The ‘ostrich effect’ is a financial term which is often used to describe the act of pretending a monetary problem does not exist: “burying one’s head in the sand” to hide from a problem. Contrary to the popular myth, the ostrich does not, in fact, bury its head in the sand, neither to hide nor anything else. Yet thousands of people in debt choose to bring the myth to life, ignoring their debts in the hope that they will magically disappear.

No such luck. While ignoring a debt may ease the worry in the short-term, eventually it will come back to haunt you. The longer a debt is active, the more it ends up costing you in interest and other fees. Some lenders will charge a set fee for each late or missed payment (such as charges on a credit card), your bank may charge you for a returned direct debit payment, and you may end up paying a higher rate of interest if you consistently miss payments. All in all, what starts as a small, manageable debt could easily double or triple if ignored.

It may not be something you want to do, but taking stock of your financial situation is extremely important, especially if you suddenly find your debts mounting up. The sooner you deal with them, the easier it will be.

Find out exactly how much debt you’re in. Getting copies of your credit reports from various credit monitoring agencies will help you do this, and filling out an income/expenditure sheet will give you an idea of your current financial situation.

It may be possible to reduce the level of debt you’re in. Contact all the companies you owe money to and see if you can come to some arrangement with them; a lower monthly repayment perhaps, or a freezing of interest until you’re back up to date. Most creditors will be happy to help you if you’re honest with them from the start and they can see you genuinely want to pay them back.

If you have several debts from different creditors, prioritize them. List your debts in order of interest rate attached, from high to low, and aim to pay off the highest interest debts first. Doing this could reduce your debt significantly and save you a massive amount in interest fees. On smaller debts, or ones which haven’t got a long term left, it might be worth getting a settlement figure and seeing if you can clear it in one single payment.

If you feel you can’t manage all your debt alone, or have had no luck when contacting creditors, it might be time to consult a debt management company. These specialist firms will contact your creditors on your behalf and negotiate an affordable payment plan which suits everyone. They tend to hold more weight than an individual so they can sometimes get you better terms.

No matter what your level of debt, there will be help available to you if you only take the time to look. A debt consolidation loan may be something to consider; especially useful if you manage to negotiate lower settlement figures with all or most of your creditors. But whatever debt solutions you choose, you’ll feel better in the knowledge that you’ve dealt with your debt.

Utah cash advances can be availed of within one hour of application and takes care of untoward emergencies where you need quick cash.  Easy application processes are one of the advantages of Utah credit advances.  Company websites offer easy to fill in applications forms and is a quick and easy way to avail of your loan which can be repaid either through post dated checks or through debit facilities from your bank account after you payment date.  Applicants need to renew their licenses on an annual basis to ensure validity of their loan and credit worthiness.

However, like in any other loan facility there are some minimum terms and conditions that all persons applying for loans have to adhere to, to be allowed loans.  One must be over the age of 18, be employed or have an alternative source of income, must have an active bank account and a positive credit rating.  It is with these minimum qualifications that the company will sanction your loan in the least possible time and effort.

Every year, misinformed homebuyers, often first-time purchasers or seniors, become victims of predatory lending or loan fraud. Below you’ll find the top ten ways to avoid becoming a victim yourself.

1. Take your time and shop around. You should be able to compare prices and houses. If a lender or broker tells you they are your only chance to get a loan or owning a home, don’t do business with them.

2. Do not sign a sales contract or loan documents that are blank or that contain information which is not true.

3. Be certain that the costs and loan terms at closing are what you originally agreed to.

4. Do not be talked into lying about lie about your income, expenses, or cash available for downpayments in order to get a loan.

5. Watch out for higher-risk loans such as balloon loans, interest only payments, and steep pre-payment penalties.

6. Be careful about disclosing things like your need of cash due to medical, unemployment or debt problems. You are very vulnerable in these cases.

7. Don’t strip your home’s equity by refinancing again and again when there is no benefit to you.

8. Beware of false appraisals.

9. Do not let anyone convince you to borrow more money than you know you can afford to repay. If you get behind on your payments, you risk losing your house and all of the money you put into your property.

10. Get several quotes from multiple brokers or lenders so you know you’re being charged a fair interest rate based on your credit history, not your race or national origin.

Do you have a small business you want to take to the next level? Or are you full of business ideas but lack the knowledge or motivation to execute them? Either way, if you’re ready to create your own small business empire, then the Empire Building Kit may be the tool to help you do it — and all in a year or less.

I’ve long been a fan of Chris Guillebeau, whose blog motivates thousands of people to take their lives into their own hands, and whose mission to visit every country in the world before turning 35 is of special interest to me.

He’s also written a number of useful e-books, including The Unconventional Guide to Working for Yourself, and Frequent Flyer Master, which I’ve reviewed here on Wise Bread.

Now, he’s taken his empire-building business tactics to a new level with the Empire Building Kit. It is a one-year program designed to give you a boost to turn your business idea into a highly profitable machine that allows you to live the life you want, doing something you love to do.

Who Should Apply

You don’t need any specific skills or expertise, but you must be motivated to make a positive change in your life and business. I think the purchase price alone will weed out the serious from the not-so-serious, if you ask me.

