Is your money diet leaving you with that still-hungry feeling? It can be a little tough to live like a fat cat if you don't have enough scratch, and times are on the lean side for a lot o' folks these days. For instance, if you live in the state of Washington and you're new to the unemployment line, you can expect to wait up to 12 weeks for a determination on your unemployment insurance application. That kind o' lead time tends to take the fun out o' slackin'. You might as well just get another job! Surely, I jest...

Whether you're looking to replace your income or simply add to it, you'd do well to hang up your shingle and go into business on your own. With so many opportunities available through the Internet, home-based business start ups are on the rise. Having a home business also means that, unlike a job, you get paid before the tax man does - always a popular choice. A service business that you operate yourself means low overhead and only a minimum of start up capital, making it easier for folks with limited funds to get a new business off the ground. Here are a few tips to help you get started.

When you're looking to start your businesses, think of the stuff you like doing that helps others - stuff that most busy folks don't have time for. This can be anything from mowing the lawn or keeping house, to managing business accounts. You can find clients right in your neighborhood or online through CraigsList.com or Elance.com. It may take you a little footwork and a dash of inspiration to figure out the service needs in your area, but don't think about it too long. Pick something then come up with a plan to provide the service.

How to Be Virtually Indispensible

Virtual assisting has taken off in a big way in the last ten years. Using a computer, fax machine, telephone, and Internet access, you can provide various administrative duties for large and small companies. It works out well for you, because you've got the flexibility of working from home, and your clients only pay for the time you're actually working... instead of hanging around the water cooler, gabbing about your date last night. But I digress....Virtual assisting skills run the gamut from transcription to accounting, or even managing email and company websites. Transcription by itself can be a highly profitable venture. Medical offices and businesspeople are always looking for somebody to transcribe their audio or video files. It's far easier and less time consuming to record an interview or dictate a medical procedure. Your job will be to turn that audio or video file into a document for patient charts or online use by various businesses.

If you have a way with the pen, ghostwriting may be for you. Writing articles, novels, eBooks and more for an individual or business can be highly profitable. Verily, I know of what I speak. Using your writing talent, you can make a lot of money creating literary works or marketing materials for folks who can't put two sentences together. This problem is a lot more common than you might think, and not only can you pull in a tidy sum, you will be doing the world a favor in the name of literacy.

Before you start any type of business, keep these factors in mind:

1.    Check out the local laws for registering and zoning a home business. Most home businesses require no zoning issues unless you will be meeting clients in your home and posting signs in the yard.
2.    Small business tax laws. Now that you are a business, you are subject to different tax exemptions, deductions and payments. Sites like www.irs.gov can give you the information you need.
3.    Set up a separate work space at home. This could be as simple as using a spare bedroom or den with a door to keep your work separate.
4.    Use online and traditional marketing methods to find clients. Don't neglect those newspaper ads, flyers and direct mailings, email marketing, and most importantly, setting up a website.
5.    Create a schedule to divide time between work and family. Balancing both can be tough. Making a schedule and sticking to it means you'll get more done.

As I mentioned a few paragraphs ago, one site that I highly recommend is www.Elance.com, a clearinghouse for contract jobs of all types. Give 'em a look for creative and tradtional business projects. For more great ideas on starting a home-based service business, the folks at Just Add Sweat have a lot of handy guides about setting up your business at home. What they say is, "We provide the inspiration. You provide the perspiration." I think they might mean that figuratively. I don't see your brow gettin' soaked from pounding the keyboard... well, not unless you're really passionate about your work. Ya think? Here's the link for Just Add Sweat: http://su.pr/1oXKvE. For even more tips, head on over to SectorMatic Money Site at http://www.sectormatic.com/selfemployment.html. Now get busy. Somebody's waitin' for your good works. ...Yeah, like that.

SUBSCRIBE NOW! If you're reading this and you're not currently a newsletter subscriber... where ya been? Thank the person who hooked you up. They've done you a marvelous service. Now it's up to you to keep the hits coming and watch the money roll in. Sign up for our free newsletter, and change your life for for good! You didn't think I could read minds too, now did you? Honestly, I think that's asking a bit much....

Until next time,
Jack Schmidt
Spokesman

SectorMatic Money Site
Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget

It is necessary in life to pop the cork every once in awhile. A milestone is not only the cause for celebration, be it major or minor, a milestone is also requisite in having something to celebrate. Some folks would disagree with me here. These would be of the type that say, "Life's uncertain. Eat dessert first." To these cynics I have this pithy answer. "Life's uncertain. Enjoy your green beans." Do you note the difference here? One quip embodies a hedonistic tendency toward undisciplined pleasure for its own sake. The other is an all-inclusive invitation to Go Everywhere, Do Everything, and Enjoy the Ride (my personal motto). You just can't live on baked Alaska and think you're gonna thrive. You might as well learn to love the fleshy morsels of plant cellulose and top it off with a little chocolate mousse if you still have room. You'll not only live longer, you'll kick your competition to the curb, smilin' all the while.

