Author Archive for Ray Lam

Free Accounting Software

by Ray Lam

Most of the free accounting software are not high end accounting software, but simple, easy to use accounting software. These free software cater to the needs of home users or small business houses. Basically they focus primarily on the management of simple accounting. In fact with a free accounting software you can easily perform the tasks performed by a paid accounting software.

All these lead us to the question whether you should try free accounting software or for that matter download it for permanent use. More importantly- what you should look for and where you should look for free accounting software? Here are some tips.

Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2007 Another exciting product is Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2007. Microsoft promotes this new free product as, “Everything you need to make your small business idea flourish. Microsoft Office Accounting 2007 is available in the U.S. only, as a free download or on a CD. An advantage to this product is that if your small business out grows the Express Version you can easily upgrade to the paid Professional Version.

Choice Accounting Choice Technologies provides this basic Choice Accounting Package as a free download anticipating that you will at some point purchase additional products and services from their company. It is very easy to master this program which is a full-featured accounting and bookkeeping system target to small businesses. It has a setup wizard that can create a dataset in just a few minutes.

Take trial versions out for a drive. If you want to try a specific accounting software you are eyeing, don’t be afraid to download a free demonstration first. Use it for a week or so and see if it meets your accounting needs. The best thing about trial freebies is that there’s absolutely no commitment on your part. If you find that the software is lacking in essential functionalities or that it isn’t user-friendly enough for you, simply download another demo version until you find the right kind.

From all the above talk, you can safely assume that you can have the best accounting software with great features for free. Different functionalities are added to the existing free download-able software by varying manufacturers. Just browse through the different versions as to find out the perfect accounting software compatible with your business.

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Online Email Marketing Keys To Profits

by Ray Lam

Online email marketing has become a very important and crucial marketing plan for many companies offline and online. When you have just finished creating a product, the success of your product is largely dependent on how good you promote and endorse it. Online email marketing is just one of many efficient ways to endorse your product on the internet. Listed below are five keys to making profits with online email marketing.

Three secrets will determine the success of your email marketing efforts. They are your offer, your list, and your creative efforts in the campaign. Take care of all three and your email marketing campaign will work like a dream. Ignore any of the three and you will end up in that group that is sure email marketing will never work.

The offer is simply what you are giving in exchange for cash. How attractive is your offer and what’s your price? Price matters like crazy and that’s why it is a good idea to test several prices before launching or rolling out your entire email marketing campaign. The list is the people who are receiving your email. The best list is the one that you have personally built yourself. When purchasing lists be extremely careful as many lists available online belong to spammers and will only get you into a lot of trouble.

Make sure all of your emails are free from spelling and grammatical errors. If a reader sees an email with a few mistakes, it may turn him or her off from reading your email. In other words, it leaves a bad impression on the reader.

One of the huge advantages of marketing on opt-in email list is the fact that you do not need to wait fro clients to come to you. You can get your message out to them immediately and at the same take the time advertise your products and in this way you will find that you make money online very quickly and almost effortlessly. Also remember that email is instantaneous. This means that you can send out your email message now and in the next few minutes you will be counting the money you have made online from sales. No other online marketing activity will give you results that quickly.

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Life Fitness Treadmill - Your In-House Fitness Trainer

by Ray Lam

Life Fitness treadmills have been designed in such a way that they fit well in almost any home. Not only that, but Life Fitness treadmills are also priced to be affordable for most of the people looking for a treadmill and they have all the features that they need in order to get a good workout without having to travel anywhere.

The Life Fitness Treadmill range for home use, starts at the basic T30 model. The next level includes three Premier models. At the top of the range, the two Elite Home Version models, based on the popular Health Club Model, offer a luxurious treadmill experience.

The magic of an Elite Life Fitness Treadmill is that the machine is so inviting, that all the run of the mill exercise-dodging excuses just seem to peter out… You will find that you just h?ve to get on this treadmill! This is particularly true with the T9e Elite with E3 LCD Entertainment System. The GoSystem One-Touch Quick Start will have you hit your stride, before you even get a chance to change your mind.

