forex fire

The FTSE 100 made a gain of around three percent in 2007, this may not seem a lot but with all of the bad news that was floating around, including the credit crunch, this was not too bad. In this article I will be writing about how I think it will perform in 2008.

Firstly it is important to note that what I write in this article should not be seen as recommendations or financial advice, I am not qualified to do that. They are merely my opinions and the way in which I will be investing.

I believe that 2008 will prove to be a very challenging year; this is likely to be especially for the case for companies who depend on borrowing money and on consumer’s spending money. We have already seen retail companies reporting poor sales figures for the Christmas and new period. It may therefore be worth avoiding these areas for now.

I actually think that financial stocks are looking quite cheap at present. Investing monthly into a fund which solely invests in these types of companies may prove prudent.

I like to invest in different funds on a monthly basis to take advantage of pound cost averaging; this is where your premium is able to purchase more units when the price falls.

The stock market in Japan has had quite a poor run in recent years and may well be due for an upturn. This is one region that I will be investing in 2008.

I am a person who likes to take a risk with my money and whom invests for the long term. I am also going to invest in the regions of China, Emerging Markets, Latin America and Asia for 2008. Wish me luck.

Steve Hill is a webmaster from Birmingham, he has interests in a number of websites including:
therapy for stuttering
cure for a stutter
dvd duplication

There are a multitude of ways an individual or company can utilize the Internet for earning revenue. Many of which require developing your own web site, attracting traffic, processing payments and other tasks required for generating revenue. One method does not require any of these and just may be the perfect method for making money online.

The method I am referring to is trading foreign currency, also known as forex. Other acronyms include 4X and FX.

I don’t want to be misunderstood. Trading forex is not easy if you are unfamiliar with it. There are many things to learn before you trade real money. How do foreign currency prices work, how to choose the right broker, how does the daily news affect prices, what do technical indicators (price charts) tell you about price movement, proper money management and other information must be learned.

The good news is that there is a wealth of information that can be found on the Internet regarding forex. You can learn the basics first, then advance to more difficult concepts simply by researching the Internet at your own pace.

After learning the information you need regarding forex, you will need to then begin developing a trading strategy. You can develop your own strategy based on what you learned, or you can use a strategy developed by another trader. But be very careful, there are many unscrupulous people trying to promote strategies that may simply not work. Once again, do your research before purchasing any trading strategies.

Once you have decided on a trading strategy, be sure you test and re-test the strategy before using real money. That’s one of the many great benefits of trading forex is that you get to test your strategies with fake money (demo account) before committing any real money. Nearly all forex brokers offer a free demo account in exchange for your e-mail address that utilizes the same procedures as a real account.

Most people that think about making money online generally relate to having an online business where you sell products or services. The reason I chose to include trading forex in the ‘make money online’ category is because everything you need to learn can be found on the Internet, communication with forex brokers is done via the Internet, currency prices are served over the Internet, and trade execution is performed using your broker’s software interface over your Internet connection.

Because there are no sales to make, no traffic to generate, and no payments to process makes trading forex, in my opinion, the perfect method to make money online.

Kevin Moon offers information on trading forex including strategies, money management and other tips. He is currently offering a free download — How To Turn $300 into $30,000 in 6 Months — to all visitors to his web site, http://www.tornadoforex.com.

Automatic trading software is seen by many as a great way to trade forex markets. It requires no previous experience, is very time efficient and the good ones can build long term. How do you choose the ones that make money let’s find out…

The first point to make is that most of the automatic forex trading software on the net simply won’t make you money, if you think you are going to get rich for the price of a night out your mistaken.

Forex trading is not east that’s why 95% of traders lose money and while automatic trading software can work you need to be very careful in how you choose one and this is what were going to look at now

First - if you see great advertising copy which looks to good to true it probably is and chances are you will also see the warning below NEVER consider software with this on it here it is:

“CFTC RULE 4.41 - Hypothetical or simulated performance results have certain limitations. Unlike an actual performance record, simulated results do not represent actual trading. Also, since the trades have not been executed, the results may have under-or-over compensated for the impact, if any, of certain market factors, such as lack of liquidity. Simulated trading programs in general are also subject to the fact that they are designed with the benefit of hindsight. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profit or losses similar to those shown”.

These track records are not worth the paper their written on - there made up knowing the closing data and that’s easy.

I made the mistake 20 years ago of buying software that claimed 100,000 in profits quickly and bought it for under $100.00 -, now looking back I found the old sales copy (which was great) but also the disclaimer but of course being new to the industry and naïve I bought it without considering that it was so cheap and hadn’t been traded.

Huge numbers of traders make this mistake and it is guaranteed to lose you money so beware of the disclaimer.

Just think to yourself - if the vendor hasn’t had the courage to trade his own software why should you and why if its that good are you being told about it and offered it so cheap? You know the answer now!

What you need to do is look around for software which has either been independently tracked by third party or has been traded for real with an audited track record and that means broker account statements

These software packages will tend to be in the $1 - 10,000 + range and many are well capable of producing more than there cost - but again be careful, only buy ones you understand the logic of and you have confidence to follow.

If you don’t have confidence - you won’t have the discipline to stick with them through losing periods and will throw in the towel when you hit a few losses. Keep in mind if you don’t have the discipline you may as well not have bothered buying one.

