In this day and age it is almost impossible to maintain a decent standard of living on one paycheck, but in a family where children are involved it is not always feasible for both dad and mom to have a job outside of the home.  Daycare expenses, the need for a second car, and too much time away from the children are some common drawbacks.  This however is the exact situation that a Home Based Business works to its greatest advantage.

Home Based Businesses are great and can be extremely profitable but without the proper knowledge and tools you can waste an incredible amount of time and/or money which defeats the purpose you started out with, namely to make money and have time to do the things you want to do. This article was written to give the average person like you and I a practical guideline to getting started in a home based business the right way, and to save you wasted time and money.

My experience has shown me that there are basically 3 main pillars or principles of a solid home based business.

Pillar #1: It must have minimal start up cost.

A home based business that has a high start up cost will take longer to see a profit, and as we said earlier, time is one of the things we are trying to cut down on. Minimal cost will also make the home based business more assessable to a larger amount of families or individuals who are just starting out.

Pillar #2: It must be easy to set up and maintain.

The more complicated your home business project, no matter what it is, the more likely you are to give up out of sheer frustration before you see a profit. A business that is easy to set up and maintain will give you confidence and a sense of accomplishment as you complete each simple step in the process.

Let’s face it if you enjoyed wasting a lot of time and effort maintaining a home based business you would not be reading this article. This is about freeing you to spend time with your family and doing the things you love, not creating another taskmaster to replace your job! The first two pillars of a solid home based business are necessary for the third to occur.

Pillar #3: It must have a quick return on investment. (ROI)

You can spend months building a home based business but it there is never any real profit generated in a reasonable amount of time many people may get discouraged and give up. What is a reasonable amount of time? I would plan for a time frame on the order of weeks instead of months. Depending on the type of home based business some people have had a decent ROI within days, and unbelievable as it may sound some businesses that deal with affiliate marketing and sales can see profit as early as 15 minutes from startup!

You may be thinking to yourself “that’s too simple!” Let me say that within these 3 pillars there is plenty of detail to keep anyone busy. The business that you choose to start should definitely be something that interests you and possibly even something that you already have a measure of experience in doing. Whatever home based business you get involved in make sure that it is propped up by the 3 pillars listed in this article. Do not make the mistake of overcomplicating your efforts or you will see very quickly that you will get bogged down with a lot of needlessly wasted time and effort.

Here’s to your home based business success.

Canadian auto dealers are promoting
Cheap Canadian Auto Loans of up to 84 months as a way to lower monthly payments and squeeze buyers into high-end models.

But here’s a good rule of thumb for anyone in the market for a new car or truck: If you can’t afford to pay off your Cheap Canadian Car Loan in 60 months or less, it isn’t cheap and you can’t afford it. Period.

You’ll almost certainly regret stretching your payments out to six or seven years. That kind of financing can easily launch you into a never-ending cycle of auto payments.

As Jack Nerad, executive editorial director and market analyst for Kelley Blue Book, puts it: “Be willing to get what you can afford or you’ll always be in debt.”

Here are the six reasons to avoid extra-long auto loans:

Reason 1. You’ll pay thousands more in interest.

Longer loans have higher interest rates and you’ll be paying that higher rate over a longer period.

For example, a Cadillac CTS at $34,000 in a 60-month loan at 7% interest will cost you $673 a month. Over the life of the loan, you’ll pay about $6,400 in interest.

The same car will cost you $560 a month if you get an 84-month loan at 9.7% interest. (Longer loans always charge higher interest rates.)

But by the time the car is paid off, you’ll have spent $13,000, or more than twice as much, in interest.

The interest you pay on an auto loan is not tax deductible, so there’s no benefit to you.

Reason 2. You’ll probably want a new car before the current one is paid off.

Dealers typically use long-term loans to squeeze buyers into luxury cars, big pickups and full-size sport-utility vehicles that cost $30,000 or more.

While those are very nice rides, the experts at Kelley Blue Book say most drivers still want to get a new car every three to five years, or about the time vehicles begin to need more extensive, not to mention expensive, maintenance.

With an extra-long loan, however, you’re still years away from getting the pink slip.

Reason 3. You’ll be upside-down on your loan most of the time you’re paying it off.

Though you’re reducing your debt slowly, your new car or truck will depreciate quickly — losing 20% to 30% of its value in the first year alone.

