep better at night and make life good once again.

How should I begin?

You can begin by doing a little research on programs and companies that can get you out of debt. Debt consolidation refinance companies may be loan companies, banks, or mortgage companies. The programs they offer vary from state to state and region to region.

Doing your research up-front and planning your best move is crucial to your debt reduction strategy. Check the interest rates and payoff amounts and decide what will work best for you. Also consider the monthly payments and closing cost.

Your next step is committing to a debt consolidation refinance plan. Slowly you can begin to reap the benefits.

If you carefully step into a debt consolidation refinance and plan every step, it will work for you. This can be your first step back into fiscal solvency.

Talbert Williams 2001-2006 All Rights Reserved]]>

There are three types of retirement plans that are available to you - Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA’s), Corporate Plans and Self-employed Retirement Plans. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. I will explain the differences in this article.

INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS (IRA’s)

There are two types of IRA’s - the Roth IRA and the traditional IRA. The Roth IRA is not tax deductible and the income is not taxable when it is withdrawn at retirement age. The traditional IRA is tax deductible and is also taxable when it is withdrawn at retirement age. In general the Roth IRA is a better option when you are young or when you will be in a higher tax bracket upon retirement. The traditional IRA is a better option if you will be in a higher tax bracket in the year of contribution.

IRA’s are available to small business owners as well as individuals. There are limitations on allowed deductible contributions based on your adjusted gross income (AGI) for employees and their spouses who are active participants in a retirement plan maintained by the employer.

The maximum contribution for an IRA in 2004 is $3,000. An individual who will be at least 50 years by the end of the tax year is allowed to make a “catch up” contribution of $500 for a total of $3,500. These amounts are projected to increase for the years 2005 through 2007 to $4,000 for those under 50. For those over 50 they can make an additional “catch up” contribution of $500 in 2004 for a total of $4,500. The catch up contribution increases to $1,000 in 2006. You must have compensation at least as much as your IRA contribution in order for it to be deductible.

CORPORATE RETIREMENT PLANS

There are three types of retirement plans available - SEP (simplified employee pension), SIMPLE Plans including Simple IRA and Simple 401k (savings incentive match plans for employees), and Qualified Plans including Profit Sharing Plans, Money Purchase Plans and Defined Benefit Plans.

SEP PLANS

The maximum contribution for SEP plans is the smaller of $41,000 for 2004 or 25% of the participant’s compensation. The maximum deduction is 25% of all participants’ compensation. The last date for contributing to the plan is the due date of the employer’s return including extensions and the plan can be set up any time up to the due date of the tax return.

SIMPLE IRA and SIMPLE 401(k) PLANS

The maximum salary reduction contribution for the employee is $9,000 for 2004. Employees over 50 can make an additional catch up contribution of $1,500 for 2004. The employer contribution and deduction is either dollar-for-dollar matching contributions, up to 3% of the employee’s compensation or fixed non-elective contributions of 2% of compensation. The last date for contribution to the plan for the employee’s portion is 30 days after the end of the month for which the contributions were made. The employer matching contribution is due no later than the due date of the employer’s return. The plan may be setup prior to October 1st of the calendar year except for new corporations which have an extended deadline.

QUALIFIED PLANS

There are Defined Contribution Plans – Money Purchase and Profit-Sharing Plans. There are also Defined Benefit Plans. The key to understanding the difference between these plans is “contribution” and “benefit.” Defined Contribution Plans are based on current compensation. Defined Benefit Plans are based on the amount needed to provide an annual benefit upon retirement. Defined benefit plans work best for someone who has the cash and wants to make large contributions to their retirement. This may also be beneficial to employees nearing retirement that need to catch up on their retirement contributions.

The maximum contribution to Money Purchase and Profit-Sharing Plans is the smaller of $41,000 for 2004 or 100% of participant’s compensation. The maximum deduction is 25% of all participants’ compensation. For Profit Sharing Plans, each year you can choose to contribute anywhere between 0% and 25% whereas Money Purchase Plans require a fixed amount for all of the years so Profit Sharing Plans have a real advantage here. The last date for contribution is the due date of the employer’s return and the plan needs to be set up by the end of the tax year.

