Finance Tips

Everyone is aware that mortgages come with a lot of different fees attached. To most everyone, this also meant that the lender, or the mortgage broker was getting rich by adding these fees to the deal. Before long, someone thought they would provide a more attractive offer by making available a no fee mortgage. The name of it is impressive enough, but is there really no fees attached to it? Here is some information that will help you decide if you should look further into getting a no fee mortgage.

A no fee mortgage pretty much is what it says – no fee. At least, you won’t see them listed when you look at the paperwork on it. More good news is that you will not be paying fees at the closing table, either.

When you do finally come to the table for closing on this mortgage, it does not mean, however, that you will not need to bring any money with you. There will be some things that are not included in the no fee mortgage, and this includes things like interest between the closing date and the first payment, escrow for homeowner’s insurance and various taxes on the property.

The truth is, though, that on a no fee mortgage, there will be some fees that are added on. You, though, do not pay these fees, at closing time. Actually, the lender is providing for the cost of closing at the time – but you will be paying for the privilege eventually.

Looking at the terms of the mortgage, you will see that the fees are not listed there. This is what makes it a no fee mortgage – there must be some truth in advertising. So, the equivalent amount of the fees is placed under another category. Simply raising the interest rate a little higher in order to compensate for it easily does this.

A no fee mortgage adds the fees to the mortgage and then becomes part of it. While you get the privilege of not having to pay for these fees up front – you will still pay them – and pay interest on it, too.

When you compare a no fees mortgage with another type, separate the principal from everything else and compare totals. You will see that the overall amount of costs added is usually about the same. In the case of no fee mortgages, things have simply been shuffled around a bit.

In order to get a no fee mortgage, you may need to “qualify” for it. This may mean that you must provide a certain size down payment in order to get it. If that is true, then make sure you compare it to another lender who may only require half that amount – at the same interest rate. Some lenders will not provide more than an 80% loan to value (LTV amount, meaning that you will need to come up with the other 20%.

No fee mortgages are especially good for the short term. New no fee mortgages offer even greater savings by removing some of the costs that other companies add in. This obviously results in savings if you shop around.

As one of the largest websites, YouTube is now the first place on the Internet to find various news videos and clips, and has proved to be a wonderful reservoir of valuable videos at this media-saturated era.

Have you ever thought of downloading a YouTube video to embed in your PowerPoint presentation, or uploading a PowerPoint-based video to YouTube for the world to share? I dare say most of you have. Here, I will give a two-way introduction to how to make an interactive use of YouTube and PowerPoint.

Section I How to embed YouTube videos into the PowerPoint presentations?

An embedded video relevant to your subject is no doubt a great credit to your PowerPoint presentation, which not only makes you seem more professional but adds fun to capture the audience.

To get a YouTube video embedded in your PPT presentation, you can take either of these methods:

Method 1 Copy the Embed code of the YouTube video into PowerPoint presentation

It is the most straightforward among all the methods of putting a YouTube video into PowerPoint. Note that you should ensure that you have the latest Adobe Flash Player installed on your computer prior to this method.

Simply copy the Embed code of the YouTube video (as seen in “Embedded” field) that you want to use for your presentation and save it on a notepad.

In the PowerPoint file, go to the Developer ribbon and click the “More Controls…” icon.



In the prompt-up More Controls dialog, choose the option Shockwave Flash Object and click OK.



Next, go to the slide with the Shockwave Flash Object box, and right click the cross-lined box to select the Properties option. Then copy the video embed code from the notepad and enter it into the Value column of the Movie item in the Properties interface. That’s it!

For more details of this YouTube into PowerPoint method, refer to the very tip How to Play YouTube Video in PowerPoint Presentations

IMPORTANT: The URL insertion is subject to Internet connection. In another word, the embedded YouTube video would not play in your presentation should your computer be out of Web connection.

Method 2 Convert YouTube videos to compatible MPEG, AVI, MOV or WMV for PowerPoint

As YouTube videos are encoded in FLV, a format that is not accepted by MS PowerPoint, they must be converted to a PowerPoint-compatible format like MPEG, AVI, MOV or WMV prior to inserting.

In this method, what you need is something like a video converter to convert FLV to WMV or other PowerPoint supported video formats. You can find a sea of such software apps, e.g. YouTube downloader and Online FLV Converter, most of which are free. These software programs usually work similar in principle. First you have to download and install such a converter, then copy the YouTube video URL to the related field of the converter for download. After the video file is downloaded, use the converter again to select an appropriate video format that you want to convert to. Finally, save the converted video file to you local drive, and then embed the YouTube video into your PowerPoint presentation.

The method require a third-party medium, yet it is not bad a choice in case of the network trouble.

Section II

How to convert PowerPoint presentations to YouTube videos?

In Section I, we have mentioned how to embed a YouTube video into PowerPoint presentations. Now, we are to introduce the other side of the coin: how to convert a delicate PPT file to FLV (Flash Video) for showing on YouTube.

PowerPoint presentations including a rich collection of animations are also excellent source of a vivid video. To create a video out of PowerPoint is of less cost and of more fun than of a digital camera. Here follows two major ways of converting a PPT presentation to YouTube video.

(i) Free Windows Movie Maker

It is a free video creating program developed by Microsoft for Windows. To make a movie with the software, you have to first save your presentation as a pile of JEPG pictures, and then input the picture album to the movie maker. Although sounds are allowed to add in for a dynamic effect, there’s an obvious fault in the free program – it is unable to retain the full animations from the original presentation.

(ii) Moyea PPT to Video Converter

This is a smart solution for converting PowerPoint presentations to any format of video, no except to the popular YouTube video. Most of all, it is able to preserve every subtlety of your PowerPoint presentation in the YouTube video, just at an affordable $49.95.

After conversion, you will find it a cinch to watch and share your PowerPoint slideshow on YouTube.

Enjoy the amusement of flexible conversion between the magnificent PowerPoint slideshow and YouTube video.

The following HP laptops cover a price range between $659 to $929. Four of the five laptops features a Intel Core 2 Duo dual core processor with the other have having a AMD Turion X2 dual core processor.

HP Compaq 6730b with some standout features that include a 2.40GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB expandable to 8GB of memory, a 15.4-inch WXGA BrightView display and a LightScribe CD/DVD labeling. The 6730b is priced at $659.20. HP ProBook 5310m is a business laptop with highlight features like Windows 7 Professional, 2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, 2GB of RAM, a great keyboard with spaced out keys and it can handle all office applications, photo editing software and web browsing very well. The ProBook can be found for as low as $699. HP Compaq 6535b is a nice portable 14.1-inch laptop with the following favoring features a 2.1GHz AMD Turion X2 CPU, 2GB expandable to 4GB of memory. The slim design that makes it portable and power you get from the processor makes it fun to carry around. The 6535b is selling for $699 at HP.com. HP Pavilion DV4-1120US another portable 14.1-inch laptop from HP that has some really great features for under $800. Some of the standout features on the DV4 include the budget pricing which makes it affordable to anyone, 4GB of memory, superb connectivity and the portable size of the 14-inch laptop make it great for people on the go and students. The Core 2 Duo powered DV4-1120US is priced at $759.99 through Amazon. HP Pavilion DV6700T is the most expensive out of my top 5 but it is a great computer. The DV6 laptop has a series of great things about it and it’s all under $1000. Some of the highlighting features of the DV6 are the 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB of memory, the all around quality of the user experience is top-notch as well on the DV6. This 15.4-inch Pavillion laptop retails for $929.78 at Amazon.

It’s evident that home insurance is a must if you are worried about your house and want to protect your property against different situations. Getting your home insured gives you some peace of mind and certainty that is particularly welcome in situations like fires, storms, floods, theft and other unpleasant circumstances. However, most insurance buyers don’t quite know what exactly their policy covers, how much coverage they can expect and how to cut their insurance costs if they feel that the policy is a bit expensive for their wallet.

How much coverage is really needed?

There are two primary factors you have to consider when trying to answer this question:

• Replacement costs of your house. This is the amount of money you would need to restore or rebuild your house if it were damaged or destroyed. The best way to learn this is to multiply your square footage over the current local construction costs. Try asking different construction companies to determine the latter.
• Replacement costs of your property. The most effective way to learn the exact replacement costs of your belongings is to make an inventory of all the items in your house with the exact purchase value of each item. This inventory will be particularly useful when filing a claim, so try to make it as accurate and detailed as possible.

What does homeowners insurance cover?

A standard home insurance policy carries coverage against damage delivered in situations like:

• Hail and windstorms
• Explosions
• Firestorms and lightning strikes
• Burglary and acts of vandalism
• Smoke and plumbing leaks

The policy will also pay for the medical costs if someone other than you or your family member (guest, worker, neighbor, etc.) is injured on your property. And it will cover your living expenses if you have to move to another place while your house is being repaired or rebuilt.

Homeowners insurance may provide coverage against other perils such as floods or tornadoes, but you will have to buy a separate policy in order to get this type of coverage for your house.

