Top Five Booming Jobs

Editor's Note: This guest post is contributed by Olivia Coleman

While many of Americans are struggling to make ends meet and find steady employment, there are some sectors of the economy that are not only surviving, they're thriving. These sectors are projected to see amazing employment growth in the coming years, and college students especially, should pay close attention to this list of top five booming jobs in America.

The job facing the greatest boom in the country right now is biomedical engineering. According to the editors of Money magazine, demand for biomedical engineers is expected to increase by 72 percent by 2018. And with these professionals earning an average of $76,000 per year, their economic outlook is equally as positive. This is a highly complex and technical field, however, as engineering principles and techniques are applied to the medical fields in order to improve medical diagnosis and treatments.

The profession to see the second-greatest demand is that of telecommunications network engineers. This field is expected to grow by 53 percent in the next ten years. These engineers work to solve and prevent problems that occur in telecom networks. They work to meet the needs and goals of their clients regarding voice, wireless and data communications, and help with installations and troubleshooting.

Physician assistants are projected to see the third-greatest employment growth in ten years, 39 percent. These medical professionals are expected to become increasingly important to the health care industry because of recent budget cuts and increased care demands. Hospitals can save money because these professionals do not garner the same salaries as physicians, yet they are highly trained in various medical sectors. Physician assistants usually earn around $92,000 a year, depending on their area of expertise, locality, and experience level.

Software architects are also expected to see a large employment growth, around 34 percent in ten years. These professionals, who earn an average of $120,000 a year, dictate the design elements to software developers, including platforms, coding, and technical levels. Essentially, they are tasked to interpreting the clients' needs and conveying those ideas to the design teams. This job is also ranked number one on the Money magazine best jobs list.

The number five job on this list is that of environmental engineering, which is projected to see a 31 percent growth in the next ten years. Much of this growth is thanks to the popular trend of "going green." These professionals work to apply the principles of engineering, science, and math to create products and systems that are more sustainable. Environmental engineers earn around $81,000 per year, and have the 5th best job on Money's best job ranking.

The projected growth of these jobs provides clear indications into which industries the nation is funneling resources, money, and expertise. The medical, environmental, and telecommunications fields are not only great places to find employment, they might also be the best places to invest one's money.

This guest post is contributed by Olivia Coleman, who writes on the topics of online colleges and universities. She welcomes your comments at her email ID: olivia.coleman33@gmail.com

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Surety Bonds: Investments that Protect Investments

Editor's note: This is a guest post from Chris Foley of SuretyBonds.com

Anybody who contributes their time, effort, and, of course, finances to a project feels more confident about the decision if the commitment can somehow be assured. When it comes to finances - whether personal or corporate - surety bonds provide this guarantee. Most industries in America utilize surety bonds to provide protection for those investing in business deals, as well as those who might be vulnerable after a contractual agreement has been made.

Surety Bond Basics

Surety bonds essentially work as a legal contract between three parties:

1. The Principal: the entity required to purchase the bond to guarantee the quality of work to be done

2. The Obligee: the entity that requires the bond to protect its interests

3. The Surety: the agency that issues the bond to the principal and assures the obligee with a financial guarantee

The bond is written to assure the obligee that the principal will fulfill all duties appropriately, whether developing construction projects, collecting debts, or signing official documents as a notary. If the principal fails to uphold the guarantee outlined in the bond's language, then the obligee can make a claim on the bond. If the principal is unable to compensate the obligee, the surety will be held accountable for reparation, whether achieved financially or otherwise.

Although bonds may sound similar to insurance policies, they are completely separate entities that serve different purposes. Insurance policies provide retroactive compensation for situations gone awry. Conversely, bonds provide a kind of preventative credit by encouraging principals to make appropriate, professional decisions. This is why the application process for bonds is so thorough. Many surety specialists avoid putting themselves at risk by working exclusively with financially-sound clients.

