Before you make a budget, write down everything you spend money on. The key to building an effective budget is knowing exactly how much money your family earns every month. Everything you spend money on should be accounted for. Make sure your outcome never exceeds your income.

Putting together a comprehensive spending list is important to your budgeting process. Make sure your expense list includes both regular and sporadic payments. You need to include the costs of maintaining and insuring your car on your list, even if you do not pay for these on a monthly basis. Don’t forget to include anything you spent for entertainment reasons, such as food, storage space, rentals, or other irregular expenses. Remember to make allowances for even the least formal of your spending, like the babysitter down the block or the coffee you pick up on the way to work. By carefully detailing all your expenses, you will be able to put together the proper budget for your family.

Once you have all the information you need about the money coming in and going out, you are ready to start planning a budget. Start out by looking over your expenditures and trying to identify which items can be eliminated or reduced. Many people spend a lot of money at coffee shops; instead of falling into this trap, make your coffee at home. You can always find places to make cuts to your spending.

If you have high utility bills, you should consider getting your home systems fixed or upgraded. In most homes, there are things that will cause your bills to be higher than they should be. For those appliances using water, such as washing machines and dishwashers, try to wait until you have a full load before running them.

Use energy smart products. Since these appliances will use a lot less energy, you will save money on your energy bills. Consider unplugging appliances that are not currently in use, especially electronics that may constantly emit low level lighting and optics. You can save both money and energy by doing this.

You can upgrade the efficiency of your home by having a new roof put on and adding insulation to crawl spaces and attics. Taking these steps will help you reduce the amount of money that you spend heating and cooling your house, and you may also be able to take advantage of tax incentives.

This article will help you strike a balance between the money you bring in and the money you spend. This will help you save money. Try substituting old appliances with more energy efficient products to save tons of money on electric bills and water bills. This will give you increased control over your finances.

The Perfect Portfolio for 10,000 or 10,000,000 Dollars

Click here to watch Part 2

Is there such a thing as a perfect portfolio? Maybe or maybe not, but there are certain times, and this is one those times, that it is practically a no brainer in how to make money in the market. That is why we call this approach “The Perfect Portfolio”.

It doesn’t matter if you have $10,000 or $10,000,000. It’s all percentages and this approach has averaged 6% a month over the last 42 months in some of the toughest economic time on record.

Right about now you might be saying to yourself, “Man this has got to be super risky and they must be swinging for the fences or using some highly speculative option plays, or worse yet, futures.” It is none of these. In fact, the approach downright conservative and in some cases only makes 1 trade a year. Now I understand that this is not going to make your broker happy, but whose money is it anyway?!

Okay, let’s get started. This is a two part video and I promise I will show you how these gains were generated and how you can easily replicate this approach. No one can guarantee 6 percent per month returns, but what I can guarantee is that this approach is proactive. There are very few trades and it works!

Click here to watch Part 2

You are going to be shocked and quite frankly disbelieving that anything this simple can work. Then you’ll say to yourself, “Hey, I can do that!”

The downturn in the economy is worrying many investors. Cuts to the workforce are widening. The stock market is suffering as several reliable companies that have been around for centuries are now crumbling. This on-going phenomenon has levelled the playing field for investments. Commodities that were not considered viable stock in the past are slowly gaining attention. People are now starting to look at investing in art during a recession.

Tips on Investing in Art

Colleene Skinner is an appraiser on PBS’s Antiques Roadshow, a popular TV program. She looks at more than 10,000 paintings a year, and provides a few tips to those who are considering investing in art during a recession:

• Educate yourself – discover not only what you like but also art as a whole. Take a course in art history – get to know the famous painters and the various art styles. The more knowledge you have, the better your decisions will be regarding what is popular and what will hold its resale value.
• Watch for local talent – many skillful artists are studying with fine teachers and producing good work but have not yet made a name for themselves. Regional markets are doing well with paintings.
• Buy the best you can afford – look for the highest quality and stay away from art work that looks worn and tired. No matter how good the deal is on a piece, pass it up if its in bad condition.

Like other investments, keep in mind when investing in a piece of art, that time is a critical factor. You have to safe-keep it for a certain amount of time in order for its market value to escalate.

