Oct
24
Luxury is something everyone deserves from time to time. Such an indulgence can make a vacation a truly rejuvenating experience. One of the best ways to get the luxury travel of the rich and famous to fit into your budget can be yours through yacht charter companies. These companies specialize in creating custom sailing vacations that redefine travel.
Planning Your Luxury Trip
With your budget in mind, it is easy to plan a chartered yacht vacation. Companies often have a fleet of sailing vessels that can accommodate parties of various sizes. You may want to make it a more intimate trip with only close family. There are charters that can be rented for as few as two people. These include either a sailboat or motorboat and can come with or without a crew and captain to sail the ship for you. If you choose not to hire a crew, you will have to show that you are knowledgeable of sailing and can handle the ship competently.
The next part of planning is to determine your starting and ending ports. This could be a place close to home and sail in one area or start and finish at two different ports. Generally, starting and stopping in the same port will save you money and is usually more convenient.
You can also fly to a destination far from home and then sail another exotic sea. There are luxury yacht charter companies that cruise the Caribbean and Mediterranean seas or around Alaska, the Panama Canal, or anyplace you can imagine.
Determining the type of cruise is another aspect of planning a chartered yachting trip. You can have as little or many crew members as the ship will hold. A captain takes all the worries out of navigating and onboard housekeeping services make it a real vacation that rivals the finest hotel services. You can also choose to have a chef and service crew as part of your vacation package.
If you like the idea of knowing what it is really like to sail, but don’t want to risk safety, you can charter a sailing cruise that puts you in the role of deck hand. A competent crew will direct you as to your “chores” for keeping the ship in top shape and on course.
Destinations & Ports of important Charter Companies
One of the greatest benefits of choosing a chartered cruise as a vacation is the choice. You will most likely have a rough itinerary and that can be affected by weather. However, you are flexible in deciding how long you want to stay in a particular port and if you want to add or subtract stops along the way.
Your yacht is your hotel that travels with you. There is only one flight and one hotel to book! Then you take all of your luggage and unpack it just once to enjoy several days of new destinations.
If you have never experienced cruising before, a chartered experience is a great way to get your feet wet. It is different from cruise lines with thousands of guests because the people on your ship will be your friends and family. The personal touches of a chartered trip will help you develop your love for the sea with all the best benefits of commercial cruises.
Sep
11
Freelancing as a Career
Filed Under Investing 101 | Leave a Comment
Home bound workers can either consider telecommuting or freelancing. While telecommuting may keep you out of your home for some hours a week, online freelancing is a good way to make money if you are forced to stay at home. For example, homemakers, part-time students, retired folk, or others who wish to supplement their income from jobs or businesses can all consider freelancing.
Freelance Skill Sets
You can start earning as a freelancer as long as you have skills that someone is willing to pay for. For example, writers, web designers, photographers, and programmers can earn a substantial income by creating articles, websites, portfolios and software from home. The Internet is a hot and viable source of income for freelancers from around the world. Your target customers can be webmasters, online business owners, blog owners etc. For example, blogs and wikis are hot sources of income for freelance writers nowadays, and there’s no reason why you can’t tap into this market if you possess good writing skills.
Freelance Income
On the flip, your income may fluctuate from one month to another. As with all businesses, freelancing does not guarantee a stable paycheck at the end of the month. So keep a small kitty reserve for dry days or have another source of income for which you can work part-time. Be prepared to accept boring, low-level work initially just to keep the cash flow strong. Once you get a good reputation for providing original, high-quality work at reasonable price, then clients will flock to you.
Freelance Advantages
Probably the best thing about freelancing is that you get to work at your pace, in your own hours, from home, and be your own boss. That means, your shop is open 24×7. And as long as you provide good quality work and meet deadlines, your clients will remain happy with you.
In order to be visible, you also need to be seen and heard in the right places, like forums, blogs, online groups, etc. Spend time everyday to visit such sites because they are invaluable repository of freelance gigs and email addresses of prospects. Alternatively you can sign up with freelance sites like Elance.com, GetAFreelancer.com and Scriptlance.com where you can start bidding on projects and snag a few as early as today!
To conclude, a freelance business is one of the best ways to earn money from home and to work for your own self. If you’ve got a fair amount of time on your hands, maybe you too should consider freelancing as your full-time career alternative or supplementary income source.
