Many web site designers don’t design their sites for the
search engines. This is a huge mistake because they miss
out on attracting lots of free traffic. Your beautifully
designed web site may have cost you thousands of dollars
but it still needs to attract visitors to be profitable.

Here are 12 highly effective strategies for designing a
search engine friendly web site:

1. Research highly targeted keywords - do this even before
you begin designing otherwise you may have to go back and
clean up some of your web site design. Use the keyword
research tool, Wordtracker (wordtracker.com) to research
the most popular keywords that pertain to the subject
matter of your web site. Wordtracker will show how many
people have searched for that particular keyword over
several search engines within the last 60 days.

2. Create a list of approximately 100 keywords or keyword
phrases that you can include within your web pages. After
having completed the above research, you should have found
the keywords that were searched on most frequently, but
only produce a small number of competing web sites.

3. Write a paragraph of 250 - 500 words of text for the top
of each web page. Weave your keywords within this text
being careful not have them so close together that your
copy reads strange for your visitors. Aim to please the
search engines as well as your web site visitors.

4. Optimize meta tags - the most significant meta tags are
the title and description meta tags. The keyword meta tag
has lost its effectiveness due to people spamming it,
however include it anyway as some search engines still use
it. Include your keywords within each of these meta tags.
The title meta tag should be a short sentence about the
purpose of your site. In your description meta tag, write
a sentence on the greatest benefit of your site. Your
keyword meta tag should include the most frequently used
keywords contained within your web page.

5. Include Heading Tags - these can range form H1-H6
most designers will only use H1-H3. These tags separate
each section of your web page with subheadings. The H1
tag contains the largest font and is the most significant.
Within the descriptive text of these header tags you should
include the keyword phrases placed in the same order as
your keyword phrases that are within your keyword meta tags.

6. Optimize images using the alt tag - write a short
description for the alt tag of your image. The alt tag has
2 purposes:

a) visitors can read the description if they can’t see the image.

b) search engines only spider text (not images), therefore this
could help your site’s rankings.

7. Reduce image size - too many images or very large images
on your web page will slow down the loading time of your
web site. Make sure your images have a resolution of 72ppi.
Slice large images into smaller pieces with your graphics
editor.

8. Find incoming links (backward links) - web sites that
link to yours raise your link popularity. Search for web
sites that are compatible with yours and have a PR 4 or more
to do a link exchange. Write optimized articles and include
them on your web site. This means your site has a greater
chance of being indexed quickly as well as getting a boost
in its rankings.

Create absolute links (ie http://www.domainname.com)
from all your internal pages to your home page. This will
increase the number of links pointing to your home page.

9. Use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to implement a clean
design throughout your web site. This will reduce the time
to implement a consistent text (or layout) style for your
web site. It will also enable you to easily update your
whole site should you wish to make any future changes.

10. Place any script code into external files - when using
javascript (ie for swapping images on your navigation bar)
it creates a lot of code between the header tags, pushing
down the text that search, engines would spider first.
Placing the script code in an external file reduces the
code to just one line.

11. Insert the DOC TYPE tag at the top of every web page. A
DOCTYPE ( “document type declaration”) informs the
validator which version of HTML you’re using for your web
pages. DOCTYPEs are a key component of compliant web pages:
your markup and CSS won’t validate without them. i.e.

[!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01
Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd”]

DOCTYPES are also essential to the proper rendering and
functioning of web documents in compliant browsers like
Mozilla, IE5/Mac, and IE6/Win.

12. Write clean html code - web site editors often write
extra code. This can increase the loading time of your web
pages. Check your html code by running it through a html
validator (http://www.htmlhelp.com/tools/validator).

Once you have implemented all the strategies above, submit
your site to the search engines and get ready for lots of
targeted traffic.

You now have built a profitable search engine friendly web
site.

