What's an Opportunity Transfer?

Not long ago, an acquaintance who works for the Los Angeles School District apparently upset his superiors and the administration with a grievance and critique. As he told me the story of his ordeal, I was blown away with what had happened to him. Yes, things happen, of course, he'd been a thorn in their side, but they realized they couldn't lay him off or fire him due to tenure and his high performance ranking, so they gave him the old; Opportunity Transfer!

Rather than telling him it was his punishment for giving them such a hard time, they actually had the tenacity to explain to him that it was an "Opportunity Transfer" which added insult to injury of course. It turns out they sent him to one of the poorest schools in the entire Los Angeles School District, in a neighborhood known for gangs, drugs, and super high dropout rates. That doesn't sound like much of an opportunity to me, nor did it to him.

However, the higher-ups of the school district explained this would give him a chance to shine, to do his best work, and they knew they could count on him. Of all the malarkey I've heard of in this world, this is how they treat people that question their authority. Indeed, the Los Angeles school district has a tremendous number of students under their control, but they are not exactly batting 1000, even recently there was a molestation case where they put the entire faculty in one of the schools on temporary leave, while they arrested two or three teachers for suspicion of molestation.

That's not exactly building confidence with the public, nor the parents of students who are in the Los Angeles School District. Although the school district doesn't have the highest dropout rate in the country, I assure you it is amongst one of the top districts for dropout rates, and they are still having challenges with union tenure, no child left behind act, and students graduating who cannot exactly write a decent paragraph - oh but they can text message up a storm.

And yet, when the LAUSD's judgment is question from within what do they do; they provide opportunity transfers for anyone who questions their moral authority. Indeed, I would submit to you that the problem is much bigger than this one problem with a single school teacher who wants to see the district improved. The moral of the story here of course is; be very wary of the old "Opportunity Transfer" trick. I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Real-Estate Investing: Investing in REITs

Real-estate may provide investors with a high-yield and low risk investment combination for greater total return potential to a diversified long-term portfolio. For most people, investing in real estate begins and ends with the purchase of a home and any prospects of investing in office buildings, hotels, and shopping centers seems nearly impossible. However, these investments are more attainable than you may think thanks to real estate investment trusts (REITs).

A REITs sole purpose is to invest in groups of professionally managed properties such as office buildings, apartment complexes, medical complexes, industrial buildings, and so on. REIT performance has varied over the years, but the total annual return for the past 10 years has been 10.5%.

REITs trade like close-end mutual funds. There are a fixed number of shares outstanding and they offer those shares via a price per share model similar to close-end mutual funds. However, unlike close-end mutual funds, REITs gauge performance under different metrics. Rather than measuring performance by net asset value, REITs use a tool called funds from operations. Fund operations is defined as net income plus depreciations and amortization, excluding gains or losses from debt restructurings and sales of properties. A REITs growth benchmark is a byproduct of funds of operations growth.

Appeal of REITs

REITs offer an array of advantages to investors, including:

Diversification - Investors turn to REITs and their good dividend payment potential for diversification against future market downturns because REITs are uncorrelated with equity markets.

Built-in management - Each REIT and its property investments are overseen with their own management team, saving investors tremendous time from researching each property's management team.

Tax advantages - REITs do not pay federal corporate income taxes and are required by law to distribute at least 90% of their annual taxable income as dividends, eliminating double taxation of income. Investors can also have a portion of REIT dividend income be valued as a return of capital.

Inflation protection - Since landlords are inclined to raise rents more quickly when inflations picks up, equity REITs - which obtain most of their income from rents - can be an inflation hedge.

Weighing out some risks

Just like all investments, REITs carry with them specific risks that you should consider and discuss with your financial advisor before adding them to your portfolio. Above all is the lack of industry diversification because all REIT investments include only property investments. Some REITs may be even less diversified when they choose to specialize in specific property developments such as medical buildings, or golf courses. Because of their focus, a REIT investment should be used as part of a diversified portfolio to provide greater diversification.

You should also be aware that REITs are subject to changes in the value of their underlying securities, and their prices may fluctuate with changes in their real estate holdings. REITs are also interest-rate sensitive - particularly mortgage REITs. If rates and borrowing costs rise, construction projects with marginal funding may be shelved, potentially driving down prices across the REIT industry.

