Money Confiscated from Busts goes back into Law Enforcement
Salinas, Calif.-Many viewers wanted to know, what happens to the money collected in big busts like yesterdays ‘Street Sweeper’ Operation, Central Coast News took that question to officials to find an answer.Mike

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My first suggestion is that you STOP watching the news. This negativity can begin to wear on you, especially if you are one of those people that just lost your job, your stressed out about money or you are just barely scraping to get by.

There are so many ways to save money and so many ways to make money in this economy. You just have to know how to do it and most importantly be discipline about it. Simply take control of your money, start budgeting & become aware of what you are spending your money on. Do you really need that new purse, the latest gadget, new shoes, etc? Many times the answer is a big fat NO!

Now, for those of you with only one income, then you really need to get serious about not only ways to save money, but looking for ways to make money. Get a plan B before you actually need it. I know too many people personally that are losing their jobs and wishing they would have had a backup plan.

Serious Question? No matter how bad the economy, Will you still shop? Toilet paper, toothpaste, Food, clothes, shoes, for your kids? Absolutely.

So, now the question becomes: How can we turn those needs into saving money and making money?

The answer: Internet Shopping

Retailer stores are offering HUGE discounts on the internet and Free shipping many times. Not only will you save money on gas, you will reduce your carbon footprint and save your precious time.

Here are a few ways to save money online:

1. Comparison shop – Many times you can Google an item and compare prices, but I also recommend Pricegrabber.com and Nextag.com to find the lowest price.

2. Sign up for email from your favorite stores – They will send you coupon codes, discounts and specials.

3. Coupon codes – Always search Google for Ex: “Macy’s coupon codes”. There are a ton of coupon sites and you can usually get a discount or free shipping. Currentcodes.com is a really good place to find them. When you check out then you will see a box to enter that code and receive the discount.

4. Shipping charges – Freeshipping.org is a great place to look for Free shipping. Many times the shipping is still cheaper than if you drive to the store. You will save money on gas and most importantly save you time.

5. Sales Tax Savings – Be sure to look for stores that are out of your state so that you can save the sales tax. Drugstore.com is a great example for me because I buy all of my toiletries, prescriptions, household items and save an additional 6%. Plus they have a program where they also give you 5% drugstore dollars on most items to spend on future orders. It really adds up big time & has saved me time and money because I no longer walk out of a store with impulse items.

Here are some ways to make money online:

1. Join an affiliate program – Cash back program – This is the BIG BONUS! – You can usually earn from 1-30% cash back in addition to the savings mentioned above. There are usually thousands of stores with everything you could ever need. Pet supplies, office supplies, Airfare, Hotels, household cleaning products, healthy snacks, vitamins, prescription drugs, clothes, shoes, and much more.

*I actually came across one program that offers all items listed above (the stores you know and love), but they also offer over 15,000 organic and eco-friendly products. That is very fitting for these times, as people are becoming more aware of the environment and their health and the health of their family.

2. Become a Ecommerce Broker – The benefits of shopping smart online, by saving money, using coupons, and taking advantage of rebate affiliate programs is pretty big. More money in your pocket and less stress on the family.

It only makes sense that you would share these incredible discounts and savings with other people, wouldn’t you? People are desperate to save money and we have already established that everyone needs a plan B during these tough economic times. There is a HUGE problem & now you have the solution.

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First and foremost, regularly spend less than you make.  Consider a local mattress dealer that advertises on radio and TV.  His madcap skits, offering “no deposit, no interest, and no payments until . . . whenever,” are hilarious.  However, I shudder at the thought that someone actually purchases an unaffordable product, gambling that in a year or so the full purchase price can be paid so to avoid scheduled fees and retroactive interest.  It’s a recipe for disaster.  

Money Tip 2 – You’ll find your financial helping hand at the end of your arm.

