The Benefits Of Outsourcing

The year 2005 is expected to be the year of “outsourcing”.

In case this word is new to you, then prepare yourself to the fact that this will be the buzz word of 2005.

Outsourcing is the act of exporting jobs to 3rd world countries, for the benefit of saving on production and administration costs.

The most popular form of outsourcing to this day is IT outsourcing, and the most popular countries where you can outsource IT jobs to are Romania and India.

For example: your firm is spending a lot of money hiring programmers to do some programming tasks and software writing that do not need special skills. You decide to cut costs by exporting these jobs to India, and let the same tasks be done by professional Indians instead of Americans, because their labor rate is a lot lower. This would easily save you money, sometimes up to 80%, that you can spend on other primary jobs (e.g: marketing).

Outsourcing does not only help you save money, but also gives you that push needed to walk and extra step towards winning the competitive market.

Brian Taylor, CEO of Comfosoft Inc. says that outsourcing to India helped his company “save more than $23,000 per month on software programming and debugging. There are a lot of talented Indians who can do the same job without getting paid a 5 figure number.”

Today, and in the world of “online business”, and to make things even easier for you, SupportUniverse.com (http://www.supportuniverse.com) has launched a new marketplace where programmers meet recruiters. All you need to do is post your project and let skilled workers around the world compete to bid on delivering the best work for the lowest cost and the shortest period of time. You can then select the best offer.

Although some people oppose the idea of outsourcing, the fact is that it is spreading like fever and it is becoming more and more “mandatory” for those who want to succeed in the internet world.

About The Author

Raymond Walsh, CEO of “Business 4 Pleasure”, and monthly printed newsletter targetting small and medium sized businesses.

The “Better People” Fallacy

It’s easy enough to convince your own staff that better people will prevail, even against the odds. It’s what they want to hear. And surely in a marketing war quality is a factor as well as quantity.

It is, but superiority of force is such an overwhelming advantage that it overcomes most quality differences.

We have no doubt that the poorest team in the National Football League could consistently beat the best team in the NFL if it could field 12 men against the opposition’s 11.

In business, where the teams are much larger, your ability to amass a quality difference is much more difficult.

The clear-thinking marketing manager won’t confuse the pep talk at a sales rally with the reality of the marketing area. A good general never makes military strategy based on having better personnel. Nor should a marketing general. (”Our army,” said Wellington “is composed of the scum of the earth, the mere scum of the earth.”)

Obviously you’d be in deep trouble inside your company if you used Wellington’s words to describe your own army. Tell your people how terrific they are, but don’t plan on winning the battle with superior personnel.

Count on winning the battle with a superior strategy.

Yet many companies cling deeply to the better people strategy. They’re convinced they can recruit and hire substantially better training programs can help them keep their “people” edge.

Any student of statistics would laugh at this belief. Sure, it’s possible to put together a small cadre of superior people. But the larger the company, the more likely the average employee will be average.

And when it comes to the mega companies, the possibility of assembling an intellectually superior team becomes statistically almost zero.

At last count, IBM had 369,545 employees, a number which is growing rapidly. On a one-to-one basic, there may be more white shirts at IBM but not more gray matter.

IBM is winning the computer war the Eisenhower way. Where the competition has 2, IBM has 4. Where the competition has 4, IBM has 8.

Arvind Kumar is an Electrical Engineer from a premier Institute, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India. He has 3 years experince in marketing business consulting services and marketing services. He is founder and CEO of http://www.nuttymarketer.com. You may reach him at arvind@nuttymarketer.com.

How to Choose and Have the Type of Retirement You Really Want!

Ok, let’s face it. Everyone’s perception of retirement is different. Some people think that retirement is a time to withdraw and relax from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. They see it as a time to enjoy low-keyed activities that truly make them happy. Activities like traveling, sleeping, watching television, writing a book, reading magazines, spending quality time with their grandchildren, watching foreign films, going on lunch outings, etc. On the other hand, some people view retirement as a totally different opportunity. They see it as a time to get busy. A time to pursue lots of high keyed activities like playing tennis, going to the health club, attending Jazzercise classes, etc. They see it as a time to redirect their career path through paid or volunteer work. They see it as an opportunity to enhance their previous work related skills. There is still another group that takes a “middle of the road approach” and sees retirement as a time to relax while pursuing worthwhile activities. Regardless of what your vision of retirement entails, we’ve created this article to help you. In this article, we’ll discuss 7 proven steps to help you choose and have the type of retirement you want. So, sit, back, relax and learn how to make your retirement a personal success story.