Work with Bonded Professionals

If you have somebody handling your finances, one of the easiest ways to determine their reliability is to check for their bonded status. Depending on the specific jurisdiction in which you live, mortgage brokers, bankers, and lenders may be required to be bonded. Real estate agents, tax collectors, and money transmitters also typically need to purchase a bond before they start working with clients. If you find out there aren't bonding regulations in place for a specific profession, you can still inquire into the bonded status of the individual, as reputable professionals secure a bond to protect their consumers and clients even when necessary.

Getting a Surety Bond

Because so many professionals are unaware of bonding regulations and requirements, some may be unprepared for the additional funds needed for the process. Although bonding fees are relatively inexpensive considering the amount of protection provided, the unexpected cost might concern some professionals. The surety provider will charge a fee based on a thorough examination of the applicant's credit and financial history. By issuing the applicant a bond, the surety establishes the professional as reliable and financially stable.

If you're a professional who works in the finance industry, you should consider getting bonding to offer additional protection to your clients. To determine what kind of surety bond would best serve your needs, check with federal, state, and local regulations, as specific bonding regulations typically differ for most jurisdictions. For example, a required surety bond in California may not be necessary in another state, or, if it is, the required penal sum could be for a different amount.

Although the bonding process might seem a bit overwhelming at first, surety bonds provide an irreplaceable guarantee. Getting a surety bond requires an investment on both the part of the principal and the surety, and once issued offer valuable protection for investments made by the obligee.

About the Author: Chris Foley works for SuretyBonds.com, an agency that offers over 25,000 surety bond types to businesses and professionals in all 50 states. Through their Surety Bonds Education Program the company works to spread their knowledge of surety bond regulations and the bonding process in a wide array of industries.

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Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) - Is it The Right Option for Wary Investors?

Editor's Note: This is a guest article sent by Sachin

To say that the current global investment market has given investors pause for thought would be a major understatement. They want out of the nuthouse, and they want some security for their money, for once. The 2008 crash did one useful thing, if nothing else- It redefined the relationship between investors and the investment market more than anything since 1929. The US market went from the biggest market of all time to a testimony to the powers of debt collection, and took its professional credibility with it.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) started in the 90s, largely as an alternative to mutual funds. They were like the small mammals among the dinosaurs, and were “boutique” investments with high unit prices for investing in baskets of stocks which were usually based on specific indices. Unlike mutuals, they could also be traded in real time on the markets, so they gained some popularity as low risk, high value investments.

ETFs are managed funds, (small percentile fees) and they’re generally managed by major leaguers like Vanguard, Deutsche Bank and other heavyweights. That level of management helped separate the wheat from the chaff when the mortgage securities disaster happened. There were several ETFs specializing in mortgage securities, and they, like anything and everything connected with those securities, were hammered by the markets.

The markets were wrong. Further investigation of the ETFs discovered they were holding bulletproof, AA rated mortgage securities, not the unspeakable garbage which destroyed that market. A very sharp V in the prices of these ETFs was the result. (Interestingly, Citigroup, when it received its TARP money, cherry picked as many of these types of mortgage security as it could find, and was very nearly back in the black within 12 months.)

ETFs as an investment option

ETFs offer a degree of remove from direct exposure to the market’s neuroses. Investing in portfolios and indices means not having to deal with the moves of a few stocks on a daily basis, which saves both nervous systems and valuable time and money. ETFs are now major traders in their own right, thanks to the 2008 crash. The high value ETFs generally went out of favor, but were reinvented by traders as high volume trading materials. Institutional and other buyers also contributed a lot to volumes. Some ETFs even give excellent day trading margins, an outcome clearly not foreseen by the original ETF concept.

The ability to invest in indices has also evolved. ETFs now invest in currencies, bonds, commodities, and other less accessible areas for private investors. This level of flexibility, and the ability of fund managers to isolate specific investment modes far outstrips the mutuals. The mutuals, in fact are now setting up their own ETFs, largely because the ETFs have been busily making obsolete the traditional mutual investment mixes which are comparatively vague, like “income, capital growth, etc.,” which don’t compare well to “aerospace, oil, mining” as investment options.

