SCAM ALERT - Freight Forwarding is Reshippering by another name...

Okay I have a good site for you to look at if you are investigating an "online oppourtunity". The FBI's Cyber Sweep site is rather useful and quite easy to read.

http://www.fbi.gov/cyber/cysweep/cysweep1.htm

By way of warning there is a rash of Carrerbuilder/Monster/other jobsites being used to send out "Freight Forwarding" job offers. Don't be fooled into participating in the identity theft scam. It is very vicious and will cost you money, possibly LOTS OF MONEY in the end.
If you don't have a background in international business (I studied it as part of my Bachelor's Degree) you should know from the first contact that it is a phishing scam. If you do have international business connections just read the section about "Reshippers" and you will see it laid out quite plainly. These offers for jobs in international business are bogus and fraudulent and the big job resume sites should be more diligent in screening who and what is allowed to advertise on their sites, because it only decreases their value in the my mind. But that is another fish that needs frying some other time.

So how's that Total Money Makeover thingy doing...

I reported nearly five months ago that we had begun a new financial track. Some are likely wondering as a friend of mine did last week, "So that Total Money Makeover thingy going?'.

I figured an update was in order. It is the season of Thanksgiving and my family and I have MUCH to be THANKFUL for this year! As of today our Total Money Makeover has been responsible for the TOTAL ELIMINATION of our CREDIT CARD (it was paid off and cancelled nearly two months ago) and its nearly $7000 of bondage as well as an additional $5000 plus on the car loan (we should have it paid off early next year). I would call that a major improvement (since when we started a 14.25 medical bill was more than we could pay!). Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps are simple and they work when you "drink the Kool-Aid" as many of Dave's listeners like to say on his radio show. You can count me as one of those who has REALLY ENJOYED the REFRESHING TASTE of the KOOL-AID!

We are on track to be debt free except the house in August of 2009, which is a full six months sooner than it, was six months ago. I am amazed by the amount of "found money" actually flows through our hands each month. I am a true believer in the wisdom of "grandma" and "common sense" as Dave likes to put it.
So if you are watching from the trenches as we slog out of debt I would strongly encourage you to join us on the journey out of bondage. I now know that Debt is Dumb and Cash is King in the land of True Financial Peace.

A Simple Rule of Thumb about "Opportunities"...

I had a friend call tonight and ask how you would be able to know which online employment work at home opportunities are legitimate. I told her that most were scams as a rule, based upon my research and experience with these "opportunities".

They asked if there was a good website that summarized these "money making ideas". At that moment I couldn't think of one but within two minutes of logging on I had come across this website. It further illustrates a theory of mine about knowledge of value. In most cases it is freely available and not difficult to find. The only think about it is that it isn't glamorous or "prestigious" in the mind of those who are seeking the quick buck online.

So read these simple summaries of what you find out there and know that it really is this simple a rule of thumb.

http://www.afb.org/Section.asp?SectionID=7&TopicID=209&DocumentID=3537

What's in my wallet? CASH!!!

As of last week we have confirmation that we no longer have a credit card! What an amazing thing this is, it has remove more stress than I realized even existed in my life and my marriage. Life is improving and I certainly know that momma is happy to be rid of credit card debt forever!

I can tell you that we have had some adjustments to make but none that are truly difficult, and the net result is worth all of these changes. The primary difference is instead of paying interest on my "emergency fund" card I actually earned interest on my "emergency fund" account. True it was only $2 but lets factor in the detail that I didn't pay any interest out. That is a minimum net of almost $180 per month.

I am VERY happy with my first few months of life without the use of a credit card. Which is why I encourage every one I meet to shred the card and live with out it. I have earned nearly $250 more since I cut up my card so now I can answer the question that Capital One is always asking... CASH!!!

How many of us have ever felt this way before?

I saw a funy clip about auto mechanics and their customers today...

AtomFilms.com: Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | Comedy Central

DAVE IS RIGHT!!!

I have been working the Baby Steps now for just over three months. The net results are very respectable. What's more I haven't paid some scam artist to help me get out of debt either! Which was a temptation I successfully avoided nearly five months ago. AND what is even more impressive is that the Debt CON-solidation loan on our house which we didn't qualify for in the end was totally not needed. That is a serious revelation folks! We were convinced by the ads and everything we were told by real estate folks that this was the route we needed to go. Well, they were wrong. THANK GOODNESS we were just enough out of balance to not qualify for that scam a second time.



So how did I solve the nearly $800 deficit that my family had on a monthly basis? I took a second job at one of the Schuck's Auto Parts Stores. I knew the manager and knew he needed the help. I was right and thus I got the job. It has not been easy or fun working 65 hours or more a week but I am seeing the value of what Dave calls "Working Like NO ONE ELSE..."



I knew my friend the manager was in need of Dave's plan as well. So I gave him the book on CD. He and his wife are now working their own Total Money Makeover and they are succeeding! WOW! It is such a simple plan and there are no MLM gimmicks or gotchas. I have to say that I am still very much sold on this TMMO plan of Dave Ramsey's.



