Putting A Little Away For A Rainy Day: Why Saving Your Money Is Essential

There are countless reasons why you might choose to save your money: if you have children, taking an early step by saving for their future is one of the wisest decisions you can make, especially if you plan to send them to university. But it's always a good idea to have some money saved up in case of a sudden emergency. For example, if you or someone in your family were to experience serious illness, injury or unemployment, wouldn't you want to have that piece of extra security standing by? And because saving is generally done over a long period of time, you won't 'miss' your funds from your current income - as long as you start the process early!

If you're thinking about opening a savings account, it's important to do some research first. There are various types of savings accounts available; all of which suit different financial situations, so approaching the process with patience and a bit of knowledge will help you make the right decisions. The internet is a great resource to help you sort through your options - browse through a handful of bank and financial institution sites to obtain a breakdown of various account and savings options, as well as to get an idea of what each one offers; not to mention the time saved!

Instant access accounts, for example, are among the most popular types of savings accounts. While such accounts do not require any notice prior to withdrawing funds, they do offer 'bonus' savings should account owners refrain from making any withdrawals for a given period of time. This type of account allows you to save and accumulate interest while having peace of mind that funds are available in case of emergencies.

You can also choose to place your money into bonds. Bonds keep your money 'locked' away in a savings account for a specified amount of time while they accumulate interest. While this is a sure way of building capital, it does not allow the withdrawal of any savings for the 'locked' term and is therefore more suitable for those who have other means of financial support in case of emergencies.

While it may not seem like it, insurance is another powerful means of investment and saving. Certain policies of life insurance, for example, allow you to cash in on the capital which builds throughout your life before you die. And rest assured that you can gain ample guidance through consumer comparison sites if you're considering insurance as a way to invest or save.

A number of banks and financial institutions offer excellent terms on saving accounts, bonds and insurance, as well as personal advice to help you make the right decisions. So don't put off saving any longer; after all, you never know when - or why - you might need that little bit of extra cash.

Martin McAllister is a freelance online journalist. He lives in Scotland.

Traits of a Successful Trader

Mastering fundamental and technical skills of trading appears to be quite easy to most people when compared with mastering the mindset of successful trading. Let us examine some of the traits that make a person a successful trader. They are in no particular order.

Have clear trading objectives. Do not just throw money at short-term trades and sit back expecting to make it rich. Map out exactly how much of your total investment capital you will risk in short-term strategies and spread that risk over many different trades instead of putting it all on red.

After setting your objectives, believe you can achieve them. If you dont believe in your plan, how can you possibly expect to have that plan succeed for you?

Prepare plan for each trade before the market is open. Always do you analysis and map out entry and exit points when the market is closed. If you try to jump on hot stocks during the trading day, you are not a short-term trader, you have become a day trader. Day traders must operate under much different rules, so it is best for most of us to stick to well planned short-term trades.

Regularly review your trades. Pick them apart, both good and bad. Look for what could have been done to make the trade better. Honest self- evaluation is the single best way to improve your performance.

Focus on the positive, but deal quickly and correctly with the negative. Do not dwell on your mistakes, but do not gloss them over either. Have a fair and balanced view of how you are performing and keep a positive attitude to keep yourself on track.

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Valuing Stocks Using Valuation Ratios

Valuation means assigning a ''proper'' value, or price, to a stock. The quote marks around ''proper'' remind us that while the word implies that there is a single ''correct'' price, in fact the concept is theoretical. Valuation is nevertheless an important guide to what price at which to buy or sell a stock. If you pay too much for a stockmore than it is ''worth''your returns will suffer forever after.

Many large-scale institutional investorsmutual funds, brokerages, hedge fundshave developed complex mathematical models for determining a stocks ''proper'' price. The individual investor needs to go a different route.

Fortunately, a second method exists which is just as good, easy to understand, and readily available. This second method uses what are called valuation ratios.

Valuation ratios divide the stocks current price (P) by quantifiable aspects of its business: its earnings, its revenue, its book value, and so on. Each ratio is then compared to historical norms to tell whether the stock is fairly priced at its current price P.

Here are some common valuation ratios that the Sensible Stock Investor uses:

--P/E, or price-to-earnings ratio. This compares the stocks price to the companys reported earnings. This is the famous ''multiple'' that one often hears about.

--P/S, or price-to-sales ratio, which compares the stocks price to the companys revenue.

--P/B, or price-to-book ratio, which compares the stocks price to the companys book value (as computed by accepted accounting principles).

--PEG, which is the P/E ratio divided by the earnings growth rate of the company.

--P/CF, or price-to-cashflow, which compares the stocks price to its annual flow of cash.

Happily, all of these valuation ratios, plus others, are available for free on virtually all financial Web sites. They are usually current to the very day. If you know the historical benchmarks, it is easy to interpret each ratio as indicating whether, like Goldilocks porridge, a stocks price is too hot, too cold, or just about right.

If you would like to learn about a comprehensive stock investment approach that that uses the same strategies reflected in this article, please consider purchasing Sensible Stock Investing: How to Pick, Value, and Manage Stocks. To learn more about this investment system designed for the individual investor, visit http://www.SensibleStocks.com for more information, or to purchase the book.

Invest or be Pink Slipped

Firing an employee seems to be easier and easier for corporations. Up until now you allowed them to set your clocks. Now its time to fight back! Beat them at their own game. They had your future pegged. Now your certainty is in your own hands.

Corporations attempt to make the best use of their resources so they claim. You must do the same! And when the corporation is no longer the best use of your resource give them their pink slip. You must begin to look for ways to capitalize on your time and increase your earning potential. Think like a corporation about how you can increase your earnings quarter by quarter.

