The Foreign Exchange Market (better known as the FOREX or FX market) as we know it today was established in 1971, following the abolishment of fixed currency exchanges. Operating 24 hours a day, 5 days a week, the daily currency trades on the FOREX market are worth in the region of $1.9 trillion US dollars making it the world’s largest market and putting the major stock markets firmly into second place.

So just what is FOREX trading and who are the players in this market?

Put simply, the FOREX market is a world-wide market for buying and selling currency and involves both major organizations, such as central government and international commercial banks and commercial companies, as well as smaller players in the form of brokerage houses and individual brokers. Unlike the better known world stock markets however the FOREX market does not have a ‘home’ as such, although there are major trading centers around the world in cities such as New York, London, Tokyo, Frankfurt and others. The FOREX market is in effect a ‘digital’ market, with trades being carried out by telephone and increasingly over the internet.

The buying and selling of currencies is necessary to support trade between countries in today’s global marketplace and, as the major world currencies fluctuate against one another there is, and will continue to be, money to be made from currency transactions. The major players in the market are of course buying and selling in single deals often running into many millions of dollars. The smaller players however, the brokerage houses and individual brokers, are often trading in individual deals of as little as one hundred thousand dollars.

So what exactly does this mean to you sitting at home and surfing the internet?

It means quite simply that you too can join this market and, providing you take the time to learn the ins and outs of the currency markets and have a little bit of capital to invest, you can enjoy a very reasonable income from your online trading efforts.

You will not of course be able to trade on your own and will need to use a broker, but many brokers will allow you to open an account online and start trading with anywhere between $250 and $1,000.

FOREX trading is not everybody’s cup of tea of course but its major advantage lies in the fact that it is a highly liquid market that does not involve the commission payments and paperwork which many people find a problem when it come to many other forms of trading.

It is, however, a ‘technical’ market and you should not venture into it unless you are prepared to take the time to learn the basic principles underlying this currency market and to become competent in the use of some of the ‘tools of the trade’, such as technical and fundamental analysis. But don’t be put off by this. It is not necessary to become an expert in these markets to profit from them. With a little time and effort you can quite easily gain enough of an understanding of the currency markets to start making money through online trading and, in time, you will be surprised at just how quickly you can become quite an expert.

David Shephard. Please take a moment to visit Forex Online Trading Systems to learn more about Forex Currency Trading and, in particular, Forex Trading Online

Did you know that 43% of all married couples argue over money issues, making it the major reason couples fight? If you and your spouse handle money differently, now is the time to talk, establish expectations, and draw up a financial plan.

Money is a very big part of a marriage. Having enough to spend, and to do the things each wants to do, is important to both parties. When couples are not able to do that, then other issues pop up in the relationship. When husband and wife are not on the same page as far as family finances go, other difficulties inevitably arise.

Effective communication often emerges as the most difficult obstacle to establishing goals and expectations, and developing a financial plan. Many of us have been taught during childhood that discussing money is somehow inappropriate. Couples must understand that it is not only appropriate but absolutely necessary to managing finances in a marriage. Just as finances must be planned in a business, they must also be planned in a marriage. You must communicate in spite of any difficulty.

For example, how do you get your spouse to understand that he or she will need to curb their spending habits so that you both can begin putting money away?

There s got to be a viable agreement, because most couples discover that a lack of money, a lack of spending control, or a lack of fall-back savings eventually causes other problems in a marriage. Little things grow into much bigger things. However, as emphasized by Daniel Smith a noted financial expert cited in The Marriage Medics, future arguments over finances can be avoided by simply communicating, creating an understanding of expectations, setting objectives and agreeing on a financial roadmap.

