Ready to Save Like There's No Tomorrow?

Are you a saver or a spender? "A penny saved is a penny earned." This old saying calls attention to the wisdom of saving money. "Putting money away for a rainy day" is another way to talk about saving for the future. People who hate to spend money are known as "tightwads," while those who like to get the most value for their money are called "thrifty." A thrifty person is different from a "spendthrift." A spendthrift is someone who spends wastefully. People like that are often said to spend money "like a drunken sailor" or "like there's no tomorrow." In the United States, people who want to start a savings account have different choices of where to put their money. These include banks and credit unions. Credit unions are cooperatives for people who have some kind of connection. For example, the members might work for a university or a government agency. Most credit unions are nonprofit organizations. Credit unions, banks and other financial institutions pay interest on savings accounts. But the interest rates are low. Certificates of deposit pay higher returns. With a certificate of deposit, or CD, a person agrees not to withdraw the money for a certain period of time. This term could be anywhere from a few months to several years. Longer terms, and larger amounts, pay higher interest. People can withdraw their money early but they have to pay a penalty. Another way to save is through a money market fund. This is a kind of mutual fund. Mutual funds invest money from many people. The money is sometimes placed in short-term government securities. Money market funds, however, may not be federally guaranteed like other kinds of savings. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation guarantees savings up to two hundred fifty thousand dollars. In a number of countries, people have been saving less over the years. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is a group of thirty-four countries. The OECD says in nineteen ninety, Americans had a household savings rate of seven percent. This year, that rate is expected to be a little more than four percent. Many European countries have higher rates, but Americans save more than families in countries like Japan and South Korea.

Words and Their Stories: Money (Part 1)

I think people everywhere dream about having lots of money. I know I do. I would give anything to make money hand over fist. I would like to earn large amounts of money. You could win a large amount of money in the United States through lotteries. People pay money for tickets with numbers. If your combination of numbers is chosen, you win a huge amount of money often in the millions. Winning the lottery is a windfall. A few years ago, my friend Al won the lottery. It changed his life. He did not have a rich family. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Instead, my friend was always hard up for cash. He did not have much money. And the money he did earn was chicken feed very little. Sometimes Al even had to accept hand-outs, gifts from his family and friends. But do not get me wrong. My friend was not a deadbeat. He was not the kind of person who never paid the money he owed. He simply pinched pennies. He was always very careful with the money he spent. In fact, he was often a cheapskate. He did not like to spend money. The worst times were when he was flat broke and had no money at all. One day, Al scraped together a few dollars for a lottery ticket. He thought he would never strike it rich or gain lots of money unexpectedly. But his combination of numbers was chosen and he won the lottery. He hit the jackpot. He won a great deal of money. Al was so excited. The first thing he did was buy a costly new car. He splurged on the one thing that he normally would not buy. Then he started spending money on unnecessary things. He started to waste it. It was like he had money to burn. He had more money than he needed and it was burning a hole in his pocket so he spent it quickly. When we got together for a meal at a restaurant, Al paid every time. He would always foot the bill, and pick up the tab. He told me the money made him feel like a million dollars. He was very happy. But, Al spent too much money. Soon my friend was down and out again. He had no money left. He was back to being strapped for cash. He had spent his bottom dollar, his very last amount. He did not even build up a nest egg. He had not saved any of the money. I admit I do feel sorry for my friend. He had enough money to live like a king. Instead, he is back to living on a shoestring -- a very low budget. Some might say he is penny wise and pound foolish. He was wise about small things, but not about important things.
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Words and Their Stories: Money (Part 2)

