How to Become Debt Free in 2011

Jan. 14 2011 - 11:38 am | 1,065 views | 0 recommendations |  Image by lemonjenny via FlickrThis post provided by IndexCreditCards.com.

 people, tackling debt is a New Year’s resolution. If that’s your 2011 goal, I’d like to share some advice and help from people and tools that can help motivate you.Larry Waschka, author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting Rich,” was a successful Registered Investment Advisor who died at the young age of 42 in 2004. More than for his financial success, Larry is remembered for the fun he created wherever he went. Country music superstar Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying” was appropriately played at Larry’s services.One of Larry’s core beliefs was that people should get their financial houses in order and do what it takes to get out of burdensome consumer debt. He even offered his employees financial planning seminars as a benefit to help them become debt free and stay on track. If being free of expensive and unsecured credit card debt will help you live your dreams, then start taking names and making commitments. There are places you can go on the Internet to find valuable advice similar to the expertise Larry Waschka offered to so many during his lifetime. This could be your turnaround year.Getting startedAdmit it. Look at it. Add up all your debt outside of your home and auto, and put a light on it. How much is it, and how much is your consumer debt costing you in interest payments? Once you’ve decided the total amount owed, prioritize the order in which you choose to pay off credit cards in full. Hold on to cards you’ve held a long time after they’re paid in full because your credit score, a three-digit number denoting your credit worthiness, is enhanced with longer history.Getting started also requires stopping, says one of my favorite sources, J.D. Roth, founder of GetRichSlowly.org and author or “Your Money: The Missing Manual.” One of his central philosophies is that you have to stop spending to conquer debt. J.D. has published numerous articles on ditching debt in three steps.Curb late fees If you have a problem with delinquent accounts, set up an automatic draft for the minimum payment for that account from your checking account. You can send in additional money as you choose. With that arrangement, all late penalties come to a halt, and your credit score begins to rebuild. Liz Pulliam Weston, whose latest book “The 10 Commandments of Money” will be published Jan. 20, provides tips and answers questions about this and other ways to simplify personal finance.Use tools There are websites that have nifty calculators to help you figure out exactly how long it will take you to become debt free depending on how you choose to pay down your obligations.Budgets are important so that you can see the value of paying off debt. You’ll have more monies to allocate to other saving or spending categories that bring personal joy and security, such as an emergency fund. Microsoft provides free budget templates online, and the website Mint.com offers free software for both computer and smartphone applications.Motivational tools help, too. Mary Hunt knows all too well what it’s like to be burdened with debt. She was deep in debt and, due to her ethics and religious beliefs, refused to walk away from her responsibilities. Mary started a newsletter, which struck a chord with the public, and Mrs. Hunt was able to repay everything she owed. Her monthly Debt-Proof Living Newsletter, numerous books and DebtProofLiving.com website contain many motivational gems. Although Mary’s newsletters are not novels, she includes many pearls of wisdom and personal testimonials that are compelling and worth the investment.Involve everyoneIt’s very important to attack your debt with a “whole family” approach. Gather all family members who are responsible for the debt or will be involved in the repayment of it. Communicating to younger children why certain things aren’t happening and what the payoff will be can help reach the goal quicker and with less fuss.Small personal rewards, timelines, and finish celebrations are also appropriate to improve motivation. David and Debbie Briscoe, of Hot Springs, Ark., rewarded themselves with a small trip following a five-year debt repayment plan. Later, they were able to afford their dream trip, a cruise to the Greek isles, because they started saving what they had been paying toward past debt. Rewards can be decided on beforehand and looked forward to with great anticipation.Stay the courseIf debt has accumulated due to overspending on “stuff,” work to replace unproductive habits with a different activity such as walking or exercise. Make lists of things to do in your area for very low cost.Bottom line, repaying debt must become a top priority, be personalized and realistic. If it’s broken down into weekly or monthly challenges, and family members work as a team, success can not only be realized, but enjoyed. Positive bonding can take place among family members.Get helpIf you’re completely overwhelmed and need outside help, consider contacting an organization such as Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCCS), which can be reached by calling 800-388-2227 or DebtAdvice.org. They offer free budgeting help and low-cost repayment plans. Certified debt counselors can help you set up a repayment plan and, in most cases, they’re able to help you obtain a reduction in interest rates while you pay off credit card debt.Start Saving Richard Barrington of MoneyRates.com advocates creating an emergency fund and boosting savings as you lose your debt to allow you to seize opportunities. Savings are vital to providing financial security and opening up opportunities.I’d appreciate hearing from you to know what works and doesn’t work for you in the coming year. Your personal story may motivate others in the future.In that song that played at my friend Larry’s funeral, Tim McGraw sings of sky diving, rocky mountain climbing, loving deeper and speaking sweeter. When you are out from under the stress and pressure overwhelming debt can create, you are freer to do all these things. May you travel far on your road to being debt free in 2011 and follow your personal dreams.Get motivated to become debt free in 2011 was written by Dr. Mary Ann Campbell, spokesperson for IndexCreditCards.com, a website with where you can learn about secured credit cards for building credit and can compare cards with the lowest rates. View the original article here

How to Save Big on Insurance, Property Tax and More

Every few weeks, I take questions from consumers and do my best to answer them here in this space. This time I'm going to answer a key question that was put to me by one person seeking a "GMA" savings makeover." In case you missed it, last year I offered "Good Morning America" viewers makeovers, drawing on the 100 simple cost-cutting strategies in my book, "Save Big."

