Vietnamese Want Education, Growing Economy, Employment Opportunities and Consumer Goods such as Apple iPhone 3g

Vietnam: Land of Magic, Beauty, Riches, Hard Work and Beautiful People

Vietnamese Want Education, Growing Economy, Employment Opportunities and Consumer Goods such as Apple iPhone 3g

A recent trip to Vietnam has helped me realize the economic rise and fall of this important Asian country.

Who has not heard a recent story about Hanoi, Vietnam's stock market and growing economy? Most of you have read about the recent efforts by many countries including ours to renew contact with the Asian country with the highest diaspora in the States, specifically California. For that matter, we have Little Saigon in the Golden State. Just a few years ago, many Vietnamese were leaving Australia and the U.S. to go back home to invest in the soaring stock market, real estate market. The economic growth was a sure thing. Exports were booming. These expatriates returned to build and brought with them lots of cash. Foreign investment was also flooding in. With all of these economic activities, the country was admitted to the World Trade Organization.

It was with fanfare that millions of Vietnamese celebrated the adoption of capitalist ideas by the communist country. The country is waking up to the marvels and pitfalls of the capitalist system. These days, workers are protesting for higher wages. Inflation has been eating up their incomes. Shares have plunged. People are losing their precious, hard-earned money. The hope of those who expected to strike it rich is being dashed. The good thing is that many of the factors that attracted more than $22 billion in foreign investment to Vietnam are still in place: emerging middle class, adoption of western economic reforms, half of Vietnam's 84 million citizens are under age 30, importance of education and literacy programs, demand for consumer goods and relatively cheap labor. The strength of the economy rests on the shoulder of the young population.

The growth that Vietnam knows has been fueled by young entrepreneurs creating and investing in the new economy. At the same time, the Old economy was present with the booming telecommunications, manufacturing and construction industries. Many U.S. companies wanted to have a presence in Hanoi. Starbucks wanted to grow and get its coffee from Vietnam. Exports of clothing, shoes, rice and coffee brought in the much needed cash for many retailers and farmers. Little did most Vietnamese that this growth would be stunted by the soaring food and oil prices all over the world. Inflation is a major problem right now according to a Vietnamese Restaurant owner who was seeking to open a sister restaurant over there. The government is in control and is paying attention to the recent problems.

In the meantime, if you want to vacation in Vietnam, you will have lots of fun. The people are nice. They want you to visit again. Tourism is very important to the overall economy too. If you decide to venture out, away from rated restaurants, make sure to take care of your water. In the countryside, you may catch worms if the water was not boiled. Two college students who vacationed in Vietnam tell of their trouble with worms when they got back to the U.S. One of them made the mistake of eating unwashed local fruits. He could not turn down the large variety of tropical fruits he was being offered on his walks in the village.

Avoid Spending More Than You Have on School Rentry Shopping, Find The Hot Tips

College students spend more than others on back-to-school electronics, of course, given the requirements of most universities these days. But spending patterns tend to shift year to year, Rist said, because computers and cell phones are not upgraded or replaced on an annual basis. Consumers will pump up sales when a new product comes on the market, like last year's iPhone, which contributed to college students spending an average of $258 on electronics.
Here are six tips for finding good deals on electronics:

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Shop sales. This is a hot promotional season for electronics sellers and more steamy this year given the tight budgets of many consumers.
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Comparison shop. Get online and compare which stores are offering what bells and whistles on certain models. Do the same with cell phones and service providers.
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Use the Internet. Craigslist and eBay are among the sites to search for used, reconditioned and even new electronics. Many electronics retailers offer special deals only online. And there's no shortage of shopping sites that can point you directly to the brand and price range you want.
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Don't overbuy. Know what you need and stick to it. Other programs and accessories can be added later.
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Haggle. Don't be afraid to ask sales associates for a deal. Many are authorized to give discounts on the floor.
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Time the purchase. Many retailers are more willing to give special deals at the end of the month, when sales may be coming up short, than they are at the top of the month when there's still hope of making sales targets.

Avoid Homelessness and Save Your Home and Yourself from Bankruptcy: Top-rated List of Foreclosure Attorneys

There is a spike in foreclosure cases. Bankruptcy and foreclosure lawyers are being inundated with new cases. Web sites offering information on foreclosure are also seeing a spike of traffic.