(Hint: While you can find plenty of lucrative freelance assignments on Elance, the other sites mentioned above generally tend to feature lesser-paid projects. However, if you’re just starting out as a freelancer, the competition on Elance can prove to be really tough. So you might want to first try GAF and Scriptlance to build up your portfolio, and then go for Elance.)
About The Author
Lewis Low is the founding editor of OnlineBizPromo.com. For more Practical Online Business Ideas and Work-From-Home Opportunities, visit his Work-At-Home directory at http://www.OnlineBizPromo.com
Sep
11
Gold Fluctuates - Why ?
Filed Under Investing 101 | Leave a Comment
Annual Gold Prices for the past 5 years show that in 2005 the gold price had the biggest annual dollar increase, with an increase of over $80. A chart of annual gold prices over the last 30 years looks like a rollercoaster.
Exploration and development expenditures include all of the costs associated with manpower and activities such as geologists, contractors, engineering, drilling equipment, metallurgical testing and economic feasibility studies.
Gold mining requires the use of specialized facilities and technology. Gold prices can fluctuate widely and are affected by numerous factors beyond the Company’s control. Gold is measured in Troy ounces, which weigh 10 percent more than the ounces used for potatoes and feathers. Gold is often found in rock that contains sulfides, which when exposed to oxygen, water, and specialized bacteria produce highly acidic water.
Gold’s attractive appearance and malleability mean that it can be enjoyed as jewelry or other ornamentation and yet is easily convertible into coin or bullion. Where the gold price is presented in currencies other than the US dollar, it is converted into the local currency unit using the foreign exchange rate closing price on the same day.
Gold prices have surged past the $500-an-ounce mark, and more gains are predicted as investors look to protect themselves against inflation fears. Gold prices historically rise when faith in paper currencies erodes, as investors seek the intrinsic value of gold to protect themselves from inflation. Gold has continued to show strength in Asian and European trading.
Like all prices, the gold price reflects not only the inherent value of gold, but also the relative strength of the currency in which it is quoted. Costs are allocated to a stockpile based on relative values of material stockpiled and processed using current mining costs incurred up to the point of stockpiling the ore, including applicable overhead, depreciation, depletion and amortization relating to mining operations, and removed at each stockpile’s average cost per recoverable unit. While gold is a more stable store of value than paper currencies, it still remains a market in which governments have a heavy presence. Thus, taking into account the ever-shrinking value of the dollar, the real price of gold has hardly changed in a century.
Since 1982, average annual gold prices have stayed between $300 and $450 per ounce. Record upside price potential remains firmly in the hands of investors, with average annual gold prices for 2007 on track to beat the 1981 record of $614.
About The Author:
Dave Jackson writes about the precious metal gold at his site http://www.lxmart.com/. Years spent speculating, Jackson claims that now might be the prime moment for gold investment. He holdings include gold and stocks.
Aug
24
Earn USD 200 per day working from your own home / Be your own boss
Filed Under Investing 101 | Leave a Comment
It’s tempting, the dream of many - to be able to earn a comfortable salary while working from home, on your own terms, on your own hours, being your own boss - able to take time out to do the things you want.
Mark Warren’s Ultimate Wealth Package promises just that, offering you a wealth of strategies and ideas on how to make USD 200 per day - many people make more - and many people have been able to use these methods and ideas to earn up to USD 100 k per year, enough for a comfortable life with your own mansion, car, and best of all, your own choice of working hours.
Get your copy of the Ultimate Wealth Package today.
Aug
12
Over the last few weeks, Asian stock markets have taken a number of hits, which have sent stocks tumbling at least 5%. Sub prime lending - high risk mortgages - in the USA was blamed, which highlights the global nature of financial markets now. News has it that some banks are starting to restrict criteria on residential lending.
But where does that leave the individual investor ?
Is the market just correcting itself ? Or is this the start of a bear market ?
The Fed is definitely shaken, having thrown in over USD 38 billion to stabilise the market. It also helps that a large number of investors with liquid assets have been buying up what they perceive to be now underpriced stocks, what with analysts stating that stocks are undervalued and slapping “Buy” ratings on a number of stocks, especially financial related and bank stocks.
