<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!-- generator="wordpress/2.3" -->
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>Phoenix Training &#38; Development</title>
	<link>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz</link>
	<description>Financial Literacy &#38; Entrepreneurship Training for Young Girls</description>
	<pubDate>Tue, 12 Feb 2008 16:14:40 +0000</pubDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3</generator>
	<language>en</language>
			<item>
		<title>Tips For New Business Owners</title>
		<link>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/tips-for-new-business-owners/</link>
		<comments>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/tips-for-new-business-owners/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:01:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Myrna Wigley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[entrepreneurship]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/tips-for-new-business-owners/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[1. Plan. Plan. Plan. There is a reason why experts and loan professionals suggest writing a business plan and a marketing plan before starting a business. With a plan you can adequately prepare ways to reduce risk. It will also give you a true indication of a particular market condition, competition and other options available to you. Doing your research early on will save you tons of money later. New Business Owners and old alike must always plan. With a plan you will be 1000% more successful. If you don't know what you need to do each day or what you need in your plan, ask someone. Don't be afraid to ask someone for their help. We all have had to learn from someone else either through interviews, books or by watching them. Most people don't mind you asking for their expert advice and are often flattered to be asked for their expertise.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>1. Plan. Plan. Plan.</strong> There is a reason why experts and loan professionals suggest writing a business plan and a marketing plan before starting a business. With a plan you can adequately prepare ways to reduce risk. It will also give you a true indication of a particular market condition, competition and other options available to you.chieve that. Don&#8217;t just say you want to make a lot of money. Write down how much you want to make and by when. Also write down what it is you are going to have to do to get there. It is important to know why it is important at this point in your life that you want to start a business. Trust me on some days you will need to have this reason at the forefront of your mind just to keep it together.</p>
<p><strong>2. Hire a coach or mentor.</strong> Get someone who has already accomplished what you want to accomplish to teach you. Who wouldn&#8217;t want to save 10, 15 or even 20 years of mistakes and challenges by just hiring someone who can help with the process not to mention all of the money you stand to gain and save by learning from an expert in your field.</p>
<p><strong>3. Decide on a budget.</strong> Determine early on how much money you can afford to spend each month. But more importantly you need to know whether or not you can even afford to be in business and how much risk you can take. Remember, it takes money to make money. Be willing to put aside a certain amount of money each month for your business. What can you afford to spend? What are you willing to spend in order to be successful? Some vendors you deal with will you ask you what your budget is.</p>
<p><strong>4. Be willing to speak </strong>on your area of expertise and then plan to do it consistently. Speaking puts you in a position of authority and people will think of you first when they need what you offer and also will come to you for advice.</p>
<p><strong>5. Write on your area of expertise.</strong> Write articles, books, in journals, newspaper columns, press releases and anything else that will show people you are an expert in your field. The same goes as above your potential client will see you as a celebrity if they see your name in print.</p>
<p><strong>6. Get a website.</strong> Every business needs a website. This is vital in today&#8217;s competitive marketplace. Your market size suddenly grows 10,100, 1000 times larger when you can compete national as well as international. Don&#8217;t limit yourself. Your competition will have a website. It is no longer a sheer luxury but a necessary component of being in business.</p>
<p><strong>7. Diversify.</strong> Don&#8217;t put all of your eggs in one basket. It is important to cultivate multiple streams of income. It is also a good idea to keep your pipeline full of clients that you can nurture and eventually sell to. There is nothing worse than depending on a handful of clients to pay your mortgage. Not sure what other streams of income are available to you, look to see what your competition is doing. Do they offer additional services, accessories, cross sell? Can you offer an information product with your product or service?</p>
<p><strong>8. Hard Work is required.</strong> There is not one business open that doesn&#8217;t require some serious work and more than you would put in if you worked for someone else. Just because you started a business don&#8217;t think it will be easy, the work has just begun.</p>
<p><strong>9. Test. Test. Test.</strong> It is important to determine where you are getting the most return on your dollar. Remember the 80/20 rule here. Keep a log of where and when you advertise. This is important because you need to know what worked and what didn&#8217;t. Use some type of code in each advertisement so you&#8217;ll know where the customer heard about you. Coupons or discounts are great way to keep track of advertisement. This is great for the customer as well.</p>
<p><strong>10. Learn all you can. </strong>Never stop learning. When we stop learning we merely exist. Experts are usually the highest paid in their field because they make a concerted effort to learn all they can. Read as much as you can. This will more than likely give you an edge on most of your competition. Most people get comfortable after being in business for a while and stop learning and growing. Attend all the seminars, teleclasses, webinars, trainings, conventions, association meetings you can find in your field. Take notes and apply what you learn immediately. It is equally necessary to learn about other areas particularly latest technology, sales and marketing, administration, human resources, finance/accounting and pricing despite the business you are going in.</p>
<p>Remember consistency and repetition is important to your business success. What sets you apart from someone else is your ability to take action often and quickly.</p>
<p id="ArtTags"><strong>Author:</strong> <a href="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/authors/shonda-miles/36282.htm" title="Shonda Miles">Shonda Miles</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/tips-for-new-business-owners/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What is a CD (Certificate of Deposit)</title>
		<link>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/what-is-a-cd-certificate-of-deposit/</link>
		<comments>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/what-is-a-cd-certificate-of-deposit/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:47:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Myrna Wigley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Investing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/what-is-a-cd-certificate-of-deposit/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The term CD stands for Certificate of Deposit. A CD is simply a short- to medium-length investment. They are FDIC insured and are available for purchase at banks, credit unions, and savings and loans. CD's are a good way for some consumers to get higher interest rates on their money, but there are some issues associated with them that consumers should know about before signing up for one.

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p id="PostBox"><strong>Author:</strong> <a href="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/authors/peter-kenny/6159.htm" title="Peter Kenny">Peter Kenny</a> | <strong>Posted:</strong> 26-10-2007 | <strong>Comments:</strong> <a href="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/wp-admin/#comments">0</a> | <strong>Views:</strong> 9 | <a href="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/wp-admin/#yedda" title="Got a Question? Ask."><img border="0" width="150" src="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/images/askicon.jpg" alt="Got a Question? Ask." height="25" /></a></p>
<p id="Google">The term CD stands for <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/what-is-a-cd-certificate-of-deposit-245546.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,0);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,0);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,0);" id="KonaLink0" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#009900" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative" class="kLink">Certificate </span><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative" class="kLink">of </span><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative" class="kLink">Deposit</span></font></a>. A CD is simply a short- to medium-length <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/what-is-a-cd-certificate-of-deposit-245546.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,1);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,1);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,1);" id="KonaLink1" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#009900" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; border-bottom: #009900 1px solid; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative; background-color: transparent" class="kLink">investment</span></font></a>. They are FDIC insured and are available for purchase at banks, credit unions, and savings and <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/what-is-a-cd-certificate-of-deposit-245546.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,2);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,2);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,2);" id="KonaLink2" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#009900" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative" class="kLink">loans</span></font></a>. CD&#8217;s are a good way for some consumers to get higher interest rates on their money, but there are some issues associated with them that consumers should know about before signing up for one.</p>
<p>In basic terms, CD&#8217;s operate like this: You will put a certain amount of money into the institution for a certain amount of time. The institution will use this money for various purposes. In exchange for investing your money with them, you are promised a predetermined interest rate on the money, as well as having your money protected by the FDIC. The FDIC is the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and it protects your money in case the bank or savings and loan fails.</p>
<p>Buying CD&#8217;s is a good, safe way to <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/what-is-a-cd-certificate-of-deposit-245546.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,3);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,3);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,3);" id="KonaLink3" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#009900" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative" class="kLink">invest </span><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative" class="kLink">money</span></font></a> but it does have some drawbacks. For one, once you buy the CD you are not allowed to withdraw that money without incurring a penalty fee. This is for withdrawals that take place before the CD matures. Another drawback can be the length of time that a CD takes before it matures. This length of time can vary greatly but it is common for many CD&#8217;s to mature between 1 year and 5 years. There are shorter term CD&#8217;s as well, and there are longer term CD&#8217;s, some maturing at 10 to 20 years. It is important to understand the maturity length before you sign up for one, and to understand that this money will be tied up in the CD for that length of time.</p>
<p>A certificate of deposit is very useful for certain people. Because it is a very low risk investment it can be especially useful for elderly people and for young people who want to get started with their savings. It is also a good way to invest for those people who have limited amounts of money that they can invest.</p>
<p>All consumers should make sure that they are getting their CD from an FDIC-back source. Normally, you will know this if you are buying the CD on your own at your bank, but if you are using a broker to buy the CD for you, make certain that you know which bank is issuing the certificate of deposit, and that the bank is insured.</p>
<p>Before you buy your CD, sit down with the bank and find out how the interest rate works. You may be getting a fixed rate on your CD or you may be getting a variable rate. It is important to know which is being attached to your CD as this will affect your profit. If you are buying a jumbo CD (a CD that is over $100,000) make sure you talk about the issue of protection. The FDIC only backs up to this amount and you will want to know what the financial institution can do to help protect the money you invest above this limit.</p>
<p>Lastly, rates for CD vary so you may want to shop around to find the institution that offers the best rates for your certificate of deposit.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/what-is-a-cd-certificate-of-deposit/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What Is A Roth IRA</title>
		<link>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/what-is-a-roth-ira/</link>
		<comments>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/what-is-a-roth-ira/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:23:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Myrna Wigley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Investing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/what-is-a-roth-ira/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The biggest advantage enjoyed by a Roth IRA account owner is the tax benefits offered by the government on such schemes. A Roth IRA accepts contributions from the income earned in a financial year that has already been taxed and allows federal income tax free withdrawals up to the total assets held in the account by the account owner. Even the earnings on the assets in a Roth IRA are often free of federal income tax. This is in contrast to other IRA schemes where the contributions are made from tax-deductible income but the distribution or withdrawal of funds is considered as taxable income. However, the there is an overall limit on contributions to all IRAs including the Roth IRA in a particular financial year. The total of all the contributions in different IRAs should not exceed that limit. Roth IRAs are considered superior to other IRAs because of the tax-free distributions or withdrawals allowed in this scheme of retirement accounts. This has made Roth IRAs very popular in a short span of time.

