A Not So Important Blog About Nothing

Imagine It! Board Member and Primerica CFO Alison Rand was proud to announce that Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta will honor Primerica for its “outstanding commitment to the wellbeing of children and families of our community” at the Museum’s gala, Amuse’UM, to be held on February 20, 2010.

Primerica Co-CEO Rick Williams served on the founding Board of Directors. Since officially opening in 2003, many Primerica employees and departments — from Community Relations to Publications — have contributed their time and talent to support the museum and its work with children.

“For nearly a decade,” says Rand, “the financial and in-kind resources that Primerica and its employees have provided have made a profound difference in the museum’s ability to spark imagination and discovery for more than 1,250,000 children and their caregivers. Through grant support, board leadership, committee involvement, graphic design and print services, Primerica has enabled Imagine It! to bring rich, innovative, hands-on learning experiences to families and schools in the metro Atlanta area.”

Imagine It! has created a unique place where children and parents can play and learn together about a variety of topics in a safe, fun and nurturing setting. Tens of thousands of disadvantaged children have been welcomed free of charge, and many provided with free transportation to the Museum, so that visitation barriers are broken down and resources are openly shared. Through extensive community collaborations, Imagine It! is mobilizing four of Atlanta’s most impoverished neighborhoods to engage parents in the education of their children using the educational tools of the Museum.

Primerica is proud to partner with the Museum and is honored to receive such recognition.

Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta encourages children to learn by doing. This little one enjoyed playing with the colorful balls in the Tools for Solutions exhibit.

If you’re like most people, the start of a new year is a time for reflection and resolutions to make the new year better than the previous. Of course, all those grand plans for losing weight or exercising more usually fall by the wayside as life gets in the way.

This year, Primerica encourages you to make a resolution that you can keep…a resolution to start preparing for your future! With all the changes of 2009 behind us, right now is the perfect time to start making little changes that could have big benefits in the future.

These four tips will help you get started.

1. Create a Budget. Have too much month left at the end of your money? A few dollars here and there don’t seem like much at the time, but when added up can equal a big chunk of money you didn’t realize you were spending! Creating and sticking to a budget is an easy way to identify exactly where your money’s going.
2. Trim Expenses. Think about the expenses you have every month. There may be ways to trim costs by foregoing some conveniences – like specialty cable channel subscriptions or movie theater outings.
3. Consider the Latte Factor. Getting into the habit of saving isn’t hard, it just takes practice. Start by cutting out small expenses first and put the money you would be spending on those things into a savings account. For example, if you purchase coffee every morning, try making your own brew at home a couple of times a week.
4. Become a Bargain Hunter. You could save hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year by shopping around! It takes a little effort, but clipping coupons, purchasing items in bulk at discount stores and holding out for sales for big ticket items can really add up.

You Can Do It!
This year, resolve to take charge of your financial destiny! Your local Primerica representative can show you more ways to free up funds and start saving. Call today for your FREE Financial Needs Analysis and get on the road to a fantastic future.

Many of us pay too much for these everyday essentials.

Snacks. A daily protein bar can set you back $2 a day. Choose fruit instead for a healthier – and cheaper – alternative.

Bottled water.

Fruits and veggies. If you enjoy precut vegetables and salad mixes, consider the cost of that convenience: about $5.98 a pound. Wash your own lettuce and you’ll pay just a third of that.

Movies. An evening for two at the theatre costs about $30 in major cities. For about $5 a month you can watch two movies from an online rental source or. Plus, DVD kiosks located at certain neighborhood grocery and discount stores rent current-release flicks for about $1 a day. Or … surf your local library’s Web site for free rentals!

Television. Cut the cable or satellite service and get a digital conversion box, which gives you a clear connection to all the basics. With a broadband Internet connection you can watch more than 300 shows on certain internet sites. Many networks now post full episodes on their Web sites so you can watch them for free, or rent DVDs of your favorite shows.

Kiplinger.com, viewed September 9, 2009

The holidays are upon us and many families are digging deep to find the cash for gifts and travel costs. According to a recent survey, the average U.S. household plans to spend an average of $683 on holiday related shopping, a slight drop from last year.¹ With unemployment close to 10%, and many more families unsure about their financial future for 2010, finding ways of enjoying the season without busting the budget are more important than ever.²

Primerica presents three easy ways to make your money go farther this Christmas.

1. Shop Smart. Both traditional retailers and online merchants often run sales or offer incentives like free shipping to encourage consumers to buy. Just shopping around a bit could help you save big.
2. Stick to Your Budget. Decide ahead of time how much you want to spend on each person or gift and stick to it.
3. Try a “Stay” Cation. Airfare for a family can really stress a budget – especially when the economy is slow. Even gas and other travel expenses could be a big strain on a family’s finances. Consider staying close to home this year. Start a new family tradition like watching a special holiday movie together, going caroling in your neighborhood or taking cookies and homemade crafts to a local senior center.

A few small changes can make a big difference and if you’re smart about your spending, you can still satisfy those wish lists – without breaking the bank!