But the storm is not over yet. Things could still get worse.
We think the market will stabilise, plateau, possibly even bear downward a little. It’s not yet time to buy. Not yet. The market is still jittery and may fall further. Which means bargain time is not quite here yet. Hold your cash and wait. When we give the signal, then buy to your heart’s content.
Aug
3
Another home load lender is set to severely downsize. American Home Mortgage, which has seen it’s stock fall over 95% this year, is set to shed over 90% of it’s workforce. In a fallout which started with defaults on loans to sub-prime borrowers, or borrowers with bad credit histories, even American Home Mortgage, which is positioned as a company offering better terms to borrowers with good credit history, has gotten a major hit.
Investment banks shut off credit to the company earlier this week, leaving the company unable to pay for over USD 750 million in mortgages already promised to borrowers.
Of the 750 staff expected to stay for now, most are in the thrift and servicing departments, which do collections and billings.
Accredited Home Lenders Co, a sub-prime lender that was recently bought over by Lone Star Funds, has also warned of a high chance of bankruptcy.
Home mortgage companies going under is likely to mean higher interest rates for borrowers, which may depress the already depressed residential property market even further.
Analysts expect that the next step is liquidation of the company, and shareholders are not expected to have any recovery.
Jul
22
Understanding Credit Reports
Filed Under Credit & Loans | Leave a Comment
Credit history or credit report is a record of an individual’s or a company’s past borrowing and repaying, including information about late payments and bankruptcy. The term “credit reputation” can either be used synonymous to credit history or to credit score. In this day and age, banks will share information about credit risk, which can be influenced by delayed or nonpayment of debts.
Understanding how credit reports are generated, and how they influence your transactions with banks and other financial institutions is vital, as your credit report can determine whether a bank is willing to extend credit or loans to you, as well as terms and conditions of those loan, including repayment period, repayment amounts and schedule, even interest rates. The worse your credit report, the higher a risk your transaction is seen as, and you will be charged a higher interest rate. Improving your credit report prior to taking large loans, for example, for property or for a vehicle, can dramatically reduce your interest rate, and the total amount you have to pay.
When a customer fills out an application for credit from a bank, store or credit card company, his or her information is forwarded to a credit bureau, along with constant updates on the status of his or her credit accounts, address, or any other changes made since the last time he or she applied for any credit.
This information is used by lenders such as credit card companies to determine an individual’s or entity’s credit worthiness; that is, determining an individual’s or entity’s means and willingness to repay an indebtedness. This helps determine whether to extend credit, and on what terms. With the adoption of risk-based pricing on almost all lending in the financial services industry, this report has become even more important since it is usually the sole element used to choose the interest rate or the annual percentage rate (APR).
How credit rating is determined
Credit ratings are determined differently in each country, but the factors are similar, and may include:
Payment record : A record of bills being overdue will lower the credit rating.
Control of debt : Lenders want to see that borrowers are not living beyond their means. Experts estimate that non-mortgage credit payments each month should not exceed more than 15 percent of the borrower’s after tax income.
Signs of responsibility and stability : Lenders perceive things such as longevity in the borrower’s home and job (at least two years) as signs of stability.
Re-Aging : Through re-aging, a credit history is re-written and you are given a fresh start on that particular account. This can dramatically improve the credit score. In 2000 the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) clarified guidelines on re-aging accounts for delinquent borrowers.
Credit cards that are not used : Although it is believed that having too many credit cards can have an adverse effect on a credit score, closing these lines of credit will not improve your score. The credit rating formula looks at the difference between the amount of credit a person has and the amount being used, so closing one or more accounts will reduce your total available credit. This in turn lowers the percentage of available credit, and the credit score will drop. The credit formula also factors in the length of time credit accounts have been open, so closing an account with several years of history is another avoidable credit mistake.
Credit inquiries : An inquiry is a notation on a credit history file. There are two kinds of notations:
- “Soft” Credit Pulls:
A credit bureau may sell a person’s contact information to an advertiser purchasing a list of people with similar characteristics, like homeowners with excellent credit.
A creditor can check a person’s credit periodically.
A credit counseling agency, with the client’s permission, can obtain a client’s credit report with no adverse action.
