Who Is Wallace Wattles and Why Is He One of My Mentors and Heroes? December 23, 2008
Posted in : New Age Philosophy , comments closedWho is Wallace Wattles? Wallace D. Wattles died over 90 years ago so how can he be one of my mentors and heroes?
I had been studying the works of some of the most famous self-improvement ‘gurus’ of recent times and several of them mentioned the book ‘The Science Of Getting Rich’ as the starting point of their own success.
After doing some research on the internet, I came across a brilliant site where I could download a beautifully presented pdf version of the book for free.
I couldn’t believe how short and sweet the presentation of Mr Wattles message was. His work seems to have been the basis from which all the more famous and recent experts sprouted. He even preceeds Napoleon Hill and ‘Think and Grow Rich’!
Over the years I had been developing my own system for achieving my lifes goals by cherry picking ideas from the authors I had read. The conclusion I was slowly coming to had been reached and written down almost half a century before I was born!
In Wallace’s own words, “…if there is a particular book you need to read it will be placed in your hands at the right time.” How right he was.
How many light bulbs went off in my head? 5/5
For quotes, articles, special reports and e-courses by Wallace Wattles, please visit http://www.4-inspirational-quotes.com/wallace-wattles.html
Totally Terrific Tools to Turn On Unmotivated, Indifferent, Failing Students
Posted in : Psychology Tips , comments closedTeachers, they don’t give you motivation-makers
when you are in college. It takes about 2 minutes
in the classroom to realize that you could have
really used courses on motivating the motionless.
From our popular workshops, books and posters,
here are just a few of our favorite motivation-
makers that you will use everyday.
** For kids who often complain about where they ended up, you can
encourage them to “bloom where they are planted.” This is a
wonderful intervention for foster kids in particular.
** For kids who can’t imagine ever having a positive future, or any
future at all, ask them to write a letter to you as though it was the
year 2045. In the letter, the youth can describe what happened
to them since they last saw you. For non-writers, they can draw or
make an audiotape instead of writing, or, you can write for them.
** For kids who are “wrapped in barbed wire,” their apathy and
harshness hiding a very gentle and vulnerable child, ask them to
decide which they would rather have: “a bruised heart or a boxed
heart?”
** When you ask a child what they want to be when they grow up,
and you hear back, “I don’t care,” instead of confronting
that, say back: “Well, if you did care…” This potent intervention
detours beautifully around answers that normally would keep the
child from even speculating about positive outcomes. The child
gets to hang onto their discouragement while doing the work that
you wanted them to do. This unusual intervention works with nearly
any answer that a child gives you. For example, when the child says
“I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up,” you can respond
with “Well, if you did know…”
** For kids who can’t imagine a future that is positive, have them
make their “Future Homes and Gardens” using art supplies. They
can draw floor plans or design rooms of their future dream home.
You may be surprised at the results you get from the most sullen
and resentful kids.
** For counselors, social workers and mental health workers only
to use (carefully) to better “open up” very defensive, apathetic
youth, this next intervention is very powerful. Ask the child to
make a life line. They make the life line by writing their major
life events on file cards. Next, they string the cards onto a
piece of ribbon or string. This is their life line. If you doubt the
effectiveness of this intervention, make your own life line. If
you aren’t moved by the experience, you must have had an easy
life. Only clinicians should use this devices as it must be used
with extreme care as it can stir up much emotion in some
children. Avoid this exercise with depressed kids.
** For kids that complain that school is boring, I’ll just go on
welfare, respond, “Yes, you are right. School is boring. Nothing
like the excitement of the welfare office line.” This intervention
is not for every kid; use it only with youth who would respond to
this type of humorous, edgy intervention.
** For kids who view school or job training as a waste of their
time, have them list their current job skills, then have them determine
where their skills will fit best: in the current or past century. Teach
kids that 80% of the jobs that will exist for them are not even known
yet. These jobs will require computer skills, math skills, writing skills
etc. Do their skills fit that or jobs from the past?
** For kids who plan to use illegal activities as their source of future
income, recap local, state and federal law. For example, depending on
which laws they break, offenders can lose not only the money gained
by illegal actions, but also their home, possessions and vehicles. Under
some federal laws, the homes and possessions of relatives and friends
may be seized even if these items weren’t directly involved in the
commission of the crime. Illegal activities are not as lucrative as
your kids tell you. Auto theft generates about $18,000 per year,
for example, far less than what a typical high school grad earns.
