Becoming debt free should be everyone’s goal, especially in these days of economic upheaval. For many it is difficult to accept the fact that we can lead a debt free life. We are so used to debt in its myriad forms that living free is inconceivable. Our credit card is the biggest culprit of all. We pay heavily for using this plastic tempter (more of a tough ogre than a flexible friend) which encourages us to spend way beyond our means. The Banks are smart enough to make as much profit from those of us who are tempted by levying high interest on the outstanding amount. You are in fact turned into a slave working day in day out, just to pay interest on your credit card. This may seem a hard think to say, but for many it is a reality. Of course most of us never realise that we are falling into a debt trap until we actually find the costs of debt have risen beyond our means to pay.

By this time it is too late. The first step towards a debt free life is therefore to get rid of the credit card. You must immediately destroy your credit card and commit never to live off your future labours.

If by chance you are beyond the stage of attaining debt freedom and are staring at bankruptcy, it is still not too late. There are several options you must consider before opting for bankruptcy. It is advisable to approach a professional rather than try to do it yourself. The legal issues might be too subtle for you to understand and ultimately you may get yourself in a tangle. Moreover with each passing day your debt will keep increasing as the Banks will pile up interest upon interest.

One option is to take on an IVA or Individual Voluntary Agreement which allows you to repay your debts at a manageable rate over 5 years. As part of an IVA the first step would be to inform your creditors about the steps being adopted by you to become debt free. You would stop making payments, till you reach an agreement with the creditors and then usually have an Insolvency Practitioner or independent Financial Advisor make the payments to each creditor on your behalf. By restructuring your debt payments you can eventually become debt free in a relatively short time frame.

In your hurry to become debt free, you may succumb to the pressure by Banks to convert your unsecured loans into secured. Never do such a thing. By doing this you will be jeopardising all your hard earned wealth, including your home and car. This ploy is tried by all the Bankers and not surprisingly many individuals accept this arrangement in order to reduce the feeling of pressure. It needs no emphasis that banks clothe this act by promising easy repayment terms over a longer period. Just remember that banks are not run for the benefit of the customer, they are run for the profit of the share holders.

The legal fraternity and consumer forums are well aware of this fact and have taken remedial measures to safeguard individual debtors. In fact , many of the contracts signed by individuals for credit cards and personal unsecured loans, before April 2007, are not enforceable in a court of law. In such circumstances becoming debt free can be a painless affair. It may well be worth checking to see if your contract is enforceable or not. This means you can become debt free if you are one of the many in this position. The only piece of advice would be for you to approach a professional to interpret your contract . Whilst this is not always the easiest route to take it can for many be the fastest way to become debt free and one that is always worth investigating.

Do you feel frustrated and overwhelmed with debt? I hear you and I feel your pain. Don’t stay stressed out. Do something about it. Find and implement debt free solutions to get you out of this stinking debt hole. Achieve financial freedom once and for all. In this article, I will teach you how. Are you ready? Let’s begin.

Know your options. Many people mistakenly believe that bankruptcy is their only option but they’re wrong. There are many other choices available to you. In fact, bankruptcy should only be used as a last resort because it can kill your credit and break your spirit. In addition, it will take years (if not forever) to repair the damage caused by bankruptcy.

Do it yourself. Yes, you can tackle your debt with your own methods. In fact, if the total amount of debt is not too great, try talking and working out an agreement with your creditors. They may be able to work out a payment plan that fits your budget. In addition, you may be able to negotiate a lower payment schedule, lower interest rates and even more attractable terms. In fact, many unsecured loans can be settled for 35 to 50% less than the original amount.

Get a debt consolidation loan. When you get a debt consolidation loan, you take your existing debt from one creditor and pay it off with funds from another. In return, you are typically awarded with lower interest rates and better terms. In addition, you will only have to worry about one bill.

Seek credit counseling. There are tons of nonprofit and profit organizations that offer low cost credit counseling service. Not only can they help negotiate for lower rates, waived late payment fees, and debt settlement offers but they can help you devise a realistic budget as well.

Consider a debt hardship. If you have not been able to pay your bills because of job loss, divorce or illness, you may be eligible for a debt hardship. For instance, student loan companies offer economic hardship forbearance and allow you to withhold payments for awhile.

