Simple changes in your spending habits can make a world of difference in how much hard-earned money you keep in your pocket…oh sorry, in your purse too.  When it comes to tweaking the household budget to free up cash for unexpected bills, my husband and I have always discovered that the easiest plan is simply to stop spending money.

Sure, there’s always household bills that a family can’t avoid such as housing costs, transportation, groceries, and other essentials. But there is also a whole other tier of household spending that can and should be trimmed, especially in this fickle economy. The money saved should help reduce your debt and build up a savings fund. These two goals will put you in a better financial position for 2011.

Cutting your household spending starts with evaluating all your expenses and breaking them down into “wants” versus “needs.” Needs are the things your family absolutely must have to survive. Wants are things you would like to have, but really don’t need. Once all these household costs have been identified, figuring where to slash costs is easy.

What changes should you make to your family spending trends in 2011? The answer depends on your current debt and what you are willing to give up. If you need some ideas, here is how our family’s 2011 budget is measuring up:

Groceries cut by 40% from 2009. Last year, I started shopping aggressively at discount grocery stores plus expanded the size of our orchard and vegetable gardens to drop this household expense.

Apparel costs cut by 75%. “Use it up, wear it out” is our motto for 2011. For our teen daughter the fashionista, we shop the thrifts and outlet stores for her wardrobe needs.

Beauty Care dropped by 90%. Instead of buying department store beauty aids, we’re now shopping the dollar stores for name brand cosmetics and VO5 hair products.

Travel costs are down by 20% which has been attributed to carpooling and consolidating errands.

Vacation costs for 2011 are being trimmed by 75%. Instead of a road trip, we plan on visiting our relatives in the Puget Sound this year for a low cost vacation.

Credit cards, medical bills, and credit line payments were eliminated from the budget since these were paid off in 2010.

Entertainment and dining out have also been eliminated from the budget. If we want to see a movie, we’ll raid the coin jar for 50 cent Tuesday Movies at our favorite discount movie theater.

Household repairs are back in the budget for 2011. Now that most of our consumer debt is paid off, we can afford to tackle home maintenance issues again.

Home decor & landscaping needs has been eliminated from the budget since they fall in the category of a “want” instead of a necessity.

Piano payments are a new budget item for 2011. While some families may regard this as a “want” versus a “need”, we’ve got eight years of music lessons invested in a child who had finally outgrown her old practice piano. With the money saved in other areas however, the goal is to get this debt paid off by summer.

Emergency savings fund. This is also a new budget item for our family. Like may other families living on a shoestring, we are having to borrow instead of cash flowing emergencies as they come up. My goal is to have $5000 in this fund by the end of the year.

These are just a few examples of our household spending has changed to reflect the current state of the economy. Spend less, save more really is the key to weathering tough economic times both in this year and the years ahead.

Article written by: C. Jeanne Heida, On Wednesday January 19, 2011, 6:30 pm EST

Be frugal.

Sincerely,

Reggie Hobbs

Get an Educated, English speaking worker by Outsourcing in the Philippines!

You can’t do it all yourself.  If you know you need help with your business or service.  There is an obvious solution.  Just outsource it overseas.  Really…I’m talking specifically about competent, english speaking Filipino workers from the Philippines.

I can guarantee you that outsourcing has a high return-on-investment (ROI) if done right.  Especially with a skilled and affordable workforce in the Philippines.

For as little as $100-$1,500 per month you can have an outsourced employee that will help you with your business.  That is for full-time and part-time schedules of 20-40 hrs. per week.  The costs vary with different skill sets and the experience of the outsourcer.

The benefits of outsourcing are endless.  Imagine gettting a lot more work done and in turn make a lot more money…with your guidance and specific instructions of course.

Cost of Outsourcing:

Exchange rate: 45 pesos per $1.00

Example below: 5,000 Philippine pesos is $111.11, the average cost for a full-time Filipino employee is usually around $300…for the month!

Whatever business you are involved in, are you really using the internet to the fullest.  Filipinos are very savvy on the internet, so my advice is to use the internet to grow your business.  It is by far the greatest way to get more exposure for your business than all media combined.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bonus: An Effective Online Marketing campaign…

Create business profile blogs, a Facebook page, Twitter account and of course a couple squeeze pages to capture visitors email addresses.  (Squeeze page- a one-page website that offers a FREE ebook or newsletter or a instructional video…in exchange for their email address.)   Then generate traffic to your web properties with good SEO on your blogs, submitting articles to directories, bookmarking your blogs, RSS feeds from your blogs and other traffic strategies.