Recession is Affecting the Art World

The international financial crisis has undoubtedly affected the field of art. For instance, the annual art fair in Cologne had fewer booths of artists exhibiting their work in 2009. Nevertheless, gallery owner Franz von Salis had a still-life by Max Ernst on sale for 1.3 million euros (US $1.7 million) and said he hopes to find a buyer, in spite of the crisis in the economy. He optimistically states, “I think the art market has a good chance because it’s the first time in the history of artwork that it’s being thought of as a real investment, like real estate.”

Yet, there is a sense of uncertainty when it comes to the sale of paintings this year. Everybody is holding their breath.

Opportunities under Dire Circumstances

Popular pieces of art that have been off the market for years have become available again during this economic downturn. It’s like a redistribution of fine art. The shortage of cash in many businesses has caused owners to have to liquidate possessions in order to keep their doors open.

For those willing to do a little detective work, they may find that hard times have squeezed out some valuable art pieces at affordable prices. For example, Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm involved in the Enron scandal, transformed part of their Chicago offices into an art gallery in 2002, and sold more than 2,000 art pieces in five days. In 2006, New York broker Refco Inc., which had filed for bankruptcy protection the previous year, sold 321 photographs for $9.7 million at Christie’s auction house in three days.

Stocks or Art?

Art as an investment has withstood the tumultuous economic situation so far. It has been competing with, and sometimes beating, the stock market returns. Stock holdings are being liquidated and used to fight inflation, but somehow art investment has been holding steady. Beautiful Asset Advisors, a firm which specializes in art investments during times of recession, says the level of art buying is on par with the art frenzy of the mid 80′s.

Investing in art during a recession should be approached cautiously, without taking anything for granted. You could buy an extremely beautiful art piece to add to your collection, but if it does not appeal to future buyers, it will be a fruitless investment. That is the reason collectors stress the importance of purchasing art for aesthetic purposes first and value second.

Art Historian, Donovan Gauvreau lectures about art therapy with a focus on creativity development. He believes we can learn from the great masters in art to communicate ideas and feelings through painting. He provides content for AaronArtPrints.org to educate and inspire people to take a glimpse into an artist’s life to better understand the meaning behind their work.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donovan_Gauvreau

Your investments, of course! For those investors seeking to place their bets on the growth on “green” companies, you will soon have more options. Markit last week announced that it will offer a family of investment tracking indices for the performance of companies with stringent carbon emissions management strategies. NASDAQ also announced a new “green” index to track leaders in sustainability reporting. So, whatever your environmental focus, there is likely to be a green investment index to suit your needs.

The creation of these green indices is not that new. Dow Jones and HSBC also offer green indices and S&P launched a carbon efficiency index. Returns on companies in the energy management sector have typically outperformed the global equities market in recent years. Noone can guarantee that will continue but The NASDAQ Global Sustainability 50 Index will include companies that voluntarily report information for their organizations such as carbon footprint, energy and water consumption, waste and community investment.

When researching a company for possible investment in the category, you should also check their website for the sustainability report. A good report will not only show a large number of environmental metrics but will tell you what the future goals are for items like reducing the carbon footprint, using less energy, using less raw materials, etc.

It is an interesting green world and definitely a complex one. For the company it’s a balance. There are so many environmental factors to consider because what’s at the forefront for one investor may not be top of the list for all.
May your green investments be as good to you as they make you feel when you choose to invest in them.

Know the Qualifications:

First know the qualifications; you must be an Accredited Investor according to SEC rule 501, which states to qualify you must have a net worth of $1,000,000 or have earned at least $200,000 a year in the last two consecutive years with a reasonable expectation of doing the same in the current year. Or have a joint income of $300,000 for the same period also qualifies when there is a reasonable expectation this income level will continue.

Do Your Homework:

Next do your homework, know the companies and management teams and their relationships in order to judge their opportunity for success. Ask the following questions:

1. What company(s) is/are involved with making this investment a success?
2. What are the relationships of these companies?
3. How many successful wells have and/or are you involved in producing?
4. Where is the actual well being drilled?
5. What is the success rate of this area?
6. How many years of experience does your management team have?

