Understand the Six Pillars in Child Financial Planning

Post written by Sherin Devassy. Follow me on Twitter

Whenever I saw a 'kid', my heart starts fill with love and mercy. It may happen to each of you too. If it is our own kid, we even ready to dedicate our whole life for their betterment. Loving parents never forget the requirements to provide maximum goodness to their kid’s life for present and future. I consider, a very special, well planned, perfect financial planning for kids will be the most valuable gift a parent can ever give to their kids. There is nothing than this to secure the life of a kid in each stage of her life. This article specially focused to all new parents to share this idea as well as providing knowledge on six major pillars in child investment planning. Each of these pillars has superior importance.

Pillar#1 : Age

Do you know at what age a financial planning for kids should start? There would be different answers available. But, the most suitable and beautiful time to start your kids financial planning is within the first 3 months of her birth. An early startup ensures to bring excellent results than a later start. Never miss this first pillar, age to start financial planning for kids.

Pillar#2 : Goal

Goal setting have ultimate importance in Kids Financial Planning. The only difference when compare with our financial planning, parents set the goals here on behalf of their kids. This can be anything depends on parents vision on their kids future but, the plan should able to bring the required result or little more than that. When kid reaching to the stage of taking self decisions, she should not feel the planning for her was not sufficient. This point indicates the plan should not cover only the required goals set by parents but should provide enough room for kids to take their decision if required.

Pillar#3 : Duration

Any parent who plans finance for kid gets a right duration of between 18 to 23 years. This can certainly consider as a perfect duration for a kid. At the time of 18, normally a kid ready for higher study and can take advantages from her planning done by parents. When she is at the age of 23, she starts earn money to support parents and family. Parent’s duty generally stops at that point when their kid starts earning after completion of her study by the finance planned by her parents. If parents set a goal more than for study, she can still use that to build a home, marriage or anything that is better for her life.

Pillar#4 : Redundancy

Through applying redundancy to kids financial planning, parents can ensure their kids never suffer from financial issues at their absence. Redundancy protects kids from unexpected financial issues until they become self sufficient. A best example for applying redundancy is subscribing child insurance with waiver options. This option ensures the insurance company pays all the future premiums in case of the death of parent. Intelligent parents take extra term insurance covers to protect the financial future of their kids by adding their kids are the nominee of benefits. When planning kids finance, any investments should be redundant through all available and possible ways to ensure any financial issues never affect your kids.

Pillar#5 : Selection of Portfolio

When coming to investment for kids, prefer maximum investment to best equities or equity related investments. A strong reason for this is, equity investments are the best to produce maximum returns for long run. Equity investments for kids should mix with large, mid and small cap companies selects through good research and study. Visit the investment articles area in this blog for various excellent articles on this. A carefully selected, maximum equity oriented portfolio can do miracles! Remember, goal and duration plays major roles on this part as mentioned below.

Pillar#6 : Monitoring and Balancing

Once done with an error proof portfolio creation, next and final pillar in this is monitoring and balancing of the same. Except some investments like real estate and gold, all other instruments should come under your monitoring radar. Monitoring of instruments performance should do in proper time and without fail. Also, shouldn’t monitor the performance always and or some time too. Instead, it should happen time to time whenever it is required.

Carefully selected equities can be the best performers and some time worst too. Identify this error, utilize monitoring skills time to time. Monitoring not only help to throw out bad investments but, also helpful to add new best performers. An example to the same is, once planned a kid investment portfolio at her age of 1, parents can give preference to equity or equity related investments to an 80% or more with a focus of next 10 to 15 years. This portfolio should be monitored once in a year to understand how the included equities are performing. It also required right balancing between investments to get liquidity at the right time. Working in this way, monitoring and balancing can consider as a double edged sword.

If you have not set any financial planning for your loving kid or even kids, this New Year is the best time to set this as a new resolution. Parents can even take help from good financial planners. Wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year.

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Little Thoughts on Financial Freedom

Post written by Sherin. Follow me on Twitter

Does you spend lots of time to know the real meaning of personal financial freedom? or, wonder when hear/read this term somewhere? Here is a chance to know what exactly mean by the term 'financial freedom' along with number of influencing factors to achieve this.

I am presently in the train birth, traveling from my village to the city where I am working. It was a fantastic Christmas holiday for me with lots of enjoyments and activities!

Learn to always remember the first and most important lesson of personal financial freedom - Never spend more than your earnings! Those who know and practicing this, reached the half way of financial wisdom.

Personal financial freedom, the term, is simple to understand. It is a position of an individual who never run out of money to meet all present requirements as well as future too! How it is possible? Below are the points making this is possible.

1. Above said 'all present requirements' never mean 'ALL'. But, it is the well planned requirements but satisfactory to each members in the family and highly run inside the budget and money allocated for that!

2. The word 'future' expresses the saving requirements and shows it should happen from the earning or earnings.

3. Overall, it exposing the requirements of having right control on your earning, saving and planning!

We can easily divide the financial freedom process as two parts: Earnings and Planning. How could people generally earn? There are number of possibilities:

Traditional income streams:

A full time job or business - could be the major income stream of an individual or family. We generally found people have a full time job or doing business. It may OK to accomplish the requirements of the family but not sure the requirements will shrink inside this limited money. If it is, again you are only fulfilling the present requirements but not sure you have sufficient money to save for future.

If you have sufficient salary or income from business that able to meet present money requirements as well as saving requirements, you are in the comfort zone. But, I am sure a very less people have this advantage. It is too hard for majority people. Job loss fears, business down turn all are other scary factors capable to affect financial freedom of a family or individual at anytime.

Do we have any solution to meet all these troubles boldly? Yes. We have a choice with the new term "Enhanced Income Stream!"

What is this heck enhanced income stream? It is nothing. In traditional model, we have either a full time job or business. We have also found both of these are vulnerable at any time. So, to overcome such panic situations, how do you feel having a full time job with part time business or full time business with part time job? You can even have a combination of full time job with part time job!