A half-century ago, the average American anticipated retirement through an employee pension fund, supplemented by social security.  Much has since changed since.  Many employers, for sheer survival, are under-funding their pension programs and ridding themselves of employees.  And with Social Security rapidly evolving into a welfare system, there is little outside assistance to count on.  The significance is clear: Fund your own retirement through regular savings and sound investments.  Fashion your life so that part of your income is not consumed, but available for the future.  You must do this yourself; don’t expect help elsewhere.

Money Tip 3 – Arrange to make your money grow.

The adage that time is money is accurate; it depicts the earning power of money astutely invested.  Let me suggest a method.  Open a self-directed brokerage IRA account—preferably a Roth if you’re eligible—in which you accumulate certificates of deposit, treasury notes, and high grade corporate bonds.  Begin at an early age and pursue this program systematically through your working years.  An annual contribution of $4,000 invested at 7½ percent, compounded semiannually over the 40-year period from ages 25 to 65, results in more than a million dollars.  It’s the compound interest that brings this about, a phenomenon as close to magic as you’ll ever encounter.  

Money Tip 4 – Don’t be taken advantage of.

There is no limit to the ways your money can be misspent or the persons who will take it from you.  Don’t let this happen.  Delete spam e-mails unopened.  Recognize that all advertisements qualify for the admonition: Ninety-five percent of everything is nonsense.  Purchase nothing from uninvited salesmen.  Ignore random solicitations for charitable contributions.  

Money Tip 5 – Plan for the changes that must surely come.

Life is a constantly evolving process, with significance at each stage.  In your twenties it’s acceptable to live on a shoestring while dreaming and scheming for the future.  By your thirties, as family or professional obligations take precedence, closely control your spending and savings habits.  During your forties assiduously concentrate on asset accumulation.  I recommend that by age fifty you are able to subsist on passive investment income if necessary.  By your sixtieth birthday, you qualify as wealthy, meaning that you can live in a style you choose with no employment required.  Be aware that things will work out this way only by your early decision to make it happen

Money Tip 6 – Don’t expect money to make you happy.

You’ve heard the old saying: “Money isn’t everything.”  That’s true.  Like it or not, wealth brings with it certain demands and responsibilities, and if you ignore them you’ll regret it.  As you become wealthy¾recognizably wealthy¾certain aspects of your life change, and not all for the better.  Although the problems of meeting the mortgage and financing the children’s schooling may no longer exist, other problems move in to take their place.  Your relationship with friends and relatives begin to change as you are viewed as something apart.  It seems that admiration and envy are opposite sides of the same coin, and as your perceived fortune grows, you will be the recipient of both emotions.  Merely possessing money doesn’t ensure happiness.  Only its prudent use results in satisfaction.  

Money Tip 7 – Give away what you don’t need.

In the final analysis, there is a practical limit on personal consumption, beyond which satisfaction is marginal.  At some point in our lives there must be more than mere acquisition.  In this hostile world are deserving people, and the opportunity to share your bounty in a meaningful way is exactly that – an opportunity.  There is satisfaction in giving back a portion of your good fortune. Establish a private non-profit educational foundation into which you contribute sums of money.  These funds become available for scholarships to students chosen by the foundation directors whom you select, perhaps faculty members of a nearby college.  The student chosen receive payments as long as they perform satisfactorily, and it’s your task to monitor their performance.  Not only do deserving students benefit directly to the extent of nearly 100 percent of your contributions, but also your donations qualify as tax deductions.  This is a fine way to fund a philanthropic enterprise in which the value to the actual recipients can be seen and appreciated.  What finer way might you spend money?

Al Jacobs has been a professional investor for more than four decades. His business experience ranges from real estate, mortgage, and securities investment to appraisal, civil engineering, and the operation of a private trust company. In addition to managing his investments on a day-to-day basis, he is a featured financial columnist for both online and print publications. He is the author of Nobody’s Fool: A Skeptic’s Guide to Prosperity. You may subscribe to his financial Newsletter, “On the Money Trail,” at no cost or obligation, by visiting www.onthemoneytrail.com.

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Start Controlling your money today. 

How would you feel if you ruled over your finances? If you are being ruled by your finances this article is for you. You will never get to where you want to get to, which is financial independence as long as money pushes you around. This article is full of solid tips to begin controlling you money today. 

