Everything You Must Know Before Selecting a Bankruptcy Attorney

Before making the decision to file for bankruptcy, it is important to realize that there are four different types of ways individuals and companies can file. Your bankruptcy attorney will be able to help you determine whether you should file for Chapter 7, 11, 12, or 13. Chapters 7 and 13 are personal options. On the other hand, chapters 11 and 12 are for corporations and those in the agricultural business.

The first step you will need to take in order to select a bankruptcy attorney is to search for lawyers in your area that practice in the appropriate Chapter you will be filing. There are some lawyers that focus on personal finances, while others may simply focus on businesses. Some firms may do a mix of both. More general firms that practice a wide variety of law are also an option. When it comes to filing on behalf of an individual, many firms choose to file Chapter 7. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is the least complicated way to file.

When selecting a bankruptcy attorney, it is best to seek someone with experience in the field. You are going to want someone who knows what they are doing and is highly knowledgeable when it comes to settling your finances. If you choose to go with an individual as opposed to a firm, it is best to ask if the lawyer has a reference source that he or she uses in the event they are unfamiliar with a particular part of your case. When choosing a firm, all of the members of the practice can work together if a problem arises. Firms are likely to have individuals who are knowledgeable in a wide variety of areas; making all references in-house. Remember, even the slightest mistake can cause your case to be dismissed.

Find out if the person you choose is going to be available to answer your questions. Find out how long it may take for return calls and what happens if your lawyer is unavailable when a need arises. Is there a backup option in place? In order to head down the road to financial freedom, you are going to need someone that is available.

Before making your decision, be sure to check references. Most firms will provide you with a list of clients that they have worked with in the past. Make a few phone calls to see what others have to say before making your decision. When you are not in good financial standing, asking friends and family for their advice may be the last thing you want to do. However, they may be able to provide you with a reference for a bankruptcy attorney.

Finding the person that is going to represent your case is not a decision that should be taken lightly. When it comes to your finances, experience and professionalism are extremely important.

Staying Focused on Your Virtual Assistant Job

Everyone has distractions to deal with at work, but when you work from home, the distractions are an issue that you have to deal with at the outset. When you start working from a home office, it's important to develop a specific schedule and make sure your family and friends understand that when you are in your office, that is your time to work. A lot of people think that because they have a friend or family member that works from home, it's alright to call or drop in whenever they want to. You'll run into problems when you miss client's deadlines because you were chatting on the phone or taking time from your project to visit with friends or family. Even if you have to be firm about it, set boundaries right away and make people realize that at certain hours you are working. If they continue to interrupt your work day, gently remind them you are working and give them a time you will be able to talk/visit after you are done.

A lot of people go online and the first thing they do is check their email. It's hard to keep from reading email from friends or family, but here's what happens: Someone sends an email that you feel you have to respond to right away, especially if it's from a relative or close friend. So you take the time to email. There are also the people who forward everything they are sent by other people. You read a forward that you think 

you have to pass on, and spend 10 or 15 minutes forwarding to everyone in your address book. Each distraction you face cuts into your work time. If you use your email for business and personal messages, set up a second email address for business emails. Use this one for all business related emails. Make a schedule during work hours to only check your business email, this can be twice a day, or more, depending on your business needs. For your personal emails, limit this to after work hours only.

A lot of people use instant messaging or Skype to stay in contact while they're online. Some clients want their virtual assistant to have Skype available whenever they're online. You can have issues by keeping messenger open while you're working. Friends or family can see that you're online and want to chat while you're working. Sometimes you may even get messages from people you don't know trying to get you involved in a network marketing business. If you have any type of messaging for work, have one account that you use strictly to stay in contact with clients, and another for personal conversations. If you only have IM turned on for friends and family, turn it off during your working hours.

Another distraction can be responding to job offers. Here's a good example. You have a deadline for a client's project, but get an email from a potential client who is interested in hiring you for a project. When you take the time to respond and attach files including your resume, you're taking time off from the current project. This can result in too much work and not enough time. Respond after you finish working for the day.

A major shiny object is social media. We all want to stay in contact with friends on Facebook or Twitter. However, this can be a major distraction when you're working. If you get a message that someone has commented on your status or something on your page, it's natural curiosity to want to know who it is. When you check the page, you decide to respond. Another way many of us get distracted on social media sites is from the ads in the sidebar. Ads are placed on social media and other pages according to your preferences or interests, and it's hard to keep from checking out the offers, especially since many of the ads are so compelling. Get into the habit of only checking out your social media pages after you have finished working.

Although unexpected things can happen when you're working from home that you must attend to, the most effective way to keep from getting distracted by the shiny objects, is to keep to a set schedule as much as possible, and confine your social time online for your downtime.