"But Jack," I hear you say, "What does plant cellulose have to do with my stock portfolio?" I'm glad you asked. Every Big Spender on a Budget knows the eternity of that moment spent in the frozen food aisle debating over Rocky Road versus Strawberry Parfait, only to briskly come to your senses and bank the cash - not to mention skirt the pounds. But where does that money go? Are you putting it to use? Does it wind up in your piggy bank, or do you blow it at the dog track on a tardy brindle hound named Lucky Guess? If you're like most folks, I already know the answer to that question., and I shudder to think. Instant gratification ain't the path to your long term well being. Without an ounce of discipline in your fiscal management, your retirement will be littered with stale copies of  the racing form and the faint aroma of yesterday's cigar smoke, instead of a cruise in paradise and the scent of fresh salt air. But how do you acquire the necessary discipline?

Setting Milestones For Fun and Profit

When you want something badly enough, nothing will keep you from it. Nothing. This is the concept that has launched ships, built cities and made the world safe for democracy. I highly recommend that you put it to use for yourself. You can drift through life, sure, or you can pick a target and drive toward it. When you have a goal that you're focused on - and you know why you want to get there - all the necessary means of reaching your goal naturally line up for you. So the point is to be clear about your goal, understand your key motivation for reaching it, and to remember this the next time you're staring down a pint of Chunky Monkey in the frozen food aisle. You can do this by using a goal setting system, by leveraging the wisdom of others who've achieved what you're striving for. Let's face it: they don't teach you this stuff in kindergarten, let alone high school shop class. You have to go out and find the folks who know this stuff, and then actually use the stuff they teach you. If you get off track, gently put yourself aright again.

One terrific goal setting program is by the famous Brian Tracy, a guy who used to dig ditches and is now a gazillionaire through his programs about Wealth and Goal Setting. His best seller is one that, in a single weekend, put my own personal progress on the fast track. I've come back to it again and again because it's entertaining and easy to put to good use with great results. It's called Success Mastery Academy. Here's the link so you can grab a copy for yourself on Amazon.com. In fact, I suggest you do it right now. "But Jack," I hear you say, "you want me to part with my money?" Naw... that's off the mark. I want you to start on the road toward your first milestone, and I promise to celebrate it with you when you get there. I want you to invest your hard earned cash in the greatest sure-thing gamble there is: You. I want you to give yourself the gift of achievement by investing your time, your will, and your activity in accomplishing your life's greatest dreams. After all, if you don't invest in yourself, who will? Right now you've got the means within your reach to live like a fat cat and get off the money diet, once and for all. What will you do with the opportunity? 

SectorMatic Money Site says HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DUNCAN K. RAYMOND, to whom this site is dedicated. What a great guy... many happy returns of the day.

SUBSCRIBE NOW! If you're reading this and you're not currently a newsletter subscriber... where ya been? Thank the person who hooked you up. They've done you a marvelous service. Now it's up to you to keep the hits coming and watch the money roll in. Sign up for our free newsletter, and change your life for for good! You didn't think I could read minds too, now did you? Honestly, I think that's asking a bit much....

Until next time,
Jack Schmidt
Spokesman

SectorMatic Money Site
Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget

Let's get down to brass tacks: the more you love somebody, the bigger the financial commitment. Those married or coupled-up types know exactly of what I speak. First it's a cool C-note to deliver a couple dozen long stemmed roses after that first big date. You don't eat for a week, but who needs food when you're in love?

If all goes well, next comes the making of room in the sock drawer for that special little bundle o' green the two of you share. And there's the working out of the weekly menus, and then getting into the rhythm of groceries and the KP duties. The kim chee fan usually loses out in that battle, but love is blind and the world is better off, not to mention fresher smelling. Next thing you know, you're negotiating tax deductions head to head and haggling over mutual funds, while the teenager's asking for another two hundred smackers for concert tickets. Somewhere along the way that lovin' feeling is transmuted by the demands of Citibank and State Farm. This is why I call it Love & Mortgage, as opposed to the more commonly known lyrics to that over-played ditty from the velvet throat of the late great Mr. Sinatra. More to the point, an offbeat musician named Laurie Andersen put it best back in the early '90s: "You're the guy I want to share my money with." Would that were the case! But I digress...

Here's the thing. It's common knowledge that most marriages have their financial ups and downs. It can truly be a test to your relationship with your partner - dealing with the downs in particular. Every Big Spender on a Budget knows that you've got to pick your priorities. Here are some tips to help you deal with these uncomfortable situations in the quickest and calmest way possible, and keep the home fires burning bright - both at the hearth and in more, uh, important places.

Five Steps To A Smooth Financial Partnership

1.) Pick the Right Time to Have a Financial Meeting. Yeah, that's right: I said meeting. You and your partner need to have a meeting - not a talk, not a discussion, not a chit chat. This is business. Find a time to sit down and meet with your business partner. Remove all distractions from the scene, like kids, pets and nosey neighbors. The TV should not even be within 30 yards of you two.

2.) Come Prepared. Write down the stuff you been thinkin' about beforehand so you can stay on track in the meeting. You already have an agenda - no beef about that, so write it down.

3.) Don’t Get Emotional. Avoid making personal comments toward your partner. Use “I” instead of “you” when addressing the one you love. Don’t be argumentative, don’t point fingers, and don’t start a fight. Get to the bottom of the situation, and trust that there will be a good outcome.

