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The Solo 401(k) for investing in real estate but it is perhaps the best kept secret.

“It is a powerful tool that most people don’t know about but should. There are at least four distinct advantages over an IRA (Individual Retirement Account),” says Jeff Moormeier co-founder of IRA Association of America, an alternative investment educational institution.

Moormeier teaches a program to real estate agents, CPAs, and investors on investing using the Solo 401(k). He says the advantages make this method of investing superior to a standard IRA.

He lists the following as the top reasons to set up a Solo 401(k) plan.

You can get money into a Solo 401(k) plan faster than IRA or SEP/IRA. You can use mortgage financing as leverage without triggering Unrelated Business Taxable Income. You can defer income into a Tax Free Roth account, inside the Solo 401(k). Getting money into a Solo 401(k) plan faster is a huge benefit. Let’s use a scenario to show the actual numbers: You have $100,000 of earned income, and you operate your business as a corporation with no employees.

“The maximum profit-sharing plan is 25% of earned income, which amounts to $25,000. Plus the maximum salary deferral is $15,000 and if you are over the age of 50 you may defer an extra $5,000. This is called a catch-up provision. In this example the total new money deposited into the Solo 401(k) is $45,000,” explains Moormeier.

“In the more common SEP account, the maximum contribution on the same income is $25,000. There is no employee deferral or catch-up provision in a SEP. The difference is $20,000 per year of additional money that may be added to a Solo 401(k) vs. SEP,” says Moormeier.

Many people are used to contributing to an IRA or a 401(k) plan, but not as many understand that they can actually have a 401(k) that can buy investment real estate with the money. In addition, you are able to borrow on a non-recourse basis to finance the purchase, thereby creating leverage in your retirement account. If you have leveraged property in an IRA there is a tax known as Unrelated Business Taxable Income. When the same transaction transpires in a Solo 401(k) this tax doesn’t apply.

“Now, what I am about to tell you, in my opinion, is far and away the greatest tax benefit the government has ever given us — as of January or February of this year the $15,000 salary deferral and the $5,000 catch-up provision can now go into a Roth account inside of this 401(k) plan and grow tax free. Tax free verses tax deferred growth is a monumental benefit to the Solo 401(k)” explains Moormeier.

He says the current Roth contributions have income limits.

“In other words if you make too much money you are unable to contribute to a Roth IRA. As of now regardless of your income, you are able to contribute to a Roth inside a Solo 401(k),” says Moormeier.

The IRA Association of America, online at iraaa.org, is where you can get the help you need to start a Solo 401(k) plan. Moormeier and co-founder Jeff Nabers have joined together to help people understand and make use of Solo 401(k) investing.

“We’ve created a company that helps you think. Quite frankly, there just aren’t a lot of tools out there to help people keep it all straight,” says Moormeier.

“We now offer a turnkey 401(k) package. We handle everything including determining eligibility, establishing the administration paperwork, opening a bank account, and handling your rollovers,” says Jeff Nabers, founder of IRAAA.

This 401(k) package will also soon be available directly through the many local IRAAA branches opening in early 2007. Remember, if you plan to have the Solo 401(k) plan help you by reducing your taxable income, then you will need to establish your plan by December 31 in order to claim a 2006 tax deduction. In 2006, if you are over the age of 50 you can contribute up to $49,000 for each participant, and jointly you and your spouse can deduct up to $98,000. If you are under the age of 50 you can contribute up to $44,000 for each participant, and jointly you and your spouse can deduct up to $88,000.

———————— Phoebe is writer, speaker, and author. She is the Director of Business Development for Quality Service Certification and a trainer in customer service for the real estate industry. She is a Realtor with The Guiltinan Group, a division of Prudential California Realty.

Her articles, feature stories, and columns appear in various publications including The Coast News, Del Mar Village Voice, and Rancho Santa Fe Review in San Diego. Phoebe worked for KGTV/10News in San Diego as a Newscaster, Reporter and Community Affairs Specialist for more than a decade. She is also the author of If the Trash Stinks, TAKE IT OUT! 14 Worriless Principles for Your Success available at Barnes

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Filed under: Entrepreneurs

ReviewYourChoices.com has a couple really cool concepts working for them in one neat little website. They took one of the most popular recreational sports on the web: sounding off in forums and blogs and made it possible for them to make money doing what they enjoy: giving an opinion.

The idea behind ReviewYourChoices.com was to make it easy for someone to research what they we’re getting ready to buy. Anyone who uses the internet know that review sites are everywhere. The problem for me and others looking at these product reviews is that it sucks up a lot of time to go from site to site trying to find something useful.

Review Your Choices puts it all under one roof, or website in this case. First and foremost the site is there to help people who are looking to study up on whatever product, or service, before they commit money and time. Like any site, it has to give value to draw traffic and there is value in being able to see user reviews on anything in seconds without wasting a bunch of time.