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A Roth IRA is a type of individual <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/what-is-a-roth-ira-244238.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,0);" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,0);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,0);" target="_new" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important" id="KonaLink0" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: static" color="#009900"><span style="border-bottom: 1px solid #009900; font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative; background-color: transparent" class="kLink">Individual </span><span style="border-bottom: 1px solid #009900; font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative; background-color: transparent" class="kLink">Retirement </span><span style="border-bottom: 1px solid #009900; font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative; background-color: transparent" class="kLink">Account</span></font></a> (IRA) that is named after the US senator William V. Roth who was the chief legislative sponsor of this scheme of retirement accounts. Roth IRAs are different from other IRAs in many ways. Roth IRAs were established in the year 1998 (Public law 105-34). Similar to other IRAs, the Roth IRAs are also created to encourage the members of the active work force to save regularly in order to be able to meet their post retirement financial needs. This calls for a disciplined approach on the part of the account owner and requires regular contributions towards the retirement account. It also provides twin benefits to the account owners. The tax-deductible net income is reduced by an amount equivalent to the <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/what-is-a-roth-ira-244238.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,1);" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,1);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,1);" target="_new" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important" id="KonaLink1" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: static" color="#009900"><span style="border-bottom: 1px solid #009900; font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative; background-color: transparent" class="kLink">IRA </span><span style="border-bottom: 1px solid #009900; font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative; background-color: transparent" class="kLink">contribution</span></font></a> and the assets also earn returns by way of investment into various financial instruments such as stocks, mutual funds and bonds in which the IRA assets are invested by the account custodian or the administrator.</p>
<p>The biggest advantage enjoyed by a Roth IRA account owner is the <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/what-is-a-roth-ira-244238.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,2);" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,2);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,2);" target="_new" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important" id="KonaLink2" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: static" color="#009900"><span style="border-bottom: 1px solid #009900; font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative; background-color: transparent" class="kLink">tax </span><span style="border-bottom: 1px solid #009900; font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative; background-color: transparent" class="kLink">benefits</span></font></a> offered by the government on such schemes. A Roth IRA accepts contributions from the income earned in a financial year that has already been taxed and allows federal income tax free withdrawals up to the total assets held in the account by the account owner. Even the earnings on the assets in a Roth IRA are often free of federal income tax. This is in contrast to other IRA schemes where the contributions are made from tax-deductible income but the distribution or withdrawal of funds is considered as taxable income. However, the there is an overall limit on contributions to all IRAs including the Roth IRA in a particular financial year. The total of all the contributions in different IRAs should not exceed that limit. Roth IRAs are considered superior to other IRAs because of the tax-free distributions or withdrawals allowed in this scheme of retirement accounts. This has made Roth IRAs very popular in a short span of time.</p>
<p>Another type of Roth IRA called the <a href="http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/what-is-a-roth-ira-244238.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,3);" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,3);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,3);" target="_new" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline ! important" id="KonaLink3" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: static" color="#009900"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative" class="kLink">Self-Directed </span><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative" class="kLink">IRA</span></font></a> even allows investments into non-typical assets such as real estate and other exotic investment avenues that are generally shunned by the traditional IRA schemes. The discretion of deciding about the nature of financial instruments in which IRA assets are invested lies with the account custodian or administrator. He can decide the asset classes to which the IRA funds can be allocated. At a more fundamental level, the type of an IRA account held by an investor is also a major deciding factor about the nature of investments made with the corpus. Since IRAs have a low risk profile, volatile instruments are avoided and this makes the common debt instruments such as the US treasury bonds very popular amongst the IRA investors. Next in class are mutual funds that are again considered stable and less volatile compared to investing in stocks with high volatility. Even in equity stocks, the IRA investments take a long-term view of holding the securities and do not indulge in short-term trading.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 5px; font-weight: bold; text-align: right">&nbsp;</p>
<p id="PostBox"><strong>Author:</strong> <a href="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/authors/mike-power/36646.htm" title="Mike Power">Mike Power</a> |</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/what-is-a-roth-ira/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Strategies To Effective Money Management</title>
		<link>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/strategies-to-effective-money-management/</link>
		<comments>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/strategies-to-effective-money-management/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:34:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Myrna Wigley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/strategies-to-effective-money-management/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With a simple yet powerful system which I personally use together with specially designed Microsoft Excel templates like the 'Monthly Personal Income Statements' and 'Daily Expense Sheets', you just need to invest fifteen minutes a day to manage your money]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1>Strategies to Effective Money Management</h1>
<p id="PostBox"><strong>Author:</strong> <a href="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/authors/adam-khoo/7812.htm" title="Adam Khoo">Adam Khoo</a> | <strong>Posted:</strong> 30-10-2007 | <strong>Comments:</strong> <a href="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/wp-admin/#comments">0</a> | <strong>Views:</strong> 1 | <a href="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/wp-admin/#yedda" title="Got a Question? Ask."><img border="0" width="150" src="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/images/askicon.jpg" alt="Got a Question? Ask." height="25" /></a></p>
<p id="Google">Before you can ever reduce your expenses and increase your savings, you must first know where your money is going to. Many people share the same experience of having no idea where their $5,000 salary went. &#8216;How did I spend so much money?&#8217; &#8216;I thought that I should have $1,000 left at the end of the month, but it seems to have all disappeared!&#8217;</p>
<p>With a simple yet powerful system which I personally use together with specially designed Microsoft Excel templates like the &#8216;Monthly Personal Income Statements&#8217; and &#8216;Daily Expense Sheets&#8217;, you just need to invest fifteen minutes a day to manage your money.</p>
<p>If you want to be wealthy, do not expect it to happen automatically. You must commit to spend time on <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/strategies-to-effective-money-management-247980.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,0);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,0);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,0);" id="KonaLink0" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#009900" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative" class="kLink">your </span><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative" class="kLink">finances</span></font></a>. Earlier on in this book, I talked about the millionaire&#8217;s daily hour. Millionaires spend an average of an hour a day on personal <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/strategies-to-effective-money-management-247980.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,1);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,1);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,1);" id="KonaLink1" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#009900" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative" class="kLink">wealth </span><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative" class="kLink">management</span></font></a>, while most people spend less than an hour a month, usually on paying bills.</p>
<p>So out of this one-hour a day, you&#8217;ve got to devote the first fifteen minutes to do these five Money Management Steps.</p>
<p>1) Always Ask for a Discount<br />
If it is not a fixed price store, there is a 70% chance that you will get a discount if you just ask for it. If you get a 10% discount, it is equivalent to earning an immediate 10% return on your money. Over the long term, you will save a huge amount that will accelerate you even faster towards your targeted net worth.</p>
<p>2) Always Ask for a Receipt<br />
Always get a receipt so that you can track every single expense at the end of the day and, if possible, claim it as a business expense and get a <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/strategies-to-effective-money-management-247980.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,2);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,2);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,2);" id="KonaLink2" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#009900" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative" class="kLink">tax </span><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative" class="kLink">deduction</span></font></a>.</p>
<p>3) At the End of the Day, Record all Expenses in your Daily Expense Sheet<br />
You can do this manually in the sample &#8216;Daily Expense Sheet &#8216;at the end of the chapter or you can key it in electronically into a template.</p>
<p>I highly recommend you key it into an excel spreadsheet, so it can automatically add up the total each month.</p>
<p>4) Use a Credit Card Whenever You Can (but always pay the full outstanding sum every month)<br />
Again, this will allow you a convenient way of having all your expenses recorded for you in the monthly statement.</p>
<p>5) At the End of the Month, Update Your Monthly Income Statement<br />
At the end of every month, add up the total expenses from your daily expense sheet and update your monthly income statement. At the same time, update all your income for the month. Deduct your total expenses from your total income to get your monthly savings.</p>
<p>You must use a system to track where every single dollar goes. Only when you know where your money is going, can you take steps to channel it to your savings and investments.</p>
<p>Doing this month after month may seem tedious, but it is absolutely necessary if you want to build your <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/strategies-to-effective-money-management-247980.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,3);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,3);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,3);" id="KonaLink3" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#009900" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 10pt; color: #009900! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial,sans-serif; position: relative" class="kLink">wealth</span></font></a>. Only when you develop the habit of managing your personal finances, can you manage the finances of your own business. So many people financially mismanage their businesses into bankruptcy because they mismanage their own finances. Don&#8217;t be one of them!</p>
<p style="margin-top: 5px; font-weight: bold; text-align: right">Rate this Article:<script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript">    displayStars(0, "247980");</script> <img src="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/rate2/odd1.jpg" onmouseout="changeout(this, 0)" onclick="updateRating(this, 0)" title="1" onmouseover="changeover(this, 0)" id="247980_1" /><img src="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/rate2/even1.jpg" onmouseout="changeout(this, 0)" onclick="updateRating(this, 0)" title="2" onmouseover="changeover(this, 0)" id="247980_2" /><img src="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/rate2/odd1.jpg" onmouseout="changeout(this, 0)" onclick="updateRating(this, 0)" title="3" onmouseover="changeover(this, 0)" id="247980_3" /><img src="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/rate2/even1.jpg" onmouseout="changeout(this, 0)" onclick="updateRating(this, 0)" title="4" onmouseover="changeover(this, 0)" id="247980_4" /><img src="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/rate2/odd1.jpg" onmouseout="changeout(this, 0)" onclick="updateRating(this, 0)" title="5" onmouseover="changeover(this, 0)" id="247980_5" /><img src="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/rate2/even1.jpg" onmouseout="changeout(this, 0)" onclick="updateRating(this, 0)" title="6" onmouseover="changeover(this, 0)" id="247980_6" /><img src="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/rate2/odd1.jpg" onmouseout="changeout(this, 0)" onclick="updateRating(this, 0)" title="7" onmouseover="changeover(this, 0)" id="247980_7" /><img src="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/rate2/even1.jpg" onmouseout="changeout(this, 0)" onclick="updateRating(this, 0)" title="8" onmouseover="changeover(this, 0)" id="247980_8" /><img src="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/rate2/odd1.jpg" onmouseout="changeout(this, 0)" onclick="updateRating(this, 0)" title="9" onmouseover="changeover(this, 0)" id="247980_9" /><img src="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/rate2/even1.jpg" onmouseout="changeout(this, 0)" onclick="updateRating(this, 0)" title="10" onmouseover="changeover(this, 0)" id="247980_10" /></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/strategies-to-effective-money-management/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What Triggers Entrepreneurship?</title>
		<link>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/what-triggers-entrepreneurship/</link>
		<comments>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/what-triggers-entrepreneurship/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Oct 2007 04:04:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Myrna Wigley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[entrepreneurship]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/what-triggers-entrepreneurship/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The profile of an entrepreneur which emerges through the study is one who is intelligent and analytical; is an effective risk manager and networker; possesses a strong set of moral, social and business ethics; exhibits a basic trader's instinct; and is dedicated life-long learning in its many forms.

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It is proposed that the process of entrepreneurship initiation has its foundations in person, intuition, society and culture. It is much more holistic than simply an economic function and represents a composite of material and immaterial, pragmatism and idealism. The essence is the <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/home-business/what-triggers-entrepreneurship.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,0);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,0);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,0);" id="KonaLink0" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#990000" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">application</span></font></a> of creative processes and the acceptance of a risk-bearing function, directed at bringing about change of both economic and social nature. Ideally, but not necessarily, the outcomes would have positive consequences. The key to initiating the process of entrepreneurship lies within the individual members of society and the degree to which a spirit of <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/home-business/what-triggers-entrepreneurship.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,1);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,1);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,1);" id="KonaLink1" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#990000" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; border-bottom: #990000 1px solid; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative; background-color: transparent" class="kLink">enterprise</span></font></a> exists or can be initiated.</p>
<p>Culture is important in any discussion of entrepreneurship because it determines the attitudes of individuals towards the initiation of entrepreneurship. Each era produces its own models of entrepreneurship according to its specific needs of the host society, however it has been described consistently using terms such as innovative, holistic, risk taking and co-ordinating ways of behaviour. Certain cultural institutions may facilitate, or hinder, entry into entrepreneurship. Thus, it is proposed that the culture of societies and the charateristics of people living in these socities, impacted by certain innate personality traits, will influence the degree to which entrepreneurship is initiated.</p>
<p>It appears that there is a significant relationship between entrepreneurship and cultural specificity, combined with an intuitive response by individual members of the society, albeit part innate and part cultural conditioning. Certainly, the cultural context in which persons are rooted and socially developed plays an influencing role in shaping and making entrepreneurs, and the degree to which they consider entrepreneurial behaviour to be desirable. Cultural dimensions that are significant to the extent to which entrepreneurial behaviour is supported by a society have been identified as: communal versus individual; conformist versus divergent; and equal versus elitist.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the role of the family, immediate and extended, is recognised as having the potential to make a positive contribution towards entrepreneurial behaviour through the provision of inter-generational role models. Finally, the profile of an entrepreneur which emerges through the study is one who is intelligent and analytical; is an effective risk manager and networker; possesses a strong set of moral<a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/science.html"><img border="0" src="http://www.articlesfactory.com/pic/x.gif" alt="Science Articles" /></a>, social and business ethics; exhibits a basic trader&#8217;s instinct; and is dedicated life-long learning in its many forms.</p>
<p class="txt-small-regular">Source: <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/" title="Free Articles" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Free Articles</font></a> from ArticlesFactory.com</p>
<h1>ABOUT THE AUTHOR</h1>
<p>- Thanaseelan, click <a href="http://www2.blogger.com/profile/11320861502208126526"><font color="#d44d44">here</font></a> to view his profile and click on <a href="http://www.worthofwordplay.blogspot.com/"><font color="#d44d44">http://www.worthofwordplay.blogspot.com</font></a> to visit his main blog. Also check out the categories on his <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/home-business/what-triggers-entrepreneurship.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,2);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,2);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,2);" id="KonaLink2" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#990000" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">blog</span></font></a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/what-triggers-entrepreneurship/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Women Are at a Disadvantage When it Comes to Financial Planning</title>
		<link>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning/</link>
		<comments>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Oct 2007 03:26:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Myrna Wigley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Women &amp; Money]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Women are at a Disadvantage When it Comes to Financial Planning
Finance Articles &#124; October 10, 2007
Many aspects of financial matters are unique for women; therefore, the implementation of their financial plans should take their special needs into consideration. Doing so will help them better prepare for the documented financial inequities between women and men.

