Electronic money transfers have definite uses. The IRS uses them to debit taxes out of business’s accounts, and kidnappers love having ransom money wired to untraceable accounts in the Caymans. But at the same time, electronic money transfers simply cannot beat the benefits of paper checks.

You need to pay your cable bill. Sure, some companies will direct debit your account, but what if you’re not set up for that yet? You have to write a paper check. Or perhaps you need to pay your child’s piano teacher. Are you going to have your piano teacher debit your bank account as well?

Electronic money transfers are definitely useful for many purposes and they are unarguably increasing in popularity, but there is no technology currently available that will ever completely eliminate paper checks. Paper checks can be written by anyone, to anyone for free (at almost all banks). While paper checks are not as secure as electronic fund transfers, the security comes with a long wait - electronic transfers take just as long to clear as checks do. Also, there are currently emerging technologies for businesses to clear checks at the point of sale, meaning that personal checks have an all-new level of security.

Since paper checks in their current form have been around for many decades, the security features on them have evolved to a level in which check fraud is nearly impossible. While it is possible to fake them (it’s possible to counterfeit cash, as well, even though it is supposed to be the most secure form of money transfer), creating a fraudulent check and having it clear without any questions asked from the owner of the bank account is exceedingly uncommon.

In some ways, paper checks are more secure than widespread electronic fund transfers. Since there is a paper record of the transaction signed by both parties, it is indisputable after the transaction has taken place. Electronic money transfers work well for the government and big businesses that collect large sums of money, but for small transfers from household to household, they would not be practical. If lots of electronic money transfers became common, there would be tons of disputes, not to mention errors in billing due to wrong account numbers. Using a check, the account number at the bottom is printed in ink on each check (neither party has to write or type it). For an electronic transfer, the recipient must provide an account number as well as a bank code; these codes are often inaccessible and are easy to confuse or mistake.

Electronic money transfers have their place and will continue to gain in popularity, but for regular, day-to-day transactions between private parties, paper checks will forever reign.

What do you do when all of a sudden the month is just beginning and the $$$$’s are
gone? You put the emotion away and get crackin’ with bill priorities and some cold hard facts about your bills… and maybe even the priorities in your life. Believe it or not, some bills are definitely more important than others. Don’t forget, this is an emergency.

Rent/mortgage - You aren’t getting very far without a roof over your head. If you’re looking at long-term financial distress you may have to consider selling or relocating, but clearly, housing is an essential.

Utilities - Housing also means utilities. Especially if there are youngsters, don’t even think of eliminating gas or electric. Reduce usage as much as you can but insure you pay gas, electric, and water. The phone is a different story along with cable. The former is optional in moderation and the latter is “Get rid of it NOW!” until better times.

Child support - Unless jail is an option, child support is not. Plan to pay it.

Car Payment - If you need the car for a job, it is an essential. If there is an alternate transportation, the car and insurance may have to be a non-survivor.

Secured Debts - Secured debts are those assigned to a collateral (house, car, furniture, etc.). Creditors can often live with a late or missing payment or even two. Contact the creditor and explain the circumstance, but definitely do not just ignore your creditor. Yes, your credit may be hurt, but we are dealing with an emergency and wounds will occur. If the disaster is long term you may have to consider surrendering the property.

Unpaid Taxes - Negotiate payments but don’t ignore this one. Consider it child support to your government.

Food - Just because food is a priority, it doesn’t mean filet mignon. Common sense rules in this area.

Unsecured Debt - Unsecured debt are those loans without property attached: credit cards, department store loans, gas cards, medical bills, loans from friends. (Note: Student loans should be considered as a required debt.) Failing to pay these will eventually be very painful with your credit and good name but are probably the least devastating for the short term.

In Between Items - Medical insurance, children’s “needs”, and other debts unique to your circumstance will require a value judgment. How long is the emergency.. what can you live without… how bad is the situation… can the debts be delayed?

As we all know the cost of living has skyrocketed to the extent that trying to cope with it is getting harder and harder. The law of supply and demand must be taken into consideration before we “jump the gun” and point a finger at those whom we accuse as being responsible for the downturn in our economy. Of course, mismanagement in certain areas has partially contributed to our failure in preventing such a state of affairs from getting out of hand,

and may be attributed to greed in some respects, as well as a marked indifference to certain rules of moderation in the making of policies that seemed to have worsened the situation all the more. Continually complaining about it will do us no good. The alternative is that we must try to cope with our circumstances as best as we can. There is a time to rejoice and a time to moan, but to merely moan and stop thinking as to how we can survive the impact of the rising cost of living, can hurt us all the more. All we can do is try to tailor our needs accordingly by doing the following:

