The Jeffrey And Tracey Info Emporium

When you change jobs, what do you do with the money you have accumulated in you company retirement plan? Tthe average American will have to answer that critical question eight times during a 40-year career. While retirement plan assets are typically as mobile as the workers themselves, nearly 60% of people who change jobs choose to take a cash distribution, despite the drawbacks.

Taxes – Now or Later?

A cash distribution may trigger a 20% federal withholding tax, as well as a 10% tax penalty if you are younger than 59 ½. It will also mean you’ll no longer enjoy the potential benefits of tax deferral that a qualified retirement plan offers. Even small retirement plan contributions may help you pursue large financial goals when earnings are allowed to compound tax deferred over time. You want to maintain your tax-deferred status as long as possible to maximize your gains.

Leave the money in your former employer’s plan.

Your former employer is required to allow you to leave the money where it is, if the balance exceeds $5,000. You can no longer contribute to the account, but you can still decide how the existing assets are invested.

Roll the money into an IRA.

By rolling the money directly into an individual retirement account (IRA), you’ll avoid taxes that you’d incur if you took a cash distribution, plus you are able to enjoy the benefits of tax deferral. An IRA also has greater investment flexibility because unlike a company retirement plan, an IRA gives you the freedom to select mutual funds and other securities that best suit your needs.

Roll the money into your new employer’s plan.

By rolling the money directly into your new plan, you’ll avoid taxes that could eat away at a cash distribution. It’ll also simplify your investment paperwork since you’ll only have one set of investments to monitor. Even if you’re not immediately eligible to contribute to the plan at your new job, you may still be able to roll the money over right away.

Make a Choice That Fits Your Goals.
If you plan to change jobs, don’t take the money and run. Meet with your investment representative to explore alternatives and consider the potential impact on your long-term financial goals.

Roger Sorensen

America’s Financial Guide can be found at ==>http://www.Slave2Work.com Subscribe to Money Basics via http://www.slave2work.com/ezine.html

Slave2Work.com - Are you ready for financial freedom?

With all of the hype surrounding Mineral powder make-up these
days, how can a consumer steer through the murkey waters of
advertising claims, in order to find the best mineral make-up
for their skin type?

First, check the ingredients. If you find bismuth oxychloride,
dyes, vitamin additives, corn starch (zea mays), or rice powder
listed, find another brand, which avoids these commonly
irritating and bacteria producing elements. Especially if you
have acne, rosacea or sensitive skin issues. Many people cannot
use mineral cosmetics that contain these often times harmful
additives.

Secondly, find those brands which manufacture their own
cosmetics, and do so without these irritants.

Third,look for brands that contain zinc oxide to soothe redness
and irritation, all while providing excellent sun protection.

Fourth, seek out companies which manufacture their own
cosmetics, and are not someone else’s private label brand. These
commonly list titanium dioxide, mica, zinc oxide and iron
oxides/ultramarines as their main ingredients. These mineral
cosmetics usually have excellent coverage, are water resistant
and have a built-in sun protection factor of about 20. This
spells good news for daily protection against sun-damage, skin
cancer and aging.

The Reebok Elliptical 525 is one of the best elliptical trainers
for home use. You may be asking yourself what sets for 525 apart
from other elliptical trainers? Well to put it simply the Reebok
525 elliptical trainer has an innovative design and tons of club
quality features.

This elliptical trainer which is produced by Reebok has a price
estimate of around $699. Compared to similar price machines like
that clips 4000 elliptical trainer the Reebok 525 trainer is in
the league of its own.

Reebok also stands behind its warranty which on this product is
90 days.

One of the main benefits is this elliptical trainers produced by
a trusted company in Reebok. Some special features include IFit
technology, patented elliptical motion and a magnificent power
incline.

The IFit technology allows you to download custom workouts in
dozens of other interactive programs on both CD or VHS.

The power incline feature allows you to adjust workout intensity
from 10 to 30 percent and allows you to closely monitor your
workout at almost club quality.

If buying a new Reebok elliptical 525 trainer is out of your
price range of good option is getting it on the eBay. EBay
allows you to find a perfectly good elliptical trainer and often
you’re paying less than half the price.

One thing to consider if you are not purchasing locally buying
off the Internet can have hefty shipping prices for something
that way so much.