4.) Take Turns. Your parents shoulda taught you that before you were old enough to do basic math. If they didn't, teach it to yourself. Common courtesy will help you achieve your goals and get where you want to go, particularly if the light o' your life has a well-placed chip on their shoulder. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to let your partner go first.

5.) Make a Plan. Discuss the situation and future plans with your spouse. Find ways to succeed. Make sure you have a basic budget in place; if you don't have one, draft one and revise it after a couple weeks. Figure out the next vital steps in your financial future. Compile a money to-do list, and check your progress often.

Remember that the one you're addressing in this meeting is the most important person in the world. Act like it. Listen to your partner, and keep an open mind. If it seems like the timing's off for this particular meeting, odds are you'll get another chance. Let it go, and pick a better time. If you flub it, well... there's always 1-800-FLOWERS. That goes for you too, gals. ...Yeah, like that.

The Biggest Mistake People Make With Their Money Is Easy to Solve

Start plugging your money leaks right now and put the savings into your investment account. Here's a book loaded with painless money saving tips that you can easily put to good use without squeezing your lifestyle like a too-small pair o' Hush Puppies. SectorMatic Money Site is now serving up 101 Ways To Stop The Money Leak. This book sells all day long on other sites for $24.95... Do your research - it's no joke.  I don't want price to be a factor in keeping you from living like a fat cat, even if you are on a money diet. So I'm giving a huge break - an 80% discount - to my SectorMatic Money Site readers and offering it for only $4.95. You can't even get a decent lunch for that. Click here to get your copy at 80% off. What will you do with the cash you save? Maybe you can invest it and hop a flight to the Florida Keys. Now that's what I call living like a fat cat!

SUBSCRIBE NOW! If you're reading this and you're not currently a newsletter subscriber... where ya been? Thank the person who hooked you up. They've done you a marvelous service. Now it's up to you to keep the hits coming and watch the money roll in. Sign up for our free newsletter, and change your life for for good! You didn't think I could read minds too, now did you? Honestly, I think that's asking a bit much....

Until next time,
Jack Schmidt
Spokesman

SectorMatic Money Site
Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget

"The start is what stops most people." This, from a church sign on a rural highway. I guess they ought to know, what with being experts on eternity. You gotta wonder how many folks have promised themselves to get started investing, only to take an eternity about getting to the starting line. How do you get started investing when you're broke? It's a song that's been played over and over again from time immemorial. I offer you here some insights on ways to get past the starting line.

A lot of folks understand the value of investing, and the importance of investing well in order to secure a fat finish, but they don’t have a lot o' scratch..  These folks might believe that they can't invest at all. Instead, they continue to struggle with the daily living expenses and no plan for their financial future. There are actually a lot of ways that folks who don’t necessarily have a lot of cash available can begin investing, and every penny saved can help in the longer term.  The only proven way to improve your financial situation is to reduce your expenses and increase your income, while saving for the future.

7 Ways to Invest Even if You’re Broke

1. Save all of your change.  Use cash to make as many purchases as possible, rather than writing a check or swiping your debit card, and put the change into a bucket at home each day. Every month or two, deposit the change into a high interest savings account and watch it grow! If you saved $25 in change each month, you’d have $300 at the end of the year- and more if you save it in a high interest savings account. What are you waiting for? Start flipping those sofa cushions.

2. Enroll in a direct stock purchase plan that allows you to start investing with as little as $25.  Direct stock purchase plans allow investors to purchase fractions of stocks based on the dollar amount you invest. You might even link this plan to your savings account, and eliminate the temptation to drink away your change fund in Cabo San Lucas. Although, I must admit, that sounds pretty good on occasion.

3. Reinvest your dividends to increase the number of shares of stock you own.  This can result in higher income levels later on. While you would probably like receiving those mini-dividend checks now and again, it’s better to reinvest them so they can grow into larger checks in a few years.

4. If you have a job, enroll in your company’s 401K plan. Some employers even provide a matching contribution, where they match a percentage of your deposits.  Come on, it's free money.  You may miss that $15 you have automatically deducted from your pay and put into your 401K each week at first, but after a few weeks you won’t even notice it’s gone and it will be going to a far greater cause than using it to buy lunch at your favorite fast food joint!

5. Join an investment club, and pool your money with the members of the club to help build a more comprehensive portfolio for small investments. When you invest on your own with small sums of money, it can be tough to build a diverse portfolio.  By pooling your money with a group of like-minded folks, you can build a diverse and comprehensive portfolio that will perform a lot better financially. For more on this, head to the National Association of Investment Clubs at www.betterinvesting.org.

6. Take advantage of compound interest and start investing as early as possible.  If you invest $2,000 at the age of 25, you will actually end up with more at retirement than a 30 year old who invests $5,000 on the same date. Logistically, it just means retiring 5 years later, eh? Even if you're a Johnny Come Lately, don't let the start stop you. Your rewards will be more than worth the effort.

7. If you get money from an unexpected source, or you get a tax refund, consider it money you didn’t count on. Immediately invest it instead of spending it.  When you invest the money, you get a deduction on your taxes, too. Like always, check with your accountant on the subject of deductions.

Think of each dollar you get as a seed to plant not just one money tree, for as you can surmise, that tree will bear fruit itself. Each dollar you invest contains a whole money forest. You've already got it made in the shade, and you just don't know it. ...Yeah, like that.

