In This Increasingly Secular World Has Money Become the Idol Worshipped by More and More People?

If a leading trade unionist made a speech like this today, it would be on the front page of every newspaper tomorrow. That was the stunning comment made recently in our daily Bible Reading Notes. The passage being studied was from the letter written by James, the half brother of Jesus, where the text says, “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you.” This is strong stuff. Maybe it is too strong for some, but it has the authority and imprimatur of Almighty God behind it.A few sentences later, James writes about how employers have cheated the workers of the pay due them, but God has heard their cries and has seen what has been going on. God still sees what is happening in the financial world.Do any of those leading bankers and financiers ever give Almighty God a thought? Or, has our society in the United Kingdom in particular become so secularised that God has been totally marginalised. That is just another way of saying ignored and neglected and even rejected. if that is so, then we are in a highly serious state.Throughout society secularism appears to have spread at a rapid pace. It permeates our schools and educational system where there is little room for truth about God, as we have it in the Old and New Testaments. Will we ever return to these foundations?Many of our politicians would chose if they had to use the word God in a relevant meaningful way. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and should never be used as a swear word! A colleague, who had returned from working among the poor in India for three years, told us that if we had a bank account or a credit card then we were rich indeed.When in Nairobi, Kenya, last month, teaching in one of the slum areas, I happened to hear on the BBC World Service a trail for a series of programmes, where it was said that a billion people are currently living on a dollar a day. That too is strong stuff. That also involves much suffering!There are those who spell the word God, ‘money’, and they worship before the shrine of accumulated wealth. To return to the Scripture I referred to at the start, James is not denouncing all rich men and women indiscriminately, but he is referring to the ungodly rich. Jesus Christ said that no man can serve God and money, but it is possible to serve God with money. Money is a good servant, but it is a cruel master. We have a choice. We have various choices.

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Hotel Accommodation in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a historic European city with the modern cosmopolitan culture. It enjoys the reputation of being the hottest holiday and honeymoon destination in the world. Thousands of tourists from four corners of the world visit Amsterdam throughout the year. Although there are countless tourists destinations in the world but Amsterdam stands unique and alone due to the following features:

• Rich cultural heritage
• Vibrant lifestyle
• A large number of museums, nightclubs, pubs and shopping areas

Amsterdam’s Red Light District

Amsterdam city is ideally located on the banks of two famous water bodies namely the IJ bay and the Amstel River. The city is the beautiful combination of old world and the modern world. Amsterdam’s red light district de Wallen offers an exciting and fascinating environment.It is located in the city center along the beautiful canals of Amsterdam. In short Amsterdam can be defined as one of the most peaceful, colorful and modern cosmopolitan cities in the world with friendly people and rich culture.

Amsterdam’s network of canals

Amsterdam city is globally popular because of it its 165 canals and 1281 bridges. While traveling around the city, you will find thousands of old houses from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries and dozens of museums and gardens.

Amsterdam hotels offers luxurious as well economical accommodation

Visitors can find hundreds of hotels in Amsterdam. These hotels provide the guests with great accommodation in Amsterdam. You can not enjoy the real charm of Amsterdam lifestyle unless you have a suitable accommodation. To accommodate all the visitors, Amsterdam city offers a wide range of hotels. The Amsterdam hotels provide the guests with a very comfortable living environment. Most of the hotels are situated along the canals allowing the guests enjoy the panoramic canal views of Amsterdam. During Amsterdam tour, you can find the most economical and low priced hotel accommodations as well as the expensive and the most luxurious 5-star hotel accommodation in Amsterdam. Hence, the wide range of Amsterdam hotels allows the guests to choose the most suitable accommodation depending upon their budget and living needs.

Hottest location where guests can find great hotels in Amsterdam

Although visitors can find a large number of hotel throughout the Amsterdam city but following areas are considered as the hottest locations that offers a wide range of hotels:

• P.C. Hoofstraat
• Amsterdam city centre
• Dam square
• Begijnhof
• Deltawerken – Grevelingendam
• Euromast Rotter dam

The above mentioned locations are considered as the hottest tourist’s attraction in Amsterdam. While booking a hotel room, you need to ensure that the hotel is located in the close proximity of the above stated areas.

