Preparing for the future... Retirement plans

Time passes by fast and some people are caught unprepared for when life catches up with them. Most of us are busy taking care of our families and working to provide for today, this gives us little or no time to think ahead, to prepare for when the time comes for us to stop working, because we are too old, because we are unable to work or simply because there is no more positions available for retired people.

 Everyone needs to prepare for that time when they can just relax and enjoy the fruits of all those hard working days. People who have spent many years working and supporting their families deserve a chance to lay back, do what they have long wanted to do and live life to the fullest without having a financial burden.

In order to do this you should prepare starting today, remember that is now when you are producing and working, don´t just work for today, plan ahead.

Every person should prepare with a proper retirement package so that when that time comes, he or she will be able to go to places he wanted to visit before but did not have the time or resources, or maybe just by that dream boat or spend time just not worrying about how to pay the bills.

Planning for your own retirement should start with setting aside even a small amount from his monthly earnings to be saved and used for his retirement.

A retirement plan will mean you no longer have to worry whether you have a family to take care of you when you grow old. It means not having to get scared that your children may be so busy living their own lives they will place you in a home for the aged. Preparing for retirement means being secured in the knowledge that something is waiting for you, when you can no longer earn money the way you used to do.

For most people, retirement means being free from previous obligations and responsibilities, it means a time to dedicate to you and your loved ones without the stress of labor

So the best investment you can make in life is in yourself, start planning for your retirement and look forward to a life of relax.

Affordable Health Insurance, finding the right one.

Finding affordable health insurance is not impossible, there is a great deal of companies that will be able to accommodate your needs, requirement and overall your budget. The reality is that most people just don´t know where to look for health insurance. Finding the right company with the ability to find health insurance providers can really simplify things for you when it comes to buying health insurance and there is always the internet, you will definitely find lots and lots of information.

Thousands of people in the United States simply go without health insurance because the idea of health insurance being unaffordable is on the top of their minds and this explains why there are many individuals in the United States who choose to go without health insurance. Those who do not have health insurance will be less likely to visit a doctor. This means that a lot of times illness and other ailments are not diagnosed until they have developed and sometimes the cost of treatment exceeds the cost of health insurance, so it is better to be on the safe side and find affordable health insurance.

There are numerous different things that will determine what your monthly health insurance will be. Your health insurance rates will change depending upon the kind of policy you have. For example, do you only need health insurance for yourself, or your entire family? The answer will have an impact on the rates. Are you young, or are you in your senior years, do you have a previously diagnosed illness…Most health insurance companies adjust your premium based upon your age and/or your health itself. Are you self-employed, or are you receiving health insurance through your work? This will also affect the cost of your health insurance.

In life you never know when an accident will happen and you might need a trip to hospital for x-rays, stitches or a cast for that broken bone. These bills will add up quickly but if you have health insurance you can get the help you need without the worry of having to pay for everything.

 If you can’t afford to pay off your medical bills, your credit rating might be affected. If you have health insurance, you can prevent these problems from ever happening and most importantly your health will be protected.

Another way you can make sure that your insurance rates are lowered is to increase the amount of your health insurance deductible, but keep in mind that when you use your health insurance you will have to pay that big deductible. And most likely anyone that has existing health problems which require extensive medical treatment may find it necessary to have a higher monthly premium.

The best recommendation is to do research, ask all the questions and contact as many companies as you can, the internet is a great way of researching fast and get tons of quotes that you can have mailed to your inbox,  this is the most definitive way to save money on health insurance.

The Forex Market Part 1

"The Forex Market is very different than trading currencies on the futures market, and a lot easier, than trading stocks or commodities.

Whether you are aware of it or not, you already play a role in the Forex market. The simple fact that you have money in your pocket makes you an investor in currency, particularly in the US Dollar. By holding US Dollars, you have elected not to hold the currencies of other nations. Your purchases of stocks, bonds or other investments, along with money deposited in your bank account, represent investments that rely heavily on the integrity of the value of their denominated currency ¨the US Dollar. Due to the changing value of the US Dollar and the resulting fluctuations in exchange rates, your investments may change in value, affecting your overall financial status. With this in mind, it should be no surprise that many investors have taken advantage of the fluctuation in Exchange Rates, using the volatility of the Foreign Exchange market as a way to increase their capital.

Example: suppose you had $1000 and bought Euros when the exchange rate was 1.50 Euros to the dollar. You would then have 1500 Euros. If the value of Euros against the US dollar increased then you would sell (exchange) your Euros for dollars and have more dollars than you started with.

Example:

You might see the following:

EUR/USD last trade 1.5000 means

One Euro is worth $1.50 US dollars.

The first currency (in this example, the EURO) is referred to as the base currency and the second (/USD) as the counter or quote currency.

The FOREX plays a vital role in the world economy and there will always be a tremendous need for the exchange of currencies. International trade increases as technology and communication increases. As long as there is international trade, there will be a FOREX market. The FX market has to exist so a country like Germany can sell products in the United States and be able to receive Euros in exchange for US Dollar.

