Increase Your Financial IQ Book Review – Part 1: Making More Money

Author: Rich Money Habits

Increase Your Financial IQ Book Review – Part 1: Making More Money
The book starts by asking the fundamental question:
“Does money make you rich?”
Take a moment to answer that question.
Do you think money will make you rich?  Do you think winning millions of dollars from lottery will make you rich?  How about having a high-paying job from a lucrative profession like doctors, or lawyers, or IT professionals?  Does having a lot of money make you rich?
Many people have heard stories how instant millionaires lost their millions after a few years. Or how someone who was once rich and famous had his house foreclosed.  Or how a high-paying manager begged for his job back because he can no longer afford the lifestyle that he once had.
If not money, what then makes you rich?  According to Robert Kiyosaki,
“…it is not real-estate, stocks, mutual funds, businesses, or money that make you rich.  It is information, knowledge, wisdom, and know-how, a.k.a. financial intelligence, that makes one wealthy.”

What is Financial Intelligence?
Robert Kiyosaki describes Financial intelligence as that part of our mental intelligence we use to solve our financial problems. Financial IQ, on the other hand, is the measure of that intelligence.
What money problems do you have?  Are you having the problem of “not having enough money”? Are you

• using your credit card whenever you’re short on money?
• constantly worrying about the rising cost of living?
• paying more in taxes after an increase in income?
• afraid of emergencies?
• receiving bad financial advice?
• waiting for the next paycheck to pay for last month’s rent?

While the rich do not have these problems, they too have their own money problems – “too much money”.  Some of these are

• needing to keep their money safe and invested
• not knowing whether people like them or their money
• looking for smarter financial advisors
• raising spoiled kids
• worrying about estate and inheritance planning
• looking for ways to “legally” avoid paying excessive government taxes

Which problems would you rather have?

The 5 basic Financial IQs
According to Robert Kiyosaki, you need to learn the 5 basic Financial IQs to solve your money problems.  These are:

1. Financial IQ #1: Making more money
2. Financial IQ #2: Protecting your money
3. Financial IQ #3: Budgeting your money
4. Financial IQ #4: Leveraging your money
5. Financial IQ #5: Improving your financial information

Financial IQ #1: Making more money
How do you make more money?  The key according to Robert Kiyosaki is to “solve problems”.  People will gladly pay you money if you solve their problems.  I know I’ll be more than happy to pay you money if you can fix my broken LCD TV at a reasonable price. Would you gladly pay your doctor if they solve your ailing stomach? Would you pay your financial advisor if they can make you more money than what you pay them?  Or how about paying your “star” employees “millions” whenever they bring you “billions” in income?
Solve people’s problems and make more money.  As the famous quote from Zig Ziglar says
You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.

Which problems do you want to solve?
Which problems do you want to solve?
Do you want to solve the problem of “hunger” by providing quality meals at an affordable price.  That’s what a lot of food businesses are doing.  Or do you want to solve the problem of “not having enough time to eat”.  That’s what the fast and “instant” food delivery businesses are trying to solve.
What are you naturally good at? Perhaps you can use any of your skills to solve other people’s problems.
Are you good in math?  Be a great financial analyst or an accountant and help people and businesses solve their financial or tax problems.
Do you like speaking to people?  Become a powerful speaker.  Share your message by leveraging your highly sought after skill of public speaking.  Inspire people to take action and solve their problem of a dull and boring life.
Do you love making great movies?  Learn to be a great director or a movie producer.  People will pay you to entertain them because you are solving their problem of “not having fun".”
Solving problems is a process
The key according to Robert Kiyosaki is realizing the fact that problems will never go away.  After you solve a problem, another problem will come up.  Only in this process of solving problems one after the other will you gain financial intelligence.
You have to go through the process of solving whatever money problems you are facing right now.  Don’t run from it.  Face it head on.  Use your mind to think of ways on how to solve your money problem.  As Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad says,
“You can quit when you win, but never quite because you’re losing.“
The reason instant millionaires end up poor after winning the lottery is because they want only the money but not the process of learning how to build their wealth.  This is the same thing as people wanting to get paid more than the value they are providing.  Their greed is making decisions for them.  Some people even claim that “greed” has caused the current financial crisis that we are in right now.
The other side of the coin is also dangerous - fear.  Don’t let fear hold you back.  Enjoy the process of learning.  Feel the fear and face it head on. This is the same reason why employees would rather gladly receive the small steady paycheck than take a chance at building their own fortune.  Take a leap.  Live out your dreams.  As Hellen Keller says,
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
Rich Money Habits Review Notes:

• What I liked about the book is that it offers other (unconventional) ways to think about money.
• The book is not about financial advise, so it does not discuss any “how to” details on investing in real-estate or businesses.
• There are a lot of strong comments about the book so it is NOT for everyone.  My hope is that after reading the rest of the book review in the coming weeks, you’ll pick up a thing or two to help you with your money problems.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/personal-finance-articles/increase-your-financial-iq-book-review-part-1-making-more-money-1517247.html
About the Author

Rich Money Habits @ http://www.akosiallan.com helps you discover and learn how to build long lasting rich money habits so you can achieve financial freedom with peace of mind!

Owning A Car Will Cost Your More Than The Sticker Says

Author: Fern Baptiste

Expenses That New Drivers Never Think about

Whether a person has never owned a car before or getting one in the classic rite of passage as a youth, there is a lot more to owning a car than just the original purchase price.  This applies to cars that are old, cars that are new as well as other vehicles made for the road.  Not taking these expenses into account may mean that individuals will not be driving for long before they realize they probably cannot afford a car after all.  Expenses like buying car insurance Orange County or purchasing snow tires in the mountains of Colorado are natural extensions of owning a vehicle.  The following are some common expenses related to owning a vehicle that are, for the most part, unavoidable.

Gasoline and other essential fluids

Everyone knows that the majority of cars run on gasoline and depending on the region of the world a person lives in gas can be pricey.  For example, gas prices in the United States reached over four dollars per gallon in 2008.  Many individuals were spending hundreds of dollars per month gassing up their cars to go to work, go out for entertainment, taking the kids to school and all the other activities we use cars for.  The type of car that a person buys will drastically effect how much they will be paying for fuel.  Older vehicles or larger trucks and SUV's are less fuel-efficient than smaller or newer cars and even the way people drive their cars will cost them more or less to operate overall.  Vehicles also need other fluids to run and these must be changed at regular intervals.  For instance, engine oil must be changed every 3,000 to 4,000 miles, transmission fluid every 40-50,000 miles, engine coolant every 60-70,000 miles as well as others.  Changing or replacing these essential fluids can range from 20 dollars to well over 100 depending on the type of car. 

Insurance is required by law

No one thinks when he or she buys a car that there will be an expense that they are required by law to pay every month as long as they own the vehicle but there is.  Car insurance is one of the most common and routine extra expenses for owning a vehicle.  A car must be insured before it can be registered or even driven on the road.  All states in the U.S. as well as other regions of the world require some form of liability insurance for all motorists whether they are driving a motorcycle or a motor home.     Insurance coverage can differ in price and policy language from region to region.  For example car insurance Orange County California will have different types of language and coverage options than that of car insurance Orange County New York.  Factors such as age of the driver, type of car, driving history, the location where a person lives and a variety of others will all influence this expense.

No matter how nice your car is, it will break

Whether a person buys a new, a slightly used, or a really used car, it is only a matter of time before it needs repairs.  Some procedures can be done by the owner yet the vast majority of car repairs are very complicated, especially for newer vehicles.  Depending on the type of repair, owners may sometimes pay anywhere from 100 to several thousand dollars to fix a vehicle.  Different cars have different levels of quality in manufacturing.  Parts on some may fail earlier than parts of others.  Sometimes the design of a car provides for premature failure of parts.  Labor to work on cars can range anywhere from 60 to 100 dollars per hour and many jobs are billed out at standard hourly rates that can range from a half an hour to several hours.

As you can see, there are many expenses that go along with owning a car.  Drivers must have cash for routine maintenance, repairs, gasoline and fluid changes, insurance as well as fees for registering the vehicle with local municipalities.  Those who have never owned a car or are enjoying the teenage rite of passage in getting their first vehicle must take stock of this expense to be best prepared for being an automobile owner.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/owning-a-car-will-cost-your-more-than-the-sticker-says-3934744.html
About the Author

Please visit our website here for more information or visit our blog. Thank you.