The site does a solid job of staying true to this original mission. It is a well thought out set of general categories with an infinite number of very specific categories available and ever growing. The idea is to let it grow itself organically through user demand.

If that we’re all ReviewYourChoices did, it would be unique and worth being added to favorites faster than wild hare chased by a fox. But there is way more.

Nothing to be gained from hiding it. I am a hard core sports fan who uses internet forums to share my opinions and show off what I think know with others like me.

The Detroit Free Press is one of my favorites. It is a newspaper that had the brilliant idea of allowing posts in a forum following each article. Readers are able to leave their opinions and get responses from other readers of the same article.

After a recent game involving my hometown baseball team, the Detroit Tigers, there we’re 400 plus posts in less than an hour. Each person had a unique take on the night’s game, or maybe a plan to win the next game or the key to wining the championship this year or for 10 years straight. It turns into one big community of shared opinion with the sharing taking place at lightning speed.

I just have a lot of fun with it. It has really given me the opportunity to see how forums work. Basically, the poster with the most unique opinion, who stays above the petty arguments, and who gives the most value to the user in the form of relevance, who gets the most responses and views.

What is happening is a mini version of what Google is trying to make the internet into. Basically, Google wants to send it’s users to the best most relevant content on the web and away from the junk. Google envisions an internet that becomes more open and useful to everyone in the future.

On Review Your Choices you see the same principles at work. The layout of the site allows anyone with a valuable review on a product, service, cause, entertainment or travel experience, or whatever, an outlet to easily share that review and opens up the chance for the poster to make money for sharing.

When you give a review, the Review Your Choices folks put their money and talent into getting your work in front of anyone out there who might get value from it. Generally speaking, your review is a thing, a valuable thing and you should have the opportunity to get paid for the value you provide.

Believing in that idea has worked big-time for Google and many, many others.

Review Your Choices is looking to make a huge splash for people who are looking for valuable reviews. It encourages the posting by including the innovation of letting the posters in on the money making opportunities on line with no additional work.

The user also keeps the ability to promote himself and his individual product or service.

I know this is something that people love to do. With ReviewYourChoices.com, a poster who gives can get back the value it creates in the form of income. Sign up is a snap, and you have not obligation. Get on there and share your experiences when you want.

If you are just wanting quality reviews on anything can find quickly, or if you want to share your own knowledge for the benefit of the on-line community, I highly recommend making it part of your favorites.

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Filed under: Business

Day trading can be an enjoyable way to make money. But it’s not as easy as most people think. Here are some day trading tips that can aid the beginner and the more experienced trader to help you reach your goals faster.

First: Be careful not to over trade. The majority of the time the market is a random walk – meaning that it’s moving without any rhyme or reason. Amateur traders taking small positions in the market are behind these unpredictable movements.

These retail traders don’t affect the long-term moves of the market. It’s the pros, with their large volume and their willingness to hold positions longer, who create sustainable moves in the market that can result in significant profits.

Many people are drawn to day trading because of the excitement of the business and the potential for big, fast profits. This attitude sets up the trader for failure. Day trading does not have the frantic energy of a video game. Most successful day traders sit by the sidelines for long periods of time simply waiting for a high-probability setup to occur. The pros trade much less frequently than the amateurs think.

Second: The common axiom “The trend is your friend” is a half-truth.

It’s more accurate to say that the trend is a fair weather friend!

It’s true that the trend is your friend early on. But trends get exhausted and end. It’s more accurate to say: “The trend is your friend, until the end.”

There’s two times when you can put the numbers in your favor:

When a new trend is just starting.

When a trend has run its course.

Trading only at these 2 times allows you to put the statistics of the “edge” of the bell curve on your side. Trading in the middle of a trend, puts you solidly in the middle of the bell curve where anything can happen.

Third: Participate in chat rooms for day trading tips and do the opposite!

I’ve participated in many chat rooms over the years, and have received a tremendous benefit from them. But the benefit did not come from listening to the teacher. It came from watching the comments of the participants as they shared what they were doing at any given time in the market.

Most of the time they do the exact opposite of what they should be doing.

They expose the collective thinking of the unprofitable amateurs. It’s scarey to notice how the amateurs all reason alike when it comes to day trading. If you watch them in the rooms for several months you’ll begin to identify clear patterns of things they do wrong over and over again. Do the opposite and profit.

As an example, one of the most common problems amateur traders have, is resisting the urge to fight the trend. You’ll often hear comments such as: “The market can’t go any higher than this.” “This market just has to turn around at this point.” “The market is definitely way over-extended now.”

It is absolutely amazing to see how amateurs habitually trade against the trend in an effort to find tops and bottoms. They are constantly looking for the market to turn around. As is always the case, you can profit tremendously by taking the other side of their trades.

