Surprising 6 figure jobs

Want to make six figures? Here is a fun list of 6 figure jobs that I think are reasonable.

• Court Reporter- If you got the skills to type 200+ words a minute, then this is your job. Special skills like this is always in demand
  
  
• Professional Coach - About 20% of 10,000 coaches make six figures, according to industry estimates.
  
  
• Mine Manager - Claustrophobia aside, this profession has a median of 106,000 dollars a year for those with the project management skills.
  
  
• Sales person - Also know as the world's easiest high paying job for some, and the toughest low paying job for others. If you have a way with people, then this job is for you.
  
  
• Truck Drivers - These long haul truck drivers whose willing to be on the road for weeks can pull over 100,000 dollars plus benefits.
  
  
• Tech Writer - For those who understand high-tech issues, with the ability to write about them in way that makes them understandable to the masses, this job could be for you.
  
  
• Restaurant Managers - If you able to work your way up from a kitchen staff or a waiter to a store manager, you could be making six figures.
  
  
• Air Traffic Controllers - If you can manage the stress and then your looking at starting around 100,000.
  
  
• Elementary Principle - The national median is said to be 76,000 a year but if you live in those higher income areas with large enrollment
  

Ideas to keep in mind to prepare for 2007

We all know that 2007 is just around the corner so lets start preparing for the new year. Here are some things to keep in mind for this new up coming year and things you should consider.

1. Stop driving so recklessly. To save at the pump, be smart at the wheel. For every pound per square inch your tires are under-inflated, you cut mileage by 1% to 2%. Save up to 30% by replacing dirty spark plugs and air filters. Accelerating and braking quickly lowers your highway gas mileage by 33%. At home, plug leaks. Install a programmable thermostat and shave 10% off your bill.


2. It's a buyer's market. Drive a hard bargain. Real estate in 2006 turned a corner - and not a good one. In the past year, home prices have dropped 2.2%. In this kind of a market, once you've found the house you want, start the bidding at least 15% below the asking price. Barry Miller, a broker and owner of Denver-based Buyers Only America Realty, says that's the average discount his clients are getting.


3. Invest your tax refund for retirement, automatically. Starting with your 2006 tax return, you'll be able to directly deposit your refund in an IRA. Yield not to the temptation of spending your refund - just get yield.


4. Vanguard Growth Index.Blue-chip growth companies have returned only three-quarters as much as the S&P 500 this year and even less of the Dow's gains. And they're still at least 20% below their normal valuations, as measured by their price-to-earnings ratios.

When will you be a millionaire?

It seems that everyone is trying to climb that millionaire ladder of success, that includes me. My goal is to get there by the early 40's. Think its reasonable? I certainly do, heres my plans/situations and what defereniate me from the rest.

• I am currently in school and will have absolutely no loans after Im done. In fact, I am currently getting paid to go to school.


• I will have a steady income of 50k+ a year after graduation, which is a nice start.


• The company that I work for will pay for my masters and in returns will also give me a nice raise.


• My plans to own my home by the age of 25 will help me by not dumping my money away to pay for rent. The monthly mortage will be going towards my house.


• I have plans for investing in real estate and expect to own a few houses by mid 30's, where I will be renting out to people for monthly income.


• I intend on putting away most of my checks in index funds.


• I have a great start just because I started to save/invest at such an early age.


• I think long term and have already started planning out my budget for my first home.

These are just some cases and plans I currently have. Here is a site that calculates when your gonna hit your million mark. After putting in my data, my results came out to be 20 years and 6 months. Have fun.

Smart ways to save money in a divorce

I read a story from msnbc about how to save money in a divorce. Now we all know that divorces can get pretty expensive but where does all that money go? Here are some highlights from the article. Enjoy:

Down and Dirty:

"The average cost of a wedding is just under $28,000, according to Conde
Nast Bridal Group — double what it was 16 years ago. The average cost of a
divorce? "That's like asking how much a car costs," says John Crouch, a
family
law attorney who practices in Arlington, Va.

Divorce proceedings can range anywhere from several hundred to several
thousand dollars. Estimates on the average cost of a divorce in the U.S. range
from $15,000 to $30,000."

The eye opener:

"The simplest — and the cheapest — way of handling divorce proceedings is to do all the negotiating and paperwork on your own. Web sites like divorce.com, divorceonline.com and completecase.com offer an array of information and services to assist you, from state-specific legal forms to downloadable divorce kits.

If your finances are simple, you don't have any shared debt, and you and your spouse can reach an agreement on custody arrangements, this may be an attractive option, and it will generally run you between $50 and $250. "

Five rules for investing

Setting your goals is an important step when considering to start investing. You should have an investment plan which can help you develop a strategy that suits your goals and financial situations. But im gonna assume that you have already done that. So here I present to you five rule for investing:

1. Diversify


2. Keep costs down


3. Pay attention to taxes


4. Buy and hold for the long run


5. Know yourself

1.)Keep in mind that all investments involve some risk. The best thing to do is to spread the risk around by investing in a mix of stocks, bonds, and cash investments and diversifying your investments within each of those asset classes. This way if some investments are not doing so well, the other investments may help even out the ups and downs of your overall portfolio.

2.)Dont let the costs fool you into thinking that higher costs and fees means you'll get more for your money. Normally, people think that you get what you paid for but when buying mutual funds, this is not the case. Overall , higher costs and fees will reduce your total performace.

3.)After the investment costs and inflation, taxes take the biggest bite out of your return. For your taxable accounts, consider investing in:

• Municipal bonds or municipal bond funds, which are exempt from federal (and often state and local) income taxes.
• Tax-managed mutual funds, which use special strategies in seeking to reduce taxes on investment returns.
• Index funds, which tend to have lower turnover and so are less likely than actively managed funds to pass along taxable gains. (This may not always be the case for index funds that track a benchmark for a narrow market segment or industry sector.)

4.) Dont waste your time trying to figure out the picdict the martket. No one can predict the ups and downs of the market often enough to make market-timing a consistently winning strategy. Just be patient and hold your ground.

5.) Know what you are comfortable with. If you cant sleep at night because your over-worried at the fact that the value of your investments is bounding around, then you need to build a portfolio with a more conservative mix. This way may not reach you to your goals asfast, but as least you will be more comfortable and more rested along the way.