The Frugal Beagle

The credit card industry takes a lot of heat, but the honest truth is if you use them right way, you can have the upper hand. Because the market is so saturated, now financial institutions have to offer rewards and cash back to get consumers to choose their cards. If you use the right cards and pay off your balance in full each and every month, then you can actually profit off of them.

Let’s take a closer at the different reward categories typically available:

Hotel Credit Cards
There are a number of cards out there which are affiliated with major hotels and resorts. With these, you will receive higher rewards when you stay at their properties. In addition, your spending everywhere else will earn you thinks like a free night’s stay.

Right now one of the most lucrative out there right now is the Starwood Preferred Guest credit card. It offers Starpoints which you can use for upgrades and free stays at Starwood hotels. The best part is they usually offer a very attractive signup bonus; at the time of writing, they are giving 25,000 points just for signing up (enough for up to six free nights).

Airline Credit Cards
Alternately, you may be better off going with a card that gives you airfare rewards instead. Almost every major airline out there offers their own co-branded card. With these, you sometimes can benefit from upgrades and perks when you fly – like no baggage fees.

The main drawback is that usually the rebates can only be used for flying with that airline. If you fly with the same carrier all the time, this doesn’t matter, but most people like the idea of having some flexibility. Fortunately, there are a number of other cards out there which earn you miles that can be used any airline. Currently, Discover and American Express probably offer the best deals, but Chase and others have some decent offers too.

Gas Credit Cards
With gas prices on the rise, this is one of the most popular categories lately. There are dozens of different cards on the market which offer a discount or rebate on gasoline purchases.

When it comes to gas cards, each typically falls under one of two categories: those co-issued by a gas station and those which are not. For example, the Chevron credit card can only be used at Chevron stations. Instead, many opt for one that offers rebates everywhere, like the Amex Blue or Discover More card. However these credit card deals are constantly changing, so be sure and do your research before you apply.

Financially distressed homeowners facing foreclosure processes have limited options if they wish to hang onto what is still left of their credit and property equity. One common option is to sell the property, usually in a hurry. While many homeowners will not think about selling their property in pre-foreclosure unless if they are contacted by a property investor like you, other owners will recognize that their available options are limited and immediately list the house through a real estate agent. You need to get into a position to close quickly; it will allow you to have a definite advantage over other interested parties. You’d be surprised how you can find good deals through real estate agents.

By dealing with homeowners at pre-foreclosure stage, you will have the opportunity to buy at below the present market value. Now let’s say that houses in your area usually remain unsold on the market for about five months (Although, in a few areas the average property stays on the market for about twelve months). Then you can assume that to avoid a foreclosure process, the owners need to sell their property in less than a couple of months. One important factor of how long a property takes to sell; is its price, generally, properties priced under market value sell a lot more quickly, properties priced at present market value sell approximately similar with the area’s average time on property market, and while those priced high above market value may sit, seemingly forever. For a property to be sold quickly, the real estate agent will recommend pricing the property under market value. Then it is understandable that how far below the property price is, becomes a direct function of the owner’s desperation to sell the house.

Properties priced under market value may sell quickly, so you will need to act faster and lining up adequate financing ahead of time is absolutely critical. You should spend more time with your lenders and find out what you can do to place yourself in the right position to buy a property as quickly as possible, take necessary steps that they recommend. At the very least, you will be pre-approved for a loan with an amount that is enough to cover the purchase price. Never be afraid to make an offer, although it is significantly lower than the market price. While offering $100,000 for a home listed at $300,000 is silly (and also disrespectful to the homeowner and the agent), if you offer twenty to thirty percent below the market price, you will find your offer is quickly accepted, as long as you are able to close quickly. If a foreclosure auction is coming up shortly in, say, one month, you will need to finish the transaction quickly. The auction will occur unless you and the owner can negotiate an extension by contacting the lender’s attorney.

If your present lowball offer would require the owner to sell at a loss, then the real estate agent can negotiate with the lender for a short sale that allows the homeowners to walk away clear of any debt and free. However, lenders will rarely agree for a short sale that places the money in the seller’s pocket.

The harsh reality is that investment in the short term intraday and especially can be harmful for investment capital. Ninety-two percent of investors lost money in intraday. Only eight percent are successful. This eight per cent only two per cent earn money consistently. Why do 92 percent of intraday investors fail what makes the 8 percent successful? We will give you an honest look at the intraday investment without the excitement that surrounds it and we will try to find what it takes to be a successful investor in intraday.

We are going to college, get some education, get a job or starting our own business. We learn what we need to be successful, but nothing in our education or work experience provides the knowledge or psychological control needed to succeed as an investor. Unfortunately, it’s human nature to think that because we are successful in one discipline are going to succeed in another. Most people enter the market with the idea of becoming investors have a sense of invincibility, superiority, and do not have the slightest idea what they will face. The dream of easy money and financial success can quickly turn into a living nightmare. The first step to becoming a successful intraday investor is to understand why so many investors fail. Answer the following questions:

• Buy a business without any idea what the cash flow?
• Buy a business if you have little experience or training compared with competition?
• Embark in a business where your competition is well capitalized but you have limited capital?
• Buy a business without a working plan?

If you are saying, “No way”, think again. That is exactly what you are doing when you start investing for the first time. You must prepare and realize they will be facing the best inversors the world. Training, experience, psychological control and accepting that you are not invincible or smarter than the market will lead to its own success. Wall Street is paved with the bones of those who did not learn that lesson until it was too late.

Most investors have the wrong target. If money is your goal, you have little chance of success. Many novice investors looking for investment as a way to escape his hated office work. They know they have to do a certain amount of money to pay their debts and this becomes a psychological guillotine. If the investor fails to meet this goal, he begins to pull their investments beyond their skill and ability.

The result is a series of consecutive losses that could have been avoided if the investor had the right goal. Concentration and the extent of its success should be based on the monitoring of its investment plan, not the money. If you follow your plan every day, you are a sure winner. If your concentration is on money, this leads to emotional decisions and emotional decisions lead to uncontrolled. The investors successfully make decisions based on fact and analysis. Do this and the money will follow if their methodology is sound.