Ways to Increase Website Traffic

Author: honylyn

People with website know for sure that they cannot generate income unless there are users who will visit their sites. This is an essential factor that people should know if they are engage in online business. Website traffic is one of the most important things people should watch out for in order to bring revenue right in to their websites.

Increase website traffic means increase in profits. People should do whatever it takes in order to find ways to attract more customers in their websites. Promotion is one of the best ways to make money online, but people need to have more website traffic in order to achieve these things.

People should also now that there are effective ways they can utilize in order to attract more customers into their websites. Free website traffic lets them to maximize all the alternatives in promoting their websites to users, therefore, increasing their chances that they can be able to enhance the volume of the traffic going into their websites.

If people can use this alternative effectively, they can be able to attract more customers in their websites, which can be very helpful for them in promoting the products their websites are offering. In addition, people with websites can also increase the chances that these users can purchase their products, making way for them to boost their sales.

Free web traffic lets everyone to enjoy the wonders the Internet can do for them. It can help people without causing any expenses to them. Also, it is a great way to optimize the things people can get through Internet marketing. Because of this, they can be able to boost the popularity of their websites and at the same time, they can obtain the profits they need in order to compete with other online businesses and to stay active in the world of online marketing.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/networking-articles/ways-to-increase-website-traffic-3927670.html
About the Author

Free Web Traffic can really help people in getting the best out of their attempts to boost their sales. It can offer help to people minus the expenses. Increase Website Traffic | Free Website Traffic

Do I need Fully Comprehensive Car Insurance?

Author: Vincent Rogers

As the title would suggest, fully comprehensive car insurance is the highest level of cover you can get for your vehicle. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that it is the best option for everybody.
With added cover comes extra cost. Your comprehensive car insurance policy will include a lot more than basic third party cover. This might include legal costs, breakdown recovery, windscreen cover and all repairs. Essentially, it is a policy that should cover just about any eventuality a car owner could face - albeit with an excess on top.
However, if you're looking to buy on a budget, then comprehensive cover might prove to be a little out of reach. This is particularly true for anybody who has made a claim recently, has got driving convictions against them or is a relatively new driver. All of these will count against you when an insurer compiles a risk assessment, this will then be converted into added cost when you get a quote.
If you find that you are being priced out of comprehensive car insurance don't panic. There are other options available to you.
For instance, the most basic form of cover is third party insurance. This will usually be significantly cheaper and for good reason too. Third party is so named because it simply covers other vehicles in the event that you are involved in a collision with them. Therefore you are solely responsible for your car and any repairs it may require.
Clearly third party car insurance won't suit everybody though. If you've got an expensive sports car or prized classic, you don't want to be left footing the bill if you have a scrape. When it could end up costing you thousands of pounds in repairs or to replace your vehicle in the event of a complete write off, comprehensive car insurance is really the only option.
The policy amount is increased for a reason. Because you pay more annually, you are covered against far more eventualities. Therefore if you have a tyre blowout on the motorway and end up on the central reservation, you won't be left stranded - literally or financially.
There are lots of uncertainties associated with driving. Whilst we always hope that there will never be any issues, sometimes things that are completely out of our own control create a situation where a claim is required. If you find yourself in this position, the last thing you want is a bill for hundreds of pounds and a car that simply cannot be driven.
If you can't afford fully comprehensive car insurance, then there's no reason to stretch your finances to pay for it. There are cheaper alternatives available, such as the aforementioned third party as well as third party, fire and theft. This will at least mean that you are within the parameters of the law, even if you do have to sacrifice a few areas of coverage.
Equally, if you have a car that has a limited value, paying half of this total value each year on insurance might be seen as excessive. As with new drivers and those on a strict budget, exploring the alternatives to fully comprehensive car insurance might well prove to be far more beneficial. You can only ever receive the market value of your vehicle when any claim is made, therefore it would be prudent to do a few calculations before committing to any form of insurance policy.
So whatever your circumstances, there should be a car insurance policy to suit. This won't always necessarily be fully comprehensive though. Whilst this will give you the best possible coverage level, the associated costs often push it out of the realms of possibility for many drivers. So if cost is going to be a major factor in your decision process, it's probably not going to be the right option for you. However, there are cheaper alternatives so you can still find a decent policy with a competitive quote to keep you driving legally.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/insurance-articles/do-i-need-fully-comprehensive-car-insurance-3912109.html
About the Author

Vincent Rogers is a freelance writer who writes for a number of UK businesses. For eco Fully Comprehensive Car Insurance he recommends ibuyeco.

Stock Market Meltdown - Watching Rome Burn

Author: Steve Selengut

Both presidential candidates want to crucify SEC Chairman Cox for failing to control our creative financial institutions. But rumor has it that Congress specifically excluded the devilish derivatives from SEC purview. Let's fire the right bunch of "poips" for a change!



Scary markets are brought about by many factors, some normal, and some not so normal. It's often helpful to look backwards before getting too paranoid about the present. The S & L crisis of the early 80s might be an appropriate starting point.



Later that decade, a multi-year rally had its head lopped off by high interest rates, high inflation, and a computer loop. Ten years later, another soaring market was toppled by economic factors. The turn of the century witnessed the bloody demise of the no-value-at-all dot-com illusion.



A profit taking strategy during the rally days was all that was necessary to cash in on "The Crash of '87". In 2000, the route to immunity could be summarized as: "no IPOs, no mutual funds, no dot-coms, no problem".



The common historical (hysterical) thread is clear. Rally begets correction; correction spawns rally. This time around, ironically, conservative investors had no trouble avoiding the derivatives that eventually sunk the markets. But, the products were so "out there", and the regulators so out-flanked, that the unwinding has unglued several investment world icons. This correction is different--- but not in the ways you might think:



The scope of media coverage, analysis, and sensationalism; masses of inexperienced, non-professional, speculators; and the popularity of investment products are new phenomena. Millions of nameless non-credentialed Internet investment experts and financial bloggers add to the pandemonium.



Similarly, the proliferation of passive investment mediums (index funds); regulatory tolerance of speculations of all forms, shapes, and sizes; and the relaxation of the trading safeguards that have protected investors for decades encourage a reckless, gambling approach toward what was once investing. We've seen what conscienceless commodity speculators have accomplished in world markets.



We have experienced a major movement away from plain vanilla stocks and bonds, and have popularized the thrill ride of speculative activities. 401(k) fund selections include short-long funds, currency trading strategies, and commodity futures. IRA investors seek out the most exotic forms of speculation, convinced that, with a Blackberry and a lunch break, they can master the complexities of high finance.



Regulators have allowed funds of hedge funds into small investor portfolios; brokerage firms short shares that don't exist multiple times; the once sacred up-tick rule has been abandoned when shorting itself should be a banned substance; and CDOs make it difficult to determine just who owes money to whom.



Enough? There's more, but you get the idea. Today's problems are much more visible than yesterday's. Today's worries involve bigger numbers. Tomorrow's solutions will undoubtedly bring creative MBAs to discover new financial WMDs. The investment gods are angry. We need to bring back that old time rock and roll, and an investment world content with individual stocks and bonds.



In less complicated times, the difference was in the fixing. Speculators suffered, but safer investment styles were less vulnerable. Let's elect a Congress that will regulate the speculations and allow us to get back to the basic, fundamental, adventure of building and protecting our nest eggs. Think back, just a few cycles ago--- familiar?



The Market was breezing along during the summer of '87, enjoying one of the broadest rallies ever experienced on Wall Street. From the very start, equity prices seemed incapable of going down. The mystical DJIA 2000 barrier was shattered early in the year and upward the market soared.



On through 2100 it rumbled, then 2200, and 2300--- even the comic strip, dartboard approach proved successful, and many subscribed to it. The securities markets were simple, with fewer labyrinthine products, and only the dark cloud of rapidly rising interest rates in an otherwise clear sky. 2400 on the DJIA by July and on it went. No end in sight.



The institutions introduced hundreds of new mutual funds, pumped up their marketing efforts, and pushed the rally skyward--- 2500, 2600, 2700, just incredible. None of the salivating mutual fund unit holders saw it coming; Wall Street didn't care. The Dow topped out at 2722 that August--- about the same number of points involved in a swinging September 2008. Only the names and the products have changed---



The parallels to today's markets are interesting. Value stocks and bonds were moving lower while IPOs and other speculations were bubbling higher. As prices weakened, analysts began to mumble. The economy certainly didn't look like a doom and gloom scenario--- just those pesky interest rates. And then it hit the fan.