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Many aspects of financial matters are unique for women; therefore, the implementation of their <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,0);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,0);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,0);" id="KonaLink0" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#990000" style="font-weight: 700; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 700; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; border-bottom: #990000 1px solid; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative; background-color: transparent" class="kLink">financial </span><span style="font-weight: 700; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; border-bottom: #990000 1px solid; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative; background-color: transparent" class="kLink">plans</span></font></a> should take their special needs into consideration. Doing so will help them better prepare for the documented financial inequities between women and men.</strong></p>
<p><script type="text/javascript">    <!--        google_ad_client = "pub-0003120597825310";        google_alternate_ad_url = "http://www.articlesfactory.com/google_adsense_script.html";        google_ad_width = 336;        google_ad_height = 280;        google_ad_format = "336x280_as";        google_ad_channel ="4147431717";        google_ad_type = "text";        google_color_border = "F8F8F8";        google_color_bg = "F8F8F8";        google_color_link = "323232";        google_color_url = "CB6F69";        google_color_text = "323232";        //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">            </script><iframe allowTransparency="true" height="280" scrolling="no" width="336" frameBorder="0" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-0003120597825310&amp;dt=1193798415957&amp;lmt=1193798415&amp;alternate_ad_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.articlesfactory.com%2Fgoogle_adsense_script.html&amp;prev_fmts=250x250_as&amp;format=336x280_as&amp;output=html&amp;correlator=1193798415957&amp;channel=4147431717&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.articlesfactory.com%2Farticles%2Ffinance%2Fwomen-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html&amp;color_bg=F8F8F8&amp;color_text=323232&amp;color_link=323232&amp;color_url=CB6F69&amp;color_border=F8F8F8&amp;ad_type=text&amp;ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.articlesfactory.com%2Farticles%2Ffinance%2Fpage9.html&amp;cc=235&amp;ga_vid=1785089078.1193797620&amp;ga_sid=1193797620&amp;ga_hid=406364284&amp;ga_fc=true&amp;flash=9&amp;u_h=768&amp;u_w=1024&amp;u_ah=738&amp;u_aw=1024&amp;u_cd=32&amp;u_tz=-240&amp;u_his=10&amp;u_java=true" marginHeight="0" marginWidth="0" name="google_ads_frame"></iframe>Women Face Unique Financial Challenges. If you were to guess which issue women worry about most, would you guess family, health, time, stress, or maybe equal rights? According to a March 2000 gallop poll, the answer is their finances. This response may surprise you now, but consider the following list of financial issues unique to women.</p>
<p>Consider these results from a women-and-money incubator, and research by Bruce W. Most and William L. Anthes:</p>
<p>- &#8220;Women are more intimidated than men about financial issues</p>
<p>- Women earn less money than men</p>
<p>- Women are less prepared for <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,1);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,1);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,1);" id="KonaLink1" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#990000" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">retirement</span></font></a></p>
<p>- Women receive smaller retirement benefits</p>
<p>- Women live longer than men</p>
<p>- Women are poorer in retirement than men</p>
<p>- Women are more conservative <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,2);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,2);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,2);" id="KonaLink2" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#990000" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">investors</span></font></a> than men&#8221;</p>
<p>We would also add</p>
<p>- Special difficulties for single mothers</p>
<p>- Women caring for elderly parents</p>
<p>- High-deductible health insurance plans cost women more</p>
<p>- Women may defer to men regarding financial decisions</p>
<p>- More women manage daily family finances</p>
<p>- Retirement issues because of divorce agreements</p>
<p>- Male-dominated financial services industry</p>
<p>Earnings Differences</p>
<p>It is a well-documented fact that women earn less than men do. A study by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation as reported by Ellen Simon {AP}:&#8221;Women make only 80 percent of the salaries their male peers do one year after college&#8230;10 years after college, women earn only 69 percent of what men earn&#8230;Even after controlling for hours, occupation, parenthood, and other factors known to affect earnings,&#8221; the study found that one-quarter of the pay gap remains unexplained.</p>
<p>Most and Anthes report that &#8220;According to the U.S. Department of Labor, women working full-time, year-round, earn roughly 74 percent of what men earn&#8230; (and) workers in the age category of 45–54-the prime earning years for most people-women earned $516 a week while men earned $732.&#8221; It gets even worse for single mothers with young children whose &#8220;median income in 1998&#8230;was $14,248. This figure is the lowest among all family types, representing roughly one-fourth the median income of married-couples with children&#8230;and approximately three-fifths that of females with no children.&#8221;</p>
<p>Retirement Differences</p>
<p>Women are often less prepared for retirement than men. Most and Anthes also noted that a study that found 58 percent of baby boomer women had saved less than $10,000 in a <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,3);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,3);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,3);" id="KonaLink3" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#990000" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">pension</span></font></a> or 401(k) plan, while baby boomer men had saved three times that. In addition, the fact that women live longer than men means that they need more money in their retirement than men do.</p>
<p><a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,4);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,4);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,4);" id="KonaLink4" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#990000" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">Investment</span></font></a> Differences</p>
<p>Also, a 1997 study by Dryfus and the National Center for Women and Retirement Research showed that women investors were more worried than men about running out of money in old age, preferred more conservative investments, wanted fixed/steady returns, were more unnerved by <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,5);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,5);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,5);" id="KonaLink5" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#990000" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">stock</span></font></a> fluctuations and worried more about investment decisions.</p>
<p>Social Security Retirement Differences</p>
<p>Of course, less money earned by women, means less money saved for retirement or contributed to <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,6);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,6);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,6);" id="KonaLink6" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#990000" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">Social </span><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">Security </span><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">benefits</span></font></a>, and because women live 79 years on average while men live 72, women retirees are poorer in retirement than men. Most and Anthes note that according to the Administration on Aging &#8220;&#8230;half the elderly widows now living in poverty were not living in poverty before their husbands died. The picture is even worse for older women in many minority groups&#8221;.</p>
<p>Decision Making</p>
<p>The next generation of retirees may have been raised in an environment in which men handled the <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,7);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,7);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,7);" id="KonaLink7" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#990000" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">money </span><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">decisions</span></font></a>. More women actually pay the weekly bills, but they may have little knowledge of the larger family finances such as <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,8);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,8);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,8);" id="KonaLink8" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#990000" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">retirement </span><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">plans</span></font></a>, Social Security, IRAs, insurance, annuities, etc. because they may have deferred to their spouse&#8217;s decisions.</p>
<p>It is essential for women to understand the ‘big picture&#8217; of their finances, especially for retirement, divorce, or death of their spouse. Because women make less than men, are less prepared for retirement, and receive smaller retirement benefits, they need to make sure that their husband&#8217;s retirement benefits will pass to them if their husband dies first. Because women may be more intimidated about asking questions of their attorney or financial advisor, they may miss crucial details (such as single-life <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,9);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,9);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,9);" id="KonaLink9" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#990000" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">annuity</span></font></a> which may bring higher levels during the husband&#8217;s life but that ends when the husband dies first), or incorrect beneficiaries on <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,10);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,10);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,10);" id="KonaLink10" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#990000" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">life </span><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">insurance </span><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">policies</span></font></a>.</p>
<p>Divorce</p>
<p>During a divorce, women may be more concerned about custody issues and keeping the house than their future retirement and may agree to forgo the 401(k). Single parenting brings a whole host of financial challenges, including lost wages from parenting responsibilities and childcare and babysitters. If the extra expenses and possibly lower income are not included in the divorce settlement, the single mother may find that she is unable to keep the house and she loses the two most valuable assets: the house and the 401(k).</p>
<p>Health Insurance</p>
<p>Women not only make less money than men, their <a target="_new" href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html#" onmouseout="adlinkMouseOut(event,this,11);" onclick="adlinkMouseClick(event,this,11);" style="position: static; text-decoration: underline! important" onmouseover="adlinkMouseOver(event,this,11);" id="KonaLink11" oncontextmenu="return false;" class="kLink"><font color="#990000" style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: static"><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">health </span><span style="font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; color: #990000! important; font-family: Verdana, Arial; position: relative" class="kLink">plan</span></font></a> may cost more reports Mike Stobbe {AP}. When an employer changes to a high-deductible plan, it costs on average $1000/year more for women than for men due to mammograms, the cervical-cancer vaccine, Pap tests and pregnancy related services. This is unfair, but while the inequity exists, women must make an extra effort to contribute the difference to a Health Savings Account or savings program to avoid using credit to pay for the added medical bills. We have personally experienced the $4,000 deductible per year health insurance plan and, although it is better than no insurance, it can certainly make a dent in the family budget.</p>
<p>Care Giving</p>
<p>Another huge drain on women&#8217;s finances is caring for their aging parents. More women care for aging parents than men. However distasteful it may be to condense a daughter&#8217;s love for her parents into a discussion of money, this issue must be addressed so that women can prepare. Because of the aging baby-boomer population, these numbers will soon become staggering. If you add caring for young children into the mix at the same time, the financial results can be devastating.</p>
<p>What Should Women Do?</p>
<p>Because of the special issues facing women<a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/psychology.html"><img border="0" src="http://www.articlesfactory.com/pic/x.gif" alt="Psychology Articles" /></a>, it is crucial that women educate themselves about finances and the realities of financial gender inequity and plan for their future. The male-dominated financial services industry is just beginning to realize the unique financial planning issues for women. Make sure that your trusted advisors understand these issues and are helping you plan accordingly. Don&#8217;t be afraid to ask your advisors questions.</p>
<p>Summary Now is the time to begin planning for the future:</p>
<p>- Have a plan</p>
<p>- Increase your knowledge and understanding of financial matters</p>
<p>- Utilize trusted professional advisors to implement your plans</p>
<p>- Regularly monitor your progress.</p>
<p class="txt-small-regular">Source: <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/" title="Free Articles" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Free Articles</font></a> from ArticlesFactory.com</p>
<h1>ABOUT THE AUTHOR</h1>
<p>Kent E. Irwin, ChFC, CLU, CAP, co-founder of eFinplan.com. eFinPLAN is the first and only web-based comprehensive consumer <a href="http://www.efinplan.com/"><font color="#d44d44">financial planning software</font></a> designed for people who are trying to do a lot of their own financial planning. Find out more about how <a href="http://www.efinplan.com/"><font color="#d44d44">do-your-self financial planning</font></a> at eFinPLAN.com</p>
<p><center><script language="javascript">    <!--            document.write(\\'<scr\\'+\\'ipt language=javascript src="http://a.tribalfusion.com/j.ad?site=ArticlesFactory&#038;adSpace=Business&#038;size=336x280&#038;type=var&#038;requestID=\\'+((new Date()).getTime() % 2147483648) + Math.random()+\\'"></scr\\'+\\'ipt>\&#8217;);            //&#8211;>            </script><script src="http://a.tribalfusion.com/j.ad?site=ArticlesFactory&amp;adSpace=Business&amp;size=336x280&amp;type=var&amp;requestID=19449913270.6944739891503071" language="javascript"></script><script src="http://ad.doubleclick.net/adj/N4441.tribalfusion/B2451704.4;sz=300x250;source=tfusion;click=http://a.tribalfusion.com/h.click/ahmMBkPb3ZbUFv5VWQ0mUQnPFbsYqZbo3TBh4qMYoTjGXbF9WHZbPnmnJnVrwoW7C3TUf5teo3PrKnrrZbXc70YsQYXGFnnTJP5U32VFJZbVP7YPTvQPGMMQdZbt0djtT6Um4Gn2XbvBVmun5m3dQ6jG2dQMXT3xNmkxll/;ord=1798733229?" language="JavaScript1.1"></script><noscript></noscript><script src="http://m1.2mdn.net/879366/MotifExternalScript_01_01.js" language="JavaScript"></script></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="0" style="width: 300px; height: 250px">
<tr style="margin: 0px; border: 0px; padding: 0px">
<td style="margin: 0px; border: 0px; padding: 0px">
