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Personal investments can take many forms. Depending on the income of the investor, his appetite for risk, the expenses that he is responsible for and the rate of return that he expects, his investment portfolio will contain different instruments of financial saving. In general some common investment opportunities include real estate, shares and bonds, gold in physical form or tradable bonds, and mutual funds with a systematic investment plan or SIP. Of late people have begun venturing in to the field of commodity trading as a retail investment as well.

What does Commodity Trading involve?

Commodities in the field of Commodity Trading refer to food, energy or metal products which are an important aspect of industrial production. These key commodities are important for development and thus people invest in them using different options. The first is a Futures Contract wherein an investor agrees to buy or sell a specific commodity at a given price in the future at an agreed date. Futures contracts can be drawn up for commodities such as crude oil, natural gas, gold, silver, and even agricultural produce such as wheat, corn and rice.

The trouble with a Futures Contract is that it is very high risk and also rather expensive for a single retail investor. This is where commodity trading companies can help. As a retail investor you open up an account with a commodity pool operator and this person or partnership invests the money collected from individual investors in futures contracts and options. They keep you updated with account statements and annual reports. You ride out the contract with the partnership and split the profits or losses as generated.

Other Instruments to Invest in Commodities

While some investors are happy allowing an expert to handle their daily buying and selling, others wish for a more hands on approach. In this case stock options are a good investment plan. Commodity stocks are easier to buy than futures contracts. They also employ the broker pattern, so if you are already using a broker for company stocks, you will find it easier to add on a broker for commodity stocks. You can also hold on to them or sell them at will based on what changes you see in the market as you track them. Needless to say this option offers you greater control over your investment.

If monitoring commodity stocks on a daily basis is an activity that you would rather not do, you can consider investing in Commodity Exchange Traded Funds. These track the price of a single commodity and use an index of futures contracts. So while you are not directly investing in a futures contract you can still get the benefits associated with investing in one. Not all commodities have Exchange Traded Funds associated with them, so your investment options in commodities via this instrument will be somewhat limited.

You can also invest in mutual funds as an indirect means of commodity trading by investing in a mutual fund that invests in the stocks of companies that are involved in commodity trading. This will allow you to be recipient of the trickledown effect in the profits generated and will also guard you against sharp losses. All in all commodity trading is an investment worth considering in your portfolio.

Autumn is not a period you should spend much money. Moreover it is time before holidays, that is why you are supposed to save for gifts. As for me I try to reduce any extra spendings.

Here you can find different ways to save money in the following period:

Cook food at home

Many of us like going out for food. But if you want to save some cash, you should decrease such spendings. You should start to prepare food at home. You can try different recipes and improve your skills.

A good variant is to use a crockpot. I prefer cooking with it, because I need just to put all ingredients in it and forget about it for approximately two hours. And then you will have tasty food with no hassle. This will obviously cut down your spendings and make your food healthier. Also you can find cooking as a new good hobby.

Stay with opened windows.

The weather at autumn is wonderful, so you may enjoy it with your windows opened. In such a way you can save on your air conditioning or heating. Also it will bring nice smells and different colors of autumn leaves.

Stay outside more.

You can use this weather to make different sport activities. You may run, ride the bicycle, or do other gym exercises, play football, basketball or tennis. All this will help you to save on your gym membership. Also you can use all staff you can find at home to work with appropriate weight. This will not only improve your body state, but will also have positive influence on your health.

Relax outdoor.

You should not spend time at home or other places, you may just go out and enjoy the autumn. It is always much better to meet friends not in the crowded bars, but in your garden. In such a way you can transfer all your activities outside, if it is not too cold of course.

Also there are many outdoor activities that you may like. They can be really cheap, especially if you have chosen and bought some particular necessary staff. But if you do not have appropriate equipment you may always rent it. For this you can use quick & easy loans online service. It provides short-term loans, so it will be easy to pay it back within a month, that will not harm your budget.

Below I name some activities you may like:

Hiking.
Kayaking or canoeing
Riding a bicycle
Making BBQ
and many others

Make a swap of clothes

You always want some new jeans or skirts, but buying them in the brand markets may be expensive. That is why you should try to exchange clothes with your friends or even make a list with photos of what you have in the Internet. In such way you can find someone who wants especially what you have, and you can change or even sell it. Making such swaps will help you to get rid of the clothes you do not wear and to find new ones. Also you may meet some interesting people.

So you should try the recommended tips to save your money. This will also help you to make changes in your life and feel something new.

The credit card is completely different to the original concept of the idea of using credit. While the original credit card was paper, this quickly developed to the plastic one that adorns many purses and wallets around the world.

The original idea behind the credit card was to pay the debt in full at the end of each month. You only became eligible for a credit card if you were a special and privileged client. Often the banks lost money on the credit card, with high fees, but this didn’t matter if it meant a customer was happy and loyal. The change in the use of the cards is apparent as customer’s now, often have balances from previous months spending.

However, slowing the evolution of the credit card took place and it was no longer a privileged accessory but one many people demanded as an easy access to some form of credit.

A credit card has become a necessity in the majority of homes; it pays for luxuries but also a way to pay for the essentials. With the companies competing for the larger slice of credit from the consumers, more and more people opted for the credit card as a way to pay for everyday life.

While improvements in the economy is a positive angel, wages have stayed comparatively low. This has led consumers to look for credit in all places and credit card companies have obliged.

What is staggering is the fact that in 2008 credit card transactions over took cash transactions in America. This is a worrying statistic in the current economic climate.

However, life has changed.More and more families are in a lot of debt due to the credit cards and rising housing costs. Consumers are struggling with the debt they are experiencing, the credit card companies are continuing to push the cards and increase the amount of debt.

Credit problems are bad that the amount on bankruptcies are increasing, meaning the credit card companies are potentially losing money through bad debt.

However, whilst this might seem that the evolution of the credit card is bad, the changes haven’t completed and there is still hope for the future.