Articles by Mark Shead

1) Debt Consolidation Tarpit
Many people look at debt consolidation as an attractive option to free up cash and to help them get out of heavy debt. The premise sounds nice. You simply take all of your loans, combine them into a big loan with a lower monthly payment and life is beautiful from there on out. The problem with debt consolidation is that it usually is a series of poor decisions that led to the need to consolidate in... » read more

2) Do It Yourself Debt Consolidation - Making Credit Cards Work for You
Debt consolidation usually involves finding a bank or lender who will give you a loan to pay off all of your other loans at a lower interest rate. Often times the pay off time is much longer. For example, you may end up consolidating two five year car loans into a 15 year debt consolidation loan. The added time lowers your payments, but in the end you can end up paying much more. Credit cards make... » read more

3) Staying Connected in Mexico
Until recently traveling to Mexico meant being out of contact with the rest of the world. This is not the case any more. Over the past few years, Mexico has invested heavily in their infrastructure for technology. This gives you the ability to travel in Mexico without giving up contact with the rest of the world. In most areas of Mexico it is easy to find internet cafes where you will be charged a... » read more

4) Home Equity Debt Consolidation in a Crashing Housing Market
One of the most common ways to consolidate debt is to take out a home equity loan. The idea is that by leveraging the existing equity in your house, you'll be able to lower your monthly payment on other types of loans and save money on the interest. While borrowing against your house is one of the cheapest ways to borrow money, it is still a risky proposition. Most people are use to the prices of... » read more

5) Locating a Reputable Debt Consolidation Company
If you are looking for a company that will help you consolidate your debt, you need to be cautious. Consolidating your loans into a single low interest loan can be a very good step financially, however there is a wide range of quality in the help you can receive. Some organizations are going to be more helpful than others and a few will even try to scam you. Here are a few tips to make sure you go with... » read more

6) Leading with Integrity
Leadership is often defined as getting other people to do what you want. Using this definition it is no wonder that many people revert to using underhanded tactics to try to "trick" their followers into doing what they want. This is a shortcut to leadership and doesn't result in long term value. It is this type of "leadership by trickery" that makes people automatically suspicious of their leaders. ... » read more

7) Where did the Mexican Flag Come From?
The current flag of Mexico has three stripes. It is green, white, and red with an emblem. The overall general design of the Mexican flag has been the same since 1821, but this flag was adopted in 1968. The design in the center of the flag is the image of an eagle holding a snake. The eagle is sitting on a rock near a cactus in a lake. The Aztecs had a legend that their gods had told them to build a... » read more

8) Seven Ways to Save on College Education
Many people graduate from college owing thousands of dollars in student loans. It isn't uncommon for students to graduate owing $30,000 to $40,000. For people that get married shortly after graduation that means starting out with around $80,000 in debt. Thats a lot of debt for a young couple just looking to buy a house and possibly replace their aging vehicles. While you may not be able avoid taking out... » read more

9) Introduction to Debt Settlement
If you find yourself in heavy debt and are considering bankruptcy, you should look into debt settlement. Debt settlement is where you contact your creditors and explain your situation. You make them an offer to settle your debt for a lower amount than what you actually owe. Why would a company be willing to take a smaller amount than what you owe them? They know that if you go into bankruptcy it is... » read more

10) Why You can't Drink Water in Mexico
Most people have heard that you can't drink the water in Mexico, but most don't really know why. Most cities in Mexico have a good water delivery infrastructure much like the United States and other developed countries. However the water is only run for a few hours at a time. So your house may only have water coming in through the pipes from 8 to 10 pm. Because of this you have to store the water in... » read more

11) Leadership - Actions Speak Louder than Words
Ineffective leaders don't understand that actions speak louder than words. The expect people to listen to what they say not what they do. If you want to be an effective leader you need to lead by your example--not just what you say. I knew an ineffective leader who tried to lead by decree instead of by example. He would do things like mandate that the entire organization had to wear a particular... » read more

12) How to Lead not Push: Being a True Leader
A common mistake inexperience leaders make is using authority when it is not needed. If you are the boss people have to do what you say right? So the easy way to get people to do what you want is to just use your authority muscle and show they that you are the boss. Right? Actually that is probably the easiest way because it doesn't rely on any true leadership skill. You are basically pushing your way... » read more

13) Up your Standard of Living--Not Necessarily your Salary
Your cost of living is just as important as your salary. Sometimes the cost of living is even more important that your salary. If you make $60,000 per year, but live in an area where the average house costs $500,000 per year you may be better off taking a job for $30,000 per year where you can buy the same size house for $80,000. Most people tend to look at their yearly income, but forget to pay any... » read more

14) Buying Land in Mexico
A lot of people have heard that people from the U.S. can't buy property in Mexico. This isn't entirely true. In fact the only real regulations are on the near the border and coast. These areas are called the "restricted zone". The "restricted zone" is the area within 100 kilometers of any Mexican border and within 50 miles of any Mexican coastline. Originally the "restricted zone" was created to... » read more

15) Not All Bad-The Benefits of Using Credit Cards
Credit cards can be one of the most useful tools in tracking your expenses. It is great how they work. You make a purchase on your credit card, the charge is sent to the bank, the bank approves the transaction, and the bank posts it on a website or makes it available for you to download into your personal financial software. You can't beat the ease of use. If you pay the balance at the end of each... » read more