Automatic forex trading systems are all the rage today but stop to think before you buy and do your homework and make sure you find one that’s tested, you have confidence in and can follow with discipline - if you do that you have a good chance of making some great forex profits.

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I started out like most people looking for that “pot of gold” that lies beyond the internet rainbow. In my travels I came across many would be imposters all with the promise that I could achieve financial wealth and freedom literally overnight.

After numerous purchases and just as many email asking for refunds, I had all but given up hope of finding that ever elusive “pot of gold”. While continuing my research I happened to come upon a program called the My Online Income System, ok I thought whats one more email, and I proceeded to click on to their website.

Upon scanning the MOIS frontpage I immediately noticed that something was’nt right, where are the pictures of the Ferrari’s, the multi-million dollar homes, not even a picture of a couple on the beach enjoying lifes simple pleasures. The reason for this is simple, this program makes no such claims.

What it does promise is to have you making 50 to 100 dollars a day by the end of the 60 day action plan, if your disappointed by this statement just remember if you lower your sights a little your goals will be easier to reach. This is were many people become become frustrated and quit before giving the program a chance to succeed. Regardless of what you have heard being successful with a online program takes a lot of effort and patience, there is no quick fix. Which brings me to the program itself and what it has to offer.

The 60 Day Action Plan itself is more than worth the money spent on the program, it would be invaluable to someone who has never attempted online marketing on there own. It will not only save you days or weeks of online research but will teach you step by step not only how to become an affiliate marketer, but how to obtain multiple streams of income which is a must to be successful in todays online businesses.

You will also be given a free website which is setup with ClickBank and PayDot products, you will have to pay for hosting and a domain name, but these costs are minimal and you will recoup your costs quickly by following the action plan.

Some of the multiple streams of income you will be taught are how to write articles for other people and get paid well doing it, while this is not one of my strong points for people who can this is a very profitable business.

Another would be creating a Squidoo lens, Squidoo is a website were for free you can create your own individual web page or lens and write about something you know or care about. There are many ways to make money with a lens, you can open and sell products in Cafe Press, if you have an Ebay account you can sell your Ebay products on your Squidoo lens. also you can become an Amazon affiliate and make commissions by selling their books on your lens. The possibilities are endless.

WordPress is a blogging network, blogging has become a internet bombshell, blogs are created as a place were you can have a voice on a particular subject or what ever you want, they are also known as online diaries. With Squidoo and WordPress you can create back links to your website which will result in more sales and more traffic.

There are other income streams such as learning how to make and sell your own informational products, which means 100 % profit in you pocket, no commissions here. You are also taught how to design web graphics and take pictures that you can sell to web designers, again at 100% profit and the list goes on and on.

The unique thing about the My Online Income System is that all of the above mentioned sources are free to join, what does this mean to you? Very low start up costs. lets face it you won’t be successful if you go broke promoting yourself. You want to create a web presence, the more involved you become in the different aspects of internet marketing, the more accepted and respected you will become and this leads to more profits for you.

The My Online Income System is a great product for the initial cost, the wealth of information learned and the ease of use, if given time time to work. For anyone considering starting an online business this program is a must have. Remember what ever product you decide on, give it time to work and you will make it happen. Rome was’nt built overnight and neither are online businesses, it takes time , effort and patience.

For more information about this product and others go to http://www.earnmoneyonlinereview.com

Easy Language

TradeStation gives you the power to right code in Easy Language in order to back test your trading strategies. Now, while the name of the code is Easy Language, it is far from easy. If you have previous coding experience, then Easy Language will remind you a lot of C++, but if you have no previous coding experience, do not waste your time on trying to learn the syntax. Simply look to their third-party programmers for assistance. These developers are backed by TradeStation and they do not charge and obscene amount of money. Better yet, if you have a friend or relative that knows how to write code, they will quickly be able to write basic strategies for you.

TradeStation provides some basic literature on Easy Language, but if you want to really get your feet wet, you will have to purchase their home study course, which will run you a cool $149. Again, if you are here to trade, trade, and leave the developing to the programmers.

Historical Market Data

TradeStation has over 25 years of historical data. When you look a little closer, the amount of data is dependent upon which investment vehicle you are using:

• 4 years of intra-day Forex data
• 8 years of Eurex Futures and Index Data
• 16 years of intra-day Equities
• 25 years on intra-day Futures data

So, the real question is do you need all this data from TradeStation. Well, of course, if you are serious about testing your trading strategies. This amount of market data will allow you to back test your strategies in bull, bear and flat markets. You will quickly see how you would have faired in the bull market of the late 90’s, or the slippery slope down in ‘01 and ‘02. Most importantly, you can see how you would have done since the market recently bottomed in the spring of ‘03.

Automated Trading

I do not endorse mechanical trading, as I feel every trader should be responsible for his or her own trading decisions, but I have to admit, having the option of setting up automatic trading is impressive. In order to activate this feature, you should be certain that your strategy is working properly and has clear stop rules. The last thing you want is to take lunch and come back to realize you just bought a 10 thousand dollar hotdog. TradeStation also has a new feature that allows you to execute orders based on fundamental analysis. TradeStation is the first platform capable of scanning and executing orders based on fundamental factors.