** For kids who insist crime is lucrative, have them guess the likely
income from crime, then have them guess how much time in jail they
will face, and the number of years they will have before being
incarcerated. Then ask the youth to calculate how much they
really earned. For example, if a youth earned $30,000 per year
for 2 years before being incarcerated, then was jailed for 2 years,
that works out to a just $15,000 per year, an amount that is vastly
less than a high school grad earns. Plus, the grad’s earnings cannot be
confiscated but the offender’s earnings can.
** For kids who plan to just rely on welfare, advise them to hurry
and get on it fast before welfare goes away.
Get much more information on this topic at
http://www.youthchg.com. Author Ruth
Herman Wells MS is the director of Youth Change,
(http://www.youthchg.com). Sign up for her free
Problem-Kid Problem-Solver magazine at the site and
see hundreds more of her innovative methods. Ruth
is the author of dozens of books and provides workshops and training.
For re-print permission for this article, contact the author by
email (dwells@youthchg.com.)
Poker Player Profiles: Scotty Nguyen December 22, 2008
Posted in : Cheats + Games, Fun Stuff, Lucky Web , comments closed
Scotty Nguyen has become one of the most popular players in all of online poker, mainly for his affable, fun-loving personality and most certainly also his killer black curly hair. Though Scotty can’t seem to get through a single sentence without appending the word ‘baby’ in every pause, there is something about his relaxed demeanor and good attitude that makes him easy to root for.
Underneath the big persona, though, Scotty Nguyen is one hell of a card player, as proved by his many appearances in major tournaments, not to mention his win of the main event of the World Series of Poker. Scotty is known for his solid if slightly erratic play, where based on a whim of intuition, he can turn his large persona into a battering ram that will take down a pot just on expectation alone. For this, he’s developed a reputation for making strange, random bluffs, though for the most part, Nguyen knows his opponents so well, he is rarely caught putting money in without the best of it, or a huge draw.
On a short list of poker players you might like to end up with a poker table for entertainment’s sake, I’d imagine Nguyen appears high up on more lists than most, regardless of the fact that in the end he’ll probably end up with all of your chips.
Webfarms II: Balancing The Load. December 20, 2008
Posted in : Hall Of Websters , comments closedOkay, so you understand webfarms now. What’s the magic that actually distributes the load, and how does it determine how the distribution is handled?
At ORCS Web we use the Foundry Server Iron products to perform our webfarm load-balancing. If one of them fails, the other instantly takes over (In our testing, it had sub-second fail-over!)
So what is this “Server Iron” thing? In simplest terms, it’s a layer 4-7 switch. It has multiple network ports on it and can be used literally like other types of switches. But, it can also load-balancing and traffic distribution. A VIP (virtual IP) can be assigned to the SI (Server Iron) and it then handles all traffic sent to that address/VIP. Further configuration is done to tell the SI what to actually do with the traffic sent to the VIP address.
The traffic that hits the VIP on the Server Iron is of course redistributed to a number of server nodes so the client request can be satisfied – that’s the whole point of a webfarm. If one or more server nodes are not responding, the switches are able to detect this and send all new requests to servers that are still online – making the failure of a server node almost transparent to the client.
The traffic can be distributed based on a couple different logic algorithms. The most common are:
* Round Robin: The switches send requests to each server in rotation, regardless of how many connections each server has or how fast it may reply.
* Fastest response: The switches select the server node with the fastest response time and sends new connection requests to that server.
* Least connections: The switches send traffic to whichever server node shows as having the fewest active connections.
* Active-passive: This is called Local/Remote on a Foundry switch, but is still basically active/passive. This allows one or more servers to be designated as “local” which marks them as primary for all traffic. This is combined with another method above to determine what order the “local” server nodes have requests sent to them. If a situation were to arise that all the “local” (active) server nodes were down, then traffic would be sent to the “remote” server nodes. Note that “remote” in this case doesn’t really have to mean remote – the “remote” server could be sitting right next to the “local” servers but it is marked as remote in the configuration to let it operate as a hot-standby server. This setting can also be used in a true remote situation where there are servers in a different physical data center – perhaps for extreme disaster recovery situations.