I found roughly $47,000 in savings for the first family, $189,000 for the second, $108,000 for the third and $58,000 for the fourth. (To see the stories, and how the same strategies could help you, click on the dollar amounts.) The key is to look for big savings instead of small ones, and look in the places where we spend the most money: our homes, cars, credit, groceries and health care.

In my book, I work from some very different assumptions about the best way to save (but I let you have your latte!), so here's my contrarian response to a classic question.

Q: How do we save when so many of our costs are fixed? ~CM, Connecticut

A: In this tricky economy, try to adjust your attitude. Are you sure your costs are fixed? It's time to get scrappy to save some much-needed money. The truth is, even most supposedly "fixed" costs can be negotiated, refinanced or shopped around.

If you rent, try negotiating for a better rate. It costs landlords a lot of money to leave properties empty, so if you're a good tenant, that is valuable to them. Research the incentives your landlord and other nearby buildings are offering new tenants, and use that as a starting point to argue for a better deal.

If you own a home, interest rates have been historically low. Are you in a position to refinance? I argue that it's worth refinancing if you can get half a point off your rate and if you will add no more than five years to the length of your mortgage and can still pay your closing costs off in five years or less -- preferably much less. That's my Refinancing Rule of 5s. Can't get approved at a big bank? Try a credit union. Credit unions pay attention to your situation, not just your score. Find one here.

Property taxes? Appeal your assessment. Many local jurisdictions have not caught up with reality and are still using market values from early 2008 to assess homes. This is the time of year that assessments get mailed out. Appealing takes about the same amount of work as fighting a traffic ticket -- with a much bigger payout. I interviewed a New Jersey man who stood to save $5,000 a year if he won his appeal.

If car payments are a burden and your vehicle is not too old and you are not underwater on the value, did you know you can refinance it? Yup. Once again, credit unions are the place to turn. They do more of these auto loan refinances than anybody else.

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How to pay for college workshop

YAKIMA, Wash- The rising cost of higher education is a concern for many students and families.  But there are groups that can help. The Washington Apple Foundation is hosting a workshop in Yakima Wednesday on how to pay for college.

The average cost of a public university now is $19,388 a year, for a private schools its $39,028. That number goes up about 5 to 8 percent a year according to the College Board.  But Wednesday's workshop is geared towards alleviating some of those concerns.  The Washington Apple Foundation is hosting three simultaneous seminars.  The first will show students how to complete scholarship applications.  The other two will teach parents in English and Spanish about filling out the FAFSA form. The goal is to help make sure students don't skip college for financial reasons.

"Everyone knows that colleges getting expensive and not everyone knows how to fill out the forms and where the money might come from and that's what we're offering", says Adam Gilbert, a member of the board of directors for the Washington Apple Education Foundation.

The presentations are open to all students and families, but organizers say juniors and seniors in high school or students in community college as well as parents who have never filled out the FAFSA will benefit most.

While college is expensive, it can be worth it.   College graduates make between $32,000 and $56,000 more than high school grads according to the 2005 census.

Tomorrow's workshop will be at Yakima Valley Community College in the Hopf Union.  To reserve a free spot call 509-663-7713. 

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How to: Conduct Foreign Language PPC Campaigns

Was one of your new year’s resolutions to make more money online with more visitor conversions? If so, then 2011 might be the year for you to expand your web presence to the foreign language internet.

English is rapidly being overtaken as the lingua franca of the web, as foreign languages are seeing massive growths in online use. For instance, Chinese use online grew by 755% and Arabic by 2064% between 2000 and 2008, compared to a 204% growth for English. That means that if you want to be a part of the biggest growth markets online, you need to think beyond English.

It’s surprisingly easy and cost effective to localize and optimize your website for foreign markets – a multilingual SEO expert can provide you with all the guidance required. Once you’ve launched your optimized foreign language websites, though, you want to start seeing results quickly – and organic SEO takes time and patience to build conversions.

That’s where a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaign can help – it’s an essential part of any global marketing communication strategy, being the fastest way to get to the top of the rankings, build brand awareness and generate qualified click-throughs. Handily, it’s also a very affordable method of advertising. But how do you go about managing a PPC campaign in a language you don’t speak? Here are five tips to get you started.

1) Choose the right search engine(s): Different search engines are dominant in different countries (Yandex in Russia, Baidu in China, etc), so you will need to conduct some research into your demographic(s) to decide which search engine(s) will be the most effective. A niche search engine might be more cost effective for your market. Each search engine also has different rules for PPC, such as whether you are penalised for irrelevant keyword use, so it’s worth familiarising yourself with the rules of each search engine before you begin.

2) Choose the right keywords: If your foreign language websites have been correctly optimized then you should already have your list of comprehensively researched and analysed foreign language keywords. If not, then you need to have a native-speaking translator translate your English keywords, brainstorm alternatives and then research their effectiveness using a keyword research tool. The trick to foreign language PPC is taking culture and context into account to pick the keywords that are most likely to elicit a click-through from the reader – this is best judged by a native speaking SEO expert.

3) Creative copywriting: Now, the crucial part – writing your ‘25 word or less’ ad copy. Again, culture and context is crucial here to make sure you strike the right tone with readers – the tone you use for an effective PPC ad in the UK will be very different from the tone for Germany. Your best bet is to write your ad copy in English and then enlist multilingual marketing professionals to produce a Transcreation of the advert copy, to ensure your ads are optimized for every language and culture.

4) Manage and monitor: This step is the same as for any PPC campaign – once the ads have gone live, you’ll need to regularly monitor them to see how many impressions, click-throughs and conversions each ad is getting. You’ll also want to keep an eye out to prevent click fraud – multiple clicks from the same IP address. The difference with multilingual campaigns is that you will be managing campaigns across several search engines and languages and may need the assistance of a language professional for translation and comprehension.