This enhanced income stream have number of beautiful advantages. Some of them are here:

1. It is best to support your family in case of job/business issues.
2. It would help to earn extra money.
3. You can better utilize your free time productively.
4. You may sharpening your secondary skills to make your profile suitable to multiple sectors at a time. That is truly Terrific!

Next is, the planning part. It is certainly a vast subject and I have wrote number of article on this under "financial planning" label. However, here are some core points to understand what 'planning' meant in this article.

1. Budgeting - it is the core of personal financial planning. Budgeting really helps to control requirements inside a pool of money allocated each month. It is highly helpful to identify and eliminate unwanted requirements and making people more thoughtful before spending any money.

2. Future goal setting and workaround - this section really huge! It covers major part of financial planning. Identifying various future needs, setting goals, identify required savings and actions like investments to achieve that goals are primary steps in this section.

Standard practices:

Steady and worry less income stream should be your first preference. Once achieved, work to become debt free if you are. Planning part required either professional help by good financial planners or self, if have enough knowledge. Best luck.

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Simple yet Superior Money Saving Ideas

Article by Sherin Dev; Follow me on Twitter

Did you ever find the money tips freely available from net is worth for you? Some of them are really good but most of them not easy to practice of never give required results. Today, personal finance bloggers feel that the blog is not perfect if they don't have at least one article, listing money saving tips. Most of the A-list personal finance bloggers are acting as the prophets of money saving tips. Their blog almost found filled with different saving ideas and tips but once read, it would really give you a chance to laugh by thinking how brainless they are when writing about money saving tips.

You may now think Money Hacker also brainless blogger because he also posted lots of articles on money saving tips and ideas. But, I challenge you to visit my list of money saving article and inform once you find any tip or idea in it is not able to adopt or practice to save lots of money.

I am again with a unique article which also listing four excellent money saving ideas. You may have find this in various placed but realizing now it is the ideas among them helpful to save lots of money compare with others. But, these are four best ideas among all these tips, when practicing, this is excellent to save lots of money at the end of each year. Why don't take a look? Moreover than just an idea, all these four are highly compliant to green.

1. Change Your Bulbs and Tube Lights to CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamps)

Energy efficiency of CFL are fabulous! It is fantastic compare with ordinary bulbs, tube lights or any other kinds. CFL gives you the same light of others with less power utilization and generally have longer life span. Its best advantage as said is it uses less power. This would bring your electricity bill down to a considerable amount. It could be a good amount at the end of year. All over, CFL is able to reduce the electricity cost to a minimum of 30%.

2. Switch of all the lights

this could be the second powerful money saver idea for today. Switching off all the lights whenever it is not required help us to save lots of money indirectly. Once if you practice, you can easily find the power of this simple idea. You can even practice going out the peak time of power usage after switching off all the lights in your home. A main switch connected all devices and electrical utilities would be a good idea to handle this at a single point. Of course, you will get a savings not less than 25% average in an year. Practice it as a new year resolution.

3. Public Transport / Pooled car

Vehicle maintenance are so costly today. If you are using the same at the peak times, your expense on using vehicles simply come to double or more than that. As a best solution practice taking public transport or pool cars with your friends in a rotation basis. This could save enormous money at the end of each year. Practice it, monitor the result and record it.

4. Install Solar Panels

This is considered as the most wonderful idea in for you in this year 2010. Install it. This is a cheapest and most effective idea to produce required power freely by utilizing natural resource, Sun. Many nations encouraging this idea to their people by knowing its power and how it make the nation energy efficient. A project initiated by European Union to install and produce solar energy system in Sahara desert and transmitting it to their nation showing how powerful this idea is. Connecting equipments like water heater and some of the most using lamps in your home would helpful to save lots of energy at the end of each year.

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3 Childhood Money Habits I Still Follow

Post Written by Sherin Devassy. Follow me on Twitter

Childhood is the best time to acquire good practices. It is just like learning new languages. Any child who starts speaking the first language in her childhood, later come as her mother tongue. Similarly, any good habits practicing in her childhood follow her all over her life. Here are three of my childhood habits I still carrying after reaching the age of 38. I still practicing each of this habits and training the same to my kids whenever getting a chance to do so. This is quite interesting but, yes it is a true fact.

Piggy Bank saving

I can proudly say, I was saving money little by little from the childhood, using a piggy bank presented to me. I have received lots of coins from my parents at that time to put in the piggy bank and was so interested to saw how money was growing. I never forget my piggy bank to take with me wherever I go, to collect coins. This habit not only gives a huge account balance but also, created a habit of not leaving any coins that I am getting from any place. Presently, this piggy bank habit handed over to my kid and she is now collecting coins behalf of me. This would make her a good money saving habit. I am interested to take her with me whenever going to bank. My hidden intention is to provide an idea about learning the transactions little by little. Interestingly, she is now picking things little by little!


Intelligent Spending Habit

I don't know how many kids able to follow this practice and who all parents teaching their children’s about this. But, I have got training to follow an intelligent spending practice from my parents. Once identified the real value of money through little possible games, this habit can inject to any kid easily. The best advice I have received on this habit is to think twice before spending any penny for any purposes! They have trained me to ask a question "Do you really require this item?" before going ahead to spend money for purchasing any item. I still follow this practice before committing any activity where money concerned. It is of course a little bit difficult habit to train but, continuous practices bring real results.

Sharing Knowledge to Others

This is my third childhood habit. Never be reluctant to share knowledge with others. This habit greatly helped me to get new ideas to tune and shape mine in a better way. Intention behind this 'Uncopyright" blog 'Money Hacker' derived from this habit only. I am sharing my personal knowledge and habits to others and some time getting best advices to look into the weak points of my knowledge and shape it a very better way. Sharing knowledge is heavenly and a great tool. Not much people do that but, the one who really do it, taking a great chance to get more and more knowledge to the final wisdom!

I have kids. You may also have. Train them to come up with best practices. This is not only applicable to money but train them to become a good citizen with good habits and real knowledge. This is not just an advice but it is the responsibility of each parent. So take your responsibility seriously and bring your kid with good habits, practices and discipline.

