Good Debt Vs Bad Debt

Debt has been a part of every body s life and personal debt gradient is on the rise because credit hasn t been easier to receive. In everyday life, most of us would not have enough finances in one go when it comes to paying for our apartments or children s college education. Hence we borrow in one form or the other to get the expenses meet.
Debt is not a simple concept to comprehend, but in fact is a bit difficult one to get hold of. Ideally, as per financial experts statements, a person s total monthly long term debt payments which includes credit cards and mortgage - should not exceed 36 percent of his/her gross income for a month. This is the bench mark mortgage bankers take in to consideration while appraising the creditworthiness of a potential borrower.
It is very easy to spend far more than what one could afford. It is interesting and intriguing that a large number of people does exactly this and fail to recognize that they are heading down in an abyss - the deeper you sink, the more difficult will be the chances of a recovery. That is unbridled spending. But to avoid debt is not a smart option either. If properly handled, debt can be money spinning as well. That brings us to the concepts of Good Debts and Bad Debts. Let us see what are the differences between good debts and bad debts?
The secret of acting smart with the money is all about learning to discern between good debt and bad debt. Unfortunately this is something that most people around the world fail to be experts in. Good debt is something that helps improve your financial position or net worth. That is, in simpler terms, a good debt increases cash flow. That is, mortgage debt, for example, is good debt. You are borrowing money from someone, but you re getting a tax advantage so that you are able to cancel interest on an asset that s gaining in value over time. Also you can live there.
On the other hand bad debt can occur when you buy something that goes down in value immediately. That is, when the thing that has been brought on credit does not have the potential to increase its value. Purchase of disposable goods or durable items or, as commonly found, the use of higher interest credit cards can lead one into bad debts. Ideally, debt-to-income ratio of a person shouldn t go above 20 percent. That is - while adding up all of your non-mortgage loans, credit cards and outstanding charges - it should not exceed 20% of the annual income. If it goes beyond the 20% mark, that is bad debt and it doesn t go down well in his/her credit reports even if payments are made in time.
To conclude, debts can be productive if properly and rationally exploited. It is financially draining to incur bad debts but if you could gain more by investing the borrowed money than the interest associated with the credit, then it is good debt which is useful. Managing one s debt and hence the finances might need a bit of brain scratching. But it is not that enigmatic for a common man to comprehend. After all it is no rocket technology. It is all about learning to manage your finances!
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.cashbazar.com. Visit his website for the latest on personal finance, debt elimination, budgeting, credit cards and real estate. dsl internet service



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Electronic Order Management: Scope and Challenges of Implementing an Order Management System

An Electronic Order Management system is meant to eliminate delays, errors and costs associated with manual order management processes. Automating order generation, sending, receiving and acknowledging of orders can cut administration costs, reduce overheads and improve supply chain efficiency.
Incompatible ERP/Inventory management systems at buyer and vendor facilities is the first electronic order management challenge to tackle. An on demand web order management solution can sidestep incompatibilities of enterprise systems.
A hosted order management software or order management service allows sending and receiving data with a standard web browser and allows retrieving data in popular formats like XML, CSV or spreadsheets. On demand order management service takes data in any format and delivers it in real time to relevant persons in any format they require. Thus both the supplier and buyer can benefit from real time communication, even while not waiting for emails, phone calls or faxes.
Disconnected enterprise systems create data redundancy, errors and can lead to costly business inefficiencies. Poor coordination between enterprise systems leads to flawed production plans, increased supply chain pressure and poor customer service. Lack of visibility of orders, schedules and shipments can lead to costly administrative decision making processes.
An on demand order management service facilitates single point availability of total supply chain information in real time. This can lead to better coordination in the whole supply chain and overall time and cost savings.
Stock outs, expedited orders and bloated inventory are better avoided with proper order management process. The supplier also needs to have significant visibility into supply chain status and inventory status at customer level. This facilitates accurate demand forecasts based on customer inventory data.
Better planning can reduce instances of costly demand-supply mismatches. Planning business processes like customer order management and preparing for change order management gets easier with real time access to up to minute inventory data that foretells supply demand. This puts more control and responsibility on the suppliers and buyers can avoid labour intensive purchasing processes. On demand order management solution is configured to handle end-to-end order management workflows, purchase orders, advance ship notices, receipts and invoices.
Differences in procurement demand by different departments of same organization coupled with disconnected ERP systems add up procurement costs for the whole organization. Configure business rules for individual procurement processes and let the order management service take over the processes based on min-max settings.
Implementation of On-Demand Order Management System
On demand order management system is hosted order management solution that requires no additional IT infrastructure investment by either parties supplier and buyer. The order management solution provider charts out a well laid out implementation plan after identifying existing business challenges and possible cost/time savings of implementing a web order management solution. On demand electronic order management solution requires the business to pay only monthly subscriptions charges. No hefty licensing or upkeep costs. Employees can be trained on the system in less than four hours. Implementation takes less than six weeks and most of the time is utilized for uploading the data to a centralised location, defining business goals and testing the effectiveness of deployment.
For more resources about supply chain management software or even about supply chain management solution please review http://www.supplychainconnect.com



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3 Things to Consider Before Debt Consolidation