The Marriage Medics outlines the following financial plan of attack for couples of any age:

1. Stop living beyond your means.

2. Treat the household like a business.

3. Create an income-and-expense statement.

4. Create a balance sheet.

5. Create a budget.

6. Figure out how to pay down your debt. Agree on a plan of action in which you both share equally in cutbacks.

7. Find ways to cut expenses.

8. Go on a debt diet starting with the little stuff.

9. Have only one credit card for your entire family.

10. Celebrate when you pay off a debt.

There are many resources for help in creating family budgets and living within them. For instance, Jim Miller, a Registered Investment Advisor, author of Retire Dollar Smart, and the host of a financial advice radio show is an excellent source. Visit his web site at: www.retiredollarsmart.com. In sum, married couples have an important opportunity to plant the seeds for a healthy marriage by simply talking with each other, being realistic about expectations, and making that financial plan. Money matters!

Copyright 2005 Cynthia Cooper

NOTE: You may run this article provided you run it with the bio box intact. Please email a copy of your publication with article in it to ArticleDeptBill@rtir.com

Cynthia Cooper, Ph.D., is a clinical psychotherapist and co-author of The Marriage Medics which you can obtain via http://www.themarriagemedics.org

So, you want to save for retirement, but you’re having enough trouble paying your bills every month?

Now what?

How can you possibly find enough money to save for the future when the present is difficult enough?

If this sounds familiar, then here are a few suggestions to help making saving money easier. Not necessarily easy – when money is tight, saving is probably not going to be easy. But at least it can be a little bit easier.

For this to work, you first have to be willing to make a few changes. Actually, it all comes down to one big change – and that is making a commitment. Without this commitment, and a plan to go along with it, then most likely nothing will ever change.

So, go ahead and make a commitment to yourself that you’ll do WHATEVER it takes to change your financial situation. And this change won’t come overnight, so give yourself a time frame to make it happen. Write down your commitment. And put it in a safe place.

And get ready to make it happen! Here are some suggestions for saving money – even when money is tight:

First, take a few minutes to read your commitment each day. The more you believe in what you are doing, the more you will be willing to take action, and achieve what you want!

Second, think of ways to make some extra money:

- get a part-time job

– start your own business
– sell items around the house that you don’t need any more

Third, take out your checkbook and write down a list of all your expenses for the last month or two. Write down everything. Then decide which expenses you can eliminate (and remember, you make a commitment to change your financial situation, and won’t necessarily be easy). And decide which ones can be reduced:

- cable TV

– cell phone

– internet service

– newspapers

– magazines

– entertainment

– luxuries

– anything else you can live without!

Be creative. Be honest. And be committed!

Because when money is tight, and you still want to save for your future, you either need to find a way to make some more money. Or find a way to lower your monthly expenses.

Kris Bickell is the owner of http://www.Debt-Tips.com, a helpful site for consumers needing financial help. To learn how you can “bank on yourself”, save for retirement, and get ahead in life, sign up for the free “Bank On Yourself” report at: http://www.Debt-Tips.com/build-wealth-ct.html

A Forex broker is a broker dealing in foreign exchange, just like real estate broker who deals in real estate and properties. Simply, a Forex broker is an advisor who advises you about the forex market. However, the Forex market is not the perfect place to play with as a novice and beginner as there are many criticalities involved along with much risk bearing capacities. Novices can very quickly get their fingers badly burnt. But inexperience is not the only reason to consider using a Forex broker to trade in the high-risk international currencies market.

So, the Forex broker is an advisor who advises you about the forex market and allows you to work for 24 hours a day with major currencies like EUR, JPY, GBP, CHF etc against the US dollar on the spot, i.e. according to the current prices on the forex international exchange market. But the level of profits depends only on your abilities as well as your timely decision.

Although the role of the Forex broker is relatively redundant as a result of technological advancement and increased awareness, we cannot completely underestimate his role. The new paradigm shift has had something of a democratizing effect on the financial markets, and in the years that have followed a plethora of banks and brokerages have extended the range of their services to a new market by packaging up their online trading systems for the retail market, enabling the more modest investor to trade from their own computer screen – even on the previously out-of-reach currency markets. This is where the real role of Forex broker starts.

