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Archive for December, 2011

For seniors, the recession is a terribly uncertain time. Rising living and housing costs and potential cuts to government assistance mean less social security and pension earnings to take care of their increasing health needs. The recession is troubling for all families, but is particularly difficult for seniors who do not have time, ability or opportunity to re-enter the job market.

Moreover, they are at an age when they have earned their right to a relaxing retirement. In this recession, reverse mortgages become a lifeline to seniors, helping them save their home and make the most of their retirement years. Many homeowners are not aware of the opportunity that the reverse mortgage provides them. At no penalty to the borrower and great interest rates, the reverse mortgage is a great return for the previous years spent paying a mortgage.

The reverse mortgage helps senior homeowners who are struggling to manage their rising medical bills and other expenses during their retirement on top of mortgage payments. The program allows these homeowners to convert equity in their homes to a tax-free income, without increased mortgage payments, and without the risk or reality of having to sell their home or sign over the title. But what happens to even the most stable and reliable of programs in the midst of an economic recession? When it comes to Reverse Mortgages, they only gather strength and continue to support borrowers.

These days, a new, higher lending limit will enable borrowers to obtain a greater benefit if their home value is higher than the previous HUD limit, when it is needed most. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development raised the reverse mortgage limits to $625,500 to help stimulate the economy and provide immediate relief to senior homeowners facing unaffordable payments.

Now is the greatest time in history to qualify for a Reverse Mortgage. The implementation of this limit has increased financial options for senior homeowners during this difficult time and will significantly ease the burden of retirement during the economic downturn. The new limit is nearly double that of the limit from before the last increase in 2008, which consisted of a jump from $362,790 to $417,000.

Reverse Mortgage rates are at an all time low. It is now that financial stability become most important. Seniors simply cannot afford to overlook the benefits of a Reverse Mortgage during an economic downturn. Seniors may be in the prime of their life, but become more financially vulnerable and less resilient when outside circumstances threaten their retirement funds. Seniors who own their home may not realize they are sitting on a nest egg that could allow them more financial freedom in a recession than in a time of economic abundance.

Do you know how much money you spent last month? The majority of people know how much money they made but have a vague idea of how much they spent. Not having a solid control of your money both incoming and outgoing is an essential part of controlling debt. With today’s society operating primarily on credit, it is very easy for most families to spend more money than they make thus increasing the amount of their debt.

In the past, the way that families saved their money was to set aside a certain number of containers or envelopes and label them for their uses. They would then use only the container or envelope for specific purposes and when it was empty, they did not spend. Therefore, their debt was minimal (if at all) and there savings increased with each pay period. They also knew where their money was going. With today’s technology, people rarely see or handle their money and this makes it very easy to spend up to 10 percent of your income without even knowing where it went.

To begin the process of controlling debt it is important to know what you are doing with your money. This is where credit counseling can help you get on track. Most credit counseling services offer:

* Immediate decrease of monthly payments

* Decrease in the amount of collection phone calls

* Interest and fees are stopped and/or eliminated

* They show you how to manage your money to stay out of debt in the future

* You are unable to use credit cards while using consolidation services

* Ability to meet the minimum amount of unsecured debt in order to qualify for services

* When you begin consolidating your debt it could have a negative impact on your credit rating

The choice to use credit counseling services is a personal one. Finances are a very personal issue as such it is important that the service you decide upon is one that you feel comfortable talking to the representatives. There are many reputable agencies available to assist you in getting out of debt; there are also agencies that do not have the best reputation. Therefore, it is important for you to research the services you are considering and verify that they are reputable and have a good report with a large number of creditors. Remember, they are the ones you are choosing to act on your behalf. You want an agency that will be able to negotiate the best terms, which will help you in reducing your debt.

FEARING LOSSES

There is a huge difference between being risk averse and fearing losses. You must hate to lose. In fact, you can program your brain to find ways to not lose. But not losing is a logical thought-out process, rather than an emotion-based reaction.

Two human-based tendencies come into play. The first is the sunk-cost fallacy and the second is the exaggerated-loss syndrome.

Sunk-cost fallacy: You are in a trade that begins to go against you. You reason that you have already spent a commission, so you have costs to make up for. Moreover, you have spent time and effort researching and planning this trade. You reckon that time and effort as cost. You have waited for just such an opportunity and you are afraid that now that it has come you will have to miss this trade. The time spent waiting for opportunity is something you also count as cost. You don’t want to waste all these costs, so you decide to give the trade a little more room. By the time you realize what you’ve done, the pain is almost overwhelming. Finally, you have to take your loss which is now much larger than it might have been. The size of the loss adds to your fear of ever losing again. The end result is brain lock and inability to pull the trigger on a trade.

