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Archive for January, 2010

An increasingly attractive mortgage option is what is referred to as the combination loan or combo loan. Combination loans have several key advantages over traditional 30-year mortgage loans and there are a wide variety of combinations to suit most financial situations.

By far, the most popular combination mortgage loan is the 80/20 loan. This loan is actually two loans; the first loan is for 80% of the homes value, and the second loan is for the remaining 20%. With the 80/20 mortgage loan, the buyer pays no down payment and is ideal for those without a significant amount of savings. Another key advantage of the 80/20 mortgage loan is that the buyer avoids PMI or private mortgage insurance. PMI is required on all mortgage loans that are greater than 80% of the homes value. A third advantage of the combination mortgage loans is that both loans are tax deductible. By avoiding PMI and increasing their tax deduction, a buyer gains a significant cost savings advantage over traditional mortgage loans.

Combination loans are available in many other ratios as well. The 70/30 mortgage loan is usually preferred to the 80/20 loan for more expensive homes, when 80% of the homes value would be classified as a jumbo loan (above the FNMA/FHLMC limit) and subject to higher interest rates.

Another option is the 80/15/5 mortgage loan, where the buyers makes a down payment of 5%. Other options include the 80/10/10, 75/15/10, etc which are all variants of the same.

In combinations mortgage loans, the primary loan usually has a 30-year amortization term, while the second loan can have 30 or 15 year term. Expect the interest rate to be about 2% higher for the second loan. The buyer can opt for a fixed rate mortgage or an ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) on either or both loans. The ARM will have a lower monthly premium and allow for additional cost savings, but be sure to refinance the ARM loans if interest rates start to rise.

Dedicated photo printers differ from all-purpose printers as they are designed to print photos only, as opposed to text or graphics documents in addition to photos. They are generally compact in size and lightweight, and some models even feature batteries that allow you to print without the need for an outlet.

Most photo printers, including dye-sublimation (or dye-sub) printers, are built around a thermal dye engine, though there are a few that feature inkjet technology.

For many years, dye-sublimation printers were specialist devices used in demanding graphic arts and photographic applications. The advent of digital photography led to the entry of this technology into the mainstream, forming the basis of many of the standalone, portable photo printers that surfaced in the second half of the 1990s.

The term “dye” in the name refers to the solid dyes that were used in the process instead of inks or toner. “Sublimation” is the scientific term for a process where solids (in this case, dyes) are converted into their gaseous form without going through an intervening liquid phase.

The printing process employed by true dye-sublimation printers differs from that of inkjets. Instead of spraying tiny jets of ink onto a page as inkjet printers do, dye-sublimation printers apply a dye from a plastic film.

A three-pass system (featuring solid dyes in tape form on either a ribbon or a roll) layers cyan, magenta, yellow, and black dyes on top of one another. The print head on a dye-sub printer uses tiny heaters to vapourise the dye, which permeates the glossy surface of the paper.

A clear coat is added to protect the print against ultraviolet light. Although this method is capable of producing excellent results, it is far from economical. Even if a particular image does not need any one of the pigments, that ribbon segment is still consumed.

This is the reason it is common for dye-sub printer compatible paper packs to contain a transfer film capable of producing the same number of prints. In addition, dye sublimation inks need a paper that allows the ink to remain on the surface of the paper.

Nowadays, a number of inkjet printers on the market are capable of deploying dye-sublimation techniques. The cartridges in such printers spray the ink, covering the page one strip at a time. The print head heats the inks to form a gas, controlled by a heating element that reaches temperatures of up to 500° C (higher than the average dye sublimation printer).

When you are called for a job interview, you need to be aware that every step of the way counts for your success. You need to make a great First impression at the Job Interview by controlling your body language. Here are some tips to look for. Practice these suggestions for 10 minutes before you walk in to your interview.

1- Dress to kill!

2- Stay calm. Wise people are calm.

3- Arriving at the reception area. Ask for your contact person be it the HR person or the manager who should be meeting you.

4- Look busy if you are asked to wait. Play with your PDA or read a newspaper. Good candidates are always busy.

5- Walking to meeting room: walk in a fair pace.

6- When you speak, keep it short and brief. Remember the name of the person you are meeting and repeat it in the first few minutes of you meeting or interview.

7- When you sit make sure that you do not confront the person you are meeting or being interviewed by. Keep the angle of the seat to 45 degree.