<p style="z-index: 999999; position: relative" id="OUTER_DIV_22737514_11193798416337"><img border="0" width="300" src="http://m1.2mdn.net/dot.gif" height="250" style="visibility: hidden" id="EXPANDO_PLACEHOLDER_22737514_11193798416337" /></p>
<p onmouseout="dartCreativeDisplayManagers['GlobalTemplate_22737514_1193798416337'].onMouseOut('22737514_11193798416337');" style="z-index: 999999; left: -200px; visibility: visible; clip: rect(0px 500px 250px 200px); position: absolute; top: 0px; text-align: left" onmouseover="dartCreativeDisplayManagers['GlobalTemplate_22737514_1193798416337'].onMouseOver('22737514_11193798416337');" id="DIV_22737514_11193798416337"><object name="FLASH_22737514_11193798416337" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="500" height="250" id="FLASH_22737514_11193798416337"></p>
<param name="_cx" value="13229"></param>
<param name="_cy" value="6615"></param>
<param name="FlashVars"></param>
<param name="Movie" value="http://m1.2mdn.net/1421293/PID_333798_loader_300x250_expand.swf"></param>
<param name="Src" value="http://m1.2mdn.net/1421293/PID_333798_loader_300x250_expand.swf"></param>
<param name="WMode" value="Transparent"></param>
<param name="Play" value="0"></param>
<param name="Loop" value="-1"></param>
<param name="Quality" value="High"></param>
<param name="SAlign" value="R"></param>
<param name="Menu" value="-1"></param>
<param name="Base"></param>
<param name="AllowScriptAccess" value="always"></param>
<param name="Scale" value="ShowAll"></param>
<param name="DeviceFont" value="0"></param>
<param name="EmbedMovie" value="0"></param>
<param name="BGColor"></param>
<param name="SWRemote"></param>
<param name="MovieData"></param>
<param name="SeamlessTabbing" value="1"></param>
<param name="Profile" value="0"></param>
<param name="ProfileAddress"></param>
<param name="ProfilePort" value="0"></param>
<param name="AllowNetworking" value="all"></param>
<param name="AllowFullScreen" value="false"></param></object></p>
<p><script src="http://m1.2mdn.net/879366/globalTemplate_19_09.js" language="JavaScript"></script></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><noscript></noscript><noscript></noscript><!-- Kontera ContentLink --><script language="JavaScript">            var dc_UnitID = 14;        var dc_PublisherID = 3523;        var dc_AdLinkColor = \\'#990000\\';        var dc_underlineType = \\'solid\\';        var dc_open_new_win = \\'yes\\';        var dc_adprod=\\'ADL\\';        </script><script src="http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/KonaLibInline.js" language="JavaScript"></script><script src="http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/KonaLibBaseRM.js?0000000074" language="JavaScript"></script><a target="_new" href="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/wp-admin/#" id="AdLinkLayerClick"></a></p>
<input type="image" style="display: none; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px" id="KonaImpression" />
<input type="image" style="display: none; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px" id="KonaImpression1" /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/KonaLib_RangeCoreRM.js?0000000074"></script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/KonaGatewayCheck.js"></script></p>
<style type="text/css" id="konaStyle">        span.kLink { border-top: 0px none !important;border-left: 0px none !important;border-right: 0px none !important;border-bottom:  1px solid  ;padding : 0px 0px 0.5pt 0px !important;color:#990000;background: transparent none;width: auto !important;float: none !important;display:inline !important; }   a.kLink { color:#990000 !important ; border-bottom-style: none;text-decoration: underline;cursor: hand;font-family: verdana;border: 0px none transparent !important;background: transparent none !important;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding:0px 0px 0px 0px !important;text-transform: none !important;display:inline !important;font-variant:normal;top:0px; right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px; }   a.kLink:link { color:#990000 !important ; border-bottom-style: none;text-decoration: underline;cursor: hand;font-family: verdana;border: 0px none transparent !important;background: transparent none !important;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding:0px 0px 0px 0px !important;text-transform: none !important;display:inline !important;font-variant:normal;top:0px; right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px; }   a.kLink:hover { color:#990000;text-decoration: underline;cursor: hand;font-family: verdana;border: 0px none transparent !important;background: transparent none !important;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding:0px 0px 0px 0px !important;text-transform: none !important;display:inline !important;font-variant:normal;top:0px; right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px; }   a.kLink:visited { color:#990000;text-decoration: underline;cursor: hand; font-family: verdana;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding:0px 0px 0px 0px; }   .sponsor { font-family: MS Sans Serif, Verdana; color: #AFAFAF;font-size: 9pt; cursor: default; }   .konaLayers { azimuth:center;border-collapse:separate;border-spacing:0;caption-side:top;cursor:auto;direction:ltr;elevation:level;empty-cells:show;font-size:medium;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:normal;list-style-image:none;list-style-position:outside;list-style-type:disc;orphans:2;page-break-inside:auto;pitch-range:50;pitch:medium;position:static;richness:50;right:auto;speak-header:once;speak-numeral:continuous;speak:normal;speech-rate:medium;stress:50;text-align:left;text-indent:0;text-transform:none;visibility:visible;volume:medium;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:normal; }   .konaLayers * { background-attachment:scroll;background-color:transparent;background-image:none;background-position:0% 0%;background-repeat:repeat;border-style: none none none none;border-width: medium medium medium medium;clear:none;color:inherit;content:normal;counter-increment:none;counter-reset:none;cue-after:none;cue-before:none;float:none;left:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;max-height:none;max-width:none;min-height:0;min-width:0;outline-color:invert;outline-style:none;outline-width:medium;overflow:visible;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;page-break-after:auto;page-break-before:auto;pause-after:0;pause-before:0;position:static;table-layout:auto;text-decoration:none;top:auto;unicode-bidi:normal;width:auto;z-index:auto; }   .konaLayers .konaLayer { position: absolute; top:0px; left:0px; width: 313px; padding: 0px; visibility: hidden; text-align:left; overflow: hidden; }   .konaLayers .konaLayer a { font-weight: normal;text-decoration:none;border: 0px none transparent !important;background: transparent none !important;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding:0px 0px 0px 0px !important;text-transform: none !important;display:inline !important;font-variant:normal;top:0px; right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayer a:link { font-weight: normal;text-decoration:none;border: 0px none transparent !important;background: transparent none !important;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding:0px 0px 0px 0px !important;text-transform: none !important;display:inline !important;font-variant:normal;top:0px; right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayer a:hover { font-weight: normal;text-decoration:none;border: 0px none transparent !important;background: transparent none !important;margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px; padding:0px 0px 0px 0px !important;text-transform: none !important;display:inline !important;font-variant:normal;top:0px; right:0px;bottom:0px;left:0px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayer b { font-size:inherit; }   a.CBL { cursor:default; }   a.CBL:link { cursor:default; }   a.CBL:hover { cursor:default; }   a.CBL:visited { cursor:default; }   .konaLayers .CBL .handleTd div { cursor:default; }   .konaLayers .konaPlate { cursor : pointer; }   .konaLayers .konaPlate .konaBox { background: url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/top_box.gif) left top no-repeat;width: 313px; }   .konaLayers .konaPlate .konaBottomBox { width: 313px; height:45px; font-size: 3px; filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src=\\'mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/box_bottom.png\\', sizingMethod=\\'scale\\'); }   .konaLayers .konaPlate .konaBottomBox_Right { width: 313px; height:45px; font-size: 3px; filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src=\\'mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/box_bottom_right.png\\', sizingMethod=\\'scale\\'); }   .konaLayers .konaPlate .konaBottomBox_drag { width: 313px; height:20px; font-size: 3px; filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src=\\'mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/box_bottom_drag.png\\', sizingMethod=\\'scale\\'); }   .konaLayers .handleTd { vertical-align: top; width: 180px; }   .konaLayers .handleTd div { cursor: move; padding: 0px 0px 0px 33px; font-size: 3px; }   .konaLayers .handleTd img {  }   .konaLayers .frameBarCell_left { width:88px; vertical-align: top; padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; }   .konaLayers .frameBarCell_right { width: 32px; vertical-align: top; padding-top: 0px; font-size: 5px; }   .konaLayers .frameBar { margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 6px; cursor:auto; width:300px; }   .konaLayers .konaDescDiv {  cursor: pointer; padding-top: 2px; }   .konaLayers .table02 { margin-left: 9px; font: normal 13px arial; width: 305px; }   .konaLayers .table03 { margin-left: 8px; font: normal 13px arial; width: 280px;  }   .konaLayers .table03_flv02 { margin: 0px 0px 0px 32px; width: 242px; font: normal 13px arial;  }   .konaLayers .konaLayerTitle { text-align:center; padding-right: 10px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayerRMTitle { text-align:left; padding-right: 10px; padding-left: 6px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayerTitleText  { font: bold 11px tahoma; color:#FFA200;; !important; text-decoration: underline;display:block; }   .konaLayers .konaLayerTitleText b { font-size : 11px; color: #FFA200; }   .konaLayers .konaLayerDesc { padding: 6px 7px 0px 0px; font: normal 11px verdana !important; color: BLACK; text-align: left; }   .konaLayers .konaLayerDesc b { font-size : 11px; color: BLACK; }   .konaLayers .konaLayerLinks td { padding-top: 8px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayerShopLinks td { padding-top: 1px; font-size: 9px; }   .konaLayers .site { padding-left: 8px; overflow:hidden; }   .konaLayers .site a { color: #666666 !important; font: normal 11px arial !important; text-decoration: underline !important; overflow:hidden; }   .konaLayers .site a:hover { color: #FFA200 !important; }   .konaLayers .buyNow { text-align: right; width:105px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayer img { border: 0px;display:inline; padding:0px; }   .konaLayers .imgBanner { padding: 6px 13px 0px 6px; vertical-align: top; width: 51px; text-align: center; }   .konaLayers .imgShoppingBanner { padding: 5px 4px 0px 3px; vertical-align: top; width: 51px; text-align: center; }   .konaLayers .imgBanner_down { padding: 5px 13px 0px 13px; vertical-align: top; width: 51px; text-align: center; }   .konaLayers .top_curve { width: 313px; height: 10px; padding:0px; margin:0px;vertical-align:bottom;filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src=\\'mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/top_curve.png\\', sizingMethod=\\'image\\'); }   .konaLayers .drop_top_curve { width: 313px; height: 35px;padding:0px; margin:0px;filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src=\\'mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/drop_top_curve.png\\', sizingMethod=\\'scale\\'); }   .konaLayers .drop_top_curve_right { width: 313px; height: 35px; padding:0px; margin:0px;filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.AlphaImageLoader(src=\\'mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/drop_top_curve_right.png\\', sizingMethod=\\'scale\\'); }   .konaLayers .konaSearchRow td { padding-top: 2px; }   .konaLayers .konaSearchTable { margin-left: 5px; font: normal 13px arial; }   .KonaBody { display:inline; }   .konaLayers .table02_flv { margin-left: 10px; margin-top: 7px; }   .konaLayers .table02_flv02 { margin-left: 34px; width: 234px; margin-top: 7px; }   .konaLayers .table02_flv03 { margin-left: 6px;margin-top: 7px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayer_flvTD01 { padding: 6px 0px 0px 6px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayer_flvTD02 { padding: 5px 0px 0px 6px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayer_flvEmbed01 {  }   .konaLayers .konaLayer_flvEmbed02 {  }   .konaLayers .konaLayerDesc_nearFLV { font: normal 11px verdana !important; color: BLACK; text-align: left;vertical-align: top; padding: 11px 10px 0px 5px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayerDesc_underFLV { font: normal 11px verdana !important; color: BLACK; text-align: left;font: normal 11px/14px verdana !important; vertical-align: top; padding: 2px 0px 0px 6px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayerLearnMore { text-align:left; vertical-align: bottom; padding: 0px 0px 1px 14px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayerLearnMore02 { vertical-align: top; text-align:right;padding: 0px 0px 0px 12px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayerLinks_underFLV td { width: 170px !important; padding-top: 4px; word-wrap:break-word; }   .konaLayers .konaLayerLinks_underFLV02 td { padding-top: 7px; word-wrap: break-word; width: 130px !important; }   .konaLayers .konaBox_bottom { background: url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/box_separator.gif) left top no-repeat; width: 313px; height: 10px; font-size: 1px; }   .konaLayers .konaBox02 { background: url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/box.gif) left top no-repeat; width: 313px; padding-top: 7px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayer .konatabs_Search { margin: 0px 0px 0px 16px; width: 280px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; background: url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/tabs_bg.gif) bottom repeat-x; }   .konaLayers .konaLayer .konatabs_Table td { padding-right: 4px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayer .konatabs_Table div { height: 18px; padding: 0px ; text-align: center; background: url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/tab_right.gif) bottom right no-repeat; }   .konaLayers .konatabs_Table div span { display:block; height: 15px; padding: 3px 7px 0px 9px; text-align: center; background: url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/tab_left.gif) bottom left no-repeat; color: #808080; font: normal 11px arial; cursor: pointer; }   .konaLayers .konaLayer .konatabs_Table div.selected { background: url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/tab_selected_right.gif) bottom right no-repeat; cursor: default; }   .konaLayers .konatabs_Table div.selected span { background: url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/tab_selected_left.gif) bottom left no-repeat; font: bold 11px arial; color: #96BF00; cursor: default; }   .konaLayers .konaSearch_Form { margin: 6px 0px 0px 15px; }   .konaLayers .konaSearch_Form input { font: normal 11px verdana; color: black; border: 1px solid #7F9DB9; margin-right: 3px;padding-left:2px; }   .konaLayers .konaSearch_Form .konaSearchName { font: normal 11px verdana; color: #96BF00; padding-right: 6px; }   .konaLayers .konaLayer div.konaSearch_Button { width: 63px; height: 18px; padding: 2px 0px 0px 6px; background: url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/search_button.gif) left top no-repeat ; color: #808080; font: normal 11px arial; }   .konaLayers .konaSearch_Form .konaAsk_Button { font: bold 11px verdana; color: blue; padding-right: 6px;background-color: #d4d0c8;border-style: outset }   .konaLayers .konaLayer .konaBox02 td.konaHover *  { color: #96BF00; }   .konaLayers .konaliveSearch { width: 299px; height: 109px; background: url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/live_search.jpg) left top no-repeat;margin: 4px 0px 0px 7px; color: white; font: normal 12px/18px verdana; letter-spacing: -0.5px; }   .konaLayers .konaliveSearch .konaliveText { padding: 43px 7px 10px 54px; vertical-align: top; display:block; }   .konaLayers .konaliveSearch_tabs { width: 249px; height: 