Unbeleivable Loan Interests Charged - 2.6 million per cent interest rate

Festive season means people need more money to spend. And People often fall under the trap of extortionate quick-fire loans. Yeah recently this has happened with the unnamed York woman, who actually borrowed £320, and in return paying back more than £800 every month, almost £700 being paid as interest every month. And credit firms do claim that they are not breaking laws. It means the woman would have to pay as interest £12.80 in a day, £92.80 in a week, £400 every month or £4,809.60 over the year. Not only that, she had also taken a loan from Payday UK in Milton Keynes and they are charging 16,203.2%, making her repayments even higher. It is better that we plan our finances in a better way before we let everyone access our pockets.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2008

Wish you all


And a Prosperous, Smooth, Happy and Safe Financial New Year through 2008, well in advance!


"A big part of financial freedom is getting your heart and mind free from worrying about the what-ifs of life." - Suze Orman.

Impact of credit score on your lifestyle

Most People in the US have credit scores between 600 to 650. And certainly credit scores may change your life styles. Excellent credit scorers have high chances of availing huge loans at low interests, quite conveniently. But it is not that the bad or poor credit scorers will not get any loans. The loan people would also offer loans to them but the rate of interest comparatively is higher than good credit scorers. Also, people with bad credit scores are not likely to get approved for a credit card. So this way better credit scorers may enjoy whatever they want e.g. they may have more credit cards, buy a car, house, or get approved for any kind of loan they want at cheaper interest rates.

Some of you might be new, and are not aware what would be the range of good or bad credit scores. Following data would help you to understand the ranges:

700 or Higher - Excellent or very good credit score
680 to 699 - Good credit score
620 to 679 - Average credit score
580 to 619 - Low credit score
500 to 580 - Poor credit score

And if you have a credit score in between 300 to 499, then you just got a bad or worst credit score. So be careful and try not to fall below the Good credit score range in order to avail your full credit benefit.

Top 11 Financial Quotes

Hope you all have enjoyed my post on -"Life Balance Sheet". Here is another one, but its not about Profit & Loss statement. Over here, some famous personalities are depicting the profits & losses in their lives and have quoted their financial matters in golden words. Check it out over here:



“A penny saved is a penny earned.” -Ben Franklin

“Buy when everyone else is selling and hold until everyone else is buying. That’s not just a catchy slogan. It’s the very essence of successful investing.” -Jean Paul Getty

“Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I’m not there, I go to work.” -Robert Orben

“Money is power, & you ought to be reasonably ambitious to have it.” -Russell H. Conwell

“Money is usually attracted, not pursued.” -Jim Rohn

“Money is the sign of liberty. To curse money is to curse liberty–to curse life, which is nothing, if it be not free.” -de Gourmont

“Money never starts an idea. It is always the idea that starts the money.” -Owen Laughlin

"If women didn't exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning. " -Aristotle

“The art is not in making money, but in keeping it” -Unknown

“The rule is not to talk about money with people who have much more or much less than you.” -Katherine Whitehorn

“Wealth may be an excellent thing, for it means power, and it means leisure, it means liberty.” -James Russell Lowell

Uses of a Credit Card

Credit Card or Plastic Money as you call it, has become popular and an essential product for everyone. People's appetite for credit just gets bigger & bigger every year. We spent almost an astonishing £92 billion on credit and debit cards every year, according to the Credit Card Research Group.

You all know very well why credit cards are so popular and important amongst us. And it has some merits and demerits which you should know before you use it.

Merits:
# If you use it wisely then it can prove to be useful, convenient and help you to build up a strong credit history which would help you get loans in the future.
# They are simply hassle-free and easy to carry. It means you need not carry loads of cash in your small purse.
# That's not all, if you do a transaction using your credit card, you could avail a 49-59 days credit-free period. It depends which company's credit card you are using.
# If you are in the middle of your way and your car breaks down, then it comes to good use. You don't have enough money to get the service, over there your credit card can help you solve your problems.
# It gets you facilities to do online transcations like airline, hotel, or rental car reservations.
# It is beneficial in short-term emergencies too.
# There are other facilities wherein you may avail a cash-back, travel insurance, purchase protection and more. It depends on your credit card company's terms & conditions.


Demerits:
# If you over-use the card and be unable to repay through the next paycheck, then the card company may start charging outrageous interest rates.
# Your application for mortgage loans can be rejected just because of your bad credit debt remarks. Not only that, it could affect even job applications and insurance coverages.

Check out the smart uses of credit card commercial by Stacy Johnson. It is really worth watching:



You have seen the problems & I am sure thats not the end. May be there are more. Therefore try to avoid the temptation of availing an easy credit. If you use a credit card, pay it off each month. Don’t try to make a due with the plastic money. If you are really in need of a loan, then contact a reputed bank and ask for their assistance.

Loans for chirstmas celebrations!!!

Christmas is near and I am sure, everyone is planning something to make their Christmas memorable. Most of you would plan for a short holiday tour or some of you enjoy holiday by visiting to amusement park, go for shopping etc. This is the time you may need more cash in hand. But all people can not have it. So most of them tend to get cash through instant approval i.e. payday loan. This is indeed an easiest and fastest way to get the cash. At this season loan agencies offer loan package called “Christmas Payday Loan”. This loan is approved within an hour. And lenders transfer the loan amount in your account within 24 hours. These loans are given against your next pay check. You can get upto €100 to €1500. It would depend on your salary.