Wish you all Merry Christmas!!!

Image Courtesy: chris.vandyck

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10 Fabulous Financial Resolutions for New Year 2010

Post Written by Sherin. Follow my on Twitter

New year 2010 is near to our door step! There are very little days remaining for us to evaluate the status of resolutions which we had set at the beginning of 2009. If any of this was not yet met, identify the failure reasons and tune it in a better way for coming year. To set New Year 2010 resolutions, I consider this is the best time and we could start now onwards. We still have more than 10 days to study and set well defined, working resolutions for New Year 2010. You can set one or many fresh resolutions including previous year's incomplete one, for this year.

Here is a list of 10 fabulous financial resolutions. This can select as any or many to set for this new year, as your own resolution/s.

1. Stop a Bad Habit

Stopping or killing a bad habit can be the best resolution one can set for this New Year, if he/she have one such habit. It is not only helpful to save lots of money but leads to a healthy life. Generally, bad habits affect to the person along with family members too, in many ways. Make it as a New Year resolution. Think healthy and live healthy. Read my previously written post "convert a bad habit to millions", to get an idea on how one can stop such to save money.

2. Plan to Get out of Debt

Suffering from debt is always painful. Debt means financial imbalance. Good planning helpful to get out of debt gradually. Read my previous article which explains easy, step by step guidance to get out of debt. Identifying your debts and categorizing it in a better way to work with it would be a good option to completely free from debt at the end of this year. Many resolutions in this list can work as a perfect support to this. Grab the best guides focused in it to read and practice the best efforts to get out of debt.

3. Build a Good Saving Strategy

Have your own saving strategy. Saving strategy should start from the day of getting your first salary. Better money management leads to secure financial life. If you still not have a right saving strategy, this is the time to set a resolution for that! I am sure; you will have lots of balance money in the account at the end of this year once if you set a perfect money saving strategy.

4. Identify and Work to Secondary Income

Everyone has option and right to generate secondary income to support primary. Make a resolution for this year to identify yours and work with that. Read this fantastic article "Practical Guidelines to Create Additional Income" to get simple, excellent ideas on this. You can even try out for the best available books in the market to get good quality of advice on this subject. Read Dave Ramsy's Total Money Makeover guide as a good start up point.

5. Start a Part time Business

There is huge number of possible side business ideas in the market. You can thus better utilize your free time to produce good income from it. Refer the resources and select one that is most suitable to your character, interest, availability and requirements. A best start up point for this can be a right guide which listed with all such business options. Go and get one right away from here or here or here to set your resolutions and start work for achieve that. Such guides provides thousands of fantastic part time business ideas and sure, you can find one that it highly suitable to your taste. You can read this article, kick-ass ideas to become a definite millionaire, to stimulate your thoughts in a better possible way.

6. Get Your Family Protected from Future Financial Burdens

Health and wealth are the most supportive factors to lead fantastic life. Health related issues are the major culprit for losing lots of your money at any unexpected time. In this context, getting protected from such situations should consider as an important resolution for this New Year. Work for it, buy necessary insurance policies that able to financially protect you from such panic situations to a great extend! Here is a right article for you to refer further for better ideas on this. There are number well written guides available on this. You can go and get tools and techniques of life insurance planning to get complete advice on this.

Once you have protected from health related financial issues, it is the time to think about protecting your family from future financial uncertainties. If you are the lone bread winner in the family, consider this as a must resolution for this year and ensure you meet this goal before the timeline. Through protecting yourself using required steps, you are ensuring your family will not suffer in case of anything bad happening to your life.

7. Train Your Kid About Money

Kids should grow as money masters. Parents should train and support them to become like that. Train them to get a right practice of saving money. Remember, any good practices that follow from the childhood will remain for long. Gift them a piggy bank and give coins to collect in it and thus build a savings habit. Train your kids to spend money wisely. Take them with you to the bank or wherever you go for transacting money. Let them start achieving money related wisdom from the childhood itself. Money sense for kids is a right resource to help this.

8. Practice Various Money Saving Tips and Strategies

There is huge number of money saving tips available in the market on each and every area. I have also posted number of them in my blog. It is sure, all the money saving tips not going to work for you. Work and identify the tips best suitable to you and family to practice and go ahead with that list. Make this as a New Year resolution to practice. Record it to measure your success at the end of the year to know how much money you have saved through this resolution. You can share it, enhance it and transfer it to others later.

9. Develop a Good Investment Plan and Portfolio

This point could work as a wonderful resolution for you in this New Year. Approaches to an investment plan required enough seriousness because, investing is like pouring water to the best life of your kids and kin. You can set separate resolutions like achieving knowledge, creation of investment portfolio, setting goals and working for achieving the same through identifying and doing right investments etc..

10. Build a Secondary Job Skill and Enhance Primary Skills

Like me, lots of people considering full time job as their major income stream to support the family. Growing market and technology demand time to time skill update and enhancement to protect our performance as well as job. Panic on job loses forcing us to build possible secondary skills to identify a job easily with other areas than where we are presently into. Make a resolution for this New Year to update your skills as well as building secondary skills to convert yourself as a multi-skilled employee. Refer 150 Jobs for Your Skills to identify one best suitable for you.

If you liked this article, feel free to send this to your friends or share in Twitter.

Image courtesy: Eustaquio Santimano

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Importance of Charity for Financial Life

Editor's Note: This article co-written with my friend Chand

There is great saying in English "Charity begins at home”, let’s take a few moment and understand the importance of charity in ones life and being a social animal of this planet lets contribute the same to humanity..

People often get aggressive to ‘accept’ money but get defensive when 'giving' money. This article reveals some hidden facts and secrets about charity and the importance of doing the same for our financial planning. Charity goes good when it gets involved in a moderate way. It not only gives us pleasure and feels us good but also helps us to save lots of money in a hidden way. Look at the Pulitzer award winner picture for a moment. What do you think about it? This kind of things happens in various parts of the world. We feel so lucky these things have has/had not happened to any of our near and dear ones, remember who need to show helping hands to such kind of people than us? This is the major reason why governments from all over the world relaxed tax over any money that gets donated for charity purposes. Do you know the secret?