PIP is nothing special but Price Interest Points. In the forex market, currencies are always priced in pairs. The quoted price is the level where we, acting as the market maker, are willing to buy/sell the currency pair. In the wholesale market, currencies are quoted out to four decimal places, with the last placeholder called a point or a pip. A pip in most currencies is one /10,000th of an exchange rate (in USD/JPY, it is one /100th, likewise you can find for others).

Let’s see some more information about Spread. As with all financial products, forex quotes include terms like ‘bid’ and ‘ask”‘. The ‘bid’, in its simplest terms is the price at which a dealer is willing to buy (and clients can sell) the base currency in exchange for the counter currency. The ‘ask’ is the price at which dealer will sell (and clients can buy) the base currency in exchange for the counter currency. The difference between the bid and the ask price is referred to as the spread. The spread defines the trader’s cost, which can be recovered with a favorable currency move in the market. The value of a pip is determined by the pair of currencies being traded, the rate at which the currency pair is trading and the size of the position being traded.

There are many great Forex brokers, like COESfx, who maintains tight, competitive spreads in the four major currencies against the Dollar, and a total of 17 currency pairs including USD/CAD and AUD/USD. Some of the major features of COESfx are:

Real-time streaming prices

Price certainty on market orders

Competitive pricing

Fixed 3-5 pip spreads

For details, about this forex broker as well as their offerings, please visit: http://www.coesfx.com.

Anthony Trister is a currency trader and is an owner of OneDayTrades which offers free, mechanical forex signals and an automated trading program for those wanting to trade forex. Free access available here: http://www.onedaytrades.com

Sometimes I get some really strange questions in the mail. The one that follows is one of them. Although I try to be like “Rambo” when I trade, I haven’t in actuality fully achieved “Rambo’s” degree of “coolness.”

“Joe, is it really true that you are able to stay calm and relaxed when you trade? Are you saying you have never cracked under pressure?”

There have been times when I made mistakes under pressure, but I don’t recall ever cracking under pressure. By that I mean I didn’t panic, but I have come close. Being short soybeans when Chernobyl blew up was probably the closest. I’ve made huge errors in conduct – once I sat and lost $45,000 in a matter of minutes because I tried trading while teaching a student at the same time. Lesson learned: Never trade and teach at the same time. Stay focused on one or the other. I once woke up to a margin call of $21,000+, but it turned out in my favor. I had erroneously left a 5-lot in the market overnight – thinking I was flat – the result of sloppy housekeeping.

Nevertheless, I have learned how to make trades in a relaxed, but focused way. I don’t put unnecessary pressure on myself. I don’t let myself get stressed out – it’s simply too costly to do that.

I don’t believe that I have to be successful on any one trade; I keep my focus on the big picture. I don’t believe I need to be right. I don’t try to impose my will on the market. And I definitely don’t try to predict the future of price movement. The market is the market – it does what it wants to do.

What I do is to closely observe market conditions and movement, and make up a detailed plan of attack. I trade what I see, allowing the market to take me where it wants to go.
I make a serious effort to stay calm and relaxed, and ready to act on whatever happens next.

Once I have a trading plan, I follow it. I do not doubt or second-guess my plan. I meditate on my plan and picture myself carrying it out successfully, before I ever enter a trade. I really believe in mental imaging as being an important activity.

I enter and exit trades without worrying about the consequences. Worrying has never helped me to trade well. Worrying is wasted energy. By staying focused, I am able to see trading opportunities more easily, and that allows me to take advantage of the opportunities when they arise.

Trading is a lot like playing sports. Players must stay objective, calm, and not crack under the strain of wanting to be “the best” or “perfect.” I am definitely not a perfectionist.