Many people believe that money makes the world go around. Others believe that money buys happiness. I do not agree with either idea. But I do admit that money can make people do strange things. Let me tell you about a person I once knew who liked to play card games for money. He liked to gamble. My friend Bob had a problem because he liked to gamble at all costs. He would play at any time and at any price. To take part in a card game such as poker, my friend would have to ante up. He would have to pay a small amount of money at the beginning of the game. Bob always played with cold, hard cash --only coins and dollar bills. Sometimes my friend would clean up. He would win a lot of money on one card game. He liked to tell me that one day he would break the bank. What a feeling it must be to win all of the money at a gambling table! Other times my friend would simply break even. He neither won nor lost money. But sometimes Bob would lose his shirt. He would lose all the money he had. He took a beating at the gambling table. When this happened, my friend would have to go in the hole. He would go into debt and owe people money. Recently, Bob turned to crime after losing all his money. In his job, he kept the books for a small business. He supervised the records of money earned and spent by the company. Although my friend was usually honest, he decided to cook the books. He illegally changed the financial records of the company. This permitted him to make a fast buck. My friend made some quick, easy money dishonestly. I never thought Bob would have sticky fingers. He did not seem like a thief who would steal money. But, some people will do anything for love of money. Bob used the money he stole from his company to gamble again. This time, he cashed in. He made a lot of money. Quickly he was back on his feet. He had returned to good financial health. His company, however, ended up in the red. It lost more money than it earned. The company was no longer profitable. It did not take long before my friends dishonesty was discovered. The company investigated and charged him with stealing. Bob tried to pass the buck. He tried to blame someone else for the deficit. His lie did not work, however. He ended up in jail. Today, I would bet my bottom dollar that my friend will never gamble again. I would bet all I have that he learned his lesson about gambling.

Words and Their Stories: Money (Part 3)

Most people enjoy working for several reasons. Their job might be fun, or they like their employer and the other people at work. Most people I know, however, work for the money. I do not know anyone who is loaded, or extremely rich. Most of my friends work to earn enough money to live. They have to make ends meet. They have to earn enough money to pay for the things they need. Some even live from hand to mouth. They only have enough money for the most important things. They struggle to earn enough money to bring home the bacon. It can be difficult to earn enough money for a family to survive. Sometimes, poor people even get caught short. They do not have enough money to pay for what they need. Or they have to spend or lay out more money than they want for something. When this happens, poor people have to tighten their belts and live on less money than usual. I hate when I have to live on less money. It takes me longer to get back on my feet, or return to good financial health. However, other people are on the gravy train. They get paid more money than their job is worth. These people make a bundle. They really rake in the cash. In fact, they make so much money that they can live high off the hog. They own the best of everything and live in great ease. Sometimes they pay an arm and a leg for something. Because money is no object to wealthy people, they will pay high prices for whatever they want. Sometimes, they even pay through the nose. They pay too much for things. I am not rich. I did not make a killing in the stock market when my stocks increased in value. Yet, I am not poor either. When I go out with friends, I do not want to shell out or pay a lot of money. Often, my friends and I will chip in or pay jointly for a fun night out. When we go to restaurants the meal is Dutch treat. Each person pays his or her own share. Once, the owner of a restaurant gave us a dinner on the house. We did not have to pay for our meals. However, I admit that we had to grease someones palm. We had to pay money to the employee who led us to our table. The money was for a special request. Yes, it was a buy off. The employee put us at the top of the list for a table instead of making us wait like everyone else. We had a great time that night and the meal did not set me back at all. I did not have to pay anything. Because of that experience, I will always remember that nice things still happen in a world that is driven by money. But, that is just my two cents worth. It is just my opinion.
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Words and Their Stories: Let's Do Business