Back testing Strategies

There is one part of back testing that TradeStation does not tell you about and that is slippage. When you write your Easy Language code, you can tell the code to exit a trade on the close of the current bar, or ext at market on the open of the next bar. The problem is you may want to write the code to get out at a specific price. Now, all of you Easy Language experts out there, please relax, I know that you can write code to get out at any particular price, but the average trader will not know how to write such detailed code. So, in summary remember that if you write your own code, the canned functions in Easy Language will not allow you to easily code your exits. Just make sure you verify in your performance report that your results have not been inflated or deflated due to slippage.

TradeStation will display a report of your hypothetical trading results. The TradeStation performance report lists everything from average time in trade, average gain, total commission, annual rate of return to name a few. Only problem, you cannot export the data to excel. So, one is forced to manually type in stats into your friendly worksheet processor. Depending on how much information you want to analyze, this exercise could prove to be time consuming.

Trade Execution

TradeStation has the quick order button execution of every other active brokerage firm. But the cool thing with TradeStation is the Order Cancels Order (OCO) and Order Stages Order (OSO) order types. For Order Cancels Order, you can instruct TradeStation to enter a position if the price breaks up or down. This works well when you have identified two levels on a stock as potential long or short entries depending on how the price breaks. The Order Stage Order allows you to stage multiple orders for an existing position. So, if you are long MSFT and want to exit in 3 increments, you can create an OSO order which will stage the orders and when a certain price is hit, it will exit a part of your position at a specific limit. I often hear traders say that they do not want to put a stop in, because if there limit is hit, they will have to cancel their open stop order, to then put in a limit order to exit the trade. Well, with OSO in you can place both a stop and up to 3 limit orders in TradeStation, so there is no longer any excuse as to why you can not protect your capital, the second you get in the trade.

Shorting

TradeStation does not have the books to short some of the more obscure stocks. So, if you want to short stocks that are not well known, you may encounter some trouble with TradeStation. This does not happen often, but it happens enough that it is noticeable.

Charting

The charts in TradeStation are in real-time and there are over a hundred indicators, show me, paint bars, etc. which can be displayed on the chart. The only negative is that you cannot execute trades by clicking directly on the chart. There are multiple screens in TradeStation that will allow you to close a position; unfortunately, the chart is not one of them.

Ability to Link Accounts

TradeStation has the ability to link all of your accounts. Therefore, you can trade futures, one minute and then put on a trade in your equities account the next. This is extremely convenient, since you do not have to open another application or go through the tedious process of logging into another account.

Commission Structure

If you are an active trader and you trade under 1k shares per lot, TradeStation makes sense. TradeStation has a per share cost up to 500 shares. The first 500 shares are $.01. So you can buy 100 shares for a $1 and up to 500 shares for $5. Over 500 shares, it is $.006 per share. So, if you trade 3k shares, TradeStation can become costly. The first 500 shares will cost 5 bucks and then the last 2.5k shares will run you another 15 bucks. The total cost would be 20 dollars one-way for the trade. In this example, it of course would be much cheaper to trade with a brokerage firm that has a flat charge for all trades. In summary, if you are going to trade in big lots, 1k or more, go with a flat fee brokerage firm, but if you’re going to trade under 1k lots, TradeStation is the place for you.

Support Center

TradeStation has a support and discussions forums, where traders share ideas, stories and Easy Language code. Unlike many forums, where there are only a few users, the TradeStation forum has hundreds of quality posts. I have been able to pickup tons of ideas as well as free Easy Language code for some of my strategies. Each post is grouped in categories and the users are quick to respond to your questions. TradeStation has also recently started a Wiki for both their platform as well as Easy Language. The Wiki is expanded daily. TradeStation also has a dependable phone support staff. I have yet to call and not be able to get someone on the line with in 15 - 30 seconds. The staff is always attentive and willing to help on any issue. There is a sales desk, equities desk, futures desk, and forex desk. Each department specializes in their respective areas, which prevents you, the client, from ever talking to someone who is unknowledgeable on how to address your issue.

Radar Screen

TradeStation is the only trading platform, which has a radar screen that can scan the market based on your own market criteria. Now this is not your standard, scan that can display stocks with an RSI under 30. The scan in Radar Screen can be as simple or as complicated as your Easy Language abilities will permit. So, if you want to look at stocks at 2-day highs, with 25k shares per minute, that are up a minimum of 2%, you can scan the market for this information in real-time. The only negative regarding Radar Screen is TradeStation only allows you to scan the market for 1k stocks. But, who needs to monitor more than 1k stocks?

See You At The Top,

Al Hill

Al Hill is the co-founder of mysmp.com (My Stock Market Power) which provides free trading articles to investors. Please visit http://mysmp.com/trading-articles.html for more free articles.

Many people are of the impression that Forex trading is an easy way to make money. To make matters worse, there are a lot of ads and promotion going around which makes the claims. Those new to Forex are the group of people who are most likely to be influenced by all the ads and promotions going around which promotes Forex courses or Forex trading systems.

However the reality is very much different. Most of those new to the Forex market in fact lose money. There are some even who lose their money over a long period of time.

The good news here is that there are concrete reasons for that and you can do something to avoid becoming a statistic. If you start your trading with a clear understanding of the realities, you stand a much better chance of turning a good profit. Here are a few things you should come to terms with before you venture into Forex trading.

You never have precise information

If you are one of those who lives and breathe Forex technical analysis charts then think again. By the time you are done compiling your charts, the information that you have is obsolete already. The market situation is always changing and so will the information that you will need. For you to have up to date information, you will need to be in the middle of the action, which is trading in the market itself. While its important for you to conduct analysis, do not place too much importance on it.