Basic treadmills are included in the T3 series of Life Fitness treadmill models. There are two choices in this category viz the T3 and the T3i. Both of these Life Fitness treadmill models offer a large number of features including classic workouts (hill, random, manual), sport training workouts (sport training, 5K sport training, 10K sport training) and EZ Incline TM workouts. Display options on the T3 and T3i models of Life Fitness treadmill include display of elapsed time, distance, speed, incline, heart rate, calories per hour and calories burnt.

Life Fitness treadmills in the T5 series are meant for competitive running. The main difference between a Life Fitness treadmill in the T3 series and the T5 series is that those in the T5 series are capable of speeds up to 12 miles per hour.

A Life Fitness treadmill from the T7 line, adds daily training workouts to the package (30-minute walk, 3-mile jog, 45-minute cross-train) and customizable workouts.

The T9 series of Life Fitness treadmill models additional customizable workouts, speed interval training, pace mode, calories goal, distance goal, and time in zone goal, as well as Life Pulse TM digital heart rate monitoring. The Life Fitness T9i treadmill bears up to 400 pounds weight and features a 5/8 inch 60 x 20 inch belt with cushioned deck, 3.5 inch roller and 4.0HP motor. This treadmill series offers a top speed of 12 MPH, inclines up to 15% and provides readouts/feedbacks. It also provides 16 preset programs as well as six custom memory slots for personal workouts and it monitors heart rate through Ergo hand sensors and a wireless chest strap.

Life Fitness treadmills have an excellent life span. Some of the popular discount Life Fitness treadmills are model numbers 5500, 8500 and T3i. No matter how strenuous workouts users desire (use of hand weights to tone arms and body while walking/running on the treadmill), Life Fitness treadmills are a great piece of exercise equipment.

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Car Donation Tax Reduction

by Ray Lam

Any donation you make to help out a worthy cause can also help you with your taxes. If you have an old car parked in your garage and you don?t know what to do with it, car donation is a wonderful way to help a charity. Although the car donation laws have changed, this is still a good way to help yourself and others too.

In 2005, the laws changed regarding tax deductions on boats, vehicles or airplanes that are valued over $500. Now, the charity must provide written documentation or acknowledgement within the 30 days of processing your donation. If the charity gives an exaggerated or false statement, they can be fined or penalized.

Find a charity to donate your vehicle. If you are associated with any charity or non-profit organizations, that organization might be your choice for donating your car. Otherwise, check the Yellow Book or search on the Internet to find an organization to which you feel like donating your car. After you have identified a candidate, you should review IRS Publication 78, which is a list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. This document is also available on the IRS’s website and it’s searchable. Make sure the candidate charity is eligible. Otherwise, you might not get your tax deduction!

If the car you donate is sold for less than $500, it is up to you to determine the fair market value as long as the figure is below $500. The tax receipt that the charity is required to send you will be less detailed and will merely acknowledge your donation. The information included on the tax receipt will be your name, the date of the donation and a brief description of the vehicle.

When applying for the car to donate for tax deduction you must also file a Charitable Contribution Deduction. As well as this you must be immaculate in keeping records of all your receipts and forms. This will help you to achieve the most from the car to donate for tax reduction.

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Learn About Bankruptcy Mortgage Refinancing

by Ray Lam

If you are a homeowner with a recent bankruptcy and have been putting off mortgage refinancing, a new mortgage loan could help you rebuild your credit. It is much easier today to get approved with a recent bankruptcy than in previous years; however, it will take some work on your part to avoid overpaying for the loan. Here are several tips to help you avoid overpaying when mortgage refinancing after bankruptcy.

The mortgage industry is extremely competitive; this means there are opportunities available to you that did not exist ten years ago. Having a recent bankruptcy no longer prevents you from refinancing your mortgage; however, the amount you pay depends on how savvy a shopper you are. Online search makes it easy to compare loan offers from a variety of different lenders.

As soon as your bankruptcy is finalized apply for a credit card. You might think this is contrary to a lot of the advice your read regarding bankruptcy; however, it is crucial to establish a history of on time payments with a creditor as soon as possible after bankruptcy. This history of on time payments will help build your credit score. Being on time and maintaining a low balance on this credit card is the first step to rebuilding your credit.

Your first priority when rebuilding your credit is this: never, ever, make a late payment. This is so important to your credit score after bankruptcy. Having at least six months to two years of on time payments on your credit history will allow you to qualify for a much lower interest rate and get you favorable terms on your new mortgage; that means on time payments with your current mortgage lender, and on time payments with your new credit card.

