Inbudget Credit and Finance Advice Control your debt and credit through proper budgeting

Drivers who filed claims could get deductibles returned if accidents are linked to gas-pedal disputeds mote. Plus: Consumer Reports warns consumers away from a Lexus SUV.

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On the other hand, because of the sheer size and number of transactions, the FX market is impossible to “pump-and-dump,” which in turn shelters most people from fraud.

Forex is a high risk/high reward scenario: exhilarating at one moment and barely budging the next. Knowing that that market is composed of multiple exchanges, you probably realize you have to have a method to connect to it. The FX market is made up of hundreds of currency pairs, each functioning much like a share of stock. Each pair is usually coupled with the latest quote, looking something like this –

EUR/USD 1.2658

The first part is obviously the pair and the second is what is referred to as the “quote.” Essentially it tells you, “You can get x USD for 1 EUR,” or “for each 1 of the base currency, you can get x of the second currency.”

Forex Trading

Now that we understand the basics of the market, we can explore how to trade on it. The market does close for several hours each weekend.

Currency Pairs

Now what exactly are “pairs”?

To the average person, forex, otherwise known as foreign exchange or simply FX, is one of most enigmatic trading markets in the world. The key to avoiding fraud is picking the right forex broker.

In order for a layman to enter the market, he must either have an immense amount of cash — most currencies trade at the 3rd or 4th decimal place — or a very large margin. You are not allowed to reproduce the content within this feed in any manner.

Take a good look at the foreign exchange market — it’s not right for everyone — but there may be something there for you.

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currency trading, exchange rate, risks, fx market, base currency, currencies, currency pairs

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Source: How Does Forex Trading Work? from Moolanomy Personal Finance, written by Andy.

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Copyright © 2007-2010 Pinyo Bhulipongsanon. These transactions take place on various exchanges spread out across the world, the primary ones being New York, London, Sydney, and Tokyo. The first currency of a pair is the base; for example, in the pair “EUR/USD,” the Euro is the baseline. This feed is provided for the convenience of Moolanomy’s subscribers. Consequently, the forex market is trading 24 hour/day, because there is always an exchange open, and oftentimes two or more at a time. Forex is a market for currency trading. However, with the explosion of home Internet usage, many brokers take advantage of it to offer the layman real-time quotes, and the opportunity to trade on this lucrative market. Before the age of the Internet this was a nearly impossible market to use for the common man. Nearly every currency in the world is traded in pairs against other currencies — for example, the EUR/USD, USD/JPY, or EUR/GBP pairs. They are essentially the demarcation of the exchange rate between two currencies. However, most of these fraudulent activities occur at the brokerage level. The latter is what most forex brokers provide — up to 400x leverage.

Forex Trading Risks

Because of the high interest in the market and the largely deregulated nature, there are many opportunities for fraud. The Refco corporation was a high-profile example of brokerage level fraud. Seemingly contained among the elite banks of the world, why would an average person ever want to venture into the Forex market?

Image via Wikimedia Commons
Forex Market

First, we will explore the basics of how this market works.

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For stereotype, cut back on bills and speculate moving to a spot with a lower cost of living. You can get by with a smaller nest egg by using these frugal strategies.

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As you start to build up your net worth, the question of whether or not you should hire a financial adviser becomes more important. This feed is provided for the convenience of Moolanomy’s subscribers. I said before that you need to be able to answer two questions before you hire an adviser.

The second question is, are you willing to listen?

I’m serious.  Many people hire an adviser when all they really want is someone to rubber stamp their mistakes.  Be honest.  If you’re not willing to take direction, don’t bother hiring a financial adviser.  You’ll spend a lot of money for nothing and just end up with a headache.

In fact, if you are that confident in your ability, why not just learn how to become a financial planner yourself?

Do you have a financial planner?  If so, how did you know you needed to hire one?

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investment results, money manager, market performance, financial advisers, insurance agent

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Source: Should You Hire a Financial Adviser? from Moolanomy Personal Finance, written by Neal.

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Copyright © 2007-2010 Pinyo Bhulipongsanon. What is your definition of financial success?  Are you on the road to achieving it or are you derailing yourself at every turn?

So these are the two reasons why you might want to hire an adviser.

But…are you ready to take advice?

But remember…. Some people do quite well without a financial adviser, some people need one, and on rare occasions, some wish they never had one. No financial adviser can beat the market year in year out.  If they have a great streak for a number of years, chances are they’ll disappoint you sooner or later.  And you’ll bail on them exactly when that happens.  There are investment strategies that work, but nothing works all the time.

Don’t hire an adviser for above-market performance.  It’s not something you can hang your hat on.

Are you looking to hire an adviser because you need a financial plan?

If so, you may not need a money manager.  You should just hire someone who can put a plan together for you.  A plan you’ll understand and more important, one you’ll implement.

If you need insurance, you can get that online much cheaper than through a planner or an insurance agent.

Have I discouraged you from hiring a financial adviser?