Here is what is being reported by many of these sites:

"When the government can't help, a good lawyer sometimes can. The attorneys seeing the largest spikes in business are those who help homeowners handle foreclosures or assist banks and property owners in collecting unpaid mortgages. Eric Appleton, a foreclosure attorney in Tampa who is among the most highly rated in his field on Avvo.com, had more foreclosure cases in a single day recently than he had seen in a whole month last year. "People are most definitely going online to find lawyers to defend themselves against foreclosures," says Appleton, who often represents condominium associations. "It's not uncommon for us to get 10 to 15 mortgage foreclosure [cases] in a single day."


Attorney: David Leen
Law Firm: David Leen & Associates, Seattle, Wa.
Education: University of Oregon School of Law, 1971
Expertise: Represents individuals in foreclosure, predatory lending, fraud, and real estate cases

Attorney: Eric Appleton
Law Firm: Bush Ross, Tampa
Education: University of Florida J.D., 1998
Expertise: Represents Florida property owners and community associations in disputes with lenders and home owners

Attorney: Robert S. Bernstein
Law Firm: Bernstein Law Firm, Pittsburgh
Education: Duquesne University J.D., 1981
Expertise: Bankruptcy law, creditors' rights law


Attorney: David Leibowitz
Law Firm: LakeLaw Bankruptcy Center, Chicago
Education: Loyola University School of Law, 1974
Expertise: Consumer bankruptcy, mortgage defense


Attorney: Steven H. Mezer
Law Firm: Bush Ross, Tampa
Education: Stetson University College of Law, 1977
Expertise: Real estate litigation, foreclosures, collection of assessments, and deed-restriction enforcement


Attorney: Joseph Moldovan
Law Firm: Morrison Cohen, New York City
Education: Brooklyn Law School, 1982
Expertise: Bankruptcy and creditor/debtor rights


Attorney: Paul Riffel
Law Firm: Paul Riffel, Tampa
Education: Stetson University College of Law, 1982
Expertise: Bankruptcy court, family law, real estate

Attorney: Stephen W. Sather
Law Firm: Barron, Newburger, Sinsley & Wier, Houston and Austin
Education: University of Texas School of Law, 1986
Expertise: Bankruptcy law


Attorney: Jonathan Stein
Law Firm: Jonathan G. Stein, Elk Grove, Calif.
Education: McGeorge School of Law, 2002
Expertise: Consumer debt

Attorney: Mervin Waage
Law Firm: Waage & Waage, Denton, Tex.
Education: Southern Methodist University
Expertise: Bankruptcy, debt

How To Stay Debt-free, Save Money and Buy All You Can Afford All The Times

When economic times turn tough, governments urge their citizens to spend. Economists think of citizens as "consumers" and rely on them to put their "disposable income" to work. By doing this they will support the economy, which translates into higher stock prices.

However, in times like early 2008, when consumers were reeling from the perfect storm of inflation, a global credit crunch, a global housing market in decline and concerns about stagflation, there is often a conflict with the governmental cry for consumers to spend. It's a bewildering scenario. What's the best course of action for a concerned consumer to take? The following strategies provide a road map for surviving economic downturns.

1. Do Not Buy What You Can Not Afford

We all want that designer sweater, leather handbag, or cute sports car, but most of us just can't afford to make the purchases. There's a simple solution to this dilemma. If you can't afford it, don't buy it. This is often the easiest point to understand, but it is one of the hardest to implement when all those goodies are staring you in the face and all your credit companies are telling you it's OK.

2. If You Can't Pay Cash, You Probably Can't Afford It

In our credit crazy world, amassing debt no longer carries a social stigma. Everybody has a car payment, a house payment and credit card payments. Well, remember what your mother said about everybody jumping off of a bridge? Just because "everybody" is doing it, doesn't make it a good idea. Buying something you can't afford now, especially when the economy is unsettled, can double the pain of paying later. For example, if you purchase a $450,000 home today and the market goes into a slump and devalues your home by $200,000, you will be paying the bank twice what the home has come to be worth. Just because it was easy to get the credit to buy that home, doesn't mean it was the right time for you to buy in.