Charity works as a really great tool when your money involved to it. It is excellent to save lots of money which otherwise goes to your tax department indirectly. I have posted an article some time back in that I have written the real wisdom on money shouldn't be calculated based on how much and how fast you are making money. But, it should be calculated based on how efficiently you are managing your money to work for your life as well as others, in a most efficient way. If you know this point, you never forget the requirement of being charitable in your life!

Any receipt of money that is contributed to a recognized charitable organization is totally exempted from tax. Knowing this fact, we should identify some amount in each year and keep aside for charity. Take this as a best practice when your financial planning cycle approaches to the tax part. This would help you in a better way to deal with tax.

Charity doesn't force or ask you to give huge or a particular amount. A person can even spend a dollar for charity.

My personal approach and practices to become charitable in life

I like children. I don't like to see the weeping face of any child. It gives me enormous pain to see an infant or child crying for food and disappoints me the fact of being no help for this kind deed.

At the embryonic stage of my blogging career, I took an oath that will spend a percentage of earning from this blog for charity. I am happy to say dear readers that I have been following the same, any revenue that is being generated from this blog is not going to me as whole, but i have ensured a fixed percentage for our charitable foundations like orphanage homes. I am glad to say that the money spend to provide food and education to poor, orphan kids. In my place, money less than $50 are sufficient to sponsor a kid for one year food or education. I am able to do that. Of course there are profit seeking minds in the name of charity but its not always the same case every time, most of the time people avoid doing charity or funding saying the fact that this money goes to wrong hands, but being sensible enough and just taking some time for noble cause we can certainly take a time OFF and explore survey the best charitable trusts around the corner of your vicinity.

Readers, I have practiced from early days of my life dropping a coin each day to a particular box that intended to give for charity. I am sure this will help me to sponsor a child later for her one year food . I am following this practice without fail and drop a coin in each day morning before I start to work.

It makes good souls to move away from really good works and orphans still go hungry by not getting anything from even good people they really want to help them. There wouldn't be any effective filters to detect and block fraudulent activities in the name of charity but one can control himself to not fall to such activities by not giving chunk of money at a time. Ensuring promptness is most of the time a difficult task because of the unavailability of sufficient information on how your money is going to spend and who all getting the advantages from it.

My Plan to Sponsor One year food expense for an orphan infant or child starting here:

I have collected and posted a small video here for you to watch and realize the pain of an orphan kid. You can find a donate button under this article which is focused to good souls to donate a dollar for sponsoring food for an orphan kid in this 2010 year. I am not sure about the exact amount but a total of $75 is enough to sponsor the food of an orphan infant or kid in this year 2010. Welcome your new year with a charity that an orphan kid going to get food from your money. You are not limited with any amount to donate. You can even donate 1 dime to 1000 of dollars. I will try my best to contact PayPal to not reduce any amount from these contributions by considering each reductions cause a reduction in food to an orphan kid.

I will be totally responsible on this activity; I will post the information from PayPal on the amount I have received, full information on the charitable organization to where I am contributing this money along with the receipts. There is zero chance to utilize this amount in any way for any purposes of tax redemption.

Watch this video



Secret Golden Truth on Charity

I don't know how much you believe this. This part is specifically for those who believe in god. In my experience, I never felt down whenever I donated money for any charity. Because, I realized it many times i get more when i donate for a good cause. This is the hidden secret of charity that I have realized number of times. I don't have any intention to say any donation is just like an investment but, in my experience I have got the money back as double or triple, from other source. Why don't you have a try this power of god? You really get an abstract feeling which only a person who has done charity will understand. So friends, do you want to have this experience and then why wait?

Donate a dollar to Money Hacker Effort to Offer food for an Orphan Infant in 2010

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Don’t Bury Your Head in the Sand with Debt!

This is a guest article from Elizabeth Flanagan.

Christmas is a particularly expensive time of the year. Between gift purchases, food purchases and social activities, we rack up a rather large bill over the festive season. In fact, in the UK alone, seasonal celebrations set us back a total of £44 billion each year! So perhaps it comes as little surprise that January is traditionally the month in which most people default on their loan and credit card repayments.

Unfortunately, 2009 wasn’t such a great year for personal finance here in the UK. Between January and September 2009, 771000 people lost their jobs. Add to this the fact that were a record number of personal insolvencies between June and September of this year and there are more Britons than ever before facing difficult financial situations.

However, if you are one of those people, the worst thing you could do is to bury your head in the sand! The problem isn’t going to just disappear and the longer you leave it, the further downward your debt problems can spiral. Here are some proactive steps in the right direction!

• Write down your income and outgoings and exactly what you owe and to which creditors. This will give you an accurate assessment of your debt situation. It’s very easy when debts start piling up, to overestimate the situation in your head. Having an accurate idea as to what you owe and to who will make it much easier for you to get an idea of the options available.

• Don’t ignore the phone calls and letters from creditors. Ignoring creditors will not help your situation and until you are actively taking part in some form of debt solution, your creditors are within their rights to chase up their debts.

• Seek professional debt advice from an experienced and reputable company. Most debt solutions companies are happy to provide confidential advice free of charge over the phone. This will at least give you an indication of what options might be available to you.

• Having sought professional advice, weight up the options available to you in full. Entering into some form of debt solution (for example a debt management plan or an IVA), gives you a structure to your debt and satisfies your creditors that you are making an effort repay. In the formal government plans, such as an IVA, your creditors are not permitted to continue chasing you for debts provided you stick with the agreement.

January is for resolutions and positive changes – why not make your finances one of them?

Read more from Elizabeth at Moneysolve.

Image Courtesy: Mark Coggins

About Guest Writer
This post was written by a guest writer. If you'd like to add a guest post in Money Hacker, please check out Write for Us page for details about how YOU can share your knowledge with our community.