1. Decide to retire and make a decision to do so. First and foremost, you must have the desire to retire. You don’t just retire because someone else has retired or tells you that it is a good thing and come out there because they’re retired. Instead, you must have the burning desire to retire and want to make your vision a reality. This is because retirement is an individual decision and if you follow your own mind, you’ll know when your time has come.

2. Visualize yourself as a happily retired person. Second, take some quiet time and truly visualize yourself as a retired person. Figure out whether you would be happier being busy and active or relaxed and living the simple pleasures of life or a combination of the two. Then, figure out if you’ll try new and challenging things. In essence, you must figure out what truly makes you happy and what will bring you joy and personal satisfaction.

3. Evaluate current lifestyle and make necessary changes. Third, evaluate your current lifestyle, financial situation and then decide whether your retirement income will provide you with enough money to support your current needs. If not, are you willing to make any financial lifestyle changes to sustain your current lifestyle? Are you open to changing your lifestyle? Are you willing to work part or full time to achieve your financial goals? Once you’ve done this, evaluate your current lifestyle to see how it fits with your new plan. For instance, are you currently doing things in your life that will make the transition to retirement easier? If your primary goal is to make a difference in the world, are you currently engaged in any meaningful volunteer activities? If not, why not?

4. Plan out your retirement. Fourth, you’re now ready to plan out your retirement. With a firm sense of your current finances and retirement goals, you can now plan how you’ll spend your days. Be very specific about how you intend to spend your time and how you’ll accomplish all of your goals. For example, if you intend to strengthen the bond with your grandchildren during retirement, perhaps you can plan a weekly play date with them or volunteer to pick them up from school right now so that you can slowly transition into this new relationship endeavor.

5. Transition into retirement. Fifth, get ready to transition into retirement. For instance, if you’re the type of person that visualizes retirement as a time to relax but you’re currently a workaholic then you should transition into a more relaxing life. You can do this by slowly downshifting your extended work hours and begin pursue more leisurely activities until you are comfortable resting more and working less.

6. Take steps to make your vision a reality. Sixth, be willing to put forth the effort to make your vision a reality. For instance, let’s say that your vision is to become a gourmet cook but you don’t necessarily have the skills. Well, you can obtain them. You can go to cooking school, watch cooking shows, and really hone in and enhance your skills. You can learn how to prepare gourmet meals if you really want to do so.

7. Enjoy yourself. Last but not least, have a great time. Be confident in knowing that your retirement can be successful if you make it so.

In conclusion, you can successfully choose and create the type of retirement that you truly want by desiring to retire and making the decision to move forward with your plans, visualizing yourself as a happily retired person, evaluating your current lifestyle and making necessary changes, planning your retirement and working with your plan, transitioning into retirement, and getting in a mindset to enjoy being retired. By following these steps, you’ll enjoy the retirement that you’ve always dreamt about.

Dr. Cynthia Barnett is a “refired” educator who had reinvented her life moving from the school house to an entrepreneurial venue. She is the author of “Stop Singing the Blues: 10 Powerful Strategies for Hitting the high Notes in Your Life, and a Retirement Lifestyle Specialist. She was recently interviewed by Time magazine for their article on women in mid-life who have reinvented themselves.

If you are ready to “RE-FIRE” your life and not retire give me a call at 203-855-9714 or 1-888-494-4945
http://www.refiredontretire.com

The Top Money Mistakes Made by Students

Almost half of all the professionals I know complain about either their student loan payments or their credit card payments. A few can’t even afford their own place because their debts are so high. What are college students doing wrong?

I believe that we simply don’t teach our young people how to wisely manage their finances. Personally, no one ever sat me down and talked about credit, interest, saving and debt. This is partly because my parents didn’t understand those things either.

Most college students don’t understand the consequences of credit cards. The average undergrad in 2004 had four credit cards and over $2,000 in debt. Seniors had the highest balances, probably because over time it simply builds up.

The average grad student had $5,800 in credit card debt. They simply don’t realize that they will be paying this credit card debt well into their 40’s. That makes credit cards the first mistake college students make.

The second mistake involves those precious student loans. Parents like to believe that those loans go to college expenses. But in fact, many college students use their student loans for other things as well. I bought a new refrigerator one year with some of mine.