Resources

The Global Structure of an HTML Document
http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/struct/global.html#h-7.1

Page Validation and Loading Times
http://stoco.net/cgi-bin/wc/wc.pl

Fix HTML code errors
http://www.netmechanic.com

Herman Drost is the Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of http://www.iSiteBuild.com Affordable
Web Site Design and Web Hosting. Subscribe to his
“Marketing Tips” newsletter for more original articles at:
subscribe@isitebuild.com. You can read more of his
in-depth articles at: http://www.isitebuild.com/articles

Why can some people occasionally buy a lottery ticket or play a
slot machine and suffer no ill effects beyond losing a few
dollars, while others become so gambling obsessed that they risk
their savings, their jobs, and their relationships with loved
ones? One answer may lie in our genes. There are genetic factors
that increase the probability of developing gambling problems.
This addictive disorder can lead to life altering circumstances.
A Gambler’s boundaries
seem to be limitless and suggest a vulnerability that can,
within the blink of an eye, dramatically shape the rest of their
lives.

Gambling is a problem in many places and is usually found in
casinos, or among its illegal form of betting on sports. The
truth remains that not only adults gamble, but kids and teens do
it as well, even though it’s not as obvious.

Gambling can cause you to go broke and can make you start
stealing money. It can also lead to doing things like skipping
school and wasting precious time and money. At times gambling
can just lead to more gambling- such as chasing. “Chasing is
when you gamble to try and win back money.”. It is done a lot in
poker and especially when betting on sports.

When a gambler is down a large sum of money their mentality
switches from greed to utter desperation.

No one likes to lose money especially hard earned working
dollars. Although the rationalization of a gambler is that
desperate times call for desperate measures. Therefore any means
of money is good fortune. Regardless if its college tuition
being gambled or petty cash. The end result is to satisfy
oneself with incomparable urges of winning and losing money all
within a period of time.

Gambling is considered pathological when it seriously disrupts
the gambler’s life. The problem is thought to affect somewhere
between 1.5% to 11% of the adult population. And the rate of
suicide attempts among problem gamblers is very high, with as
many as 24% of the gamblers who seek treatment reporting such
attempts. Much more is known about the causes of alcoholism then
of gambling problems. Still, research shows that 19% to 50% of
people who are treated for problem gambling also have a history
of alcohol abuse or dependence. This suggests there may be a
common vulnerability underlying a problem with gambling and
other addictive disorders such as alcoholism.

The brain contains clusters of nerves containing serotonin,
which extend throughout the nervous system. Changes in the
levels of serotonin have been linked to a number of disorders,
including depression, schizophrenia, and Parkinson’s disease.
Recent research shows that deficiencies in the genes that
control the serotonin system could make a person susceptible to
a gambling problem. Other factors, such as family history and
environment will also play a role.

Everything in moderation is good, it only becomes a problem when
it gets away from us.

Interested in this subject? Try this link for more of the same

Matthew 14: 22 - 33
Jesus sent His disciples across the sea to the other side while he went to pray. A huge storm came up, the wind was terrible and the disciples, being fisherman were convinced they would drown.
In the midst of this turmoil they see ‘a ghost’ walking on the water to them.

V27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

Peter then calls to Jesus that if that is Him, then Jesus must call Him to come to Him.
Jesus says come. Peter gets out the boat, and walks on the water to Jesus.

V30 But when he saw the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying’ “Lord, save me!”

Jesus reaches out and takes His hand and they get into the boat and immediately the
wind ceased.

V33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “TrulyYou are the Son of God.”

1. STORMS
In life, we will face devastating storms. We will face pressure, we will face emotional heartbreak and rejection, we will face death and loneliness, we will face losing all we have, we will face sickness etc.

Often in life those things can overwhelm us, so much, that we lose sight of Jesus and we begin to drown in those ‘waves’ that hit us. We are overburdened by the situation and feel like we are going to ‘drown’.

2. HIS VOICE
In the midst of this turmoil, if we listen, we will hear Jesus tell us its OK, He is with us, not to fear. But we do fear. We are brave for a moment at church when we are all hyped up, but the second we face ‘reality’ boy, those waves are huge, and we loose sight of Jesus.

3. CRY OUT
When all is too much for you, cry out like Peter did; “Lord, save me!” Sometimes all our fancy prayers and formulas mean nothing. We have nothing left to fight with. We are sinking fast. We have no words left to pray, no faith left, no fight left. We become weary to the point of giving up. Sorrow or pressures overwhelm us. What is left? Simply this: “Jesus, save me.”

