October 2016

How to Choose Your Online Trading Platform

by Jeremy

If you decide to invest in the FOREX market to buy and sell currencies, you have no other choice than to do it through a online trading platform. One of the first things you need to do when you decide to become a trader is to choose the best online trading platform.

What should you be mindful of when choosing a trading platform?

There are a lot of different factors you need to check before making your decision, but here are the most important ones:

Dealing Desk/No-Dealing Desk broker. Some might argue about the importance of knowing the difference between these two kinds of brokers and understanding if your broker plays the role of market maker. Let’s not spend too much time on this one: both are making money on the Spread – the difference between the ask and the bid price.
Fixed/Variable Spread. Competitive spreads are generally fixed, but vary by types of currencies (majors, minors, exotic currency pairs). You can also find the spread, depending on the characteristics of your own account type.
Downloadable/Non-Downloadable trading platforms. The format is important depending on how often and from where you trade. Web-based platforms can be accessed from anywhere, while downloadable platforms are stored on a specific device.
Programming languages. Different trading platforms are classified in different types according to the programming languages they use such as Metaquotes, ActFX, Lua etc. One of the most well=known FOREX trading platform is MetaTrader provided by MetaQuotes Inc.

Understanding the Civil Litigation Process Can Save You Time and Money

by Guest Contributor

The following is a guest post by Kenn Goldblatt, the author of, “The Pro Se Litigant’s Civil Litigation Handbook“. If you’d like to submit a guest post on Money Q&A, please check out the site’s guest posting guidelines.

The legal industry is the only activity I know where if you make a mistake, you pay. If your attorney makes a mistake, you pay. If your paralegal makes a mistake, you pay. Also, if the opposing attorney makes a mistake, you pay. And if the judge makes a mistake, you pay.

So understanding the civil litigation process can help you avoid expense-causing mistakes and help you keep your lawyer on track – or keep yourself on track if you opt to proceed pro se and represent yourself.

If the lottery worked the same way, the store clerk would tell you to go outside and buy your ticket from an agent. And, the agent would tell you that he or she would take your money. But, they wouldn’t guarantee that you would get a ticket – or get any money if you win.

Understanding the Civil Litigation Process

These days, more and more individuals are deciding for a variety of reasons to represent themselves. In fact, in state and federal courts across the United States, about five million individuals are handling their own civil cases of various sorts.

Whether or not they will be successful and prevail depends on a number of factors, not the least of which is understanding precisely how the civil litigation process works and how they can produce the documents they need to convince the judge that they should win.

Typically, judges loathe pro se litigants because they come to court believing what they learned in sixth grade – that if you just come to court and tell the truth, everything will be all right. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Over 5 million individuals are handling their own civil cases in court each year.Click To Tweet

Shrinking bigshots: Seasoned Leaders Getting Their Kicks

by Guest Contributor

The following is an excerpt from Bill Treasurer’s book, “A Leadership Kick in the Ass“. It has been reprinted with permission for Money Q&A.

The transition of a leader’s career from the top of the crest to the other side can actually be a beautiful thing. This is the time when your wisdom is ripest, when the bulk of your legacy has been established, and when your influence has left a tangible and positive mark. At this stage of your leadership career, you are a leader in full. It’s worth noting that the leadership influence of many leaders became fully expressed late in life.

Benjamin Franklin was 70 when he signed the Declaration of Independence (Samuel Whittemore was 81). Ronald Reagan was 69 when he became president, and 77 when he left office. Golda Meir became Prime Minister of Israel when she was 71. Dr. Ray Irani, the CEO of Occidental Petroleum, is currently 75 years old, making him the oldest Fortune 500 CEO.

While your leadership career may span many years, the current average retirement age in the United States is 62. Given that average life expectancies have been steadily growing, figuring out what to do with all that accumulated leadership wisdom and influence before you retire, will help soften whatever butt-kicks may come when the gates of your career close.

By butt-kicks, I mean embarrassing and humiliating moments in your leadership that serve as a starting point to discover your strengths and values, and become better.

Don’t Miss These Top 4 Stock Metrics You Need To Know When Picking Stocks

by Hank Coleman

Do you know how to find undervalued stocks? Do you have trouble finding which individual stocks you should target to buy? Many investors struggle with finding stocks are a good value that they should invest in. How do you wade through the thousands of companies and their stocks to find the diamond in the rough? Here are the top four simple stock metrics that you need to know when evaluating stocks to buy. You can use a company’s Price To Earnings Ratio (P/E Ratio) in order to found out if it is cheap relative to the company’s peers and then subsequently how much the stock should be worth. A company’s dividend growth rate can help you to found out approximately … Read more

How To Live In A Tiny House – One Woman’s Incredible Story To Change Her Life

by Guest Contributor

The following is a guest post by MargaretAnn “Muffy” Morris, a courageous woman who is chronicling her adventures on her blog, Muffy On The Move. If you’d like to submit a guest post on Money Q&A, please check out the site’s guest posting guidelines.

Note from Hank – I’ve known Muffy for years. We went to college together. And, I have to admit, I was skeptical like many of our friends when she said she wanted to live in a tiny house.

But, we could see how serious she was when she sold all of her possessions, sold her house, and bought an RV in order to get ready to build the tiny house of her dreams. While tiny house living isn’t for everyone, you have to admire someone for going for it and following their dreams.

Be sure to follow along and learn more about her adventures on her blog, on Instagram, and Facebook.

How To Live In A Tiny House

I didn’t want debt to control my life. In fact, I decided I didn’t want debt at all. There are a billion advice columns on how to save: get a part time job or skip Starbucks. What I really heard them say was “be miserable, exhausted, and have no free time” or “deny yourself the little things you enjoy.”

The thought rattled around for awhile until I just couldn’t shake it. My possessions began to suffocate me. Time to redefine my own success. I was downsizing my life. Send over HGTV, I was going tiny!

While I’m not a hipster or “crunchy,” my gypsy soul is pretty recognizable. Always been one to dive right in instead of ease into cold water. For me, once the idea struck, it was time to put it into action. I had a complete life turnaround in under 3 weeks.

After deciding mortgages weren’t for me, there was no way I was going to lay down $60k for a tiny house. These hands of mine are going to build that sucker themselves. I set a goal of 3 months to learn how to build and how to live in a tiny home and $3,000 to get it done.