Comfortable living

The hotel rooms are decorated with eye-catching interiors and equipped with great furniture so that guests can enjoy the most comfortable hotel accommodation in Amsterdam. The staff of the Amsterdam hotels is very courteous, friendly and highly trained to meet the international standards.

Good location

Most hotels are strategically located to offer the guests an ideal access to tourists attractions of Amsterdam. Some hottest attractions of Amsterdam city are Museumplein, the Leidseplein, Vondelparkm Rai conference centre, canal views and many more. While booking Amsterdam hotel accommodation, visitors must ensure that the hotel has got a good location.

Online booking of Amsterdam hotels

There is a number of online portals that offer online booking of Amsterdam hotel. While planning to travel to Amsterdam, it is advised to go through the online Amsterdam hotel accommodation portals to find and book the most suitable accommodation in Amsterdam in advance.

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Online Marketing and the Health and Fitness Industry

Keeping fit is very important for individuals not only to feel and look better but also to beat illness and sickness as they age. The health and fitness industry has seen steady growth in recent years with numerous fitness centers mushrooming everywhere. This industry could not avoid the Internet and most fitness professionals discovered new tools to promote their facilities online plus they even created products specifically for their online audience. They embrace online marketing within their growth strategy.

Many are those fitness professionals who get lost when it comes to marketing and even more in online marketing. They are excellent in their training techniques but when it comes to online marketing, they simply freeze and do not know from where to start. First of all they have to focus on their objectives and on what they can create to differentiate of competition. Once these objectives are established, they have to be communicated to the potential clients. Many forget that the Internet provides them an international presence.

One can target only their preferred locality. However I always recommend going beyond the local perimeter. If you have a good product that can make you more money, why limit it only to your locality? This is the beauty on the Internet. With a good online marketing strategy you can reach million of potential customers online. In fact, many were those who once they realized their online potential, they got into another world and could not stop creating products and enjoyed every second of their success.

Online success must also be monitored with great caution. I’ve seen many in this industry that passed on the wrong message and actually ended up scaring customers away. There were many who claimed that their fitness routine is the only way to get fit and criticized competition. Now it might be the case that one has the best routine but this is a heavy statement. First I see is disrespectful to other industry professionals and secondly new techniques are discovered daily and hence such statement can only harm your image.

The Internet provides endless information to your customers and they know how to decide. They can make you or break you. Humility is also an online virtue. Profits should not come before people. Profits will come in due time. Add value to your product and money will eventually come. It should be about helping people and adding value to their lives and not taking from them. It should be about having fun and enjoying life.

So when you are drafting your online marketing strategy, always keep your clients in your mind. The end result will be that you will be proud of and can always rely on an online business based on your values, your passion, your training philosophy and your brand. Never let anyone to try to convince you otherwise. The health and fitness industry is a delicate and lucrative industry and hence do not play with people’s lives.

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What’s Your Small Business Retirement Plan?

Do you have a small business retirement plan? One of the major problems facing all business owner/operators is the issue of retirement funds. Retirement age seems so far off and if I can just get the business running itself that will be my retirement plan. Heard these words before? What is your plan? This is very often the plan for many small business operators.

Small business retirement planning is often put to the back burner because there are always jobs to be done in any small business. Very often the owners are unable to afford staff so they are forced to do all those little jobs. Very often they experience cash flow problems so putting money away for ten or more years is not always a top priority. This is often a recipe for disaster.

Your small business retirement plan needs to have action today if you have not been able to put money aside. Check with your individual countries laws and policies but many governments offer excellent incentives including a reduction on taxes.

If time is a limiting factor for you then your small business retirement plan should include a visit to a financial planner. Here you will be given lots of information. Be sure to go to several financial planners to make sure you find some consistency in the advice you are getting. When visiting a financial planner I always ask myself “if he/she is so good why is he/she still working”? Although this is cynical it has served me well in the past.

If you have the time then the possibilities for your Small Business Retirement Plan [http://www.freefinancialinfoguide.com/retirement-plans/small-business-retirement-plan.php] are relatively unlimited. There are countless seminars and programs you can attend to educate yourself and maximize your retirement funds. It may still be worthwhile to start with financial planners and explore the options for yourself.