Recently I went thru the storm. I have never in my life felt such rejection and sorrow. I lost my way completely. I could not see or hear Jesus. All my Christianity suddenly was worthless. All I could do was say those words over and over, “Jesus, save me, Jesus save me.”
He reached out and took my hand and delivered me. In an instant, the turmoil I experienced was gone, the pain and sorrow was gone.

4. WORSHIP HIM
When you have called out to Jesus, and He comes and delivers you, you will know without a shadow of doubt that He is your strong deliverer. He is your Fortress. He is the only one who can heal.

Psalm 17: 5 - 8

V 8 “Hide me under the shadow of your wings,”

We were NOT created to carry the heavy burdens of life. These burdens WILL overwhelm us and cause us to sink. Christians are sometimes the most miserable people on the face of the earth.

All you ever hear is talk about how bad the waves are. But beloved, if we would only see Jesus, we would know that all will be well.

Matthew 11: 27 - 30

V30 ” For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

All will be well. Do not fear; do not take eyes of Jesus. Call to Him and He will save you. Even in the midst of the biggest storm or challenge in your life, you will find that it no longer has power over you. You know there is a storm, but you ONLY HAVE EYES FOR JESUS. You have a peace and a joy that no man or thing can take from you.

When you experience Jesus as your deliverer, as your safe refuge, your rock, you will love Him more, you will worship Him more, and you will cry out like those fishermen on the boat: “Truly, You are the Son of God!”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pastor Hannes is the senior pastor for Eastcoast Christian Centre, a Church in Port Elizabeth. Feel free to redistribute this article, but please include this About section with an active link to our website.

Television or TV as we abridge it to is an international used tele-communications means for transporting & delivering moving images and audio sound, or as we more normally know it as, TV channels. Commercially accessible since the nineteen-thirty’s the telly set has grown to be a prevalent home connections machine in homes and companies, especially as a source of amusement and news bulletins. From the beginning of the 1970’s video recording on VCR tapes and later, digital playback devices which include DVD’s, have made it possible for the TV to be used to look at taped children’s television and other channels.

TV’ systems are made-up of several parts so a screen which short of an interior tuner to get the broadcast signals is named a monitor rather than a TV. Now the future is here, TV’s have developed on somewhat & technology has advanced, televisions at present are assembled to get various broadcasts or video set-ups such as high definition televisions commonly referred to as HDTV. Near the beginning when High-Definition Televisions were 1st released they were pricey, nevertheless, recently it’s not impossible to pick up cut-priced televisions from most places. Such as a 37 inch plasma television may possibly have one time have cost you in cash one thousand pounds it is at present possible to get one up for much lower than this, you will see that a various number of LCD widescreens TV’s have fallen a long way in worth in contrast to a handful of years ago.

There are two brands of tellies in our day, plasma and LCD both are particularly similar although, some what exceedingly dissimilar at the same time. Plasma is a category of flat panel display that you will on the whole only spot on large television screens, which on the whole suggests that you will not spot plasma in anything smaller than a 37 inch. Plasma displays in there primary form are just gas cylinders. You then have LCD screens that you can discover in numerous different resolutions & they can what’s more be used as desktop monitors. Compare, Review and purchase Cheap TVs right now at Digital-Direct.

If you are looking to apply for a credit card, than you’ll need to ensure that you have sufficient creditworthiness. In reality, this is no easy task - so if you are having problems with this, the following 5 credit building tactics should help.

1. Open a current account

All credit card companies like to see that their potential borrowers are responsible when given the opportunity to borrow money. However, if you only have a deposit account then there is no real chance that you could ever do overdrawn. A way to correct this is to open a current account with a high street bank and use it responsibly, i.e. don’t go overdrawn! In any event, in any application you make to a credit card issuer they are going to ask you for details of your current account so you may as well take the opportunity of using the past history of your current account to help in establishing your credit rating.

2. Have all your utility bills in your name

A second way you can start to build up credit brownie points is to put all your utility bills, e.g. your water, gas and telephone bills, in your name and make sure that you pay them all on time! Again, it is very likely that the credit card issuer will ask you to provide them with at least one utility bill when you apply for the card, so you may as well make use of this now as a tactic to start building up your credit history.