There are some unique factors to consider when selecting a REIT

Yield and debt - High-yields are tempting, but REIT yields above certain levels may mean that there's not enough reinvested for acquisitions, which could affect long-term growth. Too much debt or leverage can also influence prospects for growth. Your Isakov Planning Group Financial Advisor can help you define what a high REIT yield and a high debt load could have been in a given market scenario.

Management potential - Management should have a substantial personal stake in the REIT, which should be listed in the latest proxy statement. If the REIT is new, refer to the prospectus for the management's track record (if any) in similar enterprises. For insight into management's effectiveness at cutting costs and increasing rents and occupancy, refer to same-space revenue growth in the annual report's financial analysis.

Demographic trends - In the case of apartment REITs, for example, ask about the area's direction of vacancy rates and rents, the amount of new apartment construction, and the affordability of home ownership. The higher the cost of home ownership, the more attractive an apartment REIT might be.

Sometimes investing in a REIT mutual fund is one way to manage risks or real estate investing, and to spare investors from investing time into researching all the avenues that should be carefully considered when investing in a diversified real estate portfolio on their own. A real estate mutual fund may invest in several different properties across different sectors of the real estate industry in several different geographical regions, giving you diversity and a way to manage your risks.

Creating A Budget To Find Financial Freedom For Your Family

"Creating a budget." How do those words make you feel?

I think it's safe to say that no one likes to have to live within a budget but creating a budget is a necessary evil. Creating a budget and following it is the only practical way to control your spending and to ensure that your money is being used the way you want it to be.

When you decide that creating a budget is the way to go, there are generally four steps.

- Figure out where your money is being spent.

- Set goals to meet your long term financial plans.

- Track your spending to make sure you stay within your budget.

- To make the job easier, use budget software with built in budget making tools.

Just the though of creating a budget can make you crazy. It brings up feelings of anxiety and frustration. Creating a budget should not stress you out and one way to make it easier is to break it down into steps. Taking the process in smaller steps makes it easier to complete the whole job.

But, do not let creating a budget control your life. It can be easy to over-zealously monitor your money and obsess over every penny that is spent. While you do need to monitor what you spend, you can not let it take over your life. Focus on the categories of your budget where you have determined that you can cut spending and do not worry so much about the rest.

Keep a careful watch of impulses purchases which can result from ATM withdrawals. Impulsive purchases can really add up and money taken from ATMs can disappear in a flash. If it is a problem, then you may have to ban ATM cash. There is almost no place on the planet that will not take a debit card so there really is no reason to take cash out.

If you have found that you are spending more money than you bring in every month then something has to be done. Either you need to strictly cut spending or you may need to get a new job that pays more or add a second job. You have either have to make more or spend less or you will end up with some serious financial problems.

How Using Online Fax Services Is Beneficial

Faxing has changed drastically with the advent of Internet. With web fax service, all you need is to attach the required document to an email and send it to your fax provider. Most Internet fax service providers use the best online fax technology having filters that can filter your attachment, convert them to a file that can be seen on screen without any additional software. Online faxing facility has numerous benefits and few of the principal benefits are:

1. Cost Savings: There is no need to invest in a traditional fax machine and eternally bother about its maintenance. Many fax machines may also require costly repairs and toner refills, regular purchase of consumables that can all add up to hundreds of dollars in the course of a year - depending on the volume of your fax messages. Internet faxes also avoid charges associated with long distance phone calls because they transmit the information over internet lines rather than phone lines. Beside, some of the service providers will offer their customers additional fax pages for free when purchasing certain plans.

2. Ease of operations: Internet faxing is childishly simple and you will not have to contend with frequent paper jams nor be annoyed with too many busy signs. There is no need for handling ink and toner and make the entire faxing area messy. You can send / receive fax messages from any location by accessing the Internet.

3. Secure faxing: With any fax-to-email service, the faxes you send out will mostly be encrypted to ensure that it is secure and confidential. That web fax services allow you to attach files and have them converted into a format that does not require additional software to be viewed.