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Season Special: Money Saving Tips for Winter

Finally the 'Cool' season started! People want to be more 'Hot'. This is the time to skyrocket your utility bills! Here are some marvelous Money Saving tips for this winter season to practice. As we know, more spending happening to make hot inside the room, hot food are some of the necessities at this season. There are lots of loop holes to lose money if not taking enough care or having ignorance. This article specially prepared for you to identify these loop holes and make necessary steps to save lots of money at this winter season.

Specialists and economical annual maintenance contracts are very necessary factors to ensure you are in comfort zone. Getting the help of a specialist is necessary to confirm your present setup is well! Arrange an appointment with local heat and air specialist to inspect your home heating systems and arrangements. Call your local roofer to confirm your roof insulation are perfect and there are no leaks.

Tip# 1. Conserve heat by properly insulate in your home as airtight. Confirm there is no leak in the roof, floor, and walls to lose heat. Look for any gaps in doors and windows and try to cover them up. The easiest way to do this for a door is to weather strip it, while the easiest way to do this for a window is the cover it with clear plastic. This will keep warm air in and cold air out and also let you see outside.

Tip# 2. Set your water heater temperature depends on your family member size.

Tip# 3. Instead of gas, consider woods to heat your home. Of course, gas is much costlier than using woods.

Tip# 4. Switch of Ventilator/exhaust fans immediately after the use. Or it would work as negative.

Tip# 5. Use natural heating options. Not shut or block the windows which taking sun rays inside to your home at the winter season days.

Tip# 6. Control your thermostat in a perfect way. Consider programmable thermostats! Once if thermostats set the way too high, the bill also come as high. Here's an idea, set the thermostat at 68 degrees during the daytime. And at night turn the thermostat down to 55-60 when the family is sleeping. Also, when the house is empty, turn the thermostats down to about 55 degrees. The lower you set your thermostat, the more money you save.

Tip# 7. Replace or clean the filters in your heating vents. Make sure the air is flowing freely and cleanly.

Tip# 8. Think and act in advance. Purchase your winter clothes before starting the winter. This would help you to get all these in a rock bottom price. Confirm the quality of these cloths are satisfactory.

Tip# 9. Take good care of your winter clothing, you won't want to replace it every year so clean it the way the manufacturer tag recommends.

Tip# 10. Wearing an extra blanket is highly helpful to reduce the heater temperature thus saving lots of money on electricity bill. Interestingly, this would applicable to your water heater too..! Cover it with a real good cloth to get protected from cold outside.

Tip# 11. Remember, installation of solar panel is best for all the times. If you have solar panel installed, you don't wait to waste money on water heater and room heater to a great extend.

Tip# 12. Maintaining household heating equipment efficiency through annual maintenance or replacement of inefficient equipment can also save considerable money.

Tip# 13. Confirm your refrigerator always in closed state. Also, never wash your dish or dresses once if it is not full to go ahead with.

Tip# 14. Place automatic door closers in each doors that using frequently.

Tip# 15. Always close the doors and windows of any rooms where no heat required. E.g. Store rooms, bathroom etc...

That's all. Inform here once if you have any other useful tips to add with this 15 tips. That would be appreciated and highly helpful to readers who visiting this article after you.

Image courtesy: Aunt Owwee

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Examples to Measure Advertising Efficiency and Effectiveness

Advertisements! It is the heart of each and every business. From a local grocery store to the top notch companies like Intel, Microsoft or even Google, spending billions of Dollars every year for advertisements to popularize their products to get more and more customers. As an investor, it is our duty to understand if the advertisement program of a company really works or it goes as an extravaganza to eat investors money.

Power of an advertisements not only measured with the sale happening due to that but also, should understand by knowing how an advertisement make the product memorable to the public all the time. Here are two advertisements (unfortunately it is in Hindi) from Pidilite, a leading adhesives manufacturer in India. These ads can't consider as just commercials but these are double edged swords that hitting to customers heart with deep message that make affections to their products! I have found these ads are the best advertisements I have ever seen in my life. First advertisement is little long and of course, Pidilite may spend little more money to media but, it can't consider as an extravaganza because once if you see this ad, you will certainly love it along with the product it promoting! The intelligence and efforts behind these powerful ads to pass a very strong message to the heart of public and forcing them to fall in love with these products, are extraordinary!

1. Advertisement Number 1

A short note on this ad for those who don't know Hindi: This ad is nothing but a small girl used Fevicol adhesive to fix the mustache to act in a drama at her childhood. She later not able to remove it and going through different life stages with that mustache! Once after she died, this mustache even there when she took a rebirth to earth! Remember to hear the excellent MUSIC WITH THIS AD... it is marvelous:



2. Advertisement Number 2

This is an advertisement of Fevi Kwik and quick fix adhesives. No much explanation required to understand this. Identify the clear shot message this ad passing to the public on the power of its small product!



There are number of award winning commercials from this company other than the above two. Visit here to watch each of them to realize how a company can make extremely powerful advertisements in a 'cost effective manner' but, each of them makes high penetration to the market with the product promoting in it.

As an investor, we should expect such kind of advertisement efficiency from companies or management when advertising their products. These advertisements are cost effective by its kind but, highly capable to pass a crystal clear message on the product to the public so they never forget these products. Once you see these ads, certainly watch it again and again whenever appearing in the TV. This would push the product name and brand to your heart forever!

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A Practical Guidance to Become a Christmas Spending Expert

Christmas is the season of shopping and spending. It is also known as the season of inviting huge debts if not spending your money intelligently. Generally, people never hesitate to borrow money from others or lending organizations to celebrate Christmas but, starts running to return back the money once after the season over. Give a thought. Ensure you are not falling to any debt trap at least for this Christmas by managing your money efficiently. Here are some well practiced ideas to help you to become a seasonal expert.