What method is best? It really depends on your application and some other surrounding factors. Each method is good though and would probably satisfy requirements regardless of the configuration. Especially if you are closely monitoring each server node with an external tool (other than directly from the load-balancing switch). So, with the external monitoring you can confirm that all server nodes are operating without error and within reasonable speed thresholds that have been set.
Also, remember that, regardless which traffic algorithm is chosen, if a node goes down, traffic is sent to the other nodes. And when a node comes back online, it can automatically be placed back into the webfarm and start getting client requests again.
Clustered hosting does require some consideration of how state is managed within applications, which will be covered in a future article.
Happy hosting!
~Brad
Brad Kingsley is President and Founder of ORCS Web, Inc. – a company that provides managed hosting services for clients who develop and deploy their applications on Microsoft Windows platforms.
Website Design Mistakes
Posted in : Hall Of Websters , comments closedJavascripts Avoid including useless javascripts such as status bar scrollers, title scrollers, prompts or alerts, clocks, and mouse cursor effects. The best bet would be to avoid anything that could distract visitors from content.
Hiding HTML source HTML was not meant to be hidden. Anybody can read a website’’s HTML source, and copy it. Programs that “scramble” or “encrypt” HTML will probably cause it to be invalid.
Hard to spot links Links should stand out to a visitor while they browse a website. Avoid making links the same color as text, or removing the underline.
Disabling right click This is usually implemented to prevent image copying. The problem is that it breaks a website’’s navagation. What if a visitor wanted to do other things with the right click menu such as go back, go forward, or bookmark a page?
Frames Search engines and visitors do not like frames. Search engines will index pages inside the frameset that include keywords, breaking navigation for visitors when they click through. Also, visitors can not bookmark a specific page inside a frameset.
Orange Mobile Broadband Connection
Posted in : Uncategorized , comments closedOrange mobile broadband is quite literally internet on the move with the aid of a built in broadband modem or a USB dongle, which can be easily plugged into any laptop or PC for internet whenever and wherever you want it.
The USB dongle allows for an instant connection to get anyone on the internet while they are out and about and with 90% coverage in the UK and the ability to use it abroad, more and more people are now signing up to Orange Mobile Broadband.
The rates for using the internet outside of the
With this mobile broadband, there is no need for a landline, omitting costly bills and with inclusive usage of 3GB; this tends to be enough for any regular internet user.
Details such as prices and the inclusive usage change depending on the network provider, but the contract is usually 12 or 24 months in length, with a set monthly bill that may be cheaper within the first couple of months, dependant on the current offer.
Selling the Dr. Seuss Way December 18, 2008
Posted in : Sellers Market , comments closed“I am Sam. Sam I am. Do you like green eggs and ham? Would you like them here or there? Would you like them in a box, would you like them with a fox?”
I think most people have read this Dr. Seuss tale either as kids or to their children. What is interesting is the relevance this story has to selling. First of all, Sam is selling a product and although his prospect is not initially interested, Sam doesn’t let that deter him from asking. Secondly, Sam consistently offers the prospect a choice when trying to close the sale. Thirdly, he refuses to give up. No matter how many times his prospect says ‘no’ Sam keeps offering alternatives. In fact, he offers fourteen options before he finally closes the sale.
Now, I am not suggesting that you pester your customers or prospects but I do believe most people give up too early in the sales process. We hear a few “no’s” and decide to turn our attention elsewhere. It is your responsibility as a sales professional to ask the customer to make a decision – you cannot expect a customer to do the work for you. If you have been effective in learning about their specific needs and current situation and presented the appropriate solution to your prospect then you have earned the right to ask them for their money. Here are a few ideas that will help you reach this point:
Avoid launching into a lengthy discussion of what you can do for your client until you thoroughly understand what business challenges they face and the problems, concerns or issues they need resolved. Use open questioning to gather this information and avoid making assumptions or jumping to conclusions too quickly. Instead, listen carefully to what they say and clarify anything that is not clear. Ask them to elaborate by using prompters such as “uh-huh,” “tell me more,” and “what else?”