3. Paying Interest on Anything Makes Somebody Else Rich

When you pay interest on a purchase, you are overpaying for that item for the luxury of getting to use it now. The simple act of paying interest means that the price you are paying to make the purchase is greater than the sale price of the item. You are giving away even more of your hard-earned money in order to own that item than the manufacturer thought the item was worth. For example, if you buy a car for $25,000 with a loan at 7% interest for five years, in the end, you will pay almost $30,000 for the car. Once you factor in depreciation, you're left with a very cheap car that cost you thousands more than it should have.

4. If You Are in Debt, stop Spending Money

Sometimes, such as when purchasing a home, the cost of the item is so great that you simply cannot afford to pay cash. This should be the exception rather than the rule. When it cannot be avoided, you need to close your purse and stop spending. Getting yourself further in debt doesn't help your financial situation. Making a realistic budget in this case is the key to success. Once you know how much you're actually spending on those daily trips to the grocery store and coffee shop, you'll be able to find room to cut costs realistically.

5. Don't Count on Somebody Else to Save You

In times of economic uncertainty, people often think the government will be able to help them, but unfortunately this is often the time when the government has the least amount of money and freedom to help its own citizens. In most cases, the government won't save you, so you'll have to save yourself. When the economy is in a downturn, you can't just look at what you are spending, you also need to look at where the money is coming from. Your employer is facing the same difficulties you are: trying to make bill payments, balancing the flow of capital, all while sales are slowing. Just like you, your employer will be looking to reduce its costs, which could be in the form of layoffs. You could be in big trouble if you haven't planned for this possibility. The plan here is to start saving now for that eventual rainy day, and prepare an emergency fund for yourself. If it is too late to start saving and you already need the money, many financial institutions will let you defer a payment or two if you prove you have a smart financial plan to eventually pull through.

When People Don't Spend

But wait! If we're all hanging on to our money rather than feeding the economy, what will happen? Will stock prices plummet? Will economic growth grind to a halt? Will we all be poor? No. For a real world example of this, let's take a look at Japan, where saving more than consuming has been commonplace in its people's history.

While being a net lender is a concept that the West abandoned some time after World War II, it continued to be practiced in Japan. During the mid-1970s, Reuters reports that Japanese consumers saved some 20% of their disposable incomes. During Japan's economic slump in the 1990s, the Nikkei 225 fell from a peak of 39,000 in 1989 to 16,000 in 1992. Gross domestic product growth averaged less than 1% per year, but personal savings remained in the double digits. Although the unemployment rate rose from less than 2.5% in 1990 to just under 5% in 2000, with an average of 3% percent according to the U.S. Department of Labor, it still remained lower than the rate in most industrialized nations. The net result? Japan remained a healthy, vibrant, wealthy country with a poorly performing stock market. If you've got savings and a smart financial plan, a weak market won't break you.

Live Now Like You Face Tough Times

These five strategies work equally well when times are good, so there is no need to wait until you are in trouble to start making smart decisions.Your lifestyle will be characterized by things you can actually afford, such as a house that won't get repossessed, a car that might not impress the neighbors but will still get you to work and back, and long, restful nights free from financial worries. It might not be the fairytale lifestyle of the rich and famous that corporate marketers having been trying sell you, but at least you won't have to worry about how to keep up on the payments for a lifestyle you can't afford.

It's Your Money, It's Your Mortgage: Understanding the New Bill, Renegotiating Mortgages

RENEGOTIATING MORTGAGES

Part of the bill is devoted to the creation of a program that may allow some people to cancel their old mortgage loans and replace them with new fixed-rate loans lasting at least 30 years. The amount of the new loans would be no more than 90 percent of what their property is actually worth now.

So who is eligible? You need to have originated your troubled loan or loans on or before Jan. 1, 2008. The loans in question must be on your primary residence. Vacation homes and investment properties are ineligible. You will also need to verify your income, which many borrowers did not have to do in recent years.

Also, as of March 1, 2008, your monthly housing payment (including the principal on all your various mortgage payments, interest, taxes and insurance) has to have been at least 31 percent of your monthly household income. So if you were earning $5,000 a month and had housing payments of $3,000, you are eligible. But if you had payments of just $1,400, you would not be, presumably because that loan is affordable given the size of your income.