Practice attaching words to feelings requires time to do.
Without a system that helps you monitor that time, the minutes
or hours could feel unproductive. With the right exercise, you
can then use that time wisely, as well as save you time and
frustration.

Learning to apply the right words to our six senses is a top
ingredient to the mixture of writing. Its language brings the
reader into the story. All of us easily know how we feel, or
what we’re seeing (okay, most of the time), what we’re hearing,
smelling, tasting, and sensing, and can usually explain it in 50
words if pushed to do it. But, how do you describe it in one or
two words without the pushing?

Also, by beginning with good material, the remaining part of the
writing process becomes easier. This exercise will help you
improve your beginning.

This is a simple exercise that you can do anywhere, anytime, in
a space of minutes or longer. You can practice Monday mornings
in the garden, the doctor’s waiting room, or in the lunchroom.
It can last as long as a television commercial (oops those
aren’t short any longer), or you more aggressively with a
devoted 30-minutes a day. Whatever length of time or place you
have, it will always improve your skill.

You will want to sit while completing this exercise.

Okay, let’s start with the most difficult spot, your supplies –
paper and your writing instruments. Landscape, portrait, small,
or regular size sheet of paper doesn’t matter. I define what
paper size to use by the amount of time available and my
location. If I’m mobile, I use my small journal. If I’m at my
desk or at home, I use a regular size paper. Sometimes lines,
sometimes not. Sometimes the exercise flows over to two or three
sheets. Don’t limit the experience by paper size. Have fun with
the recording tools as well. Experimentation is the key to our
curiosity. And, curiosity is the foundation of a writer.

Draw a circle on the page and place your name in the center.
Large, small, in color, black, or blue, again it doesn’t matter.
Use whatever flips your pancakes at that moment. In other words,
whatever feels good at the time.

Your objective is to describe your five senses, six if you have
that gift, with words. Write the words that express that sense
in the space inside the circle randomly around your name.

Here is how you would use this exercise to increase environment
awareness and description. Write your words in the location on
the paper relevant to the direction it appears. For example: I’m
sitting outside my office on a 9th floor balcony at the moment,
I hear a heavy humming from the tires on the wet pavement below
and birds chirping above me to the right. I would place the
words for the tires on the bottom left and the chirping on the
upper right on my page.

Here are nine prompts to help you expand your experience. *
Write words describing your atmosphere–the quality of air. *
What are the clouds doing? Can you see animals in their shapes?
* The temperature of your location. * The source of light and
its quality. * Where are people standing or sitting? * Shadows,
are they’re any? Where and how do they fall? * Predominant
colors, wall colors, wallpaper, molding, chair railing, textured
ceiling. * What do you smell? Using comparisons are a great way
to relate to your reader. The air feels like just getting out of
the fogged shower stall. * Are there other people around you?
How do they smell, their clothes, their shoes? Guess at what
they might do for a living. Are they dressed like someone on
their way to work, doesn’t work, a mom, dad, baker, or what?

After you are comfortable describing your environment, spice the
exercise up another notch. Compare your descriptive words to
something else. For example: The room you are sitting in feels
like a sauna with my clothes on.

Continue spicing up the exercise to increase your awareness and
descriptive powers–use people and objects. Since you are most
familiar with yourself, begin there.

After practicing on the most familiar subject, yourself, create
a list of other familiar people in your life. Then sort the list
from most familiar to least. Continue down the list. Somewhere
during these lists and practice sessions, you will begin to feel
comfortable with your skill.

You can continue taking the exercise to another level. This time
you are ready to expand your awareness and adaptation to words.
Visit the local mall; sit in the food court for smorgasbord of
new enriching thoughts-to-words experiences.

Here are 11 prompts to help you expand your levels: * Describe
what you are wearing. * How does your body feel? * What are your
hands doing? * How does your throat feel? * How are you holding
your mouth? * Eye movement * Breathing * How do you feel in
general, in detail? * Name your mood. Does it have a flavor and
color? * Describe your feelings with reference to music. A
certain song or type of music. * How does your hair smell,
clothes, the chair you’re sitting on, the book you’re reading?