Technology bombed the market when programmed-trading sell signals ran fast and furious down the cables, resetting themselves lower, and lower, and lower--- but the stock being sold actually existed! Wall Street panicked! Inflation fears, higher interest rates, tension in Europe, foreign oil, war in The Middle East, and so on. All of the usual suspects were touted by the media as the culprits that caused "The Crash of '87".



It just doesn't take a whole lot of Wall Street manipulation (or arrogance) to turn speculative greed into investment fear. The wizards had done it again, sucking the franklins from unsuspecting individual investor portfolios, just as they would two cycles later when their dot-coms sealed the fate of another generation of speculators.



Yes, the similarities are striking--- one meltdown to the next. But this time is slightly different. This time the Masters of the Universe were helped by Congress and the SEC to pick our collective pockets, and a few of them have actually, and appropriately, drowned in their own garbage. I'll shed no tears for the fallen giants, but let's all cry out loudly about the problem--- a problem that both Barack and John were a part of.



It's Congress that gets to chastise and create regulations for the bad guys. This year, and in those that follow, let's fire the DC fat cats that caused the problem, and find some regulators with the guts to label speculations as thoroughly as they do medications.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/investing-articles/stock-market-meltdown-watching-rome-burn-576315.html
About the Author

Steve Selengut
Sanco Services
Kiawa Golf Investment Seminars
Author: "The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street Does Not Want YOU to Read" and "A Millionaire's Secret Investment Strategy".

Fibonacci Killer is it worth it?

Author: fibonacci reviewr

Trading and Signal Generation – Forex, Stocks, Commodities whatever

June 18th, 2010

Why would I use a signal generator? Personally I prefer looking at the charts myself, with my own eyes. The interaction that you get with the chart, the familiarity, there is no substitute for that. I do the analysis, I do the hard work. But it does help to have a little helper by your side, especially in the midst of the battle, which is what speculating (not investing) is about. So if I am missing something, then the Fibonacci Killer system is of help. But I still encourage you to do your own analysis from time to time at the very least.  Be it Forex, Commodities, Stocks, Bonds whatever, I would say that looking at the charts is important. Now some people may say "I prefer Fundamental Analysis, so I will not bother looking at the chart" They may liken themselves to Warren Buffet, well so do I, and I will let you know why I still look at the Charts, the reason is so simple it will make you laugh. I know it made me laugh, laugh at myself, because I used to vehemently argue against looking at charts without know exactly why back after I read the Intelligent Investor (By Benjamin Graham)  when I was a teenager.
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Fibonacci Killer – Stupid Name. Stupid Product?

June 18th, 2010

I know you want to know where Fibonacci Killer is a scam or not and if it really works? I completely understand how you feel because just a few weeks ago, I was looking for a review of Fibonacci Killer myself. But I didn't find anything genuine and that's why I created this website to help people like youmake an informed decision before buying.  All I found was BS by sites that could not even spell correctly, after all if someone cannot even spell "Guarantee" how can you trust their review? I was fed up with the ridiculous reviews clearly put online by people just out to make a quick buck from advertising. Sometimes creators of great products pay the wrong people to advertise their products and come out looking like scam artists or idiots. Is Fibonacci Killer a scam? I don't think so. Is it useful: Well yes and no, I will detail why in my posts. By the way, if you're looking to visit the official website, please click here:  Fibonaccikiller official site What does it do? Quite simply it provides trading signals which you can decide to follow or not. It does NOT trade for you. Personally, I do not trust programs to trade for me. The infrastructure that I (or any normal computer user for that matter) uses just cannot support program trading, trust me. No matter how advanced your algorithms, if your infrastructure fails, then its worth nothing. So if you are looking for a Robot that trades for you, go elsewhere, in fact go to: Pro Forex Bot It leads to Pro Forex Bot which is, from my research, the best retail product out there, but still pretty crap given the infrastucture factors. IF however you are a mega-geek with an amazing computer system, then it may be for you. Anyone who has walked onto the trading floor of any bank (Investment Bank) will be able to tell you that you best leave algo trading (Robots) to the Pro's. I've got to go now, but next time, I will go through What Fibonacci Killer is based on.
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Hello world!

June 17th, 2010
Ok it is the typical Wordpress title "Hello World" but I could not think of anything else, nor can I be bothered to as I am more focused on trading, this is just a hobby. So Fibonacci Killer eh?  Well lets see if they are worth their salt in the following posts. First though: What a stupid stupid name!! I mean seriously, why on Earth would anyone call their product Fibonacci Killer, it just conjures up macabre images of one killing that lovely mathematician. Fibonacii's theory is so beautiful that one immediately falls in love with the guy (fraternal love). One has to wonder, what a beautiful mind he had, that so deciphered the language of God. That found God's handwriting hidden in the beauty of this world via mathematics. Then some guy comes along and trashes his memory by saying Fibonacci Killer. Is he saying he is killing Fibonacci, or that Fibonacci is a Killer or what? I almost did not buy the product on those grounds alone. But then I calmed down and took control of my emotions (as any good trader should know how to do within a few seconds) and considered how it could add to my trading of Forex and Stocks. After all each person must form his own system, aided by his own toolbox, and I needed some tools to add to my framework of understanding. So is it good, well for some people it is, for others however it is totally useless, read ahead and decide for yourself. I have kept my copy, you may choose not to and get a refund, whatever, I could not care less. Here are my thoughts about the product. In the posts to follow

PS Sorry for my angry tone, but when I was searching for a review I went through so much marketing nonsense on Google that I get in an angry mood every time I remember how many snake oil merchants' sites I had to go through all marketing the product and just saying "Buy it, Buy it, Buy it!" without any genuine thoughts, the same fellows would sell you rival merchants stuff or even magical trading socks as long as they make a buck. Oh well here goes
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/wealth-building-articles/fibonacci-killer-is-it-worth-it-2671483.html
About the Author

The author enjoys reading, studying mathematics, working out, trading and exploring the mysteries of life via the markets.

Forex Fortunate 5%

Author: Forex Signs

Forex Fortunate 5%

" Look at market fluctuations as your friend rather than your enemy; profit from folly rather than participate in it."    Warren Buffett

Caveat Emptor

The financial markets industry attracts its share of dishonest and devious people, and the Forex sector has its quota of charlatans. Please be mindful of this when assessing brokers, signal services, and the various others who populate the Forex world.
Some people are easily misled, deceived and cheated, especially traders who are inexperienced, unrealistic, and lacking a suitable temperament. Forex blogs and reviewers report various signal scams, including falsification of performance results, sending different signals to the same client base, and various other tricks. We encourage you to beware, and undertake thorough research before signing with any Forex service providers.
Gambler or Trader?
Probably the most serious impediment to profitable Forex trading is an inappropriate attitude. Forex often appeals to inveterate gamblers who seldom resist the urge to place a bet in the forlorn hope of satisfying their "big win" craving. How do we recognise a penchant for gambling? Overtrading with excessive margin is probable a certain indicator.

One of the most astute traders we know was a chronic gambler and is now a wealthy Financier. He has related several times that what eventually made him a profitable Forex trader were the lessons learned to overcome his problem gambling. Those capable of being honest with themselves will recognise any signs of ludomania. If you have a gambling problem please seek professional help, and avoid Forex trading.

Some claim any financial instrument trading is a form of gambling since it involves taking a risk in hope of reward. What is the difference between gambling and professional trading? Professional traders have a highly developed sense of discernment. They employ prudent risk/reward assessment, usually erring on the side of caution, and identify multiple confirmation signals before entering the market; for them each trade is a probable profit making opportunity.

Odds For and Against
The Forex is arguably the most authentic zero sum game on earth. Why do the odds greatly favour those who divide so such of the Forex game spoils? Because they are playing against traders who are hugely disadvantaged by there own attitudes and behaviour. It is a matter of statistical probability. You have a much improved chance when the odds are in your favour, and that may simply mean not being one of the traders with the odds unquestionably against them.

Adept traders enter the market when they have determined the odds strongly favour them, and not merely marginally so. They put their money at risk only when they have a high probability of making a profit.

Losses are certain to occur. Professional traders minimise them by employing loss mitigating management methods and self-discipline.  Gamblers have insufficient control to do this, and are thus eating their own odds, actually betting to lose.

Telling Statistics

It is said 5% of Forex Traders take 95% of the profits. Another noteworthy statistic is the claim that approximately 90% of Self Directed Forex traders lose their opening account balance within 90 days. We hear remarks that such losses are a trader’s tuition fees. Doubtless it may help to teach some valuable lessons, unfortunately most repeat the errors, and their habitual losses predictably become the spoils divided by the fortunate 5%.

