Protecting Your Expatriate Family
If you and your family relocate overseas, one of your first priorities from a financial planning point of view may very well be establishing health care.Costs and services abroad can differ greatly to what you are accustomed to back home. Therefore its essential to make sure that you are fully ... more...

Why Invest In Property?
Why property, some people ask when looking for an investment. Well, as far as I am concerned, property investment is, and always has been, the most powerful type of investment for building wealth. It has been said that over 90% of the world's millionaires got there by owning property. The reason ... more...

Who's That Knocking At My Door? Investing To Rent!
Investing to rent can create the financial and real estate success you have been searching for, but it takes hard work, thoughtful preparation and practical knowledge. As a landlord you must be creative, fearless and intuitive. In the Tidewater area approximately one out of every five homebuyers ... more...

Shorting Stocks The Basics, Part I of II
What does it mean to short a stock?This means that you borrow the stock from your broker to sell to a third party. The idea is to buy back the stock at a lower price, returning the shares to your broker while leaving the remaining cash in your account as a profit. Put another way, a short seller ... more...

Why Your Credit Score is Important
Your credit score can either haunt you or reward you. It all depends on how you handle your credit and payment activities. Your credit score determines what interest rates you will pay and if you are even approved for a loan or a credit card at all. In addition, your credit score can play a factor ... more...

Brand Awareness - Brand Identity
About once a month a few of us at the office get together during lunch for what has become known as a SWAP meeting. We share thoughts, stories and sometimes play Pictionary. Its a great way to relieve stress and learn interesting tidbits about the people we work with.One afternoon our conversation ... more...

Creative Real Estate Financing
Do the creative real estate financing techniques you hear about really work? Yes and no. They likely have all worked somewhere for someone at least once. The important point is to understand the principles involved, so you can find your own creative ways to invest in real estate. Here are ten ... more...

Clouds on a Title
Before you close you need to be sure that there are no clouds on your title. It is at closing that you will be handed the title from the previous owner, one that has no liens and that is marketable and one that has no clouds. If your title did have a lien it would mean that money was owning, money ... more...

Life Insurance, the Universe, and Everything
You may have noticed that life insurance is coming back into fashion. Its true that it may not be the financial term on everybodys lips, but sales of life insurance have been going up, according to the Association of British Insurers. Whilst we may not be saving the volume of funds that the ... more...

The Economy's Greatest Depression Downturn Ever Is Now Just A Few Years Away
What really controls the economy? Forget interest rates, forget deficits, forget the Fed, forget IRAQ, forget which party is in office. In fact, forget just about everything that permeates the news. The greatest force that has controlled the long-term trend of the economy for at least the last ... more...