Be patient with yourself while practicing. This exercise isn’t
the easiest to complete, however, it is the most effective. Even
if you aren’t a writer, this exercise will help you triple your
awareness skills in a short time period1. This exercise also
helps police officers, speakers, judges, attorneys, or anyone
else that uses their awareness skills to see and put it into
words. This is also a NLP–neurolinguistics programming
skill–for those aware of this process.

Growing hurts sometimes;

saying goodbye to friends,

to things you’ve known and done

to things you wanted to do.

Growing heals sometimes

the shattered dreams and hopes

of a life you once knew

leading you to a new knowledge of yourself.

Growing is fun sometimes

meeting new friends

learning new things

making changes that feel good and moving on.

Growing is necessary always.

Without change there is stagnation

death instead of life.

To choose to live is to choose to grow.

Copyright 2002

Fran is a Career Counsellor, Workshop Developer and Facilitator and e-zine Editor.  You can sign up for her ezine  at get_free_info_here_@getresponse.com or check out her website for more information  www.franwatson.ca

1. When you make your first sale, you need to follow-up with the customer. You could follow-up with a nice “thank you” email and include an advertisement for any other products you sell. I advise to follow-up every few months or weeks even!

2. Try to up sell to your customers. When your customers are at your order page, tell them about a few extra related products you have for sale. You can give them the option to add it to their original order.

3. This one always works! Invite your customers to refer four other customers to your web site. If they manage to do so, you give them a full or half rebate of their purchase price. This way you can turn one sale into three sales!

4. This one is often forgotten. When you sell a product, try to give your customers the option of joining an affiliate program for your product. They could make commissions selling your product. This simple tactic can multiply the sale you just made!

5. A lot of people are doing this already and it works! Try selling reprint or reproduction rights to your products. This will make you serious money. You could try to include an ad with a product for other products you sell. This way you could make sales of the reproduction rights and sales on the back end product.

6. Try to cross promote your own product with other peoples products in a package deal.

7. When you deliver your product include a coupon for other products you sell. This often attracts people to buy more products from you.

8. This also works like a charm. Try sending your customers follow up emails with add-on products for the original product they purchased. Think of upgrades, services, etc. If they really liked your product they will most likely buy the extra add-ons.

9. Try selling certificates for your products people can give away as a gift.

10. Try sending your customers free products. Be smart and print your ad on these freebies.

Visit http://www.nichemodulatorgold.com/

Author Paul Kelly

The Author gives you permission to reprint or publish this article. By doing so you agree not to edit this article in any way and leave the links where they are.

Visit http://www.nichemodulatorgold.com

Whether it’s a party, a quiet day in the house or just cruising downtown with friends, there’s always an occasion (or excuse) to gratuitously munch on chocolate.

Everyone loves chocolates, especially the types made from those secret vintage recipes. Listed below are a few of such.

CHOCOLATE JELLY WITH CRYSTALLIZED GREEN GAGES

Dissolve in a quart of water three tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate and let it come to a boil. Simmer for about ten minutes. Add a cup of sugar and a box of gelatin (that has been softened in a cup of water) and strain through a jelly bag or two thicknesses of cheese-cloth. When almost cold, add a dessertspoonful of vanilla and a tablespoonful of brandy. Then whisk well, add half a pound of crystallized green gages cut into small pieces and pour into a pretty mould. When cold serve with whipped cream.

CHOCOLATE MARBLE CAKE

Put one ounce of chocolate and one tablespoonful of butter in a cup, and set this in a pan of boiling water. Beat to a cream half a cupful of butter and one cupful of sugar. Gradually beat in half a cupful of milk. Now add the whites of six eggs beaten to a stiff froth, one teaspoonful of vanilla, and a cupful and a half of sifted flour, in which is mixed one teaspoonful of baking powder. Put about one-third of this mixture into another bowl, and stir the melted butter and chocolate into it. Drop the white-and-brown mixture in spoonfuls into a well buttered deep cake pan, and bake in a moderate oven for about forty-five minutes; or, the cake can be baked in a sheet and iced with a chocolate or white icing.

