Stephen Girard was a Frenchman born on 20th May, 1750 and is still regarded as one of the richest and influential Americans of all times. He was a sailor, entrepreneur and philanthropist and a banker who had single-handedly saved the financial distress of the US government during the War of 1812. He had immigrated to America at an early age and from then on, he embarked on his enterprising nature and made good use of his entrepreneurial skills as he became a millionaire who had a say in the country’s financial status too.
Believed to be the fourth richest Americans of all times, Stephen Girard had his fortune estimated with the ratio of the prevalent GDP of the nation! Being childless, Stephen committed most of his wealth for the education and welfare of his orphans. Girard resided in Philadelphia and married in 1776.
The charter of the First Bank of the United States expired in 1811, and Girard decided to buy most of its stock, the building and its furnishings on the South Third Street in Philadelphia. He rechristened it as Girard’s Bank. He was the sole proprietor of the bank and hired George Simpson as the cashier along with seven other employees to embark on this journey towards becoming a millionaire. This was on 18th May, 1812. Later on, it merged with the Mellon Bank and a decade later purchased by Citizen’s Bank.
Written by srini on September 11th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on Immigrant Millionaire Profiles.
Index investing can be an amazing savings option. As an investor, you first get to have a clear idea about what are Indexes. Well, The Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 or the Wilshire 5000, all of them are indexes. Indexes are basically groups of stocks that are carefully selected in order to effectively represent certain sections or portions of the stock market. Majority of the index investments are based on S&P 500 or the Wilshire 5000. As you invest in them, you become a part-owner of these companies
As you delve deep into this investment pool, you would notice that the broad market index does match very closely to the return of the overall stock market. Majority of the mutual funds do not really manage to achieve this. The statistical data of the last ten years would reveal that less than 20% of the large-cap mutual funds have managed to outperform the S&P 500. This makes index investing a great option.
Then, the cost-efficient factor makes it a great way to save your investment too. Investment through the index funds are carried out only in those companies that are enlisted in the index. You don’t require an analyst to get this data! So, this way, you are saved on the operating fees that are usually charged by the funds from the shareholders. This indeed offers you high savings option.
Written by srini on September 10th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on Saving & Investing.
This is the content of the ad3.php file. Leave it blank or include your ad.
Theo Paphitis is a British immigrant from Greece. He was born on the 24th of September, 1959 in Limassol, Cyprus. He immigrated to England when he was six years of age along with his parents and brother. His millionaire story gradually got crafted in the retail sector and his popularity has its origin in his appearances for the BBC business program “Dragon’s Den”.
His name features in the Sunday Times Rich List, 2008 and currently his assets are worth an estimated 165 million pounds. Theo discovered his passion for retailing and sales when he was working at City of London Insurance broker as a tea boy. He sold commercial mortgages and learned to read the business balance sheets while he was working for Legal & General. At the age of 23, Theo set up his property finance company with his friend and associate, Mark Moran.
He got involved with the NAG Telecom when he noticed the rise of the mobile telephones and also negotiated deals with Ryman stationary stores. He eventually bought the company and his other ventures include Partners and Contessa. Theo is a co-owner of Red Letter Days and is looking forward to buy La Senza, a global lingerie brand. This immigrant millionaire believes in ‘common sense’ and states “There are three reasons to be in business. To make money, to have fun – and to make money”.
Written by srini on September 10th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on Immigrant Millionaire Profiles.
As you go green, you can do your part to save the environment. In this process you just don’t do well for the planet but, effectively save your money too.
- Use CFLs. Although, they are expensive, they last long and use less energy helping you to attain bigger savings over a longer period of time.
- Opt for energy-efficient appliances. Be it heater, washer or dryer, they can really reduce your power bills. Reduce the usage of hot water and run for the clothes-line when you want to dry your clothes.
- Buy used stuff. Hunt garage shops, thrift sales and eBay. You help the product to last longer and reduce the pressure on environment. You also save big-time.
- Avoid the coffee shop and make your own coffee. Small efforts can save you precious cents and add up big with time. Bulk buying is also a good saving method.
- Eat in instead of eating out. Expensive sit-down restaurants can be substituted by eating at home. Avoiding fast food joints can help you save more. Go for car-pools, bikes or take a walk. The lesser you drive, the more you save. You can commute to do your bit in helping global-warming. Go for a fuel efficient care if you need to drive.
- Finally, waste less, insulate your heating and cooling systems and run the motor-less push mowers.
Written by srini on September 9th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on Saving & Investing.
Bob’s father passed away when he was just a teenager. He began to assist his mother to run the existing family business smoothly. He had never been wealthy but, when he immigrated from the Soviet Russia, he managed to attend the prestigious private school in Chicago. He made a good network of friends who later on evolved as important business contacts.
During the World War II, he discovered that he had an IQ of over 150 through a test. This helped him to get into the department of counter intelligence. As his first step towards becoming a successful millionaire, Bob concentrated in establishing a strong wholesale network across the Midwest. This was when he returned to resume the responsibility of his family business. His firm emerged as the sole supplier of a popular brand of cookers.
In 1960s, Bob diversified his investment as he realized the unforeseen potential of the FM radio. He indulged in radio manufacturing and bought several radio stations. Two decades later, Bob had already reaped his benefits and decided to retire after selling most of his interests. He has also focused on the private-placement bonds, real estate and venture capital. He has always reiterated that to become a millionaire one needs to think, plan, invest and work in tandem. He observes, “The success lies in making more good decisions than bad decisions”.