As the “best and brightest” wade through the various legal possibilities of debt recovery in its most literal senses, it’s no great surprise to find the ETFs have got a grip on the global market. There’s now more than a trillion dollars under management in ETFs around the world. Investors have voted with their money, and the market is now having to listen, whether it likes it or not.

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3 Ideas for Having Fun on a Budget

Editor's Note: This is a guest article from Gunter Jameson

Everyone is trying to cut costs. We’re clipping more coupons, cutting back on gas, turning the thermostat down and wearing more sweaters. We’re all trying to learn how to do more with less. But all that penny pinching and stress about finances can get to you. Sometimes you just want go out to the movies and buy a big tub of buttery popcorn even though you know it’s way too expensive. In fact, did you know that the average family spends over $1,800 a year on entertainment? That’s a lot of money you could be saving. But there are ways to have fun and save money at the same time, you may even find that they’re even more fun than spending all the money you used to spend on movies, cable, and sporting events. Here are some ways that you can save money, but still have a good time:

Cut the Cable and Borrow Movies

Most people spend anywhere between $50-$100 a month on cable or satellite service. You may have 500 channels, but there still nothing on TV. Cutting out that monthly cost may open you up to new possibilities, like spending more time with your family or reading instead of watching reruns of Jersey Shore. Cutting out cable frees you up to take more walks and maybe even finish up a few projects around the house that you keep meaning to get to.

But that doesn’t mean you have to cut out entertainment altogether. Your local library probably has a good selection of movies, both old and new. Take the chance to catch up on old classics or learn more with documentaries. And if you are still hankering for something newer, you can always rent cheap movies for a $1 at local DVD rental kiosks, like Redbox.

Community Events

How involved are you in your community? If you spend most Saturdays glued to the tube, probably not much. But if you cut out that expense, you may be looking for more ways to get out of the house and have fun with your family. Most large cities and communities have free events all year round, like concerts, festivals, fairs, exhibitions, and more. Find the website in your area that lists community events, and you might be surprised by the cool and interesting things you can attend like an Asian Festival, Llama Days, a folk art fair, a Jewish music festival, or other events that will both entertain, teach, and let you spend time with your family.

Games and Sports

Now that you’ve cut out your season tickets to your favorite college football team, how can you get your game on? Well, you could watch it on TV, or you could go out and participate in sports yourself. Why watch other people play baseball, when you could join a city or community softball league? Not only will this get you out of the house, making new friends, and having fun, it’s also great exercise and you might even lose a few pounds.

And if you’re looking for a way to spend more time with your family, try starting a family game night. Scrabble, Monopoly, Risk, Uno, and more are a great way to interact with your family, have fun, and save money all at the same time.

See? You can be frugal and still have fun. It just takes the courage to get and try new things. And once you’re out in the community and spending more time with your family, you’ll start to wonder why you ever spend $40 for one night at the movies.

About the author: Gunter Jameson writes about several topics including travel, minimalism and online colleges.

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Annuity Rates and Open Market Option

Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Eleanor Whitelee, a personal finance blogger from Kent, UK.

Annuity rates are falling. Unfortunately, that’s undeniable. However, rather than focusing on this in a negative light, what we really should be doing is to simply ensure that, whatever the rates are, we are getting the best financial deal for our pension funds.

The Open Market Option is the best way to do this. To explain it briefly, the Open Market Option is what gives you the right to shop around for the best deals. You no longer have to take the first annuity offered to you by your pension provider. You can now go through the entire market to find the best deal for your own personal circumstances. By doing so, you could increase your annuity income by up to £1000 per year.

There is also the issue of enhanced annuities. It’s thought that anywhere from 40 to 60% of retirees could benefit from enhanced annuities, which offer a higher rate to people suffering from certain medical conditions or meeting certain criteria. Common examples of qualifying criteria are smoking (having smoked 10 or more cigarettes per day for at least ten years), having an unhealthy BMI or regularly exceeding the maximum recommended weekly alcohol unit intake.

