Getting out of debt

If you are in debts and you know the reasons of how you fall into this kind of mess, the pain does not lessen when the reality bubble bursts. In some ways, it increases the pain. It’s a human nature to put the blame on someone else when it’s a mistake done by them. Many people will often put the fingers at someone else: Greedy City fat-cats; blinkered Banks; flawed governance etc.

If you are in debts, first thing that you should know is not to panic. Creating panic will not solve the problems. Instead, deal with the situation and try to solve the problems. If your level of debt appears to be insurmountable, remains very similar to what it was ten years ago, then you must take the following steps:

Seek help: talk to your family members and friends. They will be a great help if they can bring you out of this financial mess. If you don’t get any help, then go to the citizen’s advice bureau. They will not offer any kind of financial help, but they will advise you ways to come out of your debt related problems and if needed, refer you to some debt expert.
Prepare a budget for yourself: Make a list of all your sources of income, overall expenses including emergency funds. Deduct one from the other. Divide the net balance between your creditors, apportioning the largest repayment to the biggest debt.
Never avoid your creditors phone calls if you have started getting late in your monthly payments or even if you are expecting to get late. Talk to them and explain your financial situation. Offer them a new repayment plan that you can afford. They will be willing to work on your terms because they want to get back the principal amount at least, if not the full interests and added fees. They will certainly not like the idea if you tell them that you will stay as a defaulter if they are charging their high interests and fees.

Approach your local authority to ask for a rate or rent rebate where appropriate. See if both could be made payable weekly. Never fall into any kinds of arrears with rates as this is a criminal offense, liable to imprisonment.

Ask the Department of Work & Pensions if you are entitled to any supplements: eg Family Credit.

Do not take out any new loans to pay off the existing debts. This simply increases the problems because the overall debts will keep multiplying over the period of time.
Find all possible ways to save money. The more you can cut down from your daily/monthly expenses, put it towards your savings. This will create enough funds during emergencies

Try to find any extra sources of income. Look for a second job, if possible.

If you have savings use them to pay off as much of your debt as possible. The interest you receive on your savings account is unlikely to be as great as the compounded interest payable on your debts.

How to qualify for a mortgage loan after a recent bankruptcy

If you have just filed for bankruptcy and are a homeowner, you will be able to rebuild your credit ratings by refinancing your mortgage. There are several ways by which you can qualify for the best mortgage deals while you are improving your credit ratings.

Once you have finalized for bankruptcy, you will need to wait for at least six months before you are able to refinance your mortgage. The process of rebuilding your credit ratings will get much easier after you get qualified for a new mortgage after a recent bankruptcy. The first two years after filing for bankruptcy may be quite difficult but afterwards, while you are working on improving your credit, you will be able to get decent deals from potential lenders. Once this is done, you can refinance your home and get better interest rate.

• Clean Up Your Credit

If a bankruptcy is showing up on your credit report, then you will have to overcome this financial hurdle over the period of time. It will be a tough time to Compare Loans, Credit Card, Compare Mortgages because most of the companies will not be willing to risk their finances. You need to work very hard on improving your credit ratings by making timely payments. Get a secured credit card with a bank and make small purchases on that card. Make sure that you are paying the balances in full and on time so that your creditor reports your payment history to the credit bureaus.

Shop for the best mortgage offer: Once you have established a good credit, you will now be able to shop for good mortgage deals. Browse through the internet and find the best lender in terms on interest rates, terms, and fees. It is very important to understand the terms and conditions before signing up for any mortgage deal. If you are not aware, you will end up paying a lot of money just in high interests and fees.

While shopping for different mortgage deals, most of the homeowners sign up on the basis of interest rates only. Just checking out the current APR is not enough. There are many other fees that come tucked in with the loan package. Some of the loan agreements have closing costs or hidden fees. If you need to make an informed decision and decide the best loan offer, examine the good faith estimate and compare all aspects of the loan.

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act under the Consumer Credit Protection Act

The FDCPA was initiated in 1978 as a statute of law under the CCPA. Congress passed it as a law to protect and safeguard the consumers from any harassment by debt collectors. It is often reported that the consumers are more harassed by the collection agencies when a certain creditor hires or sells off the account to an outside third party. They start receiving harassing phone calls at home, place of work as well as their cell phones. Many people get furious by such extreme illegal collection tactics and file for bankruptcy. The congress had to take actions and that’s why the FDCPA laws came into effect. The biggest advantage of the FDCPA is that it allows consumers to dispute the validity of the debt and get all the required information from the collection agency when they try to recover money by false and misleading information. This was not possible before the FDCPA laws came into effect.

Debt collectors pretend to show themselves as “Factoring company” or “collection agency” so that they can create the scare among consumers and immune themselves from the FDCPA rules. A debt collector is a very normal person hired by the original creditor to recover the payments from the consumer when a certain account is past due. They don’t have any special powers and the consumers don’t need to be scared of them. Debt collectors will usually use two communication methods when they are collecting on a past debt. They will try to reach the consumer either by mail or phone.

• FDCPA laws apply on the following types of debts:

- Auto loans
- Medical care debts
- Mortgages
- Credit card debt
- Retail business loans

• The FDCPA does NOT apply to the following types of debts:

- Agricultural or farming debts
- Business debts

If a collection agency is violating the FDCPA laws repeatedly, you can sue them by pressing charges and get compensated up to the extent of damages. You can take legal actions against them within 1 year from the date they started doing the harassment. If you are able to prove that the debt collector has violated the laws, you will get the following compensation:

1) Cost of actual damages
2) Attorney fees and costs incurred by the debtor.
3) Additional damages of 1% of debtor's net worth, for a maximum of $500,000.

Advantages of Franchise Opportunities

Nowadays, starting a business is not that tough. You can start a business of your own without entering into any kind of partnership with anyone else and sharing your profit. You just need the support of your advertisers, an accountant, a solicitor and a banker. There are many of us who want to be a boss within the comfort zone of a tried and tested business. You can start your own business very smoothly while going through the learning curve reinventing wheel.