The Biggest Mistake People Make With Their Money Is Easy to Solve

Start plugging your money leaks right now and put the savings into your investment account. Here's a book loaded with painless money saving tips that you can easily put to good use without squeezing your lifestyle like a too-small pair o' Hush Puppies. SectorMatic Money Site is now serving up 101 Ways To Stop The Money Leak. This book sells all day long on other sites for $24.95... Do your research - it's no joke.  I don't want price to be a factor in keeping you from living like a fat cat, even if you are on a money diet. So I'm giving a huge break - an 80% discount - to my SectorMatic Money Site readers and offering it for only $4.95. You can't even get a decent lunch for that. Click here to get your copy at 80% off. What will you do with the cash you save? Maybe you can invest it and go for that junket to Cabo. Now that's what I call living like a fat cat!

SUBSCRIBE NOW! If you're reading this and you're not currently a newsletter subscriber... where ya been? Thank the person who hooked you up. They've done you a marvelous service. Now it's up to you to keep the hits coming and watch the money roll in. Sign up for our free newsletter, and change your life for for good! You didn't think I could read minds too, now did you? Honestly, I think that's asking a bit much....

Until next time,
Jack Schmidt
Spokesman

SectorMatic Money Site
Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget

Want a bigger home? Clean house! A lot o' folks complain that they don't have enough room at home or they might even think they need to move when, in reality, they've been bitten by the clutter bug. Rearranging the furniture, dumping what you don't need, and selling off your dusty Pez collection will not only save you the cost of relocation, but you just might make a few bucks in the process.

If you're like most folks, when you first moved into your current digs it seemed like you had a lot o' room, maybe even too much.  As time's moved on, you've probably found that your coat closet doesn't close any more for all the stacks of ancient National Geographic magazines, your prized VHS tapes, excess holiday decorations, and that mismatched set of picnic ware. If you've been sweeping stuff under the rug so long that it's now lumpy, then quite possibly, my friend, it is time for you to roll up your sleeves, eschew the fondue maker, and organize your domicile. 

For some, home organization is a fine art. There are a handful of professional decorators who stage real estate to make it sell faster and fetch a higher price. I ain't talkin' about anything fancy like that, but getting it together is a step-by-step process. It takes more than a day or even a week to clear a truly cluttered home. Just like when you're in escrow or you're waiting for that apartment vacancy, you've got to have staying power. However, once you've taken the plunge, staying organized is a whole lot easier than getting there.  If you have been blessed with kids, enlist the little buggers. If not, grab a pal or two and turn up the iPod. There's much to that old saying, "Many hands make light work" - especially when there's free pizza and a half-rack o' suds (or lemonade) involved. In fact, you just might discover how truly popular you are. Or maybe not. I'm just sayin'...

1. Start with the high traffic areas.  The living room and kitchen are usually the two most used rooms in the house.  Everything gets dropped on a counter or the couch in these two places.  Concentrate on getting everything set up the way that you like it before moving on to another room. Designate a jar for the loose change you find. Have plenty of Hefty bags on hand as well.

2. Use storage containers.  Over the years, storage containers have been upgraded with some style and snap, as well as providing functionality.  Instead of storing containers in stacks in the garage, get ones that match the décor in each room. You can integrate them so that nobody would even think they were being used for storage.

3. Divide stuff into categories.  You can use heavy duty trash bags for this part, old liquor boxes, or simply sort stuff into piles.  Use these categories: KEEP, THROW AWAY, GIVE AWAY, SELL, and RELOCATE.  Items that need to stay in that room are for the keep pile.  Things that you don’t need or are broken can be thrown away.  Clothes or furniture still in good condition can be sold, if it's still in good shape. If it's worn but still usable, you can donate it to a worthy cause; make sure you get a receipt so you can deduct it from your taxes.  Anything that belongs in another room can be labeled for relocation when you get to that room.

4. Sluff off the old. Once you've categorized your goods, have the fortitude to follow through with the ridding process. Here's the thing. I know folks who walk around their donation pile for months - even years. Once you've decided what to launch, launch it! Put it on eBay, Craigs List, or have a garage sale. Who knows? You may even get hooked on a new second income, selling second-hand goods online.

5 Remove everything from drawers and cabinets.  This is a time-consuming process, but it is easier to start with an empty space and fill it instead of simply pushing things around.  If you line stuff up on the counter, a pal can help by putting things in some type of order.

6. Make use of all of your available space.  In the kitchen, for instance, appliances or extra containers can be stored on top of the cabinets provided they don’t extend all the way to the ceiling.  That’s extra storage space without benefit of a storage container.  Also use the top of the refrigerator for cereal boxes and breakfast food like boxes of oatmeal or crackers.  In the bedroom, shoes and winter clothes can go into flat storage bins that slide under the bed or the dresser. Your local hardware or home & garden store can outfit you with all kinds of closet doodads for this.

7. Label your storage.  Use tape and a permanent marker to identify the contents of your storage containers.  Avoid writing on the actual container in case they are reused and the contents are changed.  Labeling also makes for easy identification if you decide to sell or give away a container of books or something.  You won’t have to open each container to locate them.

