The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Internet Banking

Internet banking has become the newest craze to hit the Internet world. More and more people are turning towards this method rather than wasting gas to drive across town to go their bank. However just like everything in life

there are both advantages and disadvantages to this type of banking system.

One of the best things that a lot of people have found to be an advantage to online banking is that it will be able to save you both time and money. When you choose to turn to online banking you will find that you will be able to check your account, pay bills, and even manage your various accounts with just a few simple and easy clicks of your mouse. What is even better is that you will be able to all this at a time that is convenient for you even if its in the middle of the night.

You will also find that you will never have to waste your time to call your bank or drive to your nearest ATM just to check your bank balance. Never again will you find a late bill because you can schedule to have them paid on their due date right from your account.

This leads us into the other great advantage of online bill paying. Almost every bank today offers you this great choice online. You will be able to choose from a one time payment or, set up monthly payments right from the convenience of your own home. Never again will your bills be late because you forgot to pay one.

Another great advantage to the online banking system is that a lot of the savings account created online earn a higher rate of interest than those at regular banks. What is even better is that some of the online banks will also offer you an interest rate on your checking account as well. You will definitely not find this at a real life bank.

One of the disadvantages of online banking is that although it may be easier to manage your money a lot of people forget to keep track of their balance. However you do have the option of setting up your account so that you will receive an email each time your account drops below a certain level but, you should also keep good track for your own budgeting needs.

Another disadvantage to online banking would be those annoying hackers. You need to take the time to consider the overall security of the bank you are considering before you even think about opening an account with them. Take the time to discuss with the bank what they would do if there was a security breach within your account. Also be sure that you have the proper security software on your computer to reduce the chance of hackers gaining access to your personal information.

So as you can see there are a variety of advantages and disadvantages to Internet banking. Go ahead and give it a try yourself and discover what all the type is about.

The Benefits of FOREX Trading

Many people are looking at getting into day trading, and start with studying the Stock Market, and the different stock exchanges. What many don't realize is that there are different markets and financial instruments that one can profit from. One market that has recently become available to the public to trade is the Foreign Currency Exchange, the FOREX.

The foreign exchange market is the largest financial market in the world. It trades upwards of 2.5 trillion dollars per day, which is approximately 1000 times the volume of the New York Stock Exchange. Quite easily, the foreign exchange market dwarfs the stock market of any country.

So, where is the foreign currency market? Well, unlike the stock exchanges of the world. The foreign currency market is a virtual market that is connected by the internet, phones, and fax.

The advantage of having a worldwide currency market is that it is open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. Living in the USA, one could trade 24 hours per day Sunday 5pm to Friday 4pm EST. One can only trade stocks during normal market hours, so for those that have jobs during the day, the FOREX market is much more accessible as trading can be done at night or early in the morning before going to work.

Other benefits of the foreign currency exchange include:

1. High Leverage: Currency brokers usually give their traders 100:1 leverage, meaning that if there is $1000.00 in ones account, they will let one control $100,000.00, which allows currency traders to reap large gains from relatively small price movements in the market.

2. High Liquidity: Because the currency market is the largest market in the world with huge daily volumes, one is always able to get in and out of trades as liquidity is never an issue.

3. Stops are always honored: Except in extremely volatile markets, which is rare, limits and stops are always honored. Because of the market's liquidity and 24 hour continuous trading periods, dangerous trading gaps are eliminated altogether. Orders are executed very quickly, without slippage. In the stock market, it is much more frequent that stops get skipped over as stock prices plummet, but in the FOREX, one can be much more confident that the stops are honored.

4. Entry orders are instant: There is no lag time in placing an order. Orders are processed instantly at the current market price, or the price at which you set the order to enter the market in the future.

5. No Commissions: There are no commissions in currency trading, the broker just takes a small difference between the bid price and the ask price as its fee for the transaction.

As currency markets are some of the most volatile markets, many fundamental variables such as weather, and war affect the price of the currency, however, since there is no one apparent reason much of the time for price movement, the fundamentals get discounted and one can use an almost purely technical approach to trading. This is why the FOREX is considered one of the most predictable trending markets that follows technical analysis methods more than any other market.

As one can see, there are many great benefits to using the FOREX as a highly profitable financial instrument. One can trade from home in their spare time, but first it is important to get a solid education in learning specific FX trading methods. Before trading in a live account, it is important to first get educated using books, or online courses. There are many courses online selling for upwards of $3000.00, but it is not necessary to spend that kind of money to get a good education. Usually the expensive courses come with DVD's and other expensive items that raise the price. Much of the time one can find a course for under $500 that teaches the exact same content for much less money.

Do-It-Yourself Financial Planning

The fight for financial freedom isn't fair. No matter what kind of spin you try to put on it, the path to comfortable living seems either impossible or too long to attempt. Many people these days are spending copious amounts of money going to see professional financial planners for advice on how to get their money situation under control. But let's be honest, while a financial planner can show you how to prioritize your spending and how to go about consolidating your debt, surely there must be a way to plan your finances that doesn't cost you visits to a professional? This article has been written to open some people's eyes to the fact that it is possible to properly plan your finances from the comfort of your own home.

The main aim when planning your finances is to make everything as simple as possible. There is nothing worse than sinking so far into depression that you can't see a way out. Whether you are in debt and looking to get out of it of if you are simply looking for a way to keep a little more spending money aside each month, the simpler you make your planning the better the result you will get. From the beginning, you need to be realistic. I'll start with the example of a single income situation, firstly you need to calculate what your net pay is per month. If you're self employed or not on a regular pay, always calculate the worst-case-scenario, what is the lowest you might get paid. Then go through your monthly bills and write down the ones that are a fixed amount. Do the same for all other bills but use the worst-case-scenario again, what is your estimation of the most that those bills might be. Add everything up and subtract it from your net income total.

Next onto the incidental expenses you might run into on a monthly basis. These might include petrol, car upkeep, public transport fares, food etc. make a list of all the little expenses you might need money for in a month. Even things that you're not sure you might need to buy. Don't add general spending money to the list, be specific. Always add more to the totals if you're not sure as you can fine tune it later. Again, subtract your total from the money left over from your bills. Don't worry if you've gone into the negative figures here, we can fix it.

Once you've got your expenses total in front of you, obviously any money that is left over is your profit for the month. In the event that you have nothing left or have gone into the minus figures, the next step is to minimize your expenses. Pretty straight forward, huh? Any incidental expenses that you might not need, remove them. And any expenses you know you will have, like food and petrol for example, really get down to the lowest spend on them. How much do you really need to spend on them? Your aim should be to save at least $50 per month after spending money. All that extra builds up and gives you a nice petty cash at the end of a few months.

If you are in a multiple-income situation, the same process applies. You need to start building up that petty cash tin. There will always be unexpected expenses, everyone knows that. In truth, the basis of comfortable living is really the knowledge that you can afford to pay for something unexpected.

To finish, all of this can be done on a piece of paper if you want to invest a little time, or you can lay it all out on an Excel spreadsheet. The way that saves the most time is to use a Financial Planning software program, you enter the numbers and the program gives you an automatic monthly planner. Whatever way you choose to go, always remember to keep it as simple as possible. When you're following a plan, the pressure on you will decrease.