The amount of time for pondering is very limited.

Forex is not like a board game. There is no way with which you can plan ahead as to the movements of the market. This is because the market is so unpredictable. Furthermore, the window of opportunity for you to act typically only last around a minute. During this time, you probably have to need decide whether you wish to risk maybe a hundred times more capital than what you have. Forex trading therefore involve making decision based on accuracy. As such it is crucial that you use a proven and tested system which can help you speed up your decision making process.

Predicting the Forex markets movements is an impossible task.

Many people under the belief that if you study the Forex markets long enough, you could predict its movements. Infact, this is the most common sales tagline promoters’ uses to promote their courses or trading systems. Actually what is crucial in Forex trading is your reaction time towards changes in the market. The purpose of analysis is only to assist you with a better understanding in order that you can speed up your reaction time.

The truth of the matter is that Forex is not suited for everybody. The reason why so many people venture into Forex is because they think it’s easy to make money there. The reality is completely opposite of their perceptions. But you need to know the real situation first before you start trading in market. This helps you to prepare you for any eventuality and you will not get caught unaware.

Need elite Forex Trading Softwares with reliable statistical elements? I highly recommend that you review 10 Minute Forex Wealth Builder to trade up to 500% more effectively!

Many of you have traded stocks, mutual funds, and maybe even futures before. The Forex market is relatively similar to these markets; however, I would like to cover some key differences that you should be aware of before you begin trading in the Forex market.

Getting Started - Pick a Broker

I am sure many of you have seen hundreds of ads over the internet from Forex brokers trying to earn your business. There so many to chose and you need to get answer to a few key questions before you go with any one broker.

Spreads

The Forex spread, which is similar to the difference between the bid and ask in the equities market, is calculated in pips. Unlike the equity markets where you can place limit orders to buy at bid or the ask or even between, the Forex market allows you to execute at only one price, the ask. It is basically the same as only being able to execute market orders in equities or futures. The “spread” in the Forex market is how the brokers make their money. They do not charge any commission. Therefore, it is imperative that you search for brokers who offer the best spreads.

Reputation of the Firm

Forex market brokers offer massive leverage to their clients and therefore require backing from large banks and other financial institutions. Make sure your Forex broker is registered with the FCM, or the Futures Commission Merchant. Also make sure that the broker is regulated by the CFTC, or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. This information should be readily available on the brokers website. It is important that you verify this information before opening an account with the broker. Also, search around for feedback regarding some brokers that you are interested in opening an account in. If they have committed any “shady” acts, it will be documented on the internet.

Leverage Options

Leverage in the Forex market is necessary to make any significant profits. This is because currency pairs move in small fractions and require large investment amounts to make any significant profits. Most brokers offer 100 times margin while some may go as high as 250 times. Obviously, the greater the risk, the greater the reward and so goes the same on the opposite side. If you have limited funds for investment into the Forex market, find a reliable broker who offers higher leverage.

Be careful of brokers who have stringent margin rules. Remember, margin is borrowed money and that means that the broker has a vested in interest in how your trading is working out. Therefore, in some cases, I have heard of brokers liquidating positions in your Forex account at their discretion, even if you have enough cash on hand to cover the drawdown. Ask them how they handle this situation. The last thing you want is to be surprised that your brokers rules don’t allow you to trade in the way you want to.

The “Extras”

As we suggested in our Forex Trading introduction, it is a good thing to paper trade the Forex market before you go in with real money. Every market trades a little different and it would be wise to get used to this market first. Many brokers offer free tools that will allow you to open practice trading accounts and trade with live market data. This is a great feature to look for in a broker. Remember, you are implicitly paying your broker quite a bit of money when you place trades through them. Make sure to get your moneys worth! Most of the top brokers in the Forex market offer free real time charts and news and common technical analysis tools. Some trading platforms, such as Tradestation, offer clients the ability to create automated trading strategies to back test their trading systems and also to automate a trading strategy to run on its own without any human intervention.

Trading the Forex Market

As in equity or futures markets, technical and fundamental analysis become the cornerstone of your analysis; however, technical analysis is far more prevalent. There are far more automated trading systems in Forex markets than there are in equities and futures.

From a fundamental point of view; traders will rely heavily on a few key reports: Retail Sales, Durable Goods, Fed interest rate decisions, CPI Index (Consumer Price Index), Non- Farms payrolls, and the PMI (Purchasing Managers Index). Keep an economic calendar handy to stay on top of these news events. They cannot be ignored, even if you are a technical analyst.

From a technical analysis point of view, price and volume analysis is key. Most prevalent in the Forex market is Fibonacci studies, RSI studies, Parabolic SAR, and Elliot Wave to name a few. Many traders will experiment to figure out which trading system fits their personality. This takes time and patience. Remember, paper trade your account until you become proficient at trading the Forex market. They make it very easy for you to practice.

See You At the Top,

Kunal Vakil is the co-founder of mysmp.com (My Stock Market Power) which provides free trading articles to investors.

Please visit http://www.mysmp.com/ for more free articles.