There are many UK franchise opportunities where successful people have done a good work in establishing their business and have ironed out the wrinkles. A franchiser is creating franchise opportunities and sharing that expertise with franchisees for a financial consideration. When you are considering UK franchise opportunities, the benefits of franchise opportunities outweigh the disadvantages. At the end, satisfaction in any process is very important and that’s what suits ambitious individuals. Consider the following benefits when you are looking for franchise opportunities.

• The business has already started to work and produce results. The franchiser and the network of busily trading franchisees are real testimonies.

• You acquire full training in all aspects of business, and sometimes your business partner or the key staff gets the adequate training so that you can rely on him later.

• Franchise opportunities create an operating system that can be learned and implemented with a lot of flexibility.

• The brand is created and established. More and more are coming to know about it and it’s embedded.

• The franchiser helps with finding a good location so that you can target your customers at minimum costs.

• Marketing tools and ad campaigns are provided to advertise the product nationally and locally. A majority of the franchisers also help franchisees in making a local impact with a publicized launch of the business.

• A lot of ongoing support is received in the process, delivered via phone, a company intranet, newsletters, and regular visits by a representative from the corporate office, regional meetings and annual conventions.

There are a variety of franchise opportunities available at different levels of investment commitment levels. If you are looking to earn some extra money in a part time job, look into some UK Franchise Opportunities. Ambitious entrepreneurs, who want to totally commit themselves to owning a business, have a vast range of choices.

Five steps formula to your success on the Internet

Internet is a great place to make money online. There are many people who are able to make handsome amount of money through Internet and there are others who are also using the Internet to make money, but they are able to make average money. The reason is that you have to compete with people from all corners of the world who are online with the same motive of earning extra money. You will find people from different countries, religion, different ages etc. The important things to consider when you are using Internet to make money are you need to have motivation and hard work. Here are the secrets of how to make unlimited money online.

The first step in starting a business is to decide what kind of business you will be doing online. You should be doing a thorough research before starting it.

Once you know what kind of business you will be doing, it is time to book the domain and find the hosting company. You should be able to find a good hosting company on the internet at a competitive price. Now that you have booked the domain, it is time to make your own website where you will show your product. If you are a programmer and know how to make a website, you have saved a lot of money in hiring a programmer. If you are not a programmer, you can find a lot of websites who will host your website with their sponsorship ad.

Marketing your website is the most crucial part of your business. A lot of your success depends on what kind of marketing you use at minimum costs. There are plenty of options available but the most important is search engine optimization so that you can target visitors searching for products that you have on your website. Find one top ranking SEO easy book and know how to keep your website at the top on the search engines.

Another easy way to earn money on your website is to use Google ad sense. If anyone who comes to your website clicks on the Google ad sense, you will be paid for each click from your website on the Google ad sense.

Exchanging currency from pound to euros

It sounds simple and easy when you are exchanging currency from pound to euro, but if you are not using proper precautions, you could lose out your valuable money by a poor exchange rate and lose as much as £10,000 per £100,000 exchanged.

The high street banks have dominated the currency exchange market since the 1960’s. They have been doing a very good business over the past four decades as people have been buying property abroad. These banks have earned their reputation far and beyond any other organizations.

Nowadays, building societies have been holding a more dominant role over the high street banks in the exchange market. As far as economics, these competitions have been making the market more competitive. Thinking from the currency point, they are beginning to lose money when the money is transferred abroad while purchasing property.

Here are some case studies to prove currency getting holding a stronger value from pounds to euros.

In the year 2008, there was a person from Southampton who wished to buy property in Almeria, Spain. Her transfer was for a villa at £325,000; a superb 5 bedroom villa with sea views. She got very scared when the bank gave her the exchange rate so she decided to look elsewhere. She found a currency broker’s website and was offered an exchange rate of US ¬1.39 / £1. After some negotiations, she was offered 1.41 / £1. This meant had she continued with the bank she would have realised ¬451,750 - however fortunately the broker service could manage ¬458,250; saving Jayne ¬6,500 (£4,600)

There is another case study where Margaret and her husband Roy were buying an apartment in Majorca in December last year. It was a three bedroom apartment in a top class complex with added facilities like swimming pool, bar, shops etc. The property in Majorca is expensive. She was quoted a price of £265,000 for the three bedroom apartment. Since they recently retired, they were looking for the best deal on their currency exchange and fits to their budget. Their bank quoted 1.31 / £1 but the broker was able to secure at deal at ¬1.33 / £1. Margaret and Roy were able to save 5,300 (£3,900) in this deal.

It is very important to know the current exchange rate when you are taking a financial decision outside your country.

Secret History of the Credit Card

Most of us use credit card. But do you know the history of credit card? Here I am sharing one interesting video, which will help you to know the history of credit card. So enrich your credit card knowledge by watching this video. And of course I would expect lots of comments from all of you.

Why do people take online payday loans?

Many people often go through a lot of cash crunch and rush around from pillar to post trying to generate some extra funds to tide over the emergencies. Whether it is a medical emergency, car breakdown or paying the pending bills in time so your credit report does not show any blemish remark, one way to get a breather is taking a payday loan that can solve a lot of these temporary problems instantly.

There are many online payday loan sites that will process the application online and the cash will be deposited in your bank account instantly. Online payday loans have simple approval process and the turn around time is less than 24 hours.

The benefits of getting payday loans are that you can solve your financial problems right from your home or office. All you need to do is browse through the internet, search for an online payday loan site and apply online

Most sites require you to fill in the application form with details of your employment, bank account and perhaps your pay slip. And you will get an immediate response whether or not your application was pre approved.

Online payday loans companies do not do credit check of the applicant. Even if you have a bad credit, you will still receive the loan. In fact, online payday loans are the best option for someone who has been turned down for loans by different companies. You just have to let the online payday loans company know whether you want the cash to be deposited to your account electronically or you want the check to be couriered to your doorstep. The loan amount will be delivered to you within 24 hours and this will solve all your problems.

