So many people have been looking for ways to make some extra income, ways to help pay the bills because of the difficult economy. This has led to more people than ever looking for work at home jobs for an extra income, or even for their entire income. While there are legitimate work at home jobs, did you know that 99% of the work at home advertisements you see on the Internet are scams? Before you go investing your time or money into a work at home job, make sure you avoid these four common scams.

Four Common Work at Home Scams

1. Envelope stuffing- This is probably the oldest one in the book, but it continues on even to this day. Trust me when I tell you, you won’t be stuffing envelopes for a living. The people placing these kinds of ads aren’t looking for envelope stuffers, but rather people who will pay a registration fee and then place the advertisement somewhere else. Stay away from these scams!
2. Processing medical insurance claims- If you think about it there is no way any legitimate doctor is going to contract out their insurance claims to an unproven person or firm. Don’t pay for medical insurance claim “training” that is supposedly so easy you can learn it in no time.
3. Multi-level marketing schemes- There are legitimate multi-level marketing companies, but the truth is most of the multi-level marketing advertising you’ll see are nothing but a pure pyramid scheme. How can you tell the difference? Typically in a MLM scam they will be more concerned with you getting other people to join under you than selling any product.
4. Craft or assembly work- Many scam artists like to use people’s talents against them, and that is exactly what happens in these types of scams. You’ll hear that you can earn money by assembling products or crafts for this company, but once you start crafting and assembling (after you have paid them money for instructions), you won’t hear back from the company.

Apple is in sweet spot. It creates fantastic gadgets that are loved by so many customers. Its CEO Steve Jobs came back after few months of medical leave. Even without Steve Jobs, Apple was able to pull of couple of good quarters. Apple rose 24% in the last 3 months.

If Jim Cramer’s prediction is true, Apple’s stock price can go even higher. Right now regulators demand that smartphone sales be recognized over a two-year time period. So Apple books only about one-eighth of its iPhone revenues and profits in the quarter in which they’re earned. But the Financial Standards Accounting Board could soon change the rule, allowing companies to report everything at once. That would dramatically magnify the iPhone’s impact on Apple earnings according to Jim Cramer.

Jim Cramer predicts that Apple stock price can hit $264 because of potential accounting change. Today it closed at $182.

Disclaimer: I own Apple shares.

Just yesterday Ben Bernanke was quoted as saying that he believes the recession is “very likely over.” That may well be true, but at this point I believe the stock market and American consumers need more than simply the recession ending. The ending of the recession is important, but right now we need to start seeing some real growth.

The stock market has been continuing its nice run of late, and is now sitting at its highest level since last fall’s debacle that sent the major market indices plunging by 5% or more a day for several days in a row. Lately it hasn’t been powerful buying that is causing the market to go upward, but rather the lack of sellers. It seems that the current environment leads people to believe that things definitely have the opportunity to get much better, but there are also many investors taking the wait and see approach.

It is important to note that the consumer in America as well as around the world are still being squeezed. The tight labor market conditions along with fairly high gasoline prices and still historically high food prices continue to pinch the pocketbook of the common middle class consumer.

If the recession is indeed over that can be a chapter we put behind us and hope to learn from the mistakes that were made that got us into the mess we have been in. The current question that should be first and foremost on every economic advisor’s mind should be how do we get this global economy rolling again. Consumers and the market are begging for real economic growth, and the sooner the better! The one thing we all know is we don’t need any fabricated growth or short-term blips on the radar, rather we need the real thing that can propel us going forward.

All numbers point to the fact that U.S. recession ended in July. Yesterday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the recession is likely over. Unemployment rate is still high, but with all the euphoria about rebound, companies may start their hiring aggressively. We may see the decent employment rate by Q1 2010.

In a related news, Federal Reserve said today that output at the nation’s factories, mines and utilities rose 0.8 percent in August. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a 0.6 percent increase. Last month’s gain marked the second straight increase which is another good news in this economy.

Related Link: U.S. Industrial Production better than expected

Which bank is the right place to put your money? It isn’t a decision you should take lightly and you need to have full confidence in the banking institution. While making money from what you already have is very important the first order of business needs to be having faith in the bank to protect your money. Let’s take a look at four steps to choosing the best bank for you and your money.

Four Steps To Choosing the Best Bank For Your Money 

1. Make sure you can trust the bank- Does the bank have a good reputation among people who have deposited money there? Getting feedback from those who have dealt with the bank before is extremely important. If you are considering a local bank listen to those in the community, if it is an online bank then read reviews online.
2. Find the right product mix- Does the bank offer the kind of products that you might need? Banks that have a wide variety of products available to their customers should be given priority over those who have a narrow focus. You never know when you might need to take advantage of one of their products!
3. Find the best rates- The rates that a bank pays are definitely important. Whether you search the Internet for the best rates, or call your local banks and compare rates, it is important that you understand what the rate structures look like at each bank. A bank with competitive rates in many areas is a winner.
4. Find banks with solid management- It all starts at the top for businesses, and a bank is no different. Look for a management group that you have faith in. If you are unsure about management at the bank, it probably is a sign you should stay away from that particular financial institution.

Keep in mind it is sometimes a good idea to bank at more than one financial institution. Make sure when you put your hard earned money in any financial institution you do the research before making your final decision.

Looking to get in a vacation before the cool weather of fall and then the harsh cold of winter hit? Need to find an affordable flight or a quality hotel for a low price? There are more options now than ever before to help consumers find a good travel deal on the Internet. Let’s take a look at three unique money saving travel sites on the web.