RISK WARNING:

Risks of currency trading

Margined currency trading is an extremely risky form of investment and is only suitable for individuals and institutions capable of handling the potential losses it entails. An account with an broker allows you to trade foreign currencies on a highly leveraged basis (up to about 400 times your account equity).The funds in an account that is trading at maximum leverage may be completely lost if the position(s) held in the account experiences even a one percent swing in value. Given the possibility of losing one's entire investment, speculation in the foreign exchange market should only be conducted with risk capital funds that, if lost, will not significantly affect the investors financial well-being."

FOREX - FAQ

"What is FOREX?

FOREX stands for the FOReign EXchange market, which is an international financial market where currencies are traded. The foreign exchange market began in the 1970s and is now the largest financial market in the world, with an average daily turnover of US$1.9 trillion. That's thirty times the amount of daily activity on all of the US stock exchanges.

Each Forex trade involves simultaneously buying one currency and selling another. For example, if you think that the Euro will rise relative to the dollar, you would place a Euro/Dollar trade. The forex system would then buy the Euro and sell an equivalent amount of the Dollar. Then, when you want to close your position, you would place a Dollar/Euro trade. This would buy the Dollar and sell the Euro. If the Euro had risen against the Dollar, you would make a profit, but if it had fallen relative to the Dollar you would make a loss.

What currencies are traded?

Most of the world's currencies are available to trade, but the majority of market action involves a group of major currencies, including the US Dollar, the Euro, the Yen, the Swiss Franc and Sterling.

Where is the Forex market located?

Unlike most financial markets around the world, Forex is not centralized on an exchange. Instead it operates on a basis known as the interbank market or Over the Counter (OTC). As each Forex trade involves two reciprocal trades (buy one currency and sell another), these are conducted electronically with any broker who is willing to accept the trade.

Who can trade in the Forex market?

Traditionally, access to currency trading was restricted to banking organisations, including central banks, commercial banks and investment banks. That's the reason it operates on a system known as the interbank market.

However, the number of non bank participants in the Forex market, which includes multinational companies, money managers, money brokers and private speculators, is growing rapidly. And thanks to the relatively small amount of capital required to open a trading account (often $500) Forex is opening up to more and more people all the time. If you're over 18, have internet access the enough money to open a trading account, the world of Forex is open to you.

When is the Forex market open for trading?

As Forex doesn't exist within a traditional exchange, it's the only 24 hour financial market in the world. Forex trading begins every day in Sydney and then moves around the globe as the major international financial markets in Tokyo, London and New York open.

In other words, there are always traders somewhere in the world who are actively trading foreign currencies. This means you can make trades and respond to major social, economic and political events day or night. However, there is a short rest period from close of trading on the American financial market on Friday until trading begins in Australia on Monday morning. However, due to the time differences around the globe, this period only lasts for approximately 48 hours.

What is a trading margin?

Forex trades are made in lots of $100,000. If you had to provide that amount of money to cover your position before you could trade, the market would once again be restricted to banks and other institutional investors. So brokers have established the principle of margin trading. In effect they allow people to trade $100,000 blocks of currency if they can provide an element of security against potential losses.

For example, they may allow people to trade on a margin of 1% (in comparison, traditional stock brokers often require a 50% margin). This means that they can trade $100,000 blocks, provided their account contains at least $100,000 x 1% = $1000. One thousand dollars will protect the broker against any potential losses that their client makes (currency values rarely fluctuate by more than 1% in a single day). If a client's account is reduced by losses (i.e. reducing the broker's security below acceptable levels), the broker will close all trades and require an additional deposit before further trades can be made.

Trading margin allows people to control vast amounts of currency wiith relatively small amounts of capital (often 50, 100 or even 200 times the amount of capital that they have invested). This can lead to massive gains, but increases the risk of losing most or all of your investment capital.

How much does it cost?

Thanks to the trading margin offered by most Forex brokers, it's possible to open an account and get started trading with a relatively small amount of capital.

Forex trades are made in lots of $100,000. However, most Forexs brokes will provide you with a leverage ratio of up to 100:1, which means that you have the ability to control a $100,000 trade with as little as $1000 in your account. Some brokers will provide leverage of 200:1 or even 400:1, which allows you to start with as little as $500 or $250 in your account.

However, please remember that although greater leverage allows you to maximize your profit potential, it also increases the risk factor. The higher the leverage ratio, the smaller trading fluctuation that will be required to wipe out your trading capital. So choose the amount of leverage that you use wisely.
For new traders, it may be safer to begin with leverage of 20:1 or 50:1. This will increase the amount that you need to open an account, but it will reduce the risk of seeing all your trading capital disappear due to a small shift in the value of a currency."

Future Trading

A friend of mine shared this article with me, I don´t know who the author is and the website at the end is no longer up but I believe its really good information so I share it with you...

