SAVING YOURSELF FROM FRAUD IN THIS FINANCIAL CRISIS

Because of the present economic crisis, fraud has been on a record high this year. Last year alone 4 million Americans were scammed of $3 billion and this year it’s been suspected that another 100 million Americans will be getting these fraudulent emails. Do not think that this can’t happen to you because it happened to the president of France and so anyone can be a victim, so here are some of the ways to know when you get these emails or phone calls.

1. Avoid emails from your bank asking you to verify your information; do understand that no reputable bank will ask you for your personal information via email.

2. Some of the keywords used mostly by these fraudsters are “Update”, “Verify” and “Confirm”.

3. Some of those emails will read that your mortgage has just been bought by a new company and so they need you to verify your information or your bank has been bought and there has been a security breach and so they need you to verify your identity.

4. Make sure you have good Anti-Virus software; also browsers like Firefox restrict you from clicking on bogus websites.

5. Make sure you check your credit report at least more than once a year; because of the nature of this problem even the Government entitles everyone to one credit report a year.

6. If you notice that your information has been infiltrated, report immediately to the 3 credit bureaus, Experian, Trans-Union and Equifax; call your bank(s), credit cards and then report to your local police as well because it’s a crime.

Hope you find these helpful and may we all weather the present storm of economic crisis and not fall victim to fraud.
Regards,
Richard Watchman.

What does the world think of the Democrat Presidential candidate Barack Obama?

There have been many things said about Sen. Barack Obama, but feel free to share your views and opinion about what you think about how the world would see the United States and the effect he would have on the rest of the world if he is elected President of the United States.
Some people say he is not fit for president and doesn't have the experience to make a good leader, some say he will jeopardize the United States because terrorist countries would put him to the test, some also say he has affiliations with terrorists while others say he is the right man for the job. What do you say?

TIPS TO A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP

The present financial crisis might make it difficult for some folks to concentrate on their relationship as everyone is trying not to lose their job because of what is happening on Wall Street. And the information age also makes it even more difficult, you might be wondering how that is true but most people bring their work home with them either on the internet or on the phone and therefore fail to make their relationship work because really they barely know they are drifting apart from their partner.
So here are some helpful tips to making your relationship work:

1. Leave work at work, this means you shouldn’t bring your work home with you so you can concentrate more in your relationship.

2. Create time out of your busy schedule to give your partner a good time, go out to a movie or have dinner together as often as possible.

3. Little gifts here and there are also appreciated; this makes your partner know that you think of them constantly.

These are just a few tips today to help you keep your relationship and appreciate your partner even more.
Regards,
Richard Watchman.

THE BEST BANKS WITH HIGH INTEREST RATE SAVINGS ACCOUNTS

Banks are becoming less and less trusted by everyone because of the present economic crisis and that is only normal. But despite the financial difficulties everyone is facing and not knowing where to put their money especially now that Wall Street can’t be relied on, I would think that people should consider investing their money in CDs and if possibly get your money out of your 401ks and put them into high interest savings accounts. So I have compiled a list of banks that are going strong and have high interest yields and my research is based on a 1 year CD, see below for more details:

1. GMAC Bank (Midvale, UT): Their rate is at 4.26, APY is at 4.35 and the minimum deposit is $500.00, I would suggest this bank to anyone because they make it easy for anyone to start a CD with less funds.

2. Capital One Direct Banking (McLean, VA): Their rates start off at 3.68 and APY is at 3.75 and the minimum deposit is $5,000.00, this has a high minimum deposit but the good thing is they have good interest rate.

3. E-Trade Bank (Arlington, VA): Their rate is at 3.59 and APY is at 3.65 and the minimum deposit is $1000.00, everyone knows E-trade is going good and strong and so it will be a good place to invest your money.

4. Zions Bank (Salt Lake City, UT): Their rate starts at 3.56 and APY is at 3.61 and the minimum deposit is $1,000.00, here’s another good source for investing your money and not putting it at risk.

5. Countrywide Bank, FSB (Thousand Oaks, CA): Their rate starts at 3.53 and APY is at 3.60 and the minimum deposit is $10,000.00, they do have a high minimum deposit and this kind of CD is for individuals who have more money to put away.

There’s actually a promotion going on at HSBC for 6% APY and also people should consider a Presidential internet plus checking account, they have a 4.5% APY which is not a bad thing. The rates on this page are current as of 15 October 2008.

These are the top banks with good interest rates, there are more but I can’t guarantee their success and how they work and because of that I choose not to include them here so as not to misguide anyone. I hope this was helpful to everyone and I wish you all happy savings!
Regards,
Richard Watchman.