We are going to be able to pay off our only credit card in five days! This is a major way point for us on our path to personal financial peace. We got this credit card shortly after we got married and we thought it would never carry a balance; for a few months this was the case. Dave loves to say when you play with snakes you are going to get bit. He was right! We had a few medical emergencies and an incident with our car and boom we were carrying a balance. Now nine years later we are going to be RID of the snake FOREVER!!! What a GREAT FEELING!



I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I know it isn't a train! It is the blessed light of FREEEEEDOOOMMMMM!!!! WOW! I used to think that I would have to find some business opportunity to get the G.O.O.D. life. Now I know better. It isn't how much you make it is how you use it.



Dave is right!

Rumors of my untimely demise...

Contrary to the rumors circulating I am indeed still alive; just working two jobs... Hence the decrease in actual blog time available to me. I have mostly adjusted to this new schedule and I hope to be able to post once a month from this time forward. If you are wondering why this is the case I suggest you stop by my financial councilor's website . It is all his fault as he has modivated me to get out of debt FOREVER! Hence, I actually have need of a breif burst of income to help move my debt snowball downhill faster.

The Seven Baby Steps...

For those who are interested here are the Seven Baby Steps to Financial Peace in your life, that Dave Ramsey has laid out. These are the steps that I am following to become debt free. I am at step two and have shreaded my credit card and am gald of the clear path out of debt.

Bubba is the Devil!!!

The following link is a funny parody that will have a little too much truth in it for comfort in it for mamy who read this blog and listen to audio. My advice is to be brave and stop taking the Dumb-Dumbs at the bank. The are telling you something important about debt; IT IS DUMB!

However I know that nearly 75% of my readers are in its grasp and over half of them are as guilty as I have been of the such credit crimes as ol' Bubba Bezel's H.E.L.L. ; we either have learned or are learning that it is a short cut to more misery and grief in the financial arena.

I believed all the advertising years ago. I drank the sweet smelling Koolaid; sadly it gave me fish breath debitosis. We have now gone one full month without our credit card living on a Dave budget; Life has never been more hopeful. We can finally see how we are going to pay ol' Bubba off.

The true cost of a NEW CAR!!!

After you have watched this video you I know what I did... (I put my car up for sale and began searching craigslist for a car I could pay cash for and drive for the next ten months...) The question is what will you do.

Dave Ramsey's - Total Money Make Over

WOW!

This is a powerful book about our finances today. I found hope inside this book in a way that I have not in countless other "financial solution" books. Dave is a brilliant commentator with the real world smarts of experience to back up his statements.

I began my own Total Money Makeover after listening to this book. It has helped me to understand what it is that I didn't learn in school or the 20 years since about finances and why "I am doing ok!" just isn't ever going to get any better. The reason is clear and I feel it is best summed up by a quote by another genius, Albert Einstein.


Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Utilizing, Dave's six simple steps has allowed me to totally reorganize my financial life in a way that has allowed me to cut up my credit card and live life in a manner that is fiscally responsible. I am have completed step one and am now working step to with "gazelle" intensity. It has allowed me to create a realistic plan to become 100% debt free in SEVEN YEARS' time with over 20,000 dollars in the bank. WOW!

We started this plan a week ago, yet we have already paid off over $1400 in debt! We have committed to this plan and it is working! Now we have only $238,500 of debt to go. I know it sounds crazy but we are unlike many other plans this one is working. Mind you this is no get rich quick plan! It is a plan that require work! Yes, I said the four letter word. But trust me Dave's plan is easy to understand and even better, it is a workable plan.

Ultimately all I can tell you in this short review is that this book is AN ABSOLUTE MUST BUY!

If you are skeptical read it and check back; I will keep you all up to date on the progress of this truly amazing plan.

Humorous Videos

I came across this video on YouTube... I hope you enjoy it. The is exactly how many of these scam should advertise but never will. Anyway enjoy, shortly my first installment will be available for your consumption. In the meantime watch this guaranteed money losing plan...



Then go to the advertised website for a funny take on finances that I totally don't recommend anyone trying as it is guaranteed to lose your money fast. The website has several satirical videos that are also worth watching. Here is another one that I liked.



Well until next time, keep your wallet safe and don't sign up for any credit cards. ;)

Why I am doing this...

I have spent the last decade investigating MLM's, Online Income Oppurtunities & just about every other scam out there. I have been looking for a way to earn more income or to replace my income. The net result is I am still working at the same company as I was when I started investigating.



Most offers I have come accross have been of a fraudulent nature with the intent behind the fraud being a blatant scamming of the respondant's bank account. Fortunately, I have never lost more than a few hundred dollars in this quest for additional income. Though I have encountered countless others who have lost more than they make in a year or two.



The lure is always "Easy Money". There is no such thing as easy money. Period! It must be earned or stolen those are the two ways I know of to make money. As I am fundamentally adverse to the latter, I have run into dead end after dead end once I put the time and effort into investigating their claims.



I decided it is time I pass on what I have learned to the public at large several years ago. Though until my introduction to this medium of publishing I have never gotten much beyond my investigation notes.



I intend to share these notes on a case by case basis; the good, the bad and the flat out fraudulent.



While the vast majority of these cases will reflect the scamming nature of the majority of offers there are I am happy to report legitimate offers out there that as I mentioned earlier will work for you IF YOU WORK THEM.