Small business retirement planning is required for all owner/operators. It is essential you begin the process now so your retirement funds are boosted and you can live the life you have only ever dreamed about.

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Improve Your Poor Credit Score and Secure Yourself a Loan

So you are thinking of getting some extra money to make some urgent home repairs, the porch door needs replacing, along with a new hot water system. Unfortunately you do not have the money in the bank, but neither do you have a secure porch door or any constant hot water.

Have you considered personal loans? A lot of people take out personal loans for this type of repair. Car repairs and even holidays are used by people with their newly acquired finances. Most people have heard that a poor credit score is not a good thing (However even those that have a poor financial history can still get loans). But how do you make a good rating?

One of thing major pieces of advice from experts, before you apply for finance it is best to get a credit report completed from a reputable source. This will give you an idea of the chance of getting your application approved. In the United States of America there are three levels of credit rating, basically the higher it is the better it is.

An excellent rating is above 760, a good rating would be between 700 and 759 and a poor rating would be between 640 to 699. if you are at the top end, 760 and above then there is no point in making your rating any better. However with other ratings it is worth trying to improve as it will help your chances of succeeding in the application.

There does seem to be a bit of a chicken and egg situation sometimes, you need finance but have a poor score,but to improve you need a lender to give you a chance. Well, luckily there are things that you and your family if you have one, can do to improve your rating.

Having a poor rating does not mean you have to be stuck with it, starting to pay the bills on time instead of late or not at all will start to get you on the right path. Some lenders will still give applicants loans even with a low score, but the total given will be lower than usually and the percentage rate will be considerably higher. So you will pay more over the period of the finance.

Families can help too. If a member of your family has a good rating then some credit card companies can add you to that family members credit card as an authorized user, this will help with any poor credit score. Also having a family member with a good rating co-sign the loan could help you get what you need.

Finding the correct lender for your score is a good way to make sure that you are getting what you deserve, if you have a high score you deserve some of the best deals on the market. Instead of going to your bank or card company you can go online and search for a matching company. Companies like this are a good place go to make sure you achieve the best deal.

What are a matching company and what do they do? You enter your details on their online program and your information will be fed to several of their approved lenders, in turn the lenders will then return to the matching company with a list of loans that they are able to offer.

Once the offers come back it is then up to the applicant to choose one and complete all the necessary paperwork. A check will then be received within a matter of days and your new boiler and door fitted soon after.

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Payment Options for Shopping All the Way

Everyone is busy. Busy in shopping online and in the malls. Popular online portals are breaking and making new sale records! All thanks to the convenience and the availability of easy payment options and funds!

Here are few of the factors that are making online businesses a success

Credit Cards: A credit card is plastic money. It is one of the easiest form in which a person gets a personal loan.

All online portals as well as retailers in malls accept credit cards issued by various banks.
Online payment becomes very simple and safe, thanks to the one time passwords generated for such transactions.
A PIN is sufficient for shopping using a credit card at any retail store.

Personal loans for shopping: When we apply for a personal loan, we don’t have to provide the financier with the details of what we want the loan for.

Thus these days’ personal loans are being used to finance shopping.
They can also be used as wedding loans, vacation loans and educational loans.

Payment Processing: As far as payment processing is concerned, the following factors matter to both the consumer and the online retailer.

Uncomplicated manoeuvring on website: It is important for the payment process to be step-by-step and easy to understand. Most websites work on this section very carefully and thus the online shopping experience is satisfactory.

Processing Costs: Processing costs matter to the retailers. More the processing fees they have to pay to providers of payment gateways like Visa, the lesser are their margins. So to have an effective business the processing costs need to be low.
Number of payment options: Multiple payment options should be available for the customer to make payment. This makes the shopping a convenient proposition.
Time taken to process transactions: Processing time not only tests your patience but sometimes also the strength of your internet connection!

Cash on Delivery: This is also known as “collection on delivery.” This is a very popular mode of making payments for shopping in the developing world.

It enhances impulse purchases.
A credit card is not an essential possession for the buyer.
The buyer can check the quality of the product and then pay

So this festive season, do not hesitate to shop and to gift! The availability of funds for shopping is not difficult anymore. Also the convenience of online shopping has brought various retailers to our doorstep. So let us shop all the way!