With an aggressive online marketing campaign you can have 1,000’s of inbound links to your web properties in a matter of months.  You will see a significant increase in traffic.   You would want to track your visitor activity using Google Analytics.  (Google Analytics-tracks all visitor traffic into your sites.)  You would insert a “code” that they provide onto your blog for tracking.   Really easy to do yourself or a task for your outsourced employee.

With these college educated, computer savvy Filipino employees, you can reach a whole new audience cheaply and quickly.

(Tip: Many of the most powerful Internet marketing strategies are free and easy with a trained staff.)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is what most successful internet marketers do.  They get someone to do things for them.  The outsourcers are only as good as your plan and detailed instructions.  You are the architect, boss, honcho.   Plain and simple.

You can find good Filipino workers at a couple of places.  Some of these outsourcing services are websites with a database of thousands of workers ready to work.  There is a one-time registration fee for them.  And other full-service outsourcing companies charge a monthly fee that will provide you with an outsourcer based on your business needs.

A great thing is that they will allow you to interview as many potential employees until you find the right person.

You can see tremendous results for very little financial outlay.

Tips on hiring an outsourcer:

• Know your needs.
• Give detailed instructions of your mission and tasks.
• Expect daily or weekly reports.
• Set goals and deadlines.  Be firm on your expectations…but please be polite and respectful.
• Establish points of contact…email, video conferencing with Skype, Yahoo Messenger or Google Talk.
• Pay only after the end of the month or period when you hired them. (exa: Hired on 20 Dec 1020…Pay on 20 Jan 2010…for 30-days of work)
• Interview 5-10 employees before hiring. In most cases.
• Have them to perform a specific task and report to you after a “deadline”  with the completed task.
• If you are not happy…pay them for their service and move on to the next one.
• Bonuses are okay.  Just don’t make it to frequent.
• Be informal and ask them about their life and family.  Create a good working relationship.
• Don’t be to quick to fire an employee.  Allow them to make mistakes.  We all make mistakes.
• Give an occasional work-day off, when you are happy with their results.
• Understand that they don’t work on some of their national holidays.

(Tip: Keep on top of your business.  Be prompt and dependable with your instructions, meeting appoinments, payments and overall…say what you do and do what you say!)

List of businesses and services to benefit from outsourcing:

Marketing
Research
Virtual Assistant
Data Processing and Management
E-Commerce
Data Processing and management
Recruiting
Medical support
Real Estate
Home-based businesses
Internet marketing- creating and managing blogs.
Sales Persons- Realtors, Insurance, Financial planner, CPA, Lawyers, Doctors, Dentists, etc…
Multi-Level-Marketing (MLM)
Professional Speakers
Trainers- Life coaches, Yoga teachers, Business coaches

Outsourcers skill sets:

Upload Blogs and Monitor comments
Suggest Social Media Content Ideas
Update Twitter Profile and Followers
Create Facebook Fan Page and Find Fans
Write or Revise Articles & Post Online
Video Marketing
Software programmers
Create Lists of Companies or Individuals
Research Business Competitors
Prepare and E-Mail/Mail Materials
Learn Software Applications
Project Management
Obtain Best Pricing on Purchases
Answer Phones and Check Voice Mail
Maintain Virtual Calendar
Arrange Appointments
Organize Travel Reservations
Create Newsletters
Prepare PowerPoint Presentations
Process Orders and Fulfill Orders
Handle Customer Service Issues
Email, Phone, Live Chat
Tech Support
Post Ads and Blog Entries
Data Entry and Mining

the list goes on…

My favorite outsourcing resources:

Phillipines Outsourcing databases:

www.OnlineJobs.ph
www.BestJobs.ph

Full Service:

www.123Employee.com

Project management tool:

www.BaseCampHQ.com

Create instruction videos for outsourcers:

www.Jing.com

Screen Capture software tool:

www.SnagIt.com

Thanks for listening and do your due diligence when hiring.