Exaggerated-loss syndrome: You give the importance of losing on a trade two to three times the weight of winning on a trade. In your mind, losses have greater significance than wins. In reality, neither is more or less important than the other. In fact, wins do not have to be as numerous as losses as long as the wins are significantly larger in size than the losses. Of course, best is to have more wins than losses with the wins greater in size than the losses.
What should be done?

Evaluate your trades solely on their potential for future loss or gain. Ask yourself, “what do I stand to gain from this trade, and what do I stand to lose from this trade?” Think the matter through. “What is the worst thing that can happen to me if I take this trade, and do I have a plan and a strategy for extricating myself long before it happens?” “If I begin to lose, is there a way I can turn things around and come out a winner?” Learn to look at the costs of a trade as part of your business overhead. Try to have a mind set that you will not throw good money after bad. When you give a trade more room, you are doing just that – often throwing away money.

VALUING INVESTED MONEY MORE THAN WON MONEY

Traders have a tendency to be more careless with money they’ve won than with money they’ve invested. Just because you won money on good trades doesn’t mean you should gamble with that money. People are more willing to take chances with money they perceive as winnings as though it were found money. They forget that money is money. Valuing money depending on where it comes from can lead to unfortunate consequences for a trader. The tendency to take greater risk with money made from trades than with money invested as capital makes no sense. Yet traders will take risks with money won in the markets that they would never dream about with money from their savings account.

What should be done?

Wait awhile before placing at risk money won on trades. Keep your trading account at a constant level. Strip your winnings from your account and put them in a safe conservative place. The longer you hold on to money, the more likely you are to consider it your own.

FORGETTING ABOUT MARGIN INFLATION

Before the crash of 1987, S&P 500 stock index futures carried an exchange minimum margin of about $12,000 . Immediately after the crash, margins required by some brokers rose to $36,000 and higher.

A trader we know, called Willie, figured that if prices on an index he was short went down, he would continually add to his position whenever prices first pulled back and then broke out to new lows. The index he was trading became very volatile, and his broker raised margins to by 1/3rd. Willie was trading a small account, and when he tried to sell short additional contracts onto his already short position, his broker would not allow him to do so. Willie complained bitterly, but the broker was adamant in his refusal. The broker would not allow Willie to use unrealized paper profits to cover the additional margin required for adding on. He explained to Willie that to do so would in effect allow Willie to build a pyramid position and that was not going to be allowed by the broker’s firm.

The mistake Willie was making was what some call the “money illusion.” Willie assumed that because his position was moving in his favor that he had more selling power and more margin. His broker quickly brought Willie face to face with reality. While some brokers may allow it, unrealized paper profits do not truly constitute additional funds that may be used for margin. Willie’s dream of fabulous profits from this trade were just that, a dream. Willie should be thankful that his broker did not allow him to get in trouble. Pyramiding with unearned paper profits is not the way to succeed as a futures trader.

What should be done?

You should realize that each so-called “add-on” to an open position is really a whole new position. Each add-on carries all new risk, and each add-on brings you closer to the add-on trade which will fail and become a loser. When planning a trade, be aware that if the market becomes volatile, margin requirements may go up, thereby defeating any strategy for adding on to your position. There is nothing wrong with building a position one leg at time as prices ascend or descend, but when volatility dictates an increase in margin requirements, beware of trying to add on and be aware that you may not be able to add on.

Option sellers can quickly get into similarly difficult positions. As they roll out to new strikes to defend a threatened short options position, they can find themselves not only facing the need for a larger position, but also facing increased margins in creating that larger position. They may discover that they no longer have sufficient margin to defend a particular position and thus have to eat a sizable loss.

MORE KEY MISTAKES

Throughout our courses we mention some key mistakes commonly made by traders. Here are a few more:

Error: Confusing trading with investing. Many traders justify taking trades because they think they have to keep their money working. While this may be true of money with which you invest, it is not at all true concerning money with which you speculate. Unless you own the underlying commodity, for instance, selling short is speculation, and speculation is not investment. Although it is possible, you generally do not invest in futures. A trader does not have to be concerned with making his money work for him. A trader’s concern is making a wise and timely speculation, keeping his losses small by being quick to get out, and maximizing profits by not staying in too long, i.e., to a point where he is giving back more than a small percent of what he has already gained.