This is exactly what I did and I am so grateful for it. I had started six years prior diversifying my income. I accomplished this by investing in commodities. I still remember the thrill of my first trade in commodities. I managed to turn $1,500 into $18,000 in about 4 months. That was almost equal to my $20,000/ yr salary at that time. Up to that point nothing I attempted to do to earn a real income, you know the type of income that would allow me to splurge and enjoy life, actually worked.

I immediately stopped buying all the other so-called moneymaking material. I began focusing all my efforts on investing in commodities. A funny thing happened to me. I noticed I actually performed my job better because I was happier knowing I had my investments working for me. I was able to handle stress much better. I started setting goals and taking vacations away from home instead of using my vacation time simply as time off from work.

I even started solving problems that were a challenge for others but the solutions seemed to come to me with ease. I gradually moved up in the company through promotions. I started viewing the company as an investment for me. This view allowed me to start taking full advantage of their tuition reimbursement program and their interest free loans for computer purchases.

My experience of investing in commodities allowed me to change my perspective on life. When I was given the news that I would be out of a job due to reorganization, I felt no pressure. I had planned for this moment six years in advance. Of course, everyone was quite shocked when I kept my composure and said the company was the best company I had ever worked for.

I continued to work diligently and happily right up to the very last day. You see the company had paid for my college education, gave me two interest free loans for my computers and gave me a lifetime of experience. Well, the truth is I knew I had my investments in commodities and the company had allowed me to earn the money to invest.

Diversify your income now!

Copyright David Wells. This Newsletter and all contents are proprietary products. All rights reserved. You are welcome to forward the entire Newsletter to anyone interested.

Often referred to as The Money Motivator, David Wells is passionate about helping people crack the wealth code to become money magnets. Let him teach you the techniques Hillary Clinton used to turn $1,000 into $100,000 in the course of a year.

To put The Money Motivator to work for you, visit his website at http://www.themoneymotivator.com and sign up for his FREE newsletter, Money Moments. In it youll receive creative ways for getting the money you need and how to invest like a millionaire.

Fibonacci Trading, Your Compass To High Probability Trades

When you start trading the currency markets, or any other market, you usually think that every trade is worth the risk and that a good trading system will teach you how to win in every trade you make. But thats far from the truth.

One of the first things you must realize as you enter the world of trading is that not every trade is worth the risk and every professional trader aims only for those high probability trades that will surely make them money. These are always trades that are highly predictable with the particular trading system you are using.

For example, by the combination of trend and Fibonacci techniques you can obtain very powerful signals for high probability trading. By using these indicators, trend-lines and Fibonacci levels in conjunction you will greatly improve your chances to pinpoint a highly profitable trade.

You may be asking by now what Fibonacci is?

Fibonacci trading is directly related to the existence of specific mathematical proportions that appear in many places and structures in nature. Fibonacci was the last name of an Italian mathematician who is remembered by his famous Fibonacci sequence. The definition of this sequence is that its formed by a series of numbers where each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers; 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13. In the case of currency trading what is more important for the forex trader is the Fibonacci ratios derived from this sequence of numbers, i.e. .236, .50, .382, .618, etc. These ratios are what determine the famous Fibonacci Levels.

Learning the correct use of these levels can positively impact your trading success. Fibonacci levels can perform as a compass guiding you to high probability trades.

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How To Buy Stock Online

When it comes to the stock market, anything can happen. An ever-changing and sometimes volatile world of finance, the stock market offers several choices when it comes to investing within its walls - conservative, long term investing in government or financially consistent companies - or aggressive, taking a calculated risk on an investment that if it plays out will yield you great financial reward.

How you invest your money is up to you; especially when you buy stock online. With a traditional brokerage house you pay sometimes high brokerage fees and commissions for the expertise of the brokers; whose job it is to guide you in a decision that makes the most sense for your financial situation. When you buy stock online, you opt out of that traditional relationship and instead take charge of your portfolio from the comfort of your home.

There are reputable companies who offer legitimate opportunities to buy stock online. But as with anything else on the Internet, consumers must enter into relationships of any kind armed with information. A savvy consumer will partner with one of these dependable companies in order to proceed. It is often wise to be with the big guys - there are industry names of which we have all heard.

With the popularity of advertising, we will have most likely seen their commercials on television. The upside, of course, is that you don't have to pay the hefty commissions required to retain a traditional broker. Many online companies offer low or zero commission in order to trade through them.

A reputable company will walk you through the process of how to buy stock and will offer you tools with which to make a decision. Membership to their website will generally afford you constant updates on stock prices through streaming quotes, links to in-depth research on stocks in which you are interested, and the tools with which to buy stock online. You need only create an online account to begin investing; you can then log on to check the status of your particular stock and make desired trades.

The level of independence when you buy stock online is completely up to you; the degree to which you involve your online account specialists should depend on your level of comfort operating independently. Do not for any reason feel that because you are trading online, you will be left to your own devices. Research, tutorials, planning, and step-by-step instruction are all available to you through online brokerage services.

For more active traders, there is software available that can chart your progress, keep tabs on stocks in which you are interested, and help you plan your next move to buy stock online. The software will link up with online resources that will track your trades and give you immediate access to the most up-to-date numbers reflected in your portfolio.

Operating in the world of investments can be tricky no matter how you go about doing it. But if you're someone for who operating independently is a strong desire, then you may consider working within online resources. Buy stock online to build your portfolio in a way that makes sense for you.

For more online stocks information please visit http://www.aboutonlinestocks.com - a popular online stocks website that provides tips and online stock resources. Don't forget to check out our page on buying stocks online.