Core point to enjoy this wonderful season depends on some major factors - Identifying the money what you have, creation of list of items to purchase, categorization of items based on importance and needs, identifying valued purchases of items. Below, four points ensures you have done well with each of this and not falling to any debt traps. This article is for all mommies, dads and everybody who are in the thrill of Christmas.

1. Be wise on using credit cards

Be wise enough to control credit card purchases in this Christmas season. As the preparation to be frugal for the time, take a decision to not use credit cards. Create budget for list of all items that you want to purchase. This list should be compatible with the amount you presently have in your wallet. Revisit the list to include all required items and exclude any items that you really not required. Once done, put the money for this purchased to an account where you have a debit card associated to it. Limit credit card spending to purchase these items. Instead, start using your debit card. This would normally give you a chance to think twice before spending any penny before each purchase. A fixed amount always helpful to think and acts in a structured way.

2. Learn to save money on Christmas shopping

Browse to the net to read about possible Christmas time money saving tips. Note the best points from it to practice in a better possible way. Christmas season offers lots of bargain buys. Take all possible advantages from the season offerings. Be wise when spending for seasonal items because you are not going to use it once after the season ends. Cheap but best items are the best to eliminate such ironies and such items should be there at the top of your purchase list for seasonal items. For example, a costly Christmas tree or a Crib or even costly decorating items are worthless once after the season ends. These items don’t have any durability too. So think intelligently and control money wastes on unnecessary items.

3. Create additional income using seasonal opportunities

Seasons like Christmas offering endless chances to create additional income for a limited period. Utilize it to the maximum to generate additional money for this Christmas to celebrate. I have already posted a wonderful article revealing possibilities on creating additional income for this Christmas, some days back. Visit it and read to identify a best option for you to go ahead with. These are some of the best, sure-shot opportunities which generally occurring once in year.

4. Purchase practically and intelligently

As I said earlier, never purchase costly seasonal items because it is not going to worth for you once after the end of season. Follow the best practices of creating a list for shopping and gifts. Categories it by having two columns were the first for required items and the second for 'seasonal' items. Work a little to identify where you will get these seasonal items as cheap buy. This would help to save extra money to utilize for some other useful purposes. When you plan for any gift item, identify cheap one which exposes like a costly one and have durability all the time. All time useful cheap gifts are an excellent option than high valued seasonal gift items.

Be practical always. Be structured to be a wise spender to meet this season without running out of money. Wish you all an advanced, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Image Credit: brianfox "My special Merry Christmas to the Fox family"

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What Brazilian Property Market has to Offer

Editor's Note: This is a guest article from David Martin, Sales Director of the Coral Lake Beach Resort Brazil

Brazil property investment has remained a steady form of investment because Brazil has so much to offer the investor and tourist. Further, since an interest in investment in Brazilian property remains strong, Brazil gains myriad benefits from such interests. Since the economy along with the real estate market in Brazil is progressing forward in a positive fashion, the country is quickly climbing to the top in terms of a good position within the world market.

There are benefits and features associated with the Brazilian market that encourage investor interest, and the strongest attractions for investors are in the realm of positive economic reformation, a good political environment, superior rental yield, and plenty of growth potential in terms of capital. What’s more, the Brazilian government is encouraging investors to invest in real estate since the government recognizes the advantages for the country and the investors that maintain interest in the real estate that the country offers.

Interested investors will find that Brazil is a country that differs greatly from other countries since it does not solely depend upon tourism to improve its economic status. Brazil is a country that has plenty of bio fuels and oils which assure its future wealth. Moreover, the government in Brazil has expanded tremendously in recent years and this factor alone has vastly improved the economic status of the nation. An increase in employment options as well as wages is helping the middle class members of Brazil improve their lives, and a reduced interest rate associated with real estate is intensifying the desire for Brazilian properties throughout the nation.

Brazil property investment options are focused on gaining the attention of foreign investors in recent years. Since there are no present restrictions placed on buyers that are not residents of Brazil, the real estate sector has expanded and improved tremendously: this fact, in conjunction with the tourism in the country every year has certainly improved the economic status of Brazil, which, in turn, makes the country more enticing for investors.

Infrastructure is continuously under development in Brazil and the new developments are attracting new real estate buyers. Resort projects are perfect for the real estate investor, and since Brazil has a lot of tourism, established resorts give investors a chance to draw a substantial income from tourists looking for buy-to-let properties. The prices of land in Brazil are also at an all time low, and this is also beneficial for people interested in Brazil property investment.

Despite the stupendous growth in the real estate sector in Brazil, property prices remain comfortably low. With improvements in transportation, infrastructure, a high tourist draw, and the promise of a successful, financial future, Brazil is becoming a hotspot, not only for holiday makers around the world, but for savvy real estate investors looking to get in on some superlative land deals. Additionally, thanks to the Brazilian government, interest rates associated with real estate in the country have dropped more than half of what they were just five years ago. A low investment with a high potential for a good return on investment keeps investors looking toward Brazil for new properties.

David Martin is the Sales Director for the Coral Lake and Beach Resort Brazil. He has worked for over 10 year in the real estate industry and worked in many overseas property markets.

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Money Hacker Tweetbook! A Precious Gift to Readers!

Today, I am offering a terrific gift to Money Hacker readers! This classic gift box contain a precious, valuable e-book created from Twitter Tweets! A TweetBook!!! This rare specious e-book created by deadly combination of most precious, most valuable articles found scattered on various sites and blogs around the glob. Here it is for you in a single room! This Tweetbook created by Money Hacker with 2500+ amazing article tweets from the category of personal finance, investment guidelines, child investments, family finance, money management, money saving tips, insurance planning, debt management, retirement planning and many, many. This tweetbook going to be a very innovative gift for you! I am now taking you to this wonder world of Money Hacker with lots and lots of amazing articles from each and every area I am covering to. Boy! this is a real goldmine! You will realize it if you download and have a look all over the pages of this classy e-book. Download, enjoy, share with your friends and popularize it. This is dedicated to each and every visitors and readers of this blog!!!