Before applying for online payday loans, one should always remember the fact that these loans come at a very expensive rate. The interest charges and the fees are very high and if you default in your payments within the due dates, you will end up paying almost equal to the amount of the principal amount. If you have any queries regarding the online payday loans terms and fees, it is suggested to clarify your doubts with the customer care representative by emailing or chatting online

Online payday loans applications will be processed within a minute through secured channels so that there is no chance of your personal information getting stolen or being victimized of cyber crimes. Most sites use state-of- art online security systems.

Lastly, you must remember the fact before taking an online payday loan. It is the most expensive form of cash if not paid within the due dates. It should be used only in case of emergencies. If you are hundred percent sure that you can pay back the loan in time, these instant loans are godsend.

Before you retire, should you pay off your mortgage?

It is always a better idea to pay off your mortgage loan before you get retired. You never know what is going to happen at your old age. If there is a burden of paying off your mortgage then it can be tough for you to handle any critical situation. So, be relaxed at your old age by paying it before you retire. It will also help you to take other decisions because after your retirement it is obvious that you will be in shortage of money. Here if there is no burden of paying mortgage loan then it will help you immensely.

You should also compare interest rates. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage interest rate is 6.57%. It will be a wise decision to keep mortgage loan long if you can earn more than the interest rate you are paying for mortgage. You should pay off mortgage loan as quick as possible if you are not sure whether you can earn higher from the stock market.

"We don't know what the earnings are going to be in the market," says Vern Hayden, a certified financial planner and president of Hayden Financial Group in Westport, Conn. "The guaranteed return on your money is the interest you were paying" on the mortgage.

Read this article for more information.

Increase the sales potential of your business by accepting credit card payments

We all work very hard to increase the volume and sales potential of our business. The best and easiest way to increase your sales potential is by opening a small business merchant account and accept payments by credit cards or debit cards from your customers.

When you accept payments by credit card or debit card, your business will automatically grow and the sales can go high as much as 400%. Over 87% of all internet sales are paid off by credit card merchant accounts.

You will be able to accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover for your products and services instantly upon completion of the online merchant account application form. You can do it on the website of the merchant account provider. Accepting payments by credit cards is the best way to increase your sales. However, you can accept other modes of payments like echeck or by ACH authorization from the customers.

Internet has made so many things possible. It is the fastest growing market of advertising in history. If you have a business, you must open a small business merchant account and accept payments by credit card on your website. This business policy is adopted by many small businesses to large corporations.

It doesn’t matter whether you are a budding entrepreneur selling your great new idea or a large corporation searching for new ways to increase their sales, internet is the most vital part that will help in expanding your business.

Small business merchant account is like a line of credit that allows the credit card networks to route funds to you quickly after you have got the payment from your customer. When your customer places an order on the website and makes the payment by his credit card or debit card, his credit card information will be used to process the transaction. Once the transaction is approved, you will be notified through email confirmation and it will get documented in your online transaction manager. And, funds will be transferred to your small business merchant account

Critical illness cover

Cancer or heart attack is the most common serious diseases that is hitting one in every four women and one in every five men around the globe. To ease the gruesome effects of such serious diseases to some extent, critical illness insurance is designed for the welfare of the ordinary people.

If you are one of the affected by such diseases or permanently disabled, you will get a tax free lump sum amount when you are covered by a Critical Illness Cover. You will get the benefit of this policy if you are able to survive at least one month after becoming critically ill.

These types of insurance covers are also known as dread disease cover. Critical Illness Insurance will cover the cost of the diagnosis and medical treatments on certain specified critical illnesses. You must understand the terms and conditions of each insurance company before purchasing the insurance policy, because the policies differ from one company to another.

There are a number of diseases that can be covered under certain Critical Illness Cover. However, every insurance policy with different companies must cover the following diseases: Cancer, coronary artery bypass, heart attack, kidney failure, major organ transplant, multiple sclerosis and stroke. If the policy holder becomes permanently disabled due to some serious injury or illness, he is covered under one of such critical illness insurance.

Most of the insurance companies have changed some of their rules in the year 2003 as set by the Association of British Insurers. The rules were strictly tightened and the customers could only claim on critical illness insurance policies.

As per the changes applied on some of the insurance policies, some of the diseases like non-invasive skin cancers and less advanced cases of prostate cancer cannot be covered. In some of the critical illness cover, you will not get a cover if the tumors have not yet invaded the organ or tissue, and lymphoma or Kaposi's sarcoma in the presence of HIV are excluded.

Someone who is living single with no dependants will find the Critical Illness Insurance more important to be taking care of his mortgage payments and other debts. This way, he will have fewer bills or a lump sum to play with if you are very unwell. Whether you are living alone or have dependants, you must get some insurance policies for your own personal benefit and taking care of your family in a better way.

Using negotiations for debt solutions

Debt settlement or debt negotiation is the most appropriate method of contacting your creditors and working out a settlement of a lump sum pay off your total debts. If you have started missing your payments, creditors will start sending letters or making repeated phone calls to pay your bills. They may even be ready to offer you a settlement of around 50% on the outstanding balance if you agree to pay the lump sum amount within 10 or 20 days. If you are unable to accept the offer and make payment, the settlement offer will go void. They will offer you different ways of debt solutions so that you are ready to pay back your bills.

How to negotiate with your creditors and find debt solution: You should be able to do this directly or if you need help, contact a reputed company offering debt solutions. You will find many professional debt negotiator, or arbitrator to set up arrangements with your creditors. It is not uncommon to pay just 50% of the outstanding balance because the creditors want to get their money back, even by offering some huge discounts.

If you have some ready amount of money, then you should accept such kind of settlement offers from your creditors. This way you will be able to save the most of your money that would have otherwise gone just in interests and principal payments. You should be aware of the fact that if you accept some settlement arrangements with your creditors, they have the rights to report your accounts as “settled” or “paid as agreed” to the credit bureaus. When you are trying to come out of your overwhelming debts, you should not be too much worried about your credit ratings because debt negotiation is often the most economical option of debt solution.