Organizing your entire house takes time. Take it room by room. Just think of all the money you saved by not moving. You could put it in a fund, or for all their hard work, you can thank your pals with a trip to the beach. Now that's what I call living like a fat cat, even if you are on a money diet. ...Yeah, like that.

For more great tips on improving your home life, head on over to the Auto sector at SectorMatic Money Site, www.SectorMatic.com/homelife.html. You can pick up a few ideas and get yet another big dose o' your best options, and that won't cost you a red cent. Now that's what I call living like a fat cat, even if you are on a money diet.

SUBSCRIBE NOW! If you're reading this and you're not currently a newsletter subscriber... where ya been? Thank the person who hooked you up. They've done you a marvelous service. Now it's time to keep the hits coming and watch the money roll in. Sign up for our free newsletter, and change your life for for good! You didn't think I could read minds too, now did you? Honestly, I think that's asking a bit much....

Until next time,
Jack Schmidt
Spokesman

SectorMatic Money Site
Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget

Here's a bumper sticker for tomorrow:  "Powered by Wesson." Biodiesel, a vegetable oil product, makes the case for weaning the Western world from petroleum dependency. With gas prices dancing through their periodic fluctuations, combined with most folks' growing awareness of environmental considerations, the need for alternative fuel sources has become a necessity.

Nikolai Tesla, God rest his wacky soul, advocated free electricity for the masses. We ain't there yet, and it don't look likely to be on the horizon any time in the near future. Hydrogen power still lingers in its developmental stages. Gasoline has got to be history sometime soon. With that I invite you to take a brief look at the odiforous alternative known as biodiesel fuel. Its uses in today's society may surprise you. Here are 9 ways biodiesel is already being put to good use, some of which you may never have figured.

1) Biodiesel Car Rental - Yeah, that's right. A Maui car rental agency rents cars that run on biodiesel. These cars get between 400 and 800 miles per tank! What, are you kiddin' me? Not bad when you consider the price o' gas these days, especially on the Valley Isle. Ya know, it almost makes the case for a jaunt westward to that tropical paradise. I'm just sayin'....

2) Home heating fuel - More folks are takin' a look at Biodiesel as an alternative for heating their homes. Most oil-fired or boiler furnaces can use biodiesel (B20), which is a fuel made of 80 percent traditional heating oil and 20 percent biodiesel. Some folks are getting their furnaces adapted to burn B100, fuel made entirely of vegetable oils. It burns a lot cleaner than traditional heating oil. With technology like that, maybe a little chili pepper in the mixture would make the thing run even hotter - talk about a boilermaker.

3) Electricity Generation - Diesel generators that produce electricity are now running on biodiesel fuel. A superior alternative to the typical coal burning electricity generating plants currently being used in the United States. Running on biodiesel is an inexpensive, clean and renewable way of creating electricity.

4) Trucking Industry - More and more truckers are switching from diesel fuel to biodiesel fuel, I'm told. There are plenty o' benefits, not the least of which includes the advantages of helping the environment, reducing dependency on foreign oil, and saving money. Who's complaining?

5) Agriculture - Not only a producer of biodiesel, but also a consumer. Tractors, reapers, tillers, pickers, conveyors, generators, pumps, and irrigation systems which normally use diesel fuel, now use biodiesel to fuel their work, bringing agriculture full circle from producer to consumer. All eyes turn to Iowa - that's my bet.

6) Marine Vehicles - Commercial fleets such as ferries, recreational yachts, sailboats, and motor boats are all candidates for biodiesel. For example Pacific Whale Foundation, located in Hawaii, uses biodiesel in their boats.

7) Tax Incentives - The IRS is offering tax incentives to anyone that produces and uses biodiesel fuel. The US Government is working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by giving producers of biodiesel fuel government funds. The tax incentive works to help tax paying customers by lowering the cost of the fuel bill.

Lubrication Additive - Because biodiesel is a better lubricant than the currently ubiquitous low-sulfur petroleum, fuel injectors and other types of fuel pumps can rely on biodiesel fuel for lubrication. With the right additives, engine performance can also be enhanced, making engines last longer. Who knew? Other applications can also make use of its lubricate properties, such as concrete forms and asphalt trucks. Its solvent properties  make it a safe parts cleaner, thereby reducing skin and eye irritation associated with other cleaners. (I'm lovin' that.)

9) Cleaner Environment - Biodiesel reduces carbon dioxide exhaust emissions by up to 80%. So biodiesel has the potential to reduce air toxins and cancer causing compounds - something we all can live with! If spilled, it will quickly degrade into natural organic residues, without polluting the environment.

Here's the thing. Biodiesel is a cleaner-burning diesel fuel, made from 100% natural, 100% renewable vegetable sources. Though the exhaust is said to closely resemble the aroma of french fries - or chips, as the Brits would have it - it must be conceded that biodiesel is becoming more and more popular everyday. For all that, I think we can live with the scent of crispy taters on our highways and biways. Praise the halibut, and pass the vinegar. ...Yeah, like that.

For more great tips on powering your automobile, head on over to the Auto sector at SectorMatic Money Site, www.SectorMatic.com/auto.html. You can pick up a few ideas and get yet another big dose o' your best options, and that won't cost you a red cent. Now that's what I call living like a fat cat, even if you are on a money diet.