While approving your loan, lenders give a look on two things
# You should be at least 18 years of age,
# You are an employee for past some months at least and
# Drawing a fixed monthly salary

They do not verify your credit score. No security is required to borrow the loans as it is unsecured loans. Obviously you can enjoy the cash the very same day.

Few important points for the borrowers:
# If you really need the cash and have no option, then go for it,
# Read the documents carefully before signing,
# Make a habit to pay back the loan amount in time.

I know some of you who have experienced the trouble. So do not repeat the same.

Enjoy every moment.

Good or Bad - Payday loan

I know its helpful when it solves your immediate financial problems. It helps you to pay all your necessary due bills and keep you tension free.

But there are some negative faces which discourage people to get into the payday loan deal.

If you have already taken a loan and not able to pay in time then get ready for calls, anytime and anywhere (home, job, friends, relatives). Gosssshhhhh..... after you die, may be you would be receiving in heaven or hell. Just joking the last one man. This is the most acute problems have been faced by the debtors.

Yeh, I have seen people have overpaid and asking them for refund but very rarely get response and return back the extra amount.

If you have paid in full but not showing as paid in full, then you have to work a little hard to make it as paid in full.

I think you would be surprised receiving calls for the payment which you have not taken and enjoyed in your life. Yeh, that's true. This sort of problems people are facing. They have no idea, how they are getting into this mess.

Eating up your paychecks without your knowledge.

All above mentioned facts is enough to keep you wake-up all day and all night. So, you can understand the trouble of taking payday loan.

Is Payday Loan –A Villain of your Financial Peace?

How many of you support its villainy? Then why all of you go for it when your cash fall short at the end of the month?

As because:

1) Its a easy way to get some fast cash,
2) Less formalities than other available sources,
3) Getting cash simply sitting at Home

May be there are more convenient factors.

But it’s still a villain. And, I hate it like you do. Why don’t you opt for some other means for cash? Or Isn’t it better to trouble yourself for few days than years? I have seen a lot people in the payday loans trap and find it hard to come out of this trap. But whoever got into it, was not able to get out of it. I will furnish some of the solutions over here and hope you will find it useful to sort out your payday loans issues.

Your Life’s Balance Sheet

Check out, this could be your life's balance sheet.

Birth	=	Opening Balance
Death	=	Closing Balance
Brain	=	Fixed Deposit
Thinking	=	Current Account
Education	=	Brands/Patents
Knowledge	=	Investment
Experience	=	Premium Account
Creativity	=	Assets
Accompolishment	=	Capital
Values & Behaviour	=	Goodwill
Patience	=	Interest Earned
Character & Morals	=	Stock-in-Trade
Prejudices	=	Liabilities
Heart	=	Current Assets
Soul	=	Fixed Assets
Friends	=	General Reserves
Love	=	Dividend
Children	=	Bonus Issues
Target	=	Tallying the Balance Sheet
Goal	=	Accounts Award

Plan for a better retirement life

Why Retirement Planning?
Retirement planning is the real and urgent need for everyone. There are people out there, who hardly think about there retirement phase. Mostly young age group people live in the present. They do not care about the future. They spend most part of their earning in the latest mobile or car or the grand vacation to Europe. Sometimes people start planning lately when they are just a few years away from the retirement and I feel that would be too late. Its’ good to start saving for retirement at an earlier stage. As it will help in reducing financial pressure in old age and also enables to enjoy an ideal retirement, rather just a compromise.


Steps for a better retirement planning

# Plan for a better retirement life :
One should have a better plan for retirement before he/she invest for the retirement phase. Often people puzzle what to plan! Why to plan! And makes the thing complicated. But truly speaking Retirement Plan is nothing but your wish-list, how would you like to spend your retirement days.

Say for example, if you would like to spend your retirement days in a simple 2 bedroom flats with monthly expenses of Rs. 20,000 then you have to make a plan to save in that way from the beginning. When you plan for retirement, you must consider medical expenses and other contingencies and keep aside a part of money for those expenses too.

# Consult with a financial advisor :
Yeh, this part is very much essential while your retirement planning is rolling on the way. You should consult with a financial advisor and decide, how you are going to spend your life in retirement and for that how much you have to save now. Then your financial advisor will calculate and let you know, how much you need to save. Also tell you where to invest your savings so that you can achieve your retirement principal. He will chalk-out a plan and apply the same for you.

# Early beginner gains more :
Its universal truth and happens in retirement case as well. If people decide to contribute in retirement lately then there might be some initial resistance and protest. But whoever started early, would be enjoying contributing a small part of his earning with an aim to live worry free life in the old age. I know some people have some personal problems which hinder them to contribute in investments. But for the good future of your family and you, you have to sacrifice some part there.