I have found this resource a great place to start in your search for your Forex broker: http://www.fxstreet.com/brokers/forex-brokers/

Most of us learn to think early on that the Stock Market is:

1) Some mysterious place where rich people gamble; then…

2) When we learn a little about it…. we see it as a place we can put some of our money and it has a chance to grow (over time);

3) Even though our money is always ‘at risk’, still the stock market produces better than a bank savings account or CD ever does. (Usually, that is.)

When you were a kid in school, and even through college, were you ever taught anything about the stock market other than the bare essential of ‘investing for the long haul’?

‘Investing’ is always the key word. Have you ever heard or read a brokerage firm or a Mutual Fund’s advertisement that talked about anything but investing? Investing is the only thing most folks know as to financial planning. The mutual fund ads have convinced you that you aren’t capable of doing your own planning, though…let alone your own investing. They blatantly tell us that [we] should leave [our] planning to the ‘professionals.’ Namely, them.

Some 80-million Americans buy into their sales pitch…turning their financial planning and retirement hopes and dreams over to them. Those who want to get a little more involved, and learn a little about what’s going on, soon begin discovering one ‘eye-opener’ after another. Once you do, you’ll never do things the same way again.

First of all, you’ll learn that:

1) The Stock Market historically (since its beginning in 1896), has averaged 10-15% annual growth…even with all of the bad times averaged in! In other words, if one truly went for the ‘long haul’ their portfolio would have grown. Regardless of depressions, Wars, 9-11…..and even Sept 2008(!) The stock market always has and probably always will, beat anything the banks offer.

2) The second big ‘eye-opener’ would be discovering that trading (verses passive investing) allows one to take advantage of the UP’s and DOWN’s the Market is constantly experiencing;

3) The third is that the ‘Insiders’-those stock brokers and mutual fund managers, are the one’s who really know how to make the Stock Market pay off for themselves: They trade all day everyday! But, they preach only ‘investing’ to their clients. If you understand ’shorting’ and the full nature of the agreement you signed when you opened your stock account or mutual fund, (acknowledging that your money is ‘at Full-Risk’), then you’ll recognize whose money it is that makes it possible for them to trade everyday at the levels they do! But, you and your portfolio? One can only hope that the stocks you think you are a long-term investor in, do grow over time. If they don’t? Oh, well…you acknowledged that you were ‘at full risk’ so the ‘manager’ is protected no matter what. He can trade with your stocks (sitting in their ‘house account’) and you’ll never know the difference. (He might even get real greedy and trade in your actual account. But then, that would be called ‘churning your account to collect extra commissions’. He might get his hands slapped if you noticed it and complained.)

4) The fourth and greatest ‘eye-opener’ of all is that -with a little bit of knowledge, you can enjoy the same tremendous advantages of being a ‘trader’ yourself - right along with them!

Thanks to the Internet and the personal computer, the Stock Market has been changed forever. With these tools and a little trading knowledge, the playing field with them has been leveled for you. Instead of long-term hoping, you can now make it your daily cash flow machine, just like they do.

Oh, they don’t like it! Vested interests in the status quo never welcome change.

It’s much more than just losing those big commissions you paid your stock broker or mutual fund manager that’s worrying them. Perhaps they are beginning to see where the Internet and PC might make them ‘museum pieces’. To fight it, they never talk about it.

Self-trading and the ‘e-mini’ are the last things in this world they want you to discover. As a note of interest… a 2005 study of the ‘value of a broker or mutual fund manager to his client vs the amount of money he makes’ revealed that the average mid-level manager makes $742,000 a year; The client is fortunate (yes, happy as all get out) if his portfolio gains 10-15% appreciation a year.

Doesn’t the Stock Market average that on it’s own? None other than Warren Buffett said that “equity investors could do better if they listened to no one.” (Cover letter to tlhe Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report, 2005)

All things considered… Is it any wonder that when the ‘e-mini’ was introduced by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1997 as a financial instrument that average folks could afford to learn to trade with on their new computer and via the Internet, that 11 years later, everyone seems to [still] have never even heard of it, yet?

If you would like to learn more, there’s a ton of FREE information available at my web web site and blog.

http://www.emini-forex-trader.com (Mel’s web site)

http://blog.melhardman.com (Mel’s blog)

FINANCES: CREDIT CARDS AND LOANS

1. Create a budget and be realistic about all your incomings and outgoings. Make sure you know exactly what money you have and when you will have it. This will help you plan for events such as birthdays or holidays when you may need a little extra cash saved up.

2. Make sure you are getting the best possible interest rate for your savings, opening an online savings account could receive a higher interest rate than a regular current account.

3. Missing your credit card minimum payment dates will hit you with a big charge, so set up a direct debit payment to make sure you never miss the date by accident.

4. Lots of credit cards now offer cashback or points on your purchases or gift vouchers when you first sign up, so make sure you shop around before choosing your credit card. However don’t just choose a card because of a one off benefit, you have to look at the overall package.

5. Don’t be scared to transfer to another credit card with an interest free promotional period as lots of credit cards offer this now. However make sure you transfer to a different one before the promotional period is over as you could be charged with a higher interest rate once it has ended.

6. Keep your credit history healthy- this will make it easier to transfer to different credit cards when you need to.

7. Don’t sign up to department store credit cards even if they do offer you 10% off your first purchase, they charge you a very high interest rate, high late payment charges and are too tempting to have in your wallet while you are out shopping!

8. Don’t get yourself into a mess with paying your mortgage. If you are struggling to pay your monthly payments, speak to your provider about taking a mortgage payment holiday which is better than simply defaulting on your payments.