These numbers may be somewhat distorted and exaggerated, yet they convey telling facts. An extremely low percentage of Forex traders share an extremely high percentage of the profits, and the preponderance of new Forex trading accounts are soon lost.

The vast majority of Forex traders attempting are totally unqualified to accomplish their profit goals. Perhaps they have thoroughly researched the subject, done several courses, opened trial and active accounts, however, in most instances they remain ill equipped to meet the Forex challenge. They usually lack the capital necessary for a reasonable chance of success, are easily lured by brokers offering extremely high leverage, habitually trade with perilously high margin, and lack the requisite self-control. Accordingly, the odds are comprehensively against them.

The attitude of habitual Forex losers often has a common denominator. They take losses personally, believing the Forex should be subject to their trading decisions; they actually blame losses on the market. Professional traders see the market as their friend, the source of their livelihood.

The Fortunate 5%

The definitive Forex challenge is becoming one of the few taking most of the profits. We know and accept that losses and drawdowns are inevitable, even for the five percenters. The difference between them and those whose money they share is making considerably more profits than losses, and they achieve this by applying a superior Trader Intelligence.

The 5% are dedicated to taking profits.  An "if only" attitude does not prevail. There are no regrets or recriminations when a closed trade reverts in the direction they had traded. They understand that the market will constantly offer profit opportunity; it is not about one particular trade. These traders have an unshakeable conviction that their highly developed Trader IQs will consistently reveal profitable market entries and exits.

Trader IQ
Most Forex traders have above average intelligence; nonetheless, the statistical evidence suggests an alarmingly high percentage have below average Trader IQs. Joining the Fortunate 5% requires a high Trader IQ.

To begin, make a earnest effort to analyse your trading. Traders give myriad reasons why their losses are not their fault. The capacity to generate plausible excuses and believable justification is not indicative of a high Trader IQ. Intelligent practitioners of the Forex trading art accept responsibility, exercise discipline, learn and practice patience and detachment.

Intelligent Forex traders are willing and able to risk a reasonable capital sum, establish achievable profit goals, eliminate impulsive trades, and avoid excessive risk.

Unless you are able to make a genuine commitment to achieving these goals you are wasting your time and money. Irrespective of the professional Signal Service you use, or the trades you select, without a sufficiently high Trading IQ you are on a fools errand.

Glimpses of the Forex World

The Internet is replete with data for those seeking information on the technical and fundamental factors that impact the Forex, education and training, broker choices, and signal services. An good resource list for Forex service providers is available at http://www.forexontop.com.

Magnitude
On 17th of September 2008 CLS Bank settled 1,554,166 Forex payment instructions with a gross value of US$ 8.6 trillion. Huge numbers, though of course leveraged to varying degrees. Many quote $2 trillion as the nominal daily Forex volume, though it now seems to have surpassed $4 trillion.

Brokers
Impulsive, self-destructive traders fuel the profits of online Forex brokers. Those of us who have witnessed the introduction and proliferation of retail Forex trading have seen numerous churn and burn shops come and go, and some remain and continue to grow. Those interested in pertinent facts may want to review the Refco story - http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0732847120080807Most

Forex brokers receive good and bad reviews. A broker may score high ratings on some sites, and far lower on another. There are sites where no broker rates over 50%, supposed review web sites that are owned by brokers, and the inevitable fake reviews generated by self-interested parties. Sound confusing, that is exactly what the retail brokerage market has become, and the Caveat Emptor warning must be heeded.

Conflicting reviews and scams apart, the real issue is how to make a relatively informed choice when choosing a Forex broker. A good place to start is your Internet search engine. Incidentally, there are sites purporting to answer this question that describe the exact features of particular firms, and conveniently provide links to them.

The fact is, we cannot know how a broker will deal with us until we have opened an active account. Many make the error of thinking brokers with the highest Internet profile will provide the best service and attention. Substantial advertising budgets are not necessarily indicative of a brokers ethics or efficiency. Even big brand associations can lead the unwary astray.

Market Maker brokers may trade against your position. Stop hunting price spikes, persistent data glitches, unfilled orders/slippage, and suddenly widening spreads during high liquidity sessions, are a few of the practices used by such predators. Brokers who claim to have no intervening trading desks may also engage in sharp practices in the dedicated pursuit of your money.

First and foremost make a concerted effort to verify the broker is legitimately connected to the Forex, and is reputable. Treat reviews with a degree of circumspection: some use reviews to denigrate each other. You can usually spot a real review.

As a general rule we prefer ECN brokers, though we stress there are ethical alternatives.

Trading Platforms
Most Forex platforms will successfully process your order with a varying degrees of sophistication. At any given time a few become popular and tend to be dominant. Where possible familiarise yourself with the broker’s trading platform, with the explicit understanding that trial trading is not a facsimile of the real thing. It is merely an opportunity to understand the particular Order Management System’s processes and protocols.

The goal of trial account platform practice is becoming comfortable and confident when executing your orders, before risking your funds with live platform trades. Trades are often incorrectly entered because of careless keystrokes, and lack of attention to basic trade execution procedures. Always check your trade before you place it - instrument, amount, and order.

Charts
The chart is an essential trading aid. It displays the market’s past, present, and possibly hints at its future.

Technical Tools
Studies that once cost large sums are now freely available on the charts provided by most brokers. Each of these trading tools may be useful, however, in most instances covering a chart with a maze of overlays and studies serves no useful purpose. Again, it is a matter of research and personal preference.

Quotes
When you execute a Forex trade you are effectively buying the base currency, the first one in the cross, and selling the quoted currency, the second in the cross. The currency pair or cross is the instrument you are trading. When you buy the instrument you pay the ask price: when you sell you pay the bid price.

You do not have to delve too deeply to read stories of chart quotes and executed prices differing, especially in volatile markets. Stories are far from rare of the same trade being stopped out or not filled by one broker, yet not closed or filled by another. The issue of slippage is a matter between you and your broker.

A stock exchange quote emanates from a specific central source; the Forex is not a centralised market. A Forex dealer’s charts reflect a variety of price sources, and sometimes motivations. Accordingly, prices may vary, sometime quite significantly, because your broker’s third party charts display indicative price, not necessarily the broker's executable price.

So-called live streaming Forex prices, provided by firms like Reuters, play a critical role in the Forex price discovery process. In a way these streaming prices are an aggregated indication of current Forex quotes. At source prices are often manually entered and thus subject to human error, and at several points of distribution they may be manipulated.

Indicative prices signify or imply current Forex quotes and past fluctuations. Virtually all reputable charts will reflect the same trends and be quite closely aligned, nonetheless, they indicate a past bid/ask price, not necessarily a broker’s execution price, though they can be identical, or nearly so.

The more sources used the greater the accuracy of the price - EUR:USD and USD:JPY crosses are widely traded and reported, and tend to be closely aligned across charts. Similarly, quotes tend to be more accurate during the relevant sessions, e.g. the EUR, GBP and CHF during the London session, the JPY, AUD and NZD during the Asia/Pacific session.

The Spread
An obvious conclusion is that the lower the spread the lower the cost to trade. There are brokers who offer raw spreads and charge a fee, so it is not necessarily that simple.

Some brokers offer fluctuating spreads, others fixed. Both appeal to traders for different reasons. The former because it may be a more transparent picture of current market liquidity and volatility, the latter because traders know what the spread will be, supposedly irrespective of liquidity and volatility.

Money Management

A sensible money management plan is essential for disciplined trading. Effective money management is the basis of Forex survival and profitability. Traders who do not take this requirement seriously probably have low Trader IQs and are merely gambling.

Objectively review the discretionary components of your Money Management plan.
• How much capital can you risk, and by risk we mean afford to lose?
• What margin percentage of your usable account balance do you risk on each trade?
• What leverage ratio do you apply to the margin?
• How much profit do you expect to make?
• Calculate your profit goal, as an annualised return on your account balance - is it realistic?

Only about 2% of Forex traders achieve an annual return exceeding 100%, an extraordinary result by any rational expectations.

Capital
The funds you use to trade Forex are at considerable risk. The extent of your risk depends on your choices; i.e., the broker you choose and the trades you make. Only risk money you can afford to lose when trading Forex.

That said, not having sufficient capital is a significant reason for such high self directed trader attrition rates. An under capitalised account dramatically reduces the probability of success, making it extremely difficult to implement prudent money management.