Sincerely,

Reggie Hobbs

Excellent FREE resource for Financial concerns, Tax strategies, Estate planning and Retirement.

How is your financial health?  With some effort, you can keep, protect and profit more from your hard-earned money.  Having a savings, Mutual Fund, tax-deferred investments or even real estate is just not enough as an effective financial plan.  Well let me clarify.  You are forfeiting money or leaving yourself exposed to avoidable taxation and you are compromising your financial protection.

Starting a financial plan is a step-by-step process.  Something simple as cutting back on Starbucks.  Or negotiating a lower interest rate on your credit cards…really you need to pay them off.  At all cost!  That is another lecture in itself.

With this article, pick out the strategies you need start.  Creating a trust, use a business as a tax haven, cutting personal spending, refinancing your house or creating a Family Limited Partnership.  Just start somewhere.

Gather the information (print articles or take notes) that you can use and consolidate it all in one place.  Create a folder, file, box or whatever to store the financial documents, notes and articles for your finances.  Create a plan and execute it.

This article came from Integrated Wealth Management: a great resource to learn current financial strategies.

Their library of iMoney ideas is built on the concept that short lessons can teach you a lot about personal finance.  Watch these quick movies that will show a financial concept.

Financial Concepts:

Videos

• Retirement Vision: Is your picture out of focus?
• The Latte Habit: How little things can add up over time.
• The $300,000 Baby: The price on your investment from cradle to college.
• Retirement Confidence: Does your confidence rise and fall with the stock market?
• The Value of a Bond: How interest rate changes influence bond prices.
• You, Inc.: Would you invest in this company?
• Which Bank Would You Go To?: Identifying potential risks in your financial strategy.
• The 75% Factor: How much money will you bring to retirement?

Tax Library:

Resources

A collection of resources to help you manage your taxes as well as prepare for the upcoming tax season.

The topics below and you’ll find a selection of tools and information related to taxes and tax strategies.

• Federal Income Tax Rates
• TaxWise Strategies
• Federal Tax Calendar
• Tax Publications

(Tip: Eighty percent of Americans agree they would benefit from having basic financial education and information.1
1 The 2009 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey, Harris Interactive, Inc., 2009)

Articles:

General financial topics below and you’ll find a selection of easy-to-understand information sheets about related financial concepts and strategies.
This information is updated regularly to reflect the latest facts, figures, legislation, and economic trends.

Estate and Trusts

Estate Planning
Avoiding Probate
Charitable Gifts
Paying Estate Taxes
Gifting Strategies
Family Limited Partnerships
Property Ownership
Eliminating the Estate Tax

Investing

Dividends
Growth Stocks vs. Value Stocks
Mutual Fund Taxes
Stock
Diversification
Bonds
Mutual Funds vs. Stocks
Mutual Funds
Closed-End Funds
Mutual Fund Loads
Annuities
College Savings Plans
Managed Investments

Retirement

How Much Do I Need to Save
IRA Rollover
Roth 401(k)
Profit-Sharing Plans
Your Business and Retirement
Social Security Income
Self-Employed Retirement Plans
Equity-Indexed Annuities
Retirement Plan Distributions
Traditional IRAs
401(k) Plans
Managing Retirement Plans
Roth IRAs

Tax Planning

Capital Gains Tax
Charitable Trust Tax Benefits
Withdrawing Before Age 59.5
Tax Deferral
Tax-Advantaged Investments
Tax Deductions
Tax Strategies for Retirement Plans
Tax-Free Investments
Mutual Fund Profits

Cash Management

Cash Management Basics
Money Market Funds
Managing Cash
Biweekly Mortgages
Reverse Mortgages
Smart Financing Ideas
College Financial Aid
Home Equity Loans

Risk Management

Why Purchase Life Insurance
Annuities as an Insurance Product
Property and Casualty Insurance
Business Owner Policies
Life Insurance for Business Owners
Split-Dollar Life Insurance
Last-Survivor Life Insurance
Disability Insurance for Business Owners
Types of Life Insurance
Term Life Insurance
Whole Life Insurance
Universal Life Insurance

It is always a good idea to refer to a professional.  An estate attorney, tax attorney, CPA or financial planner.  Do your “due diligence” in selecting a competent professional.  Ask a lot of questions.  Keep in mind that you usually get what you pay for.