9. If you have a little extra money, pay more on your credit cards or loans instead of spending it on a treat. If you can pay your debts off quicker, you will pay less interest.

10. If you have been stung in the past by large bank charges, try to reclaim them by writing to your bank. If you think your bank charges are significantly higher than other banks, think about transferring your account.

11. If you travel a lot, use a credit card which doesn’t charge you for using it abroad. Some credit cards charge 2.5% for using it in a foreign country, however there are some that do not charge this fee if you shop around.

12. If you are worried about your finances, get free help from your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau, they understand what troubles you may be facing and are trained to help you think of solutions.

13. Make sure you are claiming any benefits that you are entitled to such as Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit. The forms can take a while to fill out and it can be confusing about what you are entitled for but you can go to your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau to help with any queries.

SHOPPING

14. Do you shopping online, this will stop you having to pay for buses or parking and you are more likely to buy what you need when you are online.

15. Join Internet Cashback to earn cashback while you shop online and get access to discount codes which aren’t available in the shops. Earn cashback on a variety of products including your food shopping, clothes shopping, credit cards, insurances etc. Download the Cashback Detector and you will never miss out on cashback while shopping online again!

16. Don’t buy everything from the usual high street shops; use a price comparison website before you buy anything to make sure you are getting the best prices, which could point you to an online shop you have never heard of before with the cheapest products.

17. Try not to impulse shop! Don’t buy something as soon as you see it; give yourself time to think about it so you can see if you really need it. This will also give you chance to shop around for the best price.

18. When buying your groceries try the supermarket’s economy range. You’ll find most of it tastes the same but is half the price, so don’t be put off by the packaging. Supermarket economy ranges are also good for toiletries, medicines and cleaning products.

19. Have a spring clean and sell anything you don’t want or use anymore on Ebay- it is really quick and easy to sell on Ebay now.

20. Do your grocery shopping at night if you can, as supermarkets such as ASDA or Tesco often reduce the price of food like bread, milk or cakes at the end of the day to make sure they sell it.

21. Before you go shopping, make a list of what you need and then stick to it, if you don’t know what you need, you’ll be more likely to overspend.

22. Don’t buy your daily cup of coffee from expensive coffee shops because they are too expensive. A £2 cup of coffee every day will cost you approximately £60 over the whole month! Take a flask out instead!

23. Take a packed lunch to work instead of buying it everyday, it will work out much cheaper especially if you’ve managed to get your bread reduced for your sandwiches the night before.

24. Don’t buy ready made meals; they’re expensive and not very healthy. If you get yourself organised you can cook a meal from scratch in about 20 minutes. It’s healthier and much cheaper.

25. Only buy what you need to eat, buying too much food means it’ll go out of date fast and you lose money on it.

26. Use the leftovers from your evening meals for your lunch the next day, as long as you keep in the fridge it will still stay nice and means you won’t need to buy your dinner out.

27. Always look out for special offers, coupons and discounts. Bulk buy if there is a special offer on something you regularly use, for example a BOGOF on toothpaste however don’t just buy something because it is reduced!

28. Don’t feel you have to be the first person to get the latest products, for example a mobile phone could cost £300 when first launched but could drop to only £50 in the next year.

29. Plan your family and friend’s birthday and Christmas presents in advance by buying them during the sales. If you have enough storage, you could buy your Christmas presents for the following year in the January sales.

EVENING ENTERTAINMENT AND LEISURE

30. Stop eating out at restaurants at evenings and weekends so often. It’s easy to get lazy and head out for dinner but you’ve got to remember that your meal will cost a lot more in a restaurant than it will cooking for yourself.

31. If you do eat out at a restaurant, try to skip the starter and only have two courses which will save you money without ruining your evening. Also, try to resist the coffee at the end of the meal, you can get one at home for much less.

32. Find a restaurant where you can take your own bottle of wine! These are quite common and will mean you are not paying restaurant prices for your drinks.

33. Take it in turns for you and your friends to throw a dinner party. This is much cheaper than going to a restaurant and is often more fun especially if you have themed evenings.

34. If you are going out for the evening, don’t go too early and have a few drinks before you leave. You will spend much less money but will still have fun!

35. If you have an expensive gym membership and do not use it then cancel it as it is a complete waste of money. Try walking instead or using your local leisure centre which will be much cheaper than a gym membership.

36. If you pay to go to a slimming club, consider starting your own with your family, friends and neighbours instead. You will still get the same motivation but will save on the weekly cost.

37. Don’t pay full price for cinema tickets as most cinemas offer cheap weekend or daytime prices, and if you know someone with an Orange mobile phone you can get 2-for-1 tickets on Wednesday’s with their Orange Wednesday promotion.

38. During summer holidays most council’s have free or cheap events for families and children to take part in, so make sure you hunt around to make the most of what is offered.

39. Libraries are a great place to take the children on a rainy day and are great for adults too as many now stock not only books but CDs , DVDs and magazines.

40. Share the cost of events with your family and friends, for example if you love football then buy a season ticket with your friends and take it in turns to go to the matches. This way you might miss out on some matches but that’s better than missing out on all of them.

41. Try and find a market research group in your area which will pay you very well for telling researches what you think of specific products or ideas. These are enjoyable to do and you are provided with refreshments while you are there.

