Consumer Price Report

Identity Theft Protection - Warning!
By Ruzain Ghosh

Identity Theft Protection Identity theft is growing everyday and a burning problem of any person. Anyone can be victimized any where or any time. While standing in queue at the store, online at home or buying your shoes any where. Stolen identities can be misused in many ways up to 30 times, before the victims could actually discover that their identities were stolen. Most of them realize their Identity Theft after they've been turned down for a loan or contacted by a collection agency or bank. Identity theft Protection should be taken very seriously.

There are few good companies who are specialized in Identity Theft Protection or Identity Theft Prevention. Prevention is better than Cure. If an identity is stolen and misused, it can take hundreds of hours cleaning up the credit and get back the good name. One may already be a victim of Identity Theft, many times over, and not even know it because he/she did not have the proper system for Identity Theft Protection & Identity Theft Prevention. Identity Theft can be prevented very efficiently. One should not ignore the risks involved by not taking any measures against Identity Theft.

One of the many ways to prevent Identity Theft is to set Free Fraud Alerts. This can be done through a reliable & efficient companies automated systems and the alerts could be set within an hour. You can make the arrangements yourself or you may appoint a company to do that for you free of cost or for a minimal fee. There are many advantages of appointing a special company for Identity Theft Prevention. The main advantage is that you don't have to bother about the technicalities. They will be like your watch dogs. By appointing the service from a good company you would actually be taking appropriate measures for Identity Theft Prevention.

What about Identity Theft Protection? That is where this company comes in as your savior for Identity Theft Protection. That means in spite of your Identity Theft prevention if you Identity is stolen and misused, this company would do anything to recover your reputation. If you need lawyers, they would hire the best they can find. If you need investigators, accountants, case managers, whatever, they're yours. If you lose money as a result of the Identity Theft, they would give it back to you. They will do whatever it takes to help you recover your good name and will spend up to $1,000,000 to do it. Does it sound like Identity Theft Protection or Identity Theft Insurance?

For more information on Identity Theft Protection & Prevention.

Ruzain Ghosh.
http://mishsoftwares.blogspot.com/

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Are You Counting on Home Equity to Pay Student Loans?
By Neil Venketramen

What to do when the equity runs out?

It seems like just about everyone is having to adjust their financial plans these days. For some of you out there, the idea has always been to use the equity in your home in order to pay for your child's college education.

What happens when that equity runs dry because of tough economic times? That is what many of you are facing right now and as you can attest, this can be a very difficult situation to manage.

Don't fret, though, as there are some solutions to help you through a difficult time. You can go with a mortgage acceleration plan or you could even take advantage of low-cost government student loans.

Student Loans

• The government has made it very easy for individuals to get the financing they need for college. If you aren't comfortable using a mortgage acceleration plan to build equity more quickly, then you can certainly go with these loans to help bridge the gap.

• Subsidized Stafford Loans - These loans get help from the government, and you end up paying around 5.6 % interest over the long haul. The nice thing about this loan is that you won't be building up interest while your child is still in school and you will have some options in terms of differing interest payments when your child gets out. This basically gives you a nice four or five year window in which to help rectify your financial situation.

• Non-subsidized Stafford Loans - Similar to the subsidized version, this will have a slightly higher interest rate, but many of the same rules apply. The good thing about these loans is that individuals can qualify for them no matter what their credit looks like. Many parents are receiving financial aid packages that combine subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans to take the pressure off.

Mortgage Acceleration Program

One way to improve your financial standing and get back into a position where you can pay for your child's college education is to grow the equity in your home at a faster rate.

You can do this through what is known as a mortgage acceleration program.

This program is basically one that enables you to pay off your mortgage much more quickly without ever having to spend more money.

You basically knock out the extra interest that you would have otherwise had to pay, which makes it both cheaper and faster.

All in all, this difficult situation can be fixed if you have the ability to plan ahead.

It is difficult losing equity in your home because of the awful financial times, but you shouldn't fret. Using a mortgage acceleration program or government provided student loans, you can pay for your child (or children) to go to college without a whole lot of trouble. You should look into these options, because they are suited specifically for people in difficult situations and they act as as an alternative means to get your kids into college.

To find how fast you can eliminate your mortgage debt and send your kids to college, please go directly to http://www.eqxl.com/mortgage-accelerator.html, enter your information directly into the free mortgage pay off accelerator and within 4 seconds it will reveal your savings for your specific situation. And the best part you don't have to change your lifestyle or refinance.

And we will give you a valuable guide that reveals the steps to take, so that you can be on your way to being mortgage free today.

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Finding the Best Debt Consolidation Company and Avoiding Getting Scammed
By David Kamau

Jake was deep in credit card debt. And the strain was showing in other aspects of his life although he was trying his best to keep it secret. Even so, he kept his minimum payments up to date. But it was stressful. So he decided to enroll with a debt consolidation service.

The company Jake signed up with had been running commercials on TV on a regular basis. They claimed to be nonprofit. With the word nonprofit you can't go wrong right? Not so fast.

As usual with debt consolidation, Jake was required to close all his revolving (credit card) accounts and to not establish new credit for the next three years. Not a problem, he thought: anything to get out of debt. He was also advised to stop making payments to his creditors and start sending payments to the company.

The first payment, he was told, would go to the company. Jake would have to "find a way" to hold his creditors off for that first month. He would also pay the company a monthly fee on each account. This caused his total monthly amount to balloon, but the company convinced him that would change since his interest rates would go down significantly after three months of making timely payments. Not so bad, after all.

Then the company went bankrupt. It was at this time, about four months down the road that Jake found out that none of his payments had ever been paid out to his creditors. His credit was ruined and now he had accrued late fees and over-limit fees.