Location, location, location:

Location, location, location is a retailers mantra, and it is the same for this type of investment. The location of the Well can tell you a lot about its potential success. Of course this is part of your homework, find what areas are producing and how much production the Wells in an area are producing. You can and should verify any information you get from a company with a reputable source. Sources include U.S. Government agencies like the Rail road commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and the Geological permitting agencies. Much of this information is online. Start by looking for the different Oil and Gas fields in your area and then use field names you find to narrow your search. For instance using the Barnett Shale field name I narrowed the search down to the overall production of the area and the specific companies owning/operating wells in this field. According to an article in the Barnett Shale Blog, this field is one of the largest producing fields in the U.S. now, producing 6% of the total U.S. production. Then using Wikipedia and searching using the Barnett Shale field name I found a few companies that are having good success here.

Know the Risks and Benefits:

Know the risks and benefits. Most consider the opportunity for a long term periodic income from royalty income the largest benefit. The term expected is from 50 to 100 years (not bad) with no decisions by management to not pay for a period (income is based on production/flow). There are many more tax benefits including an 85% taxation rate after all expenses are deducted. After receiving all the information about a prospective deal you should consult a CPA that specializes in handling this type of investment.

As far as risks, the company background and location will give you clues as to the potential success rate of a well producing. Risks are that the well will not produce enough to cover costs – your homework will take care of the biggest risk here. If the well is drilled in an unproven location (field) and/or using unproven techniques this can cause a low or no production well. No or low production means not enough income to cover expenses. As mentioned earlier do not accept company claims, make sure you verify all information with a third party with no stack in the deal.

This information is a guideline and is not meant to be a comprehensive guide to Oil and Gas Well investing. Always consult with your CPA and you should not allow your judgment to be replaced by any other information or recommendations.

More information about drilling wells in layman terms you can visit http://www.gulftexoperating.com/layman.php

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Patrick_A_Kennedy

Covered Calls Are a Great Way to Earn Additional Income From Your Stock Portfolio
By Travis W

The rumors are true about covered calls. You can use them to make double-digit returns from the stock market and earn a steady monthly income from your stock portfolio. You have to first learn about stock options before you are able to use this strategy. The learning curve for stock options is usually what prevents most people from ever learning about covered call options.

You also have to become familiar with selling stock options. Selling is called “writing” in the world of stock options. So when you hear someone talk about writing call options they are just referring to someone selling covered calls.

Covered Call Analogy

The process that an option seller goes through is similar to how a car dealer leases cars. Suppose a dealer leases a car to someone. The way these leases work is that the buyer pays $X a month for a set period of time and at the end of that time period they have the “option” or the “right” to buy the car at the agreed upon price.

If they choose not to buy the car and want to turn it back in, they lose out on all the money they paid the dealer. However, if they choose to buy the car, they pay the agreed upon price and the dealer has to deliver the car to them. The dealer now has one less car on his lot, but he/she is not worried because they get to keep the lease money that was paid while the buyer drove the car for the first few years.

So How Does Selling Covered Calls Work?

You’re selling stock options, more specifically a call option. This type of option gives the buyer the right to buy stock from you. You have to already own the stock though. So if you own 100 shares of company XYZ, you would sell 1 call option to someone giving them the “right” to purchase the stock from you. In exchange for selling these rights, the buyer is going to pay you money. This money is yours to keep no matter what happens in the future.

You can repeat this strategy every month and earn a nice monthly income. Over the span of a year it can amount to a double-digit return on your investment.

If the buyer decides not to buy the stock from you then you keep your stock and the money you were paid for selling the option. Otherwise, you would have to deliver them the shares of stock.

How to Profit From Higher Gas Prices
By James Leitz

Knowledge is power, and can translate to profits as well. If you’re tired of whining about prices at the gas pump, you should know that, yes, you can fight back. In fact, you can profit from rising gas and oil prices even if you are a small investor.

Oil and unleaded gas trade on commodities exchanges. That’s how their price is ultimately determined. Trading futures contracts is not a game for the novice, but there are other ways to invest in oil and gas. It’s so easy even a cave dweller can do it.

Here’s how to invest and profit when oil and gas get pricey. Call this your basic investor guide to investing for self-defense. I’ll give you 3 investment options. They get progressively simpler.

1. Buy stock in an oil company. Investing in stocks is real easy to do once you open an account with a discount broker. You can buy 10 shares or 10 thousand for a commission of $10.

This is the most difficult of your three basic investment options, because you must decide which stock(s) to buy.

2. Buy shares in an oil or oil & gas ETF (exchange traded fund). Just like above, you do this in your brokerage account. An ETF trades like any other stock. You can invest as little as a few hundred bucks if you like.