Lenders, however, are not required to give you a better deal under the new law, even if you do meet the qualifications. They may not be willing to negotiate unless they think you are truly on the cusp of foreclosure.

If you manage to get a new loan, you cannot take out a home equity loan for at least five years after you get the new mortgage. You will also have to pay a 1.5 percent fee each year on the remaining balance. Finally, you have to hand over no less than 50 percent of any appreciation on the home to the government once you sell. Sell the house in less than five years, and you will have to turn over as much as all of the gain.

This program ends on Sept. 30, 2011. While it does not officially take effect until Oct. 1, lenders may be willing to start their negotiations with borrowers now.

http://ingodwetrustfinancial.blogspot.com

InGodWeTrustFinancial: PersonalFinanceMoneyMatters Presents InGodWeTrustFinancial Basics

In God We Trust Financial Basics: Earning Money to Keep, Paying Down Debts, Saving for the Future, Diversifying and Investing

How do we, Americans, get into this financial mess?

All this mess over Fannie and Freddie and the housing crisis mask the real problem in this country - that's the fact that wages have not gone up for average Americans in a long, long time. The economy has been fueled by consumers spending their supposed home equity, while incomes have stagnated for all but those on the highest rungs of corporate America or pop culture. The average Americans do not know what it is like to have lots of discretionary income in a long time. They only work and earn enough money to make ends meet or to pay the bills. For sure, most would envy the large contracts offered and signed by a few athletes, rap moguls, musicians, and hip hop artists. That is why shows such as American Idol and America's Got Talent will continue to be popular. Lottery enters the mix too. They are a sure way to reach success in this country. All young kids dream about making it big in sports, music or some sort of entertainment industry. When they can not make it, they go to places such as Las Vegas, Florida and San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles to try to make it in alternative adult industries. By then, they may become disillusioned and deceived. Where is the power of hard work, saving and living within one's limits?

What has the recent real estate exuberance taught us as a nation?

During the real estate boom, people used their homes as piggy banks, tapping into their equity to pay off their car loans and their credit card debt and their student loan debt. With home prices dropping in most places (Riverside, California, Florida and Las Vegas, the home equity has dried up. Credit was easy to get and many people went for it. For sure, debts piled up. Now we are a nation of people in debt. We, Americans, are saddled by debts. We are at the mercy of foreign investors who continue to trust in our systems by lending and investing more money to our institutions. Yes, it is a global economy right now. It becomes more important for our leaders to reassure those foreigners who are seeing Americans snaking in long lines and making a run on their banks. God forbid these foreign investors, also fearing a crash, start to pull their money too! While this is going on at the financial institution level, everything is getting more expensive: food, gas, school supplies, textbooks, basic products, even movies are soaring in price. Unfortunately wages are not keeping up. So if people are struggling just to pay for the basics, what are they going to have left over to pay off their massive debt?

This bleak situation we have just described partly explains the foreclosure epidemic that has ravaged local neighborhoods. The brown grass that was once green and immaculate becomes common fixture in most neighborhoods. Show me a neighborhood, a community even the best and richest one, that has not had to deal with unsold houses whose for sale signs have been up for months and years.

Indeed, it is time to return to the basics. We need to manage our finances, save and diversify our funds. The good old days are long gone. The home equity cash register is long gone. In most cases, easy money led to waste and overspending. Credit card offers led to the indebtedness of the American individual. In most cases, they led to excess and overweight. It was a false sense of tranquility and wealth. The foundation was shaky, to begin with.

Now is the time to rethink our ways and start saving and spending what we have, but not what we do not have.

http://ingodwetrustfinancial.blogspot.com/

How to Manage Your Money and Avoid Money Worries: IndyMac Bancorp Is An Example

How to Manage Your Money and Avoid Money Worries: IndyMac Bancorp Is An Example

The boom is clearly over for this bank. This large lender's remaining assets were seized by federal regulators last Friday. Since then, customers have been hurried to withdraw their money. That causes some type of anxiety that is spreading through the financial markets. Big banks are under lots of pressure to issue a statement about the soundness of their finances. The situation is also bleak for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two giant companies are at the center of the nation's mortgage market.