In case you are falling short of money to pay the debt settlement amount, there are ways to arrange the required amount. You can use the money from your savings, tax refunds, second mortgages, home equity loans, or refinancing of an existing mortgage. Professional debt negotiators will set up payment plans with your creditors so that you don’t miss the settlement offer given by your creditors on a certain period of time. You may even ask help from your family or friends to pay the settlement amount. If you are able to take care of issues, you might save yourself from some unforeseen situations like creditors taking you to the court, or garnishing your wages. There are many other available options in debt solution, but debt settlement happens to be the best in eliminating your existing debts.

While settling the debts with your creditors, you should focus on those accounts that are charged the highest interest rates and that will make the most dramatic change in your monthly budget. If you started missing payment in some of the accounts recently, you should focus on those accounts also and consider debt settlement, because it will eliminate not only the debt, but also the delinquencies.

Highest CD (certificate of deposit) rates

A negotiable certificate of deposit is guaranteed by a commercial bank and it is to be sold in derivative or secondary markets. Negotiable certificate of deposits cannot be cashed before maturity. Because of the high face value of the NCD, large institutions consider these deposits as a low risk and low interest security option.

Bernanke and the rest of the Federal Reserve have lowered the interest rates by 25 basis points to 2.00%. Market analysts have speculated that Bernanke will keep rates unchanged for the next few months. Those who are looking to open a certificate of deposit might have to face a tough situation. The rates are so low right now that it is unfavorable to lock these rates in the long terms. Instead, it will be a good idea to stash money in the liquid market and savings account which yield better returns than CDs.

As per the present market condition, whether you invest your money in CD or a money market, the current unfavorable economy makes it very difficult to beat inflation. Because of the low interest rates and the rising oil prices and food shortages, it will become tough to maintain the standard of living.

There are many advantages of CD accounts versus money market or high yield interest rates for investors. When you do a search on google on the term “certificate of deposit”, it will bring out many results, each of them claiming to offer the highest CD rates. How will one decide which one is a good offer and which one is fake? You will be able to compare the offers in a credit union or a government website. They will mostly show the legit and the highest CD rates.

Credit unions are non profit organizations which tend to offer better interest rates than commercial institutions and banks. They also offer more personalized services than most of the banks who happen to be their biggest counterparts.

CD accounts have to be FDIC and NCUA insured. Bank accounts in the US are insured by the federal government if the account is up to a maximum of $100,000. The banking industry is governed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

When you are opening a CD account, check the highest CD rates and pay special attention to the important details like date of maturity when the transaction agreement expires. There are many banks and financial institutions that will assess a penalty for early withdrawal of the funds. Make sure that you have understood the fine prints clearly and get all your queries clarified before investing the money.

Which debts to pay off first?

You have used your credit card account to the maximum. Now, its time to pay back and rebuild your credit scores slowly. You may be seeing yourself up to your eyeballs in credit card debts. Paying just the minimum balance will hardly make any difference in your financial situation. You have to make larger payments to bring down the outstanding balance. A perfect plan and sticking to it is very necessary while you are on your way towards a debt free life.

The best trick to get out of credit card debt is to attack that account first that is adding up with the highest annual percentage rate. Contribute the major portion of your payment towards that particular account while you are paying off the other accounts. Once that account is paid off, move on to the next one that has the next highest interest rate. If you moving ahead with a proper planning, you will see a lot of money saved in interests alone and you will get out of credit card debt

Debt charge offs account have a R9 affect on your credit rating. Review your credit report thoroughly and know the items that are hurting your credit potential. Recent debt charge off items will be more hurting to your credit scores than those that are past the statute of limitations period. Always make sure that you know the status of each account on your credit report and plan your actions accordingly.

You can always avoid yourself from falling into the trap. Go through your finance in a detailed way and figure out how much you can realistically save each month. While you are trying to get out of credit card debt, make sure that you don’t incur additional debts. Otherwise, it will end up with a zero effect. You may like to keep a track of your daily expenses and save every single penny so that you can contribute more towards saving or creating an emergency fund.

Many people get overwhelmed by their existing debts and they look for info about bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is to be treated as the last resort when all other options have failed. You will be able to get your debts discharged after filing for bankruptcy, but this is a negative remark that will stay on your credit copy for ten years. It will be tough to rebuild credit in the beginning years after bankruptcy is filed. Paying off the existing debts is not an impossible task. It needs some discipline and strict budgeting along with a well formulated plan. A person does not fell into overwhelming debts overnight. In the same way, the repair work is going to take some time and while you are paying off your creditors one by one, you can see yourself making progress and credit scores moving up without having to file for bankruptcy.

Don’t let an inaccurate credit reporting blemish your credit ratings

Check your credit history before applying for any new credit. Your future lenders will review your credit ratings thorough and figure out if they should be extending any new credit to you. If you are alert about your credit ratings and check your credit history before any negative item starts hurting your credit potential, you will be able to fix up everything in the right time and won’t be denied by your future lenders.

Credit reporting agencies handle zillions and zillions of consumers’ files. Since they are handling such a huge database, the errors are expected on a consumer’s credit copy. As an individual, you have to be concerned about your credit ratings and fix credit report in the right time. There were some cases where a person reviewing his credit report discovered that he was listed as deceased on his credit copy. Someone with the same name had died and the credit reporting agency recorded the information on the wrong report.

The most common mistake made by the credit reporting agencies is listing items on your credit report that don’t belong to you. If your name is very common, you can expect these kinds of errors more often.

Fix credit report before it gets too late and you are denied of new credit by your potential lenders. They will report inquiries on your credit report. Any future lender viewing your credit file will see you being denied credit by a lender which you may have never applied for the credit. You should be able to take care of these inaccuracies in the right time.

How you can set these records straight: The moment you find any error on your credit copy, you should contact the credit reporting agency and dispute the item. As per the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the credit bureaus are legally required to report accurate information from your information providers. If you think the item(s) are reported incorrectly, they should be removed from your file immediately after investigating with the information providers. You can file a dispute online, by phone or by a certified letter. Your letter should include the following information.