4. Mobile text alerts: If you are constantly on the move, it is not necessary that you hang around in the office waiting for some all-important fax message to come in. With some service providers, you can type in your mobile phone number into your fax-to-email account, and this will alert you through a text message whenever you receive a new fax message.

5. Operational efficiency: Unlike traditional fax machines which can only send and receive single fax message at a time, online faxes can send / receive multiple faxes simultaneously making them pronouncedly more efficient contributing to improved business productivity at your office. You can send faxes without the need for a separate dedicated additional fax line.

6. No special software to buy or download: When signing up for these services with your provider, you will never need to buy or download any kind of software. It is all conveniently packaged into your account and all you have to do is to select a reliable and reputed fax service provider.

7. Green faxing: According to research done by environmentalists, it is disclosed that traditional fax machines consume 200 billion pages of paper each year in United States alone. If just five percent of this were done paperless, it could save up to one million trees a year and you can avoid large scale pollution by reducing paper consumption.

8. Additional benefits: If your volume of fax messages is huge and baffling and you want to know who sent what - then fax service providers will maintain a detailed and always updated log as to who called the fax machine, what number they used and at what time the transaction went through.

If you desire to switch over from your conventional fax machine to an online fax-to-email service, you can still retain your original fax number. This way, there will be no disruption and you will never have to update your clients on what your new fax numbers.

Yosemite Tour Attractions

The numerous spectacular views of Yosemite continue to delight and enthrall visitors coming from various parts of the world. You can get to see some of the most natural scenic areas including gorgeous waterfalls, thrilling cliffs, amazing wildlife and many splendorous trees and plants.

The Yosemite National Park came into existence when Abraham Lincoln signed a document in 1864. Yosemite, spread over nearly 2000 square feet, is recognized as the foremost National Park of the United States of America. Yosemite features about 250 Giant Sequoia Trees within three Sequoia Groves and also home to some of the most stunning natural artifacts like El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, Half Dome and Glacier Point, amongst others.

El Capitan is located on the North side of Yosemite National Park, and with a height of almost 3,000 feet, it is arguably the single largest continuous piece of granite slab on Earth. There are several rock climbers who scale its walls with numerous onlookers checking them out with their binoculars. To an outsider, the whole thing will appear like a spectator sport.

Half Dome is the most imposing iconic granite of Yosemite National Park. It consists of a major challenge to many rock climbers in the world. It reportedly takes even for seasoned climbers more than seven hours to ascend the 2,000 ft. face. If you are ready for an adventure, you can also undertake a very strenuous 16-mile return hike to its summit.

Glacier Point is the prime vantage spot for viewing the Yosemite Valley. If you are keen on capturing the grandeur of Yosemite National Park in its entity, then you will have to go to the Glacier Point. Situated at the end of the 30-mile Glacier Point Road, Glacier Point treats you to bird's eye views of Yosemite Valley, Tenaya Canyon, and the Giant Stairway. You can also get an eye-level view of Half Dome as well as a lateral view of Yosemite Falls.

Yosemite Valley is a place that should not be missed. Seven miles long and a half-mile wide, Yosemite Valley is characterized by monoliths of granite and rushing waterfalls, attracting millions of visitors to Yosemite all round the year. The Yosemite Falls, located in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, is recognized as the highest waterfall in North America and the world's fifth tallest.

Mirror Lake trail is the most prominent trail in Yosemite National Park. Late spring is the ideal time to go to this place as there will be plenty of water in Mirror Lake. Mirror Lake is the little spot along Tenaya Creek right underneath the face of Half Dome.

Mariposa Grove is located towards the southern region of Yosemite National Park. It features some of the tallest Giant Sequoia Trees in the world, some reaching 285 feet tall. The Fallen Giant is one of the many wonders in Mariposa Grove and probably the most sought after tree within the National Park. Standing tall amid the Mariposa Grove is the Grizzly Giant, considered the oldest living tree in Yosemite National Park.

Sentinel Dome is much taller than Glacier Point and from here you get a 360-degree panoramic view of all the surrounding areas that includes Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, and the Clark Ranges to the south. This summit is most famous for the lone Jeffrey pine tree that has since been stuck by lighting.

The Merced River - that starts at more than 11,000 feet elevation, in the high Sierra Nevada mountain range and runs through Yosemite National Park - can cast a spell. Bridalveil Falls is about 620 feet (188 m) tall and one of the most restored waterfalls in Yosemite.