Download it right away! (Right click and open link in new windows if it is not working for you properly) I am sure, you will get unconscious by the pleasure of seeing such terrific article tweet collections with fail proof link to articles associated to each!

If you like to receive such future tweets directly to your account, join me at Twitter

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Popular Articles from November 2009

Here is a list of most popular article posted in Money hacker in the month of November 2009. Each of this article coming from various categories and very best to read and get maximum knowledge on that area. I am sure, most this article are new in this kind and providing valuable information to Money Hacker readers. I am here to hearing from you on what you think about each of this articles. Have a look.

1. 3 Kickass Business Ideas to Become Definite Millionaire

2. Unique Ideas to Make Money for Christmas from Seasonal Activities

3. Reasons Why Gold is the Most Powerful Investment Today

4. Highly Practical Money Saving Tips on Groceries

5. Excellent Money Saving Tips at Work

6. The Art and Science of Investing - A Deadly Combination

7. 3 Powerful Factors to Decide a Personal Financial Planning Success

8. 3 Activities for Investors to Practice When Market is Peak

9. 5 Magic Personal Qualities behind the Success of Warren Buffett

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Money Saving Tips on Water

Water is life. It is the most valuable bless from god to the human kind. Whenever misuse of any drop of water happening throughout hand or careless act, remember lots of people around the world suffering by not having even that drop of water. Water becomes costliest among utilities. Around the world, human kind experiencing scarcity of water or not having enough water to meet the need. Whenever dealing with water, as a costly utility, remember, little care from our side can save lots of gallons of water along with waste of money.

Here are some tips to save water as well as money. You will certainly find these tips are highly practical, powerful. To make you perfect to never miss any items, create a checklist of items where your attention required not wasting and losing your money. A good lists of attention required utilities always helpful to do timely checking to confirm no error happening from your side.

Here are the best, powerful Money Saving Tips on Water

Tip #1 Adopt green home practices. Understand how to use water efficiently with compliance of green home rules and assess to know whether you are doing it or not.

Tip #2 Never waste even a drop of water. Whenever you waste any drop, think lots of people around the world running hard for that drop. Keep this point always in mind.

Tip #3 Throw your ego away. Don't think you are paying money for water and that is the reason you are wasting water. This article intends to save money from water. Not from your ego.

Tip #4 Learn recycling possibility of water. For example, you can convert water from bathrooms to the flush or watering garden.

Tip #5 Identify the possibility of rain water storing and harvesting in your home. This is cost efficient to get crystal clear water for your whole year drinking purpose.

Tip #6 Confirm there is any leakage at any point in your home to lose water. Never neglect drop by drop leakage. This would be costly for long run. Rectify problems time to time.

Tip #7 Watering gardens should happen when there is no chance from sun to evaporate it! this may help to not water frequently. You can use the leaf bed in the summer season to hold water in the ground for more time.

Tip #8 Remember to switch off motor in proper time if running it to pump water to the overhead tank. Or it would cost you electricity as well as water bill. It has double impact!

Tip #9 Turn off water tap when you are shaving, brushing or cleaning dishes. Don't leave water running at such times. Intentionally or not, this is a common mistake happening to people frequently.

Tip #10 Taking little care when laundries and dish washing, can reduce usage of water to a great extend. Wash cloths or plates when it is full.

This list is not ultimate but, I took care to add all those important tips in it. You are most welcome to add more tips if you have one.

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Insightful Money Saving Tips on Electricity

This article not only provide an idea to perfectly save money on electricity but, give a chance to do self assessment on present status and understanding on the subject. It is best to understand the most possible methods to save money on power and save money by perfectly using it in your home. Remember, I still feel communication is the best method to put your each idea in work after discussing each with your family members and getting their full support to your efforts. Have right spirit and best wishes from my end.

Money Saving Tips on Electricity

Tip #1 In the sense of energy, ensure your house is green compliance by installing Solar Panels for Bulbs, Heater etc.

Tip #2 Replace all the ordinary bulbs and tubes with highly energy efficient CFL lamps

Tip #3 Confirm you have fail proof electrical cabling and don't facing any earthing issues in home as well as bad wires. Install Electric circuit breakers for better safety.

Tip #4 Ensure you are not using any electric equipments that have any kind of operational defects or damaged. Bad equipment generally utilize more electricity than right one.

Tip #5 Never allow any equipments, bulbs or any items, that use electricity, keep running if that is really not required.

Tip #6 Have a practice of turning of all equipments before going to sleep or going out. Have a habit of switching-off the main switch if you are going out for long. If refrigerator required to work, then manually check and confirm all other electric equipments, gadgets, bulbs etc have switched off. Personally saying, I have a fail proof practice of checking water heater, gas burners, then switching-off main switch before going out.

Tip #7 Never allow your television, laptop or desktop or any other electric equipment to sit as stand by mode. This would indirectly eat lots of power! Have a practice of turning it off if not using.

Tip #8 Never use any equipment/s that doesn't have or meet certain quality specifications and standards. I personally found cheap electrical instruments, especially cheap Chinese electrical items, are major culprits for getting high electricity bills.

Tip #9 Have a 'weekly once' practice for ironing, dish washers, washing machines etc. If your both hands are free, use it to wash dresses, plates etc., in weekdays. As a best tip, get right idea about the off-peak hours and try to run such equipments at this time.

Tip #10 If you have air-conditioner or heater, ensure your room doesn't have any holes to leak the air. Remember, you should have excellent insulation in the top, bottom and side areas of your home or room!

Tip #11 Using washing machines are a bad practice to dry clothes. If it is a sunny day, there is natural heat to dry your cloth. Why do you neglect to utilize such god given options

Tip #12 Eco-friendly home with lots of plants, both small and tall, around the home is highly helpful to sustaining with cool atmosphere always. This is highly helpful to reduce the use of air conditioners in the summer season!

Tip #13 Have light colored walls inside the room to get more brightness. This could reduce the requirements of adding additional lights inside the room.

Tip #14 Understand, Microwaves have power efficiency than conventional oven. Use that.