I recall one year when college football fans observed what happens when a team seems to be playing “so perfectly” that some say they are “unbeatable.” All season long, the Oklahoma Sooners had been winning, and winning big. They were the only undefeated college football team, until the day they lost by over three touchdowns to the Kansas State Wildcats. What’s surprising about this loss is not that the Sooners lost, since even the best teams can lose occasionally. It was the way they lost and how they seemed to be defeated psychologically. After making their only touchdown in the early moments of the game, they seemed to be stunned and shaken for the rest of the game. They couldn’t make even a single touchdown. It was unexpected and hard to believe. One commentator said it was like the bully who had never been beaten down. They knew how to win, but when upset and knocked down, they didn’t know how to get back up. Sooners’ Quarterback Jason White said, “They put pressure on us and got to us a few times.” And as the clock ticked away, Kansas State made another touchdown, then another, and then another. During the final minutes of the game one announcer said of the Oklahoma team, “They just want to lick their wounds and go home.”

From a purely psychological perspective, one can wonder what would have happened had the Sooners lost one of their first few games. Maybe they would have learned how to recover from a setback, and when they were down by a couple of touchdowns, they could have easily come back to make the win. It’s like what some hedge fund managers say about good traders: “The best traders are those who have blown out their accounts a few times. They know what it feels like, know how to recover from it, and the possibility doesn’t haunt them anymore.”

Although it’s unpleasant to think about, it’s worth considering the worst-case scenario, and making a detailed plan to recover should it happen. It’s just one strategy for learning how to trade in a carefree manner so that should you face a severe financial setback, you can recover from it. So-called “trading in the zone” requires intense concentration and focus, and it’s difficult to maintain this stance when the pressure is on you to perform. Thus, you must do whatever you can to reduce the perceived psychological pressure. The most obvious way to relieve such pressure is to think in terms of probabilities and carefully manage risk. It’s useful to remember that you may not win on any single trade; but after a series of trades, you will have enough winners to make a profit in the long run. It’s also important to manage your risk. Determine your risk up-front and risk only a small amount of trading capital on a single trade. Doing so will ease a lot of the pressure, allowing you to be more open to see the opportunities that the market offers. Don’t crack under the pressure of a potentially mortal financial defeat. Consider the possibility, and be ready to recover from it.

Joe Ross
Trading Educators Inc

Joe Ross has been trading for more than 47 years, and is a well known Master Trader. He has survived all the up and downs of the markets because of his adaptable trading style, using a low-risk approach that produces consistent profits.

Joe is the creator of the Ross hook, and has set new standards for low-risk trading with his concept of “The Law of Charts.” Joe was a private trader for most of his life. In the mid 80’s he shift his focus and decided to share his knowledge. After his recovery, he founded Trading Educators in 1988 to teach aspiring traders how to make profits using his trading approach. He has written 12 major books on trading. All of them have become classics and have been translated into many different languages.

Joe holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of California at Los Angeles. He did his Masters work in Computer Sciences at the George Washington University extension in Norfolk, VA. Joe still tutors, teaches, writes, and trades regularly. Joe is still an active and integral part of Trading Educators.

Small Business Administration (SBA) loans are provided to loan seekers under section 7(a) of the Small Business Act. This Act gives power to the Agency to sanction loans to American Small Businesses. Founded on July 30, 1953, the U.S. small Business Administration has provided loans, loan guarantees, contracts, counseling and other type of assistance to small businesses. Most American banks and non-banking lenders participate with SBA in 7(a) loan program.

SBA loans are provided to the borrowers against a guarantee for a percentage of loan amounts, if deemed necessary by the SBA loan providers. In case of default, the Agency is, in no way responsible to pay the entire amount – it only reimburses the guaranteed amount to the commercial lender. The borrower is obligated to pay the entire loan. The Government or the Agency (SBA) can neither offer loans as it does not have resources nor can it compel the lender to provide the loan. A loan applicant should contact the lender directly and not SBA.

Loan seekers repayment ability is the top consideration in sanctioning these loans. Other important considerations like good character, management capability, collateral and business owner equity also play an important role in sanctioning of a loan. Apart from the above conditions, the eligibility requirements are quite flexible and accommodate a varied range of small business financing. Factors like size, type of business, use of proceeds and availability of funds from other sources are taken into consideration. Business should be earning profit and should not already be using its internal sources. The business head, is required to submit a “Statement of Personal History” to check his past credit record and other tangible matters and to prove his credit worthiness.