3. Apply for a charge card or store card

As most charge cards require you to pay off the balance in full each month, using this as a tactic to enhance your credit history is sound. Not only are you not really afforded the chance to default on a payment, but as the details are provided to several different rating agencies you can use this to building up your credit history.

4. Get a car loan

Applying for, and repaying in a timely manner, any type of loan is one of the fastest credit building tactics you can use. If you drive, and know you can afford to repay a car loan, you should give serious thought to taking out a car loan - even if it is just to refinance repairs on your existing car!

5. Do a credit rating check

Once you have completed the 4 credit building tactics above, apply for a credit report to perform a credit check. Provided you have been sensible with repaying all of you debts and bills in a timely manner, you should now have sufficient creditworthiness to apply for a credit card. In the event that you find an error on your credit report, make sure you take step to fix this as soon as you can. Furthermore, it is good practice to get into the habit of ordering credit check on an annual basis even after your credit card has been approved to that you can keep a track of your credit rating history as this will have the biggest effect on your credit building skills!

Joseph Kenny writes for the Personal Loans Store and offer more information on secured loans and other loan topics available on site.

Visit Today: http://www.ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk

Wedding etiquette assigns many tasks to the best man, but
there’s really only one that matters: getting the groom to the
church–on time. And even better, make sure the groom is sober,
dressed in his tux, and standing at the altar when the bride
makes her big entrance.

Making Your Pledge Grooms usually choose their dads,
brother or closest friends as their best man. If you’re the
lucky person selected for this role, you may first want to make
a pledge to yourself that you won’t enjoy the pre-wedding
festivities quite as much as the groom. You will be in charge of
throwing the bachelor party, but if you aren’t capable of
rousing the groom the next day and sending him on to the church,
you may find yourself on the receiving end of the wrath of
bridezilla.

Bachelor Parties Bachelor parties can take many forms.
You want the groom to have a good time and savor his last
moments of singledom, but you don’t want the partying to put his
future marriage in jeopardy. Keep in mind that you’re
responsible for paying for most of the party and the other
groomsmen will have to pay for any travel expenses. You may find
a throw-down at the local Hooters to be more budget-friendly.
For more great ideas, check out the latest ideas from GroomsMagazine.com,

Help Your Groom Make Good Decisions You’ll need to do
some advance research on tuxes because you don’t want the groom
and his best buddies marching stiffly into the church like a
line of penguins. You can check out tuxedos online on sites such
as DiscountTuxedos.com,
or you can sneak a peak at the ads in bridal magazines. If you
want to score some early points with the bride, you could also
ask her what kind of tuxedo she likes.

Get Everyone to the Tuxedo Shop Once the tuxedos have
been selected, you’re responsible for rounding up the groomsmen
and ushers and getting their measurements to the tuxedo shop.
Get the tux shop’s information and e-mail it to the groomsmen,
telling them specifically what they need to do to get fitted for
the tux. And don’t be nave enough to think that they will all
run to the tuxedo shop. You’ll need to follow-up and make sure
they’re all correctly outfitted for the big day.

Practice, Practice, Practice The night before the
wedding, you’ll need to attend the rehearsal and rehearsal
dinner. Pay close attention to the director at the rehearsal so
you’ll know when the wedding party needs to be at the church,
where you’ll hang out before the wedding, and where to stand
during the ceremony. Just before the wedding, you’ll be the one
waiting with the groom, so you may want to come up with some
helpful advice if he has pre-wedding jitters. Hold off on any
suggestions that the groom get out while he still can–if that’s
how you feel, you may want to let the groom know some time
before the seconds before he goes in the church.

Keep Track of the Ring If you’re lucky, your role in the
wedding ceremony will only involve standing next to the groom,
smiling, and handing him the bride’s wedding ring at the
appropriate time. Make sure you’ve got a foolproof plan for
keeping track of the ring, as failing to produce the ring when
the officiant asks for it could result in a bridal breakdown in
front of all of her friends and family. Your chances of
receiving forgiveness later could be slim.