5) Measure: The final, crucial step, is again the same as for any PPC campaign – you need to measure your ROI for each campaign and adjust your spend accordingly. With foreign language campaigns, you may find that your keywords need more refining than for your English campaigns – you may also find that the search engine which is most effective for your demographic is not the one you originally anticipated. This is why constant PPC monitoring is essential, and is the key to generating greater conversions, greater turnaround, and greater revenue in 2011

Christian Arno is the founder and Managing Director of global translation agency and localisation specialists Lingo24. Launched in 2001, Lingo24 now has over 120 employees spanning four continents and clients in over sixty countries. In the past twelve months, they have translated over thirty million words for businesses in every industry sector and their projected turnover for 2010 is £6.3m.

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How to make big-top beasties

Fun is where you find it, and -- let's face it -- sometimes that's in the trash! So it is with these big-top beasties made from cardboard tubes. Whether your crew goes for re-creating our three-ring trio or dreaming up their own wild things, here's how to get them into the act:

Cardboard circus

1. Gently flatten a cardboard tube to make it easier to cut. With scissors, trim the tube to shape, making a head, neck and four legs as desired (note that the elephant has short, thick legs, for example, while the giraffe has long, tapered ones).

2. Brush the critter with a base coat of tempera or acrylic paint. To make the face, cut features into the tube (as we did with the giraffe's snout), or use tacky glue to attach pieces made from painted tube scraps (as in the elephant) or a paper plate (as in the lion).

3. Add final touches, such as painted details, sequins, fringe, paper clips, pipe cleaner or buttons. For a tail, cut a slit in back and insert yarn with paint brushed on its end.

Decorate a spray can top to use as a stand.

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L.A. council panel deadlocks on how to address mounting deficit

The Los Angeles City Council's budget panel deadlocked Monday on how to address the city's mounting deficit, with two council members calling for layoffs of city workers as an alternative to more furloughs.
Split on how to proceed, the Budget and Finance Committee asked City Administrative Officer Miguel Santana for more suggestions for addressing the financial crisis.
Councilmen Greig Smith and Bernard C. Parks called furloughs a temporary solution and said the city should permanently reduce the workforce. But other committee members said they opposed both layoffs and furloughs and want solutions that would be less painful to the public.
Councilman Paul Koretz said city departments could save money by severing contracts with private companies. Councilman Bill Rosendahl asked for a review of every employee who earns more than $200,000 per year.
Asked about the lack of consensus, Santana said: "It's certainly not good."
"This is just the beginning," he said. "These are, frankly, the least difficult of the cuts that the council will have to consider in the next six months."
The committee's deliberations took place the same day that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa urged council members to proceed with plans to lease nine public parking garages to a private company for the next 50 years. And they coincided with the announcement that another city department, the Community Redevelopment Agency, now faces elimination under Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed budget.
Christine Essel, the agency's top executive, said Brown was attempting to ax a department with a 60-year track record of worthwhile redevelopment. "Clearly, Gov. Brown is choosing the wrong time to take such drastic steps," she said in a statement.
The city is expected to face a $350-million shortfall in the fiscal year that starts July 1. The full council is scheduled to discuss budget options Wednesday.
Santana recommended a broad array of reductions last week, including a $10-million cut to the Fire Department and a decrease to the Planning Department that could lead to the elimination of up to 21 employees.
If approved, Santana's request for furloughs would take effect Jan. 30, leaving some employees with 36 furlough days during the current budget year. That enraged Smith, who said his colleagues should have been willing to cast more difficult votes on the budget last year.
Smith said he favors layoffs and said the steady increase in furlough days had caused the council to treat city workers "like serfs."
"We've got to just make up our mind and have the guts in this council to just do our job, and do whatever it takes to survive as a city," he said.
Villaraigosa told council members in his letter Monday that he would pursue layoffs himself if the deal to lease the nine garages was abandoned. Santana warned last week that dropping the parking proposal would prompt him to recommend an end to police hiring.
The mayor said in his letter the city can no longer afford to manage parking garages and told council members that they must "accept this economic reality" and stop using taxpayer money to keep hourly rates low. Venice resident David Ewing criticized the garage proposal, telling council members it was part of a nationwide trend in which public facilities are being snapped up by investment banks.
"They're … picking up assets at bargain basement prices," he told the panel.
david.zahniser@latimes.com
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5 Bad Financial Decisions and How to Recover