Investing in stocks with an ETF is an example of how to invest the easy way. The big advantage here is that you don’t need to pick your own stocks. When you own an oil ETF, you are automatically invested in a fund that holds a list of the major oil stocks. Hence, you are instantly diversified in oil company stocks.

3. Buy a NATURAL RESOURCES FUND. Investing in oil or oil & gas can be so easy, you don’t even need a brokerage account. These mutual funds specialize by holding stocks in the natural resources or energy sector. Some of them load up on oil stocks. When oil prices send the price of gas up, oil stocks go along for the ride.

By owning shares in the right natural resources fund you own a very small part of a large portfolio of oil stocks. Professional money managers select the stocks. You can invest a lump sum of money, and/or invest as little as $100 a month. If you’re lucky, your 401k plan might have a natural resources fund as an investment option.

So, that’s your basic investor guide to how to invest in oil & gas the easy way. Once you learn how to invest, you’d be surprised at the opportunity that’s out there.

As a final note, investing is not rocket science. But then again, it’s not so easy a cave man can do it either … unless he wants to lose his shirt.

A retired financial planner, James Leitz has an MBA (finance) and 35 years of investing experience. For 20 years he advised individual investors, working directly with them helping them to reach their financial goals.

Jim is the author of a complete investor guide, Invest Informed, designed for average investors or would-be investors of all levels of financial background and experience. To learn more about investments and investing and his new financial guide go to http://www.investinformed.com

To see if you qualify for $250 worth of free gas, click here.

by Cashmere Lashkari

As parents we love our children. We give them the best of everything that we can. Even at the risk of spoiling them silly. There is a desire to give the child the best that you can afford. Be it clothes, toys or education. Yet not many parents plan wisely for the financial future of their child.

You are alive and well today, and able to earn money regularly to meet the needs of your children. God forbid if something was to happen to you, what would be the state of your children? Not only will they be devastated that their parent is no more, but they would suffer severe financial hardships as well.

There is no guarantee of life. All of us feel immune to diseases for at least a couple of decades more in our thirties. What we don’t cater for is the unexpected. A healthy 30 year old can be dead in a car accident on the way to work. Don’t think it will happen to you? Why take a chance?

Secure your Child’s Future today!

Here’s a list of things that you can do. Do them all or pick a combination of what works best for you.

Get Life Insurance

While most of us have some sort of group policy at work, it is not enough for the child. It will help in the immediate transition though. So get a separate life insurance policy for your self. This should be payable as a monthly income to the family to help on a regular basis. There are options of paying the premium on a quarterly, annual or monthly basis.

Get Education Policies

Your child is going to need money at various stages in his or her education. At high school, graduation, and post graduation levels. Have separate policies that mature in the specific time frame that you will need the cash. These should be lump sum payments available for admissions and donations. The premiums can be paid monthly, quarterly or annually.

Get Gold

Buying gold was considered the wisest investment in the olden days. Even today it is a sound investment. While investing in physical gold may not be the greatest idea, considering how easily it can be robbed, get into gold funds. These are traded like regular mutual funds on the stock market. A great investment opportunity. Invest as much as you like when you have extra funds around.

Get Mutual Funds

The equity market always gives great returns in the long run. There are crashes when the market suffers, but if you invest in a SIP or Systematic Investment Policy, you will be immune to the daily ups and downs of the stock market. To safe guard your investments even more, invest in mutual funds that have performed well over the last five years and tend to invest in blue chip companies. Invest a fixed amount every month.

Get a PPF

A Public Provident Fund in the name of the child is a great idea to save money. You need to invest a bare minimum on a yearly basis, and when you have extra money you can park it there. The temptation to spend must be avoided at all costs. Even if it is something luxurious for the child. Earmark it as education money. Invest a fixed amount every year.

These are a few basic steps that you can take to ensure that your child always has a financially secure future.

To have your blog posts written by an experienced blogger contact me at cashlash@yahoo.com
Visit my personal blog at http://www.cashmerelashkari.com

Bullion, coins, jewelery, stocks, mines, futures, funds, private equity?

It’s confusing out there in the world of investing. With the world in crisis, all we really know is that what we believe today may well be different tomorrow. Your retirement fund is probably looking dismal, if you’re lucky your stock portfolio is only down about 40% from this time last year and your bank savings are worrying as they’re only guaranteed to a minimal amount.

