Interest rates are very low. In previous articles we gave some advice on high-yield deposits that could still recruit even earlier this year, but at this stage of the crisis and Euribor from soils (an advantage for those with mortgage), it is really hard to find deposits have the same yields as last year.

However, not everything is gray. Experts predict a future rise in interest rate, possibly later this year or early 2010. That would be a very propitious moment to hire a good deposit of these to one year with an attractive interest.

Until that moment, what we can do is opt for the existing short-term deposits in the banking system today. They come in 3 or 6 months. It is true that when returns are handled very small (between 1 and 3%) but otherwise have a very low CPI (1%) resulting in a range of customer purchasing power to the tank.

Before hiring a deposit, always assure the cancellation policy. Most, to cancel early, forcing you to pay compensation but it never exceeds the interest earned. What is sacrosanct is the initial capital that you have deposited.

The Department of Consumer Law in New York City has this bulletin on different ideas of how to take advantage of the refund you receive to complete your taxes. These tips also apply to any amount of money you receive might not be part of your monthly income: A panel, double salary, an inheritance, a raise, etc… Here goes:

A tax rebate puts money in your pocket that can help you pay your bills. If you are careful in handling the refund, you can also use it to achieve other financial goals.

Reduce your debt
Debt interest cost money, so if you cut it, eventually it will help save more. If you have loans or multiple credit cards, first pay the debt with the highest interest.

Start an emergency fund
Place a portion of their refund into a savings account to hold funds for emergencies or financial need. (more…)

Some time ago published an article on the importance of education, not only as intellectual and personal growth, but as a method of investing for your future. The article explains how people who study statistically tend to earn more income during their lifetime, and stresses education one of the best investment you can make.

I grasp at the same time, provide missing short example of how this phenomenon occurs, and I did raise this in this post on Saturdays. I explain that although education is always related to college, title, licensing, and other academic names, the definition used here is any kind of knowledge gained to help you produce more income for the same time working hours. Here is an example:

Let’s say you’re an auto mechanic, and in this profession wanted about $ 500 a week repairing cars and have done this for three years. A mechanics course hybrid costs $ 1000 to be certified to repair and maintenance service to hybrid car. (more…)

This week I was reading this article one of the personal finance blogs I read, where the author explained what he meant, and now means to have financial freedom. David Ning writes in the article “Financial Independence Is More than Just a Number” their ideas about the difference between having a fixed amount of your financial goals and reaches the mental / emotional one that takes you to have financial freedom. This made me think about what I think financial freedom is.

What is financial independence?

As the article explains freedom and financial independence is a concept that changes his mind according to the opinion of the person. For many it is to have high wealth, for others you need to power to his family a comfortable life. Therefore, I invite you to define yourself / to mean to you financially independent. Here is mine:

Financial independence, in my opinion, is to have all needs and tastes of the person without worrying that will happen tomorrow. If I have the ability to have enough money to achieve my personal goals and even more earning capacity when you need me consider financially privileged. Financial independence is to work in a profession that you like, and that monetary compensation for the work performed is not a priority. (more…)

This metric based on profitability, tells us how much free cash flow a company generates in relation to what would comprise an investor buy the entire company.

Expressed in the simplest way to divide the free cash flow by enterprise value. The enterprise value is the market capitalization of the company over the long-term debt minus its cash.

The objective of this ratio is to measure how efficiently a company is using its capital (including debt) to generate free cash flow.

We can see a practical example (taken from data from Morningstar).

Coca-Cola in April 2005 had a market capitalization of $ 100 billion with a long-term debt of $ 1.2 billion. It also had the then $ 6.7 billion in cash on its balance sheet. (more…)