5 bad financial decisions and how to recover
Everyone makes a bad financial decision at some point. Whether your mistake is hanging onto a stinker of a stock for too long or stumbling into a black hole of credit card debt, recovery is possible.
One of the most important aspects of the salvage mission is having the ability to learn from past mistakes.
Though this list is far from comprehensive, it outlines some frequent missteps consumers make as they navigate their finances.
Confusing long term with short term
There are active management strategies, in which a preset event triggers a decision to buy or sell. And then there is random flailing. That would be the strategy in which investors randomly sell positions after losing money and then buy back in after the market recovers.
"One of the biggest mistakes is when you start looking at your long-term investments as short term," says Carlo Panaccione, founder and president of the Navigation Group in Redwood Shores, Calif.
That's most likely to happen "when people decide I'll get out (of the market) until things look better. But by the time things look better, the market has already recovered," he says.
How to recover: If you've jumped out of the market, dollar-cost average your way back in. Dollar-cost averaging involves investing a set amount of money on a regular schedule, regardless of market moves.
"Put in a little bit every month over 12 or 24 months. If the market goes up, you'll get some of the upside. And if it goes down, you'll buy it cheaper," says Panaccione.
If market volatility will worry you in the future, meet with an investment adviser to devise a plan for the next time the market tanks.
Hanging on to an investment for too long
Just like a boxer needs to learn how to take a punch, investors must eventually learn to take a loss. Not every investment will be a winner. It takes emotional discipline to recognize the mistake and cut your losses.
"If it just stinks and is never coming back, don't hold onto it for 10 years trying to make your money back, because you may never get it," says Panaccione.
How to recover: Instead of hanging onto a dead investment, take the tax write-off provided by a capital loss when it makes sense for your overall tax picture. Bankrate's story, "Use capital losses to cut taxes," explains the tax considerations of deciding when to sell a security.
"If people are taking a risk on an investment, they may as well do it in a taxable account where they can take advantage of the tax write-off. If it goes screaming up you might get taxed on it, but I don't think you'll mind if you make a ton of money. On the downside, you don't want to have it tank and miss the write-off because it's in an IRA," Panaccione says.
Falling into a black hole of credit card debt
Buying on credit means you are agreeing to spend your future money on today's impulse buy. Often it's a decision your future self will regret and it propagates a cycle of debt.
"People keep making choices today that make it so that their current income to the household keeps paying for past choices," says Julie Murphy Casserly, Certified Financial Planner and founder of JMC Wealth Management in Chicago.
How to recover: Discontinuing all purchases and living off rice and beans until the credit card debt has been paid seems like a solution, but it rarely works.
"If they take all their money today and don't live in the present moment and don't plan for the future, then they're only going to keep recreating that financial past over and over again," Casserly says.
Instead, she recommends finding a balance among paying off the past, enjoying your present and saving for the future.
"If you deny yourself something you want today, in the future you're going to act out and jack up your credit cards again. I've watched it again and again," she says.
You can still splurge, but save up first. It will be much less costly in the long run.
Taking a 401(k) loan
There are some good reasons to take a loan from your 401(k) -- for instance, when you have absolutely no other options and the repo men are on their way to your house.
Other reasons may just be elaborate rationalizations, says Casserly.
"People justify to themselves why they're taking the loan by saying, 'I'm paying myself back.' You're not making back all the interest. There are administrative costs and fees that come out of the interest," she says.
How to recover: Recovering from a 401(k) loan takes time. Pay back your loan and save for the next big purchase or fund an emergency savings account rather than falling back on money that should be untouchable.
"Savings accounts are too accessible for the average American today. My suggestion and solution is create an account that is not accessible at your local bank or ATM and then save systematically on a monthly basis," Casserly says.
"Very few people have three to six months' of living expenses in a savings account because they say, 'Oh, but I had to go on vacation,'" she says.
Save up for a rainy day to avoid raiding your retirement account.
Trusting those with limited expertise
It can be tough to sift the good investment advice from the bad.
Because of that, consumers are often at the mercy of professionals -- or victims of their own greed.
"I don't care if it's cousin Billy Bob or a well-intentioned insurance agent, they're giving you advice on products or subject matter that they are either not licensed for or they don't understand," says Chris Ravsten, Certified Financial Planner, principal and founder of Foxstone Financial Group in Denver.
How to recover: Sometimes moving on is the best way to recover. That, and accepting the situation as a painful learning experience, though it's hoped not a terribly expensive one.
But for the future, be aware of who is giving you investment advice, what they are licensed to sell, what products their firm sells and how they get paid.
"The simple litmus test is to make sure their firm has a full range of products and services and they are licensed to sell a full range of services and products. Not just one product," says Ravsten.
The Securities and Exchange Commission offers some recommendations for investigating brokers and investment advisers.
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How to Convince a Manager to Hire You

Hiring managers are in a tough spot. With smaller budgets and fewer hiring opportunities, every job offer counts. And the pressure builds when several people have their hands in a hiring decision and department executives focus heavily on significant ROI for new hires. A poor hiring decision is felt for months or even years.
That means hiring managers are cautious. And if they cross the line to indecisive, the interview and offer process can drag out for you, the job candidate.
So how do you help a hiring manager get past any reservations and choose you?

Reduce their risk. Make sure you’re not a risky hire. Do a Google search on your name to learn what a hiring manager will see when she does the same. Review your profiles and shared content on social media sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. The Internet makes the hiring process more transparent, so your resume will never tell your entire story. Know in advance whether you’re a risky hire, and support your online brand with positive content.
[See How to Rock Your Next Job Interview.]
Be passionate and engaged. Recent job interview research reveals an important point: candidates who show a genuine passion for the job tend to get the nod over other applicants. The other key indicators for this are your “cultural fit,” personality, and style.
Penetrate the company in advance. Most candidates meet only those on the interview schedule and only on interview day. So penetrate your target companies before your interview. As a known commodity, you’ll have a head start on the “fit” question, because you’ll be able to better determine if and how you would succeed at the company. Plus, one of those staffers might offer a positive comment about you to someone on the interview team, which always helps your chances of landing the job.
Lead with your best. First impressions happen quickly, especially when it comes to whether you’re a good fit for a job. If you can’t connect with someone at the company before the interview, show your energy and deliver crisp answers. Be ready to tell great stories about your specific role at prior companies. When asked to “tell me about yourself,” provide information that illustrates strong and likable characteristics. And finish the answer with relevant examples of how you’ve made a positive impact.
[See Tips for Evading the Salary Question.]
Tap relevant and engaged references. Your references matter to hiring managers and HR staff. Be sure your references are both aware of the coming phone call and willing to help you. Preparing your references will pay off when you get that solid recommendation the hiring manager is looking for.
[For more career advice, visit U.S. News Careers, or find us on Facebook or Twitter.]
A hiring manager who truly believes in you, without reservations, will mentally chase you down the hallway as you depart. And that means he’ll fight for you when it comes to salary negotiation, too.
Want the job offer? Give that boss or hiring manager or recruiter all the right reasons to hire you.
Tim Tyrell-Smith is founder of Tim's Strategy, a site that helps professionals succeed in job search, career and life strategy. Follow Tim on Twitter, @TimsStrategy, and share his 30 Ideas Book with job-seeking friends.
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How to Switch from AT&T to the Verizon iPhone