THE ART OF SAVING MONEY THROUGH COUPONS

Saving money, that now appears to be what everyone is talking about and what to do. So I am here with a few saving tricks that I hope would help some of us out there in this tough economy.
I want to start by talking about money saving coupons, I have come to realize that shopping online has more benefit than shopping at a local store near you because in most cases you get discounts and also you don’t get to pay taxes for what you purchase. Some people find it strenuous to look for coupons when they shop online but I would advise anyone who really wants to save money to consider this option as it saves you gas and also you get discounts when you shop online.
I have been able to put together some websites that offer free coupons for you in many stores where you tend to shop, so here’s a list of websites where you can find helpful coupons that lower your cost of online shopping:
1. http://www.retailmenot.com/ : This website has over 20,000 coupon codes and discount for online stores and you can only use these coupons when you shop online.
2. http://currentcodes.com/ : This website also has tons of promotional codes and discount codes and can be very helpful for your online shopping needs.
3. http://keycode.com/ : Also a good source for coupons, coupon codes and discounts and you also get to find good deals and some items that might interest you.
4. http://www.rather-be-shopping.com/ : This website is another good resource for your shopping needs, they have coupons that you can use online and they also have printable coupons so you can also shop at local stores near you.
5. http://www.dealcatcher.com/ : Another good resource for free coupons and deals especially on electronics but they also have tons of other coupons for your daily need.
I hope this has been helpful and feel free to check on my blog more often for more useful tips on how to save money.
Regards,
Richard Watchman.

Airliner had near miss with UFO

A passenger jet bound for Heathrow Airport had a near miss with a UFO, Ministry of Defense files reveal.

The captain of the Alitalia airliner shouted "Look out" to his co-pilot at the sight of a brown missile-shaped object shooting past them overhead.

Civil Aviation Authority and military investigations could not explain the 1991 incident near Lydd in Kent.

The unsolved close encounter features in UFO-related military documents made available by the National Archives.

After ruling out the object flying past the Alitalia jet being a missile, weather balloon or space rocket, the MoD closed the inquiry.

Nineteen files covering sightings between 1986 and 1992 are being made available online.


Now you can look at the actual primary material - the stuff coming into the MoD every day - and make your own mind up
Dr David Clarke, UFO expert

Almost 200 such files will be made available by the MoD over the next four years.

The current batch also include a US Air Force pilot's account of being ordered to shoot down a UFO that appeared on his radar while he flew over East Anglia.

There is also an MoD request that army and navy helicopters not take photographs of crop circles, because of concerns about undermining the official line that the military did not investigate unexplained phenomena.

And the files also contain a letter from a woman claiming to be from the Sirius system who said her spacecraft - also containing two "Spec trans" with "Mr Spock ears" - crashed in Britain during World War II.

UFO expert and journalism lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, Dr David Clarke, said the documents would shed new light on relatively little-known sightings.

He said some conspiracy theorists would already have decided that the release of the papers was a "whitewash".

He added: "Because the subject is bedeviled by charlatans and lunatics, it is career suicide to have your name associated with UFOs, which is a real pity.

"The National Archives are doing a fantastic job here. Everyone brings their own interpretation.

"Now you can look at the actual primary material - the stuff coming into the MoD every day - and make your own mind up."

You can read more about the UFO by clicking on the topic.

KEEPING YOURSELF AND YOUR MARRIAGE Part 1.

It seems that for some reason getting married and getting divorced has become a tradition in the United States and the major parts of the world, the NCHS(National Center for Health Statistics) shows that marriage rate is 7.5 per 1000 population and divorce rate is 3.6 per 1000 population and that is in 46 reporting States and D.C.

Do you know that divorce and out of wedlock childbearing is costing taxpayers an alarming $112 billion a year and we are also nearing 40% of children in the United States born out of wedlock. So how can we convince these kids that when they grow up the right thing to do is wait for the right time to do the right thing that they have to be married to have kids of their own and stay married too? Divorce has become a religion in most parts of the world, we can’t even bear to tell our children otherwise because we already practice it and it’s what they grow up with and so to them, if it doesn’t work, don’t try to fix it, just walk away. If this continues like this, in the next couple of years our children will no longer believe in marriage and more children will be born out of wedlock because people will begin to lose faith in marriage and the sacredness that comes with it.

So I want to begin by saying that marriage is an institution, people do not drop out of college because they keep having difficulties with a particular class instead they strive to study harder and make a better grade in that class. Why don’t we see marriage that way? Even as something far more important than a college degree. People should always ask themselves this question before they decide to get married, why do I want to get married? Some people get married for the wrong reasons even if they don’t know it, some get married because it’s seems like the right thing at that particular time, some get married because they are being pressurized to, some get married for financial gains, some get married because they already have a child born out of wedlock while others get married because they are in love. People should want to get married because they feel the need in their lives to have someone who is going to make them better than they already are, someone who can make them whole and fill up every emptiness in them, if you do not feel any void in you that needs to be filled up by someone else then don’t get married because that marriage will not last. If you do believe you are getting married to someone who completes you and is most important to you then it makes it harder to want to get a divorce because no one wants to part with what’s most important to them in life.

The bottom line is you got married; the question now is how do I make it work? You only ask yourself this question if you feel divorce is not a way out, but you can’t feel divorce is not a way out if you get married for the wrong reasons. So to make your marriage work, the first thing you need to do is work on yourself before you work on your marriage, regardless of what you think is wrong with your partner that’s making the marriage go bad. The first question you should ask yourself is, what am I doing wrong that’s making my partner react negatively towards me and our marriage? This might be something you do not see or you might think you are doing everything right as most people think; communication is the key to every successful relationship. Both parties need to learn the need to communicate their needs and express each other’s feelings, no one is perfect and people must always understand that disagreements are bound to rise between couples, even siblings born of the same parents do disagree. Normally I should not give instances like this because this is something I believe every mature individual knows but I can’t help but talk about this as it appears that most mature people do not understand what marriage is about and what makes it work even if they appear to be mature in other aspects of their lives.