SUBSCRIBE NOW! If you're reading this and you're not currently a newsletter subscriber... where ya been? Thank the person who hooked you up. They've done you a marvelous service. Now it's time to keep the hits coming and watch the money roll in. Sign up for our free newsletter, and change your life for for good! You didn't think I could read minds too, now did you? Honestly, I think that's asking a bit much....

Until next time,
Jack Schmidt
Spokesman

SectorMatic Money Site
Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget

Time rolls on like a freight train steamin' downhill on a 10% grade. Here we are on the second day o' winter, lookin' 2010 square in the face. According to custom, once every 10 years the U.S. Government mobilizes a small army to ask its citizenry a series of invasive questions, categorize the population, and take a snapshot of the country at large through the lens of the U.S. Census Bureau. The headline in a chamber newsletter I just received from the charming locale of Asheville, North Carolina shows that 24,000 census jobs are currently available in that state for any English speaker with a clean record and a tolerance for government paperwork. (You can count me out o' that one without apology.) The article went on to stress the point that this is a temporary position - just so you know. A word to wise: you will do well to look upon all employment situations as temporary... but perhaps I digress.

Now, in some places, 24,000 is the population of a significant burg. So I gotta ask... who's counting the census takers? Do we know what percentage there are in a given demographic? How many of these census workers speak English as a second language? Do they all make the same wage? How large a fraction of this body is on the job nights and weekends? And if there are 24,000 census takers (or soon will be) in North Carolina, how many are there across the country? I have no doubt that the U.S. Government has these questions in hand, and a nationwide task force will be instituted to quantify, parse and analyze demographics for operational personnel involved in the 2010 Census. It just makes sense. Ya think? See, it's reasoning like this - along with available technology - that makes the global workplace not only appealing, perhaps even refreshing, but also requisite. Business as usual... just ain't that usual any more.

The Emerging Face of Your Global Network

As the decade rolls over to a zero year, I find myself standing on an island - well, more like a sandbar - in the rushing stream o' history. The changes that the workplace and the market have seen in this ten year arc are subtle, quick and varied. What those changes mean to the shape of your wallet not only bears the sometime scrutiny of a government census taker, but requires our own more frequent discourse to boot, yours and mine. As a Big Spender on a Budget, you gotta stay on top o' this stuff. I myself stand jaw agape as I contemplate the solidification of the global continents into one giant piece o' virutal real estate, both in terms of private commerce and society's customs. The norms of the previous decade are now surprisingly archaic, maybe even a little quaint. The changes we've seen in the past 9 months to a year are astonishing in themselves. Think about it. Whereas a year ago YouTube was a novelty - a place for puppy videos and hype about black hat marketing tactics - today it's a virtual uiversity for everything from video production itself to rocket science. And YouTube.com is only one website out of millions upon millions. Sites like CraigsList.org and Elance.com have shifted the income landscape for the masses. Wikipedia.org touts that the sum of mankind's knowledge is available online. This has got to have an impact on humanity as a whole, and your wallet specifically.

I'm not sure how it happened, but I woke up one day with the novel notion that I now know people all over the planet. How about you? If not now, then soon. E-mail, Facebook, Twitter and ordinary business dealings have made it commonplace or even essential to move on a planetary scale. I have also come to realize that the very notion of workin' a regular job not only sends a shudder down my own spine, but that idea is just as freakish to my friends and colleagues. In fact, I don't know anybody who holds a regular job.

The Abiding Face of Local Responsibilty

I know what you're thinkin'. "But Jack," I hear you say, "why would a sharp guy like you sleep on a park bench?" That, my friend, just ain't the way things are. I said nothing about not workin'. Folks I know are the hardest workin' bunch around, with myself included in that number. But they've shouldered responsibility for their own welfare in ways that have not always been looked upon as mainstream. There are so many methods for makin' a buck these days, so many options, so much freedom to be gained and enjoyed, that walkin' the path of a traditional career is becoming more like the exception than the rule.

It means the leveling of the global playing field. Thanks to the Internet, a teenager in Taiwan now has as much opportunity to get a higher education, meet new pals around the globe, and make a buck as a forty-something businessman in Sonoma County, California... or a waitress in Asheville, North Carolina. Sure you gotta put in your hours, just like before, but it ain't a big stretch to suggest doing said work at home in your skivvies.

So here's what I have to say about that. When you get that knock on your door from your local census taker, invite him in for a cup o' joe and give the workin' man a break. Let him put his feet up. Answer his questions, and maybe even give him a bead on your own line o' work. Just, uh, make sure you put on your bathrobe first. ...Yeah, like that.

For more great tips on living like a fat cat, even if you are on a money diet, head on over to see SectorMatic Money Site at www.SectorMatic.com. You can pick up a few ideas on family budgeting, and get yet another big dose o' your greater vision, and that won't cost you a red cent. Now that's what I call living like a fat cat.

SUBSCRIBE NOW! If you're reading this and you're not currently a newsletter subscriber... where ya been? Thank the person who hooked you up. They've done you a marvelous service. Now it's time to keep the hits coming and watch the money roll in. Sign up for our free newsletter, and change your life for for good! You didn't think I could read minds too, now did you? Honestly, I think that's asking a bit much....