A Verizon iPhone: You knew it was bound to happen sooner or later. Now that the moment has finally arrived, you're ready to make the switch. But how much is it going to cost you? And what are you going to do with that AT&T iPhone?

Early Termination Fees
As the old adage goes, you can't get something for nothing, so you're going to have to pay some early termination fees if you choose to opt out of your AT&T contract before it ends.

If you signed up prior to June 1, 2010, AT&T's early termination fee is $175, minus $5 for each full month of service commitment that you have already completed. So if you bought an iPhone in June 2009, your early termination fee will be $85 if you cancel before the end of January. Not bad.

If you signed up on or after June 1, 2010, AT&T's early termination fee is $325, minus $10 for each full month of service commitment already completed. So if you just signed with AT&T when the iPhone 4 came out at the end of June, you're looking at a $265 early termination fee if you decide to sever ties with AT&T before the end of the month.

If you couldn't hold out and just bought an iPhone 4 around the holidays, you're (sort of) in luck. You can terminate your contract with AT&T within 30 days of signing, provided you pay for any service fees and charges you have already incurred.

If you are terminating your contract within the 30-day window and bought your iPhone directly from AT&T as part of the contract agreement, you must return the phone to AT&T or you will be subject to pay an equipment fee that is equal to the maximum amount of the difference between the full retail price of the phone (without a contract) and the amount you actually paid for it. You may also be subject to a 10 percent restocking fee.

In layman's terms, if you terminate your contract within 30 days and don't return your iPhone to AT&T you will be forced to pay its entire retail price to keep it (which can be as much as a whopping $699 for the 32GB version). Keep in mind that you can't use your AT&T iPhone on Verizon's network, so make sure to return it ASAP.

What to do with an old iPhone
Once you've made the switch to Verizon and find yourself stuck with a useless AT&T device, don't start using it as a hockey puck yet. Just because you've decided to make the switch to Verizon doesn't mean that everyone else has.

Chances are there are plenty of people out there who would be willing to take that old iPhone off of your hands—especially if they live overseas where a GSM cell phone with a SIM card slot could potentially used on another network. You should able to sell your old phone on eBay if the price is right. Craigslist is another good option, but beware of scammers.

Before you sell your phone make sure to wipe it clean of all your personal content. Select Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. Keep in mind that this process may take a little while, so it's best to do this before you're already on your way to the post office to ship your phone out to the highest bidder.

There are also Web sites like nextworth.com, that, at the time of this writing, are willing to pay $408.30 for a like-new 32GB iPhone 4, which isn't a bad deal at all. In addition to this, there are some retail stores like Target, for example, that offer credit for old electronic devices. Depending on the condition of your phone, you can receive anywhere from a few bucks to as much as $200, which should help offset those early termination fees. Radio Shack has also offered trade-in credit for iPhones in the past, so you may want to check to see if it brings back this offer.

Of course, you can also choose to keep your old iPhone. Even though you will no longer be able to make calls, text, or go online via its 3G connection, the iPhone is still a killer PMP. When stripped of its cell phone powers, it essentially becomes an iPod touch. You can still use the phone to access the Internet and the App Store over Wi-Fi. When you're not in reach of a wireless network, you can still listen to music, watch and record video, take pictures, or use any of the apps you've already downloaded that don't require a 3G connection.

Even without the phone, the iPhone is still a pretty useful all-around device. But if you're switching from AT&T to Verizon just to get one, you already knew that.

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How To Plan A Family Vacation

Ah, the family vacation. The expectations, the preparation, the anticipation – and the aggravation. CBSNewYork spoke with Kim Orlando of Traveling Mom for tips and tricks to make your dream vacation a reality. By Shari Simpson-Cabelin.

Where to go?

There are things to consider when narrowing down a short list of possible vacation destinations:
1. Your budget
2. Your family’s interests
3. The amount of time that you will have, including travel time
4. How much (or how little) planning you want to do
5. How much (or how little) time you want to spend with your kids and how much time they want to spend with you (teenagers, anyone?)
There are sites that can actually do some of this work for you like the very new and very fun Wanderfly, which lets you enter budget, interests and time, and then spits out a bunch of trip possibilities. Or you can just listen to experts like Kim Orlando who gives her top 5 destinations for a winter vacation for New Yorkers:
1. Atlantis, Bahamas
2. Vermont
3. Florida
4. London
5. A cruise
If the thought of forking over the big bucks for a sunny beach or a European trip gives you a stomachache, Orlando was quick to say that distance/dollars are not necessary for a great family vacation. There are a number of very close locations that will make a family feel like they’ve seriously escaped the city grind. Here are the top five:
1. Great Wolf Lodge, Poconos
2. Hershey Park, PA
3. CocoKey Resort, NJ
4. Mohonk Mountain House, NY
5. Split Rock Resort with H20ooohh! Indoor Water Park, PA
And for any family vacation, the main decision: all-inclusive or self-planned? There is a great deal of dollar value in all-inclusive vacations while there is a great deal of flexibility and satisfaction in planning the details yourself. Your choice.