An easy way of shopping is using a credit card. It forms an integral part of most people’s financial planning. When used in the right manner, it helps reduce financial liability and optimizes financial resources.

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Are Online Personal Loans Good For People With Bad Credit?

While the rise of online lending in itself makes it more convenient for people to apply for finance, is this development a good thing for those who are already struggling? There are companies out there who charge expensive annual percentage rates (APRs), leaving many people in more trouble than when they first started.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Over the last few years, online lending has earned itself a bad reputation. The internet leaves many people vulnerable to fraud, so you should always exercise caution when inputting your financial details. The best way to make sure your information remains safe is to find a secure, reliable lending platform.

There is an unfair irony attached to lending today. Those with bad credit are often led to believe they have no financial options if they have made mistakes in the past, often making their situations seem more desperate than they actually are. This can result in people making bad decisions and can lead to borrowing through unstable sources.

Meanwhile, any lenders that do accept you with bad credit will charge extortionate interest rates because of your history, making it more difficult for you to meet your monthly repayment obligations – thus worsening your situation. This is a trap that many people fall into, and it gives online installment lenders a bad name.

However, this doesn’t need to be the case. If you can find yourself a reliable lending platform, you will be connected to a secure network of trustworthy lenders who can offer sensible solutions to your borrowing needs. Many of these lenders will assess your application, even if your credit file isn’t perfect or your income is lower than average.

Instead of (or in some cases, as well as) running credit checks, these lenders will take other factors into consideration, including your income and employment circumstances, and how long you have lived at your current address. They may even ask for references they can contact who will vouch for your character personally.

Even those who receive benefits as a form of income will be able to apply, giving everyone a fair and carefully considered chance of borrowing money. In these cases, applicants won’t be accepted for higher loans than they can afford to pay back, and interest rates will be low, meaning there is a better chance of managing repayments.

If you have poor credit and need to borrow money, consider a personal installment loan, but make sure the APR is advertised between 5.99% and 35.99%. There should also be a number of options in terms of flexible repayment, offering you the chance to pay the money back anywhere between six months and six years, depending on what you can afford to pay per month.

Small, carefully considered personal loans could actually help you build a financial profile making you eligible for better future borrowing. As long as the lender is responsible, and offers reasonable interest rates, online lending platforms can actually give people with more opportunities than many other lenders in terms of improving their situation.

With this in mind, personal loans can be beneficial to those hoping to improve their credit score, but only if some caution is exercised by both parties, and you only apply to borrow an amount you can afford to pay back.

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Five Reasons for Refusal of a Personal Loan

Don’t you wish personal finance were a mandatory course in college? Unfortunately, too many of us learn by mistake. When you need a personal loan and are rejected, you might be baffled as to what went wrong- and how to fix it. Here are some clues.

NO CREDIT

No credit is a situation where you have never used credit and therefore have no credit history for the bank to review. They have no way of making an educated decision on whether or not you will pay back a personal loan based on your credit history. No credit is worse than bad credit. Qualifying for and making regular payments on these types of introductory forms of credit can overcome a “no credit” score:

· Student Loans

· Secured credit card (includes a down payment amount)

· Being added to a parent’s or spouses good credit: card, car loan, etc.

LOW CREDIT

Low credit takes on several forms. If you’re using more than 30% of your allowable debt, it can negatively impact your score. Too many inquiries from shopping around for loans will also hit you hard. Lapses in payment, defaults, or bankruptcies are giant red flags and can take a long time to rebuild from.

Other things that lenders may look at are whether or not you have sizeable assets should you default on the loan. They also check to see if your debts are diversified or if you are only carrying one type of debt.

INCOME

Proof of income is generally required when applying for a personal loan. If you are unemployed or underemployed, it can work against you in the loan approval process. Lenders may also require a work history to see how long you have been with your current employer, and to determine if you typically have job stability. Frequent job loss or change will tell a creditor that your payments may not be reliable.

PURPOSE OF THE LOAN

Believe it or not, your application can be rejected due to your proposed purpose for the loan. Financial institutions have the right to set up the parameters surrounding their disbursements and can accept or reject your application based on what you want to use the money for.

