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0% Introductory APR for up to 12 months on all purchases and balance transfers*

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• Interest-free grace period when you pay your bill in full each month

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DID YOU KNOW?

	I think all of us who start a home based business are looking to be successful; there’s a difference between being successful and wanting to be successful. I just wanted to share some of my thoughts in regards to making a home based business successful. In my opinion, 90% of what goes into a successful home business is mental. Of course you need money and other resources, but your mental state is what will make or break you. The majority of people who start a home based business fail immediately; a lot these people who fail just don’t have that mental make-up needed to be successful; I’m not just talking about home based businesses; I’m talking about everything they do in life. Failing can become repetitive; if a person fails over and over again, they will most likely continue to do so. The ones who make it in this business are the ones that can take the negatives and turn them into positives. Internet marketing is a marathon, not a sprint; you don’t become successful overnight; it takes some long hard hours, and a lot of mistakes in order to make your business successful. I’ve been doing this for over six months now and I’m starting to see great results. A lot of people wouldn’t have stuck it out as long as I have because they weren’t seeing the desired results right away. I knew when I went into this business I wasn’t going to see great results right away. I knew what I did in the first couple of months wouldn’t benefit me for months to come; I was alright with that, and now I’m soaking in the rewards. Believe me, I still make mistakes and will continue to do so. Yesterday I found out I typed a link wrong in one of my articles; this article went out to over 24,000 publications; that means the thousand of people reading my article will not be able to find my website. My first goal in article writing is to share helpful information; the second is to get people to my website so they can see the proven home income opportunities I have to offer. By typing in the wrong link, people will not be able to visit my website. At first I was very mad about this; I quickly got over it and decided to keep on trucking. We all make mistakes just don’t make the same ones over and over again. In order to have a successful home based business you must put in a lot of hard work; a lot of people think their website will do all the work for them. Eventually your website can do most of your work for you, but it takes a lot of time and effort to be able to get to that point. Remember, there are tons of people out there that are looking to make some money from home; as you know; the more competition there is, the harder you’ll have to work. You can get away with working about 8 to 10 hours a week on your home business; you might be able to make a nice little living, it depends on the system you’re using. If you want to make the big bucks, you better expect to put in at least 25 hours a week on your business; I average about 40 to 50 hours a week and I’m still not where I want to be yet. Like they say, “you get what you put into it” Another saying is: “in order to make money, you have to spend money.” That is very true in regards to making a home based business successful. I’ve heard so many different opinions on how much money someone should spend in a month in order to make their business successful. Some people think a couple of hundred, others a couple thousand a month. Here’s what I think; don’t spend anything until you know what your doing, and once you think you know what you’re doing, put aside some money as a back-up plan. Even when I thought I knew what I was doing, I didn’t. People tend to learn quickly when they loose money, and you will loose money at one point or another in this business. Please make sure you don’t throw everything you have into this, you can really loose it all in one day, and I’ve seen it happen. Pick your spots wisely and throw a little here, and a little there; where you see good results, throw more money in that direction. I like to spread my money out to see where it grows the most; I then take the money from the weak areas and add it to the stronger areas, this is how you learn in this business. Be sure to be patient and have some fun while trying to make your home based business work; like I said before, this is a marathon, not a sprint. If your patient, work hard, and have fun, you will make it happen. It’s a lot of people’s dream to be able to work from home as a full-time job, and it’s not easy to do. Expect to make mistakes and try to learn from them; you have all the information you need at your fingertips to fix these mistakes and learn from them. Try to get to know people who are trying the same thing as you; I’ve learned so many things from other people in this business. It’s almost impossible to make a home business work by yourself; don’t be afraid to find someone successful and latch onto them. A lot of people on the web are willing to help those who are interested in working hard.

Do you often feel as though you must be on the lookout at every turn, because there are people out there just waiting to rip you off?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but… that might not be a bad idea.

Recently, the Federal Trade Commission released the results of a Consumer Fraud Survey. Astoundingly, it estimated that nearly 25 million Americans were victims of fraud in 2002.