"The following article includes pertinent information that may cause you to reconsider what you thought you understood. The most important thing is to study with an open mind and be willing to revise your understanding if necessary.

How a strategic money management plan works is discipline, not magic. In the market place it’s possible to be right, and to still lose money. In fact, it’s pretty common. Traders who win on a high percentage of their trades often end up with their capital eroded away, and left with nothing to show for their work. They lose their gains because they don’t know how to manage their money.

Being a good manager of your own money is one of the most difficult of skills to learn. But if you do not use good money management to bank profits, learn to take small losses when you are wrong and control your use of margin, you will lose it all. No matter how good of a trader you think you are, your first priority needs to be protecting your capital if you want to be successful.

As a trader, your capital is the most valuable asset you have. It is your only asset in the eyes of the market. Without it, you can’t work at all. For this reason, bringing in no profits on a trade is better than losing any part of your margined account. If your account is intact, you are alive and live to trade another day. If your capital has suffered a loss your efforts for making gains will wasted playing catch-up. The more you’ve lost, the longer it will take to get back to where you started from, because now you have a smaller pile of capital to work from. A smaller capital base means smaller percentage returns on profits. Making 10% on a $5,000 account earns you $500, but if you’ve lost half of that account and have only $2,500 left, making 10% on your money will earn you only $250. You’d have to do that twice to make the same $500.

Sound money management has two main goals: to avoid losing money, and to avoid missing profit opportunities. The first goal is straightforward. You want to preserve your money and whatever profits you’ve accumulated. But you don’t just want to keep your capital and let it go stagnant. You want to trade with it, to continue to grow it and make your returns larger and larger. Not keeping your money tied up in bad or problem trades for long periods of time will allow you to not miss new profit opportunities when they come along. Failing to avoid either of these will cost you.

It's really a good idea to probe a little deeper into the subject of Futures. What you learn may give you the confidence you need to venture into new areas. Working to avoid losing those profit making opportunities isn’t quite as obvious a goal. With the second goal in mind let’s compare the outcomes of two money-management decisions. Trader X buys a futures position, expecting it to go up, and finds that it doesn’t. However, he’s certain it will go up eventually, and he’s incurred a small loss, so he decides to wait it out. He ends up holding the position for two months before finally selling it. Trader Y buys the same futures at the same time as Trader X, but once he sees that it isn’t going up, he sells it at a small loss. He buys another futures position and makes a 10% profit on it. His next trade loses 2%, but after that he makes 7 %, and then loses 1%, and then gains 25% on a series of trades. Because the account is growing and he makes gains on an ever larger base of capital each time, at the end of two months, his account has grown quite handsomely, even though Trader Y was WRONG 50% of the time.

Which money management decision turned out to be the best? While Trader Y made a nice profit, Trader X not only lost time but also never made his money back. Even if he had made his money back on that position, it’s hard to see how this was a good use of his operating funds over the course of two months.

Clearly the goal of not tying up your capital in bad trades has an important impact on your profits. Using sound money management will keep your trading funds and your profits safe. Though it is a difficult skill to learn, once you know how to practice good money management techniques, you can almost guarantee that you will be a successful trader.

If you've picked up some pointers about Futures that you can put into action, then by all means, do so. You won't really be able to gain any benefits from your new knowledge if you don't use it."

More information can be found at http://www.futurestradingsite.com

Forex trading tips

Last year I started a practice account to trade Forex, I must say at first I was lost, it required a lot of studying and learning, and trust me, the practice account is just to practice using the system, the real account is another story... I believe every day many people get the idea they are gonna get rich with Forex, and you probably can if you have the money to invest, but you have to be willing to take loses, remember that in Forex if you make money it only means that somebody else lost money, and you can be on the side that helped someone else to make money…

I share with you this 5 tip to Foreign Exchange currency market:

1.       Know your Fx trading market.

Always educate yourself about the currencies that you trade and everything related to Forex, you need to know everything before jumping to the water. The more you learn about the country (from economics to social situations) of the country´s currency you’re trading in the forex market, the more likely  you’ll be to make predictions about which way the money will move.

2.       Pick a forex trading system and stick with it.

Most experienced Forex traders will recommend you use a system, trading in the Forex market by system allows you to automate your trades based previous trading. Get a system set up and stick to it in order to make the most of your forex trading.

3.       Practice makes perfect, but remember that the real world gives you the experience

Practice forex trading accounts are great for learning and getting you familiar with Forex trading systems but they do differ from the reality of trading (in the sense that the world changes by the second). The recommendation is to start off with a mini forex account to bring you losses to a minimum while you get the hang of it.

4.       Avoid  the margin until you´re a Pro

Margin trading is an easy way to lose your money quickly. Avoid Forex margin trading until  you have no doubt about what you’re doing.

5.       The bottom line is counting Dollars

The bottom line is how much money you made with your trade, stay away from counting won or lost trades, count your dollars.