Day trading can be enjoyable and financially beneficial. To be a success, however, you must avoid the herd and stand apart from the masses who lose their money. Employ these 3 day trading tips to put you squarely on the path to profitability.

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Filed under: Business

When entering numbers into a spreadsheet, you sometimes need to ensure that the number format is consistent. For example, if the numbers in question represent prices, you may want to display a currency symbol or you may simply want to make sure that the number of decimals displayed is consistent..

Unless you specify otherwise, all numbers in Excel are rendered in the “General” format. This means that numbers are displayed exactly as you enter them: if you enter two decimals, two decimals are displayed; if you went to one decimal, one decimal is displayed; and so on.

To specify the number format, the best idea is usually to select the entire column. To do this, simply click on the letter or letters representing the column. (If text is contained in the selection, it will not be affected by the number format you specify.)

Number formats are specified in the “Numbers” group of the Home Tab of Excel’s Ribbon. There are three important formats which apply to numbers: the first is simply called “Number”, the second “Currency” and the third “Accounting”. To gain access to the complete range of number formats, click on “More Number Formats” in the “Numbers” drop-down menu. Another way of opening the “Numbers” dialog box is to click on the launch button in the “Numbers” group of the Home Tab of the Excel Ribbon.

When you click on one of the number formats on the left of the “Numbers” dialogue box, you are given a series of choices which enable you to refine the way that the format will work. Thus, if your numbers refer to an hourly rate, you would click the “Number” category in the left column and then specify two decimal places. The option to “Use Thousands Separator” will add the appropriate separator to demarcate thousands. The separator used will depend on your locality: for example, in the UK or USA, a comma will be used; in European countries, a dot will be used.

The final option in the “Number” category lets you control the display of negative numbers. The default is to preced the number with a minus sign and to leave the colour of the text unchanged. However, you can also suppress the minus sign and change the colour of negative numbers to red; or, if you prefer, you can change the colour of negative numbers to red as well as displaying the minus sign.

Clicking the “Currency” category, reveals pretty much the same choices as “Number” with the addition of a currency symbol. You can specify which currency symbol is used or you can dispense with the currency symbol altogether.

The “Accounting” category is pretty much the same as “Currency”. Once again, you can choose a particular currency symbol. However, you will notice that you do not have any choices relating to negative numbers. The convention in accountancy circles is to always place negative numbers in brackets.

As well as using the number dialog box, you’ll notice a series of handy buttons which can apply each of the number formats with one click. There are also a couple of buttons for increasing and decreasing the number of decimals displayed in the selected cells.

Finally, there may be times where you enter a number into a cell but do not want Excel to treat it as a number. For example, if you have a column of data representing an ID, although the ID may be numeric, you may not want Excel to regard it as a number or to modify it in any way. You will probably want it to simply stay exactly as it was entered. Whenever that’s the case, it’s best to format the number as “Text”. The simplest way of doing this is to highlight the appropriate column and in the number dialog box choose “Text” as the category.

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Filed under: Training

An SEO consultant that is fully qualified and legit should be able to give his clients all sorts of good advice. He should be able to cover search engine optimization as well as search engine marketing. A solid consultant of this type is very hard to find, because the SEO industry is still fairly new.

A legit SEO consultant should be able to help you to understand the time delays and costs of SEO. While a talented consultant of this type can definitely help you to get more traffic, it will take time. A solid SEO should have a good understanding of how much time it should take.

There are hundreds of benefits you could get if you hired the right SEO. These benefits will include the restructuring of your site to rank important pages, selection of keywords that can bring quick traffic, and the ability to tag pages properly.

Additionally, a good consultant should be able to assist with visitor behavior studies and web analytic development, form and manage pay-per-click campaigns for business and alleviate the site structure to guarantee excellent search engine rankings.

There are several SEO consultants around who will gladly take your money, yet not give you the results promised. So how do you determine if a firm is selling you the real thing or snake oil? It’s important to know what questions to ask a potential SEO consultant.

Take a hard look at his qualifications. Ignore how long he’s been in business. More time in the industry doesn’t mean he will perform. You need to find out about projects that he’s consulted on to determine how well they’re doing.

Someone who runs a good business should be able to produce plenty of solid references and testimonials. If your prospective consultant can’t, send him packing.

Taking the time to ask how you can communicate with your consultant will save you a lot of potential heart ache. Some consultants won’t want you to contact them by phone, and that will make things a lot more difficult.

What type of ranking will be guaranteed? If the answer is anything but “none,” look elsewhere. Usually a firm will say that ranking is important, but keywords, traffic and steady increases are more important. Then keep asking questions, and get references.

Another good question to ask your prospective hire is what changes he would make to your website. Since your site structure may be complicated, this can help you to determine his knowledge with structure and content.

If you believe that you have found the right person, go ahead and make the hire.

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Filed under: SEO