What to bring?

There are plenty of “Packing List” Web sites out there, like The Family Vacation Survival Guide, and Orlando has a few essentials of her own.
Her first tip: Pack a power strip for crowded airports and hotels.
And while some might think the best traveling snacks are anything that keep the kids happy – and quiet – Orlando disagrees. She recommends healthy snacks like fruit, cheese and whole grain crackers. One thing you don’t want in the midst of traveling are “kids who are spike-y and crash-y,” as she put it.
 With this in mind, do let kids have some input into snacks and travel items. Letting your kids pack their own backpacks with favorite foods, toys and a lightweight change of clothes makes them feel like they are a part of the planning and the trip. And bring lots of electronics, but make sure that kids spend a decent amount of the trip “unplugged”, particularly teenagers for whom electronics are like a “breathing apparatus”.
But the most important thing to take on a family vacation, according to Orlando, is travel insurance. If you have small children, there’s always the chance that he or she will get sick the day before the big trip. Also, if a flight is canceled, you don’t want to get stuck in an airport for days with kids.
Try Travel Guard. Take into consideration their tagline: Because a vacation can take a year to save for, and only a second to ruin. Be sure to get a MedEvac plan that provides medical coverage and air evacuation services, including medical transportation to the nearest adequate medical facility and then home if necessary.

What To Know

Orlando laughed when asked what New York families should know about winter family travel. She laughed, “Well, I assume they know to dress warmly.”
Her other suggestion: Try not to travel on peak days; do your best to travel a few days before and after the insane New York road and airport traffic.
And while it is important to plan ahead, it is also important to leave room for spontaneity.
“We are a last minute society,” Orlando said. “If you can be flexible, last minute deals on Kayak and Easy Click can save you some big bucks.”
Orlando opts not to use travel agencies when booking her own family vacations, but admits they can be extremely helpful because of their expertise and relationships with airlines, hotels, etc. Just make sure to use one with a great reputation like Liberty Travel or Travelcraft .
Lastly, Traveling Mom had an opinion about why travel is so important for kids. “I won’t use the word ‘educational,’” she said. “But travel expands kids’ perspective and they don’t have to go far to do it. Travel teaches you a lot about yourself; it’s you, but in a new situation, a new environment. Oh, and it’s fun.”

Shari Simpson-Cabelin blogs at Earth Mother just means I’m dusty (http://www.dustyearthmother.com/)

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How to Invest in Gold

Written by Alix Steel in New York.
NEW YORK (TheStreet ) - It's never too late to invest in gold no matter what the gold price.

Whenever you buy gold, the first rule of thumb is dollar cost averaging -- putting a fixed amount of money towards gold every month regardless of the price. For the average investor, this strategy spreads risk out over time and lessens the downside.
Most money managers advocate anywhere from 3%-10% in gold. More bullish managers recommend an allocation as high as 20%.
Gold is protection, insurance against inflation, currency debasement, and global uncertainty. Here are four ways you can invest.

1.Gold Bullion

Buy physical gold at various prices: coins, bars and jewelry. Some of the most popular gold coins are American Buffalo, American Eagle and St. Gauden's. You can store gold in bank safety deposit boxes or in your home. You can also buy and sell gold at your local jewelers. Other companies like Kitco.com allow you to store gold with them as well as trade the metal.
When you buy gold coins or bullion, avoid big premiums. You want to buy gold as close to the spot price as possible, or a 10% premium at most. The higher the premium, the higher the gold price will have to rise in order for you to profit.
Coins typically come from the national mint, where they are made and sold at a 4% mark up -- the retailer's margin is 1% to 3%.

To calculate the premium of a gold product, subtract the spot price from the price you are being quoted, divide that number by the spot price and multiply by 100.

Had you purchased a one ounce gold bar at Kitco.com for $1,225.90 -- using a spot price of $1,200 -- the bar has a 2.1% mark-up. This means that the gold price only has to rise 2.1% from spot price levels for you to break even on your investment.
Premiums, though, can mount as high as 75% or more based on the gold item.
To avoid getting ripped off you must establish why you want to buy gold bullion. If you want to own gold as a long term investment, then buy gold as close to the spot price as possible.
If you want to own gold to use as money, if you are a "survivalist" you want to buy a tank of gas with gold as Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco.com says, then you need smaller gold coins like one tenth an ounce and will have to pay the premium.
Nadler's take is that an individual investor shouldn't spend more than a 10% mark up when buying gold, but acknowledges that "everyone has their own threshold."
Where investors also tend to go astray is by buying semi-numismatic or numismatic coins, otherwise known as rare coins, which come with huge premiums that seldom recoup their value.
A good rule of thumb is to leave rare coin buying to rare coin dealers. Nadler advises that consumers interested in rare coins go professional auctioneers like Bowers & Merena or Christie's who have experts on staff and can objectively grade the coins the same way an antique dealer would appraise goods.
If a broker tries to sell you a story with the coin like it's from the "old world and there are only a few thousand in existence" experts advise to go elsewhere.
"Don't confuse investing in gold with the things being sold as gold investments," cautions Nadler. "You want something that tracks the price of gold as close to dollar to dollar as possible."

