Support Brings Success

Nothing propels you forward like a pat on the back.

Whenever you go through tough times, it?s those little words of encouragement and support that help get you through. Just knowing others care about you makes a huge difference in your morale level. Nobody knows that better than Lyn.

Lyn is a member of My Total Money Makeover who brings home just a shade over $2,000 a month. Tight living, right? It gets even tighter when she reveals to Dave that she had $22,000 in debt. But note that word ? had.

Once Lyn finished her Financial Peace University classes and got a subscription to MyTotalMoneyMakeover.com, she was amazed at how much support she received from the community forums.

?I lost my focus about 18 months into the process. After a few months, I decided to join My Total Money Makeover to see if I could get going again, and that?s when things sort of took off,? she said. ?I spent hours almost every night reading through the posts and asking questions. I learned so much!?

As a result of her efforts and their encouragement, she ditched $22,000 worth of debt in three years!

Hear Lyn?s call to Dave?s show!

With her small budget, Lyn is used to sacrifice. Cutting down on lifestyle is necessary to getting out of debt, and it?s never fun. But the toughest part is when you first do it.

?When I wanted to spend money on something specific, other forum members were quick to point out that I needed to ask myself if that was really a priority (read: I needed to change my behavior). Participating in some of the challenges was a great way to keep on track, and I got lots of ideas on saving money?or spending it wisely?from others who were doing both in ways I had never considered.?

Once you have the routine down, you don?t really miss your old lifestyle, because you are used to the new way. Lyn had that part down. The support she got only added to her resolve.

Be it an ?atta girl? that she got for a good decision or being held accountable for a bad one, Lyn experienced both in her debt-free quest.

?I even had an ?accountability partner? on the forums for a good part of the last year before finishing Baby Step 2; we would chat at least once a week to encourage and help each other through rough times and temptations,? she said.

When you combine a plan for your money with solid help from a caring community, you are primed for unbelievable accomplishments. Too many people in today?s society think they?ll just wander into success, but that doesn?t happen. You have to direct yourself toward it.

Lyn had a tight budget that she squeezed even tighter because she wanted so badly to be debt-free. The lift she got from her fellow members at My Total Money Makeover helped her sweat out those tough times (she?s officially on Baby Step 6), and now she has only one thing to show for it.

DEBT FREEDOM! Way to go, Lyn!

Get some encouragement now with a subscription to My Total Money Makeover! You can even try it out for seven days completely free!

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Source: http://www.daveramsey.com/article/support-brings-success/lifeandmoney_debt

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ConocoPhillips' Management Is Creating Value

Don't let it get away!

Keep track of the stocks that matter to you.

Help yourself with the Fool's FREE and easy new watchlist service today.

"I think I've been in the top 5% of my age cohort all my life in understanding the power of incentives, and all my life I've underestimated it," Warren Buffett's business partner, Charlie Munger, once said. "And never a year passes but I get some surprise that pushes my limit a little farther."

For corporate boards, using bad incentives for management pay can be disastrous. (Think Lehman Brothers.) Incentives based on singular metrics such as revenue growth, EBITDA, return on equity, or earnings per share are easily manipulated and gamed. Fortunately, EVA momentum provides a better alternative.

Creator Bennett Stewart of EVA Dimensions, who also co-created EVA (Economic Value Added), calls EVA momentum "the only percent metric where more is always better than less. It always increases when managers do things that make economic sense."

So what does this mean for investors? A positive reading on EVA momentum means a company has created value by increasing its EVA, and a negative EVA momentum means EVA has decreased and less value is being created. EVA momentum is one of the few performance measurements, if not the only one, with such a clear dividing line between good and bad performance.

The best companies, then, create value in excess of their cost of capital, as reflected by positive EVA momentum. The higher the EVA momentum, the faster management is creating value.

Let's look at ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP  ) and three of its peers to see how effectively they create value. Here are the trailing four quarters' worth of EVA momentum figures for each company over the past three years, along with rankings by percentile versus the Russell 3000 for the past 12 months' EVA momentum.

Source: EVA Dimensions LLC. TFQ = Trailing Four Quarters.

With an EVA momentum of 2.9%, ConocoPhillips' economic value added increased year over year, placing it in the 66th percentile of all companies in the Russell 3000. All of the three remaining companies had positive EVA momentum over the past 12 months.

Businesses with high EVA momentum are effectively creating value. It will be interesting to see how useful this extremely new metric proves to be for companies and investors. If it lives up to its promise, it will be an essential tool in investors' arsenals.