Give a Great Toast Your moment to shine will come at the
wedding reception. You’ll be called upon to give the first toast
to the bride and groom. Again, this is a time for planning and a
clear mind. A good plan would be to prepare your speech in
advance and keep your notes with you. There’s nothing worse than
looking like a bumbling fool in front of hundreds of people.

Get the Groom Packed Don’t relax yet–you’ve still got
work to do. You’re supposed to make sure the groom has packed
correctly for his honeymoon, so make sure he hasn’t chosen wool
sweaters for a trip to Aruba. You’ll need to load his suitcases
into the getaway car, which may be an excellent time to give the
honeymoon a special touch by stealing all the groom’s underwear
or packing a few extra surprises in his suitcase. You’ll hand
him his itineraries, tickets, and hotel information on his way
out.

Up the Loose Ends Your final task will be to collect all
the groomsmen’s tuxes and return them to the tuxedo shop. Make
sure you’ve got all the pieces, including shoes, cuff links, and
bow ties. As you complete your best man’s duties, you can bask
in the satisfaction of a job well done and another groom
successfully married off.

Most of my colleagues and friends sometimes discuss about salary when we meet. We talk about raises, what should be the % of raise in annual appraisals, when you shift company or even you are given addition responsibility etc.

They ask me what is the appropriate monthly income one should get. Wow! A question, I guess this has no correct answer. Well, I would say it depends on what ones needs are.

People brag about current salary and how they are satisfied with their current jobs. How they get 30-40% raise during annual appraisals and organization shift overs. Beware, there is a limit your salary can go to during these raises. Soon, it will reach a stage where such raises will not have a substantial effect on your salary packages.

This is year 2006. If you think your current job or current income generator is able to generate 100,000 Rs by the year 2020, then you don’t need to do anything else. I would say “You are well off”. If not, then you should start thinking about ways to generate income.

This is the reason why you need 100,000 (One Hundred Thousand).

Years - Corresponding amount per month for average living.

Year 1940 - Rs 10

Year 1960 - Rs 100

Year 1980 - Rs 1000

Year 2000 - Rs 10000

Year 2020 - Rs 100,000

Note the pattern, just a 0 (zero) is being added to the end after every 20 years. That’s a pattern being followed for last 60 years. Therefore, in year 2020 you will need Rs 100,000 for an average living, whether you agree or disagree.

This is year 2006, so in line with the pattern an individual with income around Rs 25,000 is well off to some extent now.

Times running up fast. Sit back and think.

Will your current income generator give you 100,000?

Cheriyan Thankachen

My Blog:
http://educatedminds.blogspot.com

What to put your the website if you are an artist.

1) The art work

Try and think like a gallery hanging a show. Would a gallery
put 20 paintings of an artist’s art work on one wall? No,
because the visitor would be completely confused and not
be able to focus on any one painting. The same rule
applies to artist’s websites. If you cram 20 pictures on one
page the Web visitor will move on. Feature a few paintings
on each page.

The opposite is also true. Do not put only a few pictures on
your artist website. There is nothing more frustrating than
finding an artist that you like on the Web and not being able
to see a representational body of work.

2) Background color

Background color on a website is just as important as it is
in a gallery. White, light gray, cream are all safe colors.
Black can be very dramatic way to highlight paintings,
however, black makes text almost unreadable. If you use a
color, which can be done effectively, make sure that the
color works with all your art work and reflects who you are
as an artist.

3) Design

Keep it clean, classy and simple. Make sure to visit
“Websites That Suck.” www. websitesthatsuck.com.

Make sure your artist’s website loads quickly; visitors on the
Web will not wait, they will leave.

Stay away from all the newest flashy innovations that web
designers often like. They usually irritate the visitor and take
longer to load.

4) Search engines only read text.

Search engines do not explain how outstanding your art
work may be. They only read text. It is very important to have
text on your website. The more relevant text the better.

5) Text on a website is different than text in a book or
magazine.

All the lessons that apply to “regular” writing do not apply on
the Web.

When you are writing text for your website, think bullet points
and outline. You want sentences to be short and choppy;
phrases work well. Paragraphs should be short. Make your
text chatty and do not be afraid to start your sentences with
words like “And” or “Because”. Writing for the Web is the
opposite of what you learned in high school and college.