MRS. BEDFORD’S CHOCOLATE CRULLERS

Cream two tablespoonfuls of butter and one-half of a cupful of sugar; gradually add the beaten yolks of three eggs and one and one-half cupfuls more of sugar, one cupful of sour milk, one teaspoonful of vanilla, two ounces of chocolate grated and melted over hot water, one-third of a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in one-half of a teaspoonful of boiling water, the whites of the eggs whipped to a stiff froth, and sufficient sifted flour to make a soft dough. Roll out, cut into oblongs; divide each into three strips, leaving the dough united at one end. Braid loosely, pinch the ends together and cook until golden-brown in smoking-hot fat.

Deciding about whether you should get a divorce or not is an agonizing experience to go through. If you are asking yourself “should I get a divorce?”, you’ve been thinking about your relationship’s state for a while or an isolated incident (an example is an extramarital affair) that occurred was so terrible, that you want to just chuck it all and start over with a new life!

If you have been asking yourself “should I get a divorce?” for any length of time, you should figure out what is making you feel that way if you haven’t already. Take the time to reflect back on why you’re leaning towards divorce rather than working out your marriage problem. Once you identify the things that are making you feel like divorce is the right option, make a list of those things.

Once you make that list, go back through each item on the list that led you to asking yourself the question “should I get a divorce?”. Look at each item on the list in depth and make certain you really deem those items as valid reasons for wanting a divorce, either in and of themselves or as a part of a common theme of reasons that make up a whole set.

Once you trim the list down to include only truly ‘valid reasons’, rank each reason in order of importance. Identify 2 reasons that hold the most weight to you and that contributed most to you asking yourself “should I get a divorce?”.

After you accomplish this, decide if these reasons seem like things that can be changed for the better or if they are just flat out unrecoverable. Soul search and decide whether or not you are willing to do what it takes to try and fix the problem that is associated with these reasons.

Example: If one of your reasons for thinking about divorce is because your spouse is insanely jealous of you having friendly and/or purely plutonic relationships with members of the opposite sex, decide whether or not you are willing to socialize less with members of the opposite sex (or in a different manner) or do what it takes to ensure that your spouse understands and believes that you truly love him/her. If you aren’t willing to do either of those things (or anything else it may take to change the situation), you have some serious long-term thinking to do about whether you really want to stay married.

If you have been asking yourself “should I get a divorce?” due to one isolated incident, you should re-live that isolated incident in your mind and identify why the isolated incident led you to the way that you feel now.

List the top 5 reasons that this incident hurt you to the extent it did (thinking about divorce). Then, think about what you feel the top 5 reasons are that led to the actual incident itself.

This is especially crucial because, even though it may be one isolated incident that caused you to think about divorce as an option, the reasons that led to that isolated incident may have been present for quite a while and need to be dealt with. The point is, just because one isolated incident ‘happened’, doesn’t mean the execution of that incident is the true cause of the problem. Chances are there’s much more to it, and finding out what those things are will help you identify the true story.

If you have been asking yourself “do I want a divorce?” and haven’t prioritized why you feel that way, you aren’t ready for divorce. What you are ready for however, is to go through soul searching to get to the root of the problem.

Author of “A Practical Guide To Deciding Whether Or Not To Get A Divorce”, the eBook recommended by counselors to thier clients. Proven “Actions Items” to help you decide!
Get the first 2 chapters free!
Get Free Chapters

Should I Get a Divorce

The best course of action to take sometimes isn’t clear until you’ve listed and considered your alternatives. The following paragraphs should help clue you in to what the experts think is significant.

FOREX traders almost always rely on analysis to make plan their trading strategies. There are two basic types of FOREX analysis – technical and fundamental. This article will look at fundamental analysis and how it used in FOREX trading.

Fundamental analysis refers to political and economic conditions that may affect currency prices. FOREX traders using fundamental analysis rely on news reports to gather information about unemployment rates, economic policies, inflation, and growth rates.

Fundamental analysis is often used to get an overview of currency movements and to provide a broad picture of economic conditions affecting a specific currency. Most traders rely on technical analysis for plotting entry and exit points into the market and supplement their findings with fundamental analysis.

Currency prices on the FOREX are affected by the forces of supply and demand, which in turn are affected by economic conditions. The two most important economic factors affecting supply and demand are interest rates and the strength of the economy. The strength of the economy is affected by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), foreign investment and trade balance.

Indicators

Various indicators are released by government and academic sources. They are reliable measures of economic health and are followed by all sectors of the investment market. Indicators are usually released on a monthly basis but some are released weekly.