• Your complete name and address, date of birth and the social security number.
• The item that you are disputing along with the name of the company.
• Your reasons of filing the dispute, any correction to your personal information and a request for the correction.

If you have documentations to back up your dispute, it will speed up the process. The credit reporting agency will verify the information from your credit grantors. If they are unable to verify it, the item has to be deleted from your credit copy. If the investigation done could not bring out any positive results in your favor, you can ask the credit bureau to publish your 100 word statement on your credit report that will define your reasons of disputing the item.

Accurate negative information will stay on the credit report for seven years. If you have filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy, it will stay for ten years. If you have certain accurate negative information, it will stay for seven years and you will have to live with it. The best way to prevent your credit ratings from getting spoilt is to pay your bills on time and start building a spotless record.

Is your credit card costing you more money?

Many people do not give a deeper thought on the credit card they use and the associated costs involved with it. While you may be aware of the charges and interest rates before applying for the card, there are other hidden fees and charges mentioned in the fine print and often many of us don’t review it carefully. You could end up paying hundreds of dollars in such charges before realizing it. If you have done a strong budgeting on your finance, the hidden credit card fees can be real drain on your finance. Here are few tips that will help you to understand the fees structure of the credit cards and steps to avoid them.

Every credit card account has a grace period after the due date and you can pay the amount without accruing additional interest rates or fees. Nowadays many credit card companies are wiping off this grace period and this means that if you are even one day late, you will be charged penalties. These penalties along with the interest rates and fees will be excessively high and it can be double the amount you already spent on the card. Check the fine print of the credit card company very thoroughly. If there is no grace period mentioned on the papers, then you should look for another company that is more user friendly.

Late fees add up very quickly. Be sure that you know about the late fees of your credit card company and the circumstances under which it is charged. The late fees were not so costly earlier. It has increased dramatically in the past several years. And if the credit card company is not offering you a grace period, then you will be spending a lot just on the interests and fees. Be proactive. Try to pay your bills on the same day when you have got the statement from the credit card company. This way, there will be a less chance of forgetting about this payment and missing the due date. Once you are late on your payment, the credit card company will report to the credit bureau and you will see a negative remark on your credit report. If the interest rate was less while you applied for the credit card and now if you got late in your payment once or missed it, there is a chance that the interest rates will be increased permanently even if you pay your bills with the next due dates. Read the fine prints carefully

Your finance will be in good shape if you know about your credit card charges thoroughly. It is in your hands to keep the interest rates on your credit card lower, and avoid the hidden charges, late fees. The amount you save here is the amount you can keep aside in your savings account and do some mutual funds investments. Managing your credit wisely is the key to your financial stability. Make sure that you understand the terms and conditions of your credit card company thoroughly. You should have the same knowledge about your other revolving accounts like car loans, student or installment loans. By making your payments on time and in full, you will be saving a lot for your future and live comfortably.

Process credit cards at the flea market

If you have a business in a flea market, you have the ability to accept customers with credit cards. Credit card holders spend more money on their cards, so you can target them to increase your business size. You will be able to give them the option to swipe their cards on site and increase your sales volume.

Many people start up their small scale business in the flea market and they don’t have adequate funds and compare different credit cards companies to open a merchant account with a bank. You have to purchase expensive equipment from the credit card company to be able to swipe the customer’s card at your flea market booth. Since you have just started up your business, you need to spend on other important things that will keep your business rolling. If you have a booth in the flea market and you want to target the credit card holders, you will be able to do that by using a satellite internet connection to send the credit card details to the processor. All this will be done by paying a nominal fee.

You can use a telephone to process the credit card payments from your customers. You can get a merchant account that allows you to use their toll free number; you will enter your personal account number to verify your business, and then you will enter the credit card details of your customer. The transaction will be processed and will instantly tell you if the credit card account has the funds available for their purchase and you can proceed with the sale. It’s a very easy process and you can increase your sales volume by targeting on the credit card customers. You will enter the customer’s credit card number on the order form and keep it for your documentation. Just in case, if the transaction didn’t get through because of some technical problems or due to some other reasons, you will be able to enter the information again and process the transaction.

The fee for this type of transaction is also very nominal. You don’t have to compare different credit card companies and buy their expensive equipments for swiping customer’s cards. You may pay a joining fee of $5 and enroll your business, and then there may be another charge of $100 to set the account and a $5 monthly fee. When you are processing credit cards by phone, you will get a discount of at least 3% to 4% on each transaction.

This method is much easier especially when you have just started your business in the flea market and need money to create stock. Without having any profit, you may not be able to afford spending money on the electronic gadget from the credit card company. Later, when your business is doing well and you have increased your sales volume, you always have this option and compare credit cards companies for this feature.

Preparing for the unexpected

Many people don’t like to discuss about their financial problems with each other. Unemployment is the main reason of the financial ruin. The situation can become unavoidable if you are doing a poor planning with your finance. People in credit card debts are getting regular and harassing phone calls from their creditors, collection agencies. They are been called repeatedly at work, home, and sending collection notices to their emails or mailing address. People in such hard situation are not only being stacked by the creditors but are also getting rejected from potential employers. Each and every single day can get painful. The key to surviving unemployment or an abrupt interruption in employment and not having a blemish on your credit report is to create emergency funds. Develop a plan which includes purchasing credit insurance, and contacting your creditors to work out some kind of arrangements.

The first and foremost thing that everyone should do, whether you have credit cards or not, is to set aside some funds for emergencies. This way you will be able to cover your household expenses, food and rent. Make an effort to cover your payments for credit cards, loans, for up to six months in that emergency fund. You will have some peace of mind when you have the emergency funds ready and while you are seeking employment.

