Cash The Checks

Al Gore said in a 1999 interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer: “During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.” While that wasn’t quite true, the internet does have a history. Regardless of how or who created it, it has certainly evolved ever since.

Here’s a short history of the internet..

1. First, the internet was created by nerds for nerds. (Since only nerds were getting online at that time)

Programming, numbers, BBS, email, databases, all that stuff.

2. Then it was nerds creating content for non-nerds. (The nerds were making money off of you)

The internet takes off, web developers create popular sites, advertisers pay big money to get noticed.

3. Now, nerds are creating the ability for non-nerds to create content. (web 2.0)

This is how the internet was always supposed to be. To get noticed for your quality content not because of your advertising dollars.

Today I made an official offer on my first home. The asking price is $875,000. The offer was $820,000. If they’re eager sellers they may just bite and take the offer. I thought the offer was just going to be a quick 1 page letter, but in reality it’s about a 20 page contract with all this legal mumbo jumbo.

I’m going to wait a bit to lock in my rate, because September 18th the rate may go down by 0.25%. I’m getting a 30 year fixed rate jumbo loan, so interest rates are hovering around 7.0% right now. A rate drop next week will bring that number down to something more manageable.

If the offer is accepted, that’s when the ball starts rolling, inspections are done, loan is obtained, closing costs are paid, and the moving in begins. How exciting! (not being sarcastic).

Purchasing a home is a major decision, and it can seem impossible if you have bad credit. Mortgage refinancing is a great way to afford a home and keep your finances on track. You can also get a bad credit loan if you’re in serious need of debt consolidation.

0.50%

Today the fed cut rates as expected, but it was 0.50% not 0.25%. It was predicted rates would be cut a quarter point in September, another quarter point in October. The base rates went down from 5.25% to 4.75%.

I’m in the process of buying my first home (Re: Making an Offer) so this news is great, it means I can lock in my rate right now. I’m getting a 30 year fixed rate jumbo mortgage loan, so the rates I was looking at before were hovering around 7.00%. Now it looks like I’m getting a 6.50% or perhaps even better.

Now that rates are down, it’s a great time to take out a loan. You can get a payday loan for money you need right now, or get a loan to pay off tax debt. You can even look into a bad credit loan. The time has never been better.

The Loan Network is a home loans site where you can compare rates from different banks on all sorts of loans like refi loans, home equity or new home purchase loans. From this home loans site, you can get loan quotes so you can compare the rates with different lenders. It’s a good site because it’s updated often with the latest mortgage information and has loads of useful information in their FAQ section.

It’s a site that I check up on to get the latest home loan news or if there’s a term I don’t understand I just check their finance terms page. They also have sections on paying points (this lowers your interest rate), finance myths, credit score questions, and a calculator section as well.

This post has been brought to you by The Loan Network.

Have you been thinking about home loans? Find the best mortgage rates online so you know that you’re getting the most for your money. You can find a mortgage broker near your home who can help you make decisions about your home loan.

Are you dreading those payment reminders through the post? We all need a little help when it comes to sorting out our debt. Seek debt advice now and get expert debt help in choosing the best debt solution to your money problems, such as an IVA, a consolidation loan or bankruptcy.

It’s that time again to pay your quarterly taxes if you’re self employed. I made my payment today and had to readjust my payment since my income has unexpectedly increased. My first quarterly payment was big, my second one was small, and this third one was big again. I read that the IRS may issue a penalty because my 2nd quarterly payment was so small. I think a penalty is unfair because it’s supposed to be estimated taxes. If you’re supposed to be accurate to a certain percentage, then it’s not really an estimate anymore, but more like a precise mathematical calculation correct within a range. Self employment tax is killing me, I got to learn how to form an LLC and pay myself a wage to cut that tax out. It’s too late this year but maybe in ‘08 I’ll get started on that.

On another note, I’m planning on buying my first home in a few months, so I’m going to be receiving a big tax deduction for that in my 2008 taxes. I will actually be paying less in taxes next year even though I’m going to be earning more.

Has tax debt hurt your financial standings? Nowadays there are many options to get you back on your feet, including payday loans and bad credit loans. Look into debt consolidation today and stop worrying about debt!

I’m considering creating a “How to Make Money Instruction Manual” or a “Step by Step Guide to Internet Riches”. I would charge a low monthly fee via PayPal for members to get access to this step-by-step training manual. I’ll update it once a month with a big article detailing the specific steps needed, one by one, explained thoroughly, to making money online. I’ve done this process hundreds of times the last 8 years and now it’s my time to share this knowledge.