When it comes time to present your product or service, try not to limit the prospect to one option. Provide a choice of solutions that meet their specific concerns. Explain the benefits of each option, and when necessary, also discuss the drawbacks of each alternative. However, do not present so many options that the decision becomes overwhelming or difficult. Be prepared to tell your prospect which option best suits their needs if they ask.
Speak in terms they can understand, avoiding the use of terminology they may not recognize. A case in point; as I developed my web site, I found myself talking to people who were extremely knowledgeable but they used terminology that sounded like a foreign language to me. I found myself getting frustrated, and in some cases feeling a bit dumb, because I had to keep asking them what they meant. Be very cautious how much jargon you use in your presentations and make sure your customer understands what you are saying.
Recognize that objections are a natural component of the sales process. It’s common for a customer express several objections before she makes the decision to commit to the purchase. Don’t take these objections personally and do not assume that it means the other person is not interested. Understand that your prospect will likely have specific concerns about making a decision particularly if they have never done business with you. Clarify their objections to uncover the true hesitation – do not hesitate to probe deeper to explore the real issues preventing them from making a decision. In most cases, your prospect will give you the information you need providing you keep your approach non-confrontational and neutral. Learn to handle objections in a non-argumentative manner. When you uncover their true objection keep your response brief and to the point. Talking too much will seem that you are trying to justify your product or price. Plus, you can sometimes talk yourself out a sale if you aren’t careful.
Ask for the sale. In many cases, your prospect expects you to ask for the sale. And as long as you do not pressure or try to coerce them into making a decision, they won’t be offended by your request. Develop the confidence to ask for the sale in a variety of ways and begin asking every qualified person for their commitment. Recognize that many people want to be given permission to make a decision and look to the salesperson for that permission.
Lastly, take a lesson from Sam and learn the importance of polite persistence. The most successful sales people ask for the sale seven or eight times and don’t give up at the first sign of resistance. Research has shown that these individuals consistently earn more than their coworkers and peers.
Copyright 2004, Kelley Robertson
Kelley Robertson, President of the Robertson Training Group, works with businesses to help them increase their sales and motivate their employees. He is also the author of “Stop, Ask & Listen – Proven sales techniques to turn browsers into buyers.” Visit his website at www.RobertsonTrainingGroup.com and receive a FREE copy of “100 Ways to Increase Your Sales” by subscribing to his 59-Second Tip, a free weekly e-zine.
Onward Christian Soldiers!
Posted in : Religion Center , comments closedWhy did ancient Israel have an army? Was it because they didn’t have faith? Did they believe in themselves instead of trusting God? Did they insist on fighting their own battles, rather than let God wage war for them?
Why did God fight for Israel in Egypt? Did they exercise faith then? Did they somehow lose their confidence in the wilderness, after having seen God’s mighty miracles? Does that make sense? They’d heard what God was going to do to Egypt from the onset, and they saw with their own eyes what God did through 10 consecutive plagues. After defeating the world’s only superpower, had God spent His energy?
God took on the gods of Egypt single-handedly. He didn’t want Israel’s participation lest their deliverance be misconstrued as a successful slave revolt. He took a slave people to become His Servant-Nation. Israel had only changed masters.
When God led Israel out of Egypt by Moses, He purposely told Moses to bypass the hot spots where Israel would encounter hostile forces, lest they opt for the “security” of Egypt (Ex. 13:17). They went out of their way to avoid war! It doesn’t sound like they were eager to do battle when you read the accounts of their griping and complaining to Moses (Ex. 14:10-12).
Moses, full of faith, encouraged the congregation to believe God. The first time Israel engaged in battle was at Moses’ command! He instructed Joshua (also faithful) to assemble a fighting force and defeat the pesky Amalekites (Ex. 17:8-16).
God had fought the first few rounds against Israel’s enemies, showing Israel He would destroy their foes. Now God would fight in and through and for Israel! Moses’ uplifted hands of blessing and authority insured Israel’s military success. It was evident to all where their true strength came from (Ps. 33:16). Israel was only a fighting instrument in God’s Hands (Isa. 41:15, Micah 4:13).
Many people understand the commandment against killing should be translated “murder.” God commands His ministers of state to execute judgment and utilize capital punishment for various offenses (Rom. 13:4). We’re told to remember Moses’ law and obey it (Malachi 4:4). God has authorized the State to act within the guidelines of His Law Book.