Changes for Gold Coin Buyers Ahead

Watch out coins buyers, come 2012 not only will you be taxed at a collectible rate of 28% but under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act the IRS will be able to widen the Form 1099 to include gold sales over $600.
What this means is that if a coin and bullion dealer buys gold amounting to $600 or more they have to fill out a 1099 so now the government knows individual's gross proceeds. Then the individual must go and report their gains to the IRS. In order to prove what kind of profit or loss you made, you will have to provide the receipt of the original gold item. It was always your responsibility to report the sale, but now the government is on your tail.


Gold exchange-traded funds are a popular way to have gold exposure in your portfolio without the hassle of storing the physical metal. First, you can invest in one of three physically backed ETFs, which track gold's spot price.

The most heavily traded ETF is SPDR Gold Shares(GLD_), which saw record inflows as fears ballooned over Europe sovereign debt fears and a struggling U.S. economy. Big guns like George Soros and John Paulson own the stock.

iShares Comex Gold Trust(IAU_) is the cheapest ETF with a 0.25% fee.

The newest gold ETF is ETFS Gold Trust(SGOL_), which launched in September 2009. This gold ETF actually stores its gold bullion in Switzerland and gives investors access to different types of gold.

For each share of these ETFs you buy, you generally own the equivalent 1/10 an ounce of gold. If investor demand outpaces available shares then the issuer must buy more physical gold to convert it into stock. Conversely, when investors sell, if there are no buyers, then gold is redeemed and the company must then sell the gold equivalent.

Gold is a tool for investors and for traders looking for gold exposure or as a way to hedge other gold positions. The result can be rough violent price action.

Expense ratios can range from 0.25% to 0.50% and your value erodes the longer you hold the shares. The fund must sell gold, for example, periodically to pay for expenses which decreases the amount of gold allocated to each share.

There are also two types of gold stored in the ETFs, allocated and unallocated. Allocated gold is the bullion held by the custodian, big banks. Custodians provide a bar list of all the individual allocated bars daily and are typically audited twice a year, paid for by the sponsor, by an independent party like Inspectorate International.

Unallocated gold relates to authorized participants like JPMorgan or Goldman Sachs who trade gold futures. Futures contracts are often bought if the trustee needs to create new shares fast and doesn't have the time to buy and deliver the bullion. Typically allocated gold far outweighs the unallocated gold and the amounts are tallied each day by the custodian. The ETF also has a set amount of time when it must deliver the physical gold into the vault.

Because you own shares and not the physical metal, precious metal ETFs may be sold short, so two people can own the same "gold" -- the original owner and the investor who is borrowing the shares. Although baskets of shares are allocated to specific gold bars, which can be found in the ETF's prospectus, an investor must share ownership.

Profits made on investments in physically backed ETFs are also taxed like collectibles, at around 28% -- an investor gets taxed as if he owned bullion, when in reality he just owns paper.

There is the possibility of redeeming shares for physical gold, but that arrangement is conducted with brokers and is typically more difficult. Investors have to redeem in huge lots, like 500,000 shares, not really viable for the retail investor.

ETFs are also very controversial . Many complain that investors can't know if their gold really exists. Also, if a bank storing the gold fails, the ETF, aka investor, becomes a creditor.

There are other types of ETFs.
If you want the opportunity of redeeming your shares for gold, another option is Sprott Physical Gold Trust ETV(PHYS_), which is a closed-end mutual fund that gives investors the option of trading in their shares for 400-ounce gold bars.

The fund can trade at a huge premium or discount to its net asset value at any time and has higher fees, making it more expensive to invest in. An investor can obtain physical gold on the 15th of every month, although the holder has to make transportation and storage arrangements.

There are also two other ETFs to consider. Market Vectors Gold Miners(GDX), a basket of large-cap mining stocks. and Market Vectors Junior(GDXJ), a group of development-stage miners. They both have market caps of $150 million or more and have traded at least 250,000 shares per month for six month

3.ETNs
If you want more risk, try exchange-traded notes, debt instruments that track an index. You give a bank money for an allotted amount of time and, upon maturity, the bank pays you a return based on the performance of what the ETN is based on, in this case the gold futures market. Some of the more popular ones are UBS Bloomberg CMCI Gold ETN(UBG_), DB Gold Double Short ETN(DZZ_), DB Gold Short ETN(DGZ_) and DB Gold Double Long ETN(DGP_).

ETNs are like playing the futures market without buying contracts on the Comex. ETNs are flexible, and an investor can trade them long or short, but there is no principal protection. You can lose all your money.

4.Miners
A riskier way to invest in gold is through gold-mining stocks. Mining stocks can have as much as a 3-to-1 leverage to gold's spot price to the upside and downside.

Gold miners are risky because they trade with the broader equity market. Some tips to consider when picking gold stocks are to find companies with strong production and reserve growth. Make sure they have good management and inventory supported by either buying smaller-cap companies or by maintaining consistent production.

Global gold production has been declining since 2001, only recently experiencing more juice, and big miners keep their gold reserves flush by buying or partnering with small-cap companies, which are in the exploration or development stage.

Many investors make the mistake of buying small gold miners that are in the exploration phase with no cash flow. Picking among these stocks is like buying a lottery ticket, very few companies actually strike gold and become profitable. Even fewer become takeover targets.

With gold prices high, gold companies can make more for every ounce of gold they produce, but their net profits depend on their cash costs; how much it costs them to produce an ounce of gold. Those factors vary from company to company and are subject to currency issues, energy costs and geopolitical factors. 