Let’s make 2011 the year of good financial decisions.  Keep, protect and profit more from your hard-earned money.  Make a list, talk to a professional and set your financial goals.

(Tip: Don’t overwhelm yourself with too much information.  Select the financial concepts that you can start now.  Take one step at a time.  Gradually you will have all of the bases covered.  Just take some kind of action.)

Resource: Integrated Wealth Management
A proud member of Fusion Advisor Network, a consortium of independent financial professionals.

Wish you much success!

Sincerely,

Reggie Hobbs

A World Traveler and Expat expert…Simon Black is his name.

Bringing a lot of his wisdom about where to live abroad in relatively safe and prosperous destinations.

I want to start out this end-of-week by reiterating one immutable fact: no place is perfect… and in these tumultuous times which I call the ‘Age of Turmoil,’ no country is going to be completely immune to the looming problems which face the world, namely rising prices and resource shortages.

We discuss many countries in this daily column which stand head-and-shoulders above their peers– Brazil, Chile, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, Panama, and several others. It would be unfair and inaccurate, however, to say that they are not without a few challenges.

For example, this week in Chile there were some small-scale riots in the extreme south of the country as people protested a 17% hike in gas prices. Chile imports most of its fuel and is thus more exposed to changes in oil prices than, say, food or industrial metals.

That being said, Chile remains among several other countries whose economic fundamentals, resource reserves, arable land and water supplies, and balanced societies will provide significant cushion to weather any trouble ahead with only minor bumps and bruises.

Conversely, the dominant western hierarchy of the past is on course to experience extreme shock and awe as their public finances fail and supranational policies unravel. On the balance, I’ll happily take a mild head cold over the Bubonic plague any day.

On that note, Sharon asks, “Simon, can you comment somewhere about whether citizenship is required for gun ownership in Chile and other South American countries that do permit handgun and other gun ownership?”

There are many gun friendly nations in South America. Chile is one of them, and so is Panama and Uruguay.  Residency is required to apply for a permit, but this is fairly easy to obtain. (I discuss a unique option in Chile in our upcoming Sovereign Man: Confidential, which is due out this weekend).

You can also import your own firearms, and this is probably a good idea considering that weapons tend to cost more in Latin America than they do in North America.

Next, Captain writes, “Simon– having already acquired two passports and foreign property, I am slowly preparing to become an expat once I retire from the US military. Since I will be drawing retirement pay, is there any way to stay under the radar while I live abroad?”

First off, if you want to keep drawing your US military retirement pay, you should not consider renouncing US citizenship. Your retirement pay will be cut off if you do so since it’s contingent upon you being able to be recalled to active duty.

Second, you may want to consider keeping a bank account in the US just to receive your retirement checks. Once a quarter, you can wipe the account clean by wire transferring the balance to a bank account of your choosing anywhere in the world, or taking a cash withdrawal through a money transfer service.

In this way, you won’t have to give up your home address overseas to the Defense Department.

Next, Devin asks, “Simon, did you hear about the IRS agent who was convicted of tax evasion?”

I did indeed. Former IRS agent Albert Bront recently pled guilty to filing fraudulent tax returns and faces sentencing this coming April. The even worse story was of Roger Coombs, another former agent who was caught trying to solicit a bribe in exchange for lowering a business’s taxes.

Few things boil my blood like politicians and government agents abusing the power that they should have never been given in the first place for the sake of personal gain.

Tim Geithner doesn’t pay his self-employment taxes, it’s an honest mistake. Charlie Rangel neglects important disclosures and he gets a slap on the wrist followed by a Congressional standing ovation.

If Joe Six Pack does these things, he gets an IRS agent standing on his doorstep with a bill (at best), assets frozen (likely), or an arrest warrant (also possible).

It happens everywhere– I remember reading about a case last year in Canada in which two agents of Canada Revenue Agency were arrested in connection with ensuring that politically-connected construction companies wouldn’t be audited.

These are all cases where the privileged elite of the political class, and their bureaucratic underlings and police forces, accord themselves special rights and immunities that no one else would be entitled to. The higher the rank, the more likely they are to get away with it.