Another tool for better investing
Most investors don't keep tabs on their companies' fundamental value. That's a mistake. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot potential trouble early. Better yet, you'll improve your odds of finding the underappreciated home-run stocks that provide the market's best returns.

We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock-tracking service.

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Source: http://www.fool.com/investing/dividends-income/2011/05/15/conocophillips-management-is-creating-value.aspx

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Why Single People Need Life Insurance Too


"Some think that if you're single and don't have a spouse or children, then there's no need for life insurance," says Todd Laszewski, director of life product development at Northwestern Mutual.

Then too, there's the bravado of youth. "There is a feeling of invincibility: Young, single people are generally healthy and likely not concerned about the risk of an untimely death," he says. "They simply don't consider that there is a need, and in a fact, a long-term benefit, to considering how life insurance fits into their financial security planning early on."

"Life insurance for a single person doesn't always make sense," points out Michael Wall, president of Wall Financial Group, "but sometimes it's a perfect fit." Who needs it, and how much, for the most part comes down to the goals of the person.

Vicki Brackens, a senior financial planner with Brackens Financial Solutions Network and MetLife, (MET) thinks that only a tiny percentage of the single population really needs no life insurance at all. "It could be that rare person who is not attached to anyone or anything, and they don't care about their legacy," says Brackens, but for a variety of reasons, it's a good tool for everyone else.

Your Life Won't Always Be Like This

For starters, consider your "end of life expenses." Who is going to pick up the remaining tab for your debts, mortgage, funeral, car and other responsibilities?

Next, ponder your legacy. "Life insurance can be a great way to leave a tax-free legacy to nieces, nephews or anyone else," says Wall. That list also includes your favorite charity. "You could buy a single policy that would pay a lump sum to the organization or have the policy paid to a trust and create an income stream for as long as you desired," he adds.

Know too, that life insurance purchased today can protect your future insurability. When you're young and healthy, not only is life insurance cheaper, but getting a policy early in life eliminates the risk that later health issues will make you uninsurable, or saddle you with premiums that would send you to the poor house, points out Frank Darras, a lawyer with DarrasLaw, which specializes in insurance. You're also not likely to be single forever: Buy a policy now, and you can just build on your existing coverage once you're married, instead of starting from scratch when you're older and initiating coverage will be more expensive.

A Smart Investment for Yourself, Too

Depending on the type of life insurance you buy, a policy can also be a forced savings vehicle, notes Byron Udell, CEO of AccuQuote, which offers online life insurance quotes and information.

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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/05/24/why-single-people-need-life-insurance-too/

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June U.S. Biotechnology Conference is the Largest of its Kind


Over 15,000 visitors and exhibitors will gather in late June for the world?s largest biotechnology conference in Washington, DC. Your company could attend, thanks to the International Trade Branch, Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, which will help eight Ontario biotech companies exhibit with affordable display space and shared conveniences and services. Chosen companies will be provided with pre-conference and on-site support as well.

When: June 27-30, 2011 Where: Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC, United States Subsidize the Event Expenses through Government Funding

Mentor Works can help interested businesses finance up to 50% of the event?s expenses through the Export Market Access government funding mechanism. The grant covers costs such as travel, lodging, and booth materials up to $30,000. To learn more, please fill out the Get Started form today. If expenses are less than $30,000, consider other upcoming events to utilize this funding.

Register Now

If you are interested in attending this event, please contact Patricia Cosgrove by emailing her at patricia.cosgrove@ontario.ca or calling her at 1 (416) 212-1030.

 

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/Hyi87xINlLM/june-us-biotechnology-conference-is-the-largest-of-its-kind-2011-5

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It Never Rains But It Pours In Bond Land

Investors seem unsure how to react within the confines of the corporate bond market to rising risk aversion around the world. Government bond prices are shifting in all sorts of directions in response to panic over sliding stocks, growth and earnings fears and rising political tensions in Europe.

Source: http://blogs.forbes.com/greatspeculations/2011/05/23/it-never-rains-but-it-pours-in-bond-land/

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CBS Is So Much More Than Charlie Sheen And 60 Minutes

CBS shares have been on a steady rise for the past few months, thanks to good content, an improving ad market and greater efficiency in the company's cost structure. Here we take a look at the four sources of income that contribute to CBS' equity value. We maintain a price estimate of $27.49 for CBS, implying a slight premium to market price.

Source: http://blogs.forbes.com/greatspeculations/2011/05/23/cbs-is-so-much-more-than-chalrlie-sheen-and-60-minutes/

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