FASHION

42. Aim to build your wardrobe up with classic pieces that match. This way you will be able to interchange everything, so you won’t have to buy as many new pieces.

43. Go to the factory or clearance shops; they’re much cheaper and give you big brands at low prices and chances are, nobody will know where you bought them from!

44. Try to save your shopping trips until the sales are on. Although make sure you don’t buy things just because they are cheap if you don’t actually need them and take them back if they don’t fit as many shops do not open their fitting rooms during busy sale times.

45. Go to your local charity shop for cheap clothes! Remember, the majority of celebrities shop in charity stores because that’s where all the quirky stuff is so you will be in good company!

46. Don’t splash out on designer clothes for your children. Hand-me-downs and supermarket clothing ranges are a great way to dress your children cheaply and they probably won’t even notice the difference.

47. Learn how to sew and fix your clothes, not only will you be able to sew any holes or rips, you will also be able to customise your own clothes to make one off pieces.

48. Return clothes for a refund that you have bought and then realised you don’t like, don’t just let them sit in your wardrobe with the tags on.

49. Don’t avoid the cheaper shops such as Primark, they are great to stock up on your simple wardrobe necessities such as t-shirts and nightwear.

UTILITIES

50. Only buy home appliances that have been certified as energy efficient, they may cost more to start with but you’ll save more over time on running costs.

51. Replace your old light bulbs with energy efficient light bulbs as they last longer and save you money.

52. Lower your heating thermostat. If there are rooms that you don’t use in your home then turn off the radiator and close the door. If you live in a 2 storey house, you can turn the thermostat down even further upstairs because heat rises. By turning your heating thermostat down 10-20 you will be surprised at how much energy you will save per year.

53. Install more insulation in your attic, replace old curtain liners with new insulating curtain liners and seal any draughts. If you have a big enough budget, install double or even triple glazed windows, these are very efficient means of insulating your home, saving you money on heating costs. They also boost the value of a property significantly.

54. Turn off the lights if you aren’t in the room and make sure everyone in your house does the same. There’s no point in being charged for light that you don’t use. Simple as that!

55. Don’t leave electrical appliances on standby as they still consume electricity. Turn them off at the wall and you could save up to 10% off your electricity bills. According to reports, the UK government is bringing in legislation that will make it compulsory for all new appliances to not have a standby mode because of the huge waste this brings.

56. You can save a lot of money on your water bills very easily, always shower rather than bathing and spend as little time in the shower as possible.

57. If you have a big home with few occupants you could halve your annual water bill by installing a water meter.

58. Turn your washing machine down to 40. Unless your clothes are heavily soiled a wash on 30-40 will still bring them out sparkling clean!

59. Don’t be lazy by sticking with your current utility company, shop around and make sure you are getting the best deal; you can use utility comparison sites to help you see which company will be best for you and use Internet Cashback to earn up to 37.50 pounds for switching utility companies.

TRAVEL

60. Book flights early and save money. While many of the budget airlines will fly to a regional airport, it may actually cost less to fly into an airport closer to a city center (if you are going on a city break) as you won’t have to pay for a taxi to your accommodation.

61. Budget airlines such as Ryanair are now charging per bag checked into the hold in an effort to speed up their turn around times. If you can, pack what you need (minus scissors, liquids etc) into your hold baggage. This also means you don’t have to wait round to pick up your baggage at arrivals.

62. Book hotels online rather than walking in unannounced and being hit with the typically higher walk-in rate.

63. Buy your car rental online rather than arranging for it when you arrive. Car rental is a competitive market and there are plenty of money-saving offers available.

64. If you are planning a journey by train or bus then book early, look for offers and do not travel in peak times. If you buy your ticket on the day of travelling it will be significantly more money than if you book in advance.

65. If you are on a long train or plane journey, buy your refreshments before you board as drinks and snacks are always over priced once you are travelling.

66. There are lots of websites which will send you free samples or money off coupons so find the best one and keep checking it for the samples you want to receive. Shampoo and body lotion samples are great to take on weekends away!

COMMUNICATIONS

67. If you don’t use your landline phone often then change to a pay as you go mobile phone, it is silly paying for line rental if you don’t use it.

68. If you don’t use your internet broadband often then cancel it and make use of free wireless internet in most restaurants, cafes and bars. You simply take your laptop and connect to their wireless for free (although it might cost you a cup of coffee!). You can go to your library and use their computers for free and even have access to their printers and photocopiers for a small cost.

69. If you are on a monthly mobile phone contract, think about going pay as you go instead. You will have much more control over what you spend, and you’ll be surprised at how many people will call you instead of you calling them!

70. Send an email instead of phoning or texting people. Most customer services departments will answer emails now if you have a problem with a service such as your utility bill which means you won’t have to ring their premium rate customer services phone number. You can also send your family and friends emails instead of calling them and even send birthday cards by email to save on postage.

71. There are lots of websites which let you send text messages to mobile phones for free so you won’t use up your credit texting while you can get online and use a messenger service such as MSN Live to talk to your family and friends over the internet for free.

72. Get a Freeview digital box and cancel your SKY or cable TV package. Freeview has lots of free channels and you can now watch the majority of TV programmes on the internet, so you won’t be missing out on your favourite shows.

AROUND THE HOUSE

73. If you have a spare room, advertise for a lodger. There are lots of people who just want a room during the week while they are at work, so you would still get your privacy at weekends. If you live on your own a lodger can provide you with great company and will help pay towards your bills.