1 National Retail Federation, www.nrf.com, October 20, 2009
2 www.dailyfinance.com, viewed December 17, 2009

Today you’ve got more reasons than ever to free yourself from the burden of credit card debt. Here are a few:

1. Compound interest works against you. When you allow debt to “sit” on your credit cards accumulating interest, one of the most powerful forces in the world – compound interest – is actually working against you to keep you in debt bondage.
2. No end in sight. Most credit card debt is considered revolving. Because of the way interest is calculated, it can be difficult to tell how long it will take to pay off revolving credit card debt. It can feel like you’re on a debt treadmill from which you can’t escape.
3. You’re not in control. Your lender is. Your credit card issuer determines your interest rate, credit limit, fees and charges based on your credit history. You don’t get to select your own credit terms.
4. Great balance transfer deals are almost non existent. They used to pour out of your mailbox, but now those zero or low APR balance transfer deals with low or no fees are practically gone – and you’re stuck with the balance.

If you’re stuck on the revolving debt treadmill, you may be putting your financial health at risk. But help is available!

That’s where Primerica’s newest product, Primerica DebtWatchers™ comes in. This exciting new product allows you to create and monitor your own personalized path to debt freedom. With this product you can:

• Take control of your debt situation by using the information in your Equifax Credit Report™ to create a simple to understand plan for paying off your debt
• Monitor your Equifax credit report for key changes
• Track your progress toward debt freedom
• Set goals and monitor actual balances reported by your creditors
• Get up to $25,000 in Identity Theft Insurance with no deductible*
• Access your information any time, online

You’ll even be notified via email or text message of key changes to your Equifax Credit Report – all for a low monthly fee.

Becoming debt free is a good goal to have – and Primerica DebtWatchers can help you get there. Talk to your Primerica representative today to find out how to get started!

*Insurance underwritten by member companies of American International Group, Inc. The description herein is a summary only. It does not include all terms, conditions and exclusions of the policies described. Please refer to the actual policies for complete details of coverage and exclusions.

Primerica, representatives of Primerica, Equifax and Primerica DebtWatchers™ will not act as an intermediary between Primerica DebtWatchers customers and their creditors and do not imply, promise or guarantee that credit files or credit scores will or may be improved, repaired, boosted, enhanced, corrected or increased by use of the Primerica DebtWatchers product. Primerica DebtWatchers is a trademark of Primerica Client Services, Inc. Equifax Credit Report is a trademark of Equifax Inc. FICO® is a registered trademark of Fair Isaac Corporation. References to Equifax refer to Equifax Consumer Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Equifax Inc. See http://my.primerica.com for additional important disclosures. Product not available to residents of Washington, D.C.

• The Business Growth & Solutions Group of Grand Prairie. Stay tuned for more updates. #
• We look forward to seeing you at the the Oasis this afternoon. Come join us for an open Q&A Session. #

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It’s been 13 days since my last update, and well, not much has changed.  Except for almost complete with a programming contract, 2 new appointments this week, a lice outbreak was killed, I’m getting back in the Gym effective tomorrow, and I challenged 2 people in my office to an RVP in 6 months race.  You will also notice that there are 2 other sites that are being syndicated on here now.  I plan on adding a few more of my favorites and some from some of my other sites I run.

I will hold true to what I said about a sidebar showing progress.  Both personal and business.  I figure if I put it out here like this, I’ll have better accountability and make it happen.  It’s that or face public humiliation only the intertubes can provide.

Either way, we’ll have fun!!!

See you at the top.

What a great close for the year.  We just had our last meeting of the year, and even with a small turnout, we still were able to help local businesses with their questions.  We made some big plans for next year and look forward to working with even more local businesses to help them build while building our own.

We are looking to start other similar groups all across the DFW area to help even more businesses grow.  For those that haven’t read yet, we are a group of small business and entrepreneurs that got together to help other likes us, start, build, and grow their business.

In the coming months, look for seminars about various topics to help you grow, new members, monthly featured businesses, and much more.  We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting and joining us for lunch as well.

Have a safe and happy holiday.

Primerica is always looking for ways to make their representatives’ business lives easier, and that kind of innovative thinking usually leads to better technology. Since creating the award-winning TurboApps technology for representatives to send client apps into the Home Office for processing, Primerica’s IT team has continued to look for ways to make it easier and faster for representatives to grow their businesses.

Since the summer of 2009, Primerica representatives have been making the switch from their old platform in favor of the new Windows Mobile platform. With this new platform, representatives will be able to:

• Adapt quickly to Microsoft Windows and learn how to use it faster since it’s similar to what they’ve been using already.
• Process larger, more complex TurboApps applications.
• Call, email or text a client with a tap of the screen.*
• Run multiple software applications simultaneously.
• Use Office Mobile, a suite of mobile versions of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint Mobile, all of which are compatible with desktop versions of the Office Suite.
• Truly be mobile, because future wireless enhancements will include “over-the-air” upload of product applications, software updates and Primerica WebMail.

“This new technology is really going to enable our representatives to take their business to the next level,” says EVP of Technology, Tom Swift. “This new platform will help them help clients more quickly and efficiently, which will in turn help representatives grow their businesses even faster.”

*No emails or texts regarding securities transactions are permitted.

We would like to welcome Mr. Willie Heath (Heath International Enterprise Inc) and Ms. Boma Feisal, CPA (Abbey Services, LLC) to our team.