Israel wasn’t anxious to enter Canaan – they were afraid! Moses admitted they were outnumbered and outgunned by the Canaanites, but reassured Israel that GOD would be with them and grant them supernatural victory (Deut. 7:1-2, 16-24). When the spies brought their report to Moses about Canaan’s men and might, they wanted to run with their tails tucked between their legs (Numbers 13:31). Only Joshua and Caleb put things in perspective and encouraged the people to trust in God (Numbers 14:9). Israel didn’t have any faith in their own ability or God’s!
What many have failed to realize is ancient Israel wasn’t going to enter the Promised Land by faith alone; it was going to require faith and works! God wasn’t going to do all the work for them. Israel had to actively claim their inheritance. Don’t we also?
Israel lacked faith that GOD could work miracles through them! They knew God could take on their enemies, but they doubted He could work through them. They concentrated on their weakness rather than on God’s strength. God expected Israel to fight His battles and He would guarantee their success. Israel took one city at a time, slowly but surely making progress, subduing the land and defeating their foes, and yet giving God all the credit – like our process of conversion (Ps. 44:1-8).
Even David, a man after God’s own heart, fought numerous battles for God and His people, but considered God the Victor. David would ask God whether he should attack at this time or place, and what to do, when and how, and God answered him (1 Chron. 14:10).
Did Abraham, the father of the faithful, sin by waging war against those who had kidnapped his relatives (Gen. 14)? Melchizedek blessed him, He didn’t rebuke him! Levi and sons, following Moses’ call to arms (at God’s command), went through Israel’s camp and slaughtered those who’d sinned with the golden calf (Ex. 32:28). Did they lack faith? No! They were acting faithfully! They put God before family and friends. Couldn’t God have just sent a plague? Yes. But He worked through men.
Since God works through men, why didn’t Jesus let Peter defend Him? 1) Because prophecy had to be fulfilled and 2) because God’s Kingdom wasn’t established yet – otherwise Jesus said His servants should fight! This example teaches us that loyal citizens ought to be willing to fight and defend their king and country!
Presently we have a “dual citizenship.” Paul didn’t deny that he was a Roman citizen or hesitate to exercise his civil rights (Acts 16:37, 22:25, 25:11). He didn’t just turn the other cheek when he was about to be scourged! There’s a time and a place to wage war or declare peace (Ecc. 3:8); to suffer persecution and death, or to run for your life ( Mat. 24:16, John 8:59)!
Spiritually speaking, we should all understand we’re only mortal, taking up temporary residence on earth, and therefore be mindful of eternity and live accordingly, waiting for our eternal inheritance in God’s Kingdom (2 Cor. 5:1, Ps. 39:12, 2 Pet. 3:11).
But what about “spiritual fornication?” If we exercise our right to vote and get involved in politics, isn’t that defiling ourselves with this world’s system? Only if and when it contradicts the commandments of God. We should never disobey God to follow men (Acts 5:29). We’re in this world and do take an active part in its system of government and education everytime we go to work and pay taxes or send our kids to school or college! We’re only to avoid those aspects of this world’s system that are Biblically wrong (1 Jn. 2:16).
Joseph served in pharaoh’s administration. Was he spiritually defiled? Daniel was in the belly of the beast – Babylon – yet he served the king and God. Whenever there arose any conflict of interest, Daniel put God first, as we must also always do. Nehemiah worked in the Persian government, yet he was also blameless before God. God even referred to Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar as His servants.
God is our Heavenly King over all, that’s why we can’t allow others to try and usurp His authority over our lives. He’s our Husband and to listen to anyone else who would dare go against His Word is spiritual adultery and fornication. This is one of modern Israel’s biggest sins: giving in to international peer pressure rather than obey God!
Yet God isn’t our only ruler. He’s ordained that men aren’t to be left in a state of anarchy, but ought to obey the Noachide laws binding on all mankind: to establish a system of justice, abstain from idolatry and immorality, and refrain from eating blood (Acts 15:29).
Even Christ will be King of kings and Lord of lords; He won’t be ruling alone. God’s our Minister, and Jesus Christ’s our High Priest, yet we don’t object to having human ministers also. Do we have a double standard when it comes to politics? We speak of “dirty politics.” And there is too much graft and corruption. But what about religious scandals? Perverted preachers and adulterous ministers? Does that mean we should reject the whole idea of God having human servants? “Dirty religion?” Both Church and State need to let Christ clean up their act (Malachi 3:3).