Since the price of gasoline per gallon continues to skyrocket, we can, in some instances, travel by bus, and drive only when it is absolutely necessary. We can stop buying the things that we do not need and shop at markets that are cheaper and where we can purchase food at discounted prices. Instead of buying certain name brands of products, we can buy similar products that are manufactured by those that are less popular. There are stores, such as the 99-cent stores that carry a regular selection of fruits and vegetables, as well as other products that cost no more than 99 cents, instead of buying these from supermarkets and other stores where we have to pay much more. It is understandable that, under certain circumstances, people may have no other alternative but to shop in supermarkets, particularly when these are located in their neighborshood, or when they are unable to explore other places becuase of certain handicaps. In this case, they may have to confine their purchases to products that they need and not buy the unnecessary things that they can do without.
Eating in expensive restaurants must be avoided. There are restaurants that are cheaper and easily accessible. In the case of a couple with children, cooking at home more often is advisable and, in fact, more conducive to health and welfare.

Deprivation of the luxuries of life does not mean that we have to moan and groan continuously.
Think of those outside our borders, such as the Third World countries where poverty and homelessness are much more pronounced than it is here. There are times when things happen unexpectedly, such as the present. we may feel depressed because the good, old days have suddenly passed us by. The truth is that when one area of the economy is adversely affected, other areas follow in its wake. Such a chain reaction can, indeed, be frustrating. Some day and hopefully soon, we will overcome the problem, as we have done so in the past, as we learn from our mistakes and failures.

When purchasing an existing convenience store you can opt to buy into a franchise or run an independent establishment. If you choose to go the franchise route, you will have to examine the chain’s requirements and see if you meet their personal and financial criteria in order to apply to become a franchisee and buy from the current owner.

There are pros and cons to franchise vs. independence. If you buy into a franchise, you have the ability to capitalize on an already established name, but you also will be held to maintain specific standards and have to pay royalty fees to the corporation. In the independent convenience store you have the freedom to carry any kind of products you choose and any profit you make is yours to keep. The con to this is you will have to establish your own reputation since you aren’t linking your business to an already well-known and publicized name.

If you do decide a franchise is along the lines of what you are looking to invest your resources in, make sure you understand the franchise agreement before making a commitment.

DECISION FACTORS
It is important to carefully choose the geographical location of your convenience store. You don’t want to buy a store which is so far away from other shopping that customers won’t come out of their way to buy, unless there are a high number of residential homes in the area which will undoubtedly need to utilize your store due to, well, it’s convenience.

You also don’t want to be placed in an area where there are several grocery stores in the vicinity which would be highly competitive. Since convenience stores typically have to charge slightly higher prices than larger stores which tend to buy in bulk, the key to making your convenience store a success is finding the perfect location where you can fill a niche need and have the ability to grow your customer base.

A high traffic volume area is ideal and knowing the demographics of the local area is also important in helping you determine whether or not a store will be able to turn a profit.

ONCE YOU’VE FOUND A STORE
Research is critical when purchasing an existing convenience store. If you already know the location of the convenience store you want to buy, do your homework on the property before you invest money into it.

Convenience stores typically have a high turnover rate in ownership, so you want to dig around and find out why the current owner is selling. You don’t want to invest your capital into a business which is having a difficult time turning a profit. If the reasons are due to mismanagement, you might be able to make a success if you change the current approach, but if the reasons are due to poor location or other variable factors, you may want to reconsider this property before you end up going broke too.

As you explore the store’s history, it is vital to carefully examine the financial statements of the business to ensure all is in order and that the numbers equate. Financial statements are valuable documents to use when determining the viability, profitability and past successes of a business. These figures will also help you determine the business’ future potential.

Buying an existing convenience store is good opportunity to become a successful business owner if the situation looks good. If you do your homework, digest the financial statements, understand demographics, location and the other variables with owning a convenience store, buying one can be a lucrative opportunity.

Nouveau Riche (French for “new rich”), or new money, refers to a person who has acquired considerable wealthgeneration within his or her.

Many people suffer from the misconception that the Nouveau Riche are a wealthy class. Unfortunately, they’re nothing of the kind. Nouveau riche is a form of neurosis in which one is money obsessed, and believes oneself to be far wealthier than he really is. Rather than having money, the Nouveau Riche simply spend money, and then scramble to get money to pay for the things they bought that they couldn’t afford.

This term is generally to emphasize that the individual was previously part of a lower socioeconomic rank, and that such wealth has provided the means for the acquisition of goods or luxuries that were previously unobtainable.

The nouveau riche always think they have more money than they actually have, and think they’re more important than they actually are. Saving money has no value to the nouveau riche. They always think how to make new investment from what they get, of course also how to optimize their asset. Some of nouveau riche also do the same path with new investor trendsetter. They spend some of their money to buying some properties.

Based on the fact that world population never going down, so properties demand always increasing sharply day by day. So be a nouveau riche….