Aside from the making money guide, I’ll give members my personal e-mail where I’ll respond to each question with specific information and instructions aimed for their particular need. All messages would be replied to within a couple of hours max. There’s many sites which offer eBooks, there might also be a few “how-to’s” out there, but they are often old and outdated. Mine will be updated and will be the first of its kind to offer personal training & tutoring of sorts.

Since I’ll only be charging a few bucks a month and I’ll be giving out industry secrets, what’s in it for me? First of all, there’s the joy involved in helping others, next there’s the monthly fees, but most importantly of all I’ll be earning referral revenue. If at some point in the lesson I give out a link to a particular sponsor which has performed well for me using my methods, members will join using my affiliate link. This is great because if I help them succeed and get rich, I’ll get paid more for referring them. Now it’s not only motivation for them to make money, but for me to help them make money.

I won’t get this project live until I have enough material and that will take some time. I won’t even think of setting a launch date right now because we’re most likely looking at this beginning sometime in 2008. So stay tuned.

A new job report came out recently: The number of Americans with jobs has dropped for the first time in 4 years. Then we’re also seeing the stock market decreasing and becoming more volatile lately. Let’s not forget that there are record number of foreclosures and homes are sitting with “For Sale” signs much longer now.

All this could be enough for the feds to lower their interest rates when they meet September 18th. Experts are predicting a 0.25% cut to a 0.50% cut. I found this link that lists the history of the rate cuts, and it’s interesting to note that there hasn’t been a change since June 2006. It’s hard to believe that according to that chart, the rate was as low as 1.00% about 3 years ago. I wish I would have bought a house then.

So if you’re on the verge of buying a home, it’s best to wait just a little bit longer, and see if you can get a better deal in two weeks.

If you’ve been looking to buy a home but are wary about interest rates, perhaps you should look into the cost of a modular home. Look online to find modular homes on sale, or better yet, start construction on a new home. You could save money and time by looking into modular homes!

When you’re looking over applications and doing interviews for that position that just opened up, most people just look at their qualifications or experience on their resume. However in my opinion that should be the least of your concerns. I’ve compiled a list of what to look for in a prospective employee.

* Personality - Is this person going to be a joy to be around, will he/she inspire and motivate your staff. You can tell if they’re always smiling and feel very comfortable with who they are. Google their name, find their MySpace profile, see what kind of person they really are.
* Work Ethic - Will he/she show up to work early and leave late, not take days off, slack off, perform at sub par levels. You can tell their work ethic by noticing when they arrived for the interview, how neat their application was, how they dressed.
* Experience - Sure, experience is an issue, but usually someone with no experience might be more motivated and willing to learn and excel in their new skill. How legitimate is their resume? Sure, they worked as a “computer lab engineer” at their last job, but what exactly did this job entail? This may just be a fancy self imposed title.

What do employers look for when hiring jobs in education? Do you have what it takes? Research interview tips online for a job in higher education. You’ll be able to find requirements for getting a job in young childhood education to teaching adults.

Here at Cash the Checks I’ve created a new Real Estate section. I’ll be posting resources, reviews, links and news relating to the housing market. This post will discuss a Hawaii real estate resource, http://www.adrhi.com/. They are a Hawaii real estate company that offers homes for sale on all islands, Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island.

As part of the resources in the real estate section of their site, there’s a list of all the schools, real estate tax information and home financing options. You can find resources to assist you in relocating to the islands as well.

To keep yourself updated on the latest hawaii real estate information they have a real estate blog as well, where they discuss how the hawaii home buying & selling market is doing, with up to date figures and trends.

There’s a new real estate resource site that’s in beta and it’s called National Relocation. This is a relocation portal with a section on Foreclosures. You can find a list of foreclosures in your county within your state. It tells you the street name along with the price of the home. As you know the best deals in real estate are foreclosures, since you’re buying from a bank and not from the previous home owner. Banks want to sell those properties ASAP to get their loan paid back.

Since this site is all about relocating, there’s another section on finding movers. You can find moving companies and get Moving Quotes near your area who can load up all your stuff and drop it off at your new home, so you won’t have to do that yourself. Finally, there’s another section on insurance so in this section you can get Insurance Quotes on all sorts of insurance topics like car, health or life insurance.