For Defined Benefit Plans the maximum contribution is the amount needed to provide an annual benefit no larger than the smaller of $160,000 or 100% of the participant’s average compensation for his or her highest 3 consecutive calendar years. The maximum deduction is based on actuarial assumptions and computations. The last date to contribute is the due date of the employer’s return except for a plan which is subject to minimum funding requirements. In this case the payments are due quarterly. The plan needs to be set up by the end of the tax year.

The expense deduction for all of these plans is deducted directly from income. This is a real advantage for tax purposes vs. a self-employed individual. All employees must be treated equally and get the same benefit as the owners. There can be no preferential treatment to a select few. Therefore, it is important to understand what specific plan works best under your circumstances taking into consideration employees, profit and cash available along with your personal goals. S Corporations shareholders can not take deductions based on their pro rata share of pass-through income from the S Corporation. This can be a real disadvantage for the S Corporation small business.

All of these plans can be relatively easy to set up and some are not very difficult or costly to administrate. Many of them can be accomplished in house and won’t require hiring a pension plan company to create and administer the plan which can become too costly for a small business. T. Rowe Price Associates is one company of many that can provide the retirement plan which will be compliant with IRS Regulations, free of charge. All of their mutual funds are no load (which means you do not pay anything when you buy or sell it) and their funds have a good performance record. You can view their web site at www.troweprice.com/smallbusiness. It has information on individual retirement and workplace retirement plans along with historical performance on all of their funds.

SELF-EMPLOYED RETIREMENT PLANS

The rules are the same as CORPORATE RETIREMENT PLANS except for one important difference. For self employed and partnership entities who have a SEP or Qualified Plan, the deductible contribution for the owner only (not common law employees) is on line 30 of your 1040, not on your Schedule C or Partnership Tax Return. This can be a real disadvantage since it is after your deduction for Social Security and Medicare and your deduction to the plan.

This article was intended to provide general information about retirement plans. It does not contain all the rules and exceptions that may apply to your situation. If you have further questions regarding retirement options, I can be reached at dianne@dgoodmancpa.com or the website and number below.

Happy Retirement!

Coming Soon - What New (and existing) Business Owners Need to Know - Part 1

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Dianne Goodman, CPA
Comprehensive Small Business Solutions, PC
505 323-2307
1 866-531-3035 toll free
http://www.dgoodmancpa.com

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Retirement Planning for Small Businesses by Dianne Goodman, visit http://www.dgoodmancpa.com for more content like this.]]>

Basically, however, there are just two primary classifications of credit cards: the reward type of credit card and the non-reward type of credit card. But what do you think is best for you? Well, the definition of each type should give you a clue then if you’re still unsure on which type of credit card you prefer to own.

The reward type of credit allows you to earn reward points every time you use your credit card. The more money you spend using your reward type credit card, the more points you earn. You can redeem all sorts of prizes with the reward points you earn. The downside however to reward types of credit cards is the high interest rates they charge you.

On the other hand, there is what you’d call the non reward type of credit cards. Non reward type of credit cards does not, obviously, offer you the chance to earn bonus or reward points. But they do however charge the credit card owner very low interest rates. One particular type of non-reward credit card should be the focus of our article today and that’s the credit card that offers 0% intro rates.

Now, now, now, don’t get blinded with the fact that there are the words “zero percent” (0%) attached to the term credit card because all is not what it seems! I’m not saying that a 0% intro rate credit card is a curse – or a blessing – in disguise but only that you should know what you’re getting into first before making any decision that could affect your life.

A 0% intro rate credit card basically allows you to enjoy a zero percent interest rate for a certain period of time. The length of that 0% interest period varies and depends on the credit card company you’re planning to apply to. But after the period or promo expires, you’ll be back to the usual rates and those are the rates that you should start comparing.

If and when you do decide to go for a 0% intro rate credit card, just remember to ask what the rates would be after the promo period expires!]]>