In Chris’s words, you “must be prepared to work hard, make wise decisions, and make today slightly better than yesterday”. To that end, the Empire Building Kit is built on the idea that you can’t build an empire overnight, which is why it is a one-year program. Doing a little bit every day is an incredibly successful way of getting to where you need to go, especially if your goal initially seems overwhelming (and starting a business that makes six figures from scratch is nothing if not overwhelming).

Chris wants customers who are “ready to build a sustainable lifestyle business doing what they love — for customers who love them right back”.

What’s Included

(As you’ll see below there are three levels of membership; your membership choice dictates how much of the information below you have access to).

One Year of Daily Emails with Tangible Steps to Take — Your daily dose of empire-wisdom will arrive in your inbox, with a small but tangible step to get your empire under way. I’ve been receiving the daily emails for a short time now, and find that some days are simply food for thought (albeit pretty serious goal-setting food, mind you), and other days direct you to certain case studies or videos (see below). Each day has a bite-sized action you can take to build your empire — one step at a time.

Case Studies — Available to you in PDF, audio, video, or transcript formats. These case studies are of people who have their own sustainable lifestyle businesses, earning $50,000 to $150,000 in net annual income (net!) with no more than three employees. They include dog walkers, murder mystery party hosts, fitness trainers, artists, and freelancers. They bare all, including information on their marketing, operations, and finances, and include actionable advice for how you can emulate their tactics.

The Unconventional Guides Journey — Chris also shares his own unconventional journey, including all the sales figures and stats for his business, mistakes made along the way, and techniques he used to boost business by 25%. I found some of these videos particularly interesting, including his description of what tools he uses and how.

Recording of a Webinar — During the pre-launch of the Empire Building Kit, Chris conducted a live webinar with the attendees, in which he answered any and all questions. This is available for new “Emperors” to view.

43-Step Product Launch Checklist — This 4 page PDF document is a step-by-step checklist of what to do to make a product launch successful with minimal hiccups.

My Take

I’ve been receiving the daily emails for a while, and some are more useful than others. I appreciate the progression that the emails guide you through, and although you can view/read any component when you wish, the course material is chronologically laid out and makes the most sense if reviewed in order. I really like how the course is designed to take one year to go through; and I can already see that if you actually do your “homework”, you can go places.

Starting a business is an intimidating prospect. It involves a level of commitment that few other goals require. Typically, one of the major commitments in business startups is a hefty financial commitment. However, there are ways to start a business for next to nothing. Knowing how to do so can make an intimidating project much more doable.

1. Location, Location, Location

For many brick and mortar businesses, location is essential to success. However, if your goal is to get your business off the ground as inexpensively as possible, you should strive to start your business from home to eliminate the cost of renting a location. If you need to have a professional address, you can use a virtual office for a very affordable price. If you need an office for meetings, you can do so inexpensively by renting an executive suite on occasion.

2. Professional Guidance for Free

It is important to have plenty of help from professionals as you embark on the adventure of starting your own business. You could go out and hire lawyers, accountants and business consultants to help you, or you could get their help for free. Through organizations in your area, such as a small business development center, you should be able to get help from professionals who can answer all your questions quickly and easily.

3. The Importance of a Virtual Assistant

By hiring a virtual assistant to answer phones and take care of some of the time-consuming yet necessary tasks in your business, you can also give the appearance of being a larger enterprise while using a very cost-effective form of assistance. Because virtual assistants work on contract, you have none of the typical expenses that you would come to expect with employees. You can also adjust the hours you delegate to your assistant depending on your workload.

4. Website Builders Slash the Cost of Creating a Website

Your website is critical to the success of practically any business these days. By using a website builder you can create your own website using one of the templates provided. The choices available to you allow you to customize it so that users will never know the difference. This type of website creation is a fraction of the cost of hiring professionals to create a customized website. You can even find free website builders online. In today’s business world a website is one of your most important business tools, no matter what type of business you are looking to start.

5. Web Stores Require No Inventory

If sales are a part of your business, a web store is the most cost effective way to go. By creating a web store you can avoid high inventory costs associated with traditional stores. By becoming an affiliate for the products and services you wish to sell on your site, you do the selling and the company you are affiliated with takes care of delivery.

6. Putting Technology to Work for You: Free Online Tools

There are numerous different resources at your disposal when starting an online business or simply even the online portion of your traditional business. Many of these resources are completely free of charge, such as email accounts, social networking site memberships, auto-responders, payment processors, HTML editors, converters for Word to PDF and server hosting for shared files. While many of these resources do not have the speed and full capabilities of the more expensive versions, they are sufficient for many startup businesses.

7. 800 Numbers

An 800 number for your business allows you to give a more professional impression to potential clients. You can easily look like a much bigger business by offering the convenience of a toll-free number. Luckily, such numbers can be gotten online for practically nothing. Many of the online providers offer a free trial period of up to six months. Monthly fees thereafter start at less than $15.

8. Marketing

Marketing is a very important aspect of any business. In fact, it is crucial to the very success of your company. Marketing ranges from the very basic things, such as just talking about your business, to more strategic marketing aimed at the unknown consumer. It has never been easier than it is now to find low-cost and even free ways to advertise a business. Starting a business for next to nothing means you will need to avail of all these techniques.