There are certain provisions that apply to most of the SBA loans. Variations can occur for some loan programs such as the limit of maximum loan amount to be provided, maturity terms, rate of interest applied, percentage of Guaranty, Loan fee charged by SBA and pre-payment penalties. All these terms and conditions are settled between an applicant and the participating financer, according to the requirements of the SBA.

Learn more about the SBA loan program for your startup company (programs for minority and woman owned businesses): http://www.hjventures.com/sba/sba-loan-terms.html

Believe it or not, there are ways to convert taxable income
into non-taxable income, without any fear of an IRS audit.

Here’s one of my favorites. It’s been part of our
tax code for over 30 years, yet many still don’t take
advantage of it.

What am I talking about?

The IRA — Individual Retirement Account.

Now, before you say, “Oh, I know all about that one; what’s
so great about an IRA?”, give me 10 minutes to explain 3 new
benefits to the IRA rules that you may not realize.

BENEFIT #1: How To Avoid Tax Rather Than Postpone Tax

First, did you know that there are now 2 kinds of IRA’s
available?

The so-called Traditional IRA is the one that first came
out way back in the 1970’s.

But there’s a newer version of the IRA that’s only a few
years old — it’s called the Roth IRA. And the difference
between these 2 IRA’s is huge.

Traditional IRA contributions are tax-deductible, resulting
in immediate tax savings. The growth of those contributions
is also tax-sheltered while the funds remain in the account.

But eventually all tax-deductible Traditional IRA
contributions, as well as the growth of those contributions,
will be subject to income tax when the money is withdrawn
from the account.

In other words, Traditional IRA’s offer the opportunity to
temporarily postpone taxes.

In contrast, the Roth IRA offers the opportunity to
permanently avoid taxes. With a Roth IRA, you don’t take
a deduction for your contributions; instead, you make
a contribution with “after-tax” dollars.

Whatever you put in not only grows tax-free, but can
also be withdrawn tax-free.

Here’s an example to illustrate:

If you invest $2,000 per year for 20 years into a Roth IRA,
you will have invested a total of $40,000. Now if that Roth
IRA earns an average of 10% per year, that $40,000 will
grow into $126,005.

Now comes the fun part: Assuming the IRA has existed for at
least 5 years and you are at least 59 years old, you can
withdraw the entire $126,005 tax free.

In contrast, if this money had been invested in a
Traditional IRA, the entire $126,005 would be subject to
income tax as it is withdrawn.

The $86,005 of growth is magically converted from taxable
income to non-taxable income. Assuming you are in the 15%
federal tax bracket, that’s a savings of $12,901. Add any
state income tax, and you could save over $15,000 in
taxes.

BENEFIT #2: Take An Extra 3 Months To Fund Your IRA

The deadline for contributing to your IRA is April 15 of the
year AFTER the year for which the contribution made.

So for Year 2005, you have until April 15, 2006
to put money into your IRA.

If you’ve already invested the maximum (more about that in a
moment) by December 31, 2005, then you’re done. No more
money can go into the IRA for 2005.

But if you haven’t maxed out your IRA, you have until
April 15 to do so.

Which brings me to . . .

BENEFIT #3: The Maximum Contribution Amounts Have Increased

For many years, the most you could put into an IRA was
$2,000. Now, the maximum is $4,000 (assuming you have at
least that much earned income from wages or self-employment
income).

And if you are over 49, you can put in another $500,
bringing the total maximum to $4,500.

A married couple, both age 50 or older, can put a whopping
$9,000 per year into a IRA. Not too shabby, eh?

One final note about these Roth IRA rules: For married
people, you can only contribute the maximum of $4,000 or
$4,500 if your combined income is less than $150,000.

If you are single or head of household, you can contribute
the maximum if your income is less than $95,000.