Written by srini on September 9th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on Immigrant Success Stories.
In order to prepare for a successful investment or building your capital, it is important to cut back and save effectively on your electricity. Electricity bill is one such area. Here are several options that would aid you to lower your electric bills:
- Close the blinds and the curtains – If your windows lack the mini-blinds, you need to ensure that they are in place. They act as wonderful insulators.
- Get energy-saving windows installed in your rooms – The old single-pane windows allow a lot of heat and air-conditioning to escape.
- The filters in your air-conditioners and furnaces should be regularly changed – This helps your system to run at optimum efficiency, thus helping you save electricity and the air in your home is also kept healthy.
- The window air-conditioners should be placed in the shadiest side of the building – This will result in lesser consumption of power and it will also work less hard.
- The air-conditioner and furnace must be of the right size – Well, if it is too small, it has to work harder, if it is too large, its efficiency will go wasted. In either case, the consumption of electricity will go high.
- The systems should be regularly checked – This way, they not only run smoothly but the problems are detected right on time, thereby saving you money and power.
Written by srini on September 8th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on Saving & Investing.
John Jacob Astor is America’s first millionaire. He was a German immigrant who arrived at Manhattan with just five English pounds with himself, at the age of sixteen. But, that did not deter him from evolving himself as the most reputed and well-known millionaire in the American society. He inculcated his business strategies so as to successfully amass the vast swaths of Manhattan and eventually, his dream of becoming a successful millionaire was fulfilled. He became the largest and the wealthiest landowner in New York. Astor was born in Baden, Germany in 1763 and apart from being a millionaire businessman; he was a real estate builder, inventor and writer as well. His father was a butcher by profession and he was the third son.
He started off with a fur trading firm and focused on building his network across the whole of America. In 1811, he laid the foundation of Astoria, which happens to be the first American settlement in the West Coast. He crossed the Pacific and traded with China, his products included opium and then he gradually switched over to a more lucrative option – liquor. He exchanged liquor for fur with the Indians. He even made a $10million donation for covering the expenses of the World War I, although he was completely against the war. His fortune multiplied when he was presented a bundle from the war bonds.
Written by srini on September 8th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on Immigrant Millionaire Profiles.
An investor in his late twenties or thirties has long been troubled by the dilemma that whether he should opt for paying down his student loan debts or focus solely on retirement savings. This is undoubtedly not an easy decision and it is the ultimate objective of one’s life that should decide on what he/she should choose. The decision becomes easier when you take into account the following points:
The 401(k) employer-matching programs –Maximize the amount of your 401(k) in accordance to your employer’s willingness to match up. This contribution to your savings will offer you instant and complete return on your investment.
Check and compare the Interest Rates and ROI – As you swing between the payment of your student loan debt and investment, just compare the interest rate on your debt with your expected Return on Investment. If the interest rate on the loan is higher, there is no point in paying off your debt.
What are your emotions on ‘debt’ – There are people who cannot stand the thought of being in debt. If you are one of them, ease off your burden.
Consider paying yourself first – It’s obvious that whatever savings you make, belongs to you. You can pay the minimums of your student loan debt for a certain number of years and you will have your retirement savings intact; just because you’ve paid yourself first!
Written by srini on September 7th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on Saving & Investing.
Nina Vaca arrived at Los Angeles at the age of two as an immigrant from Quito, Equador. The goal of her family was to build up a business where all their children will not find it difficult to participate. Vaca observes today that her father had once stated, ‘the key to American dream is through entrepreneurship’. But perhaps Mr. Hernan Alfredo Vaca did not imagine that his daughter would evolve as a fantastic entrepreneur just at the age of thirty-five. Nina Vaca’s Pinnacle Technical Resources is an information technology business that had a reported turnover of $60 million in 2006.
After arriving at America, Alfredo started a travel agency and planned to have five chains of the same for his five kids. The children were required to take a bus downtown in order to witness the progress and working of the family business. After Nina’s graduation, Alfredo got killed in a robbery and decided to put the company for sale while she did her major in business from the Texas State University.
She discovered her ‘talent for attracting clients’ while she was working with a technology company in New York and Dallas. At 25, she opened Pinnacle and began recruiting IT talent for companies that required aid to administer their computer systems. She had found out a way on how to become a millionaire.
Written by srini on September 7th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on Immigrant Success Stories.
Univest Bank is not popularly considered as a front-liner online bank. But, the investor can well be surprised to discover a wide array of personal and business banking options. The high yield account services require a special mention. The savings account of Univest Bank is termed ‘Univest Anytime Online Savings’. The APY offered is 1.5%. Now, it can be readily agreed that with regard to an online savings account, this is fairly attractive offer. An investor can open an online savings account wit as little as a single dollar! There are no minimum deposit amount mentioned and there is no monthly service fees charged either. But, sadly, there are no IRA options.
The ATM card offered at Univest is also free and one can use it at the counters of the other bank’s ATM counters as well, free of charge. Through this online savings account, you can go for free fund transfers and phone banking, to name a few of the opportunities. The usual savings customers can convert to online savings account without having to pay any charge. There is another interesting aspect with regard to this bank. The investor is set to receive Rewards Checking services that enable him to acquire interest yields that are dependent upon the amount deposited. Further, being insured under the FDIC, the bank offers good security and returns for your deposits.
Written by srini on September 6th, 2009 with no comments.
Read more articles on Saving & Investing.
This is the content of the ad4.php file. Leave it blank or include your ad.