While finding the best debt consolidation company can be overwhelming, it is crucial to your goal of becoming debt-free. Scams companies are galore, and you could find yourself ruined.

Here are 5 points that hopefully will help you make the right choice:

1. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling and The Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies are two organizations that can help you find reputable nonprofit credit counseling and consolidation companies.

2. Avoid companies that charge high up-front fees. Most reputable companies do charge up-front fees. If they ask for cash before speaking with you, run.

3. Everything should be laid bare including all fees, what will be done for you, and how the funds will be used. If you detect the least amount of vagueness, run.

4. If the company promises to wipe out your debts right away or remove negative items from your credit report, walk away. No one can just wipe out your debt overnight. Similarly, no one can remove negative items from your credit report (at least nothing that you can't do yourself).

5. There's no such thing as free lunch, even in debt consolidation. If the company promises to help you for free, be very suspicious.

Discover credit secrets creditors and bureaus don't want you to know plus tips for quick credit repair. David Kamau offers free self help credit repair tips at his site and blog.

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Treasury Bills, Can You Hear the POP?
By Daniel Smolski

Keynesian capitalism continues to bring with it a saga of never ending bubbles. In just the past decade, we have been faced with the internet bubble bursting of 2000 and a massive real estate bubble that has brought the American economy to its knees. All are examples of a gross misallocation of resources caused by an excess money supply searching for home. The recent credit crunch has provided us with an opportunity to deflate and wipe away all unnecessary liquidity but the Federal Reserve, along with their posse of world bankers, have chosen instead to attempt to reflate a balloon that has already burst. Turning on all the world's liquidity taps has thus far proven to be working. We have beaten down the "evil" that is deflation and we look forward to an era of continued inflation. Inflation that will, undoubtedly, spiral out of control and potentially lead to a period of hyper-inflation.

With the Ben Bernanke's staunch determination to employ his Helicopter Ben policies, we are forced to adjust our investment practices to reflect presumed future government interventionist policies. Never has there been an era when listening to and studying the words of central bankers has been so crucial to investing. This past year, daily stock movements were directly correlated to whether it was believed the government would or would not bail out some company. Whenever Paulson spoke, the market would tank, investors stopped believing the rhetoric that came out of the man's mouth. So we are put in a position that we must accept that the government will use its full arsenal to squelch the fires of deflation. With acceptance of continued inflation, several investment adjustments must be made to ensure success.

This leads us to US treasury bills. It is the final bubble that has already popped and the air is quickly escaping. It is of great significance to the US economy as the US bond market far exceeds US equity markets. Other than gold, treasury bills and corporate bonds are the only asset classes to gain in 2008. It is an understandable outcome, given the general perception that T-Bills are a safe haven in times of uncertainty. But now the time has come for caution.

Yields have dropped to levels not seen since the all-time-lows in the 1940s. A 30-year bill yields a return of under 3%, 10-year just over 2% and short-term yields have periodically even dropped into the negatives. Yes, investors were paying for the privilege of owning US denominated debt. It boggles the mind who would accept such ludicrous returns when the money supply growth is quite literally, off-the-charts. The inevitable day of reckoning, when foreign investors fail to show up to a bill auction, is coming unless prices fall and yields tick up.

Treasury Bills have had an impressive run into the later months of 2008 but their heydays are quickly drawing to a close. We will see a continued movement out of T-Bills as investors refuse the low yields and move into asset classes offering greater opportunities. The recent resilience of T-Bills, in the face of a sharp dollar decline, can only be attributed to the Federal Reserve's intervention to prevent the collapse of US debt. The Federal Reserve has as great a chance, of keeping prices at these levels, as are you or I do seeing pigs fly. Market forces always win and they will force down values and increase yields. Watch for UST to continue its decline towards the 200-day MVA.

Treasury Bills will, at a minimum, revert to their mean for the following fundamental reasons: 1. Heavy government intervention appears to be easing the credit crunch and liquidity is flowing. Once deflation fears are squelched, treasury bills will collapse.

2. Deflation fears will quickly transform into inflation fears as the impact of the Fed's ultra accommodative monetary policy is felt.

3. Deficits of over $2 trillion are predicted over the next two years, the US government will be issuing debt at levels never before seen. Near zero yields on bonds will sooner, rather than later, attract near zero interest.

4. The dollar's continued decline will pressure foreign investors to abandon their enormous holdings of US debt. If the Chinese government chooses to dump or merely stop buying new T-Bills, it will create an unstoppable downward spiral with detrimental consequences.

5. The United States does not have a God-given birth right to triple A debt rating. With continued debt growth and a GDP-debt ratio soon to be in excess of 100%, the pristine rating will be further questioned and inevitably, lowered.

6. The world-wide recession is forcing nations to spend domestically, with stimulus packages popping up in every nation. "Friends" like China may not be as we willing to throw more money down the I.O.U. black hole to support the US dollar.

What does it all mean to the common investor?

As investors come to their senses and refuse near zero yields, they will begin to move into other investment classes. We believe gold will be one of the largest beneficiaries as the desire to hold something of inherent value intensifies. All investors holding T-Bills as a trade, rather holding to maturity, should be out of their positions.

We will continue to maintain our positions in TBT, established the past few weeks. TBT has been performing as expected and will continue to outperform going forward. A move back up to over $50 is expected in the coming months.

For a limited time, we are opening our services to new subscribers and are currently offering a FREE trial to the Smolski Investment Newsletter. We had an extremely profitable year in 2008 but we strongly believe 2009 will be one of the best in a long time; those correctly positioned will reap the biggest rewards. In the next few weeks, we will continue to monitor the markets and specify which sectors are poised to provide the greatest returns. Do not hesitate to send us an email with "SIGN UP" as the subject line at smolski@gmail.com.
Daniel Smolski
Smolski Investment Newsletter

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