For most middle-class folks looking for a perfectly legal
way to permanently avoid tax (rather then merely temporarily
postpone tax), the Roth IRA fits the bill.

Now comes the hard part — how to actually implement this
tax avoidance strategy.

“We’d like to save as much as we can for our golden years.
But $9,000 a year? It’s hard to put aside that kind of
money. We need every dollar we make just to pay the bills.”

If that’s your situation, I’m not going to get up on my
“what-do-you-mean-you-can’t-save-any-money-for-retirement”
soapbox and start preaching at you.

I will say this: You’ve got to start somewhere, and you’ve
got to start saving something, don’t you?

People who have a problem saving for retirement usually have
a budgeting problem. For an excellent resource on
budgeting, I highly recommend the Budget Stretcher web site:

http://www.homemoneyhelp.com.

This site offers a free budget system complete with simple
forms and worksheets to help you figure out how to put some
money aside for a Roth IRA or other savings plan.

Take advantage of this resource and get started today.

Wayne M. Davies is author of 3 tax-slashing eBooks for small
business owners and the self-employed. For a free copy of
Wayne’s 25-page report, “How To Instantly Double Your
Deductions” visit http://www.YouSaveOnTaxes.com

Currency trading is all about trading the right way to achieve currency trading success. It’s a blend of various inputs that will make you successful. Get just one of them wrong and you will lose.

This article is for both novice traders who have never traded before and seasoned traders who want to achieve greater profits.

Here are the 5 steps that will help you achieve the profits you desire.

Get The Right Attitude

You need it from the start in it is that you work smart not hard, and really learn and apply the tools necessary for success.

This means you will not listen to the news consult or follow market Guru’s or chat with anyone about your trading.

You are going to take responsibility for your own currency trading plan and make it a success. No one else can help you, success comes from within.

Trade In Isolation

Once you have done your homework and learned the basics its time to isolate yourself

One of the most important tips to remember is stay away from the news. It looks compelling when you hear all those arguments in favour of a trade, but they won’t help you as the fundamentals cant help you trade!

As all known fundamentals are quickly reflected in the market price, it’s the future that counts in currency trading and more importantly how traders view them.

Get Your Method Ready

You need a simple technical method that does not predict market tops and bottoms but acts on the evidence of confirmation of trends in motion. If you study Dow Theory and a breakout method you have the basics of a method that will work.

Don’t make your trading method complicated just chart analysis and some filters for trades.

Filters that you will find useful are: MACD, Bollinger bands, Stochastics and moving averages and that’s it.

The simpler a method is in currency trading the more likely it is to be a success.

Fact: Most of the successful currency trading systems are simple not complicated.

Catching and riding the big trends

Forget day trading the odds are against you, it’s the big trends you are after that last for months or years. In currency trading never trade the short term noise of the market stick with the big trends that yield the big profits.

You need to have big profits to cover your inevitable losses. With a good long term trading strategy you can lose 70% of the time and still make a lot of money.

Add in the fact that you pay less commission and the odds of success are better and it’s the obvious right way to go in your currency trading.

Leave Your Ego Behind

Being clever does not mean you will succeed in currency trading.

The financial markets attract some of the brightest people in the world and this can be a hindrance not a help. These people often feel that being clever will help them and this leads to a number of problems like:

Trying to devise a system that’s to complicated.

Failing to take loses because they cant accept their wrong.

Chopping and changing their trading methods when in periods of drawdown.

The greatest traders in the world tend to be humble; as they accept the market is always right and only they can be wrong Finally, they also accept they have to lose to win.

Know your Trading edge

Do you know your trading edge? If you don’t, you don’t have one! An edge is a reason that you are going to be in the minority of winners.

There are many ways to win but the top traders tend to have the following traits.

They take control of their destiny, they trade in isolation, they have simple trading methods, they are humble, they have courage and finally, they have focus and discipline.

If you can acquire these traits in your currency trading they will lead you to currency trading success.