In conclusion, there are many debt free solutions to get you out of debt. Simply, know your options, do-it-yourself, get a debt consolidation loan, seek credit counseling and get a debt hardship. By doing this, you can get rid of debt and achieve financial freedom as well. Good luck!

Article by Poly Muthumbi

Millions and millions of people are desperately looking for lending hand to sort out their disturbed lives due to debt crisis. As a result so many unrewarding companies have come up with lots of tracking advertisement that make people fall for them and ultimately fail to resolve their intended problems. So many complains have been witnessed of dubious debt consolidation companies out there just to pocket peoples money and not even help solve their debt problems that they are already making them suffer beyond limit.

With companies like Debt Free America coming up with honest services many people are now getting their problems solved and actually living debt free lives. Debt Free America has put in place distinguished resolution for anyone looking for debt assistance. Debt-free America is a non-profit community service organization coming together with a goal to help people get out of debt.

The staff in Debt Free America is committed in providing its clients with help on any specific debt problem and actually providing viable solutions making sure that everything is professionally done to get you out of debt permanently. Also those not affected by a debt crisis and want any kind of counseling that could save them any future encounter with a debt crisis are always treated right and with respect. Free Counseling is a norm in Debt Free America. It is actually the derivation towards the itinerary to getting out of debt. The professionally trained staff will counsel you and guide you through offering also educational services that will help you and any bothered individual or family out there in need of debt solutions.

Since it is always advisable to get to know a company well and all its services offered openly, it is good you seek more information about Debt Free America by visiting their website. Look out for any hidden fees and clear your mind up before making that decision of getting out of debt with Debt Free America. The decision will actually be individual. Take advantage of the tools offered by Debt Free America like the one to test your financial literacy which I guess it is very important. Also get to know about their progress by reading their resourceful and up to date articles available.

Debt Free America frequently asked questions are a great highway to answering any doubtful question that you may have. Probably the question that is nagging you about debt and how Debt Free America goes about it has already been asked by another person and will ease you the energy of trying to scroll through without success. Also read the success stories that are available and see what Debt Free America has contributed to thousands of people who are now living a easy and debt free lives. Out of these stories you will be in a position to make a good decision. Come on do not let that debt stress you up. Make a decision today that will change your financial life for good. Let Debt Free America walk you through to attaining a debt free life. You deserve it!

Poly Muthumbi is a Web Administrator and Has Been Researching and Reporting on DEBT for Years. For More Information on DEBT FREE AMERICA, Visit Her Site at DEBT FREE AMERICA

What is an Investment?

There are so many investment strategies, investment options, investment jargon, and investment ideas, that a novice investor can become confused and discouraged before ever getting started. Before an individual can delve into beginner investing strategies, I think it’s important to define what an investment really is and the benefits of investing properly and strategically.

An investment is any vehicle into which funds can be placed with the expectation that it will generate positive income and/or preserve or increase its value. With this definition in mind, it’s important to find the best investment that will generate positive income (or hold its value) and that involves a level of risks you’re comfortable with.

Types of Invesments

There are many investments that an individual can choose to invest funds in. Securities are stocks, bonds, options, futures, and swaps. Stocks represent ownership and can range from very risky stocks (penny stocks) to relatively safe dividend-yield blue chip stocks. Choosing the right stock to invest in can seem like a complicated process, but to simplify it, there is one golden rule that an investor can carry out to get started: “select the investment vehicles that offer the highest return for the level of risk that you’re comfortable with.”

Bonds are publicly traded debt securities whereby companies borrow money from investors and agree to pay a fixed amount of interest periodically and the principal amount at the time of maturity. The attraction to bonds for many investors is that there are considered a “less-risky” investment than stocks. Investors who are risk inverse tend to formulate an investment portfolio that is heavily invested in bonds and other relatively safe assets.

Mutual Funds are very popular investments, especially for the beginner investor. The basics of mutual funds are that investor pool their money together into one fund and that fund invest in a variety of instruments. Mutual funds provide diversification for investors. Diversification is important when it comes to investing. It simply means that you’re not putting all of your eggs in one basket, but investing in different instruments, therefore reducing your risks. Not all mutual funds are alike, so it’s important to research the stocks and bonds the mutual funds are invested in, the historical performance of mutual funds, and the fees that are associated with the funds.