16) Leadership - How to Cultivate your Team's Confidence
As a leader you need to cultivate and build your team's confidence. Your team should have confidence in them self as well as confidence in your leadership skills. In general people will judge the probability of future success based on past performance. As you work with your team you will build a consistent history based on past successes and failures. If you maintain a good track record of success you will... » read more

17) Consider Working from Mexico
With modern technology, Mexico can be an attractive base of operations for many people who operate their business over the Internet. With a little planning Mexico can offer a safe but exciting place to work from. There are several advantages to working from Mexico. The cost of living is lower particularly in the cost of housing. Homes that would cost millions of dollars in the U.S. often rent for... » read more

18) College Expenses: Seven Ways to Save on Education
Many people graduate from college owing thousands of dollars in student loans. It isn't uncommon for students to graduate owing $30,000 to $40,000. For people that get married shortly after graduation that means starting out with around $80,000 in debt. Thats a lot of debt for a young couple just looking to buy a house and possibly replace their aging vehicles. While you may not be able avoid taking out... » read more

19) Leadership - The Link Between a Clear Vision and Efficiency
In any organization effort can be divided into two categories. Effort that helps achieve the vision and effort that does not. It is probably impossible for an organization to operate at 100% efficiency. When information is lacking the mind becomes creative. In a study people were exposed to a situations in ways that certain details were intentionally unknowable. When repeatedly questioned about some of... » read more

20) Finding a Reputable Debt Consolidation Company
If you are looking for a company that will help you consolidate your debt, you need to be cautious. Consolidating your loans into a single low interest loan can be a very good step financially, however there is a wide range of quality in the help you can receive. Some organizations are going to be more helpful than others and a few will even try to scam you. Here are a few tips to make sure you go with... » read more

21) Communicating Goals
Leaders recognize that in order to lead effectively they need to give their followers success. Some leaders are concerned that if they reveal their goals to their subordinates there is the possibility that they might miss the goals. The leaders are concerned that they might lose credibility if this happens. While this is certainly a possibility, the risks of not presenting any goals to an organization are... » read more

22) Leadership - Leading through Example
Leaders must lead by their own example. If subordinates see their leader doing one thing and saying another, they may follow the letter of the law and obey what is said without really following the spirit behind what the leader is trying to accomplish. Not following the spirit behind a rule can result in a very large loss in efficiency. Leading through example is leading through intent not through... » read more

23) Achieving Goals through Management Systems
Many leaders understand the importance of achieving goals, but have little skill at motivating their subordinates to meet these goals. Often leaders in this position end up blaming the people they lead. Most often the fault lies with the leaders in ability to focus effort toward a specific result. Achieving goals is the responsibility of the leader. The other people in the organization are following the... » read more

24) Being Productive
Everyone is familiar with a todo list. However, most people don't really understand the importance of having a list of the things you want to accomplish. Creating a todo list is creating a list of goals. The list tells you what you need to do to achieve some larger outcome in your life. The power isn't so much in the list itself, but in the overall goal it helps you to achieve. Having a list is a... » read more

25) Leadership - The Test of a Clear Vision
Many leaders assume that everyone understands their vision. Often there is a big gap between their vision and what the people they lead see as the vision. Unfortunately many leaders don't take the time to actually find out how well they have expressed their vision to their team. They often assume that because they are in charge people listen and understand what they mean to say, even if it isn't exactly... » read more

26) Success - Reacting Slowly and Deliberately
The best leaders I've worked with are the ones that know when they should wait and when they should respond immediately. Mature leaders know that some problems go away if ignored for a while. They also know that there are very few times where putting off sending a scathing email or administering a harsh verbal rebuke will give you cause for regret. However, it is pretty frequent that haste to respond to a... » read more

27) Leadership - Successful People are not Necessarily Good Leaders
Many people assume that if someone is successful it is because they have good leadership skills. Some people assume that if a business is successful it is because it has good leaders. Leadership isn't something that is particularly easy to pass on to other people. Sometimes a company is successful because a past leader was very skilled as a leader and the current leader simply has kept things running the... » read more

28) Success Through Recognizing Failure
In the U.S. education system the goal is to leave no one behind. As a result a great many graduates have never been allowed to fail. This isn't because they are actually skilled or talented. It is because the system doesn't allow for failure. Without having a chance to fail, these students are deprived of one of the most powerful ways of learning. Without having a chance to fail, students are taught to... » read more

29) Leadership - The Power of a Clear Vision
Many inexperienced leaders fail to sufficiently convey a vision to the subordinates they lead. If you are not skilled in telling everyone which direction to head you'll have confusion. Worse yet, you'll have a situation where people start creating their own direction. For some leaders their deficiency comes not from a lack of communication but from not having a vision themselves. Vision is what... » read more

30) Leadership - The Proper Relationship with Subordinates
In the army, "the men" are kept separated from those known as "the officers." This comes from the idea that the leaders should not be too close to the individuals they command. In the military this makes a lot of logical sense because if you are too close, you might have a difficult time making decisions that could result in harm to someone. On the army base they have an officers club, where the officers... » read more

31) Leadership - How to Challenge an Organization
A good leader can take a team and accomplish things that no one believed was possible. In order to do this they must make incremental changes that are challenging, but not impossible. By giving their organization a string of successes they will build momentum and attitudes that will help them overcome even difficult situations in the future. Good teachers take their students far beyond what the students... » read more