Error: Copying other people’s trading strategies. A floor trader I know tells about the time he tried to copy the actions of one of the bigger, more experienced floor traders. While the floor trader won, my friend lost. Trading copycats rarely come out ahead. You may have a different set of goals than the person you are copying. You may not be able to mentally or emotionally tolerate the losses his strategy will encounter. You may not have the depth of trading capital the person you are copying has. This is why following a futures trading (not investing) advisory while at the same time not using your own good judgment seldom works in the long run. Some of the best traders have had advisories, but their subscribers usually fail. Trading futures is so personalized that it is almost impossible for two people to trade the same way.

Error: Ignoring the downside of a trade. Most traders, when entering a trade, look only at the money they think they will make by taking the trade. They rarely consider that the trade may go against them and that they could lose. The reality is that whenever someone buys a futures contract, someone else is selling that same futures contract. The buyer is convinced that the market will go up. The seller is convinced that the market has finished going up. If you look at your trades that way, you will become a more conservative and realistic trader.
Error: Expecting each trade to be the one that will make you rich. When we tell people that trading is speculative, they argue that they must trade because the next trade they take may be the one that will make them a ton of money. What people forget is that to be a winner, you can’t wait for the big trade that comes along every now and then to make you rich. Even when it does come along, there is no guarantee that you will be in that particular trade. You will earn more and be able to keep more if you trade with objectives and are satisfied with regular small to medium size wins. A trader makes his money by getting his share of the day-to-day price action of the markets. That doesn’t mean you have to trade every day. It means that when you do trade, be quick to get out if the trade doesn’t go your way within a period of time that you set beforehand. If the trade does go your way, protect it with a stop and hang on for the ride.

Error: Having profit expectations that are too high. The greatest disappointments come when expectations are unrealistically high. Many traders get into trouble by anticipating greater than reasonable profits from their trading. They will often get into a trade and, when it goes their way and they are winning, they will mentally start spending their winnings, and may even borrow against their anticipated winnings to take on additional risk. Reality is that you seldom make all of the money available in a trade. I cannot count the times that I had for the taking hundreds or thousands of dollars in unrealized paper profits only to see most of those profits melt away before I was able to or had the good sense to get out. One trader I know had $700 per contract profits in a short eurodollar trade. The next day his position literally imploded on news of a 50 basis point cut in interest rates. He was lucky to get out with $350 per contract. The money from trading often doesn’t come in as fast or as plentifully as you have expected or been led to believe, but the overhead costs of trading arrive right on schedule. False profit expectations have caused aspiring traders to leave their job before they were really successful. The same false hope causes them to lose the money of friends and family. False hope causes them to borrow against their home and other fixed assets. Too high expectations are dangerous to the well-being of every trader and those around him.

Error: Not reviewing your financial goals. Before you make a position trading decision, or before you begin a day of day trading, review your motives and your goals.

o Why are you trading today?

o Why are you taking this trade?

o How will it move your closer to your goals and objectives?

Error: Taking a trade because it seems like the right thing to do now. Some of the saddest calls we get come from traders who do not know how to manage a trade. By the time they call, they are deep in trouble. They have entered a trade because, in their opinion or someone else’s opinion, it was the right thing to do. They thought that following the dictates of opinion was shrewd. They haven’t planned the trade, and worse, they haven’t planned their actions in the event the trade went against them. Just because a market is hot and making a major move is no reason for you to enter a trade. Sometimes, when you don’t fully understand what is happening, the wisest choice is to do nothing at all. There will always be another trading opportunity. You do not have to trade.

Error: Taking too much risk. With all the warnings about risk contained in the forms with which you open your account, and with all the required warnings in books, magazines, and many other forms of literature you receive as a trader, why is it so hard to believe that trading carries with it a tremendous amount of risk? It’s as though you know on an intellectual basis that trading futures is risky, but you don’t really take it to heart and live it until you find yourself caught up in the sheer terror of a major losing trade. Greed drives traders to accept too much risk. They get into too many trades. They put their stop too far away. They trade with too little capital. We’re not advising you to avoid trading futures. What we’re saying is that you should embark on a sound, disciplined trading plan based on knowledge of the futures markets in which you trade, coupled with good common sense.

All the best in your trading,

Joe Ross

Trading Educators Inc

Many people prefer to open a money market savings account. These accounts not only provide for easy accessibility of funds but also earn a decent return. Mostly the customers take the precaution of ensuring that the higher rate that is offered is not washed away by way of service fees or time delay in money transfers.

Money market savings account is offered by Wells Fargo with certain appreciated features. One of the important features of this account is that the customers can write cheques on this account. This facility is discontinued by several banks. This is a great option at times of emergency and urgent needs. If you were to write a cheque on the savings or checking account, the accessibility is restricted and you may not receive funds on time. Hence, the offer of Wells is appreciable.