VirtualAssistants.com has been helping people get virtual jobs since 1999. As one of the oldest virtual job boards on the internet, their experience with pre-screening and posting legitimate virtual jobs have helped thousands of people achieve their dream of working at home. To sign up for virtual jobs,

Learn How To Succeed From Wealthy People

Think big

No dream is too big. In fact, when Warren was in his twenties, he told his wife that they were going to be very rich one day. He didn't have much wealth at the time, and he wasn't sure when he'd get rich. However, he was absolutely certain that he was going to be a wealthy man one day - and now he's one of the richest men in the world!

It's important to have a vision in life. Who do you want to be and what do you want to achieve? Your dreams can become a reality if you have the vision to get you there. So, take the time to think about what you want. Then, picture it in your mind's eye and start working towards those goals every day. If you embrace your vision today, it could become your reality in the future. So, get inspired and don't be afraid to dream big!

Be patient, but persistent

There's a reason why they say, "Rome wasn't build in one day." And, as Warren Buffett said, "No matter how great the talents or efforts, some things just take time." Remember that you can build something fantastic if you are prepared to devote the time that's required to achieve your dreams. Be consistent and persistent in all your journey to success.

The most important thing to do is to make a start. Then, take one step at a time. Set short-term goals that you can attain and celebrate your victories. Over time, you will build momentum and, one day, you'll see that each small step has helped you to achieve a much bigger, end goal.

Very few people actually become an overnight success. However, if you're focused, patient and persistent you can achieve just about anything that you want to.

Invest in yourself

Taking the time to invest in yourself is one of the most rewarding and worthwhile actions that you can take. As Warren Buffett said, "Investing in yourself has an incredibly high return on investment."

This is because you are ultimately at the core of your success or failure.In essence, the more you put into yourself, the more you'll be able to do and achieve. So, keep learning as much as you can. Try to go to bed each night knowing something you didn't know before. Read books, network with other people and learn from their successes and failures. Find a mentor, search the Web and attend conferences and courses.

Everyday you have an opportunity to learn through your experiences

and the people around you. So, be vigilant and actively take steps to improve yourself and increase your knowledge. The people who get ahead are those who are prepared to push themselves beyond their comfort zone.

Plan for the future

If you don't make plans today, you won't be able to enjoy the results in the future. For instance, if you want to be a millionaire, then you need to know what steps to take over the next few years to get there. In other words, you need to set both short-term and long-term goals. Then, plan how you will achieve your goals and start working towards them. All the effort and work that you put into your endeavors today will ultimately lead to a better future. Someone's sitting in the shade today, because someone planted a tree a long time ago.

Focus your efforts

Trying to do too many different things will hinder your progress. It's far better to focus on a few things and do them very well. In fact, you only have to be really good at one thing in order to succeed

So, make sure that you focus your efforts on what you're good at and enjoy. Learn to be selective about what you get involved in and don't be afraid to say no. The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything. Remember that being a jack of all trades makes you a master of none.

Understanding The Residual Income Formula

In the past article in this series, a definition of residual income as well as ideas for residual income was outlined. A strong background in the understanding of these concepts is recommended in order to appreciate the background of residual income formula as well as its application in corporate world.

Recently, analyst has adopted the concept of passive income formula in valuation of a firm due to its ability to adjust for time value of money. Naturally, money losses value with time, thus a thousand dollars today may not be worth the same amount five years from now.

As a result, households prefer consumption today as opposed to future and this is the basic reason for using the concept of passive income in evaluating best alternative in investment opportunities.

The residual income formula is a concept in managerial accounting which is used to determine and compare the performance of different units in a business. This formula measures the success of the each department against the minimum required rate of return.

The rate of return on investment is a requirement in determining the viability of a business venture. In simple terms, before investing your money in an idea, it is important to determine if the expected return is worth the risk.

The residual income formula is attributed to Economist Alfred Marshall who is the founder of many economic models and principles. Leading motor vehicle assembly firm General motors' was the first company to adopt the concept in valuation of its business units. The basic formula is:

RI = Operating income - (Operating Assets x Target Required rate of return)

In this formula, operating income refers to the net operating income - net operating expenses. Operating expenses are incurred to ensure smooth running of the business and they include costs such as wages, rent, and cost of raw material among others.

Required rate of return is the opportunity cost that the business incurs as a result of foregone alternatives. It is key to note that a business operates on scarce resources in terms of money, time and employees.

It is thus important to make a choice regarding the best alternatives to allocate resources to. The alternatives foregone by the company as a result of scarcity of resources is the opportunity cost or the minimum required rate of return.