When you fail to communicate your feelings and just let it pass by then it makes everything even more complicated, it’s like sweeping dirt underneath your carpet and hoping the top stays clean to the naked eye but what you fail to realize is the more you sweep those dirt underneath your carpet, the more it gets filled up until the carpet won’t be able to take it anymore and eventually the carpet will give way to piled up dirt from over the years. That’s exactly the same thing that happens to marriage without communication and that’s where divorce sets in. Some people would say “Silence is the best answer”, well that can be true but not in marriage. You can’t ignore your partner as it only stirs your marriage to dissolution, one thing that’s very true about marriage is the fact that your partner can either make your life a haven or make it a living hell. So which do you prefer? Think about those moments when your partner when you felt your love was going to last forever, think about what is it you did that made those moments magical and now think about what is it you’re doing that’s making it impossible to live under the same roof with this person. You might say to yourself, “She just woke up one morning and became something else, became a total stranger to me” but let’s face it, nothing happens overnight. Everything takes a gradual process until it fully blossoms to either something wonderful or something terrible.

I would advice everyone to watch their marriage closely if they expect it to work fine, watch it more closely than you watch your 401k account or your stocks because it’s worth a lot more than any of those things.
To be continued…
Regards,
Richard Watchman.

USING THE PRESENT FINANCIAL INSTABILITY TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

The present economic crisis is really putting everyone on their toes, people are scared and angry and do not know what to expect. People who have money are scared to spend it; those who have none are worried about where their next income will come from. Thousands of people are losing their jobs daily; the housing market is also not helping as banks are having difficulty giving out loans both to people who want to build houses and small business individuals. Are we to even talk about Wall Street? The stock market has plunged and everyone is running scared, people are taking their money out of the stock market, the few people who have 401k plans see their retirement benefits dwindling by the hour and health plans can no longer cover everyone.

Of all these and many more in the mind of people, everyone is wondering when something will happen, when a change will occur, a change for the better. But I would like to say despite all these economic crisis people can still use it to their advantage, just as the billionaire Warren Buffet said in the New York Times that now is the best time for him to buy stocks simply because everyone else is scared, people who have stocks are selling them at ridiculously low prices and even people who have money to buy are scared as well. That means the prices of stock will drop and there will be a lot of desperate individuals out there that would want to sell their stocks before it becomes a total loss to them. I am not advising anyone to plunge into the stock market because it’s not certain when the economy will be back on its feet, this advice is only for people who have more than enough to spare.
But what about average people out there, who just manage to survive from paycheck to paycheck and are not even guaranteed job security. I would like to say that as odd as this may sound to some people, now is the best time for holiday shopping because the present market has made even the retail market a much harder place, no one is willing to let go of their money but what people don’t know is that the holiday shopping is inevitable and people will have to buy Christmas gifts for their friends and families. Wholesalers and retailers alike want to try as much as possible to get rid of excess merchandise and so the prices of these products have dropped and everyone is willing to sell, so I say why wait till the holiday season to buy what you want. Now is as good as any time to place those orders for those items you want and buy them for a whole lot cheaper now that manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers are literally begging you to take the merchandise off their hands. So people I would advice that you go out there and spend what you will now on the holiday shopping and save yourself a few $100 bucks this year. Prices will definitely go up this holiday season regardless of the financial crisis because then there will be a lot of demand for these products.

Now is also the best time to buy real estate, prices have dropped drastically and everyone wants to sell and even below market value. If you are having problems getting approved for a loan because you have credit issues but somehow you have the money to buy a house now then I suggest you go for Rent to own homes, the reason I suggest homes like this is because you get to benefit at the long run. Instead of renting an apartment or a house that you just keep paying for month after month without it benefiting you in any way rather you are helping the owner of the house add value to their home, you let the home owner know that you intend to buy off the house at a particular time down the road, so the rent you actually get to pay for the house goes towards the amount you would pay for the house eventually and the good part is individuals who agree to sell homes to you in this fashion do not care about your credit history as long as you make your monthly payments when you are supposed to. But there is a down side to this; you are expected to make a down payment which is usually about 5% to 10% of what you have agreed to buy the house for, if for some reason you fall short and are unable to pay your rent or can’t afford the house, you will lose your down payment. So a lot of home owners who maybe moved to a different state or bought a house elsewhere would be willing to agree to this kind of deal especially when they will also be reaping benefits because then they won’t have to list the house with a Realtor and get to pay a percentage when the house gets sold. At the end of the day, you and the home owner would be happy.
There are other factors that I haven’t covered in this article but I intend to research more and post more articles, so feel free to subscribe to my blog for updates and important information that will help make your life better.
Regards,
Richard Watchman.