So it is just a question of confidence. Customers of IndyMac have been snaking around the corner waiting for a chance to take their money away. There are clear worries about the financial industry. From the President down to the Senators, everybody is trying to reassure the public that the financial system is sound. There are a lot of rumors about customers taking their money out of many banks. Many observers are saying that this is the next phase of the Bear Stearns fiasco. The small banks or financial institutions will not be lucky to receive help as the giant ones. Regulators and investors are bracing for a small number of banks to fail over the next few months.

A Few Questions and Answers about The Current Financial Chaos

Why did the government seize IndyMac's assets? Following the June 26 release of a letter by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y, urging regulators to take steps to prevent IndyMac's collapse, many customers began a run on the the lender. In the letter, Schumer said that IndyMac's failure was due to long-standing practices by the bank, not recent events. The bank was heavily involved in originating riskier mortgages than traditional community and regional banks. Despite the bank's efforts to reassure customers that it was not near default, it was seized by feds.

What's the best way to Manage and Save Your money now?

What's the best way to Manage and Save Your money now?
The economy seems to be collapsing, the banks don't seem to be safe anymore and the market is falling.
Dollar cost averaging is the smartest long term strategy for these types of markets. Invest regularly and if you can do it every day. The markets are extremely volatile that it is important to invest as often as you can. DRIP programs are another good idea. Remember to diversify and do not operate from fear. Think about what you want to do in 5, 10, 15 or 20 years from now.

Diversification is the key to any good plan. Manage your money in accordance with your long-term needs, goals, and objectives. Where you put your money ought to be a reflection of your plan. Banks and credit unions serve a purpose. Do not make them the center of your plan.

Each individual situation is different, so I would highly recommend going to www.fdic.gov and using the Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator, or EDIE, to figure out exactly how much of your money will be protected. Or you can always talk to your bank manager.

If a bank fails how long would it take for you to get your money through the FDIC?

How to Deal with Banks Failing: FDIC Knowledge and Resources

" According to the FDIC, there's no cookie cutter way these failures unfold. But if you've got $100,000 or less, there really should not be much of a disruption to your ability to get access to that money, if at all. Generally, the FDIC will either get some other institution to operate that bank or the agency will do so itself. So you should be able to use the ATM or write checks. Look at IndyMac. The bank failed on Friday. People could still get their money out through the weekend. The only thing that wasn't working was online banking, and I believe that was fixed by Monday.

Now, if you've got some uninsured money in a failed bank, that's a much different story. You could end up waiting a very long time to recover anything above that $100,000 limit and you might not be able to recover it all. The FDIC will have to liquidate the bank's assets. If there's cash left over after they deal with expenses and leave some money in reserves (which they are required to do), they will start paying out dividends to creditors and depositors. As I said, that could take years. "

But remember, do not panic if you don't have anything beyond that $100,000. And if you've got more than $100,000 and really want to be safe, spread it out over a couple of banks.

Savings Account and CD:

It's not $100,000 in any one account. The FDIC insures $100,000 PER depositor PER insured savings association. So you can have $50,000 in a savings account and $50,000 in a CD in one bank, and you will be fine. No matter what happens to that bank, your money will be safe.

What is a DRIP Program?
A Drip program is an acronym for a dividend reinvestment program. This type of investment strategy can be any dollar cost averaging program or systematic investment program

Who is Next? Protect your Money; FDIC's Updated List of Troubled Banks Soon to Come

Knowledge is Power: Who is Next? Protect your Money; FDIC's Updated List of Troubled Banks Soon to Come

Many investors are on edge after federal regulators seized the California lender, IndyMac Bank, one of the nation’s largest savings and loans, last week. With $32 billion in assets, IndyMac, a spinoff of the Countrywide Financial Corporation, was the biggest American lender to fail in more than two decades.

Yet, FDIC has a list of about 90 trouble banks. Many consumers are wondering wether their bank is the next one to fail. Bear Stearns came on. IndyMac followed. Which bank is going to go down? Investors and regular depositors are watching all the signs. FDIC is not going to publish the names of these financial institutions in order to avoid a run on them. This is not sitting well with most hard-working people who will be kept away from their hard-earned money. In 1994, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation listed 575 banks that it considered to be troubled. As of this spring, the agency was worried about just 90 banks. That number may go up in August, when the government releases an updated list.