The reason that such criteria, as well as a whole host of medical conditions, can mean higher annuity rates is that rates are calculated based on your life expectancy, so if you have a condition or a lifestyle habit that might mean you do not live as long, the rates you receive will be higher.

Without browsing the entire market, it is impossible to be sure that you are maximizing your pension fund and as annuities play such a vital role in your retirement finances, this can be critical to enhancing your lifestyle in your later years.

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Why Do Annuity Rates Vary

Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Ivan Harrison, a personal finance enthusiast from London.

Annuity rates can be confusing business. Aside from the fact that the rates vary according to age and gender, the same person could get different rates from a number of different providers. So just what does affect the rates you could be offered?

Gender

Annuity rates are based on your life expectancy. Men typically have shorter life expectancies than women and are therefore typically offered higher rates.

Smoking

Smokers could be eligible for specialist “smoker” annuities or enhanced annuities, depending upon how much they smoke and for how long they have been doing so. Again, this relates to the fact that smoking is related to a high number of potentially life threatening illnesses and medical conditions.

Alcohol Intake

Again, those who regularly exceed the maximum recommend alcohol intake are potentially eligible for certain enhanced annuities. Again, this comes down to the link between excessive drinking and a host of medical conditions.

Postcode!

This might come as a surprise, but there are even providers who will now vary rates based on your post code. This is related to the fact that extensive research has indicated that people living in certain, often poorer, areas of the country are likely to have a shorter life than those living in more affluent areas of the country. As such, some providers have now started to take this into accounts and offer higher rates to those living in areas where the life expectancy may be lower.

Medical Conditions

There is a comprehensive list of medical conditions, ranging in severity, that can influence eligibility for enhanced annuity rates. If you have any medical condition at all, it is worth enquiring with an expert as to whether or not you might be able to get the higher rates.

As with any financial product, the best bet is to always research the market, seek professional advice and be sure you’ve shopped around before making any final decisions.

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Money Saving Tips For Garden

Article by Sherin Dev; Follow me in Twitter or Facebook

I have received a tweet in google: "GardenGurlie86 RT @MoneyHacker-Does anyone have any helpful money saving tips for gardening?"

I have a small garden in my home with full of flowers and required vegetables to my family. This garden is in my village home thus I am not a full time gardener, but whenever I am there for a vocation, I will be there in that garden for considerable amount of time because I love it. If I say truth, we never spend more money on this garden. In my experience, I have found the money lose on garden happens from three ways - water, fertilizers and pesticides. If the gardener found her own way to arrange or make these things intelligently, would help to save huge money.

Type of garden would be different for different people. However, a small start up with increasing the size slowly, would be the right approach. Understand, if watch carefully, one can easily find most of the items required to maintain a garden available around our home itself. Use of such would help to save lots of time and money. As said earlier, watering, pesticides and fertilizers are the major money losing elements in a garden. Intelligent use of water, self made composts and organic pesticides are the best reply to such lose possibilities.

1. If it is a vegetable garden, enquire and collect quality seeds from relatives, neighbors or friends, before you move to the next shop

2. Once if you plan to purchase plants, purchase smaller plants. This would be cheaper than buying large plant.

3. Before ordering soil to your garden, check the quality of your soil. Using fertilizers and composts sometime convert your soil to a fabulous one that is suitable for any garden.

4. Use biogradable items like news papers than buying costliest landscaping fabrics..

5. Use plastic cake containers, cheap old plant trays from garden centers, yoghurt cups with clear lids, cardboard egg cartons, old ice trays, empty plastic film cans to grow and store seeds cost effectively. They are excellent to use for such.

6. Watering garden is important. Convert dish washing water, water from washing machines if uses biogradable soaps, water from car washing, water from shower all are good to water your garden in a cost effective way. Before using municipal water, identify those options and utilize maximum to save lots of money.