Options are instruments that give an investor the option to buy or sell the underlying investment that the option is attached to at a given price. Generally, options are considered investment tools for savvy investors and are not recommended for beginner investing strategies. However, once an investor gains more investing experience, options are certainly instruments that are worth learning about and possibly implementing into an investment portfolio.

Futures are also not recommended for the novice investor. Futures are legally binding obligations that require the seller of the contract to make delivery and the buyer of the contract will receive the delivery of assets at a given time and date. Futures are generally used for hedging purposes, which is a strategy used to reduce risks.

Property Investments

Another investment besides securities is property investments. This includes real property (buildings and land) and tangible property (gold, antiques, artwork, and other collectibles). Real estate has become popular investments in recent years and the potential for high returns attract many investors. It’s important to become understand the real estate industry before investing in real estate as a flipper, wholesaler, or even in REITs. With that said, real estate is a viable option for the experienced investor who understands real estate and can provide attractive returns. Tangible property investments are highly speculative. These investments are certainly not for the faint at heart. It is important to be very knowledgeable about the asset you want to invest in, and understand that there will be great volatility in these investments.

Things to Remember

So in conclusion, the most important thing to remember is that investments are used to place funds with the expectation of generating positive income and/or to preserve or increase its value. Although the preservation of funds is not as exciting as receiving big returns or investments, it’s important to acknowledge its importance. Maintaining value is certainly better than losing value, so it’s important to choose investments that offer the best possibility to maintain value (relatively safe investments). Remember that in choosing an investment, a good place to start is to select investments that offer the highest return for the risk that you’re comfortable with. Understanding these terms and the available investment instruments is a good place to start for the novice investor. Don’t rush the process, but become as knowledgeable as possible, and you’ll have a greater chance of fulfilling what it means to own an investment – positive returns.

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Article by How To Invest Business

Investing small amounts can be done very easy. Most people think they need a great capital to start investing and often don’t understand why they should invest. They consider investing as a financial instrument which can only grow if you spend a large amount in the stock market.

It is true that rich people can easier invest money because they can afford to set more money aside for several years without struggling to pay their bills. Investing is nowadays a necessity because everyone needs to save for a secure future and for some long-term goals.

There are several plans where you can invest small amounts of money in the stock market but it’s maybe better to invest in mutual funds because you invest immediately in several companies. Diversification is the key to have success if you want to build up your investment portfolio and it’s impossible to diversify with investing small amounts in stocks of individual companies. The fees are too high if you want to invest small amounts in stocks; so the best choice is definitively mutual funds.

Before you start investing small amounts of money you need to know the purpose of your investment and if you can afford to take any risk. Do you want to invest for short term or long term goals? There are plans for every investor.

Here are some possibilities how you can invest small amounts of money and you can consider choosing one or more of these options if it fits your goals and the risk you want to take:

*A savings account

Everyone needs a savings account for unexpected expenses and to build up a financial safety net. Nobody knows what will happen in the future and it is best to start with making a budget and you can calculate how much you can invest every month. Online savings accounts offer the best interest rate and it’s best to compare these of different banks. The rates are often twice as much compared with a traditional savings account. It is maybe best to withdraw in the beginning of every month small amounts of money from your bank account to your savings account.

*Investing in mutual funds through systematic investment plans

A savings account is the best start to invest your money but you will likely reach higher returns with money you don’t need immediately. It is possible to invest small amounts of money in these plans and it is maybe best to consider investing every month a same amount. This system of investing has the benefit that you don’t buy always on peak prices and often reach the higher returns than you spend a large amount of money at once. Systematic investing will reduce your average cost of investing.

An important issue is the risk you want to take and it is often wise to invest in balanced mutual funds (mutual funds which invest for 50% in shares and 50% in bonds). If you come near to the age of retirement you can limit the risk and switch them in mutual funds which invest for a higher percentile in bonds.

*Retirement plans

Retirement plans are popular and a necessity for the future. It is maybe the best system of investing small amounts of money. You only need to know that you can’t withdraw from this account before you reach the age of retirement. It’s an investment plan which provides money when you reach the age of retirement. You can’t invest in these plans for ten years to buy a house or something else.