Take an example of these three gentlemen John, Johny and Jhonson as follows

Particulars	John	Johny	Jhonson
Present Age (yrs.)	25	30	35
Retirement Age (yrs.)	60	60	60
Investment duration (yrs.)	35	30	25
Monthly Investment (Rs.)	5000	5000	5000
Returns per annum	10%	10%	10%
Sum accumulated	16,993,955	10,314,217	6,166,624

So, you can see after retirement John’s investment is much more than Johny and Johnson as he started 5 and 10 years earlier respectively. That’s not all, he also enjoyed all other benefits like reduces the tax to be paid out of income, reduce pension costs of employees, can be moved from one company’s plan to next.

# Avoid using your retirement investment :
Quite often people loose their control in financial emergencies either its small or big. They may have other ways to tackle that sort of situation but as I said people loose their control in emergencies and rush to withdraw from their retirement investments. If really there is no other option then definitely you can withdraw and solve the present problems. But you must try to deposit the amount you have used in your emergencies at the next opportunity.

# Follow-up your plan time to time :
Consulting with advisor, outlining and implementing the retirement plan, that’s not all. You should follow-up your plan from time to time to ensure that its on the right path, to meet your targeted return. And here your financial advisor plays an important role. He/She would observe all your investment status and put a stop on the investments that are not performing up to the mark and invest in alternative investments. With time as you grow closer to retirement the financial advisor starts decreasing the number of investments from risky assets like stocks and equity funds and invests into the fixed deposits.

It’s not that your income will be the same in your all working life. Suppose you start with Salary 50,000. After 5 years it will definitely go up to 75,000 to 90,000 depending on your experience. And you may start dreaming of a small Bunglow at the outskirts of the city instead of a 2 bedroom flat. Here also your financial advisor might come into play and have you change your investment plans based on any additional inputs you give him.

Useful Tips To Shape Up Your Financial Life

Are you spending more? Good do it. But don’t over do it. Because I have seen many people, whoever did this, could not able to overcome the burden of due bills easily. They worked very hard to get out of such a mess. People have a habit of spending more, some of them do it consciously and some unconsciously. And this way they create problems in their Happy Life. Here are some useful tips to get stable financially.

1. Budgeting :
Most people do not make budget and invite troubles in their financial life. Budgeting is one the essential factor to keep control over your money matters. Until and unless you do not undertake, you won’t be able to understand where your money is going? How would you set expenses and saving goals if you don’t know where your money is going? You need to set a budget to enjoy worry free financial life, whether you earn thousands or millions a year.



2. Minimize the use of Credit Cards :
Credit cards another name is plastic money, the little pieces of plastic are easy to carry and use. People use it to pay for a purchase, whether it’s large or small randomly. Often unnecessary things are purchased which are not in the budget. And at some point of time they find themselves in the pile of credit card debt. And this would become one of the obstacles to getting ahead financially.

3. Saving Plans :
Saving is necessary to pass smooth life in later part of your life. Take my example - I used to save some amount after meeting all other financial obligations but hardly could save a sufficient amount. Then I change my thought and put budgeting in effect and set aside a minimum of 5% to 10% of my salary for savings before meeting all other financial obligations. So it would be better if the saving amount automatically deducted from your paycheck and deposited into a separate account.

4. Retirement Plan Contribution :
If you are a private sector organization employee then you must be heard of 401(k) plan. This plan is sponsored by an employer. The employer acts as a fiduciary. If your employer has this plan, try not turning your head out of this, simply sign up and contribute to it. It has some benefits, which you enjoy in the following like reduces the tax to be paid out of income, reduce pension costs of employees, can be moved from one company’s plan to next. There may be some more. If your employer doesn’t offer a retirement plan, you can consider an IRA.

5. Use Employment Benefits :
Use of every possible employment benefits that you have in your hand. There are several benefits your organization may offer like a 401(k) plan, medical and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, etc. And I am sure all these options can definitely help you to save some money by reducing taxes or out-of-pocket expenses.
I know these are not enough to handle any financial issues. But atleast these would help to some extent to manage your money matters smoothly. And I know some of you have some better experience, which you are free to share right at my blog.

Personal Finances

Personal finance is the process of managing money properly. People would often get confused or face trouble while pursuing with personal financial matters. But there is a way to avoid such financial hazards. Having enough money to achieve your financial goals is not beyond your reach!

At some point of time, people would definitely need to take control of their money. So it will be much better, if they start at the earliest. Coz if you fall in the crisis-trap then it will be a little hard to get out of that situation. So, here begins your financial management practice today. Hence, keep yourself free from unforeseen worries!

You can have a sound sleep at night when you have sufficient amount in your bank account, to cover the several bills payment either its phone, university fees or shopping through credit card. You would truly feel proud and happy when you see your kids going to attend a university. It feels nice to pat yourself, when you buy your dream car with the ‘cash’. Some uncertain events like one of your loved ones may fall ill, but you would be relieved to know that you can afford the best treatment without keeping your house as a pledge – in a life cycle these are obvious circumstances which might happen with everyone.

Here are some excellent personal finance questions:



So, keep your eyes on my blog to get the information you need and manage your personal finances to enjoy a worry-free life!

It’s true that money cannot buy love or happiness for you, but it certainly enables a smooth running of your life.