Getting approved for a new mortgage isn’t hard; the hard part is finding a good mortgage offer. Researching mortgage lenders and comparing a variety of mortgage offers will help you find the most competitive interest rates. When shopping for a mortgage compare all aspects of the loan offers: interest rates, annual percentage rate, lender fees, and closing costs all need to be carefully scrutinized before accepting a loan offer.

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Breast Cancer Symptoms

by Ray Lam

In our world today, breast cancer is one of the most common diseases and causes of death mostly among women. Breast cancer also occur in men though it is less common since the breast is being composed of identical tissues in both males and females.

In the early stage, breast cancer can be in form of painful lump and at times be presented as breast pain. It can also come as inflammation when it is associated with the skin. In this case the breast tumour itself is causing inflammatory reaction of the skin and this causes a lot of pains, swelling, redness of the breast and also warmth throughout the breast.

In addition to this, changes in the shape and appearance of the breast is also suspicious to breast cancer. Before the arrival of X-ray of the breast (mammography) breast cancer is mostly discovered as not showing the evidence of the disease before the symptom comes to existence, which means that the X-ray helps a lot to detect this deadly disease earlier.

Though not all the breast symptoms turns out to be breast cancer but skin changes of the nipples is one of the late manifestation of cancer. At any age, the appearance of any breast symptom should be taken seriously by both the patient and the doctor meanwhile there may be possibility of breast cancer in any breast symptom.

In some women breast cancer may have spread to distant organs, before mammography screening or symptoms showed the breast cancer. This can happen because early stage breast cancer does not usually cause any symptoms. If the cancer has spread to other organs these women may present with symptoms related to these organs. For example if the cancer has spread to the bone the woman may develop bone pain or bone fracture.

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Definition of Stage IV Breast Cancer

by Ray Lam

Stage IV breast cancer has traditionally been considered an incurable cancer. In the mid to late 1980’s the average patient with stage IV breast cancer treated with low-dose chemotherapy survived 8-10 months before their cancer relapsed and less than 5% of patients could expect to survive 5 years without their cancer recurring. In 1988, the results of a small clinical trial treating 22 women with stage IV breast cancer treated with high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant were published. Fourteen percent of these patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy survived without their cancer recurring beyond 5 years.

By 1997, these patients had been observed over 10 years and the original 14% remain alive without a relapse of their cancer and appear cured of their disease. It is important to understand that because over 50% of patients with stage IV breast cancer relapse, it is not useful to compare the response rate to chemotherapy, the average duration of survival or time to relapse. When evaluating treatment strategies in stage IV breast cancer, patients should compare the percent of patients alive with or without relapse 3-5 years from treatment to determine whether a treatment is truly superior.

In one clinical trial published in 1997, women in complete remission after induction chemotherapy were treated with high-dose chemotherapy or no further treatment. At 5 years from diagnosis, 24% of the women treated with immediate high-dose chemotherapy survived without disease recurrence, compared to only 8% of the women who did not receive further treatment.

Since this is the most deadly category of breast cancer, it is important to work closely with all the health care providers. New treatments are being developed all the time, and second, or even third opinions may give the patient more information about newly discovered successful solutions.

High-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant treatment for previously untreated stage IV breast cancer appears safe; however, the benefit of this treatment approach is currently unknown. It is known that many factors may influence an individual patient’s potential outcome if treated with high-dose chemotherapy. Patients without prior treatment, those with small amounts of cancer, and those whose cancer responds to conventional chemotherapy all do better.

Early detection procedures must include monthly self-examinations done at the same time each month. From age 20-40, healthy women should have clinical breast exams performed by their health care providers every three years. After age 40, the breast exams should be annually and should include a mammogram or similar procedure.

Monoclonal antibodies are a treatment that can locate cancer cells and kill them directly without harming normal cells. Herceptin (trastuzumab) is the first monoclonal antibody approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of breast cancer. Herceptin recognizes a protein on the cancer cell surface of 1 in 3 patients with breast cancer. In order to be treated with Herceptin your doctor must test the breast cancer cells for the protein that Herceptin recognizes. This protein is called Her 2-neu. Herceptin or other monoclonal antibodies are not substitutes for other cancer treatments but have the advantage of being administered during or after high-dose chemotherapy and killing cancer cells by a different method than chemotherapy with the goal of improving the total treatment. Clinical trials are currently being performed to determine whether monoclonal antibodies administered during or after high-dose chemotherapy can improve survival or cure rates.