There are different retirement plans between all the countries and certainly in different continents but the main principles are the same. You can invest a small amount of money every month or once a year in these plans. IRA’s and 401(k) plans are popular in America; pension funds are popular in Europe. There are plans with a fixed rate which is much higher than a savings account but you can only choose for an investing system in mutual funds according your risk profile.

These plans offer also tax benefits. Every time you invest in these plans you will enjoy tax benefits. In other words have two benefits; all these investments reduces your tax bill at the end of the year and you will reach a higher return when you reach the age of retirement compared with a savings account. It is wise to take the necessary precautions because you may need to limit your risk.

*Investing in bonds or shares

You can invest small amounts of money in bonds or shares but you will likely pay too much costs compared with investing in mutual funds. There are many shares which can be bought for a small amount but the fixed fees are often too high. There is one system where you can avoid these high fees and you even don’t need to buy a whole share but these plans are not well known because it is forbidden by law to advertise these plans. Direct purchase plans allow investing small amounts to buy stocks; it is already possible for .00 each month. The disadvantage is that you need to invest in at least 20 companies if you want to diversify to limit the risk.

There is plenty of choice to invest small amounts of money and you may need several options to limit your risk. A savings account is a necessity for building up your safety net but you may need to invest small amounts of money in mutual funds and retirement plans to reach your goals. Investing is a necessity and you don’t need much money to start investing and before you know you will reach a high investment portfolio.

So many countries around the world have been down complaining bitterly about the global meltdown. In Africa, they have been battling with financial crisis even before the emergence of the recession and the citizens of those nations have already adapted themselves to the economic meltdown.

When people begin to talk about the Global recession, I just smile and walk away because they don’t really understand what is going on. They cite examples of countries and individuals who have crashed along the way because the recession has eaten deep into their economies. Well, Economies around the world have gradually began to adjust themselves and individuals who have lost huge investments sums and companies that have liquidated because of the recession have started putting themselves together.

Big companies around the world have sacked so many of their staffs to still remain in business while others have changed their customer services and advert strategies to be able to save some more income for the rainy day.

An example of one of those companies was NIKE, who cut down their advert bills to half the normal amount spent.

The medium of exchange money is still circulating and been spent for the purchase of goods and services, paying for bills and taxes e.t.c but the only problem is the change of hands. Money has not gone anywhere, perhaps maybe HEAVEN but its only redistributed among the hands that make use of it. This is called the “Law of Nature” whereby nature helps evenly distribution of resources among nations of the world. The poor has started making waves and smiling to the banks while the rich…The recession has caused a switch between the upper class and the lower class of the society.

Really, I tell you; its not easy to face its reality but it’s the plain truth.

The issue of self employment now comes into play. So many people have started setting up one business or the other to sustain themselves with the fear of loosing their jobs any moment from now.

Start something now and don’t just fold your hands and believe all would just be fine. Lets get ourselves equipped for the future; Self employment pays.

General Plan & Strategy

Earning money online can be very difficult and probably a waste of time for people without a plan. Maybe you don’t have any money to start with or you’ve just decided to invest 10.000$ in online projects. In both cases you have to planify  your online activities in details.

My general plan can be called ‘exponential growth’

It is better and much less risky to obtain 25% profit every month and reinvest it, than to obtain 100% profit every month without reinvesting.

Example:

Initial budget – 1000 USD

Profit per month ( average ) – 25%

Jan (1.000 $ ), Feb (1.250 $ ), Mar ( 1.562 $ ), Apr (1.935 $ ), May (2.441 $ ), Jun (3.051 $ ), Jul (3.814 $ ),

Aug (4.768 $ ), Sep (5.960 $ ), Oct (7.450 $ ), Nov ( 9.313 $ ), Dec (11.641 $ )

As you can see, at the end of the year my balance could be approximately 11.600. That means about 900$ (average) per month.  The risk is minimized because the profit target is only 25% per month.

The big question is : How can be realized this 25% and in what circumstances (risks and investments)

Another important aspect of my plan is ‘activities diversification’ which is a common principle of investing funds (also important in money management and risk minimization).