Tarjetas de credito is the Spanish term of credit cards. When you are applying for credit card, look for the best offers and the available credit. You should check out the interest rates and perks to the credit insurance. Different credit card companies have schemes like credit insurance that can cover your monthly payments up to a certain period of time. This will be a great help if you are unemployed or temporarily disabled. The interests will still accrue on your outstanding balance, but if you have credit insurance, your creditors will not mark missed payments on your credit report. This will stop any blemishes on your credit ratings.

If you have ran out of your emergency funds, it is time you should start contacting your credit card companies and make them aware of your situation. Tell them that you have every intention to pay them back but you don’t have the funds ready at the moment. They will be willing to work out some kind of arrangements and offer you extensions. If you avoid speaking to them, they will start calling you on the phone and send collection notices with the thoughts that you are showing your avoidance.

Planning is very important before any unexpected happens. Unemployment can raise its ugly head anytime and you should be well prepared before it happens. Your plans should include creating an emergency fund to cover up the living expenses including your mortgage, car, student and other installment loans, besides having enough funds to cover your credit card payments for the next six months. Purchasing credit insurance will certainly make your plans concrete. Just like you will refill the gas tank of your car before going out for a long journey and check for any mechanical problems, you will have to make arrangements and proper planning in your life, because the journey might get bumpy when you are hit with an emergency.

Smart shopping tips on credit cards

During the holiday season, most of us use credit cards to make the purchases and pay the balance later. This is a real life saver when you don’t have enough cash. You can do the holiday shopping intelligently by credit card. Make sure that you stick to the rules and don’t exceed your spending limits.

Make a list of all the items that you will need in your vacation and will be purchasing on your credit card. You don’t want to buy just anything that comes to your way and do the last minute shopping.

Set your spending limits. Look at your financial position realistically. You should be able to afford your vacation and the gifts before you go for it. The amount you will be spending now on credit cards needs to be paid back later. So, don’t try to overspend and as a result, it becomes tough for you to catch up later. Credit card companies will be charging you highest interest rates if you don’t pay them in full within the billing cycle.

After you have set your spending limits, list down all the items that you consider essential for the holiday season. Every small thing should be penned down, like if you send holiday cards to your friends each year, it should be included in your total amount to be spent. We all like to host Christmas dinners and invite our friends and families and share the good moments. Before you throw out a party, make sure that you know how much will be the total amount spent. Trees, decorations, small gifts, food items and all other important things should be factored in your holiday budget. Once you have done it, you can go for the big purchases on your credit card.

It is also important to find out a place that’s economical and from where you will be doing the shopping. If you have a retail store credit cards that offers discounts or rewards, you would like to do the purchases from that store. You will be saving more money in that store from the other one who does not have any offers or discounts. Try to do your holiday shopping on credit card couple of months in advance. Prices of almost all items get high as the festival time comes closer. Also, by shopping few months in advance, you will be able to take the advantage of the sales as they come.

Once the festive season is over, make sure that you pay off the credit card balance as soon as possible. You don’t want to have your debts hanging over your head for a long time. Let’s say, you don’t want to pay your last year Christmas bills until October this year. Try to pay off the balance as soon as possible. If you foresee a credit card balance, shop with a lower interest rate credit card. Be realistic on your credit card spending.

Holiday spending can be within your limits. It should not make you stressful. If you are well aware of your present financial situation, you can wisely use your credit card and do the holiday purchase. Follow the spending rules and you will enjoy your holiday season.

Right credit card for average credit

You will find many articles on the internet focusing customers with either good credit or bad credit. Here is an article that will focus more on the people with average credit. People with moderate credit scores don’t see a chance to qualify for the best credit card offers from the credit issuers. They are stuck in somewhere between.

In this article about credit cards, people with moderate credit scores will be able to figure out the appropriate credit card for them. Learn how to find the best credit card deal with favorable terms and conditions if your credit rating is just average.

It is seen that people with fair to average credit often have a spotty credit profile. They find themselves in such a situation because of their past credit mistakes. It can also be possible that people starting to establish new credit will have a moderate credit history. They are making steps towards improving their credit profile in the long run.

The best credit card deals are not for the people with moderate credit. Credit card issuers grant this option to those people only whose credit scores are high enough and will be approved instantly. But when you have an average credit, credit card company will look into your credit report and find out more information about your credit activity. They want to make sure that you don’t end up being a large risk to their finance. It does take time to get everything in order.

When you are reviewing different credit card offers, make sure that you pay close attention to the details furnished within that offer rather than just accepting new credit from any company. If you are not cautious about the fees and interest charges, you will mess up your finance drastically.

Your financial habits will determine which credit card you qualify for. If you are an informed customer, you should check the annual fees, review fee-free credit cards with moderate interest rates. If you are well disciplined, you will not carry the outstanding balance to the next billing cycle. You will highly benefit from such credit card.

You will find many articles about credit cards on different websites. There are many people who think that they won’t qualify with a credit card company because of their average credit scores. There are lots of best credit card deals targeting different sections of customers and you may be one of them. Credit card company will figure out from your credit history whether you pay back the full amount within the due dates. Even if your scores are not very high, they will be happy to offer you new credit line rather than someone who has very high scores but has been defaulting in his payments in the recent times or not paying the full amount. Your ability to pay off your debts is the most important factor to any credit grantor.

Make sure that you review your credit report regularly. You don’t want to see any inaccurate item reported on your file which is hurting your credit scores. If you are able to take care of the errors in time, you will certainly qualify for the best credit card deals with moderate scores.

Suitable advice on debt management

Many people are struggling constantly with their debts. Once you have fallen into debts, it is more likely that the outstanding balance will keep on getting higher because you have limited funds available and your minimum payments is going towards the interests and fees. Before you get too late, it is time to find out ways to tackle the situation and find the suitable debt management program. The moment you have started shopping with different companies, every company will claim that they have the best offer for you and resolve your debt related problems. While not all the companies are bad, but you should definitely be pro-active and find the reliable debt management company before being scammed.

Search for different online debt management companies. There are many reputed companies on the Better Business Bureau in your area who will offer you good debt advice, free tips and pointers on what you should do to tackle your debt problems. You will get unbiased information from the counsellors of a reputed debt management company and they can tailor the program according to your requirements.

