Taking care of an aging parent or loved one can be extremely stressful on your household, finances and your emotional well being. Below are resources to help you manage this task whether you are home taking care of your loved one or live thousands of miles away.

Peace of mind and a little help from these resources can help you cope with whatever illness or accident your loved one is facing.

Family Caregiver Alliance – www.caregiver.org
National Family Caregivers Association – www.nfcacares.org
Faith in Action – www.fianationalnetworkorg
National Institutes of Health – www.nih.gov

With all of the web sites out there on medical conditions, few have resources that can help caregivers or family cope with a loved one in decline. Take advantage of these resources to help support you!

With housing costs averaging $17,000 a year we all need to find ways to reduce on our largest budgetary expense; our household.

Here are 5 ways to save you thousands of dollars this year!

1. Appeal your tax bill. Recent market declines mean you may be paying too much in property taxes. Contact your local assessor or tax collector for details. You may even be able to do it online.

2. Look into refinancing your property while interest rates are still low

3. Look into reduce your mortgage payments through a loan modification. Check out www.makinghomesaffordable.gov for details.

4. Consider boosting the deductible on your homeowners insurance policy.

5. Cut back on energy usage. Just dropping your thermostat from 70 degrees to 68 can save you big bucks.

Remember when the Sweethearts candies said “Be mine”? Well this year, those Sweethearts are getting into the modern technology age!

Here are the top 10 phrases printed on Sweethearts Candy for this Valentines Day.

1. Tweet me
2. Text me
3. Love Bug
4. Your Rock
5. Sweet Love
6. Me + You
7. Sweet Pea
8. Soul Mate
9. Love Me
10. Puppy Love

What ever happened to Be Mine?

Happy valentine’s Day!

If you read the headlines of papers like the Wall Street Journal you would think that being a landlord would be a disaster. Headlines like “U.S. Now a Renters Market, Landlords Cut Prices By 3% in 2010″ would scare off the best of us.

It’s important to read stories like this carefully. Doing so would tell you that a story like this applies to major companies who own apartment complexes and that the research came from that specific type of investment entity.

For the individual investor who buys and holds single family real estate, does this apply? The answer is “it depends.” When you actually think about it, would tenants rather live in an apartment or a single family home? Given the choice, my guess it they would choose the single family home.

Even if you have been in a situation where you have had to lower your rents in order to keep good tenants, you are still taking advantage of the tax benefits and depreciation of owning real estate. With the potential of inflation, inventory lessening and employment getting a bit stronger (depending on your marketplace) you may see rents rise in the future.

The message here is to hold on if you can afford to! What goes down eventually goes back up.

2010 brings with it some changes to the tax code. Here are the top three tax changes that you should pay attention to this year.

1. Estate Tax
2. ROTH Conversions
3. Gift Tax Exclusion

Whether any of these tax rules changes applies to you, you should seek the advice of your tax adviser or CPA and as always, do your due diligence to think and grow rich.

Does your team or your prospects feel a lack of trust or confidence in your message or in your customer service? As with any relationship, a lack of trust in a business relationship is a big deal. It can undermine all of your hard work; costing you time, money, and loyalty.

So how do you build trust in your business relationships?

1. Make sure you are consistent in your leadership. No matter where you go in the world, McDonald’s delivers the same burger. Your goal should always to be consistent in all of your business dealings, from employees to customers.

2. Make sure you are clear in your instructions and your purpose to the world. You are your message so you need to be clear on what that message reflects.

3. Show your human side. Do you have a favorite charity? Do your children work in your business? Showing what your interests and hobbies are gives people a better understanding of who you are and what you really care about.

The bottom line is that people do business with people they know and trust. Those who are the most trusted are the ones who will thrive and survive in any economy!

If 2009 was the year of the financial loss, 2010 must be the year that we wise women focus on what we have!

Have you ever heard the saying; “The best things in life are free?” Below are 5 suggestions (I am sure you can come up with many more) on how to reduce that “material girl” instinct and still live the life of your dreams.

1. Give up the gym membership and meet a friend for daily walks.
2. Entertain more at home with family and friends.
3. Borrow best seller books from the library.
4. Invest in Relationships. Take your kids to open a savings account at the local bank and let them make deposits. Even at $1.00 per month they will learn the value of saving money and you will enjoy the “ah ha” moment they get when they see their bank balance!
5. Pick a charity and make it a family affair. Helping others as a family is a great way to give back to your community and provides life lessons for your kids!

These tips will not only will you save money, but you will end up appreciating what a fulfilled life can be!

The Better Business Bureau has received close to 900,000 reports of rip offs from consumers. From Internet Ads that feature “free trial” offers to companies advertising to improve your credit score and reduce credit card interest rates, the scams are plentiful!

Here are two simple tips to help keep you and your wallet safe!

1. Pay attention to the fine print before you buy any product or pay for any service.

2. Do your due diligence! Contact the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) and go to Rip Off Report (www.ripoffreport.com). Both sites will offer you valuable information

Now more then ever consumers need to be vigilant. Do your homework so you won’t get burned!

Does all of the advertising and hoopla over the ROTH IRA make sense to you?

Download the free ROTH report from Entrust and learn how to take advantage of one of the last tax enhanced programs the government allows. Visit www.entrustcalifornia.com for details.

Did you know there are over 10 million individual and family owned forest owners in the U.S? 72% of these are located in the Eastern part of the country where productive timberland is produced.

According to The American Wind Energy Association, 20% of the nation’s electricity may come from wind by 2030. States with the most wind power include: Texas, Iowa, California, Minnesota and Oregon.

And what about water? The business of water rights is alive and well in states such as Colorado.

These alternative investments are allowable in a self-directed IRA. If this is of interest to you, log onto www.theentrustgroup.com to learn how you can self-direct your IRA to acquire investments that are important to you!