BLACKLISTING

If you’ve defaulted on debt before, your name may be put on a list of whom not to loan to,’ also known as a “Blacklist.” This will follow you around for a long time and is difficult to erase. If you do resolve the debt issues, get documents to prove the resolution.

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How Can A Personal Loan Improve Your Credit Score?

When it comes to a personal loan, you have to first learn to use it responsibly. Because if you miss a repayment, your credit score will be impacted adversely. And remember, that a credit score is an indicator of how well you manage your personal finances. Also, it plays a defining role when you apply for any kind of loan – secured and unsecured. It is suggested to apply for a loan slightly larger than what is needed so that you will be assured to have enough money to pay all bills necessary and still have some money left over to ensure that your bank account stays current.

A credit score can be defined as a number which reflects the financial situation of a person. If the person is well-off when it comes to financial matters, then he or she is said to have a high credit score. On the other hand, if a person is the exact opposite of this, then they possess a low credit score. There are a lot of factors that are considered by financial institutions for the purpose of evaluating a person’s credit score – usually, the credit scores of people vary from 300 to about 850.

A personal loan is a type of loan that is given by digital lenders, banks and credit unions to aid you in your plans, be it starting a small business, or making a big purchase. Personal loans tend to have an interest rate(s) lower than the credit cards; however, they can also be put to use for combining several credit card debts together into one monthly lower-cost payment.

Now, your credit score is built by keeping in mind various parameters from your credit reports. These reports serve the purpose of trailing your history of utilization of the credit across the duration of seven years. These credit reports are comprised of information, including how much credit you have utilized to date, the type of credit in your possession, the age of one’s credit accounts, whether one has put in for bankruptcy or liens filed against them, actions of debt collections taken against them, one’s total open lines of credit as well as recent inquiries for hard credit.

Like any other type of credit, personal loans are very capable of affecting your credit score. This can be done through the process of applying and withdrawing a personal loan. If you are curious as to how personal loans can end up affecting your credit, then read on to find out more about the context. There are many ways in which your credit can be affected by personal loans and some of them are listed below:

The ratio of your debt-to-income and loan

Debt-to-income ratio is considered to be the measure of your amount of income that you spend on the debt repayments. In the case of lenders, the amount of income that you receive is said to be one of the major factors proving that you are able to repay your loan.

Some of the lenders have come up with their own debt-to-income ratio so that their proprietary credit scores may make use of it in the form of a credit consideration. Do not fall into the kind of mindset that possessing a high amount of a loan would hurt your credit. The most damage it can do is raise the ratio of your debt-to-income so that you won’t be able to apply for loans anymore without it getting rejected or denied.

Paying loans on time will make credit scores soar

The moment your loan is approved, you have to make sure that you settle the payments of each month on time and in full. Delay in repayment may significantly impact the state of your credit score. However, on the other hand, if you make the payments on time every month, then your credit score will soar high, leading to an overall good score. This will not only make your name to the preferred borrower’s list, but it will prove to be beneficial for you in the long run.

Since your payment history is comprised of almost 35% of your credit score, paying loans on time is essential in cases like these so that your credit score can maintain a positive status.

Variety is built into your credit type

There are about five factors that are responsible for determining your credit score. These are composed of the payment history, the length of the credit history, the utilization ratio of the credit, the credit mix and new inquiries of the credit in accordance with FICO®.

The credit mix only accounts for about 35% of your total credit score, whereas when it comes to a personal loan you can have a varying mix of the credit types. This mix of all types of credit is viewed at a high level of approval by the creditors and lenders.

Origination fee charged by loans

Most of the lenders end up charging you an origination fee. This fee cannot be avoided at any cost and is instantly taken off from the amount of the loan payment. The amount of origination fees depends upon the amount of the loan you are about to borrow. Late payments can lead to an overdraft of fees and late expenses. Therefore, make sure that you pay complete repayment for each month before the deadline.

Avoiding penalties when it comes to payments

Some of the credit lenders tend to charge an additional fee if you end up paying your part of the loan earlier than the agreed date. This is because they are looking for moderate amounts of interest on your loan. Now, seeing that you have paid off your part of the loan before time, they will miss out on that interest that they could have possibly made if you had not cleared the debt soon enough before the deadline.

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