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Increased Bartering Can Have Big Pay-Off

Could you increase your trading efforts to bring another $100 or more in every single month? Doesn�t sound too hard does it? In fact it�s such a puny goal that it probably doesn�t even inspire you. But when you look at what an extra $100 will do for the building of security and your peace of mind, it may suddenly get you moving.

Here�s the plan: Take the $100 and make an extra payment on your home mortgage every month to reduce your loan. In most states you may prepay up to 20% of the original loan during the first five years without penalty, and after five years lenders cannot impose any prepayment penalties.

By making just one extra monthly payment a year, you can cut seven years off the life of a 30-year loan. (That equals $92,700 in saved mortgage payments � based on a $200,000, 30-year fixed-rate loan at 8%.) But before you start making prepayments, it�s a good idea to call the lender or loan-servicing company and ask it they have a preferred method.

If you write a single check, be sure to include a note explaining that you want the extra amount to be applied directly to your principal. Otherwise, the money may be applied to your next month�s payment, which won�t reap the interest savings. Also, keep a copy of the check and your note just in case there is confusion down the road.

Is Your Trade Exchange Missing Out On Valuable New Business?

If your barter company�s listing on BarterNews.com isn�t current, you are definitely missing out on new business. The web site BarterNews.com receives heavy traffic � with over 150,000 page-views every month. Entrepreneurs and corporate executives check the thousands of articles, the weekly �Tuesday Report,� and the �Contacts Section� of our site. They use the latter to find barter companies with which to do business.

Is your barter company�s listing up-to-date?

To keep your listing current is very easy. See the links below to (A) update any changes to your company�s listing, such as new location, phone number, web site or other information, and (B) if your company has not been listed.

Here�s how to get on board:

To make changes to your listing click here.

For new listings click here.

Housing Bubble Created Nation�s Major Problem

Prior to the recession the housing bubble had been driving the economy through several channels, including the near record pace of housing construction. The housing wealth created by the bubble, led to a huge surge in consumption. (People borrowed against their equity or decided they didn�t need to save for retirement with price increases of 15% to 20% a year.)

When the bubble burst the downturn troubles began. The problem now is how to get back to the days of consumption (demand). It�s a totally different situation today as millions of people have less wealth (home equity) and the baby boomers are approaching retirement with almost nothing but Social Security to support them.

We are now into a long-term unwind of household deleveraging, and until we�re through that we�re not going to see a rapid expansion of consumption. In other words, the rate of consumption growth, which accounts for two-thirds of the economy, is going to be slow.

Since the consumer cannot supply the needed growth, the two remaining alternatives to boost our economy are foreign sales (which require the dollar falling in value relative to other currencies) and government spending in order to fill the gap in consumption demand created by the housing bubble.

According to Dean Baker, an economist and co-director for Economic & Policy Research, that is the simple reality that neither political party is willing to tell the people.