Being in debts is a very depressing situation. You not only are having problems to come out of it, but additionally, it is ruining up your credit altogether. This is certainly making life tougher. Even if you are looking for a new loan from different creditors to pay off some existing debts, they will consider you as a big risk to their finance. This is the time when some scam company will try to get all your personal information and therefore, you will fall deeper into debt.

If you don’t have any experience of a debt management program, talk to different debt counsellors who can work out a plan for you. Don’t give your personal information right away. First, take their free quote and review their fine prints. Make sure that everything is documented very clearly and there are no hidden terms after you have enrolled in their program.

There are different debt management companies who offer free online counselling, debt advice, debt calculators to work out a suitable plan and tell how long it will take to complete the program and necessary costs involved. When you are using a debt consolidation calculator, you will be able to enter all your financial details and discover instantly, how much your monthly payments and interest rates would be in a specific plan. If your repayments are lower, the duration of the program will be longer and the monthly fees will be charged until the end of the program. These calculators can be found in almost all websites offering debt management programs. Be sure that you have done the calculations from your end before speaking to a debt counsellor.

Go online and do a search on different keywords like debt advice, debt consolidation programs. This way you will be able to find out different websites offering such programs. You will be able to compare the services from each company before you make the final decision about which one is the right for you. There are many scam companies on the internet. So, make sure that you check the debt management company on the better business bureau and the local attorney general’s office.

Right type of debt management program will reduce your financial worries

While you are considering for a debt management program, be sure that you have a proper understanding of the services offered by the company working on eliminating your debts. You should know more on the debt management loans and find out more details on the advocacy programs.

• Different types of debt management services: The counselor assisting in your debt management program will offer you different options and you should be able to pick the right plan working in your case. The plan has to be designed in such a way so that you are not only eliminating your existing debts but you are also finding out ways of not to fall into this situation again.

• Non profit debt management services: There are a few debt management consultants or companies that are non-profit. When they say non profit, it does not mean that they are not charging you a fee for their services and they are working from some charity organizations. It means that their cost of services is comparatively less from other debt management companies. Non profit organizations don’t charge for the basic services such as education. You may consider for their programs but make sure that you have checked for their accredited non profit debt counseling and debt management services.

• Debt management loans: There are many debt management companies who offer debt consolidation loans to consumers. You can get one consolidation loan to pay back all the existing debts. Many people often find it strange to take another loan when you are already going through problems with your multiple debts. There are several reasons for considering a debt consolidation loan. When you take one debt consolidation loan, it means that you can use this amount to pay off all other debts and have one interest rate on the debt consolidation loan. These loans come with a variety of options for different people. These loans can be offered at longer terms and lower interest rates, making the monthly payment plan more realistic. If you are considering for a debt consolidation loan, make sure that you are disciplined and focus on paying off your debts before considering for new credit.

• Debt management scheduled payment plans: Many people in the debt management program consider this as a perfect option. You are able to set up a scheduled payment plan with your creditors through your debt management service provider. The monthly payments are tailored according to your present financial situation. Make sure that you are working with a reputed debt management company because your monthly payments with your creditors will be negotiated by the debt counselor and your accounts need to remain current in the program. You will be sending money to the debt management company and if it is not sent to your creditors in time, you end up with higher interest rates, late fees and more in debts. Don’t fall in the hands of a scam company.

• Educational programs: There are many debt management companies who offer education packages for consumers. By enrolling into some counseling sessions, you can learn how to come out of debts and avoid falling into it in future, how to select reasonable loans and control your spending habits. You will also get tips on budgeting so that you are disciplined and focus on your current financial situation. Many companies offer these programs free or at very nominal costs. We all should enroll into this program so that we have a clear understanding of how to use money and credit. This type of service can be invaluable in staying out of debt in the future.

Things to remember before going to a credit counselor

When you will go to a credit counselor to discuss about your bad credit and importantly to improve it, the query that the counselor will run is that whether you will be able to change your spending habits or not. This is not that you have to spot them because the counselor told you; the actual thing is that you have to stop them anyway if you really want to repair your credit.

But here you have to make it clear that whether you really require the help of a professional counselor or not. It is sure that in 90% cases you are not at all the best person to handle credit matters, if you were then your credit wouldn’t have messed up. So, you need an experience professional counselor who is in deal with other person like you and who can understand the credit game well.

When you have decided that you will go to a credit counselor to get things back in track, you have to show your initiative that you really want to repair your credit by curtailing spending habit. The ultimate thing is that show your serious intention before your credit counselor that you want good credit from now on.

How to avoid home foreclosure?

Are you facing problem of foreclosure? It is really a tough and scary situation to be in. Do you want to know the ways to avoid home foreclosure? Go through the article carefully.

First of all you need to make it sure that what you read, listen and who are you believing. If anyone say that you can avoid home foreclosure without paying to your lender is wrong. There is no other ways to avoid home foreclosure but to pay your lender. But don’t worry, there are several ways or options by which you can pay to your home lender and can avoid foreclosure.

At the time of buying your home either you give your home as mortgage or a deed of trust. Whatever you do the result will be the same if you don’t pay to the home lender. You will lose your home. Now you need to know how you can avoid foreclosure.

1. First of all you can talk to your home lender. The home lenders want to make money from their business; they don’t have the intention to take your home. So if you talk to your lender and discuss your problem properly then he can allow some easy payment options for you. In this way you can keep your home and avoid foreclosure.
2. You can take another home loan to payoff the existing loan.
3. You can file chapter 13 bankruptcy which will allow you an easy payment plan ordered by the court.

Follow the above mentioned options to avoid home foreclosure.

What is Bankruptcy List?

Bankruptcy list is a list of individual, firms and organizations that had been declared legally as financially bankrupt. It means the US Bankruptcy Court has been legally discharged their all debts. The Court publishes this record or information publicly. Some companies are specialized in gathering these information or records and selling it to the various credit companies and other marketing firms.