Student loans are intended for tuition, room and board and books. That’s what you should spend them on. Don’t take out more than you need. If you end up with extra funds, put it in a nice money market account for next semester’s expenses.

Lots of college graduates are unable to handle their student loan payments. Some are paying in excess of $400 a month to student loans. Remember that these are loans that you will pay back for 20 years, so take them out wisely.

The third mistake is a result of credit cards and student loans. Many college students are destroying their credit scores. I did. And most lenders totally understand when I explain that I was a college student. The good news is that with time, you can have a perfect score, as I do now. But it will take time.

Your credit card debt is going to follow you for most of your life. If you overcharge, don’t pay the bill on time and go to the bar on your card every night, you will find that you aren’t able to get a car loan, a home loan and in some cases, you won’t be able to find a job. Take the time to learn about your credit and what affects it. Get it on the right track.

Part of the college experience is learning how to live on nothing. I remember when my husband and I could eat off of $40 all month. The problem is that many college students don’t know how to budget. In fact, they hear budget and they think that they will never have fun again.

But a budget isn’t a restraint, it is a planning tool that enables you. You have to learn how to handle the money you have coming in and out. These are tools that will help you not only in college, but for the rest of your life. Budgeting is essential for any successful financial plan. It helps you in paying off those student loans and in saving for retirement.

If you are a parent, make sure that you teach your children how to successfully manage their money. If you are a student, start learning on your own. The future financial success of the young depend on strong financial management tools.

Martin Lukac, represents http://www.RateEmpire.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies! Visit http://www.RateEmpire.com today

Locating a Bad Credit Mortgage

If you are looking to purchase a home or refinance the one you are currently living in, but believe this may not be a possibility for you because you have bad credit, think again.

Just because you have bad credit does not mean you will not be able to receive a mortgage. In fact there are many lenders out there across the United States that are know as wholesale lenders that specialize in lending money to people with bad credit.

The names of these wholesale lenders may not ring familiar to you because they are not the typical lending institutions you see on the street corners of your town, otherwise know as banks.

The first thing you will need to do is locate a few of these wholesale lenders and shop around for a deal you believe to be fair. If you do not have success finding these lenders on your own, you may want to consider using a broker and have them shop around for you.

A broker is not a lender. What they do is assess your situation, than shop around for a lender that deals with bad credit mortgages.

Brokers have access to hundreds of lenders across the country and they can usually find one that has a program that may fit your needs.

Using a broker may not be such a bad idea, they are usually very experienced in their field and will not only find a bad credit mortgage lender for you, they will also council and educate you along the way.

Keep in mind, just because your credit may be less than perfect, does not mean that you are at the mercy of the mortgage companies, you are not.

Mortgage companies are very competitive, especially among the wholesale lenders, so be sure to shop around. Don’t limit yourself to contacting only one broker, say no more than four. Allow for each to assess your situation, than base your consideration of which one you will use on the rate and program that they offer you. Good luck.

Jennifer Hershey has more than twenty years of experience in the Mortgage Industry as a loan officer. She is the owner of http://www.explainingmortgages.com/, a mortgage resource site devoted to making mortgage terms and products easy to understand.

Success: The ABC’s

I like to make things simple, like the ABC’s. It makes it easier for me to remember and therefore, live that way in my life. I’d like to share my ABC model with you.

A stands for Attraction; more specifically the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction states that like energies attract each other. Positive attracts positive and negative attracts negative.

Therefore, if you are putting out negative energy you will therefore attract negative energy into your life. Likewise, if you are putting out positive energy you will attract positive energy into your life.

So the question is: What vibration are you sending out? If it is negative, how about experimenting with some new ways of managing your life to create more positive energy?

B stands for Boundaries; and that includes both the boundaries that you have with others and the boundaries you have with yourself. Saying “No” to something that is unacceptable is an example of a boundary, as is assertively and proactively asking for what you do want.

Your boundaries with yourself will determine how much balance you have in your life. Knowing where to end one part of your life (i.e.: Work) and begin another (i.e.: Family) will help you to stay in touch with your whole being and therefore create more balance, which, in turn, always results in a happier and healthier lifestyle.

Do you know your boundaries and are you living according to them?

C stands for Communication; specifically your ability to attain and maintain productive communication with others. Do you know how to avoid getting “hooked” by another’s manipulative maneuvering? Do you speak up for yourself, express your feelings and your requests directly? These are all examples of healthy communication skills.