19px; padding-left: 50px; vertical-align: bottom; background: url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/live_search_tabs_bg.gif) left bottom no-repeat; }   .konaLayers .konaliveSearch_tabs td { padding-right: 2px; }   .konaLayers .konaliveSearch_tabs td div { display: block; height: 19px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; background: url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/live_search_tab_r.gif) right top no-repeat; }   .konaLayers .konaliveSearch_tabs td div span { display: block; height: 16px; padding: 3px 9px 0px 11px; text-align: center; background: url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/live_search_tab_l.gif) left top no-repeat; font: normal 10px verdana; letter-spacing: -1px; cursor: pointer;color: #0A616E; }   .konaLayers .konaliveSearch_tabs .tabselected { background: url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/live_search_selected_r.gif) right top no-repeat; }   .konaLayers .konaliveSearch_tabs .tabselected span { cursor: default;background: url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/live_search_selected_l.gif) left top no-repeat; height: 16px; padding: 3px 11px 0px 11px; font-weight: bold; }   .konaLayers .liveSearch_form { width: 299px;height: 60px;margin: 0px 0px 0px 7px; }   .konaLayers .liveSearch_form .konaLineInputTD { position:relative; }   .konaMsnInputDiv { position:relative; width: 276px; height:22px; background: url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/msn_input_div_lookup.gif) top right no-repeat; text-align: left;   }   .konaLayers .liveSearch_form .konaLineInputTD input { cursor: default;height: 18px; position: relative; margin-left: 5px; overflow:hidden; border: none; width: 240px; color: #000000; font: normal 12px verdana; /*line-height: 22px;*/ }   .konaLayers .liveSearch_form .konaLineInputTD img { position:relative;margin-right: 8px; }   .konaLayers .liveSearch_form .liveSearch_link { color: #666666; margin-left:17px; font: normal 10px verdana; text-decoration: underline; }   .searchTbContainer { width:295px; height:20px; border:0px solid red; padding:0 0 0 0; margin: 0 0 0 0; }   .searchTransTb { width:10px; height:20px; border:0px solid blue; margin:0; padding: 0; vertical-align:middle; }   .searchLogoTb { width:81px; height:20px ;vertical-align:middle;border:0px solid red; margin:0; padding: 0;  }   .searchInputTb { width:140px;  height:20px; vertical-align:middle; margin:0; padding: 0;  }   .searchButtonTb { width:63px;  height:20px; vertical-align:middle;border:0px solid red; margin:0; padding: 0;  }   .searchInputFieldTbDiv { width:133px; height:16px; position:relative; background-color: #fff; border:1px solid #939aa0; padding-left: 2px; margin:0; vertical-align:middle;  }   .searchInputFieldTb { font-size:12px; font-weight: normal; font-family:Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; color:#000000;background-color: transparent; padding:0; margin: 0; }   .konaSdcLayerContainer { width: 300px;background-color:#FFFFFF;margin-left:7px;margin-top:4px; }   .konaSdcLayerTitle { width: 290px;color: #ffa200;font-size: 11px;font-weight: bold;font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif;text-decoration:underline;text-align: center;padding-bottom: 8px; }   .konaSdcLayerBlock { width: 300px;height: 100px;clear:both; }   .konaSdcLayerImg { padding-left: 10px;width: 100px;height: 100px;border: 0px solid green;float:left; }   .konaSdcLayerTable { position:relative;padding-left: 10px;padding-right: 10px;width: 170px;height: 100px;float:right;clear:right; }   .konaSdcLayerTableTb table  { position:relative;width: 170px; }   .konaSdcLayerText { width: 280px;color: #000000;font-size: 11px;font-weight: normal;font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif;text-decoration: none;text-align: left;padding-top: 8px;padding-left: 10px; }   .konaSdcLayerFooter { position:relative;width: 280px;color: #000000;text-align: left;padding-top: 8px;padding-left: 10px; }   .konaSdcLayerFooterTB { position:relative;width: 280px; }   .konaSdcItem .konaSdcItemTable { position:relative;height: 34px;width: 170px;background-color: #fff7ce;border-bottom: 1px solid #ffd990;color: #000000;font-size: 11px;font-weight: normal;font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif;text-decoration: none; }   .konaSdcItemTableHover { position:relative; background:url(mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/hilite_bg.gif) top right no-repeat;padding-left: 4px;height: 34px;width: 170px;border-bottom: 1px solid #ffd990;color: #000000;font-size: 11px;font-weight: normal;font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif;text-decoration: none; }   .konaSdcItemTable td, konaSdcItemTableHover td { position:relative;padding-left: 4px; height:auto; }   .konaSdcstorName { color:#0000FF;text-align: left; padding-left: 4px;font-size:11px;font-weight:normal;font-family:Arial,helvetica,sans-serif; }   .konaSdcstorName:hover { text-decoration:underline; }   .konaSdcPrice { color:#1e3b53;text-decoration:underline;font-weight: bold;text-align:left;font-size:12px;font-family:Arial,helvetica,sans-serif; }   .konaSdcStoreTd1 { width: 105px; text-align: left; }   .konaSdcStoreTd2 { width: 45px; text-align: left; }   .konaSdcBuy { color:#1e3b53;text-decoration:underline;font-weight: normal;font-size: 10px;text-align: left; }   .konaProntoTable { width: 290px; border: 1px solid #ecf4f3; margin: 5px 0 0 11px; background-color:#FFF; }   .konaProntoHeader { background-color: #ecf4f3; height: 13px; font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:11px; color: #4c4c4c; text-align:center; padding-bottom: 2px; }   .konaProntoImage { padding: 3px 1px 1px 1px 1px; width: 120px; }   .konaProntoText { width: 168px; }   .konaProntoDescription { margin:0; padding: 3px 3px 7px 2px; text-align:left; vertical-align:top; }   .konrProntoFont { font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:11px; color: #000000; }   .konaProntoMerchantImage { display: block; margin-bottom: 7px; }   .konaProntoPrice { padding-bottom:5px; padding-right: 10px; } </style>
<p></center><span id="konasapn0"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://kona10.kontera.com/KonaGet.js?u=1193798416968&amp;p=3523&amp;k=Tmerrrss%u2019cuoetasslsctstvHtd-dyct%2CsneoseecvieatsaitisesmyfrtheomtyirvtttevnvciilmaeeArelrtrustcIE&amp;al=1&amp;l=http%3A//www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html&amp;t=Women+are+at+a+Disadvantage+When+it+Comes+to+Financial+Planning&amp;m1=free+articles+%2C+women+%2C+are+%2C+at+%2C+a+%2C+disadvantage+%2C+when+%2C+it+%2C+comes+%2C+to+%2C+financial+%2C+planning&amp;rId=3523_1193798416968_05561027670444155&amp;i=14&amp;n=0&amp;dc_aff_id=&amp;cl=0&amp;mp=0&amp;rm=1&amp;mod=2&amp;rt=0&amp;st=1"></script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://te.kontera.com/ContentLink/ContentLink?publisherId=3523&amp;searchid=102&amp;layout=adlinks&amp;sId=366,369&amp;cb=1193798424&amp;creative=L&amp;cn=us&amp;pRfr=http%3A//www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html&amp;dc_aff_id=&amp;keys=financial%20plan;retirement;investor;pension;Investment;stock&amp;kids=10354;169648;169645;176714;107696;169652&amp;iit=1;1;1;1;1;1&amp;index=0&amp;cbl=0&amp;ab=0&amp;onf=1&amp;omk=1&amp;resultNum=1&amp;time=5500&amp;dc_aff_id=&amp;bt=1&amp;mod=2&amp;rId=3523_1193798416968_05561027670444155&amp;tt=1342&amp;sids=7753;7157;400;-7157;400;5;-8_2933;7157;400;-400;7157;-7157;7753;400;-7157;8_2933;400;&amp;tag=0"></script></span><!-- Kontera ContentLink --></p>
<p><!-- google_ad_section_end --></p>
<table border="0" align="center" width="750" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="0">
<tr>
<td height="50">
<p align="center" class="small-link"><a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/" class="small-link">Free Articles Home</a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/signup.html" class="small-link">Register</a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/submit.html" class="small-link">Submit an Article</a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/links.html" class="small-link">Links</a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/contact.html" class="small-link">Contact</a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/archive.html" class="small-link">Archive</a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/rss.html" class="small-link"><img border="0" align="middle" width="52" src="http://www.articlesfactory.com/pic/icon-xml-rss_red.gif" alt="XML/RSS Feed" height="13" /></a></p>
<p align="center" class="small-link"><a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/terms.html" class="small-link">Terms of Service</a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/privacy.html" class="small-link">Privacy Policy</a></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" bgColor="#f8f8f8" align="center" width="750" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="0" height="10">
<tr>
<td height="10" vAlign="top"><img border="0" width="1" src="http://www.articlesfactory.com/pic/x.gif" height="6" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<table border="0" background="http://www.articlesfactory.com/pic/header_center.gif" align="center" width="730" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="0" height="22">
<tr>
<td height="22" vAlign="top">
<h1>NAVIGATION</h1>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<table border="0" align="center" width="730" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="0">
<tr>
<td vAlign="top">
<p class="top-link"><a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/advertising.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Advertising Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/advice.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Advice Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/affiliate-programs.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Affiliate Programs Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/autos.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Autos Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/awards.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Awards Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/business.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Business Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/careers.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Careers Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/cgi.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">CGI Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/communication.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Communication Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/computers.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Computers Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/copywriting.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Copywriting Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/css.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">CSS Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/dating-advice.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Dating Advice Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/dhtml.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">DHTML Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/direct-mail.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Direct Mail Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/domain-names.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Domain Names Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/ebooks.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">EBooks Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/ecommerce.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">ECommerce Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/education.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Education Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/email.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Email Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/entertainment.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Entertainment Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/environment.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Environment Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/family.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Family Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/finance.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Finance Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/fitness.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Fitness Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/food.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Food Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/free.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Free Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/gardening.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Gardening Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/government.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Government Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/health.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Health Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/hobbies.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Hobbies Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/home-business.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Home Business Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/home-repair.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Home Repair Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/html.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">HTML Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/humor.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Humor Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/internet.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Internet Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/javascript.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Javascript Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/law.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Law Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/link-popularity.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Link Popularity Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/management.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Management Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/marketing.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Marketing Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/marriage.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Marriage Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/metaphysical.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Metaphysical Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/mlm.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">MLM Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/motivational.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Motivational Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/multimedia.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Multimedia Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/newsletters.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Newsletters Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/off-line-promotion.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Off-Line Promotion Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/online-promotion.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Online Promotion Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/other.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Other Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/pets.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Pets Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/politics.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Politics Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/psychology.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Psychology Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/publishing.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Publishing Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/religion.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Religion Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/sales.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Sales Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/scams.