Until next time,
Jack Schmidt
Spokesman

SectorMatic Money Site
Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget

If you have an umbrella, you might want to put it by - the financial forecast calls for rain. This week I bring you a whirlwind tour of Vegas-style intrigue, international glamor, and an inside peek at some folks who look to be losing at cards with your gas money. If you'll indulge me a little, I'll fill you in on how this could impact your own bottom line - fuel tank, IRA and mortgage alike.

Let's turn back the calendar just about a year. In December 2008 I was takin' a breather with a buddy o' mine in Las Vegas, Nevada. Even in the face of fresh wounds on Wall Street and the howls in the housing sector, everywhere in Vegas there was excitement about the new world class City Center complex under construction, a 67-acre city within a city featuring some o' the most sophisticated architecture in the world. The project was a 50% partnership between MGM Mirage and Dubai World, a company that manages financial projects for the oil-moneyed government of Dubai. While I spent my winter holiday in America's Playland, MGM Mirage was pre-selling condos at the new joint a full year out from completion, a fact that gave me the willies.

What seemingly nobody (except me) predicted was that with all that time left on the construction schedule, anything could and just might happen. Boy, did it. By March, MGM was makin' noises about bankruptcy. Dubai World filed suit for breach of contract and cost overruns. In June, 8,500 construction jobs went idle during a union strike after more than a few deaths on the job site. Though these problems were dealt with, let's just say it has not been an easy start for City Center and its beleaguered owners.

Fast Forward To A Standstill

Fast forward to early December 2009. Last week, when City Center in Las Vegas opened its shopworn doors for the first time, hotels were either at 50% capacity for the smaller properties, or 50% off standard rates at the big hotels. Nobody's makin' full fare in Vegas right now, and City Center is the biggest gamble in town. The big news, though, is that Dubai World, that unimpeachable giant of international real estate investment, is limping on what could be its last legs. The corporation has been making talk about defaulting on either $59 billion or $60 billion in liabilities - I can't seem to get it straight. (Hey, what's $1 billion when it ain't your money? I'm just sayin'...) Dubai World asked creditors for a "standstill" to freeze its debt for 6 months and restructure its operations. See, here's the thing. Those creditors are banks, some o' the burliest in the world. When big oil money goes sideways, it's not a good thing.

Like a good neighbor, brother state Abu Dhabi has agreed to a $10 billion bailout for Dubai World, stemming the $60 billion crisis for now. The government of Dubai has created a tribunal, a 3-judge panel to oversee bankruptcy proceedings for Dubai World "just in case." Now why don't I feel warm 'n fuzzy about that move? The country's total gross domestic product last year was about $82 billion. Get the picture? Like I said, get an umbrella. That rainy day just might be comin'. If I've missed my guess here, I'll be glad to play the fool. Better that than to be caught unawares.

How You Can Keep From Getting Soaked

Here's a little perspective for the Big Spender on a Budget. I suggest you put some attention onto these topics in the coming days and weeks. Do your due diligence.

• It's reasonable to expect that gas prices will likely rise to offset recent OPEC losses due to normal market wear and tear. Buy gasoline today through a fuel bank and lock in prices ahead of time if you can. Crude oil might not be a bad investment at this juncture.
• Approach the stock market with great caution, both buying and selling. Odds are the market could see some volatility, especially in the next 6 months. Mind your retirement accounts.
• Hang onto your gold. Consider getting more.
• Real estate is probably going to take 18 months or more to rebound, with isolated pockets of good, bad and ugly returns. This ain't a great time to sell property, but it is a dandy time to buy and hold.
• Get a book called The Good Life by Helen & Scott Nearing. Learn to rely on yourself for the good things in life, and you won't get soaked. ...Yeah, like that.

For more great tips on directing your financial life, head on over to see SectorMatic Money Site at www.SectorMatic.com. You can keep up with today's news, monitor the markets, or plot your retirement, and that won't cost you a red cent. Now that's what I call living like a fat cat, even if you are on a money diet.

SUBSCRIBE NOW! If you're reading this and you're not currently a newsletter subscriber... where ya been? Thank the person who hooked you up. They've done you a marvelous service. Now it's time to keep the hits coming and watch the money roll in. Sign up for our free newsletter, and change your life for for good! You didn't think I could read minds too, now did you? Honestly, I think that's asking a bit much....

Until next time,
Jack Schmidt
Spokesman

SectorMatic Money Site
Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget

Living like a fat cat means seeing the big picture before you even get to the movie theater. Close your eyes... on second thought, open 'em up again. Say it's five years from now. You and I are on the second floor office of your Mediterranean-style villa with a sweeping panorama of the sparkling sea. The westering sun is glinting off your plaques of achievement, you've got a sweet Italian in the driveway... and one in the kitchen. Money quit bein' a hassle sometime in the twilight past. As you pass me a brew from the small fridge next to your desk, I ask you what happened, how it all got started. "It all got started," you tell me, "with a pack o' gum."

Start With Where You Are

See, here's the thing. You gotta have a vision in mind of the place you're going, and to get there, you gotta start with where you are - not where you think you are. You say you know where your money goes and you don’t need it all written down to keep up with it. I issue you this challenge. Keep track of every penny you spend for one month - and I do mean every penny, even the ones spent on small stuff, like a pack o' gum. I wager that you will be shocked at what those puny expenses add up to. Take the total you spent on just one unnecessary item for the month, multiply it by 12 for the months in a year, and multiply the result by 5 to represent 5 years.