This is an approximate guide for the recommended capital to open various Forex accounts.
• Standard Account              $50,000 to $100,000+
• Mini Account                       $5,000 to $20,000+
• Micro Account                     $1,000 to $5,000

Be patient. Rather than rushing to open an undercapitalised account wait and accumulate the maximum possible capital you can risk.

Equity
Adding the used margin to the available, or useable, margin determines account equity. When there are no open positions the Account Balance, Equity and Available Margin are the same.

Margin
Initial Margin is the amount put at risk to collateralise a trade and is expressed as a percentage of the trade’s total value. The initial, or used, margin is the security deducted from an account, and is often leveraged. Brokers usually aggregate initial margins to fund their own trading.

What remains is the available, or usable, margin. This fluctuates with a trade’s value. When the remaining margin falls below the broker’s acceptable margin requirements open positions are liquidated by a margin call.

Please carefully read broker’s margin policies, and ensure you fully understand the different margin terms, especially the margin call policies. Where a broker has a margin policy of 1% a leverage ratio of 100-1 is available, 2% equates to leverage of 50-1, 2.5% to 25-1, 5% to 20-1, and so on.

We recommend Self Directed Trader margin of 1% to 5%, subject to the leverage chosen, positions open, and market conditions.

Leverage
One compelling reason for the rapid expansion of online Forex trading is the high leverage offered by many brokers. The National Futures Association defines Leverage as: "The ability to control large dollar amounts of a commodity with a comparatively small amount of capital."

Leverage is expressed as a ratio, e.g. 10-1, and is unquestionably an appealing notion. We open a $1,000 account with a Forex broker offering 100-1 leverage, and willing to instantly lend us $99,000. What a deal. Voila! We now have a $100,000 trading bank, and can make 100% return on our capital with only a $1,000 profit. Sounds easy enough. Consider this, we will lose 100% of our capital with a $1,000 loss, and that may only take a handful of pips if we are silly enough to trade with preposterous margins and leverage.

Trading in this manner dramatically increase the risk of loss, and is basically suicidal. Those using such strategies are known in some brokerage circles as wood ducks – easy prey.

Leverage is a useful tool for those who know how and when to use it. That means judiciously, after you begin to consistently take trading profits. Think of leverage as a scalpel, not a chain saw.

Most professional Forex traders use leverage between 2-1 and 5-1. Self Directed Traders may claim this is unrealistic for those with small accounts, and some may want to use leverage up to 20-1 in conjunction with a sensibly low margin. This is not totally unreasonable, however, we must also realise the smaller the capital the greater the need to protect it.

When you have become a profitable, confident trader you may chose to review your Money Management Plan.

Happy Trading
Forex Signs
©2009 http://www.forexsigns.net/
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Loan Modification California : Best Modification Programs

Author: Bob Mason

Do you live in California? Are you looking for mortgage loan modification information in California?
Mortgage modification can be a helpful technique. However the personal loan modification requirements to make sense for both the lender and also the home owner. Are you seeking for Loan Modification - California?
Lenders' Often Lack the Incentive to Grant Personal loan Modification - California
Lenders usually lack the incentive to grant lengthy term loan modifications to homeowners who:
*Have no hardship -- Personal loan modification is granted to solve a issue. If there's not a issue the loan modification will solve, then why go via the mortgage modification method!
*Have unresolved or irresolvable hardships -- If the hardship is not resolved or resolvable in the extremely close future, then it will possibly look like the house owner can't pay for the house, and a mortgage modification won't be granted.
*Can't pay for the residence -- If the homeowner aren't able to afford the home, loan modifications are unlikely to solve the homeowners' difficulty. However, despite the lack of affordability issue, lenders are possible to grant a "temporary" personal loan modification in this case while other options are pursued.
*Don't need outside help -- If the home owner is feasible to make the monthly payments without the lender's financial assistance with a loan modification, then why ought to the lender incur any losses if they do not need to?
Mortgage modifications are more possible to be granted exactly where a hardship existed that's now resolved. By approving personal loan modifications, lenders believe they're helping property owner get back on their feet financially so they can resume regular normal monthly payments. Lenders are in company to make a profit and they comprehend the need to give a little bit when it assists them within the long-term.
Be Cautious With Your Loan business on Mortgage Modifications - California
A word of caution -- it has been proven that lenders will supply a temporary mortgage modification even when they know the house owners aren't able to afford the home. The intent is to get the payments, and they don't generally care what the sources of funds are, or if it produces other hardships for the property owners. Loan providers wish to maximize their revenues, but in the end, are not involved if this depletes the homeowners' savings and creates other budgetary imbalances for the homeowners.
For assist in obtaining a loan modification in California, you need to go to the following website. They can help you get your loan modification approved quick, with no upfront fees.
A good loan modification will lower your monthly payments to 31% of your monthly income or less, allowing you to make your payments easily each month. This is well worth the small cost of having someone who knows what they are doing represent you in your loan modification negotiations.
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Read reviews of the best loan modification california. These companies can help you get approved with no upfront fees. Click this link for more info: California loan modification

Financial Spread Betting Along With The Commodities Market

Author: Sharon Dawkins

Commodities trading has been another popular avenue that traders have been pursuing. This relates to trading in base metals, foods, precious metals and so on. The trading is performed in a similar manner to stocks and foreign exchange and the basis for trading is the demand supply fluctuations in specific commodities.

Just how does financial spread betting come into have fun with commodities?

The answer is simple. The high prices of certain gold and silver for instance like gold, platinum will make it hard for that common trader to purchase and stock them for trading. When they are finding stock prices expensive, one can imagine how difficult it might be to trade commodities in the physical market. Moreover, these aren't items that lend perfectly to physical trading if you don't are in the company of commodities and also have your own wholesale or retail set up. That can be one reason behind you to hedge positions by playing futures or spread betting on them.

For many traders however, commodity trading represents a chance to make quick money depending on fluctuations within the international market and it is the same advantage of leveraged trading that they can enjoy when doing financial spread betting on them. In fact the whole of this year has seen tremendous upsurge in gold, silver and platinum prices and all sorts of those who have gone long on these precious metals have made lots of money.

The volatility inside a metal like gold is also not so full of the sense that prices might not have a huge dip. This encourages traders to maintain wide stop losses to ensure that even if the price does drop, they aren't stopped out and may trade the upswing again when they do their margined trading about this metal. Oil was another commodity that was heavily traded within the futures plus the financial spread betting market towards late 2008 and that pushed up the oil prices significantly.

It has to be however mentioned that prices of commodities do follow events in the international space and it would help if you can follow those closely. In addition, local regulations also play operator with some governments increasing or decreasing duties on either import or export on certain commodities they perceive have been in short supply or perhaps in excess. This would come with an immediate impact on the market price and that's something traders need to be cognizant of.

Obtain the latest material and news on Financial Spread Betting and other thorough information today. Learn crucial facts on topics such as Financial Spread Betting FAQs.
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.

Health Insurance for the Self Employed, Texas – Understanding the Options

Author: Charles Peeler

A self-employed individual may find it difficult to choose the right health insurance policy to fit their needs. Many people at work themselves assume that the best rate they can get for health insurance will be through the employer of their spouse or domestic partner. While this may sometimes be the case there are definite drawbacks associated with purchasing health insurance in this way. Many self-employed individuals make the mistake of purchasing the incorrect type of health insurance under a contract. This is a common mistake which can have costly side effects. The most important thing that any person can do is thoroughly research the costs and coverage provided by any insurance policy.
In many instances, a self-employed individual that purchasing insurance through their spouse or domestic partners employer will find that the health insurance premium being charged to them is more than it otherwise should be. Many employers offer free or reduced rates for health insurance for their employees, but this does not translate into increased savings for the employees and dependents or spouse. Some employee offer insurance programs are available regardless of pre-existing conditions and others have strict eligibility requirements. All of this should be taken into account before purchasing health insurance from a spouse's employer
Another alternative is to purchase health insurance by forming a small group. Just about every insurance company offers discounts for groups and even very small companies can take advantage of this. A self-employed individual with just two employees can qualify for group insurance in every state including Texas. Group insurance has the added benefit of allowing an individual to qualify for insurance coverage regardless of pre-existing medical condition. Of course, this type of leniency regarding pre-existing conditions means that the insurance company will charge a higher premium to everyone in the group.
Health insurance for self employed individuals in Texas is a necessity. The entire United States economy rests on the shoulders of small business men and women. Purchasing a comprehensive health insurance policy does not have to destroy a family's budget and should not require an individual to jump through unnecessary hoops. The most important thing that any person can do before purchasing an insurance policy is to research the coverage as well as getting quotes from several providers so that the person can compare prices and choose the policy that best fits their budget and their healthcare needs.
Providing health insurance for the self employed in Texas makes up a large percentage of our client base so feel free confident in allowing us to answer any questions you may have, we have been experts in this market since 1993. You can also get online and run quotes from several different companies, determine what fits into the family budget and contact us to discuss you options, either way the ultimate goal is to not only save money but also provide your family with quality coverage you can count on in the even of a medical emergency.
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Charles Peeler has been providing Health Insurance for the Self Employed in Texas since 1993. For more information or to acquire an instant Texas Health Insurance visit his website today!