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Scams Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/science.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Science Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/se-optimization.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">SE Optimization Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/se-positioning.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">SE Positioning Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/se-tactics.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">SE Tactics Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/self-help.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Self Help Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/sexuality.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Sexuality Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/site-security.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Site Security Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/social-issues.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Social Issues Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/spam.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Spam Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/sports.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Sports Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/technology.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Technology Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/traffic-analysis.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Traffic Analysis Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/travel.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Travel Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/viral-marketing.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Viral Marketing Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/web-design.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Web Design Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/web-hosting.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Web Hosting Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/webmasters.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Webmasters Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/weight-loss.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Weight Loss Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/wisdom.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Wisdom Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/womens-issues.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Women&#8217;s Issues Articles</font></a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/sitemap/writing.html" class="small-link"><font color="#cb6f69">Writing Articles</font></a></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td height="10" vAlign="top"><img border="0" width="1" src="http://www.articlesfactory.com/pic/x.gif" height="10" /></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><!-- Start of StatCounter Code --><script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">        <!--     var sc_project=479039;     var sc_invisible=1;     var sc_partition=3;     var sc_security="";     //-->    </script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.statcounter.com/counter/counter.js" language="javascript"></script><noscript></noscript><!-- End of StatCounter Code --><!-- Start of Google Analytics Code --><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google-analytics.com/urchin.js">        </script><script type="text/javascript">        _uacct = "UA-88528-1";    urchinTracker();    </script><!-- End of Google Analytics Code --><script>          //window.resizeTo(1024, 768);      //window.resizeTo(800, 600);    </script></p>
<p align="center" class="small">Page loaded in 0.149 seconds</p>
<p><!-- 0 --></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="0" onclick="konaEventUnbubble(event);" class="frameBar">
<tr>
<td class="frameBarCell_left"><a href="http://www.kontera.com/?id=41" style="position: relative"><img width="78" src="mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/contentlink.gif" alt="Contentlink" height="16" onmouseout="this.src=" onmouseover="this.src=" /></a></td>
<td style="position: relative" class="handleTd">
<p d86_x="true" wX4dw="true" JHOkL="null" aHrpU="null" xMSmB="null" B0cQ8="null" VyDmR="null" AUI3x="null" id="konaHandle0-0"><img width="71" src="mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/ad_title.gif" height="8" /></p>
</td>
<td align="right" class="frameBarCell_right"><a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html#" onclick="whatsThisClick(this);" style="position: relative"><img border="0" width="13" src="mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/question_rm.gif" alt="What's this?" height="16" onmouseout="this.src=" onmouseover="this.src=" /></a> <a onclick="closeKonaLayer(0);" style="cursor: pointer; position: relative"><img border="0" width="13" src="mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/close_rm.gif" alt="Close" height="16" onmouseout="this.src = konaImages.close.src" onmouseover="this.src = konaImages.close_o.src" /></a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p onclick="descriptionMouseClick(event,this,0,0);" style="position: relative" class="konaDescDiv">
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="0" class="table02">
<tr>
<td colSpan="2" class="konaLayerTitle"><span class="konaLayerTitleText">Financial Plan</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td class="konaLayerDesc">Save up to 50% on Financial plan. Search over 15,000 sites with one click. Your source for everything under the sun!</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="0" onclick="descriptionMouseClick(event,this,0,0);" style="position: relative" class="table03">
<tr class="konaLayerLinks">
<td colSpan="2" style="position: relative" class="site"><a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html#">FindStuff.com</a></td>
<td align="right" class="buyNow"><a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/finance/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning.html#" style="position: relative"><img width="105" src="mhtml:http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/konaImagesRM.mht!http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/imgs/moreinfo.gif" alt="moreinfo" height="22" /></a></td>
</tr>
</table>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/women-are-at-a-disadvantage-when-it-comes-to-financial-planning/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>9 Steps to Building Business Credit</title>
		<link>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/9-steps-to-building-business-credit/</link>
		<comments>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/9-steps-to-building-business-credit/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Oct 2007 02:04:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Myrna Wigley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Credit]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/9-steps-to-building-business-credit/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[9 Steps to Building Business Credit
30th October 2007
Author: Lisa Phillips

Building business credit can be accomplished regardless of your personal credit history. Business credit is essential in conserving cash flow, keeping track of business expenses and more importantly, protecting personal assets and personal credit history. The most important element to building business credit is finding lending institutions, credit card issuers and vendors that will establish business credit without you giving a personal guarantee from your individual credit information. 

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="articleGoogleAd"><script type="text/javascript">  <!--  google_ad_client = "pub-2907974803424692";  google_ad_width = 300;  google_ad_height = 250;  google_ad_format = "300x250_as";  google_ad_type = "text_image";  google_ad_channel = "2622659288";  google_color_border = "FFFFFF";  google_color_bg = "FFFFFF";  google_color_link = "006699";  google_color_url = "B3B3B3";  google_color_text = "000000";  //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script><iframe allowTransparency="true" height="250" scrolling="no" width="300" frameBorder="0" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-2907974803424692&amp;dt=1193795772185&amp;lmt=1193795772&amp;format=300x250_as&amp;output=html&amp;correlator=1193795772185&amp;channel=2622659288&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.articlealley.com%2Farticle_233758_19.html&amp;color_bg=FFFFFF&amp;color_text=000000&amp;color_link=006699&amp;color_url=B3B3B3&amp;color_border=FFFFFF&amp;ad_type=text_image&amp;ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.articlealley.com%2Farticle_234078_19.html&amp;cc=100&amp;ga_vid=1367082755.1193791295&amp;ga_sid=1193791295&amp;ga_hid=1300164123&amp;ga_fc=true&amp;flash=9&amp;u_h=768&amp;u_w=1024&amp;u_ah=738&amp;u_aw=1024&amp;u_cd=32&amp;u_tz=-240&amp;u_his=12&amp;u_java=true" marginHeight="0" marginWidth="0" name="google_ads_frame"></iframe><br />
<script type="text/javascript">  <!--  google_ad_client = "pub-2907974803424692";  google_ad_width = 300;  google_ad_height = 250;  google_ad_format = "300x250_as";  google_ad_type = "text_image";  google_ad_channel = "0365252291";  google_color_border = "FFFFFF";  google_color_bg = "FFFFFF";  google_color_link = "006699";  google_color_url = "B3B3B3";  google_color_text = "000000";  //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script><iframe allowTransparency="true" height="250" scrolling="no" width="300" frameBorder="0" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-2907974803424692&amp;dt=1193795772215&amp;lmt=1193795772&amp;prev_fmts=300x250_as&amp;format=300x250_as&amp;output=html&amp;correlator=1193795772215&amp;channel=0365252291&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.articlealley.com%2Farticle_233758_19.html&amp;color_bg=FFFFFF&amp;color_text=000000&amp;color_link=006699&amp;color_url=B3B3B3&amp;color_border=FFFFFF&amp;ad_type=text_image&amp;ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.articlealley.com%2Farticle_234078_19.html&amp;cc=100&amp;ga_vid=1367082755.1193791295&amp;ga_sid=1193791295&amp;ga_hid=1300164123&amp;ga_fc=true&amp;flash=9&amp;u_h=768&amp;u_w=1024&amp;u_ah=738&amp;u_aw=1024&amp;u_cd=32&amp;u_tz=-240&amp;u_his=12&amp;u_java=true" marginHeight="0" marginWidth="0" name="google_ads_frame"></iframe></p>
<p>Building business credit can be accomplished regardless of your personal credit history. Business credit is essential in conserving cash flow, keeping track of business expenses and more importantly, protecting personal assets and personal credit history. The most important element to building business credit is finding lending institutions, credit card issuers and vendors that will establish business credit without you giving a personal guarantee from your individual credit information.</p>
<p>Business credit is also a way of building your company’s image and identity. The following are 9 Steps to Building Credit for Your Business:</p>
<p><strong>Step One</strong><br />
Decide how you want to structure your business. This may take some research but a few common ways to structure a business are: C-Corporation; S-Corporation; Sole-Proprietorship; Limited Liability and Partnerships. For business credit separate from your personal credit you will need to structure your business as a Corporation or LLC. You can also purchase a “shelf” or “aged” corporation in the State where you want to do business. A shelf or aged corporation is one which has no activity and is created and put on the “shelf” to age and use at a later date. There are companies which sell shelf corporations.</p>
<p><strong>Step Two</strong><br />
Obtain an employer identification number (EIN). Business credit applications require your business name, business address and employer identification number. You may obtain an EIN from the IRS online. (www.irs.gov). The application is really basic and takes about 5 minutes. As a sole proprietor you may apply or if you are a corporation any officer may apply.</p>
<p><strong>Step Three</strong><br />
Open a separate bank account under the exact legal name of the business. Business checking accounts can be opened with as little as a $100.00 deposit.</p>
<p><strong>Step Four</strong><br />
Business address and telephone number must be listed under the business name in the 411 directory and the telephone must be answered in your business name.</p>
<p><strong>Step Five</strong><br />
Obtain required business license, permits, registrations, etc., in the City or Jurisdiction where you do business.</p>
<p><strong>Step Six</strong><br />
Technically, at this point you are ready to establish business credit with some vendors such as Staples. Simply go to www.staples.com fax your business phone bill along with the credit application on your business letterhead to apply for business credit. No personal guarantee is required and you should receive the standard business credit line of $750.00.</p>
<p><strong>Step Seven</strong><br />
Establish a profile with Dun and Bradstreet (DNB) and obtain a D-U-N-S Number. DNB is the largest tracker of business credit. The D-U-N-S Number is a nine-digit identification number that provides unique identifiers of business entities. The website for Dun &amp; Bradstreet is www.dnb.com. There is no charge and you will receive a D-U-N-S Number within 30 business days. You can pay for their credit builder services in order to receive the D-U-N-S immediately, but it is definitely not necessary. Companies where you apply for credit that use Dun &amp; Bradstreet services will request your credit file and this will establish your file. It may take up to 45 days for the companies to report.</p>
<p>Note: If you do decide to pay for their credit builder services preparation is vital when contacting Dun &amp; Bradstreet. Make sure you have covered all your bases. What you say to DNB goes permanently into your file.</p>
<p><strong>Step Eight<br />
</strong>Now that you have received your D-U-N-S number you are prepared to apply for business credit. As you begin to establish business credit it is imperative that you pay your invoices before the grace period. A Paydex Score of 80 is considered very good and is based on your payment history with at least five (5) vendors. It makes a difference for every day you pay earlier than the actual due date unlike personal credit. Business credit scores range on a scale from 0 to 100 and a Paydex score of 80 will get you the best business credit cards and terms.</p>
<p><strong>Step Nine</strong><br />
After completing the process you may want to apply to the following companies with no personal guarantee required. Do not apply for everything at one time. This may get your business credit file flagged. Allow a couple of weeks between applications.</p>
<p>Office Depot<br />
UPS<br />
Staples<br />
Fedex/Kinkos<br />
T-Mobile<br />
Dell Computers<br />
Office Max<br />
Nextel<br />
Chevron Oil<br />
Cingular<br />
Nebs</p>
<p><a href="http://www.rebuildcreditscores.com/">www.rebuildcreditscores.com</a> <!-- google_ad_section_end --></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/9-steps-to-building-business-credit/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Guide to Finding the Best Student Credit Card</title>
		<link>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/a-guide-to-finding-the-best-student-credit-card/</link>
		<comments>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/a-guide-to-finding-the-best-student-credit-card/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Oct 2007 01:45:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Myrna Wigley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Credit]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/a-guide-to-finding-the-best-student-credit-card/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Student credit cards annually bombard freshman as they enter college. It has become a fall ritual. Parents should be vigilant in discussing the importance and responsibilities that go along with having a credit card before the students ever leave home. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great idea that students have their own credit card when they go away to school, but it is extremely important that they get the right card and use it wisely.