The operating assets of the business unit on the other hand refers to the asset base of the particular department or the total assets in a specific business unit.

In this regard, a company earns higher passive income when per unit cost of producing a good is lower than the revenue obtained from selling the unit. In simpler terms, to ensure higher income earnings, the company should operate at a point where the revenue is maximized while the costs are minimized.

In this case, the difference between income and expenditure is a big positive figure illustrating growth in income for the firm. In evaluating projects to invest in, a business unit that has a positive passive income figure is a viable idea while that with a negative value should be abandoned.

If two similar projects both have positive values, then the one with the highest figure should be selected since it will generate more income for the company.

It is important to make a distinction between firm passive income and household passive income or in simple terms the residual income for a business entity and that of an individual.

The above formula is used in determination of passive income for a business unit. In terms of individual households, the definition of residual income formula changes to reflect the unique behavior of household consumption.

It is defined as money left over after paying utility bills and loans or in simple terms what is left after paying debts. In this regard, the residual income formula becomes:

Residual Income = Monthly Net Income - Monthly Debts

In this formula, the monthly net income is the sum of all passive income earned which can be from royalties, rental income, interest earning on saving, subscription or service fee for a service rendered.

Monthly debts on the other hand relates to expenses incurred in earning the monthly income and could include expenses like agency fee to real estate agency.

So how do you ensure income growth basing on this concept?.

The trick is to ensure a big difference between monthly income and debts. Try to increase your income as much as possible but limit your spending as low as possible as well as limiting borrowing.

The bigger the difference between these two the higher the passive income and in contrast as the difference decreases, the residual income decreases as well

The information used in calculating passive income is available in the income statement of a company. The popularity of using the residual income formula in estimating the performance of different departments in a business is due to the simplicity and the realistic nature of this technique.

For instance, if two departments generate same level of profits but one department requires more assets in its operation, then the best alternative for the company is the one which uses less assets. This is because the extra assets will be an additional expense to the company thus reducing profitability.

In the next article, the concept of residual income is used in determining the viability of different residual income ideas. Having an idea on how to make passive income is not enough, before investing your time and money in such an idea ensure it is a worthy investment by determine how viable it is.

Amaiwe Bryan is a professional Internet marketer and an article writer.

The Secret to Creating Wealth With Shares

The secret to understand shares correctly

When you purchase shares in a business, you become one of the owners of that business. A shareholder means: a joint owner. For example, if a business is divided into one million shares and you purchase one share, then you will own one millionth of that business. As long as the business continues to operate, you will own one millionth of the annual profits, which the business generates. If the business can consistently make more profits each year, your portion of those profits will obviously also increase year after year.

You should see yourself as a "partner" in a business that's managed by other professional people. Although you are one of the owners of the business, you never have to do any work in the business, as the employees of the business do all the work and, obviously receive a good salary in return. After these salaries and other business expenses are paid, you and all of the other owners, i. e. shareholders, will exclusively share in the business's remaining annual profits.

What happens to this profit every year?

Two things. A portion of the money is invested back into the business every year, so the business can expand and grow. New equipment is bought, retail space is expanded, new projects are embarked on, etc. The rest of the money is paid out to you and the other investors.

These payouts are known as dividends. If the business expands successfully, you will receive a larger dividend payout the following year. . . an even larger payout the year after that. . . etc. In this way, you will receive a growing stream of passive income from the business without having to personally do any work in the business.

How to create wealth with shares?

To create great wealth with shares, you need to invest in good businesses and give these businesses enough time to grow. As the businesses grow, the value of your shares will also increase. In the meantime, you will receive a stream of dividends that increase annually

Therefore, the most important secret for successful share investments is to understand that you become a joint owner of a business. If the business grows, the business's assets and profits will increase and this is how your shares increase in value. If you purchase shares in excellent businesses and you are patient, it is guaranteed, so to speak, that you will become extremely wealthy over time.

Obviously, the big secret is to uncover excellent businesses. There are many businesses on the New York Stock Exchange that you can buy shares in, but only a few of them are truly excellent businesses.

The Secret behind Million Dollar Blueprint products online

Potential investors aren't aware of the share investment information I explained above. They are lured to million dollar blueprint products available online. These self claimed investment experts sell what they call million dollar blueprint platforms. They claim that they have come up with million dollar secret tool, tool to make instant wealth in the stock market.

So, be warned, don't purchase any million dollar blueprint. Search for reputable stock broking companies, preferably offline or email the Stock Exchange directly or make a telephone call and get advice.