Tip #15 For the night safety, it is highly advisable to purchase and install economical, motion activated lights. This could eliminate the requirement of having full time light in the surroundings at the night time.

Tip #16 To get the best heating results from your fireplace, consider installing a heat-air exchange system that blows warmed air back into the room. This will keep the room much warmer meaning you can lower your thermostat and save money.

Tip #17 Take care to switch of ventilator fans once it has done the work. If not do so, it will give reverse affect.

Tip #18 Clean all the electronic equipments, filters and bulbs to do the work more efficiently.

Tip #19 careful to 'tune' the temperature of your refrigerator, heater, AC etc.. to the right degree.

Tip #20 Remember to clean/change filters of AC, Burners or any item that use filters, regularly to leverage the efficiency.

Tip #21 Never fail to compare utility bills to identify and report any possible errors. Never neglect to pay it in right time to avoid penalties.

Tip #22 Ask your local electric or gas utility for a free or low-cost home energy audit. The audit may reveal inexpensive ways to reduce home heating and cooling costs by hundreds of dollars a year.

Tip #23 Unplug any power strips or electrical components from wall outlets when not in use. Even though the power is off, it still draws power from the outlet. Electric bill went down that month when I started doing this

Tip #24 Confirm you have all the equipments and devices that are free from surges or rust.

Tip #25 Always prefer power strips with switches. Always use electrical devices such as cell phone chargers or TVs, with it. Turn the switch off when you don't use the device to keep it from draining current. Using single switch, multi-strip outlet to connect various equipments in it would be a fantastic idea. It is easy to switch them all OFF at a time and thus prevent "vampire" electrical flow and its associated expenses.

Master tip to save lots of money on electricity and power# To show your integrity to the efforts by nations worldwide to save energy, be a part of this effort. Switch off lights and equipments at the peak hours and select this time for your family outings and shopping activities! Once you practice this, you can see the high reduction of your electricity bills.

Always discuss your ideas and share knowledge and tips with others in your group. This would helpful to get more innovative ideas or shape your idea in a better way.

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Is Christmas Debt Really Worth It?

Editor's Note: This is a guest post from Sarah Jennings of Moneybright, UK

The festive season is expensive. Whether you have children or not, anyone celebrating Christmas is likely to find themselves with higher than usual spending! Whether you are purchasing presents for family, buying food for your big meal or indulging in the Christmas treats you just cannot resist, it all adds up.

While there are a number of great ways to avoid Christmas Debt, employing thrifty tactics like shopping on special discount days or using promotional discount codes online, you’ll still be left with a big Christmas bill. There are a number of people who argue that spending excessively at Christmas actually undermines what the season is about. And of course it does. Even if you do not consider yourself Christian, you probably know that Christmas is fundamentally a celebration of the birth of Jesus. But this holiday has since been turned into a big commercial festivity, as stores and businesses rub their hands together at the thought of cashing in during a time when we’re a little more ‘spend-happy’. Millions of non-Christians celebrate by buying gifts, having a special meal etc and it all comes with a price tag.

Experts warn, however, that spending more than you can afford to over the holiday season will lead to a nasty financial hangover in the new year, as consumers struggle to pay the debt they accumulated. Christmas debt can run on well into the new year, for some lasting right until the next Christmas when the big spend starts again. This vicious cycle can be avoided by simply spending within a conservative budget and employing some sensible debt management tactics. It is possible to have an affordable Christmas without cutting down your enjoyment!

Read more from Sarah Jennings at her blog, Moneybright

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Strategies to Become an Expert Investor

Becoming an investment expert is a dream of every investor. It's glory and fame is the major factors, people generally interested to have this title. It is easy to say the word 'Investment Expert' but it is not that much easy to shape one fit to that title. What is 'investment expert' title really means? Nothing, having acquired skills which helps a person to determine advantages and disadvantages prior to make any investment decision! An investment expert should have enough skills to evaluate the possibilities and drawbacks of an investment from all angles. By sticking to the law, 'Nothing Impossible in this world', we are moving to the next session, the important three points that can make a person a real investment expert.

Have good knowledge about mistakes - the first step to become and expert Investor.

The best way to attain verbal investment knowledge is through reading books and magazines. It would make you knowledgeable about the subject. However, such knowledge can’t be considered as practical. There is not limit how you going to apply these verbal skills to practical life. Your step to become a smart and expert investor should start from understanding the mistakes happened to people and public. Talk to investors, chat and interview them frequently. Collect and record information about all the mistakes committed by them along with its impact or happened lose. Of course, it required to put lots of effort and time. Once you have done, you are in the safe side by knowing the possible side effects of some action if you would do.

Respect the power of strategies

Strategies are different depends on person and investing style. As a value investor, we may know the best and successful investor in the world. Start reading and recording their strategies. Never fail to record their mistakes and the reason why it happened to them. You will wonder by knowing some of the common strategies all these people have. As said above, this is similar to a copy writing process. Get it by using all possible sources like direct interviews, biographies and autobiographies, books about them and even use of internet. List down the strategies to prepares right set. This would help you when dealing with final step below:

Adopt and build your own set of rules

You have a right set of mistakes and its impacts. You also have a set of good strategies by great investors and information on how they used. It is your time to adapt and build your own investment strategies. Once you are ready, go ahead with that. Build your circle of competency and stick to that. It is a time taking process by knowing your capacity and how fast you able to understand and adapt it. For example, it is difficult to learn and adapt the Margin of Safety allegory of Benjamin Graham because it required lots of effort and right level of understanding skills. You can’t avoid this because it is the investment strategy of this great investor. If such happening and you are willing to adapt such difficult strategy to build your own investment rule, work hard to get it done.

When coming to the point of knowledge acquisition, one gets it from four levels. From parents, from teachers, from own research and finally from life experiences. Once after completing above mentioned third step, you still not claim as an expert investor. You have lots of experience remaining from life. Above three steps are the open doors to the fourth, major step. Go with confidence. You will finally come as an expert investor!

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