But perhaps the biggest communication skill is that of listening. Do you know how to combine martial artistry with your listening ability and create a space of “Zen Listening” in which you can be unaffected by what another may say but still stay in the conversation?

D stands for Deal-makers and Deal-breakers; specifically your ability to know them and adhere to them. If you have not written your lists of deal-makers and deal-breakers, then you are potentially setting yourself up to settle for something or someone beneath your standards. When you settle for less you impact your self-esteem and distort your sense of reality.

The bottom-line is that living life without knowing or adhering to your deal-makers and deal-breakers sets you up for failure, depression, anxiety and addictive behavior. Now, you don’t want any of that, right??!!

Write your Deal-makers and Deal-breakers lists TODAY!!

E stands for Emotional Management; specifically the management of the “slipperier” emotions. This would especially include anger, fear and sadness. Most of us have not had any training on how to deal with these so we have made up our own “rules”
about these emotions. Many of these “rules” are very unrealistic and unhealthy.

The bottom-line is that you are an emotional being and you have every right to feel and express your feelings as long as you no harm to others as you are expressing yourself.

Fear is perhaps THE most challenging emotion, but
remember: You can have FEAR (Fictitious Events Appearing Real) or FEAR (Face Everything And Rejoice).

Which do you choose??

There you go: A whole new way of living your ABC’s that youll never be too old for!!

Ken Donaldson has been based in Tampa Bay offering counseling, coaching, and educational programs since 1987. His REALationship Coaching programs empower people to have more successful lives, businesses and relationships by building a powerful relationship with themselves first. Visit his website at http://www.REALationshipCoach.com for more information and sign-up his free e-program Illuminations and Sparks of Brilliance. Ken is also the author of the upcoming book Marry YourSelf First!

A Lesson of Life From A Friend

The following is a true story…

Yesterday I received a phone call from a friend whom I last talked to almost two years ago.

Like other people, I was surprised to hear her voice.

She heard from a mutual friend that I just set up a fitness studio and she wanted to ask me about my new venture and as well as what’s going on in my life.

To my surprise again, she told me that she was retrenched from her job 6 months ago. She admitted that she was very sad about the layoff. She didn’t know what she did wrong in her job that she was retrenched.

You and I know that there is no apparent reason when companies want to lay off people. Sometimes, it’s just bad luck.

>From the way she talked, I could tell that she has become stronger and more mature. She’s more open to new ideas and opportunities.

That’s not all. She told me another shocking news: her dad passed away 3 months before she was retrenched.

I was like “Oh my God, how could she take it?”

How on earth a young lady could ever take the pressure of facing the death of her loved one and losing her job within 3 months’ time?

What would you do if these happened to you? Give up on life?

She told me that she got to be strong and she didn’t want her mom to see her depressed.

I’m so happy for her that these untoward incidents actually made her to stop and think about her life and re-prioritize her life, which she never did before.

She turned the loss of loved one and loss of job into power and strength.

Because of these incidents, she had the courage and decided to be her own boss by joining her friends in a business venture. She feels that she has now more control of her life and career.

She explained to me that she now gains more satisfaction from life which she never felt before.

Is this what we call “blessing in disguise” for her? My friend has definitely changed a lot…at least for the better.

Most of us will not budge from our comfort zone unless something very dramatic happens to us: loss of loved ones, divorce, loss of job, or sickness.

How many of us dream of being our own boss but no action taken?

Do you want what happened to my friend to happen to you so that you’d really sit down and think about your life? And do things that you really love?

Or, do you want to do it now?

The choice is yours.

Do not wait for things to happen. Take charge of your life proactively. Take my friend’s experience as an inspiration to live your dreams.

About The Author

Abel Cheng offers small and medium enterprises exclusive global profits insider tips in his free publication, Abel Cheng’s Business Diary. To officiate a bi-weekly subscription, please go to http://www.abelcheng.com/diary.html.

The Entrepreneur Business Idea That Makes You Rich

Ideas are the fundamental building block of wealth. An idea carried out with skill can become the ultimate source of your own rapid fortune. The only thing that can stop you is failing to come up with an idea in the first place, but luckily you are clever enough to be doing some research on the topic right now and are therefore likely to stumble across something that may really make sense to you.

The concept of wealth is simple and right now I will tell you how every single millionaire that ever existed manufactured his own rapid fortune. Systematic repetition.