Martin is premium member at Wealthy Affiliate online marketing training. At WA beginners, experienced internet marketers alike, are trained the fundamentals of online marketing industry.Wealthy Affiliate goals are to train members to build successful online business of any magnitude.

4 Cool Tricks to Maximize Your Credit Card

Your credit card is an important tool when it comes to your finances. This is precisely the reason why you should try your best to make the most of its perks. You may not realize it, but there are a number of things that you can do to maximize your card's use.

This article presents a couple of cool tips every cardholder needs to remember.

Make best use of your Billing Cycle

The way you pay your monthly bills is crucial to maximizing your card. For instance, if you settle your dues punctually and in full, then you will be able to avoid being charged with interest. This is probably the best way to use your card. This is because you are technically getting a free loan from your card provider.

Of course, there are still a couple of tricks you can do to step things up. Consider this: if you make a charge a day before your statement is closed, then that you will have around 20-25 days to settle that charge. However, making that same charge a day after the statement is closed will give you a total of at least 55 days to pay that charge. This is because that charge will be transferred to the next billing cycle.

Another important trick you need to remember is that some card providers actually allow their users to move back their due dates, thus extending their payment cycles. This can certainly help if you find yourself in a financial jam. However, you need to keep in mind that you won't be able to this repeatedly.

Always ask to be reconsidered

If your initial credit card application was rejected, you should never hesitate to ask for reconsideration. There is always the possibility that your credit worthiness was not assessed correctly. Keep in mind that the process itself is not perfect, so mistakes are bound to happen.

Just give your card provider a quick call. Explain to them why you deserve to be approved for that particular card. If you are convincing enough, the person on the other end of the line might just give you that card you want.

Threaten a Chargeback

Asking for your money back from a merchant is often a futile effort. Fortunately, credit card users have a slight edge over people who pay with cash. As a credit cardholder, you are entitled to a chargeback option.

The chargeback option is an important trick all card owners need to remember. All you have to do is call the merchant, and ask to speak to a supervisor. Inform them that you want your money back. However, if your initial attempts at a refund are rejected, then tell them that you intend to ask for a chargeback from your card provider.

It is virtually guaranteed that the supervisor will change their mind once you threaten them with this. This is because a chargeback means increased merchant fees. They would rather give you back your money than be charged any additional fees.

Make the Most out your Reward Cards

As you may have already noticed, many reward cards rely on gimmicks to make you spend more. Do not fall for this trap. Overspending is the among worst things you can do with your credit card. Instead, you should try using these cards creatively. Earn reward points the smart way.

For instance, if you want to qualify for a sign up bonus, then try using your credit card to purchase gift cards. Just make sure that you will be using these in the future. That beings said, buy them from retailers that you visit often.

Consumer Credit Counseling - Is It Worthwhile To Clean The Cluttered Credit Slate?

It will be difficult to come across someone who does not have a debt. Loans, mortgages, and credit card balances have more or less become a way of life, especially for those who live life king-size. The record of debts and payment history has a huge impact on credit reports. However, people rarely worry about their credit report until they are buried under deep debt and it lowers their credit score. Low credit score will make it difficult for you to rent an apartment, obtain a loan or apply for a new credit card. This is the reason why it is essential to repair your credit score when you find yourself in a similar situation.

You can hire a company that offers credit repair counseling to help you improve your credit score. While many of you may have some inhibitions when it comes to credit counseling but to your advantage, there are a lot of benefits that a reputed credit repair company can provide. Read on to get know how a credit repair company can help you out in deleting bad credit history from your report.

Find the a Reputed Company

An essential point that you need to understand is that all counseling services are not inadequate. However, you need to know a few checkpoints before you make the final decision. A little bit of know-how on certain factors such as the market value, dependability factor and performance of the company will enable you to spot reputed credit restoration services that will cater to all your requirements and preferences.

Post Finding the Correct Services

When you find a reliable and a legitimate credit counseling company your next step is only to follow the lead.

The companies offering credit restoration services make your life much easier as they take off the financial burden from your shoulders and help you fix bad credit rating. A lot of credit companies work with you in a way that you do not find it tough to pay off all your debts. They follow a strategy.

Since the credit counselors are excellent at negotiating, they speak to all your creditors and try to reduce the overall interest rates and monthly payments.

The companies also provide you tips on managing your credit and finances better which plays a major role in determining your credit score. Depending on the money you owe to the creditors and your income, they design a budget for you.

They also structure a credit plan for you to pay off your pending bills.

The credit repair specialists will not only help you in improving your credit score but will also guide you to maintain it in future.

Conclusion

If you pick suitable credit restoration services they would not leave any stone unturned to help you improve your credit score.