My methods ( I earn from this methods, you can earn too ):

1. Sign-up bonuses

There are hundreds of online companies like (forex brokers, bookmakers, betting exchanges, etc.) which pay an initial amount of money depending on your deposit. You can get the whole amount of the bonus using betting exchanges like Betfair (by laying your bets when you rollover your bonus, and exclude any risk of losing money).

2. Google Adsense

This method doesn’t bring me more than 50$ per month but as long as it’s a sure way of making money is part of my online profit sources.

3. Selling digital products like e-books, dvds, audiobooks. It’s very important to create something interesting and useful. The content is essential. Trying to sell scams is not worth it.

4. Freelancer activities:

- Buying and selling small priced sites;

- Creating websites (using open source or free scripts) for friends,  acquaintances. I am not a very good programmer;

- Solving small projects (50-100$ )

5. Selling on ebay

- Most of the time I sell second hand products (from clothes to pc components). Even my friends ask me to sell their item online.

6. Forex trading

There is no forex system that works every time. Don’t search for one cause you won’t find it. My system is simple :

-  Not abiding by money management and risk minimization strategy

-  Opening positions only when there is a huge opportunity. There can be even weeks without transactions. No real opportunity, no transaction !!! Most of my winnings come from trend trading.

7. Betfair Trading

-  Trading on betting exchanges has nothing to do with betting for me. There is a small step from trading to betting. The risk of betting is huge. Trading is different. All the action must happen before the start of the game and the profit comes from moving odds.

-  How much do I earn from betting exchange trading ? About 20% (average) per month.

8. Internet marketing

- This is a huge opportunity and can bring lots of money.

- Many small companies that can’t afford to pay huge amounts of money to promote their products, choose to advertise online.

- Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing

9. Last but not the least, making money from writing articles on sites like bukisa.com

- Don’t try to push this form of earning money

- Money have to come in a natural way. It’s like SEO

- The content of the article is the key to your money. This must be interesting and useful.

- Don’t forget to promote your article.

How much do I earn per month?

Approximately 25% of my budget from investing strategies and between 300-600 USD from other methods.

Is the internet a real source of money?

For me, YES ! And also a permanent source of money and not affected by global economical crisis.

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Making Money from Internet

Now a day “Making Money from the Internet” is one of the buzz words. In the present world of information era we all are in need of money I order to lead and live our life with satisfaction and harmony. One general questions asked by the peoples are how can we make money using the internet? Is it possible? Is it reliable? How many do we get per month or in a stipulated time? All of the questions are hovering around the peoples when any one takes this topic. Currently we need multiple source of income in order to live a satisfactory life. Like that in the Internet (online) there are many different types and categories of jobs are available, that anyone can do and earn money, if it is done in a systematic way. Going for the internet oriented business generally peoples think that everybody fakes and does not give money. Most of the cases when we see regarding the online jobs are frauds, but certainly there are also companies who are ready to pay and paying correctly every month to their online employees. Sounds tricky, yes it is true. There are few companies who are really paying to their online workers.

When you are going for the online job the main thing you must keep in mind is the popularity of the company which is offering the online job. If it is a reputed company like yahoo, Google etc., they you can trust them they will definitely pay. On the vice versa if you go and choose some unknown persons in this area then the work done by you will always go begging, You can’t earn money from them. So before starting your online business journey keep in mind three things:

Check the reputation of the company.

While chatting ask your friends regarding the company and the offer.

Go through the FAQ section thoroughly before starting the business and also if possible try to contact the administrator of the site which offering the business opportunity and gather clear detail regarding the area and scope of the business.

Now I am going to tell you some of the ways which most peoples tell legal and well worthy in the online job market.

Method 1: Blog

Blogging is one of the area you can able to earn money. In this information age all your ideas and thoughts counts. In the present world the online marketing is at its peak, now a day everything is made possible with the help of the marketing. The marketing people will use your valuable blog to post and host their ads. Whenever a person is visiting your blog then there is a great chance for them to get a lead. You can earn if your blog gets certain number of views, or for each click on the ads you will get a share of amount. These sort of companies are looking forward for a good blog with regular updates. So if you are interested in blogging and have a blog this is one of the many ways you can reliably earn money. Nothing can be earned at ease so you need to put some effort at the beginning to earn your income. The main thing concerned with this method is you need to gain a fair amount of traffic to your blog. There are many blog search engines are available in the net, list your blog in them will generate more traffic.