Adam Graf, director of emerging miners for Dahlman Rose & Co., models 50 companies on a forward basis using forward curves. "On a theoretical basis, if gold moved up $100 an ounce, what does the change in the current value do based on what the forward looking cash flow should do."
Another factor to consider when picking gold stocks is how quickly the company will benefit from higher prices. Randgold Resources(GOLD_), a miner in Africa, is almost 100% correlated to gold prices. CEO Mark Bristow says that the company benefits from gold prices in almost two days.
You also have to buy the right amount of gold stocks. J.C. Doody, editor of goldstockanalyst.com, bets on 10 gold stocks because it allows him to take some risk with explorers or junior miners as well as get the safety from a major.

"Frankly there aren't 30-40 stocks in the gold space worth buying," says Doody who would rather be heavily invested in 10 than over invested in 2 and under invested in 40. "If you've got too many the best you're going to be is a mediocre mutual fund and if you have too few you're just taking on too [much] risk."
If you do go the gold stock route, you have to be prepared for the rollercoaster ride.
Leverage swings both ways so if the gold price drops 10%, gold stocks can plummet 20%-30%. Investors often get too spooked too fast and wind up selling out of gold stocks at the wrong time.
 "It inhales and exhales 20-30% at least once or twice a year," says Pratik Sharma, managing director at Atyant Capital who urges investors to not get spooked by volatility. "Ultimately what you have to realize 5-6-7%... these things are meaningless when you have a sector that moves 20-30% several times a year on the downside."

There is always time to buy gold, you just have to know your ABCs before you start.

Written by Alix Steel in New York.

How to set up a treadmill desk

by Lex Friedman, Macworld.com  
Just because you have a desk job doesn’t mean you need to watch your waistline grow year after year. If you can walk, you can use a treadmill desk. It’s a surefire way to burn extra calories and feel healthier while you get your work done.

For two years, I stood while I worked. I left the desk chair behind because I feared the negative health effects of sitting at my desk for eight or more hours each day. After all that standing, though, I was ready to take the next step—literally. I now walk between eight and nine miles while I work, burning thousands of calories in the process.

The Tread from TreadDesk.com is made explicitly for use as a treadmill desk. It’s very low to the ground, has no handlebars, and features a detached control panel.My single biggest delay in upgrading to the treadmill desk wasn’t fear of walking that much or losing my balance; rather, it was the significant financial investment involved. I already had a desk at standing height, so I completed my setup with the TreadDesk, which set me back $800. (The TreadDesk includes a slim treadmill that fits under a desk and detachable controls.)
If you already have a treadmill and just need a desk, you will likely find that your treadmill's handlebars get in the way. Consider options like the $479 TrekDesk Treadmill Desk if they’ll fit your setup.

If you need both a stationary or adjustable-height standing desk and a treadmill, prepare to spend north of $2,000 to get up and running (or walking). Some companies, such as Steelcase, sell the complete package—treadmill and desk. Other companies to check out include Signature.
I wouldn’t advise anyone go from a sitting setup straight to a walking setup. Before you shell out the money for any serious equipment, I think it’s wise to spend some time standing first. That way you'll get accustomed to leaving the chair behind and typing in a standing position.
To create my original makeshift standing desk, I used a regular-height desk with Ikea shelf-toppers and small tables atop it. It's important to get your screen(s) at eye level, and your keyboard and mouse at a comfortable height. Standing will initially feel odd. But you’ll quickly learn important tricks like wearing good shoes and socks and taking occasional sitting breaks.

After you’ve grown accustom to standing, you'll be ready to make the leap to the treadmill. Mine is just shy of 5 feet long, which meant I had to clear out some room in my home office. You’ll obviously need a flat surface to place the tread upon. If your workspace is carpeted, make sure that the tread you’re looking to buy works on such a surface; if it doesn’t, you may need a treadmill mat to place underneath the tread itself.
If you're handy with power tools, you may be able to build a desk, buy a used treadmill, and save yourself serious money. Sites like Ikea Hacker, eHow, and others have detailed instructions for homegrown solutions.
Ready-made treadmill desks, like this the Walkstation from Steelcase ($4,200), can be expensive. They do offer many convenient touches, like readily accessible desktop controls.If you order a ready-made solution, you needn’t fear much setup effort; treadmills for desks typically ship pre-assembled. You just plug them in and start walking.

Keep in mind that treadmills built for desk use will have key features that a home-built solution will lack. Chief among those is detached controls. With my TreadDesk setup, the control panel (for adjusting speed, starting and stopping the tread, and tracking my statistics) sits on my desk surface, adjacent my keyboard. If your home setup obstructs your treadmill’s buttons or display, it could quickly become frustrating. You need to stop the treadmill numerous times each day—when the doorbell rings, or nature calls, or hunger strikes—and fumbling for the controls to shut the tread off (or get it started again) is a no-go. Make sure the buttons are always within easy reach.

To start with, you will want to set your walking speed no faster than one mile per hour. Seems slow, right? But don’t forget that you could be walking for your entire workday, so you’re getting ready for a marathon, not a sprint. Even more importantly, of course, you’re not just walking for all those hours at a time—you’re working, too! At one mile per hour, it’s still pretty easy to type and conduct phone calls at the same time. If you double that speed, your typing will likely suffer.

If you peg your speed at one mile per hour and walk four hours per day while you work, you’ll cross your hundredth mile in just five weeks. I’m now walking around 1.1 or 1.2 miles per hour for eight hours a day. It’s not just hundreds of miles—it’s thousands of burned calories, too. Each 3,500 surplus calories you burn is equivalent to about one pound, so you might want to start saving up cash for some new pants, too!
Frequent Macworld contributor Lex Friedman wrote this entire article at 1.2 miles per hour.
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