An idea comes and a profit is made. That is common. The difference with the millionaire and the guy that doesn’t make it is this. The millionaire recognizes that that small idea and that single profit is not the end of the story. The prospective millionaire recognizes that the profit and the idea are a component. A small component that can now be duplicated and repeated on a larger and grander scale so the fortune is achieved.

Using the leverage of other peoples money and other peoples labour, eventually the simple component becomes a large multi million dollar concern. But most entrepreneurs are not corporate animals. They hate the idea of staff and relying on others for their results. Entrepreneurs are generally independent and like to operate alone. For this reason, they tend to use the leverage of money only and compound it using that leverage. The average entrepreneur likes to keep the momentum going they like to keep moving and therefore are inclined to grow the component rather then multiply it infinitely.

The fundamental entrepreneurial idea of a component (an idea and a resulting profit) can be manipulated in more ways then one and duplication although often used and often successful, the typical entrepreneur would prefer to grow the size of the component if possible so the returns get exponentially bigger at every repetition.

These aren’t new concepts and are definitely the underlying structure of a millionaires activities. If you haven’t heard of this before (and you haven’t or at least you haven’t properly understood it and applied it or you would already be doing it exactly this way) these concepts are not difficult to grasp. In fact a ten year old could easily understand these concepts, such is the simplicity of the idea. What do you think these wealthy people mean when they say things like “keep it simple”? They are aware how astoundingly easily they made their first million and wonder why so many labor and toil for their money. They feel a little guilty and almost feel like imposter’s when people advance on them for advice on how to be rich. The idea is embarrassingly simple. That’s why they don’t understand the poor.

In most millionaires minds, they can only conclude that people without much money who work in a job for a living must enjoy it. They must surely just not want any excess money, otherwise they would just do what they did. Come up with a simple component, a workable idea and replicate it. Its that simple. You don’t need brains to make $1 million dollars you don’t need much money.

But you do need a workable prov-en idea that results in a profit. From there its all down hill.

Martin Thomas (c)2005

Martin is a professional investor and Entrepreneur. If you would like to discover more about being an entrepreneur, you can read “The Million Dollar Mentor” by Hayden Muller. Martin recommends this work highly and has used the very concepts contained in the work for his own successful entrepreneurial activities.
http://www.opportunity-investor.com

Section 179 - Tax Relief From Depreciation Rules

“Depreciation.” For business owners, this word is the one most likely to inspire headaches and fits of cussing. The expanded provisions of Section 179 are just the medicine you need to cure the depreciation blues.

Depreciation

Traditionally, if your business property had a life of more than one year, the cost had to be deducted over several tax years. The number of years depended on the characteristics of the property, which made depreciation the flag-bearing example of the complexities of the tax code. Shockingly, the federal government has provided substantial relief to business owners.

Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Code has been dramatically expanded to the benefit of businesses, particularly small ones. This code allows businesses to completely deduct the cost of tangible property in the year of purchase. The tax relief comes from the expansion of the total amount that can be deducted in one year.

Huge Deduction Increase

As part of the Job Growth and Reconciliation Act of 2003, the one-year deduction amount was increased from $25,000 to $100,000. The 100,000 figure will be adjusted for inflation each year, which means it will continue to increase. This is very good news.

What Property Qualifies?

You can deduct the cost of the following property under Section 179:

1. Machinery and equipment

2. Furniture and fixtures

3. Computer software.

You must elect Section 179. It is not automatically given to you. Simply fill out IRS Form 4562 and attach to the returns for the business.

In Closing

As shocking as this will sound, the government should be applauded for expanding Section 179. Small businesses are burdened by too many regulations and mandatory costs. The expansion of Section 179 is a nice piece of tax relief legislation. Let’s hope more is on the way.

Richard A. Chapo is with http://www.businesstaxrecovery.com - recovery of business taxes through tax help and tax relief. Visit http://www.businesstaxrecovery.com/articles to read more business tax articles.

Is the Bi-Weekly Mortgage a Good Deal?

Perhaps you’ve read the bi-weekly mortgage ads that claim you’re paying too much in mortgage interest. They say you can save $60,000 in interest and pay off your mortgage years ahead of schedule.

How can you realize such huge savings? And, how can you eliminate your mortgage debt so quickly? The bi-weekly mortgage is an answer.