In the wake of the Arizona shootings last weekend, there’s already talk of beefing up security for Congressmen, and Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina has been further arguing that Congressmen should receive special treatment from TSA at airports.

Any way you slice it, this system is utterly corrupt, and Lincoln’s fateful notion of a ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’ has absolutely perished from this earth… at least from the western world.

Last, I’d like to end the week on a lighter note with a bit of comic relief; my good friend Chris has passed along this hilarious video that pokes fun at technology in a way that only dry British humor is capable of doing.

Article written by: Simon Black of Sovereignman.com (January 14, 2011  Santiago, Chile)

Contact the nearest Embassy for any updated information about the state of any country that you might want to retire to or to do business.

Sincerely,

Reggie Hobbs

How To Use This Recession To Break Free From Mediocrity.  Create The Life Of Your Dreams.

An Interview With Legendary Success Coach…Jack Canfield.

Jack is a world-renowned motivational speaker and author of The Success Principles, but he’s probably best known for co-creating the wildly successful series Chicken Soup for the Soul. And in this interview he talks about how you can use this recession to discover and hone your unique abilities, take 100% responsibility for your life, and create the life of your dreams.

According to Jack, most people get in the habit of waiting for someone or something to come along and change their situation, when unfortunately life doesn’t work that way. In order to be successful, you have to take charge of the way you respond to the events in your life, and change those responses until you get the outcome you desire. And in this audio, you’ll hear exactly how to do that.

In this Jack Canfield interview you’ll hear…

• How to sharpen your unique abilities, find a need to fill in this recession, and develop an action plan that works for you.

• The 3 areas we have control of in our life – and how to shape them into the cornerstones of success.

• Simple exercises to try that will help you celebrate your successes and build your self-esteem.

• How to change your behavior so that you’re staying positive and using the “Law of Replacement” to your advantage.

• Why you need to be in a state of relaxation in order to be successful – and how to do that.

• And much more…

Jack has helped countless people get from where they are today to where they want to be, and he can help you too. All you really have to do is stay positive, take a good look at yourself and your behavior, and take action.

This audio is a great first step.

Click to listen: Jack Canfield…Life Coach

Create an action plan!

Sincerely,

Reggie Hobbs

Bill Bartmann has one of the best rags-to-riches stories around.

What an amazing story of Bill Bartmann who left home at 15 years old and achieve great business success to become a “billionaire”.  His failure lessons from a billionaire who has more than his fair share of hard learned lessons to show for it.

In fact, he’s become somewhat of a failure-to-success expert and says one of his goals is to do for failure…what Betty Ford has done for alcoholism.

And after you listen to this interview, you’ll know exactly what he means by that.  As one of eight children, Bill Bartmann started out with nothing. His father was a janitor and his mother a housecleaner.
After spending time in a carnival and a gang, Bill realized he needed a better plan for his life.

So he put himself through college and law school and started investing in real estate. After having a good deal go bad, Bill found himself a million dollars in debt with creditors harassing him at all hours.

Oddly enough, Bill Bartmann ended up making his billions in the debt resolution business. He credits part of his success to being at the right place at the right time.

The rest, he says, was recognizing the opportunity. This interview is all about Bill’s amazing life journey and all the many lessons he’s learned along the way.

Anyway, here’s some of what you’ll hear in this interview…

* The top five mistakes that businesses should never make.

* How stopping the negative talk can make all the difference.

* Ways to keep your money safe before disaster strikes.

* How to spot when a business is headed for trouble.

* How to pick yourself up from failure.

* And much, much more…

Bill Bartmann is proof that no matter how far down you get, you’ll always be able to pick yourself up if you believe in yourself.
So whether you’ve suffered a failure or you just want to make sure you don’t, this is the interview for you.

It’s a two-hour audio that’s full of inspiration and guidance that everyone, not just entrepreneurs, will be able to benefit from.
Oh, federal regulations require me to tell you that If you go to Bill’s site and buy something, I do make money!

Click to listen: Bill Bartmann…billionaire!

For more details on Bill:  http://www.billionairebubba.com

Sincerely,

Reggie

How To Get The Money You Need Fast For Your Business When The Banks Says No

For any small or medium sized company that needs money for growth…the Angel Investing Network could be the answer.  In this forty-minute interview, you will learn how Barry, a financial guru has carved out a niche in the financing field.  He is so good at what he does that many of the leading banks send their customers to Barry as a last ditch effort to get the needed money.