Three Unique Travel Sites That Save You Money

1. Travelzoo- I simply can’t put any other site at number one on this list. Travelzoo has saved me money numerous times on great hotel rooms at an amazing rate. Search the site by city and find deals on things all the way from hotels and airfare to ticket packages for concerts or sporting events. The site is updated often and is one of the most user friendly sites on the Internet. Big cities have the most results, but don’t forget to look at other cities since Travelzoo does post for many metropolitan areas.
2. Kayak- Kayak is an innovative site because it searches multiple sites for you at once, giving you the option to view them in new windows or all in one search page. Save money and save time by using Kayak to compare prices at Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline, Hotels.com, and other sites. Kayak is great for hotels, airfares, cruises, vacation packages, and rental cars.
3. Hotwire- Hotwire definitely has a unique way of saving you money, but the savings can be absolutely tremendous. Hotwire does not release the name of the hotel, airline, or whatever it is you are looking for until after you pay. This can be a downside for some, but the amount of savings often makes it worth the downside. The savings versus other websites such as Expedia, Priceline, and Travelocity can often be up to 50% on Hotwire.

Take a look at these sites and their great deals on vacation packages, cheap airfare rates, and cheap hotel reservations!

As I have mentioned in the past online stock trading games, also called stock market simulators, are great ways to learn about the stock market without actually risking your hard earned capital. These stock trading games give investors the chance to see how the market works and try to get a leg up on Wall Street when it comes to actual portfolio trading. These stock trading simulation games are useful for those just starting out as well as those who already have an investment account that continue to want to learn as they go.

Top Four Online Stock Trading Simulators

1. WallStreetSurvivor.com- Wall Street Survivor provides an impressive interface for their stock simulation game. There is also a nice added bonus that puts the site up at the top of the list, there are prizes for those who perform the best on a weekly and monthly basis. Why not try to win some money while learning the stock market?
2. Investopedia Simulator- Investopedia may be the single best site for a new investor since their education is second to none. Their stock market simulation game is easy to understand and allows you to compete against a large group of people since the simulator is probably the most popular of them all.
3. Virtual Stock Exchange- Virtual Stock Exchange is run by Marketwatch.com and the site is a great one to use if you wish to compete against a group of friends or set up a game for a class of youngsters. The site has less educational information than some of the others, but for those looking for a great stock market trading game the site provides all they need.
4. Stocks Quest- Stocks Quest is geared toward teachers who wish to teach students about the stock market, but it can also be used by other amateur investors. The site offers all types of trading, including shorting of stocks and buying on margin if you wish to take that extreme risk.

These four sites are all 100% free and can all help you learn about the stock market without risking your money on it. Enter a stock market contest through one of the best stock simulators online and start learning today!

It sounds so easy, but as so many people have found out the hard way, staying up to date on the current bills that you owe isn’t an easy task. The bad news is that as soon as you start assuming you’ll never miss a bill because are on top of your finances is about the time you can get hit the hardest. It may be easy to take it for granted that you will stay on top of the bills you owe, but you would be wise to perfect a solid system of paying the bills so you don’t take as many chances.

There are a couple of ways you can go about starting a system of paying the bills that you will have in a timely manner. One that has become much more popular over the last few years is online bill pay through your personal bank account. Most banks now offer this service at little or no charge to their customers, so if your bank doesn’t you might want to look for a new one. In addition many of the service companies have online bill pay options available through their site. It is possible to pay things such as electric bills, phone bills, and water bills through online bill pay services. 

If you would rather stick with the more traditional route of paying the bills, try setting up filing folders for all of the companies you will be paying bills to on a regular basis. Label each of the files by the company name and then as soon as you get the bill in the mail mark the date the payment is due to be received by on the outside of the envelope. This method obviously requires you to check your file folders fairly often, but it is a good way to stay organized.

Online bill pay services are a great way to save money in many cases, but whatever way you choose to go about it make sure you have a consistent method of staying current with the bills you owe!

The fact that the economy has begun to claw back from the bottom and show signs of life is terrific on the whole. One area where consumers will probably be a little disappointed in the coming months though is at the gas pumps. Energy prices rose today by one of their largest increases this year as the dollar weakens and the overall economy starts to show signs of strength.

It isn’t just oil and gasoline that have started to charge higher of late, but also heating oil and to some extent even natural gas. This means that the coming winter may not provide as much relief as you had hoped from high heating prices, since these price increases are likely to be cooked into the price by the time the cold of winter hits.

Another wild card in the mix is hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, which is always on the mind of commodity traders. Thus far the hurricane season has been relatively quiet and it hasn’t moved the market, but history tells us that the chances of a tropical system of some kind causing movements in the oil and energy futures before the end of hurricane season are fairly high. In fact, the month of September is usually the most active month for the tropics.

The economy is starting to do better on the job front and it appears that consumers have gotten ever so slightly more comfortable with their finances. Unfortunately gasoline prices don’t look to be getting cheaper anytime soon, which could cramp budgets around the country and around the world as a whole. Look for the cheapest gas prices possible and do what you can to save gasoline, but don’t be surprised if the prices at the pump rise in the coming weeks and months.

If you look at action in stock market in the recent weeks, it may appear that we are out of woods. I think it’s too early to judge that. Real estate market gurus started singing their optimistic songs. If you look at stock price movement of builders like Toll Brothers, you can see there is lot of expectations about real estate market turn-around.

Although I like to believe in the hype and start putting my money in $70,000 house in Cape Coral, FL, I am hanging in there because it is just the hype. New York Times published an article about real estate market in Florida. It may be really tempting to go and buy couple of foreclosed properties in Florida and elsewhere. I am going to hold on to my money until employment situation is getting better. New York Times columnist mentioned in the article “age of the flipper is behind us”. You wish! Flippers make the real estate market looks sexy. Flippers are hiding for now, they will come back.