6) Splash pages are now out.

It used to be that on your Home Page you could put a
gorgeous picture of your art work and then move on from
that to the rest of your website. This is called a “splash
page”. Search engines no longer like splash pages. It is
now recommended that on your home page you have text
explaining what the entire website is about and links to all
the major pages.

7) Connect with the visitor.

Just having fabulous pictures of your art work is not enough.
A Web visitor will usually visit one or two pages and most
likely seldom or never return. It is very important to give the
Web visitor a reason to stay on your website as well as to
come back. The usual artist’s statement is not going to
accomplish that.

Tell or show your Web visitor something about you. It could
be a picture of your studio, people love to visit studios;
information about what inspires you; your technique, if you
have an unusual one; a particularly interesting interview with
you. Use your imagination

Give away free information. Visitors on the Web love that.
There is probably something obvious to you that is big news
to your average Web visitor. Share that information with
them.

Let the visitor know how to contact you.

Make sure the visitor on the Web can contact you as well as
your gallery, if a gallery represents you. If the visitor can only
contact the gallery, it feels as if the gallery is holding the
artist hostage. The Web visitor will move on.

If a gallery is concerned about an artist having an email
address of his or her own, there is an easy solution. The
person who sends the email gets an automatic reply saying
their message has been received. The same email
message can be forwarded to both the artist and the gallery,
and together they can decide how the email could be
answered.

9) Make your website easy to navigate.
Make sure that it is easy for a visitor to find his or her way
around your website. If a Web visitor finds it the least bit
frustrating, they will leave.

© Mary Baker 2005

Mary Baker is a contemporary realist painter, whose studio
is in Newburyport, Massachusetts. This New England city,
north of Boston, has been the inspiration for the artist’s
realistic oil paintings. Mary Baker is a professional artist and
has shown in New York art galleries.

You can visit Mary at her website, Mary Baker Art, at http://www.marybakerart.com, see her beautiful paintings and read her articles
on a variety of subjects including, Art, Artists and Vocation,
Creativity, Tips on Breaking the Creative Block , Why Buy
Original Art and the four part series on Art, Artists and the
Web.

A list of articles can be found on her Site Map and
Mary’s paintings can be seen on every page of Mary Baker
Art.

Choosing the best insurance policies for your home can cause a
lot of confusion. Many homebuyers are not fully educated about
the coverage needed to protect a home or real estate investment.
Many difficult situations can be caused by natural disasters. If
you purchase real estate in or relocate to an area prone to
hurricanes or floods it is important to know you have sufficient
coverage. Read your policy carefully, ask questions and know the
facts. Consider all of the options and get the advice of a real
estate or insurance professional you can trust.

Come Rain Or Come Shine

Hurricane insurance is also referred to as Wind and Hail
insurance and it works to cover the cost of rebuilding your home
in the event of hurricane damages. Knowing the full extent of
your coverage is essential. First choose the best deductible.
Homeowners can purchase Wind and Hail insurance with a
deductible based on a percentage of damages that may occur. This
deductible will increase as the amount of damages increases. The
monthly payments are often lower, but the out-of-pocket expense
is higher. Homeowner’s can also purchase hurricane insurance
with a fixed “all peril” deductible. This means whether you have
$2000 of damage or $50,000 you pay the same deductible. You may
pay a higher monthly payment, but in high-risk areas an “all
peril” deductible can save thousands of dollars.

You should also be certain your policy contains specific
coverage such as Loss of Use. This provides funds for you to
return to your home and it can even cover a dwelling on your
property while you reconstruct. The amount you are paid depends
the value of your home. Contents Replacement Cost is another
form of coverage that can be beneficial. It allows you to have
your items replaced at the current value. You can choose to
receive cash as well, but the cash value of the items is subject
to depreciation. A Living Expense Clause is another good option
for protection. It provides homeowners with an income while
recovering from hurricane damage and loss.

