The Three Legged Stool
My paternal grandparents were born near Lake Como, Italy. My grandfather learned how to farm, and he did just that until he died chopping wood at age 88. As a boy, I would walk into the barn where I watched him milking cows. Never got the hang of it, but I liked hearing the ping of fresh milk in ... more...

Direct Mail Leads - Brand Identity Guru
Direct mail can be one of the most effective tactics to reach your target audience. Developing a strategy for direct mail is critical to obtaining the best ROI. If you just roll out any piece without a clear plan you are throwing your good marketing money away.Here are some tips I recommend:Get ... more...

Brand Equity
Brand equity can be defined in many different ways. I have developed a simple, yet powerful, definition of brand equity. For a brand to be strong it must accomplish two things over time: retain current customers and attract new ones. To the extent a brand does these things well, it grows stronger ... more...

The Five Most Popular Questions About Bankruptcy
WILL MY CREDITORS STOP HARASSING ME?Yes, they will! By law, all actions against a debtor must cease once bankruptcy documents are filed. Creditors cannot initiate or continue any lawsuits, wage garnishees, or even telephone calls demanding payments. Secured creditors such as banks holding, ... more...

Boston Real Estate You Still Have Considerable Control Over the Sale of Your Boston Home
Boston real estate is a hot topic. Daily newspaper articles comment on whether or not a bubble exists in the Boston real estate market, when and if it will pop, how interest rates affect the market, why Boston residents are snapping up interest-only loans, and how foreign investors in our ... more...

When You Are Eligible For A Free Credit Report
By Federal law, you are entitled to one free credit report per year directly from a credit-reporting agency only if you certify that:1. You are unemployed and seeking employment in the next 60 days.2. You are receiving public assistance.3. You believe there are inaccuracies in your credit report ... more...

A Fresh Start for Family Finances in 2005
While 40% to 50% of us make New Years resolutions on January 1a ritual that has existed since ancient timesapproximately 60% to 80% of us have already broken them by the end of February, according to researchers.Its still not too late, however, to reset the trajectory on your familys finances, ... more...

Surviving High Debt States
Are you more likely to have more debt according to what state you live in? In a recent report done by Experian on the debt averages per state, the answer is yes! The report, compiled from approximately 3 million consumers nationwide, shows that the North East states of New Hampshire, Connecticut ... more...

Boston Real Estate - Interest Rates and Inventory Must be Analyzed when Selling Your Boston Home
When selling your Boston home, its good practice to be aware of what similar homes in your neighborhood have recently sold for. Recent comparable sales are not only what a good Boston real estate agent should use for guidance when pricing your home, but also what a bank appraiser will use if and ... more...

Work From Home as a Notary Signing Agent
If you want to work from home, you might follow the lead of thousands of other women across the country and become a mobile notary or a notary signing agent.What does that mean? In a nutshell, it means you become a notary public in your state and work on a contract, as needed basis for companies ... more...

What's in My Credit Report?
Your credit report contains a list of every member creditor who has lent you money or provided you with credit in any way. It shows your charge accounts, automobile loans, bank and student loans, home mortgage, and any other credit-related transaction. It shows when the credit line was opened, the ... more...

Bridge Loans: Everything You Wanted To Know
As the name implies, bridge loans fulfill a vital need for active developers by giving life to a new project in the months before lenders feel confident enough to make available a construction loan, or a repositioning loan in the case of an existing project. But real estate bridge loans have other ... more...

Is the Real Estate Bubble About to Burst?
How long can prices rise before no one can afford to buy? In a nutshell, that is the basic question that is niggling at the back of our collective subconscious when we talk about the real estate bubble.Real estate is appreciating at staggering rates - as much as 19% in some counties in Florida ... more...

Home Loans and Mortgages One Third of Homes in U.S. Overvalued
A new study by National City Corp. looked at home values for 299 American cities and compared them to where they should be based on a number of economic factors that determine home prices. The results were not encouraging; homes in nearly one third of America were judged to be extremely overvalued ... more...