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="articleTitle">A Guide to Finding the Best Student Credit Cards</p>
<p class="articleDate">30th October 2007</p>
<p class="articleInfo">Author: <a href="http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/wp-admin/author_1_3782.html">Deanna Mascle</a></p>
<p class="articleGoogleAd"><script type="text/javascript">    <!--  google_ad_client = "pub-2907974803424692";  google_ad_width = 300;  google_ad_height = 250;  google_ad_format = "300x250_as";  google_ad_type = "text_image";  google_ad_channel = "2622659288";  google_color_border = "FFFFFF";  google_color_bg = "FFFFFF";  google_color_link = "006699";  google_color_url = "B3B3B3";  google_color_text = "000000";  //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script><iframe allowTransparency="true" height="250" scrolling="no" width="300" frameBorder="0" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-2907974803424692&amp;dt=1193794917987&amp;lmt=1193794917&amp;format=300x250_as&amp;output=html&amp;correlator=1193794917977&amp;channel=2622659288&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.articlealley.com%2Farticle_234078_19.html&amp;color_bg=FFFFFF&amp;color_text=000000&amp;color_link=006699&amp;color_url=B3B3B3&amp;color_border=FFFFFF&amp;ad_type=text_image&amp;ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.articlealley.com%2Farticle_20720_19.html&amp;cc=100&amp;ga_vid=1367082755.1193791295&amp;ga_sid=1193791295&amp;ga_hid=1385332081&amp;ga_fc=true&amp;flash=9&amp;u_h=768&amp;u_w=1024&amp;u_ah=738&amp;u_aw=1024&amp;u_cd=32&amp;u_tz=-240&amp;u_his=11&amp;u_java=true" marginHeight="0" marginWidth="0" name="google_ads_frame"></iframe><br />
<script type="text/javascript">    <!--  google_ad_client = "pub-2907974803424692";  google_ad_width = 300;  google_ad_height = 250;  google_ad_format = "300x250_as";  google_ad_type = "text_image";  google_ad_channel = "0365252291";  google_color_border = "FFFFFF";  google_color_bg = "FFFFFF";  google_color_link = "006699";  google_color_url = "B3B3B3";  google_color_text = "000000";  //--></script><script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></script><iframe allowTransparency="true" height="250" scrolling="no" width="300" frameBorder="0" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-2907974803424692&amp;dt=1193794918017&amp;lmt=1193794918&amp;prev_fmts=300x250_as&amp;format=300x250_as&amp;output=html&amp;correlator=1193794918017&amp;channel=0365252291&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.articlealley.com%2Farticle_234078_19.html&amp;color_bg=FFFFFF&amp;color_text=000000&amp;color_link=006699&amp;color_url=B3B3B3&amp;color_border=FFFFFF&amp;ad_type=text_image&amp;ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.articlealley.com%2Farticle_20720_19.html&amp;cc=100&amp;ga_vid=1367082755.1193791295&amp;ga_sid=1193791295&amp;ga_hid=1385332081&amp;ga_fc=true&amp;flash=9&amp;u_h=768&amp;u_w=1024&amp;u_ah=738&amp;u_aw=1024&amp;u_cd=32&amp;u_tz=-240&amp;u_his=11&amp;u_java=true" marginHeight="0" marginWidth="0" name="google_ads_frame"></iframe></p>
<p>Student credit cards annually bombard freshman as they enter college. It has become a fall ritual. Parents should be vigilant in discussing the importance and responsibilities that go along with having a credit card before the students ever leave home. Don&#8217;t get me wrong, I think it&#8217;s a great idea that students have their own credit card when they go away to school, but it is extremely important that they get the right card and use it wisely.</p>
<p>The best student credit cards are the ones that have low spending limits. A high limit credit card given to a college student could be a recipe for disaster. It should be made clear to the students that their credit card is for emergency use only, unless they want to get a job and pay for any of the charges that are made on it. That sounds like a good idea, but probably isn&#8217;t very realistic.</p>
<p>When finding the best student credit cards, it is imperative to seek out the lowest interest rates that you can find. This is really obvious, but nonetheless needs to be stated. Many credit card companies will offer 0% teaser rates for the first six months. Beware of these rates because they&#8217;re often followed by exorbitantly high interest rates and then you are stuck. It is most certainly not uncommon for students to carry balances for more than six months, so I suggest that you avoid this option.</p>
<p>Just about all student credit cards offer some type of incentives such as rewards points or cash back incentives. This is done for obvious reasons. The most common of which is to entice the cardholder into using it more often. Overall it is a pretty good deal to receive rewards for credit card charges as long as you bear in mind that this is not free money. Whether you realize it or not, you have already paid for those points.</p>
<p>Managing your account online is a great feature for students. For starters, just about every student has access to the Internet and can easily access their credit card statements. The second great reason for this is that the parents can also monitor the activity on the card even if they are thousands of miles away. This kind of accountability for impressionable young students is an excellent way to keep them from getting themselves into trouble. It also keeps the parents from getting stuck paying their kids huge credit card bills.</p>
<p>For a student credit card it is importantthat they have a lost or stolen card feature that guarantees protection against unauthorized activity. Lets face it, sometimes kids are not as responsible as we might like them to be. Having this protection goes a long way in easing the parent&#8217;s mind when they hand their student a credit card.</p>
<p>Learn more about <a href="http://officialcreditcardoffer.com/">credit card offer</a> at http://officialcreditcardoffer</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/a-guide-to-finding-the-best-student-credit-card/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Student Credit Cards Explained</title>
		<link>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/student-credit-cards-explained/</link>
		<comments>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/student-credit-cards-explained/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 31 Oct 2007 01:40:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Myrna Wigley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Credit]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/student-credit-cards-explained/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Various people have different needs. So the credit card suppliers too have designed different type of cards. Besides the normal credit cards, there are small business cards for small business and then there are student credit cards which are designed especially for students.

]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Various people have different needs. So the credit card suppliers too have designed different type of cards. Besides the normal credit cards, there are small business cards for small business and then there are student credit cards which are designed especially for students.</p>
<p>Now, what is different about the student credit cards?</p>
<p>You could say not much, since all credit cards work in pretty much the same way and are used for more or less same purposes. However there are 2 main differences with the student credit cards and these differences are on the 2 main aspects i.e. Credit limit and APR.</p>
<p>The credit limit for student credit cards is generally very low. This typically ranges from $500 to $1000 per month. Some people might argue the reason for such discrimination. Well, the reason is very clear and obvious. Most of the students applying for these credit cards have never used a credit card in their life so neither do they have a credit rating and nor the knowledge about credit cards. While the former is what the credit card suppliers look for before supplying the credit card, the latter is what the credit card holder would like to acquire. Both the purposes are met by keeping a lower credit limit. The credit card supplier reduces the risk that they are taking by issuing a credit card to someone who has never used one and has no credit rating. It&#8217;s good for the credit card holder too since this reduces their risk of damage which can be caused by limited or no knowledge of credit cards and by bad spending habits. Moreover, this credit limit would be sufficient for the needs of a student in general.</p>
<p>The APR on the student credit cards is generally higher than that on the normal credit cards. Again the reason for this is same as that for lower credit limit i.e. the credit card company or the credit card supplier is after all into business and has to take steps to mitigate any possible risks including the risk arising from issuing a credit card to someone who is nai&#8221;ve in terms of credit card knowledge.</p>
<p>The credit card companies might also keep some stricter terms and conditions on the student credit cards and generally require a parent or a guardian&#8217;s signature as a guarantor.</p>
<p>Since credit cards are more of a necessity than a convenience in today&#8217;s world, the student credit cards are much recommended, especially as a learning tool in getting the students prepared for the life. Due to their inherent characteristics of low credit limit etc, student credit cards cannot lead students into a totally irreversible debt situation. Students should read all the instructions supplied with their student credit card. This first credit card will teach them how to protect themselves from credit card fraud, where all to use their credit card, how to control their spending, what the various membership benefits are etc. The earlier they learn these things the better it is.</p>
<p>Moreover, the student credit card will also help you in developing a good credit rating. You shouldn&#8217;t take the student credit cards lightly. If you overspend on your student credit card or default on your credit card bill payments, you will not only end up paying interest on your credit card balance but also spoil your credit rating. Remember that a bad credit rating will not only hamper your chances of getting another credit card later in your life but will also lead to problems in approval of your mortgage/car-loan applications etc.</p>
<p>So student credit cards are a surely a good way for students to start with credit cards.<br />
CCN.com is a free online <a target="_new" href="http://www.ccn.com/">credit cards review</a>and application website. We offer credit cards selection from visa,master cards, discover, american express and many others. We have quite some categories and hundreds of credit cards selection to fit your need. <a target="_new" href="http://www.ccn.com/">Apply for a credit card</a> at CCN.com. <!-- google_ad_section_end --></p>
<p class="articleCopyright">This article is free for republishing<br />
Source: <a href="http://www.articlealley.com/article_20720_19.html">http://www.articlealley.com/article_20720_19.html</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/student-credit-cards-explained/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Are you An Entrepreneur?</title>
		<link>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/are-you-an-entrepreneur/</link>
		<comments>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/are-you-an-entrepreneur/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Oct 2007 14:46:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Myrna Wigley</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[entrepreneurship]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/are-you-an-entrepreneur/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Are You An Entrepreneur?