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Breast Cancer Drugs

by Ray Lam

On March 13, the FDA approved a new drug that in recent clinical trials, delayed the spread of advanced breast cancer who were no longer showing any reaction to Hereceptin. Hereceptin is a drug which affectively combats cancerous tumors filled with too much HER-2 protein.

The new drug called Tykerb, couple with chemotherapy, has show in clinical trials to do a better job of fighting breast cancer than chemo alone.

Dr. Gary M. Freedman, a radiation oncologist at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia said,”There’s still a lot of questions that remain, but this study confirms that five years of tamoxifen alone is really becoming the wrong answer for most postmenopausal women. At this point, you have to say that aromatase inhibitors are in the mix of treatment at some point.”

But is there a place for the medication in the prevention of new breast cancer cases? That answer still remains elusive so we don’t know if it should be given to healthy women as a way of reducing breast cancer risk.

Tamoxifen must still undergo many tests and trials before it will even be considered for approval. But it is definitely a step in the right direction not to just find a new better cure, but to also realize where our current treatments fall short.

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The Essentials On Bad Credit Mortgage Refinancing

by Ray Lam

If you are a homeowner with less than desirable credit, you can still refinance your current mortgage with a competitive loan offer. Poor credit will not prevent you from refinancing your mortgage; it simply means you will have to work harder to do it. Here is what you need to get started refinancing your mortgage with poor credit.

Having a bad credit rating will not prevent you from refinancing your mortgage or even taking cash out. There is an entire industry of mortgage lenders that specializes in bad credit mortgage lending.

Mortgage refinancing with a sub-prime lender is more risky than financing your home with a traditional mortgage lender. Bad credit lenders often engage in predatory lending practices. Choosing a predatory lender when refinancing your mortgage could lead to overpaying and you could even lose your home to foreclosure.

If you want to cash out equity in your home as part of your refinancing, there are many lenders that will work with your credit problems. It is important to shop for the best bad credit mortgage as the interest rates and fees will be much higher because of your credit rating. Finding the right lender and avoiding common mortgage mistakes should be your first priority. You need to do your homework and carefully compare interest rates, terms, and lender fees.

Bad credit mortgage lenders are often called “sub-prime” mortgage lenders. These lenders cater to homeowners with credit challenges and many offer competitive interest rates. When applying for a mortgage from sub-prime lenders it is extremely important to carefully comparison shop to avoid overpaying. There are a handful of bad credit mortgage lenders that resort to predatory lending practices in order to boost their profits. Careful comparison shopping will help you avoid these predatory mortgage lenders.

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Breast Cancer Treatment and Side Effects

by Ray Lam

The diagnosis of breast cancer is overwhelming. After the initial phase of diagnosis comes the discussion of your breast cancer treatment type. This decision should involve more than just your physician. Choosing the most appropriate breast cancer treatment type is a decision that ideally involves the patient, family, and healthcare team.

Ultimately, you and your physician must decide which breast cancer treatment type is right for you. While you need the input from friends and family the decision should be yours. You should feel confident about the decision you make. Becoming educated to what is available will help your decision-making process.

Making a confident decision about your breast cancer treatment type involves more than one aspect. The good news is that when detected early, breast cancer treatment is often successful. You should become familiar with the types of treatment available, the success rates, potential side effects, and why the treatment being recommended is best for your situation.

A woman’s chances of surviving breast cancer depend on early diagnosis and treatment Today a range of treatment procedures, each with specific benefits and risks, exists for breast cancer. The choice treatment in an individual case frequently may depend on several factors, such as the different stages and kinds of breast cancer, tumor location, the patient’s medical history, menopause status and age. The chemotherapy and hormone treatments commonly given after surgery to women with breast cancer are much more effective in prolonging life than previously believed.

Obviously the goal of treatment is to completely remove the cancer and prevent it from coming back. This may involve more than one type of treatment. The mainstay of breast cancer treatment is surgery, with possible chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy.

Radiation therapy: X-rays or other high-energy rays are used to kill the cancer cells. These rays are applied to the tumours and surrounding areas.

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