- “Hard” Credit Pulls:
Hard credit inquiries are made by lenders. Lenders, when granted a permissible purpose by a borrower for the purposes of extending his credit, can check his credit history. Hard inquiries from lenders directly affect the borrower’s credit score. Keeping credit inquiries to a minimum can help a person’s credit rating. A lender may perceive many inquiries on a person’s report as a signal that the person is looking for loans and will possibly consider that person a poor credit risk.
Understanding credit reports and scores
In the United States, once every 12 months, each person is entitled to one free credit report from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The three companies provide this free report jointly, through a website which asks for a social security number and other identifying information and then walks the user through the three companies’ systems, so that the three free reports may be printed out. The site is http://www.annualcreditreport.com, easily confused with many for-profit companies that try to get business by masquerading as this mandated-by-law service.
The Government of Canada offers a free publication called Understanding Your Credit Report and Credit Score. This publication provides sample credit report and credit score documents with explanations of the notations and codes that are used. It also contains general information on how to build or improve credit history, and how to check for signs that identity theft has occurred. The publication is available online at http://www.fcac.gc.ca, the site of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Paper copies can also be ordered at no charge for residents of Canada.
International issues
Credit history is typically local to one country. Even within the same credit card network information is not shared for different countries. For example, a person who has been using Visa credit cards issued by banks in China or Canada for many years who moves to the United States and immediately applies for a Visa will not be approved because of lack of credit history. However, bringing in evidences of good credit history from the previous country of residence will greatly help. Examples of such evidences are utility bills or credit card statements for the past couple of years.
Jul
12
Foreign Currency Watch - Will the Australian dollar rise any further?
Filed Under Foreign Currency | Leave a Comment
The US dollar is on a downward trend, and will probably continue so for at least a few months to come. Some brokers are probably making a fortune shorting the US dollar, but beware, the US dollar has risen occasionally over the last few months, and any small time traders making risky contra trades risk being caught out, and potentially making a big loss.
The Australian dollar has been on the up-and-up. Will it rise any further ? Presently at 86 cents to 1 AUD, the Australian dollar is expected to rise a little more, possibly even as far as 90 cents by Christmas. Backed by strong fundamentals and a high interest rate, it looks good till the end of the year, at least.
The New Zealand dollar, with a phenomenal interest rate, has attracted speculators. The central bank, wary of speculation, has sought to bring the dollar down by selling it on the open market. So far, that has done little to dampen the enthusiasm of speculators, but it’s likely to dip, just a little, before Christmas. If you play this right, the rewarding interest rate may make this rewarding.
The Japanese yen, with it’s rock bottom interest rate, remains the favourite borrowing target. Traders presently love to borrow the yen to invest in the AUD and NZD. Any minor correction could see this swiftly unhinged. Extremely risky.
May
15
Alternative energy sources
Filed Under Industries, Energy | Leave a Comment
Given the rising costs of oil, and the increasing energy demands around the world, there is no doubt that the attention on alternative energy sources is going to rise.
Even then, if you had to back a winner, what would you pick ?
There’s solar power, which is popular in the tropics, which can be harnessed by solar panels or photovoltaics, or large solar plants that convert the solar energy into heat and thence into electricity.
Wave power, which is viable in countries facing oceans - places like Australia and Hawaii. unfortunately, apart from these countries, few others possess the potential to use wave power in a major way. Likewise, hydro power is limited to those countries with significant water flow.
Wind power is probably more readily usable. Given sufficient height, wind power should be able to generate a significant amount of power.
Then again, given that the future household may be able to generate their own electricity, there might come a day when being hooked up to the power grid means that you’d be able to sell excess energy to the power supplier, and the power supplier might have to take on a new hat - that of being a power trader and broker.
May
14
Growing industries worth investing in
Filed Under Industries | Leave a Comment
Certain industries will probably rise in the upcoming few years. These include alternative fuel technology, as well as biotech companies that are able to perform effective research in such fields as agriculture and biomed.
For internet companies, the difficulty of picking a winner, or even a survivor, probably means that most should stay away from proven winners like Google. For those who want to back an internet stock, it would be good to remember the basic rules
(1) Good fundamentals, including a viable and proven business plan, and proven revenures count.
(2) A rising stock continues to rise. A falling stock continues to fall. Don’t bet on a U-turn.