Do not fail to visit the Sequoia Grove at the South Entrance of the park. You and your family members can hike a little bit through the Sequoia Grove and lose yourself amidst the giant trees.

What can be more inspiring than the Tuolumne Meadows - the vast expanse of alpine grass and granite peaks in the heart of the Yosemite High Country along the Tioga Road. As you stroll inside the mix of grass, trees, and granite, you will find peaks rising in the distance such as Cathedral Peak, Unicorn Peak, Fairview Dome, and Lembert Dome amongst others. You can also follow the Tuolumne River towards its multiple waterfalls and cascades.

Animation Training - Information on 3D Technique

Manually creating animated art belongs to the times that have gone by. The technological advances that have come up over the years have revolutionized the way in which creations are done. In case you are interested in seeing yourself working with one reputed organization in the animation industry then it is needed that you position yourself for it by undergoing nothing but the best of the trainings that various well-known coaching centers provide. It remains absolutely necessary that when deciding over getting coaching for 3D computer animation the right guidance is received so that you can make the best of what is learnt regarding the same. The offers that you might get in the industry could be many but it is not so easy to understand how and where you should strike so that the best results can be received. There are some very specific areas in this sector where you can work and accordingly you need to go through trainings. This means that you should clearly know what you want so that your investment into the training does not end up falling into the wrong domain. There is no doubt that to pursue a career in computer animation training you need to be comfortable with the usage of computers. Making the cut without the right knowledge of computers would make it almost impossible for any person to go ahead in the industry.

Although the role of computers is immense in the industry yet it can not intimidate the need of animators since there is a requirement of the brain to be used to come up with some amazing creations. This is true that there can be no compromise on the skill and talent that is needed to offer the best to people. There are some popular names in the movie industry that did extremely well at the box office only because it was the right mix of techniques used by the needed skills and delivered at an apt time. So before stepping into it, intensive level research into every aspect related training would be a wise thing to do.

Financial Recovery Means a Change in Life's Priorities

It seems everyday there is some reason to expect the economy is not improving. Today there is discussion of a double-dip recession. That is another way of saying the recent improvement is more of a mini bubble that has to pop before the real recovery begins.

That is fine and dandy if you're an economist watching in fascination as your theories and graphs are proven, altered or not as the case may be.

What on earth does the regular guy on the street do? With big money being shoveled to every major corporation even while the same corporations are laying people off.

Those are some pretty ugly pictures. The reality is we individually can not do anything about big corporations moves or the unpredictability of government action.

We can do what we can do. Let's focus on that.

I have heard, because I do not know fact, that money is the cause of more divorces than anything else. The odd part is not enough money has the same effect as too much money. It tears people and families apart. That is something we can do something about.

So first we agree that we have to do something to keep family's together. For the sake of this article a family is any combination you can imagine. A close group of people with a wedge being driven between them. Ok?

I will assume most money issues are not because of too much money. That leaves not enough money. I will also assume the problem is debt related.

The total income has no bearing on this. Anyone with any size income can be overwhelmed by debt. Unsecured debt like credit cards and personal loans are destroying relationships everywhere.

The good news is there are ways to take care of this kind of debt. The bad news is it is not a fast process. In spite of all that hype you see about only paying 50% of what you owe etc. When you do not pay your bills in full, you get hurt far more in the long run.

Let's agree that anything that destroys your credit for years is bad.

Let's agree that the phones of our neighbors, our employers and our own phone were not intended for collection agencies to call us or ask about us.

Let's agree that paying fees of 15% of our debt is not beneficial to becoming debt free.

None of this is easy, but the easiest most beneficial way to deal with debt is to pay it in full. Creditors do not make negative entries to credit reports for accounts that are paid in full.

Debt Consolidation, Not a loan but a program that lowers your interest rate, eliminates late and over limit fees and get all your unsecured debt paid off within federal guidelines of 60 months. Larger payments can be made anytime. Solid principal steady paydown of the principal is made monthly, it works very well.

You come out of this program with great credit, debts paid with your income in your control.

There really is light at the end of this tunnel.

Hope that helps a little.