7. Have a facility or make your own to store rain water in the garden itself. This would meet the water requirements to a great extend.

8. Installing drip irrigation is an excellent way to save water, money and helps watering plants systematically.

9. Take the advantage from Mulch to keep your garden always moisture and prevent losing lots of water. Creating a bed using leaves in the summer as well as rainy season help to sustains required water in garden. Shredded papers from office, paper and card boards available in the home can use to mulch the garden or the plan to a great extend.

10. Have your own compost making system. Food, kitchen, vegetable wastes and garden wastes all can be used to create quality compost. Any organic items around your home can easily convert to compost. Get knowledge on how to create compost in home. You may then never require buying fertilizers by spending money.

11. To avoid over-fertilizing seedlings and young plants, save the water left over from steaming or boiling vegetables, transfer it to a clean spray bottle and sprits it on leaves once a week for a light foliar feeding.

12. Learn how to control pests in garden organically than using chemicals. Chemicals are harmful and required to buy from outside. Organic pest control system can make in home and cost would be very less and effective.

13. Borrow or rent specialized tools from friends, relatives or neighbors. Always prefer second-hand garden tools that may available in the market as cheap as possible but sometimes with superior quality.

14. Plan your garden with seasonal as well as evergreen plants or vegetables. Arrange space properly to avoid any future mess ups.

15. Start a neighborhood garden community. Share seeds and seedlings with friends and neighbors. Each family would have their own specializations and knowledge. There would be plenty to share for the betterment of all in the community. You can even save the money of buying tools, composts, pesticides by sharing the same with others too..

16. Always prefer Drought-Tolerant Plants and native plants to cut down the requirements of water and fertilizer.

17. Hanging Bird feeders and Nesting Boxes would attract birds to your garden. They are the best natural pest controllers. Take the help of them.

If you have read the above tips and have any best idea to share, please do that as comment hereunder.

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Simple Stock Investment Idea for Utterly Confused People

Article by Sherin Dev; Follow me in Twitter or Facebook

This is certainly not an article for you once if you are an experienced investor. If so, better move to number of useful articles in this blog and read that. This is for stock investment infants and not even for stock investment kids. This article is totally based on the bottom fishing approach that is suitable for those who are a big zero in investment knowledge. This article arranged with some steps for them to follow and get success with minimal knowledge in direct stock or stock market investment. Have a look and comment your points below the article.

Money Hacker never advices anyone to invest in stocks directly, unless the person is excellent in direct stock investments. However, number of people asked questions that they required managing their money than give to the hand of any person to whom they never want to trust. Such people also don't have any previous investment experiences or have not involved direct stock market before. They are however ready to invest money for long term and willing to take all risks. Whenever receiving such requests, it was difficult for me to answer. However, I have found the below steps for them to invest directly to stock with minimal knowledge and control money lose to the minimum or none.

As told earlier, this is a bottom fishing approach with selected highly reputed companies that have good reputation all over the nation and among people. This investment approach means the investment would happen only when the stock market comes down to the bottom level along with the prices of selected stocks. If market dips to the bottom level, but stock prices of selected companies are intact, this idea will not work properly. One should identify various historical down level of stock markets along with company stock price changes at each market cycles. This would help him to understand how well the company prices when various market high times and how low the prices would fall when the market is down. This is the critical success point in this idea.

1. At the very first, open an online or offline trading account with a reputed stock broker in your area, who able to provide you best services and have minimal service charges. One can easily identify a good trading account by collecting service provider information and scan the service charges. Depend on the time and personal availability, open an online or offline account. If you are not interested to trade online, an offline account would fit you better. Those who are internet savvy, an online account would be their best option.

2. Determine and accumulate the amount you have plan to invest. Deposit the amount to the bank account that connected to your trading account. If you have sufficient money in your hand, but found the time is not great to invest and also you want to get some interest on your amount, put that money to a good liquid fund. Liquid funds are best with capital guarantee as well as liquidity. You can recollect your money within 3 working days. If that not works for you then accumulate the money in your bank account, connected to the trading account. This would however fetch you only minimal interest that savings bank account provides.

3. Identify your investment candidates. This is the vital step to follow and practice if you are not an experienced investor. Identification of companies highly connected to the common sense. Identify and list some of the best companies in your nation that have monopolistic position in the market with their product or service. Such companies should be well reputed, preferably large cap companies. Ask self a question why do you select this company and what all are the products belongs to them have monopolistic position in the market and who all consuming their products. Remember, any product or service that is monopoly in the market and highly focused to the middle class people and family would be your best candidates.

4. Identify their price levels. Take a note of happened historical price changes for last two or three markets dips and compare the present price with that. This would help one to identify where the prices goes to the maximum down and up. If the present price is high, wait until the prices of preferred stock to reach down to your expected level. Monitor the company prices regularly until it meet your goal.

5. Once the prices of intended stocks reaches to the expected level, start buying. Buy it maximum. Investment of two or three large companies with fantastic reputations would be best than buying a single company.

6. Once bought, hold the stock in trading account. Monitor to identify the price level to reach maximum heights. This may sometime take years. As long as you wait, your money also grows with the reputation of the company. Once the prices reaches to the high level as expected, sell and book your profits. Continue this process for maximum possible years.

Remember, this idea based on common sense and everybody may not able to achieve success. It depends on how well you understood this idea and how well you select the right companies and when buy and sell taking place. It also required the investor wait for years to buy or sell stocks. Remember, this is not a technical or value investment approach but, simple idea that worked with utmost patience.

Another important factor is, never test this idea with small and micro cap stocks. It would work with companies that have utmost reputation in the nation and trust from people with their solid, admired products or services.

What do you now think about this? Would you like to try it out?

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Groupons Replace Coupons to Save Money

Editor's Note: This guest post is contributed by Angelita Williams

Clipping coupons is an age-old tradition of housewives and frugal individuals interested in saving a few bucks at the supermarket. But for the rest of us, there is an updated version of the customary newspaper coupon, the Groupon. That's right, the Groupon. Groupon is a free website dedicated to providing members with localized and interested goods and services at discounted rates.

The website works off of "combined buying power". Each day, the site emails subscribers the deal of the day, which could include discounts at restaurants, spas, attractions, retail stores, and many other venues. These discounts work much like gift certificates, for example $50 worth of food at the local Italian restaurant can be purchased for $25. If a subscriber is interested in purchasing the discount, they simply click "BUY" on the email before midnight of that day. The only catch lies in the fact that a certain number of subscribers must purchase the discount for it to be activated. For instance, 100 members must purchase the same Groupon to the Italian restaurant for the deal to be complete. If you purchase a deal and the subscriber purchase minimum is not met, you won't be charged for that Groupon. This is an overall win-win situation for every party involved. The businesses benefit from an influx in patrons, while consumers benefit from enjoying their favorite goods at discounted prices.

It's also important to note that Groupons can be gifted to friends, family members, acquaintances, etc., and that members do not have to use the deal the day of purchase. Most deals will have an expiration date, however, so subscribers should make note of those. The site also makes an effort to inform subscribers that the Groupons aren't just for food or discounted spa treatments, they actually have very interested excursions and experiences available as well. Julie Mossler, spokeswoman for Groupon, says, "Customers look to us to get them off the couch and introduce them to something. For a lot of people, the discount is more of a catalyst or excuse to do something you wouldn't normally do."

Since its launch in 2008, the company claims they now have over 18 million subscribers in 29 countries, and they have saved people in North America over half a billion dollars already. Those numbers are astounding. If you're not a Groupon subscriber, or a member of the various competitor sites cropping up online, consider joining. The savings, goods, and experiences might be worth the few minutes it takes to logon.

About the Author: This guest post is contributed by Angelita Williams, who writes on the topics of online college courses. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: angelita.williams7 @gmail.com

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