When The Waters Keep Rising Flood insurance and hurricane
insurance are separate policies. Flood insurance is a product of
the National Flood Insurance Program, which is part of FEMA.
Flood insurance cannot be paid by escrow it must be paid up
front by the insured. According to the official website of the
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), www.floodsmart.gov,
flood insurance covers “structural damage and
mechanicals…flood debris cleanup and floor surfaces like tile
and carpeting.” You can purchase more coverage to insure
personal property, such as furniture and appliances. In order to
purchase a flood insurance policy homeowners and real estate
investors must own in a low-risk or high-risk community that
participates in the NFIP. There are three standard Flood
Insurance policy forms offered by the NFIP: the Dwelling Form,
the General Property Form and the Residential Condominium
Building Association Policy form. Each policy is based on how
the building is occupied.

When Disaster Strikes

If a natural disaster occurs in your region and many residents
suffer damage by wind or flood there are many options for
homeowners in financial trouble. The US Department of Housing
and Urban Development has a special insurance program that falls
under Section203(h) of the National Housing Act to assist
disaster victims. You can learn more about this program at
www.hud.gov. Lenders such as Freddie Mac and Taylor, Bean &
Whitaker also offer special programs to assist disaster victims.
Many lenders have encouraged mortgage brokers to suspend late
fees and delinquency penalties for hard hit coastal areas. They
have also enacted grace periods so homeowners can refrain from
making mortgage payments and avoid being reported to the Credit
Bureau. Also, many states have emergency management departments
that work with FEMA is situations like Hurricane Katrina. These
agencies, like the Virginia Department of Emergency Management,
can be of service to any homeowner in Virginia living in a
region declared a Major Disaster Area by the President of the
United States.

When you invest in real estate it is essential that you
understand the types of insurance coverage that will best
protect your property. Research your region and get advice from
the professionals. To learn more about homeowner’s insurance
please visit www.vonncannonrealestate.com and read Dangerous
Liaisons: Tips For Securing Homeowner’s Insurance.

Did I spell that right? What I mean is change happens. Like what we are seeing now in the stock market. In the Spring everything was headed down. For most of the Summer stocks were going sideways with few exceptions. The down-movers had made their lows and a few stocks were beginning to head up. The sideways pattern is over and we are now in the next bull leg up. The shift has happened.

Many people like to buy individual stocks, even IPOs, both of which I shun like the plague even though I am a former exchange member and floor trader. I have gotten lazy and learned (the hard way) it is not necessary to spend hours and hours each day in front of my computer screen, watching prices and charts. Now I let someone else do the heavy lifting; that is, pick good stocks that are going up.

How do I do it and how can you do it also? There are a few good stock pickers (believe me, very few) who not only know their stuff, but are also lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Anyone can hire these people to manage their money and not have it cost them one cent. Let me explain.

The only thing I buy is no-load mutual funds that are going up. The fund manager does the stock picking and you buy these funds through a discount broker. Therefore, no commission. There are more than 1,000 mutual funds that can be purchased for zero commission. The discount brokers call them NTF funds - no transaction fee. You want to be buying these for your IRA and SEP retirement accounts and now is the time.

You also want to review the stocks and mutual funds you now own to see if you need to shift (that word again) to a different issue. Every week you will find a list of the best performing mutual funds for the past 6 months on the front page of section 2 in Investors Business Daily. These are where you should be because these are the ones that are going up NOW. Never mind the 3-year and 5-year record of any fund; that is ancient history and it won’t make you any money. At the race track I don’t care if the horse I bet on won 3 or 5 days ago - is he in front of the pack NOW? If he isn’t then change your bet. You can’t do that at the track, but you can do it with mutual funds. Shift.

You cannot have loyalty to a fund, a fund manager, a broker or anyone. Your loyalty belongs with your money. Unless you take responsibility for watching it I can assure you no broker is going to do it for you. Once each month you should be reviewing your holdings to
be sure they are maximizing your returns.

Time to let the shift happen.

Al Thomas’ book, “If It Doesn’t Go Up, Don’t Buy
It!” has helped thousands of people make money
and keep their profits with his simple 2-step
method. Read the first chapter at
http://www.mutualfundmagic.com
and discover why he’s the man that Wall Street
does not want you to know.

Copyright 2005