Guess what? IndyMac, one of the nation’s largest mortgage lenders, was not on the government’s troubled bank list this spring — an indication that other troubled banks may be below the radar.

The future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is vital to the banks, savings and loans and credit unions, which own $1.3 trillion of securities issued or guaranteed by the two mortgage companies. If the mortgage giants ever defaulted on those obligations, banks might be forced to raise billions of dollars in additional capital.

Small banks may not be as lucky as the large institutions. The collapsed real estate market and souring mortgage loans have placed them on a danger list.

Celebrity Foreclosures on the Horizon, Less Remittances to Latin America and Other Countries, Soaring Gas Prices, higher Food Costs and Less Jobs

The Signs of the Economic Times: Celebrity Foreclosures on the Horizon, Less Remittances to Latin America and Other Countries, Soaring Gas Prices, higher Food Costs and Less Jobs

There is no doubt that hard times are around the corner. More and more people are losing their homes. Counseling agencies such as HOPE NOW have seen and heard al the stories they can hear. In addition to personal problems which can create catastrophe by themselves, homeowners and ordinary citizens have to deal with gas prices, rising food costs, regular bills, and less working hours. Employers are reacting to the bad times by cutting down on their production. The less people work and have income to spend, the less need there is to produce more products. Manufacturers and employers are watching very closely.

Struggling U.S. residents are sending less money to their families in foreign countries. The flow of remittances has come down almost to a grind. Farm and construction workers have long lost their jobs. Since many of these immigrants work in low-paid jobs, they are the first ones to suffer. At the end of the month, they have less money leftover to send to parents and family members. The rising prices for food and gas are causing many of them to stay at home. Wiring money, cash or sending remittances to foreign countries will suffer greatly if the economy does not pick up. At the same time, many workers will have to share living space with friends and family members.

New signs of the times continue to pop up in odd areas. Who would say that some of our best, adored celebrities would suffer the shame of losing their own properties to foreclosures? Well it appears that they are just like us at this level. The real-estate meltdown is hitting them too. Are they also getting pinched by the rising costs of gas, food, grocery and more? Their luxurious estates are getting lost to foreclosure. Foreclosures have no socio-economic barrier. They are an equal opportunity disaster. Let's take the case of Ed MCMhon, late Johnny Carson's sidekick on the "Tonight Show" who is scheduled to lose his estate. His mediterranean estate in Beverly Hills has six-bedroom, five-bathroom, gated in an exclusive community has been on the market for $6.5 million. Juiced Author, Jose Canseco, former baseball star, stopped making payments on his $2.5 million home in the upscale area of Encino, a section of L.A.'s San Fernando Valley.

Former NBA player Vin Baker saw his Durham home going into foreclosure. Other stars are having difficulty getting rid of their houses. Avril Lavigne was in that category. Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance's house dropped more than $2 million. What is nex?

Stop Worrying About Your Money: How to Keep and Manage Your Finances

How to Manage Your Money and Avoid Money Worries: IndyMac Bancorp Is An Example

The boom is clearly over for this bank. This large lender's remaining assets were seized by federal regulators last Friday. Since then, customers have been hurried to withdraw their money. That causes some type of anxiety that is spreading through the financial markets. Big banks are under lots of pressure to issue a statement about the soundness of their finances. The situation is also bleak for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two giant companies are at the center of the nation's mortgage market.

So it is just a question of confidence. Customers of IndyMac have been snaking around the corner waiting for a chance to take their money away. There are clear worries about the financial industry. From the President down to the Senators, everybody is trying to reassure the public that the financial system is sound. There are a lot of rumors about customers taking their money out of many banks. Many observers are saying that this is the next phase of the Bear Stearns fiasco. The small banks or financial institutions will not be lucky to receive help as the giant ones. Regulators and investors are bracing for a small number of banks to fail over the next few months.

A Few Questions and Answers about The Current Financial Chaos

Why did the government seize IndyMac's assets? Following the June 26 release of a letter by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y, urging regulators to take steps to prevent IndyMac's collapse, many customers began a run on the the lender. In the letter, Schumer said that IndyMac's failure was due to long-standing practices by the bank, not recent events. The bank was heavily involved in originating riskier mortgages than traditional community and regional banks. Despite the bank's efforts to reassure customers that it was not near default, it was seized by feds.