74. Don’t be wasteful with products such as toothpaste, body lotion or foundation. When you can’t get anymore out of the tube, cut it open and you will be able to use the bits you couldn’t get to.

75. Re-use old ice-cream tubs or take away packaging, you can use them for freezing food or taking your packed lunch into work.

76. If you have a pet, don’t go out buying expensive bedding from the pet shop, recycle the waste paper from your office or buy your own shredding machine at home and shred up your old newspapers.

77. Only fill the kettle with the amount of water you need, filling it up full wastes energy and takes longer to boil so you’ll have to wait longer for your drink!

78. When you use your washing machine, make sure it’s full every time, if you just have a few items to wash then hand wash them in the sink.

79. Instead of drying your clothes in the tumble dryer, hang them outside or in rainy weather hang them over a clotheshorse. This will also keep your clothes nicer for longer as tumble dryers tend to shrink your clothes!

80. Learn how to make your own cleaning products which are as effective as the products you buy in the shop and you can often use the ingredients you already have in your kitchen cupboards.

81. Grow your own fruit and vegetables in your garden or rent an allotment, especially if you give the vegetables to your pets. Seeds cost virtually nothing compared to the actual products themselves.

MOTORING

82. Downsizing your car could save you 100s of pounds each year in both fuel and road tax so if you are just making journeys to and from work you should seriously consider getting a smaller, more efficient car.

83. Don’t renew your car insurance without shopping around first. Use a price comparison site and you could save £100s every year by changing to a cheaper provider.

For a price comparison service go to CompareTheMarket.com.

84. If you travel to work on your own, try and start a car pool with colleagues who live in your area, not only will this save in petrol costs, it will also keep your car miles low.

85. Don’t jump in your car for all journeys, if you can, walk or cycle and you will save money and get fitter.

86. Start a school run with other parents in your area if you drive your children to school or consider walking them there instead if it is in a walking distance.

87. Don’t drive too fast, the RAC claim most car engines run far more efficiently at 60-70 miles an hour, compared to 80 mph or over.

88. Check your tyre pressure regularly; if your tyres are under inflated by 20% then you’ll use 10% more fuel.

89. Don’t pay to get your car cleaned as it is a waste of money, set aside 30 minutes each week to wash it yourself.

MISC

90. Instead of buying a daily paper, read the news online. Most newspapers have regularly updated websites which have all the news stories for free which could save you approximately 15 pounds per month.

91. If you smoke, try to stop or cut down. The NHS has lots of free services to help you do this and it will save you £100s each year.

92. Monitor how much alcohol you drink. If you are having a few glasses everyday, try to cut back and only have it for special occasions.

93. Don’t spend money you don’t have on gambling sites, especially ones online. It is easy to lose track on how much money you are spending and more often than not, you will lose this money. Try premium bonds instead if you want to try your luck as this way you will not lose your money.

94. It may be cheaper for you to pay for your prescriptions in advance with a pre-payment certificate if you pay for more than five prescription items in four months or 14 items in 12 months.

95. Buy generic medicines when you can, a 16 pack of Anadin costs approximately 2.99 pounds however a Sainsbury branded pack will only cost approximately 33p.

96. Cut and colour your own hair, or get your friends to help you. There are lots of great DIY colour kits out there to give you a new look for under 5 pounds and a pair of clippers won’t set you back much. Be careful though!

97. Pretend it’s your birthday on a night out and you might get a free birthday cake or glass of Champaign.

98. Don’t lose all of your loose pennies, save them up in a jar and at the end of the year you will be surprised at how much money you have collected.

99. Make saving money fun! Saving money doesn’t have to make you miserable! You can still see your friends, buy yourself treats and go on holiday; you just have the added advantage of feeling proud of your finances instead of hiding away from them!

The author of this article is a keen blogger regarding cashback deals for retailers’ such as for ASDA and affiliate marketing programmes.

I devote many hours to identifying viable methods for generating money online and have had numerous successes.  It is still possible to generate a healthy return using the internet.

Personally I have not had any successes with online auctions - there are now too many people selling online as a hobby for tiny profits making it very difficult to generate a reasonable return.  I have also not had any success using e-commerce - so many people are now doing it and it is so difficult to compete with the larger companies in terms of costs, quality of service or trust/reputation. It always make me laugh reviewing numerous online forums where people have created a shop selling books, clothes, mugs, gifts etc and wander why they never make any sales.  The answer is obvious - everybody’s doing it and there is too much competition.  In my opinion e-commerce websites only act as a useful add-on to a conventional retail business.

There are however methods which still do work (based on my experiences anyway).  The method which I have found to be most successful is affiliate marketing - i.e if you can’t beat them, join them.  Earn money by promoting other people’s products.  The key to success in this arena is to find a niche to exploit.  The net is particularly effective way of selling niche products due to the potentially huge customer exposure and the lack of conventional competition.

So to conclude, there are methods out there which really work.  It’s just a matter of finding them.  The secret to my success today is based on copying the methods of other successful entrepreneurs.  There are many information products out there which reveal all.  However, the hardest thing is identifying the decent products amongst the garbage which pollutes a significant proportion of the net.

Andy is an amateur web designer who has used many methods to generate multiple sources of online income. He is associated to the website http://www.smallonlineincomes.com