So, where to invest and what to do with what remains of your savings?

The answer to this coming from many investors and analysts alike is GOLD. In these times of crisis and uncertainty, gold remains strong. It may not have doubled and tripled since the crisis knocked the world sideways, but it has remained strong and remains a good reliable safeguard of our wealth.

But unfortunately it isn’t that easy. Where to jump in? Investing in the futures market will maximize returns if the market go your way. It also leverages your position and makes the most of your investment capital controlling a greater amount of gold. However, many would stress the point that you are gambling to an extreme and should the market turn against you, then your investment could be wiped out. Gold may be our investment of choice but it has displayed some erratic fluctuations over the last few months. So, futures are possibly for the brave, well informed or foolhardy?

Something safer then?

Well coins are pretty and will look good as a collection. They will also increase in value based upon their rarity as well as the gold content, but you pay over the market price for the fact it’s a coin, if you have a larger amount you’re looking to invest it will be harder to accumulate and it’s a very specialized field.

Gold stocks have performed well but with exposure to the stock market, a bad day on the Dow could dash stock prices as investors turn and stampede.

Private Equity or investing in smaller gold mining companies who have yet to list or are looking to be bought out by one of their bigger brothers is extremely interesting with possibilities of huge rewards, but it’s a confusing area without professional guidance.

The answer – I’ve been looking at various reports available to investors and believe you should spend some time at the website for the World Gold Council and take advantage of the free report available at report 65 which I’ve found invaluable when on the search for gold investing knowledge.

Gold does look set to continue rising. Knowledge is power so get hold of all the information you can.

Good investing.

1) Advertising:

Invest in the companies where you have real interest in the advertising area is a good investment strategy. It might sound a bit different but we can expect great results. Marketing is the one of the better analytical tools out there to decide how efficient a company is. Big promotion can only be shaped where the management team identifies what they exactly are doing. Therefore if you get a companionship where you really love the promotion they are suitable for investing.

2) Using Long-Standing Investment Strategies:

Prefer long run investing strategies that will help guard the investment capital from losses and risks. Enduring strategies comprise dividend investing, with the intention that one can bring in compounded interest which actually sums up in the long run. Investment strategies like these seek to decrease the losses in capital, and are generally more conventional than temporary investing strategies and practices. One might receive a little a smaller amount of a come back with this conservative investing, however the advantage is that the risks are very much lower.

3) Investing Conservatively So That One Does Not Risk All His Capital:

If one doesn’t wish to retire wealthy, (everyone does), the investment strategy is to put in a major portion of his investment assortment conventionally to guard the principal because these funds would be needed for one’s retirement and does not wish to risk on forceful investing that could propose the possibility of huge returns but in addition has a possibility of absolute and complete losses. It is acceptable to risk a diminutive part of investment interest if one must, but by no means risk the chief capital. That is, one can risk a minor amount of capital but should not risk his major capital at any cost which might turn to disaster.

4) Cost Averaging: One of the techniques.

This would be taking the judgments on getting in or coming out of the particular industries or stocks on energetic basis and in isolation over the long term that the investor would be set to profit. Normally investing and cost averaging in the mutual funds now on a unremitting base can be made through some ways like Systemized Investment Plan or Methodical relocate Plan. This is usually a structure where one investor consigns to put in a provided proposal of mutual fund for some period ranging from around six months to ten years which is very long. This could be prepared either by cheques which are post dated or by Direct Debiting services from accounts of the investors where those accounts are debited automatically for the before said amount period to period. So the advantages of this kind of investment strategy are many. The main significant benefit is that these investments are spread over diverse market levels and conditions of market index so that the investors do not feel any danger of market timing. Second important thing, in the long run a superior corpus of investment will get built. This is essentially an investment model, conversely here investor firstly invests a little amount in the debt oriented method of mutual fund in which a distinct sum gets transferred to a selected equity fund monthly.

5) Always do remember that the financial markets always go in a cyclic fashion.

Maintaining ones viewpoint is very necessary to evading silly and reactive moves. To finish “extreme” anything works only in sports – not in investing. Multiplicity and calculated action is only the way to go ahead. Never stop investing. Always maintain a habitual investing strategy.

So use the above investing strategies for making effective investments and in turn getting good returns.