How to reduce home insurance costs?

There are different methods you can use in order to cut down your costs:

• Improve your credit rating and try to keep the record as clean as possible. Those who have poor credit scores pay higher premiums for all types of insurance and homeowners insurance is no exception.
• Opt for discounts. It never hurts to ask your insurance provider about discounts, but it may turn out that they are quite easy to obtain. Most insurance companies provide incentives to those who install security features, fire and smoke alarms, or improve the safety of their houses.
• Raise your deductibles to the amount you can afford to pay upfront. Deductible is the amount of money you have to pay out of pocket before insurance coverage kicks in. The higher the amount of deductible the lower is your premiums. However, make sure you can afford to pay the specified deductible if something happens to your house.
• Shop around to get a competitive offer. Insurance rates for the same house can vary dramatically from one company to another. Try to get as any quotes from different providers as possible before purchasing the actual policy. You will be surprised to learn how different the rates may be sometimes.

The field of business communications is undergoing a rapid change at a rate that is phenomenal. Better developments aimed at improving both the quality and price are being made almost every day. With newer developments, business communication is becoming cheaper and at the same time, its quality is being improved. The pace of development is not surprising because of the potential role that communications play in business organizations. The very functioning of any organization depends on how communication takes place between its employees and customers. Not surprisingly, success to any organization comes with its ability in choosing better options and in remodeling itself whenever market situations call it to do so. The field of business communications is no exception. Opting for better technologies like VoIP over the traditional land line and cellular phones can give business organizations an upper edge in the already saturated and highly competent market.

VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol is a form of communication in which voice is transmitted over the Internet in the form of data packets just like email. It is also known by other common names like Internet telephony or broadband telephony. VoIP can dramatically cut down telecommunications costs and at the same time boost business productivity. A VoIP business phone system can effectively replace the current communications system with minimal expenditure. VoIP also offers some features that traditional forms of communication like land line and cellular telephony cannot provide. Using VoIP in combination with software like Ventrilo, anyone can make phone calls over the Internet. This ease of operation that is comparable with traditional land line telephony makes VoIP communication an indispensable part of business organizations.

VoIP can have a significant impact on a business organization. Using software like Ventrilo along with the Internet, business organizations can cut costs and at the same time improve internal communications. Many VoIP software like Ventrilo are very easy to configure and use. Using Ventrilo, all the computers of the business organization can be connected together. Irrespective of where employees are located, either in the office or at a remote location, the business organization can always stay in contact with employees and monitor the progress. Interconnectivity with other networks is another advantageous feature of VoIP. It is also possible to communicate with land line and cellular networks. If an employee doesn’t have access to the VoIP network, he / she can still be contacted at his / her telephone or mobile number using the same VoIP network. But the greatest merit of using VoIP is that it is possible to hold internal business meetings over the Internet. Though conventional telephony may also offer similar features, VoIP excels in this aspect because of the price factor: VoIP is much cheaper than conventional telephony.

Despite many advantages of using Ventrilo and VoIP in general, there are certain considerations that have to be taken into account. These aspects include the sound quality and convenience. Way bay then, VoIP required both the persons to be in front of their computers. Added to this limitation, the sound quality was poor and conventional land line telephony outweighed VoIP in this regard. However, this is no longer the situation now. Developments in both the hardware and software fields have improved the sound quality offered by VoIP. Internet speeds have increased dramatically and at the same time better technologies like DSL have made Internet access much cheaper and accessible worldwide. This increased sound quality has compelled many companies to abandon conventional communication systems altogether in favor of VoIP. An advantage with VoIP is that it can be customized according to the needs of the organization. VoIP software like Ventrilo can be tweaked to get maximum output with minimum load on the infrastructure.

When compared with telephone networks, operating costs of VoIP are much lower. Traditional telephone companies have to compete with competitors in a market that is already saturated. Further adding to it, industry regulations are rigid and costly. In the end, conventional telephone networks are costly to operate and maintain. However on the other hand, VoIP costs much lower, making it an obvious choice for business communications. VoIP also enable a single network for both phones and business data. Maintaining a single network is cheaper than two different networks. This in turn means that more resources and infrastructure costs can be saved for utilization in other sectors of the organization.

VoIP technology is in a process of continuous evolution. New innovative developments aimed at small business organizations are in progress. VoIP is also being integrated across a number of devices like PDAs. “Hybrid” cell phones that can use both VoIP and conventional cellular phone networks depending upon availability have also come into existence. Irrespective of the size of business, VoIP is a definite option to consider in place of traditional communications if efficiency and costs are the driving forces