Home Insurance

Author: Jared D. Ingram

Everybody dreams of owning their own house someday. And once you achieve your dream you cherish it and take good care of it. You just can't help but feel proud of being able to live in a house of your dreams.  But the dream does not end in there; you need to secure it by protecting it from any untoward incident, unexpected calamities, and disasters. One way of protecting your house is by having a good home insurance plan for it. A good home insurance plan does not cover only the structure of the house but it goes beyond that. It also covers the personal loss, medical expenses incurred, animal loss, and mental stress among others. In cases of fire, your home insurance plan covers burned down houses and all its personal properties and belongings. Even in situations where your house is hit by a falling aircraft your home is still covered by the home insurance plan.
Home insurance is expensive compared to other kinds of insurance. Since the value of home properties are higher and it also involves higher risk. You need to insure your home at its replacement cost, how much it would cost you to rebuild your home if it were destroyed. Being able to choose the right home insurance for your home is very important. Remember insurance may cost a lot but having no insurance cost more.       So how do you choose the right insurance company without deplete your finances. First thing to do is to know the value of your property. Have a local contractor give you estimates for rebuilding your property so that you will know the replacement cost of your house. Search for not only one insurance company but at least six. So that you will be able to compare their quotes and choose who among them offers the best deal for you.
Know the company's background and reputation especially in situation regarding claims. They may be slow in giving claims. Check too the financial capabilities of the insurance company. Are they stable enough to be able to pay claims  at a short notice, You don't want to insure your home to a company who might   not be stable enough to last for a very long time .
Know what you are getting in to. Take note of every detail that is in the insurance contract. You owe it to yourself to scrutinize every detail of what is covered and what is not. The exclusions section must also be read carefully. Information is the best protection you can give to your self. Always keep records, and photos concerning the house and events that transpired that may have affected in one way or another home. In cases of robbery get police report if needed.
Insuring your home will give you peace of mind. As long as you have chosen the right home insurance plan you cannot go wrong. Have your house safeguarded and protected by insuring it. You can never go wrong in protecting your most valuable asset, your house.

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Health Insurance

Author: Jared D. Ingram

Nothing is more precious to us than having good health. Everyday people are getting more aware of the importance of having good health in order to be able to l8ive life to the fullest. But as the saying goes nothing is certain in this world, we will always have uncertainties and surprises good or bad in our life. We do get sick once in a while flu or even some major illness, or get ourselves involve in accidents. What ever the case may be these events when they happen to us could deplete our savings or even push us to bankruptcy. With the rising cost of hospital fees, laboratories and doctors' fees it is now expensive and complicated. This is where health insurance could benefit us all. Yes, health insurance may cost a lot but having no health insurance at all cost more. Medical bills incurred from an accident could burn a hole in your savings. And in cases of cancer treatments, with all the doctors' check ups, laboratory tests, and chemotherapy that one has to go through it could ruin you financially.
Health insurance could help you pay for the cost of a regular medical check ups, surgeries, contact lenses and glasses and even emergency treatments. There are two basic kinds of health insurance plan, the indemnity plan and the managed care plan. Indemnity plan is also called the fee for service plan. It has wider freedom and flexibility in the choices of the insured. He gets to pick the doctor, hospital and laboratory and other medical service provider of his choice. As long as the medical service is included in the health contract. But, the catch is the plan doesn't pay for the entire charges, instead the insured shoulders the 20 % of the payment. This kind of plan covers only illnesses and accidents but preventive care like flu shots and birth control are not included. And coverage of the cost of prescription drugs and psychotherapy will depend on the policy and the company.
Managed Care Health insurance differs from the indemnity plan in a lot of ways. First, choice of doctors, hospitals, laboratories and other medical service provider is
limited to only those who have contracts with the HMO –Health Maintenance Organization--.Medical services is received only if authorized by the plan. If you insist on engaging on non authorized medical service provider then the cost of service or care provided will not be paid by the company. Preventive care and mental health treatment are covered by the plan.
Due to the rising demands for better and wider health insurance coverage, the health insurance is offering hybrid plans. Wherein, they combine the benefits of HMOs and indemnity coverage. The method is you can use the network of medical service providers that have contracts with the HMO but you are allow to choose someone outside of the network and pay for  a higher percentage in the  fee.. Managed Care plan also allows open access theory, where one can see a network medical specialist without any referrals from HMO.
You need to decide carefully in choosing the right health insurance plan for you and your family needs.  You need to have a careful evaluation on what your family needs and extensive research for the right health insurance company that will provide for those needs. Keep in mind that the lowest premiums don't really mean it's the cheapest plan.  Remember the cheapest plan is the policy that will give you the best benefits that your family really needs in case of emergencies and illnesses.
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Dental Insurance

Author: Jared D. Ingram

Dental check ups, teeth cleaning, root canals, tooth extractions and teeth fillings are some of the dental care and treatments that one needs to go through at one point in our life. It could be monthly, quarterly or even annually depending on the kind of care and treatment needed. The dental care and treatment mentioned are very expensive now days but one cannot disregard the fact that we need this to take good care of out dental requirements and problems. A solution to this dilemma is to have a dental insurance that will cover the cost of your dental needs but it has to be reasonably priced and at the same time it has the benefits that you really need. Finding the perfect dental insurance for your needs and requirements is not easy thing to do. Decision will have to be based on careful evaluation of your needs and wide-range of research dental insurance plan.
The first step is to study and find out what might be your dental requirements. Are you the type of person who have big dental problems and will probably need to consult a dentist often than normal, or are you the kind who just needs check ups and maintenance from time to time. If you are on the first group then what you need is a comprehensive dental plan since, this kind of plan covers the entire cost of major dental treatments. Although, you have to bear in mind that a comprehensive dental plan would also command a higher premium rate. But on the other hand, if you do not really need more than the normal dental care you could opt for just a maintenance dental plan. It has much lower premium rates than the comprehensive dental plan. Always compare one dental insurance company from another in order to find the cheapest rate with the right dental care policy without having to sacrifice the services and benefits you would get in return.
There are different kinds of dental insurance plan being offered, the indemnity plan, self-insurance plan, closed panel plan, capitation plan, preferred provider organization, direct reimbursement plan, dental care service plan. Indemnity dental insurance plan is a fee for service plan and you are allowed to choose your own dentist. It has co-payment options and an annual limit on the coverage of dental spending and dental procedures Self-insurance plan has similarities to indemnity plan but the distinct difference is. You cannot choose your own dentist. Closed panel plan has limited used of facilities and the number of dentist available to you. Preferred Provider Organization is also limited to a group of dentists who are available to provide dental care at a lower cost.
Direct Reimbursement Plan allows the employer to directly reimburse their employees for dental care and services they received. Lastly, Dental Care Service Plan uses a group of dentist who forms a non-profit organization to provide dental care and services at fixed fees.
There are many options available to you that are suited to your needs and requirements. All you need to do is find the right one by asking people who are knowledgeable in this field, or searching in the internet. You can even ask the advice of you dentist. He might be able to give you some  sound advice regarding dental insurance plan.
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Learning And Communicative Strategies