God didn’t forbid Israel from having a king or a high priest. He simply put restrictions on them and offered guidelines. The king was to be Israelite; he wasn’t to put his trust in financial securities or gold, or depend on a huge army or arsenal of weapons for Israel’s defense; and he was to study the Scriptures daily (Deut. 18:15-20). He was permitted a token military force made up of volunteers ( Judg. 7:2, Deut. 20:5-9). The priest was to bless Israel’s troops before they went to battle, encourage them that God would fight through them, and sound the alarm with the sacred silver trumpet (Deut. 20:1-4, Nu. 10:9, 31:6).
God was upset with Israel when they demanded a king, but not because they wanted a king – He had made an allowance for that through Moses – but because they were rejecting God as their Supreme Ruler (1 Sam. 8:20).They wanted to walk by sight, not by faith, overconfident in human leaders (Ps. 118:9).
The kings were to lead the way (Ps. 1:10-11). They were to follow in the footsteps of King David who enacted the law of Moses (1 Kgs. 2:3). Israel was only to follow men as they followed God. The prophet Samuel warned them of greedy rulers, excessive taxes, and corrupt administrations, but they still decided to go ahead with their political elections. Not that the religious world was free from fault (1 Sam. 8:3). And God reveals that the best man shouldn’t always win (Dan. 4:17). But if we pray for God to lead us in deciding who to vote for or against, it’s His responsibility to let us know what to do. Of course we should study the party platforms and see which one is more closely aligned to Biblical principles. It’s vain to think that our vote could thwart God’s Will! He’ll promote and demote whom He will (Ps. 75:7).
Ancient Israel was both Church and State: a theocracy. God recognizes these two branches of government and encourages us to do the same (Malachi 4:4-5). The two anointed positions in Israel were that of priest and king (Zech. 4:14). The oil was representative of God’s Holy Spirit that Israel prayed would guide and direct their leaders.
We’ve seen how God has authorized human leaders to take life (Lev. 20). They’re free to deputize a police force (to protect and defend communities), as well as use the armed forces to defend their country and kin.
God holds His leaders responsible not to get greedy or become bloodthirsty. We’re not to relish war, but use it as a last resort (Deut. 20:10-12).We’re only to fight wars of self-defense and not throw our weight around (Lk. 3:14). We’re to hate the sins of our enemies and learn to love them, knowing they’re also made in God’s image and hopefully will come to their senses someday; we’re not to be trigger-happy or gloat over our enemies’ downfall (Prov. 24:17).
God’s going to utilize Israel to punish various nations during their trek back to the Middle East (Isa. 11:14). And God will be fighting through the Jews at Jerusalem (Zech. 14:14). Christ’s coming back to earth to wage war before He ushers in peace!
God hasn’t only intervened for Israel. He’s determined the outcome of various wars and battles to let one group of Gentiles beat another (Deut. 2:19-23). Moses also said it would’ve been a sin if the different tribes of Israel didn’t rally to each others defense (Nu. 32:20-23). And it’s a disastrous sin to go to war if God’s servants instruct otherwise (Deut. 1:42-45).
It’s all a matter of faith and obedience. We’re to realize GOD is our true Commander in Chief and the Captain of our Salvation, and follow the lead of His Holy Spirit (Jos. 5:13-15, Heb. 2:10). But let’s not forget that God can and does work through inspired men (Neh. 9:27).
About the Author
David Ben-Ariel, an American author who has travelled widely and who has lived throughout Israel, shares a special focus on the Middle East and great interest in Jerusalem, reflected in hard-hitting articles that help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out www.benariel.com
Is It Really Possible To Get Fitter At Any Age Using Maximuscle? December 15, 2008
Posted in : Commerce Performance, Fitness Gear, Health Info , comments closedWhen I got divorced, I stopped doing a lot of the things I used to enjoy, because my lifestyle was different.
I worked in an office and never could find time to work out. But, within a few years, I had slowly gained about twenty give extra pounds and began to hate to even buy clothes.
So I decided do something about it.The first thing I did was just lace up my Nike’s and start walking every morning.
