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SECRETARY'S MINUTES 

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JUST DUE IT!

Dues are due for the six month period beginning April 1, 2004 through September 30, 2004, in the amount of  $30.00.  You will soon receive an e-mail, letting you know your dues payment status.  You may bring your dues payment to the March meeting.

Remember:

The referral list goes out to local accounting professionals in May.  In order to be included, you must be current on your dues!

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What I Learned About Setting My Price
Brought to you by: Dawn Hampton, RHIT

I was recently contacted by a southern California company to work on a huge project.  I was considered an expert for this project. It was a rush situation, very high volume, and high stress.  In an effort to set my price correctly I did made the following phone calls:

·         To professional organizations of which I am a member to inquire about pricing data for similar jobs.

·         To other organizations of which I am not a member.

·         To businesses in various parts of the state to inquire about pricing. Surprisingly, many of the companies told me how they set their prices in hopes of being referred should I decide not to take on the project. 

·         To other professional people that have done similar projects or who may know people who have done similar jobs.

·         Finally, I searched the web.

I structured my price and wrote up an agreement for the project. While my price was in line with market rates, the company (large in size) doing the hiring wanted me (a sole proprietor) to cut my price since they were well over their budget. I had already bid at my walk-away price. I learned that if I do a good job researching pricing for special projects then I could walk away without feeling badly regardless of whether I was hired for the project or not. Standing firm on one’s price does not eliminate the possibility of future work with the company.  The moral of the story… if you don’t place value on your work nobody else will either.

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I found this article by following links on a cool website: allbookkeepingresource.com.  Other interesting items on this site include links to books on bookkeeping and small businesses, as well as software: (Ed.)

Learn the Rule of 72

Step 1 of 2: How long does it take my money to double?

This step teaches you how to determine the number of years it will take for your investment or debt to double in value.

Divide the number 72 by the percentage rate you are paying on your debt, or earning on your investment. Here are two examples...

You borrowed $1,000 from your friend, who is charging you 6% interest. 72 divided by 6 is 12. That makes 12 the number of years it would take for your debt to your friend to double to $2,000 if you did not make any payments.

You have a savings account with $500 deposited in it. It earns 4% interest from the bank. 72 divided by 4 is 18. It will take 18 years for your $500 to double to $1,000 if you don't make any deposits.

Remember: 72 divided by the Interest Percentage is the number of years it takes to double.

That is the end of step one.

Step 2 of 2: How many times will my money double?

This step teaches you how important it is for your money to double as many times as possible, and for your debts to double as few times as possible.

Determine how many years you will keep your investment before cashing it in.  Divide that by the number of years it will take to double each time, the number you figured out in step one.

Now look at what happens to your money each time it doubles...

$1 ... $2 ... $4 ... $8 ... $16 ... $32 ... $64 ... $128 ...

You can see that it makes a big difference how many times your money doubles.  If you can make it double only a few more times by making just slightly better investments, you can end up with many times more money at retirement, or whenever you cash in your investment.

Think about how fast your debts can double with high interest rates, such as those charged on most credit card accounts.

You have learned the basics you need to use the rule of 72. 

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And, now, the unavoidable pun:

Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot  his whole life, which    created an impressive set of calluses on his feet.  He also ate very little, which made him frail, and with his odd  diet, he suffered from very bad breath. This made him.... what?  (This is  so bad it's good...)

 --a super-callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

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PLEASE REMEMBER to notify Vicki St. Martin of any email or address changes to keep the data base current!!

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