Author: Rashid Al Maamari

Learning and communicative strategies
Introduction
Communicative strategies are systematic techniques employed by a speaker to express his meaning when faced with some difficulty and the difficulty here refers to the speaker's inadequate command of the language used in the interaction (Faerch & Kasper, 1983:16). On the other hand, the term learning strategies has been defined as "the higher-order skills which control and regulate the more task-specific or more practical skills" (Nisbet & Shucksmith,1986:26). Based on the previously mentioned definitions, it could be said that learning and communicative strategies refer to language learning behaviors that contribute directly or indirectly to learning. I am not very concerned here with the definition of the two terms as much as I am concerned with the fact that most if not all non-native speakers and second-language learners use these strategies throughout their second/foreign language learning journey. They tend to use them to compensate for their lack of sufficient language knowledge and to get themselves out of troubles when interacting in the target second/foreign language. These are only some of the short term benefits of using learning and communicative strategies. In fact, the successful use of these strategies can promote longer term language development.
In the first part of this paper, I will provide examples on some of the commonly used strategies and at the same time, I will focus on the ways in which these strategies promote the language learning process and the development of the learner's speaking skill. I will also highlight the short and long tem benefits of using both learning and communicative strategies in learning and developing speaking skill. In the second part of the paper, I will show how the knowledge of learning and communicative strategies has influenced me to change my old style of teaching the speaking, and how it has encouraged me to adopt a set of new methods of teaching that make utmost use of these strategies. Finally, I will give examples on some of the speaking activities that are based, in some ways, on these strategies, and are designed to promote and develop the learner's speaking skill.
Part One:
Teaching writing skill has been given the priority over teaching speaking skill in almost all educational syllabus and plans and the case in my country, Oman, is no exception. Writing skill has been considered the most important especially in the area of second/foreign language teaching. On the other hand, speaking skill has neither been given sufficient focus in our teaching syllabi nor has it been represented fairly in our classrooms as opposed to the other skills. In my context, most people in general and educationalists in particular, seem to have taken this skill for granted; maybe because they think it is an easy one and that almost everyone can speak. Speaking is, however, a skill which deserves much more attention in both first and second language. I have chosen to write about this skill because I know very well how important it is as a means of communication especially, for second/foreign language learners. Throughout my teaching of English as a foreign language, I noticed that speaking was the area of weakness for the majority of my students. On the part of teachers, not so much time was devoted to teach this skill, and on the part of the curriculum designers, not so much effort was exerted to promote the development of this skill. Consequently, speaking was regarded by the students as an obstacle in the way of learning English rather than as an important skill. In the following sections, I will attempt to show how this problem can be addressed by the use of some strategies.
1/ Examples on some learning and communicative strategies used by ESL and EFL students
So many studies and research have been conducted in both areas learning strategies and communicative strategies, and many researchers and linguists have been involved. Consequently, different definitions and classifications of strategies have been stated. However here, I will focus on the classification of communicative strategies suggested by Faerch and Kasper (1983), and on the classification of learning strategies suggested by Wenden and Rubin (1987). I will also show how each set of strategies are used by ESL and EFL learners. I have chosen the previous classifications because they confirm with the knowledge of strategies I acquired throughout my teaching experience.
Faerch and Kasper suggest that communicative strategies are classified into two categories each of which is classified or comprised of other subcategories. The first category is avoidance behavior and this consists of formal reduction and functional reduction strategies. Formal reduction strategies could be phonological, morphological, syntactic and lexical strategies. Learners tend to use formal reduction strategies either to avoid making errors and/or they want to increase their fluency (Faerch& Kasper 1983: 40). On the other hand, functional reduction strategies include reduction of speech act and reduction of propositional context and these two are used by learners to reduce their communicative goals in order to avoid problems in interactions (ibid: 43). Achievement strategies are also called compensatory strategies and they consist of code switching, inter/intralingual, cooperative and non-linguistic strategies. These strategies are used by learners to expand their communicative resources in interactions (ibid:45). The following figure has been designed based on what was mentioned above:

Wenden and Rubin classified learning strategies into cognitive strategies and metacognitive strategies. Cognitive strategies are used by learners when they deal with steps, operations, or problem-solving that require direct analysis, transformation, or synthesis of learning materials (Wenden & Rubin,1987:23) and these strategies include clarification/verification, guessing/inductive inferencing, deductive reasoning, practice, memorizing and monitoring. On the other hand, metacognitive strategies are used when the learner deals with knowledge about cognitive process and regulation of cognition. These strategies consist of choosing, prioritizing, self-management, advance preparation, advance organization, directed attention, selected attention and delayed production. The following figure has been designed based on the information mentioned above:

2/ The short term benefits of training learners on the use of learning and communicative Strategies
Research and theory in second language learning strongly suggest that good language learners use a variety of strategies to assist them in gaining command over new language skills. In her study of five Chicano students who were learning English, Wong-Fillmore as quoted in Wenden & Rubin, (1987:27), identified some learning strategies used by successful language learners. Wong-Fillmore found that by using a few well chosen strategies, learners could continue to participate in speaking activities (ibid: 21). Moreover, O'Malley (1983), reports on an experiment in which students received training on the use of learning strategies with three language tasks; vocabulary, listening skill and speaking. His major conclusion was that strategy training was effective for listening and speaking, but not for vocabulary.
One of the major short term benefits of the use of learning strategies is the fact that they help learners to compensate for their lack of adequate language knowledge. Bygate (1987), states that the use of these strategies can bridge the gab between knowledge of the rules and the students' ability to express their own meaning. In other words, these strategies help learners to practice using acceptable language with reasonable fluency and reasonable ability to convey meanings and express opinions. On that basis, it could be inferred that training learners on using these strategies would help them a lot in their language learning. Language learners will not be hesitant or afraid of being involved in an interaction where they do not have sufficient language knowledge for it. Bygate adds that being trained to use learning strategies helps the learner to succeed in autonomous interaction. According to this, using such strategies in learning represents a transitional process where control of learning is moved from teacher to learners, leaving the learner with responsibility for his own thinking and learning. In addition, Wenden& Rubin (1987), mention that learning strategies help learners to better utilize the experience they bring to their language class. As a result, learners grow appreciation of their power ability and become critically reflective of the conceptual context of their learning.
The efficiency of communicative strategies training in learning languages has been proved in so many occasions. For instance, Spilka (as cited in Faerch & Kasper 1983:10), points that some trained French learners tend to use specific phrases in order to avoid liaison in French; to avoid French partitive en, the learners may produce the specified form J'ai trios pommes, rather than J'en ai trios. So, the French learners are making use of the avoidance strategy which is one of the communicative strategies. In another occasion, Kasper (1983:43), gave some examples of how trained German learners of English reduce their IL performance with respect to politeness making. Moreover, Faerch (1983:43), gave other examples of speech act reduction, in which learners in conversation with native speakers often do not use initiating acts (reduction strategy). Based on all that has been mentioned, we could say that strategies be they learning or communicative ones, are important for language learning for they are tools for active, self-directed involvement, which is essential for developing communicative competence. I shall now move to discuss the long term benefits of the use of learning strategies.
3/ The long term benefits of training language learners on the use of learning and communicative strategies
As we have seen previously, there are so many short benefits for training learners on using learning and communicative strategies. Likewise, there are other long term benefits for strategy training as well. Faerch and Kasper (1986:189), report the findings of a study where an attempt was made to train learners to use interaction strategies (some of the communicative strategies). They were Danish learners of English and the training for strategy use lasted for three months. The findings were that:
a) Middle proficiency level learners made considerable progress in using interaction strategies.
b) Low and high proficiency learners made less progress.
g) The general attitude in the class towards errors and towards risk-taking had changed. More learners accepted the need to make an attempt even if they did not get the right answer.
Based on the findings of this study, we could say that training learners to use communicative strategies raises their confidence and encourages them to participate in different communicative interactions even when they don't have enough language for it (e.g. when they don't have the answer for a question). In another study, Knowles (1975), finds that training learners to use these strategies helps them to develop the attitude that language is a lifelong process and to acquire the skills of self-directed learning. Most importantly, he points out that communicative strategies help learners to be equipped with the skills necessary to continue learning on their own when they leave formal education experience.
Many other studies have been carried out by different researchers and the long term benefits of communicative and learning strategies training have been proved. For instance, O'Malley and Chamot (1990) looked at learning strategies used both by ESL and EFL students and they found that training students to use these strategies helped them become more aware of the whole process of learning a second language. Based on the findings of one of their studies, Wenden & Rubin (1987), state that training learners to use learning strategies helps learners to better utilize the experience they bring to their language class and help them as well, to become critically reflective of the conceptual context of their learning.
Part Two:
1/ The influence of learning strategies on my teaching style of speaking
I have previously mentioned that speaking is an undervalued skill in Oman. All focus and emphasis are placed on the other skills as if the speaking skill does not exist or as if acquiring it has been taken for granted. Out of my own experience as an English teacher, I have noticed that the Omani students' biggest difficulty when learning English falls in the area of speaking. As teachers, we have not been working so much on this skill due to the fact that there are no formal speaking tests in the whole low-intermediate, intermediate and high-intermediate levels of teaching English in most of the academic institutions in Oman in general and in the Language Centre at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in particular. We were basically preparing our students to be able to pass the final test which normally contained listening, reading and writing only. Personally, I used to rely on specific activities in my speaking classes and these activities were not always suitable for my students' levels of English. However, since it was "the speaking skill", I did not bother to search for more activities or even try to design a simple syllabus for teaching it.
Having read about learning and communicative strategies and having known about their crucial role in promoting and developing the learning process in general and the verbal interaction skills in particular, I have decided to adopt a new teaching approach that makes full use of these strategies. I have realized that the new teaching capacities should include identifying students' learning and communicative strategies, conducting training on these strategies, and helping learners become more independent. That is because when students take more responsibility in the speaking activities, more learning occurs, and both teachers and learners feel more successful and satisfied. Teachers including me, (especially when teaching speaking) should attempt to discover what strategies their students are already using by interviewing them or questioning them about the strategies employed for specific language learning tasks (Wenden & Rubing, 1987). And then, they could direct them to utilise learning and communicative strategies for a variety of speaking activities. Metacognitive strategies such as self-management and self-monitoring can be practised in communicative situations in which the learner wishes to gain the maximum amount of comprehensible speech from others (ibid). Moreover, teachers can provide students with practice in useful strategies for the negotiation of conversational encounter outside of class. They can also suggest alternative strategies for organising and storing information and they can encourage students to consider which strategies work best for them. O'Malley and Chamot (as quoted in Macdonough,1995:122) summarise what has been previously mentioned by stating that the Cognitive Academic Learning Language Approach consists of five phases:
1/ Preparation: develop student awareness of different strategies.
2/ Presentation: develop student knowledge about strategies.
3/ Practice: develop student skills in using strategies for academic learning.
4/ Evaluation: develop student ability to evaluate their own strategy use.
5/ Expansion: develop transfer of strategies to new tasks.
According to these phases, teachers should go through several steps while teaching speaking tasks in order to make sure that students would get benefits from them and would develop their speaking skill. We should base our explanation of the tasks as well as our instructions on the students' communicative and learning strategies, and we should try focus our activities on developing these strategies. Furthermore, we could provide students with various activities that would enable them to use their strategies in new speaking tasks and to evaluate their use of these strategies.
Macaro (2001:176) gave another way of training students on using and developing their strategies. The following figure shows the sequence of steps that are to be followed by teachers in order to best utilise their students' learning and communicative strategies while teaching English skills in general and speaking in particular.