Method 2: Searching

Searching is one of the way by which you can able to earn income. Some sites are giving money to use the search engine provide by them. They are paying a certain amount for number of searches you made using their search engine.

Method 3: Articles Submission

As I said earlier all your ideas and thoughts counts likewise you can able to write articles and submit to reputed articles publishing sites and earn a reasonable income. They pay money on the basis of quality in your articles. If you submit a good quality, new article then the revenue you get will be at its maximum.

Method 4: Video Submission

Video Submission is one of the other ways that generates income from the internet. When you have videos (funny or special videos – your own not downloaded from net) then you can able to upload your videos. In return the video publishing sites will pay you for the number of views your videos gets. If you upload a unique video then the views will be higher of course you will get a good return.

Method 5: Clicking Ads

Clicking Ads is one of the great ways to earn good money from the internet. But it is a tedious one also. Before joining this please verify whether the company is really paying to its clients or not. You will definitely get certain money for each ad you see. This system needs a lot of referrals to gain more income. Getting more number of referrals is one of the tedious parts of this business. But once you got referrals you can sit and earn money at the ease of your chair.

I hope you read and enjoyed this article. In the above, I generally said the ways in which you can able to earn money from the internet. I haven’t recommended or mark any site, this is because, and before joining any of the online business spends much time gathering the sits creditability and reliability. You need to do on your own. If you are satisfied sit back and start working. One thing keep in mind hard work never fails. But in the present world the “Smart Work always pays you” so use the internet in a smarter way to earn extra income.

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Article by Online weight loss: Could the internet option be correct for you Rob Boykin

In the entire globe, Obesity has been the main challenge; a research shows lately that over 58% of the global globe population is obsessed whilst some other 10% are at the threat of acquiring obsessed within the next couple of years. In United States alone, a lot more than 65% are overweight. In view of this, dieters are at a high challenge of discovering choice to the conventional ways of weight reduction. Nontraditional suggests to fighting obesity/overweight will be the main preoccupation of the Dieters. The Internet’s revolution had in fact revolutionalized major facets of life given that it’s inception over some decades ago. As such, the Internet was singled out in the Dieters’ quest for nontraditional ways of fighting obesity; or calls it overweight. The World wide web will be the major mechanism behind the fight against Obesity via this new measure of non-traditionalism. The net is really a store house of billions of information and facts and informative materials on weight loss, weight reduction diet, obesity, weight reduction techniques and so much more. Besides these, there are sites devoted to helping people today lose weight, you will discover forums where over weight people today meet to talk about various techniques they have been adopting to lose weight too as meet with specialist who assist them out. You’ll find blogs on weightloss or far better call them weigh loss blogs; they devote their time to publishing useful supplies on how to lose weight simply and speedily. Online diet stores are not left behind. On line diet planners, diet plan pills, weight reduction tools, weight loss calculators as well as weight reduction hints and various other people could be accessed on the internet. This will be the power of the Net. The most amazing thing about Web and weight loss is the fact that most thing you would had rather paid for would be gotten totally free on the web. Take for example, a weight loss forum or weight loss weblog are devoted to dishing out weight loss strategies for totally free. Regardless of whether all you need to lose is just 10pounds or 50 pounds, the free online weight loss guides and reports will surely aid you do so. Just perseverance and commitment is required from you. If your whole issue is about that excess weight of yours, rejoice. With the power of the Internet, getting permanent and everlasting answer is just a click away. Take for example; if you are searching out for a great weight loss suggestions, lossweightinfo.net is just a click away. Here you will get much more than enough. If yours would be to get some technical questions answered, must you waste that valuable time of yours by walking or driving that distance to a weight reduction centre? When, weight loss forums are just a click away from your room. Oh! You do not believe in all those weight loss diets; lose weight suggestions, weight reduction techniques and also the rest of them. All you might be enthusiastic about would be to lay your hands on these weight reduction pills that work wonder. The Web is your ideal bet to get answer. A wide range of reviews had been completed by experts on numerous weight loss pills and weight loss supplements. Yours is just to obtain on the web, do needed searches and appropriate in front of you, you make your selection. And inside few hours, you might have your order delivered at your door step.

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