Business Articles &#124; September 10, 2007

The word entrepreneur is a powerful one that many people use to describe themselves. Find out what the actual definition of an entrepreneur is, and why you should or shouldn't consider yourself one.
]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<h1 class="h2">Are You An Entrepreneur?</h1>
<p class="bottom-link"><a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/business.html" class="small-link">Business Articles</a> | <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/day/2007-9-10.html" class="small-link">September 10, 2007</a></p>
<p><strong>The word entrepreneur is a powerful one that many people use to describe themselves. Find out what the actual definition of an entrepreneur is, and why you should or shouldn&#8217;t consider yourself one. </strong></p>
<p><script type="text/javascript"><!--       google_ad_client = "pub-0003120597825310";       google_alternate_ad_url = "http://www.articlesfactory.com/google_adsense_script.html";       google_ad_width = 336;       google_ad_height = 280;       google_ad_format = "336x280_as";       google_ad_channel ="4147431717";       google_ad_type = "text";       google_color_border = "F8F8F8";       google_color_bg = "F8F8F8";       google_color_link = "323232";       google_color_url = "CB6F69";       google_color_text = "323232";       //--></script>       <script src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type="text/javascript">       </script><iframe src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-0003120597825310&amp;dt=1193496383156&amp;lmt=1193496381&amp;alternate_ad_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.articlesfactory.com%2Fgoogle_adsense_script.html&amp;prev_fmts=250x250_as&amp;format=336x280_as&amp;output=html&amp;correlator=1193496383156&amp;channel=4147431717&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.articlesfactory.com%2Farticles%2Fbusiness%2Fare-you-an-entrepreneur.html&amp;color_bg=F8F8F8&amp;color_text=323232&amp;color_link=323232&amp;color_url=CB6F69&amp;color_border=F8F8F8&amp;ad_type=text&amp;cc=34&amp;ga_vid=2146695287.1193491346&amp;ga_sid=1193491346&amp;ga_hid=343719972&amp;ga_fc=true&amp;flash=9&amp;u_h=768&amp;u_w=1024&amp;u_ah=734&amp;u_aw=1024&amp;u_cd=32&amp;u_tz=-240&amp;u_his=16&amp;u_java=true&amp;u_nplug=21&amp;u_nmime=100" name="google_ads_frame" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="280" scrolling="no" width="336"></iframe>         If you were to look up the word entrepreneur in the dictionary you would find that it means &#8220;a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, a business usually with considerable initiative and risk.”  These days the term entrepreneur is used so much that it seems like everybody from stay at home moms, to the local tattoo artist, are claiming to be such.  The truth is that as fancy as this word maybe, anyone can be an entrepreneur.        Entrepreneurs can be any shape, size, age, race or religion.  What makes an entrepreneur an entrepreneur is commitment, the willingness to lead and the passion to succeed.  There are certain characteristics that many of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs share.  Listed below are a few traits that can help you determine if you truly are an entrepreneur.Great Focus - True entrepreneurs have great focus.  These are individuals that once they have a goal set, no one or nothing can stop them from accomplishing that goal.Creative - Most entrepreneurs have a seemingly effortless way of being creative.  Thinking outside the box;  that characteristic alone creates a greater earning potential for their business.Good With Money -  Being able to keep track and <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/business/are-you-an-entrepreneur.html#" id="KonaLink0" target="_new" class="kLink" style="text-decoration: underline ! important; position: static"><font style="color: #990000 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; position: static" color="#990000"><span class="kLink" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #990000; color: #990000 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; position: static; padding-bottom: 1px; background-color: transparent">manage </span><span class="kLink" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #990000; color: #990000 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; position: static; padding-bottom: 1px; background-color: transparent">money</span></font></a> wisely is another well-known characteristic of an entrepreneur.  Knowing where every dollar and cent is and where they are going is very important to entrepreneurs.Decision Maker - One who can make big decisions on their own without worrying about others opinions.  Being able to stand behind their decision without any doubt whatsoever.The Ability To Lead - Most entrepreneurs put themselves in the position of being the boss.  This may mean that this person has <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/business/are-you-an-entrepreneur.html#" id="KonaLink1" target="_new" class="kLink" style="text-decoration: underline ! important; position: static"><font style="color: #990000 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; position: static" color="#990000"><span class="kLink" style="color: #990000 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; position: static">employees</span></font></a> under him/her.  In this instance, the individual must be able to lead and give direction to others in a clear and productive manner.Always Learning - True entrepreneurs never stop learning.  They are always eager to <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/business/are-you-an-entrepreneur.html#" id="KonaLink2" target="_new" class="kLink" style="text-decoration: underline ! important; position: static"><font style="color: #990000 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; position: static" color="#990000"><span class="kLink" style="color: #990000 ! important; font-family: Verdana,Arial; font-weight: 400; font-size: 12px; position: static">discover</span></font></a> new, more efficient ways to make their business more successful.  Learning is a desire, not a necessity for these people.Fearless - Having no fear is definitely a characteristic of a entrepreneur.  Not fearing critics, competitors, consumers and most of all, not fearing failure. Not fearing these things is automatic for any real entrepreneur. The list above will help you determine if you are indeed an entrepreneur.  If you are not an entrepreneur<a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/articles/computers.html"><img src="http://www.articlesfactory.com/pic/x.gif" alt="Computer Technology Articles" border="0" /></a>, but aspire to be one you will need to develop most if not all of these traits.  If you take the time to embrace and practice these traits; you will be well on your way to becoming a successful entrepreneur!</p>
<p class="txt-small-regular">Source: <a href="http://www.articlesfactory.com/" class="small-link" title="Free Articles">Free Articles</a> from ArticlesFactory.com</p>
<h1>ABOUT THE AUTHOR</h1>
<p>Earl Stringer &amp; Rachel Bishop, Internet Marketing Entrepreneurs &amp; Success Team.  Learn the Tips &amp; Strategies That Many are Paying Thousands of Dollars For! Sign up now, absolutely FREE, for Earl &amp; Rachel&#8217;s Successful Secrets,  just visit our website at <a href="http://www.successfulhomebusinesssecrets.com/">http://www.successfulhomebusinesssecrets.com</a>Earl &amp; Rachel are also the co-owners of  theVstore.com; Your #1 Choice For A Healthier Living.  Visit their site at <a href="http://www.thevstore.com/">http://www.thevstore.com</a></p>
<p><script language="javascript"><!--           document.write(\\'<scr\\'+\\'ipt language=javascript src="http://a.tribalfusion.com/j.ad?site=ArticlesFactory&#038;adSpace=Business&#038;size=336x280&#038;type=var&#038;requestID=\\'+((new Date()).getTime() % 2147483648) + Math.random()+\\'"></scr\\'+\\'ipt>\&#8217;);           //&#8211;>           </script><script src="http://a.tribalfusion.com/j.ad?site=ArticlesFactory&amp;adSpace=Business&amp;size=336x280&amp;type=var&amp;requestID=16429585160.46427265061343004" language="javascript"></script><script language="javascript"> 	var tf_clickURL  = \\'http://a.tribalfusion.com/h.click/acmMYhUcf8RAMNUWU5UUM03rErUEMtTT36QE3ZcQVBZaQbepPHQaVcjQ4rXxnWEqXaup2tUDQGfB56rLmdPpVWjhYFQkYFYh1qupPbnFUbB5VWYWnUBsPbJNYT3s4qYk4TrPoTfAYbY8UW7RmAYJpFMBMiv65E/http://www.cursormania.com/?partner=ZCxdm450\\'; 	var tf_flashfile = \\'http://cdn5.tribalfusion.com/media/960006/300x250cm_GlitterPointers_cpt8b.swf\\'; 	var tf_imagefile = \\'http://cdn5.tribalfusion.com/media/960006/300x250cm_GlitterPointers_c.jpg\\'; 	var tf_width     = 300; 	var tf_height    = 250; 	var tf_background= \\'#ffffff\\'; 	var tf_click_command = \\'CLICK\\'; 	var tf_ignore_fscommand_args  = 0; 	var tf_use_embedded_flash_url = 0; 	var tf_append_fscmd_args_to_click = 0; 	var tf_use_flash_wrapper = 1; 	var tf_id        = \\'177306547\\'; 	var tf_click     = \\'http://a.tribalfusion.com/h.click/acmMYhUcf8RAMNUWU5UUM03rErUEMtTT36QE3ZcQVBZaQbepPHQaVcjQ4rXxnWEqXaup2tUDQGfB56rLmdPpVWjhYFQkYFYh1qupPbnFUbB5VWYWnUBsPbJNYT3s4qYk4TrPoTfAYbY8UW7RmAYJpFMBMiv65E/\\'; 	var tf_wmode     = \\'transparent\\'; 	var tf_frame     = \\'http://cdn5.tribalfusion.com/media/common/flash/frame2.swf\\'; 	var tf_button    = \\'http://cdn5.tribalfusion.com/media/common/flash/button2.swf\\'; </script> <script src="http://cdn5.tribalfusion.com/media/common/flash/flashwrapv10.js" language="javascript"></script><script language="Javascript">  function TFclick177306547_DoFSCommand(command, args){  if (command == tf_click_command177306547 &#038;&#038; tf_use_embedded_flash_url177306547 == 1) {	     window.open(tf_click177306547+args,\\'_blank\\');  } else if (command == tf_click_command177306547 || tf_ignore_fscommand_args177306547 == 1) {	     window.open(tf_clickURL177306547,\\'_blank\\');  } }</script>   <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://active.macromedia.com/flash/cabs/swflash.cab" id="TFclick177306547" height="250" width="300"></object></p>
<param name="movie" value="http://cdn5.tribalfusion.com/media/common/flash/frame2.swf?tf_flash=http://cdn5.tribalfusion.com/media/960006/300x250cm_GlitterPointers_cpt8b.swf&amp;tf_button=http://cdn5.tribalfusion.com/media/common/flash/button2.swf"></param>
<param name="quality" value="high"></param>
<param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param>
<param name="flashVars" value="clickTag=http%3A//a.tribalfusion.com/h.click/acmMYhUcf8RAMNUWU5UUM03rErUEMtTT36QE3ZcQVBZaQbepPHQaVcjQ4rXxnWEqXaup2tUDQGfB56rLmdPpVWjhYFQkYFYh1qupPbnFUbB5VWYWnUBsPbJNYT3s4qYk4TrPoTfAYbY8UW7RmAYJpFMBMiv65E/http%3A//www.cursormania.com/%3Fpartner%3DZCxdm450"></param>
<param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"></param>  <embed src="http://cdn5.tribalfusion.com/media/common/flash/frame2.swf?tf_flash=http://cdn5.tribalfusion.com/media/960006/300x250cm_GlitterPointers_cpt8b.swf&amp;tf_button=http://cdn5.tribalfusion.com/media/common/flash/button2.swf" name="TFclick177306547" swliveconnect="True" wmode="transparent" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" flashvars="clickTag=http%3A//a.tribalfusion.com/h.click/acmMYhUcf8RAMNUWU5UUM03rErUEMtTT36QE3ZcQVBZaQbepPHQaVcjQ4rXxnWEqXaup2tUDQGfB56rLmdPpVWjhYFQkYFYh1qupPbnFUbB5VWYWnUBsPbJNYT3s4qYk4TrPoTfAYbY8UW7RmAYJpFMBMiv65E/http%3A//www.cursormania.com/%3Fpartner%3DZCxdm450" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" height="250" width="300"></embed></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://www.phoenixtraining.biz/articles/are-you-an-entrepreneur/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