Here’s why…  Barry and his team have contacts that represent hundreds of millions of dollars in lending power. Barry and his team have the ability to arrange financing because of their strong relationships within
the financing community.

When it comes to getting the money you need, it’s not what you know but who you know.  These industry insider allow Barry to deal directly with the decision makers of these select lending institutions.

You’ll hear Barry give an in-depth explanation of each of their services along with example case studies where they acted as the intermediary to the process.

This is a fascinating new approach that will broaden your knowledge of the requirements necessary to engage a person with connections like Barry to help you to achieve your desired business growth.

Click to listen:  Angel Network Investors

More Angel Network audio interviews at Hard To Find Seminars.

Most people don’t like thinking about death.

But without effective estate planning, your family can be left guessing how to pay for expenses or how to divide your assets after you die.  Let’s take care of that.

Effective estate planning not only takes care of all that. It can also make sure you receive the long-term care you wanted if you become incapable of expressing those wishes later in life.

So in this audio, you’ll hear how to get your affairs in order – and save money doing it.

What You’ll Get From This Audio:

• Examples of estate-planning nightmares and ways to avoid them.

• How to find the right tools and attorney for the job – and how to make sure you don’t get
hooked up with an amateur.

• What the difference is between a will and a living trust and which is better for settling affairs.

• Why you’ll want to “properly fund your living trust”, what that means and how to do it.

• What a bypass trust is and how people are using it to reduce estate taxes.

• How to save hundreds of thousands in unnecessary taxes just by changing the way you hold your titles.

According to JD, effective estate planning is not a do-it-yourself project, especially if you want to be sure the money
will be there to take care of your husband or wife, whoever outlives the other, after your death.

This 35-minute audio gives what you need to know to make informed choices about your future.

Enjoy.

Click to Listen: Effective Estate Planning

Resource:

Estate Planning and Trusts

Business Credit Information Seminar

The Secrets of Business Credit and How To Be Financially Prepared For Any Business Opportunity… Or Emergency.

With businesses going under and consumers spending less and less, this may seem like a time of financial uncertainty for most people.

But there is an easy way to make sure you’re ready for anything that comes up, and that’s by understanding the correct business credit information and setting up your business credit profile.

Because banks typically lend businesses significantly larger amounts than they do individuals, you’ll be able to qualify for bigger and better loans with business credit.

And because business credit is completely separate from your personal credit, you won’t have to worry about losing your personal assets if your business deals go south.

So in this interview, you’ll meet business credit expert Al Fury. Al’s been running seminars and infomercials about business credit and banking practices since the 1980s, so he knows every shortcut worth knowing and every pitfall worth watching out for.

And over the next hour, you’ll hear exactly how to set up a business credit profile that will get you the best loans – along with some tips and techniques that will speed up the process.

You’ll Also Learn from this audio..

• How to start out with basically nothing and end up with one million dollars in unsecured revolving credit by
the end of the year.

• What you’ll need to do if you’ve ever filed for bankruptcy.

• What trade line credits are, why they’re important and how to easily set them up.

• Shortcuts for accelerating the business credit process – that can be achieved in a weekend.

• What a shelf corporation is and how to make sure you don’t buy worthless ones.

• How to control a US business and secure US business credit no matter where you’re living.

• Exactly what business credit information lenders are looking for and why you won’t want to “fool the bank”.

• Why banks are not necessarily the best places to find loans – and what other sources there are.

• Everything you need to know about Paydex scores, Dun & Bradstreet and making sure nothing is overlooked.

Most people don’t think about business credit information or how they’re going to get extra money until they need it. And according to Al, that’s a huge mistake because lenders think in just the opposite way.

Banks love to throw money at people who don’t need it. So don’t wait to get your credit in order because it’ll likely be too late.

Setting up a good business credit profile is a process you’ll want to start right away and this interview is the perfect first step.

If you would like more business credit information and personal introduction to Al to see if he can help you secure business credit, call  1-888-446-1139

Click to listen:  Business Credit Seminar

Small Business Resources:

Dun and Bradstreet (D&B)- establish and improve your business credit.

AllBusiness.com-a D&B company

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