The study indicated individuals with high levels of debt are more likely to be victims of fraud. Three of the top categories of fraud reported to the FTC related to credit, including credit-repair scams aimed at those carrying high debt loads or having bad credit. The most frequently reported type of consumer fraud: advance-fee loan scams, in which consumers pay a fee for a “guaranteed” loan or credit card.

One example of a “pay first guarantee” is what’s called a catalog card. Aimed at those with no credit or poor credit, catalog cards are advertised as a sure-fire way to get a credit card that can be used to purchase all types of merchandise. What many consumers don’t know is that they’re paying an inflated fee for a card that they can only use in specific catalogs. They cannot be used at stores, online, or anywhere else. While the catalogs do have ‘all types of merchandise,’ the merchandise is greatly overpriced.

Credit-repair scams can vary, but most charge their customers a fee to ‘erase’ bad credit when in fact the credit bureau or the creditor are the only ones who can remove negative entries from your credit report. Other so-called repair schemes encourage consumers to apply for an IRS Employee Identification Number, and to use this number (which has the same number of digits as a Social Security Number) to apply for credit and loans. The companies promising such things are dishonest and illegal.

In another ruse, consumers are encouraged to buy protection in case their credit card(s) are stolen and used to run up a big bill. Federal law already protects credit card users with consumer liability capped at $50. In addition, many credit card issuers offer free “zero liability protection policies” that offer full liability protection (i.e. you liability for fraud is $0).

“If it sounds too good to be true…”

It probably is. According to Gerri Detweiler, founder of DebtConsolidationRX.com and author of “The Ultimate Credit Guide”, those with debt problems are often easy prey because they’re looking for a quick fix. She says, “People avoid dealing with debt problems because they face unpleasant decisions, and they’re searching for a perfect solution. The problem is there usually isn’t one perfect solution for debt troubles.”

By the time some get around to dealing with debt problems, they can be overwhelming. Detweiler continues, “Many people are so desperate for a solution at that point, they try things that don’t sound or look right to them.”

“In order to steer clear of scams, you have to go with your gut,” continues Detweiler. “You have to make some tough decisions that may have an impact on your credit card, such as whether to undergo credit counseling, bankruptcy, or debt consolidation. There is no quick and easy solution, only time and effort on your part will bring debt under control.”

“There are no new scams…”

Yes, they’re the same old scams out there. Unfortunately, it’s a whole new bunch of technology that’s being used to the scammers’ advantage, making fraud more sophisticated and harder to detect than ever before. Scammers do everything they can to imitate real offers or situations, and it is truly difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is false.

Phishing is one of the latest methods of identify theft. Emails are sent to unsuspecting consumers from individuals or groups claiming to be major credit card companies, banks, retail companies, etc. The emails seem legitimate enough: “...they’re updating their system and need to verify your account number, password, social security number, or credit card number. It will just take a moment of your time.”

Ira Stoller, Senior Member on the CardRatings.com Message Board, was recently hit with a phish in the form of a fake email doing a pretty good impression of an Ebay consumer alert.

“The message relayed that EBay was updating their database and needed to verify my credit card information,” says Stoller. While the email looked credible, Stoller knew that EBay doesn’t utilize or house credit card information—Ebayers who use credit cards to pay or receive payment utilize a third party. Someone was “phishing” for his credit card information. The email conveniently included a link to a form in which he could fill in the “needed” information.

Stoller next did something that not enough consumers do. He checked the EBay website for a consumer complaint page and reported the fake email. Companies emulated by these types of scams want to know about fraudulent activity that illegally uses their name and trademark because it will help them to protect the consumers who use their services.

other ways to report fraud:

Finally, how do you keep up with what’s real and what’s not without being completely paranoid? There are lots of resources to help you distinguish fraudulent activities from the real thing. Consolidated Credit Counseling Service, Inc. offers “Watch Out For Credit Scams,” which covers many types of fraudulent activities in detail. It is also a good idea to review our free credit card ratings, including our popular credit card consumer reviews, before you apply for any credit card offer.

Finally, the FTC shares the following tips: