Your Debt Won’t Go Away Unless

First Steps to Get Rid of Debt

First Published: Published Date : June 11, 2016 ADawnJournal.com

Debt is like a never-ending vicious cycle that’s just hard to terminate. Most people who are in debt failed to realize two simple and basic things that make it impossible to get out of debt. Today, I will talk about what you need to realize first, even before applying other debt-relief strategies.

Accept You Have a Debt Problem – This is the number one thing you need to admit or accept: that you have a problem. Most people failed to realize that they had a problem and that led them to not take any actions to work towards eliminating their debt. Think of an alcoholic who does not admit he is an alcoholic and declines to get any help. The same applies with debt. If you don’t admit it, you will never get help or take steps to be debt free.

Stop Borrowing More – This is another big problem that makes it hard to get rid of debt. If you are in debt and paying your balances slowly every month, it should be OK, right? That’s right. However, the problem is when you are paying your balances, but at the same time borrowing more. It’s like you are paying $200 per month towards you loans, but taking out $300 per month. The end result is you are sinking more into debt.

Obviously there are more steps you need to take to get rid of debt. Paying more towards debt, earning more, consolidating debt, and seeking professional help are only a few to mention. All these will happen as long as you go through the first two most important things I mentioned above.

How to ride out market volatility

How to ride out market volatility

First Published: ADawnJournal.com Aug 7, 2008

Unless you are living under a rock these days, you're concerned about the recent market turmoil. Investors all over the world have been losing chunks of their portfolios every day. I remember that I stopped looking at my portfolio at some point and since then I have been checking it very infrequently. Poll after poll shows that the majority of investors are pessimistic about the future and they are making changes in their portfolios based on emotion and fear, not based on a calculated decision.

The most common action they are taking? Switching out of equities and parking money into money market products. Equities are at their lowest at this time and switching out of equities may cost you a lot more than you can possibly handle. It is never recommended to get rid of equities when they are at a heavy loss. Now, naturally, you are going to ask, "If we're not to get rid of equities, what could we do to ride out market volatility?" My number one suggestion would be: do nothing. Yes, indeed – do nothing. Just sit back, relax, fasten your seatbelt, and ride out the market volatility.

If you are not convinced yet, consider the following points:

• Diversification is the key to achieving stable returns throughout the good and bad times. A well-diversified portfolio should not fluctuate to the same degree as stock markets.
• Volatility is a normal part of investing. There will always be ups and downs in the market. Do not let market volatility divert your focus away from your goal. Stay invested, keep adding more money, and you will be fine in the long run.
• Investment is a discipline. Do not make decisions based on emotions. Research has shown that the stock market has averaged an annual 11% rate of return over the last 120 years. Stay invested for the long run – through good and bad times.

I would like to end today's article with a quote by legendary investor John Templeton. John Templeton recently died at the age of 95. He was famous for this quote: "Buy at the point of maximum pessimism." Templeton's quote makes perfect sense—whenever there were declines in the market, the market eventually recovered with greater gains. Investors who acted emotionally lost the most. That's why my advice is: Do Nothing. The market will recover and you will be in good shape again. Just be patient and ride out the volatility.

Beta And Standard Deviation

Beta and Standard Deviation

Today I am going to discuss Beta and Standard Deviation in terms of mutual funds and stocks. Both are statistical terms, but they take a whole new meaning when you put them into investment perspective. I am discussing these in bulleted lists to make it simple and easy to understand.

Beta

• Beta is a statistical term that shows volatility with respect to the market or index as a whole.

• Beta does not measure a product’s unique volatility.

• Beta measures volatility based on the whole market.

• Higher beta means greater volatility.

• A product with beta 1 means it moves with the market. A product with beta 0 means it does not move with the market, e.g., cash.

• A product with beta more than 1 moves ahead of the market, and thus translates into greater volatility than the whole market or index.

• A product with beta less than 1 moves less than the market, and thus translates into lesser volatility than the whole market or index.

Standard Deviation

• Standard Deviation is a statistical term that shows volatility.

• It measures the range of performance.

• It shows how widely performances (or returns or values) are dispersed from the average.

• The greater the standard deviation , the greater the volatility.

• A volatile product is considered a high risk product.

First Published: June 27, 2008 ADawnJournal.com

Free Credit Monitoring for Canadians

Credit Monitoring After Equifax Data Breach

Credit monitoring should a part of your routine to protect your information and stay safe, especially after the Equifax data breach. The good news is there are 2 financial services companies who are already providing this for Canadians for free.

Credit Karma provides a free TransUnion credit score for Canadians and recently this financial services provider started providing free credit monitoring. When important changes happen on your TransUnion credit report, such as an address change, a hard inquiry, or opening a new account, Credit Karma will notify you via email.

Another financial services provider, Mogo.ca, recently mentioned that they are working on a new alert feature on Equifax credit score that will let its members know when a new inquiry occurs. Mogo already provides a free Equifax credit score for its members. However, it is not clear from the email I received from Mogo whether this feature is currently active or if they are still working on it.

Use all the tools and features to keep an eye on your credit files and take steps to protect yourself should someone try to use your information fraudulently. I regularly publish brief videos of this nature, so to keep updated subscribe to my YouTube channel here: www.youtube.com/adawn. Also, I have a video on the same article you just read and you can watch this here: Free Credit Monitoring After Equifax Data Breach

Invest Now Hits Chapters Indigo Bookshelves

The Wait Is Over - Invest Now Is Available

First Published: June 20, 2008 ADawnJournal.com

I am writing this post to let all A Dawn Journal readers know that Invest Now has hit Chapters Indigo bookshelves. Invest Now is initially available at -

Chapters - Queensway
1950 The Queensway
Etobicoke, Ontario
M9C 5H5 Canada
(416)622-2838

Later on, Invest Now will be placed in additional locations.  Invest Now is also available at these fine online shops: Amazon.ca, Chapters.indigo.ca, Barnesandnoble.com.  Invest Now delivers a convincing case for avoiding daily spending temptations and then shows you the secrets to smart investing. With as little as $25, you can become a successful investor by following three simple and practical steps.

The must-have guide for Canadian investors, Invest Now delivers three surprisingly simple steps to safeguard your financial future.

You don’t have to be a financial guru to develop a consistent savings plan and accumulate wealth. Invest Now offers all the tools and motivation you need to start building a safe and secure financial future now for you and your family. Invest Now has won prestigious Editor’s Choice and highly prestigious Publisher’s Choice award for its editorial integrity and outstanding design quality.

NB: To view more pictures, please visit A Dawn Journal Flickr page

Award-winning Invest Now covers a broad range of topics including Internet Scams. To purchase a copy, visit Chapters Indigo or click here to buy online - Invest Now: A Canadian's Guide to Investing