I hope not.

Good Reasons to Hire a Financial Planner

I think there are two very good reasons to hire a financial planner:

First, you admit that you don’t know what you don’t know and you need direction.  This would argue for hiring someone to create a financial plan.
Second, you need financial discipline.  You need someone to manage your money because you need to be saved from yourself.  This may sound funny but for those of you who really understand what I’m talking about, you know it’s true — and not funny at all.

If you are your own worst enemy when it comes to investing or spending, just having someone to be accountable to can be worth multiple times the price you pay. Think about the last bone-head investment you made.  What would it have been worth to you had you not done it?  Think about the money you wasted last year because nobody scrutinized your spending.  How much would you have saved had you been under the watchful eye of someone else? Even though I’m a financial adviser, I don’t believe that everyone should hire a financial adviser.

Photo by Miguel Virkkunen Carvalho via Flickr

In fact, I don’t think anyone should hire a financial adviser unless and until they can answer two questions:

1. What do you want to get out of the relationship?
2. Are you ready to take advice?
What do you want to get out of the relationship?

Let’s tackle the first question, what do you really want out of your relationship with a financial adviser?

This may seem like a really basic question but I think you’ll see that it really isn’t. However, the answer is not a simple yes or no. For example, some people hire financial advisers because they want better investment results.  Fair enough…but let’s look at this issue a bit more carefully.

Do you want an adviser who will beat the market every year?

If this is your real motivation, forget about it.  It’s impossible. You are not allowed to reproduce the content within this feed in any manner.

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In addition to ManVsDebt.com:

Your Money or Your Life
The Total Money Makeover
GetRichSlowly.org

7. Ask it now at Moolanomy Answers!

Copyright © 2007 - 2010 Pinyo B. Any closing thoughts you’d like to share?

My closing remarks may surprise you! Recently, Adam surprised me again with the launch of his Unautomate Your Finances Guide — somehow calling it an eBook just doesn’t cut it.

Once I learned about this, I asked Adam for an interview, so that I can share Adam, his blog, and his Unautomate Your Finances Guide with you. With this, the information will come quickly and easily.

I’ve been inspired just like this by many sources. The inspiration to tackle your finances head on and the motivation to continue through the (sometimes long) battle is what is really valuable. Everyone else is talking about automating this and that — why unautomate?

Automation is the process of trading consciousness for convenience.  There are lots of times this is beneficial.  The problem, however, is that it doesn’t lead to habit change.  Automating a bad habit, just yields more of the bad habit.  It buries the problem.  Automating mediocre patterns just makes you…  mediocre.

We didn’t want to be mediocre anymore.  We didn’t like what “average” looked like.  So instead of looking for MORE automation, we tried un-automating.  We tried reversing the trend.  We looked for ways to adopt habits that may not be convenient, but that would *increase* our consciousness.

This was an eye-opening experience for us.  We became much more intimate with both our strengths and our weaknesses!

4. So, let’s start.

1. This feed is provided for the convenience of Moolanomy’s subscribers. Debt.

I am not sure when I first ran across Adam and his blog Man vs. Who should buy your book and why?

My primary motivation was to pay forward the spark that had led to our financial turn around.  I wanted to share what worked and what didn’t — conventional advice fell short for us.  I wanted to pass along what inspired us and what we uncovered as we struggle to adopt sustainable habits.

This wasn’t something I could do in a weekend.  It took a lot of planning, a lot of writing (25,000+ words), and a lot of coffee.  It was written on the road in Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand.  It was a long process, but it was worth it.  I couldn’t be more proud of the final guide!

3. I’m extremely proud of the guide and genuinely believe it will create that spark for you!

I hope you enjoyed our little interview and be sure to check out Unautomate Your Finances.

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motivation, financial guru, personal finance, conventional advice

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This post was written by Pinyo

Do you have a financial question? Can you tell me a bit about yourself and Man vs. You are not allowed to reproduce the content within this feed in any manner.

Please visit Moolanomy Personal Finance Blog, Moolanomy Finance Directory, and Moolanomy Answers for more great content.

To be honest, you don’t need this guide. I knew then that his blog will become an influential force in personal finance blogosphere. And it didn’t take long before Adam’s humble little blog becomes a top-tier personal finance destination. All I remember was how impress I was with Adam and his story. You don’t need any of the books I suggested above either. Debt?

I could talk for days!

Seriously, though…  I’m 26 years old, married, and have a increasingly emotional two-year-old daughter.  I started ManVsDebt.com a little over a year ago to chronicle our journey to sell our crap, pay off our debt, and take a year off to travel through Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand.

I’m not a financial guru.  I’m not rich.  Heck, I didn’t even finish college.  I’m just a normal guy who found himself on a typical American life path (along with the debt and clutter that includes!).  Courtney and I made a decision to try and take back control of our lives and have openly shared that for the past year!

2. The great books and sites provide this above all else. You don’t need this site, nor my site.

The information side of personal finance is about 5% of the battle.

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