3 Things to Consider Before Debt ConsolidationMany people see debt consolidation as a quick fix
to get out of debt. Debt consolidation is not a
quick fix. Debt Consolidation can take years to
pay off your debt. Plus, in some cases debt
consolidation may make your future creditors look
at your credit application with a lot more
scrutiny. Ask yourself these questions before
you consider debt consolidation.1. Who is reporting negative but inaccurate
information on your credit report? Most likely, if you re considering debt
consolidation, it s because you are looking to
make a major purchase that you can t afford to
pay for with cash. Or you trying to polish up
your credit report to get a better credit score.
Before you go putting all of your debt in the
consolidation basket, check to see who is
reporting negative but inaccurate information
about you on your credit report. You can get a free copy of your credit report
every 12 months by logging onto www.annualcreditreport.com . Looking at all three of
your credit reports from the Big Three Credit
Bureaus will show you just how good or bad your
credit is. Negative but accurate information will usually
drop off of your credit report seven years from
the date of the last activity (D.O.L.A.) with the
original creditor. 2. How old is your debt? That contact that you signed ten years ago may not
be able to be legally collected on anymore.
Check the statue of limitations in your state to
see when the debt is going to fall off your
credit report. If the Date of Last Activity on
the account has surpassed the Statue of
Limitations, for the state in which you signed
the contract, but a Collections Agency is still
reporting the debt, dispute the debt with the
Collections Agency as well as the Big Three
Credit Bureaus.3. How many debts do you have with high interest
rates? If the majority of your debts have interest rates
above10%, you may want to attempt to consolidate
your debt yourself. You may be able to take out
a home equity loan at a low fixed interest rate
that will cut your interest f without giving up
control over how and when the debt is repaid.
You also may be able to transfer a high interest
bearing credit card to one with a lower interest
rate.If you intend to consolidate your debt, try to
consolidate your debt yourself first.



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Just a Click Away: Using the Internet to Facilitate Your Market Research

Market research is one of the most valuable selling tools a show organizer has. Up to the minute, accurate market data arms you with the type of valuable information you need to sell your show to potential exhibitors, including who is attending your show, how well your exhibitors did at last year s show, and what type of sales numbers resulted from participating in the event. Savvy exhibitors -- those that can contribute meaningfully to the success of your show -- will want to know this type of information. Any information you provide to potential exhibitors must be both timely and accurately. Unfortunately, hiring a market research team, especially on an annual basis, can be an expensive proposition. Doing the market research yourself can be time consuming and frustrating. What if there was a way to streamline the process, making it effortless and efficient for both you and your customers? Enter the internet. Trade show organizers have been woefully behind the curve when it comes to exploiting the internet s potential for market research. As the Online Expo becomes more and more of an industry presence, it is imperative that show organizers incorporate web-based elements into traditional shows to accommodate exhibitor needs, especially as they pertain to market research. The transition to a more virtual society has creating an expectation of instantaneous, accurate information -- an expectation that we need to meet if we are going to survive. Here are five techniques you can use to meet this expectation: - Constantly Gather Information: Market research is not a once-a-year phenemeon. The dynamic nature of the marketplace means that new exhibitors are constantly setting up shop, while other companies that have exhibited with you for years may run into financial difficulty. Use Google or other new-alert programs to e-mail you when any of your exhibitors make news -- their prosperity (or lack thereof!) may affect your show. At the same time, monitor news related to your show s location, the demographics related to likely attendees, and other items of interest. Make a commitment to reach out to your exhibitors at least quarterly via your website or targeted e-mails. Invite recipients to participate in a poll, answer a survey, or give feedback. Many will, especially if the poll, survey, or feedback form is quick and easy to navigate. This gives you a steady stream of data throughout the year. - Invite Open Communication: Exhibitors and potential exhibitors should always know how to reach you. An easily navigable website is a must for all businesses, but imperative for show organizers. Consider having direct links to frequently asked questions, easily found contact options, and even live help via e-mail chat for the crunch time just before the show. - Create Discussion Forums: Discussion forums, whether they re constructed as a bulletin board or group format, offer a great opportunity to invite feedback, ask your exhibitors questions, and brainstorm new show features. Any group should be constructed with an RSS and XML feed so that it can be easily picked up by news aggregators, ensuring the widest possible audience is invited to participate in the discussion. You ll need an employee to monitor the group on a regular basis, which includes filtering out spam and inappropriate messages, but the data gathered will be well worth the result. - Explore Other Communities: You re in the exhibiting business, but your customer s aren t. Take the time to visit their internet hangouts -- industry specific bulliten boards, discussion groups, and e-mail lists. You can either actively participate or simply passively read what s going on -- this is known as lurking , and is frowned upon in some communities, accepted in others. Either way, you ll be presented with a front row seat of what s going on in your customer s industry, and gain a deeper understanding of their needs. Occassionally the talk will turn to industry conventions and shows, and that can be a very valuable learning experience. - Provide Content Rich Incentives: Attendees will only visit your website or participate in polls if you offer them something of value in exchange for their time. This could be educational -- content rich articles outlining some of the how-to s of effective exhibiting, for example -- or social. The new generation of exhibitors fully expects there to be a social element to their web interactions, be it a busy discussion list or a forum always filled with heated debate. It will cost you little, if anything, to provide these items, yet will help you keep exhibitors engaged with and committed to your show. Of course, these techniques work best when they augment traditional market research methods. Nothing can replace actually getting out on the show floor and talking face to face with your exhibitors. People may divulge a great deal of information over the net, but often don t feel like they know someone until they meet them IRL - In Real Life. Written by Susan A. Friedmann,CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, author: Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies, working with companies to improve their meeting and event success through coaching, consulting and training. For a free copy of 10 Common Mistakes Exhibitors Make , e-mail: article4@thetradeshowcoach.com; website: http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com



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