Most of this information comes straight from the Forex Fundamental Analysis pros. Careful reading to the end virtually guarantees that you’ll know what they know.

Two of the most important fundamental indicators are interest rates and international trade. Other indicators include the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Durable Goods Orders, Producer Price Index (PPI), Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI), and retail sales.

Interest Rates - can have either a strengthening or weakening effect on a particular currency. On the one hand, high interest rates attract foreign investment which will strengthen the local currency. On the other hand, stock market investors often react to interest rate increases by selling off their holdings in the belief that higher borrowing costs will adversely affect many companies. Stock investors may sell off their holdings causing a downturn in the stock market and the national economy.

Determining which of these two effects will predominate depends on many complex factors, but there is usually a consensus amongst economic observers of how particular interest rate changes will affect the economy and the price of a currency.

International Trade – Trade balance which shows a deficit (more imports than exports) is usually an unfavourable indicator. Deficit trade balances means that money is flowing out of the country to purchase foreign-made goods and this may have a devaluing effect on the currency. Usually, however, market expectations dictate whether a deficit trade balance is unfavourable or not. If a county habitually operates with a deficit trade balance this has already been factored into the price of its currency. Trade deficits will only affect currency prices when they are more than market expectations.

Other indicators include the CPI – a measurement of the cost of living, and the PPI – a measurement of the cost of producing goods. The GDP measures the value of all goods and services within a country, while the M2 Money Supply measures the total amount of all currency.

There are 28 major indicators used in the United States. Indicators have strong effects on financial markets so FOREX traders should be aware of them when preparing strategies. Up-to-date information is available on many websites and many FOREX brokers supply this information as part of their trading service.

Take time to consider the points presented above. What you learn may help you overcome your hesitation to take action.

Matthew Bass of Fundamental Forex Analysis explains fundamental analysis in Forex trading.

Looking for the right salsa music is easy once you’ve been exposed to salsa beats long enough. But if you want to groove to the salsa rhythms, here are some recommended CDs that will have you dancing for days!

SALSA FRESCA – This is an excellent CD “for those who love to dance salsa, not just listen to it.” This compilation CD have you grooving salsa style all night long. Its inviting rhythmic beats are particularly good for those who love to Mambo. This CD is even a keeper for non-dancers. A must have for your CD collection!

TONY VEGA GREATEST HITS – Tony Vegas has charm and Latin gentleman appeal that can be heard in his music. His musical style appeals to everyone. It is smoothe and romantic yet energetic and upbeat This is an unmatched collection of Tony Vega hits from 1989-1994. His songs are infused with romantic tones and sensuous Cuban Mambo and Puerto Rican Salsa style beats.

Rough Guide: Salsa Dance ~ various artists – A huge selection of musical compilations put out under the Rough Series. Rough Guide: Salsa Dance is one of the hotter Latin music themed albums to be released to date.

Rough Guide: Salsa Dance vol. 2 ~ various artists – An upbeat album that will have you dancing the instant you hear it! This album is sizzling HOT. You won’t stop dancing because the music is electrifying!

Ultra Mix: The Best of Salsa – This is a must-have CD for any salsa. Some say it’s best suited for listening, while others are convinced it’s one of the best compilation discs for salsa dancing. Go to your local music store of check it out online. You’ll be glad you did.

These CD selections are a great way to begin your salsa music collections. However, some other great tips to finding great salsa CDs is by listening to local radio shows that feature Latin American, Cuban and Afro beats. Most likely you’ll also be able to hear some salsa beats you’ve never heard before. Listening to these types of radio shows exposes you to the different sounds and usually makes mention of the artists that are being played. This will make your shopping experience so much easier.

Also consider checking out your local salsa dance bar or salsa dance studio. The DJ or dance instructor would be happy to tell you what albums and / or songs they are playing.

Check out your local music store or go online to find the above mentioned CDs. I guarantee your neighbors will be banging on your door wanting to know what it is you a re playing. These salsa CDs are that good!

Happy Shopping! Oh, but don’t forget to check out www.salsadancedvd.com where you’ll hear the above mentioned artists and more. But you will also get the best salsa dance training available. Don’t forget to check it out!