Then I added weight-bearing exercises a few times a week, along with Maximuscle fat burners. And it worked.
The combination of exercise, supplements, and reasonable eating resulted in a quick change in my figure.
Clothes shopping was fun again. So, naturally, with such great results, it was easy to keep going.
Eventually I learned to alter my routine so I didn’t get bored. But I still try to eat well and my supplements are never far away.
Growing up I assumed that a day would come when I would inherit my grandmother’s belly and somewhat “healthy” hips. In other words, I thought everyone gained weight and slowed down.
But, by the time my sons grew up, times had changed and everyone was running everywhere, at any age. Still, I was gaining weight and my youthful curves were somewhat blurred.
So I decided to challenge conventional wisdom, and, in my fifties, began working out with light weights and walking everywhere. Then I began using Maximuscle supplements to help me burn fat and build lean muscle.
By the time I was fifty five, I was actually getting whistled at. Not bad for a grandma.
How to fix your credit score and qualify for a home loan December 14, 2008
Posted in : Great Mathematics Tips , comments closedOne might be wondering why some lenders turn down a mortgage application while some others might consider it fit for approval. The answer may well lie in the credit report and the credit score to be precise which plays a crucial role in loan sanctioning.
Credit history is an important factor affecting loan granting decisions by the lender or mortgagee. As part of the pre-approval process a detailed investigation is carried out into your financial history whereby the lender assesses your finances, your credit history and your investments. Your debt ratios are compared with the lender’s standard while deciding on the loan approval. Your level of debt or credit history is taken as a parameter for judging your ability to make the monthly repayments. The credit history as represented by your credit report plays a very crucial role since some lending institutions may even turn you down because of incompatibility with their lending standards. Too much debt and poor credit rating is a common reason cited for turning down a mortgage application.
At times your application may not be rejected altogether but you may have to settle for a loan amount lower than what you desired or expected. The other terms and conditions of the loan might also not have proved worthwhile for you. All these could have been avoided had you been a little more careful and vigilant while placing your documents about your personal finances as reflected by records of your earnings, monthly expenses and debts. Among these documents the credit report is of prime importance which reveals your credit score.
While considering your application the lender will also get to analyze your credit report. This provides all details about your financial history, payment records, total debts and bankruptcies (if any). This information is used to work out your credit score or FICO score (a rating of Fair Isaac and Company). This is a composite number-a numerical rating of your credit worthiness. These scores may range from 300-900. However, most people’s score fall between 600 and 700. Higher credit scores make you more appealing to the lender. Thus, you will be more likely to be offered better rates and loan terms.
A number of factors can affect the credit score. They can be broadly classified as:
a) The length of time you have had credit, outstanding credit, methods to repay this and how close you are to your credit limits.
b) Problems with credit which you may be having like late payments and bankruptcies. The number and frequencies of your delinquencies is to be considered.
It may be noted that almost 80% of credit reports contain errors. Getting for yourself a copy of the report beforehand will enable you to take steps for improving your score.You will be availed of the opportunity to review the report and rectify the score to quite an extent.
Some steps which can be taken in this regard are:
a) Finding out credit cards which are not needed anymore and closing the corresponding credit accounts.
b) Settling outstanding accounts, if any.
c) Paying out your bills, debt payments on time and in full and reduce your outstanding credit.
d) Verifying all listed account numbers and getting assured that they are yours.
It may be noted that minor credit problems or problems cropping up due to illnesses or temporary loss of income due to some unpredictable occurrence will restrict your chances of getting the aspired loan only from some high-cost lenders. Other lenders will hopefully be considerate enough to overlook such minor problems.
In spite of the best efforts there may still be certain negative indications in the report which could not be done away with. In such case you need to explain the situation to the lender. If at all it cannot be explained then, perhaps, you have to make greater down payments.
Getting to know how credit record affects loan prospects, proceed towards making improvements in your credit report. Your loan prospects will improve, no doubt. It will take you a long way towards securing your desired mortgage loan.
Lance Williams is an accomplished writer with specific expertise in the Mortgage and Real Estate field and has been involved for quite some years with MortgageFit LLC as a content developer. This is his newest article regarding credit report and credit score. For more information visit his site: MortgageFit.com