Thousands of people every month search the Internet for information about a bi-weekly mortgage. And, any bi-weekly mortgage calculator will show you that you really can save a lot of money.

So, exactly what is a bi-weekly mortgage and what are your options for getting those tremendous results?

A bi-weekly mortgage simply involves making half your mortgage payment every two weeks. Since there are 52 weeks in a year, you will be making 26 payments. Since each payment is half your current monthly mortgage payment, you’ll essentially be paying the equivalent of 13 monthly mortgage payments.

How to Save Interest and Reduce the Length of Your Loan

You can save interest and reduce the length of your mortgage loan by adding extra money to your mortgage payments.

Let’s say you have a $150,000 mortgage for 30 years at 6.34%. Your principal and interest payments are $932.37 per month.

Your first payment of $932.37 covers $792.50 in interest. $139.87 is applied to the principal to help reduce your mortgage debt.

The net result of paying $932.37 is to reduce your debt by $139.87. From your viewpoint, that is what your first payment accomplishes.

Your second payment does slightly better. It reduces your debt by $140.61. But, at the same time, you pay $791.76 for interest.

But, what if you added another $140.61 to your first payment? That extra $140.61 would go directly to reducing your mortgage debt. Your first payment would then reduce your debt by $139.87 + $140.61 (or $280.48). It would have accomplished what your first two payments would have done.

Essentially you could erase the second payment from your mortgage schedule and move all the other payments up. Now instead of 360 monthly payments, you would only need to make 359 payments. And you would have saved paying $791.76 in interest.

This illustrates the benefits of adding extra money to your mortgage payments.

Bi-Weekly Mortgage Does a Similar Thing

A bi-weekly mortgage does the same thing. Because you’re essentially paying 13 mortgage payments a year, that extra money is directly reducing your mortgage debt and decreasing the length of your loan. At the same time, it’s reducing the total amount of interest you will pay.

A bi-weekly mortgage service withdraws half your mortgage payment from your bank account every two weeks. When the mortgage is due, the bi-weekly mortgage service pays the amount it has withdrawn from your account to your mortgage company.

Twice a year three withdrawals are made in a month. In those months, that extra money is added to your normal payment. This reduces your debt, decreases the length of your mortgage, saves interest and builds equity faster.

How Much Better is the Bi-Weekly Mortgage?

This depends on your total mortgage payment. The amount of your monthly mortgage payment, usually called the “PITI payment”, comprises payments for Principal, Interest, Taxes, and
Insurance. Your mortgage company actually pays your homeowner’s insurance and taxes. For the same mortgage amount, the total PITI payment varies from home to home.

Let’s say your annual real estate taxes are $2,000 and insurance is another $800. You’ll need to add one twelfth of the sum of your taxes and insurance to your mortgage payment. One twelfth of $2,800 is $233.33. Adding this to the principal and interest payment of $932.37, we’ll get a total monthly PITI payment of $1,165.70.

Using a bi-weekly mortgage right from the start, you will pay it off in just over 24 years. You’ll also save just over $49,000 in interest. So, the advantage of paying more than the minimum payments is huge. (Note that some online bi-weekly mortgage calculators do not take into account the entire PITI payment. Their results will differ from those presented here.)

Is a Bi-Weekly Mortgage Right for Me?

You can regularly add extra money to any of your mortgage payments. A bi-weekly mortgage service is just a convenient way of accomplishing this.

Now, the bi-weekly mortgage service is typically a middleman in the payment of your money to the mortgage company. It typically charges you a set-up fee (perhaps $200) and a bi-weekly withdrawal fee (about $4). This is extra money you are paying for the convenience of automatically making more than the minimum mortgage payment.

If you lack the self-discipline to write out checks for more than the minimum payments, a bi-weekly mortgage service can help you achieve the promised savings.

If you can exercise self-discipline, are dedicated to reducing your debt and believe you can make more than the minimum payments on your mortgage, then you can eliminate the middleman. You can simply add extra money to your mortgage payments and reap the benefits yourself. And, you’ll save the setup and bi-weekly withdrawal fees.

Either way, you will be reducing the length of your mortgage, decreasing the amount of interest you’re paying, and increasing your home equity faster than making the minimum payments.

Bob Sherman is the owner of http://www.bobshermancredit.com/ a site dedicated to helping you reduce your debt and build wealth. He offers a free ebook, “How to Free Yourself from Credit Card Debt”, available on his website.