Over the years I have really learned how Insurance is truly one of the great wealth management tools - But many people say they don’t have the money to do what they know they should or desire to do for themselves and their heirs. Let’s change that starting now.
I’d like to help you find the money you need. I’d like to help you, reduce or eliminate debt, reduce income taxes, improve cash flow and get all the life insurance you need and want without taking any additional money out of your pockets or change your current lifestyle.
We want to help you – reduce or eliminate your debts and improve your cash flow: 

Do you have multiple credit cards and charge accounts with large balances and high interest rates?  Action: You can consolidate all that debt onto one credit card with a lower interest rate and reduce your total payments.

Do you have cash accumulation in your life insurance policy, which you could use to pay off high-interest credit cards or a car loan Action:  You are better off borrowing from yourself and paying yourself back instead of paying someone else the interest? 

Do you have untapped equity in your  home you can use to reduce or eliminate your  debts?  Action: You could take out an equity line of credit? Yes, many people still have equity in their homes, and yes, you can still get equity loans. 

Can you refinance your mortgage to take out some equity and lower monthly payment to improve your cash flow?  Action: Mortgage interest is tax deductible. So,you  save on income taxes while reducing your debt and improving your cash flow. 

Can you borrow money from your 401(k) to pay off your credit card debts?  Action: Consider the tax’s you may pay for the withdraw but will they be less than you’re paying in interest. 

Can you reduce the premiums on their existing insurance policies to improve your cash flow?  Action: You can use that money to pay down debts and buy the life insurance you need? 

Do you have low deductibles on your health, auto or homeowners insurance? Action:  If you increase your deductibles, how much money would you save? 

Do you have an opportunity to receive a discount on your homeowners, auto and liability insurance policies by placing them with the same company?  Action: Review all policies and carriers.  Do you qualify for health insurance through your employer at a reduced cost? Action: You can possibly cut some benefits or increase deductible to reduce your costs?Maybe you can get more through pre-tax plans at work and actually take home more money.

Do you have a critical illness policy, of a Disability Income policy, or a Long Term Care Insurance policy with long-term benefits? Example: Having a “to age 65″ benefit period on your DI policy is fine, but if it prevents you from getting the life insurance you need to protect your family, is the long-term benefit on these policies really necessary?  Action: What is the higher priority? 

Do you have low-priority riders on the above policies?  Action: Review and adapting could free up money by removing these riders? 

Do you have cash-value polices that can be paid up with dividends? 

Can we move your policies with a lower priced quality company for any of your current insurance?  Action: We need to make sure this is truly in your best interests and with a carrier that is still a very highly rated Insurance Company. 

Are you funding a retirement plan?  Action: Does it make much sense to be putting money into a retirement account making 10 percent when you are paying out 17 percent interest on credit cards?

Are you putting money into a Roth IRA?  Action: If you need more life insurance to protect your  family, you can use a cash-value policy for your retirement savings, instead of a Roth IRA? This will allow you a cash-value life insurance policy building tax-deferred and generate tax-free income just like the Roth IRA? 

Are you putting more money into a 401(k) than is matched by your company?  Action: You could use some of that additional money to pay off your debts and get the life insurance your really need?

Are you using a traditional IRA, SEP, etc.?  Action: If you need more life insurance to protect your family, you can instead use some of the money you are putting away for retirement to fund a cash-value policy? 

Can you reduce your income taxes?  Action: You can write off a home-based business? Do you have a hobby you could write off as a business? You can start a business out of your house and save $300. to $600. in tax’s.

Are you missing any tax write-offs?  Action: You can go from the 1040 EZ short form to the long form for tax savings? 

Can we change any of your existing taxable investments to a tax-deferred investment? Action: Careful review can make a big difference.

These are just a few of the creative ways we can help you find the money to do what you really need to be doing for your long term goals. By following these strategies we can help you get there. 
We exist to help people just like you improve your current financial situation. Let us help you with your wealth management. 

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