Another feature of Wells Fargo money market savings account is that the monthly service fee is waived. Many banks charge service fee when the minimum account balance gets reduced but in Wells Fargo the penalty can be avoided just by transferring $75 from another Wells account through automatic transfer. Such a waiver acts as a motivation for the customers.

Wells Fargo money market savings account also gives the benefit of “bonus APY”. You can also earn a higher rate if you opt for linking savings account with any of their premium checking account. If you link up the accounts then you are offered a rate of 0.15% while you earn just 0.05% without linking the accounts.

It is certainly worth opening a money market savings account with Wells Fargo. If you wish to open an account online then you can do it with a deposit of $1,000.

Next Step: Find the latest rates offered by Wells Fargo Bank.

Reverse Mortgages are a very good tool for many senior borrowers to enable them to access the equity in their home while never having to make another payment as long as they live in those homes. However, a Reverse Mortgage has always been a fairly expensive proposition, usually carrying a price tag of a 2% origination fee as well as a 2% government mortgage insurance fee, plus third party costs such as appraisal, title, escrow or closing, etc. In all, in some of the higher HUD areas, the total of all fees could total as much as $17,000. Even though these fees are not paid out of pocket and are rolled into the loan, the fees can still scare some borrowers away from obtaining a loan which could otherwise improve the quality of their lives until now!

The numbers don’t work with all reverse mortgages, but for those borrowers who planned to take a minimum of $200,000 or more on their reverse mortgage at the very beginning (not hard to do if you have to pay off an existing mortgage or if you already have plans for the funds and need them right away), borrowers can now obtain a reverse mortgage called the Independence Plan which will contain no origination fee! The lender has priced the loan so that the originator does not have to charge any fee to the homeowner for the loan. What more, if the initial drawn amount is over $275,000, then there aren’t any third party fees either because the lender will give a credit to off-set these fees as well.

Sound too good to be true? You start thinking that the interest rate has to be at or above 10% to offer this good of a deal, right? Well, it’s not too good to be true and the rate is excellent in fact much lower than many of the other programs available in the marketplace. So is there a catch? Well, the amount of money you get may not be quite as high as with some other programs, but considering that you only pay back what you receive plus interest and ultimately the amount you or your heirs pay back depends largely upon the interest rate at which the interest accrues, this plan might well be one of the best plans available in the market today. You don’t pay any costs or interest on any costs to start the loan, we’ve seen borrowers qualify for payments to them up to $3,5000,000 and the interest rate for a proprietary or jumbo product is among the lowest in the marketplace.

So if you have always thought that a reverse mortgage might be a good thing for you but always shied away from the high initial costs and your initial draw or loan amount would be $200,000 or $275,000 or more, now might be a good time to look into a reverse mortgage with no closing costs.

International banking refers to the banking services that cover a wide array of topics. It provides you personal bank accounts along with the business bank accounts also. An important feature of international banking is foreign currency services. This is a very useful feature for the people who need to deal in different currencies. You can make transactions in dollars, euro or Swiss franc.

Getting Expert Advice

Another useful service that you get from international banking organizations is traveler’s checks. All of us know the importance of traveler’s check during the traveling period. Not only can you open a foreign currency account but you can also seek help from experts regarding the international trade such as import and export of goods.

International banking institutes have investment consultants that can guide you on how to improve international trade. You can manage your bank accounts in foreign countries without any trouble. It has many other benefits also associated with it. For example, you can save a great amount of money because of lower or no taxes at all. It definitely gives you an edge over your competitors.

Globalization is the mantra today. Every business owner whether he is running a small business or big business wishes to expand his or her business beyond the boundaries of nations. International banking is a necessary tool to globalize your business. You cannot underestimate this feature because you cannot grow fast without crossing the geographical boundaries.

When you expand your business in several countries you need an effective system to manage your finances. International banking organizations offer you just the right kind of services that you need as a multinational business owner. International banks have branches in many different countries. This gives you the liberty of making payments in any of these countries. Moreover, you can get the payment in local currency saving a big amount on transactional fees.

The relations between the countries and international scenario make a huge impact on international trade. International banking services too cannot remain unaffected by the political developments at the international level. That is why international banks have to observe keenly not only the economic changes but political changes as well.

Perform a Thorough Research

So, it is well-established fact now that you need international banking services to globalize business. However, you should not select any international bank in a hurry. Perform a thorough research on the bank before you decide to open an account with them. You should ascertain that the bank offers reliable and stable services to its customers.