Day: February 23, 2008

Investing Basics: What Are Your Investment Goals? Part 2
GET RICH QUICK-OR POORER QUICKER?
Too often, people invest money with dreams of becoming rich overnight. This is possible with some types of investments–but it is also rare. As we said above, the greater the reward, the greater the risk.

Also, most of the time, as in the examples above, we are really looking at much more long term goals, which require a different set of strategies. For instance, Sure, we all know we want to retire some day. And that we want to have a good lifestyle, and not be concerned about the cost of health care, and even our basic daily needs.

The question is, at what age do we plan to retire, and at what level of income and lifestyle. What sort of financial cushion will we have under us for emergencies? Most people in this day and age do not even have a 6 month ’emergency fund’ in case they lose their job, let alone money on which to live for the next 20, 30, 40 years.

It is safer to invest your money in such a way that it will grow slowly over time, and be used for retirement or a child’s education. The dollar you save now will yield many more over a 20-year period.

The trouble for many of us is saving, let alone finding the money to invest. You will also have to ask yourself: What sacrifices are you (and your family) prepared to make in order to reach your investment goals?

For example, it seems ridiculous to be worrying about getting 5-10% in a 401k when you’re paying 18-30% on credit card and store card balances, isn’t it.

Investing is about more than trying to get rich quick, it is about getting out of debt and staying out of it, and having enough savings not only for emergencies, but long terms goals.

This may not be a fashionable notion in our get rich quick, want it now society, but with foreclosures at an all time high and America in the throes of a recession, fashion in all its forms be damned.

If you have not yet taken the time to sit down and worked out your budget, that should be your first step. The America’s Debt Diet website at
http://www.oprah.com/money/debtdiet/money_debtdiet_main.jhtml
has a lot of free tools and worksheets to help you first work out a realistic budget, and how to get out of debt, and stay out of debt.

For more hints and tips, go to Investing Basics: What Are Your Investment Goals? Part 3.

The Great Girl’s Guide to Online Dating Part 2

Why do people go for online dating?

TIME
Because of the great matching technology, online dating can be a real time saver. You can scan hundreds of online profiles and look at hundreds of pictures in the same length of time only one real world date takes. Best of all, the results you’re viewing have already been screened for you on the basis of your interests and other compatability factors.

Most of the time, you can tell a lot from a guy’s profile. The main thing is, do you feel safe with this guy, that he is going to have your best interests at heart, not just his own, and bring something great into your life?

You can usually tell right away from the profile if a guy is a player or not. Be really careful of the ones who say they have no preference for body type. Huh. No such animal, unless he’s a sex addict.

Sure, there are a lot of insincere guys out there, on line and in real life. Make sure that you are sincere (without giving any personal information away) and you should attract like-minded people.

If you’re only out for casual dating, be honest about it. If you’re looking to settle down with the right guy, be honest about that too without sounding desperate.

If you’re both honest, then at least you know you won’t be wasting your precious free time on a guy who isn’t on the same page as you romantically.

MONEY
For less than the price of one evening out on the town, you can enjoy an entire month of meeting men and getting to know some good guys from the safety of your own home.
You can online date any time, anywhere, day or night, even at the office (just make sure you don’t overdo it! And watch for network security filters and spyware that shows what sites you’ve been too!)
One of the great things about online dating is you can put your best foot forward without even have to get dressed up for it!
Some women will choose men within their geographical area in order to leave open the possibility of real world dating. Others choose to correspond with men from all over the world.
On the whole, though, long distance romances tend to add up in cost, so do be practical.
One final word: a lot of sites are now offering money-back guarantees that you will meet someone and hit it off, or your membership, or an extension of your membership, will be free. So you really have nothing to lose except some time and effort. The risks are few for online dating if you take the right precautions, but the rewards can be many.

See Part 3 for other reasons why great girls go for online dating.