Steve Sorensen Embezzlement

My name is Steve Sorensen, CPA. While being an accountant is my job, my passion lies with helping people with their finances by giving advice and discussing about the latest banking and financial trends. Image source: ethnews.com Today, I want to put the spotlight on one of the most popular (some would say infamous) financial and technological trends in recent times – cryptocurrency. The favored son of blockchain technology, no other technological breakthrough has held as much promise and controversy as cryptocurrency. The main issue for traditionalists is quite obvious – cryptocurrency does away with banks. This brings me to the second Steve Sorensen point – how has cryptocurrency affected global banking as a whole? Theoretically, fractional-reserve banking will shoulder most of the brunt of the changes brought about cryptocurrency. Financial experts foresee a shift to the overall number of credits given, which may threaten the stability of banking as a whole. Howe...

Getting the most out of a deal is what everyone wants, but not what everyone gets. There are many ways to get the best deal when buying a car. Whether you’re looking at a brand new car or a used one, being frugal surely has its benefits. Image source: carmudi.com.ph Determine your budget and be strict in implementing it. For sure, you have a preferred model and you’ve already looked up its price. Look for better deals for both brand new and used units. Some models depreciate quickly, thus making for a good buy—so be certain to watch out for those. Steve Sorensen suggests that once you’ve seen the prices, decide if you’re getting a new car or a secondhand model. This will determine the insurance and maintenance costs. Image source: carmudi.com.ph Examine ownership costs of the car of your choice. Many cars may appear to be inexpensive. However, their insurance costs and overall maintenance can be over the top. Expect this from brands who are great with financin...

Image source: inc.com Money, Wall Street, investment, these are words that are usually associated with the stock market. Some people believe that investing in the stock market is the key to attaining financial freedom. It’s a long-term financial plan that can earn big dividends if you are smart enough to know the situation. If you want to invest on the stock market, you will need to learn everything there is to know about it. According to investment expert Steve Sorensen, going into the stock market haphazardly is a surefire way of losing all your earnings. Here are some things you need to know before investing in the stock market. Like most investments, it’s very risky to bank everything you have on one stock. Diversify using multiple options like exchange traded funds or mutual funds. This way, if the stock fails, you will have several other backups and your finances won’t be ruined completely. Image source: fool.com It’s also important not to invest everything...

Image source: moneysense.com.ph First off, we’ve to mention that how you decide on allocating your assets for your portfolio today will be subjected to future economic fluctuations and redefined by possible alterations in your investment objectives. This means you’ve to regularly track your asset allocation and, when needed, spend time rebalancing. Having said that, you need to make your portfolio as financially sound as possible, based on good risk tolerance, asset allocation policy, and design. And knowing your personal investment goal is the key first step. Why are you investing to begin with? Is it to prepare for your kids’ college education? To buy a new car or house? You need to identify exactly which ones top your priority to better handle liquidity needs and time frames. Image source: flexscore.com Speaking of liquidity, which essentially means the speed by which you convert your investments into cash, decide on the portfolio content based on your need. F...

Image source: scottsdalerealestate.com How far would you need to go to save up on your bills? Apparently, not that far according to some financial experts. Small adjustments at home can help a person save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars a year. Let’s take a look at some of these minor changes. First things first. If you have good internet connection, get rid of TV and magazine subscriptions. Almost everything a person needs can be found online. This eliminates the need for TV and print publications. While you’re at it, use the TV sparingly to save on electricity. Unplugging devices at night before you go to sleep may seem la small act, but it can have a huge impact on your yearly budget. Since devices can suck energy from socket even when they’re turned off, unplugging them can save you $8 to $10 a month. That’s easily over $100 a year. Image source: blackdiamondtoday.com As far as household fixtures go, doing away with ordinary faucets and replacin...

Image source: thebalance.com The most common reason millions of Americans are knee-deep in debt is because of their tendency to overspend. A lot of people seem to know very little about the limitations of their budget. To address that, here’s a quick guide on how to keep yourself in check. Track your expenses Keep a ledger at home and be diligent enough to enter your expenses at the end of the day. It won’t take 10 minutes of your time. This way, you won’t be confused as to where your money goes, and you’ll have a better sense of how to adjust by cutting some things you don’t need. Focus on yourself Another common reason why people spend beyond their means is that they focus too much on what others have. Whether it’s family or friends, or even strangers, when people see others buying or doing things they’d want to do, they tend to spend unreasonably out of their budget. Focusing on their own savings and income will help them stay in line. Image source: theba...

Image source: wired.com With the unprecedented rise of blockchain and its offspring cryptocurrency, the fintech industry has undergone seismic upheavals in recent years. Indeed, blockchain is considered by experts as the most disruptive technology to arrive in the last decade. But 2018 is almost over and other trends are on the rise. Let’s look at the top three emerging technologies that are, while by themselves mostly offshoots of blockchain, may prove equally disruptive. The first trend to watch is the rise of Decentralized Apps or Dapps for short. Expect wider deployment of apps that work within the canopy technology of blockchain. With Dapps, an open-source software ecosystem will arise globally, pooling resources across a variety of machines, even from idle PCs. It is seen as both easy and secure to develop, leading to a more liberated, community-owned setup. Data mining is already all the rage but expect it to gain a more streamlined policing infrastructure, be...