With a 60-month loan, it’s not uncommon to owe more than your car is worth for the first couple of years. With an 84-month loan, you’ll be in that unenviable position until your sixth or seventh year of payments.

Let’s say you take out an 84-month loan on a Toyota Highlander. At $28,225 and a 9.7% interest rate, you’ll still owe roughly $18,400 after three years. Try to trade it in and the dealer will give you $15,000, if it’s in good condition.

Or what about the Cadillac CTS? If you kept it for five years, you’ll still owe $12,155 but can only expect to get about $10,500 when you trade it in.

Reason 4. You could still be paying for your car after you get rid of it.

You’ll have to roll the difference between what you owe and what your car is worth into the loan on your next car.

Using our two examples, you’ll have to carry over $3,400 in debt on the Highlander and $1,655 on the CTS.

Car payments would become a never-ending drain on your budget, and the extra debt would make it that much harder to afford the payments on your next car. You could easily be forced to trade down to a less-costly model.

Imagine how you’d feel driving around in a RAV4 or Chevrolet Malibu while making payments worthy of a Highlander or CTS.

Reason 5. The other options aren’t all that great, either.

Of course, you can get more for your car or truck if you try to sell it yourself. You may even be able to command a high enough price to cover your note. But if you can’t, you’ll have to make up the difference out of your pocket before your lender will release the title.

Either way, you won’t reap the financial rewards of buying a new car — paying it off and going a year or two without payments, or selling it and having money for a down payment on your next vehicle.

To obtain any of those benefits, you’ll have to stick out even a Cheap Canadian Car Loan to the bitter end and hope you don’t have any serious mechanical problems after the warranty expires — the kind of problems that can eat up the modest resale value of any six- or seven-year-old vehicle.

Reason 6. If the payments don’t kill you, the operating costs will.

Many buyers tempted to use long-term loans are so fixated on the payments that they don’t take into account how much their expensive cars and trucks will cost to run.

Canadian Auto Insurance Quotes on a $30,000 vehicle is substantial, and most lenders will require you to carry full protection until the vehicle is paid off. Have a wreck and your premiums could go higher than you’d ever expect.

Filling up a big pickup or SUV typically costs $70 to $90.

And finally, the economy is slowing down, making this a bad time to be taking on more debt — especially more debt than you can really afford. Look at the big picture. Layoffs, pay cuts and other financial problems could be on the way. One critical step in preparing for a recession is to be conservative in your spending.

By Debbie Reinheimer

Interest.com Contributing Editor

Have a question about cars or your finances? Ask us at editors@interest.com.

Dynamite comes in small packages… or in small ads in the marketing realm. Our natural instincts scream that BIGGER IS BETTER! Is it really true? Sure, the small advertisement doesn’t have the luxury to of listing all of the benefits and cementing the deal. It does whet the reader’s appetite for more information and clearly directs them to the desired info. Here are 4 easy steps to make small ads work for you.

1. One Product, One Target
Let’s face it, you don’t have space to waste. Decide on your specific target audience and focus on one specific product. Keep it simple, direct, and powerful… a one act production.

2. Let Your Headlines Shout It
The headline is the MOST IMPORTANT part of your advertisement. It will decide whether the reader reads or trashes the remainder of the information. You’ve go to get it right, and say it loudly. Focus on the most outstanding benefit of your product.

3. Back Up Your Headline
You don’t need to write stories or essays here. Remember this is a SHORT ad. Brief benefits can back up your headline just as effectively. Fast!… As Easy As 1,2,3 … and Satisfaction Guaranteed… all speak the message you want to portray with no frills to distract readers from the main point.

Don’t forget to give the reader exact instruction on how to take advantage of the offer you’re advertising! Keep it simple and easy, yet clear and with several options to choose from. List a Website address, a telephone number, and a fax number. Make sure it’s convenient for the reader to get the information he wants.

4. Continuously Test It’s Effectiveness
The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. What will happen if you change your headline… spice it up a little? What about using different copy? You’ll never know unless you experiment!

Don’t change more than one part of the ad at a time, if you’re expecting to discover exactly what is most effective.

These 4 step advertisements are perfect for classified ads in magazines, newspapers or on the Web, direct mail postcards, and emails. The potential profits from small marketing tool can produce astronomical results!