From the bankruptcy list, marketing companies will find your name and soon will be sending you mails with various offers. The mails will include offers like credit card after bankruptcy, credit counseling, financial management programs and other type of loans to you. Within one month after you have been discharged by the court, you will find that your mail box is full with all these offers. But the strange thing is that maximum of the offers are scams. But it doesn’t mean that you will not get good offers, some offers may help you to improve your financial circumstance. There are some legitimate companies that can provide you good offer; however it requires good market research.

Among the offers most of them will be from credit card companies, but you must think whether you should avail further credit cards or not. All credit counseling companies will suggest you not to use credit cards for at least one year and live on a cash basis.

Why you need insurance?

• Protecting your home

Home investment is the largest investment for many of us. When you purchase a home taking a mortgage loan, you need to cover it with some insurance program so that you can protect your home investment from possible loss like fire, theft, wind damage etc. You have to purchase different insurance policy for all those protections. But all these insurance policies are important for us because we never know what is going to happen next day.

• Protecting your Car

When you purchase a car, it is mandatory to purchase an insurance policy from any company. But why you need insurance for your car. It is very simple that when your car is on the road, there is every possibility of having an accident. To save your investment on car you need to have Insurance coverage on it.

• Protecting your life and health

One of the most popular insurance is health insurance. People are very conscious now a day about their health. We all know that we don’t have the control over diseases. At any time we can get injured or can attack by fatal diseases. We also don’t have to control over our life. We don’t know what can happen tomorrow, we may die also. Think if this happen then what will be the condition of your family members who are dependent heavily on you. So it is important for us to protect our life with an insurance policy so that we can recover from future problems.

Money Management Tips

When you are out of work then money management can be a challenge for you. To manage money properly it is important for you to know the exact amount of money which is coming into your household and the amount of money is going out.

If you find your financial situation unhealthy, don’t hide it. Some of us try to hide our financial realities; they never check their credit card and bank account balance as they are afraid of the truth. This approach can’t be appreciated because it can only increase your debt and financial stress life. The solution may be to open your eyes and look at your current financial situation and try to control over it.

How can you control your finances?

• Try to write down every single dollar you spend. It’s called tracking of expenses. If you can track your expenses properly then you can find the way out to control it.
• Try to be realistic about your money. If money comes hard to you, then try to be a bit frugal.
• Find out areas where you can cut down your expenses. There are many areas where we don’t put attention but they are taking lots of amount from us. After finding them take necessary actions to save your money.
• Make a proper budget at the beginning of each financial year and try hard to maintain it.

Among all the points mentioned above, tracking of money is the most important one of financial management. If you can track it properly then you can take appropriate action according to the situation.

To know more about money management you can visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_management

How to transform debt to wealth

Many of us will be surprised to hear that, debt can also be turned into wealth by taking some appropriate planned steps. Yes it is very much possible by taking some correct, well planned steps and guidance. Of course you should not forget that you have to work hard for it. Let me share my thoughts.

The first step would be to identify all your debts and to think possible ways to pay off or eliminate them. Your car payments, mortgage payments, credit card bills should be paid off as quickly as possible. To pay off your debt, you need to identify your monthly income and the amount that you can spend. Actually you have to set up a good relationship between earning and payment of debts.

What you can do now! Just arrange all your debts in ascending order. Least amount debts should come first and the large once should come later. So it will be easier to pay off your small amount debts and the no. of creditors will be lesser. One creditor out of your account is a great relief and one by one every creditor will be paid off.

If you can’t manage your debt of your own then you can obviously go for debt consolidation program. By opting this program you don’t have to think about all your creditors’ payment but to think about monthly payment to the consolidation company. The debt consolidation company will handle all your creditors from now on.

Now the question comes how you can turn your debt to wealth. You need to avoid using credit cards as much as possible and have to avoid spending money on unnecessary things. If you can lesser the use of credit cards then you are limiting future possibility of being in debt. You can surely use debit card instead of credit card. This is the way you can erase debts and can turn debt to wealth.

Ron Paul Radio Ad: Economy

Jim Rogers on US Economy FED Ron Paul

Protect Your Money in Internet Business

Identity fraud or identity theft is a rare type of crime, but are increasing. These terms refer as a crime in which someone obtains and uses another person's personal data. It is done when an impostor obtain pieces of personal identifying informations like your name, credit card number, Social Security number without your permission.

How do this thieves steal your identity?

* Skimming- stealing your credit/debit card numbers using special storage device when processing your card.

* Changing Your Address – diverting your billing statements to another location by filing change of address.

* Dumpster Driving – rummaging trash looking for bills or other paper with your personal information on it.

* Pretexting – using false pretenses to obtain your personal information from financial institutions, telephone companies, and other sources.

* Phising – pretending being a financial inctitutions or companies and send spam or pop-up messages to get you to reveal your personal information.

* Old-Fashioned Stealing – stealing wallets,mails that include bank and credit card statements; pre approved credit offers, and new checks or tax information.

Internet is the major route for fraud to victimize merchants who sell and ship products and also for those who provide online services. If you are using credit cards to transact business using the Internet, protect your self against these thieves. Be responsible enough with your identity.

The following are tips on how to fail thieves from obtaining your identity:

* Delete any suspicious emails from organizations requesting personal information from you
* Be extra vigilant when giving out personal information
* Shred all personal information before throwing it away in your rubbish
* If you move house, make sure you tell your bank and other organizations in advance
* Tell the Royal Mail if you suspect your mail is going missing

Some identity theft victims resolved this problem quickly, but there are some who spend so much money in repairing their good names and credit record.

Real Estate Investing Tips!

Do you have a plan of investing in real estate? It is always good to invest money in real estate because it is much safer than investing in stock market. But you need to have some basic knowledge about investment policy in real estate. Here I am sharing one good video which will help you to understand things better.

The Mortgage Market Meltdown Is Not Over!

Have you listen about Mortgage market meltdown? If not then this video can help you to understand it better. So watch it and share your thoughts in the comment section.