8- Stay calm, think before your talk. Trying counting to ten before you reply to any question.

9- Do not interrupt the person interviewing you. Let him/her complete the question before you answer.

10- Believe in what you say.

11- Live up to what you say. Stay honest.

12-Your exit from the interview should keep the same pace you entered. Stay calm, shake hands if possible. Close the door if the person you are meeting is not escorting you to the door.

The answer usually is – as much as you have, and then a little more.

But seriously, how much money does it cost to start a business ranges from a few dollars to millions. It depends on how much you’re willing to spend.

If you want to start a big franchise with a physical location, it can cost well over a million dollars. For instance, a D’Arcy McGee’s Pub requires $1.8 million in liquid capital. Greasy Monkey Oil Change Franchise board recommends you have $700,000 over and above the $500,000 franchise fee.

That doesn’t mean that every franchise is in the million dollar plus range. A Caring Hearts Home Care Franchise costs just $7500 to start up. So, how much money does it cost to start a small business franchise is from the low thousands of dollars.

But your options are not limited to franchises. For instance, you can open a restaurant, oil change shop, or home care referral service without going through the expense of a franchise.

If that is your choice, you will have three sets of expenses. First, you will have to get the site and the equipment – your capital expenses. Next, you will need to have money for operating expenses. Finally, you will have to develop a marketing plan on your own and have the funds to implement it.

Are there low cost businesses you can open? Of course.

Working from home eliminates the cost of having commercial or office space. If you have a service you can provide or a product you can produce from your home, your start up costs could consist of $100 in supplies and a web site.

Working from home has become more accepted and desired in recent years.

In this article, we will continue the financial investing series with the discussion of financing methods and financial market participants in macroeconomics.

I. Financial markets

The health and operation of the economy is affected by many components, none more important than the segment known as the financial markets. Financial markets affects the growth, prices exchange rate and distribution of wealth and income. For the economics system to function well, money must flow from the individuals who have it (the savers) to those that need it (the borrowers).

1. Direct financing

The borrower goes directly to the investor to borrow funds.

2. Indirect financing

Indirect financing uses a financial intermediary or midleman to provide the funds, such as the funds flow from savers to financial institutions and then to borrowers.

II. Financial market participants

There are four main participants

1. The Central Bank

The Central Bank is the federal government’s bank and has the following roles in the financial market:

a) Is the lender of last resort.
b) Oversees and conducts monetary policy.
c) Preserves the value of the dollar.

2. Deposit Intermediaries

Deposit intermediaries include the following institutions:

a) Banks
b) Credit Unions
c) Mortgage and loan companies.
d) Mortgage and loan agencies.

3. Contractual savings intermediaries

Contractual savings intermediaries are in the form of the following:

a) Life insurance companies.
b) Pension funds.
c) Property and casualty insurance companies
d) Government pension plans.

4. Investment intermediaries

Investment intermediaries include:

a) Mutual funds companies,
b) Investment dealers.
c) Consumer loan companies.
d) Business finance companies.

I hope this information will help. If you want more information of the above subject, you can find this series of articles at my home page:

Recently, the economy hasn’t been doing so well and people have been tight on their money. Unfortunately, people still have to pay taxes and it gets very hard at times to pay them. Sometimes, people can pay the taxes, but during the time that they must pay the bills; the money to pay is gone. This was the case for many Americans including myself this year. Fortunately, there was an option: the rapid refund loan.

The rapid refund loans are also known as refund anticipation loans and are very helpful for people who need money fast. The process is simple. The first step is to work with banks that have these types of refund loans and with your tax professional. I specify the tax professional because as far as I have experienced, no one can do their taxes alone and then ask the bank for a rapid refund loan. Once your taxes are prepared and they see that you will qualify for a tax refund. The bank then can give you a loan within the week of how much that refund is worth. When you receive the IRS refund money, it is then used to pay off the refund loan.

This is very beneficial when people are in a tight situation with their finances; the loan puts money in the pocket quick so that way any bills that need to be paid can be paid off. This way, there will still be enough money to support yourself in daily life which in the end is what counts. The rapid refund loans in these times now are very useful. Some say it’s bad that you need to pay a tax assistant to help; but I disagree because if you do it yourself and messed up on your taxes, then you would have a slew of problems from owing the bank to possibly owing the IRS more money than expected.

Rapid refund loans are not our enemies, but our financial ladders when times are tough. They are not too complex and very easy to pay off.