There are many special terms in the world of business. The following story is about a sweetheart deal which I made last week. I made the deal with a friend, and we both made a profit. I had started a small company several years ago. I worked hard to make it successful. It was a sign-making business. It was a small company, not a blue chip company. It was not known nationally for the quality of its signs. It did not make millions of dollars in profits. And it was private. It was not a public company with shares traded on the stock market. Still, I worked hard building up my business. I did not work only a few hours each day -- no bankers hours for me. Instead I spent many hours each day, seven days a week, trying to grow the company. I never cut corners or tried to save on expenses. I made many cold calls. I called on possible buyers from a list of people I had never seen. Such calls were often hard sells. I had to be very firm. Sometimes I sold my signs at a loss. I did not make money on my product. When this happened, there were cut backs. I had to use fewer supplies and reduce the number of workers. But after several years, the company broke even. Profits were equal to expenses. And soon after, I began to gain ground. My signs were selling very quickly. They were selling like hotcakes. I was happy. The company was moving forward and making real progress. It was in the black, not in the red. The company was making money, not losing it. My friend knew about my business. He is a leader in the sign-making industry a real big gun, if you know what I mean. He offered to buy my company. My friend wanted to take it public. He wanted to sell shares in the company to the general public. My friend believed it was best to strike while the iron is hot. He wanted to take action at the best time possible and not wait. He offered me a ball park estimate of the amount he would pay to buy my company. But I knew his uneducated guess was low. My company was worth much more. He asked his bean-counter to crunch the numbers. That is, he asked his accountant to take a close look at the finances of my company and decide how much it was worth. Then my friend increased his offer. My friends official offer was finally given to me in black and white. It was written on paper and more than I ever dreamed. I was finally able to get a break. I made a huge profit on my company, and my friend also got a bang for the buck. He got a successful business for the money he spent.

Republica Moldova, atractiva pentru investitorii romani

Investitorii romani sunt tot mai atrasi de Republica Moldova, intrucat pot face profituri frumoase, sustine vicepremierul Valeriu Lazar de la Chisinau. Cele mai atractive domenii sunt energia, industria, agricultura si serviciile financiare. Economia de dincolo de Prut are un potential incredibil in foarte multe domenii unde evolutia este abia la inceput, iar tara vecina se lupta sa reduca dependenta comerciala de Rusia. "De exemplu, in sectorul agricol, potentialul este urias, iar rusii ne iau tot de pe camp, pentru ca ei nu produc ce avem noi. Pana acum, am avut in acest domeniu doar relatii comerciale de nisa cu Romania, care ar trebui extinse", a spus Lazar, citat de Adevarul. Salariul mediu in Republica Moldova este de 190 de euro pe luna, cel mai mic dintre statele europene, conform Doinei Cebotari, consilier pe probleme economice al premierului de la Chisinau. Tot in Republica Moldova, cota de impozit pe profit este zero, urmand ca, din 2012, aceasta sa fie de 12%. In zonele libere nu se platesc TVA si taxe vamale, iar investitorii sunt protejati timp de zece ani de schimbarile legislative. Mai mult, legea prevede ca investitiile de peste 10 milioane de dolari sunt scutite trei ani de impozit pe venit, iar cele de peste 20 de milioane de dolari sunt scutite timp de patru ani. Avand in vedere toate aceste facilitati, nu este de mirare ca investitiile romanesti in Republica Moldova au atins 100 de milioane de dolari, adica 8% din totalul investitiilor straine. Cele mai importante companii romanesti pe piata din Moldova sunt BCR, Raiffeisen Leasing si BT Leasing, Petrom si Rompetrol. Totodata, Republica Moldova vrea sa-si conecteze retelele de electricitate si de gaze cu cele ale Romaniei, avand in vedere ca intregul consum de gaze al tarii provine din Rusia. Afacerile romanesti s-ar putea extinde si in domeniul transporturilor. In acest sens, grupul feroviar Grampet, detinut de omul de afaceri roman Gruia Stoica, si Ministerul Transporturilor din Republica Moldova vor infiinta o societate mixta pentru dezvoltarea cailor ferate din tara de peste Prut. Compania romaneasca va detine 60% din noua societate si va participa cu mijloace banesti, instalatii, utilaje si expertiza. La randul sau, ministerul va contribui la capitalul social cu o divizie de vagoane de marfa si una de calatori.

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