That is how much you could have saved AND drawn interest on in just five years. That, my friend, is the very reason all of us need a budget.

The little things really do count. Cutting what you spend on lunch from five dollars a day to three dollars a day on every workday in a five day work week saves $10 a week… $40 a month… $480 a year… $2400 in five years….plus interest. See what I mean? It really IS the little things that count. You eat lunch everyday, whether or not you park the two bucks. That's only one place to save a sawbuck in your daily living without missing one thing that you really need. There are a lot o' places like that to cut expenses if you look for them.

If you can get control of the small expenses that really don’t matter to the overall scheme of your daily events, you can enjoy real financial success. It's easier than you think. Set some specific long term and short term goals. Maybe you don't want a villa but a log cabin instead. Maybe Maserati just isn't your brand o' fun and you'd prefer a Hummer, or maybe a Tesla. There are no wrong answers here. If it’s important to you, then it’s important, and that's that.

Get To Where You're Going

If you want to be able to make a down payment on a house, start a college fund for your kids, buy a sports car, take a vacation to Aruba… anything… then that is your goal and your reason to get a handle on your financial situation now. Those five years will come and go whether or not you see the big picture. Why not let the curtain rise on a whole other scene? ...Yeah, like that.

For more great tips on directing your financial life, head on over to see SectorMatic Money Site at www.SectorMatic.com. You can pick up a few ideas on family budgeting, and get yet another big dose o' your greater vision, and that won't cost you a red cent. Now that's what I call living like a fat cat, even if you are on a money diet.

SUBSCRIBE NOW! If you're reading this and you're not currently a newsletter subscriber... where ya been? Thank the person who hooked you up. They've done you a marvelous service. Now it's time to keep the hits coming and watch the money roll in. Sign up for our free newsletter, and change your life for for good! You didn't think I could read minds too, now did you? Honestly, I think that's asking a bit much....

Until next time,
Jack Schmidt
Spokesman

SectorMatic Money Site
Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget

One of the onerous rights and responsibilities of living like a fat cat, with or without the notion of being on a money diet, is taking care o' your next of kin when your number gets called up and you move on to your Great Reward. That's right, I am talkin' about having a Last Will & Testament drawn up. Death happens to be a pretty sober subject, right up there with taxes and bad comedy, and the ramifications of ignoring it - for young and old alike - can get on the messy side of legalities, a fact which can get costly for the rest of us who are known as The Bereaved.

But that doesn't mean there's no lighter side to packing it in. Whoever said, "You can't take it with you" was obviously not referring to a sense of humor. This week I offer you this list of off-beat epitaphs from departed souls who clearly had more to say than the time to say it in. Alternatively these quips are from their next of kin, who wanted to be sure they literally had the last word. Hey, wouldn't you? I'm just saying'...


On the grave of Ezekial Aikle in East Dalhousie Cemetery, Nova Scotia:
Here lies
Ezekial Aikle
Age 102
The Good Die Young
.
In a Ribbesford, England, cemetery:
Anna Wallace
The children of Israel wanted bread
And the Lord sent them manna,
Old clerk Wallace wanted a wife,
And the Devil sent him Anna.

What's in a name? Here's the epitaph of Owen Moore in Battersea, London, England:
Gone away
Owin' more
Than he could pay.

A widow wrote this epitaph in a Vermont cemetery:
Sacred to the memory of my husband John Barnes
who died January 3, 1803
His comely young widow, aged 23, has many qualifications of a good
wife, and yearns to be comforted.

In a Georgia cemetery:
"I told you I was sick!"

Here's Harry Edsel Smith of Albany, New York:
Born 1903--Died 1942
Looked up the elevator shaft to see if the car was on the way down.
It was.

In the words of the Irish, May the road rise to meet you. May the sun always shine on your face and the wind be at your back. And may you be in Heaven an hour before the devil knows you're gone. Hey, some things you just can't count on. Others, you can. Odds are 9 out of 10 that you don't have an up-to-date Will. Here's a link where you can have your Will done along with taking care of a host of other necessary services. The Will takes about 20 minutes, no fuss, and it's less than the price of a deep dish pizza: Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. As a Big Spender on a Budget, I recommend you take a look at the many benefits that are part and parcel to owning this membership, including drafting your Will. It's kind o' fun, really - deciding who gets your goods when you don't need 'em any more, determining who's been naughty or nice - and it gives you that knowing smile. You know the one I mean: it's that spark in your eye that makes people wonder what you're up to, that spice o' life. ...Yeah, like that.

SUBSCRIBE NOW! If you're reading this and you're not currently a newsletter subscriber... where ya been? Thank the person who hooked you up. They've done you a marvelous service. Now it's up to you to keep the hits coming and watch the money roll in. Sign up for our free newsletter, and change your life for for good! You didn't think I could read minds too, now did you? Honestly, I think that's asking a bit much....

Until next time,
Jack Schmidt
Spokesman

SectorMatic Money Site
Everything for the Big Spender on a Budget