Another important aspect every teacher should take into account is materials and syllabus design. In Oman, both syllabus and curriculum design are prescribed by the Ministry of Education (for schools), or the Ministry of Higher Education for some colleges and universities. Teachers have an almost passive role in that process. On the other hand, researchers and educational inspectors play the major role and impose their ideas and opinions which are not always in favor of the learning process, learning situations and students. Teachers are not allowed to innovate or create additional materials and they are severely penalized if they deviate from the prescribed curriculum. It is really a hard task for the teacher to change or at least modify this traditional curriculum but is not impossible. Teachers should attempt to change such curriculum gradually and they should have their role in the curriculum design task. They should be creative, eclectic and adaptive in terms of producing educational materials. Educational authorities on the other hand, should take into consideration that aspects of learning and communicative strategies are to be incorporated in each and every syllabus or curriculum. Finally, it really makes a great difference in teaching and learning if teachers bear in mind the fundamental knowledge of learning and communicative strategies while teaching.
2/New teaching approach and examples on some speaking activities
In Oman, most if not all the teaching approaches adopted by teachers seem to be teacher oriented. Teachers are doing all the work; they teach, explain, ask, provide answers and help students. The students' role is passive in one way or another; they are being spoon-fed throughout the academic year without being asked to contribute to their studying activities or even being taught how to do it. Being a teacher in that country, my teaching style was influenced to a great extent with the teaching methods used there. For instance, in my speaking class, I used to do all the talk, control activities, come up with ideas, and choose the suitable speaking tasks. I did not use to allow students to express their ideas and if I did, it would be to a very limited extent. Even when my students were giving a presentation or performing a dialogue, I used to interfere either by giving my own opinion or by correcting them every now and then. It is only now after knowing about learning and communicative strategies that I have realised the pressing need for some teaching strategies especially in the area of speaking. I have realised also that it is the turn of the students to do most of the talking in the speaking class, while the teacher's main function is to provide them with maximum amount of meaningful practice. In this section, I will attempt to give some examples on speaking activities and show how they are best taught taking into account the students' learning and communicative strategies.
a/ Dialogue and negotiation
Dialogue and negotiation present the language as directly in the contexts in which they are most commonly used, and permit the learners to practise it in the same way, thus establishing a firm link between language and situation (Byme, I976:2 I). My teaching of dialogue was a kind of memorisation task; I used to type the dialogues or negotiation task and give copies to the students. All that they had to do was to read them, memorise them and present them in front of the class. Taking the students' learning and communicative strategies into account, I should do some pre‑speaking activities and prepare the learners in terms of vocabulary items and tenses that are going to be used throughout the dialogue/negotiation. This will direct their attention to the task and will help them operate their planning strategies so that they are ready to some extent to tackle the task. During the task, I would interfere where possible to provide the learners with suggestions and to give some alternatives. I would not focus so much on correcting their mistakes since I am concerned in the first place with developing their communicative abilities. I would rather compliment and praise the good performance in order to create a stimulus and motivation for the rest of the learners to improve their work. I guess this way would work well with my students since they are very afraid of making mistakes and they are easily motivated by praise, compliments and marks.
b/ Imaginary situation
I did not really make use of this task although it is very important in developing the students' ability to be involved in problem‑solving tasks, to improvise, guess and brain storm. I was not really aware of it and of its role in promoting speaking skill. However now, after realising the importance of this task, I would try to prepare and design some imaginative tasks that are culturally appropriate and related to the learners' day to day life. For instance, I might ask them to imagine that there is a specific problem in their village (e.g. water is getting salty due to overuse) that needs to be solved and then, will ask them to come up with solutions and to try to talk about their own solutions in front of the class. Since the topic represents a very serious problem due to the scarcity of water sources in Oman, most of the students will be involved and will participate in the discussion. I might ask them to discuss it together in groups or I might ask individual students to talk about and justify their opinions. Of course, there are so many other exciting and relevant tasks (to the students' daily life activities) that could be made use of in order to hook the students' attention, sustain their interest in the subject and appeal to their needs and desires.
c/ Role‑play and Narration
I taught this task before and I noticed that students liked very much especially when it is incorporated in a narrative task. I used to give my students a story and ask them to play the roles of the different characters; it was really very simple and fun. Actually, it was another way to train them to memorise some language phrases. If I am to do this task now, I would ask the students to compose their own story (in an attempt to focus on past tense for example), and then to act it out in front of their colleagues. I strongly think that this task would work very well with most of the students even the weak ones because they would be working in groups and they will have the chance to choose the role that they really like and that suits their linguistic ability. While performing this task, the learners will be practising speaking, prioritising and choosing their role, and memorising some language chunks. In other words, they will be practising the language and developing their learning and communicative skills.
Conclusion
The research evidence that has been mentioned throughout this paper proves to some extent the short and long term benefits of using strategies in learning second/foreign language. It also suggests that some learners are using more strategies more effectively than others. For this reason, teachers and researchers should work closely together to discover the role of motivation in learner strategy use (Macaro, 2001). It has also been shown that strategy training is effective in promoting a great predisposition towards language learning and a framework which enables the learner to take more responsibility for their learning in the immediate, medium and long term. In this regard, policy‑makers should be closely involved in supporting teachers' effort by facilitating local and national programs of strategy training. They should not set up learning frameworks (curriculum, syllabus) which place obstacles in the way of teachers to adapt their teaching to the strategy­-related needs of their learners. They should rather allow teachers some freedom so that they can be creative in terms of designing tasks and activities that would appeal to their students because teachers are the ones who are in direct contact with the students and therefore, they should be the ones who know exactly what their students need. On the hand, teachers should bear in mind that the strategies which plan and evaluate learning and the strategies assumed by the learners who go out and make contact with language outside the classroom are the ones that teachers should increasingly tum their attention to (ibid).
Bibliography
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About the Author

Rashid Al Maamari
BA in English for English Specialists from Sultan Qaboos University (2001)
MA in ESP from the University of Warwick (2003)
Teaching English Language in the Language Centre at Sultan Qaboos University since 2001
Office Tel: +968 24142854
Mobile: +968 99378100
E-mail: rashidm@squ.edu.om