Your Only Finance Advisor

This the season to be buying a second home in San Jose

2010-12-15T22:35:00.000-08:00

Many people don't think about shopping for a second home in these cold winter months, especially if they are looking to buy waterfront. BUT if you are looking to get a little more of a bargain, then "Tis the Season" to be shopping.

Typically San Jose real estate slows down as the months get colder. This is especially true at the beginning of the year, after the holidays have passed and many peoples budgets are a little tighter. During this time many sellers will be more flexible on their price, knowing that it's not the prime season to sell.

With second homes, many owners don't like the idea of having to pay for the high cost of heating during these cold months, if the house isn't occupied. This is even more true with the higher cost of fuel. Often owners will get the property winterized to save money while others will often leave their homes (or cottages) lightly heated to prevent drywall from cracking or to keep other things from shrinking or expanding from the change in temperature.

Also, with today's job market (especially here in Michigan, with the auto industry being in trouble), many people are looking to get out from under the extra payment of a second home. If a second home owner experiences a job lose or cut in pay, they often can't they afford to keep their second home mortgage. When this occurs, sellers can sometimes find themselves in a major financial pinch. In some cases they may need to unload that second home in a hurry to prevent foreclosure. Therefore, they are more willing to take a cut on the fair market value price to move the property more quickly.

Another situation that I often run into is a retired couple (or person) deciding to sell their second home to get rid of the responsibility of maintaining two properties. This can often be a burden when health is failing or they simply don't find the time or have desire to visit their second home anymore. Another reason might be the need for the extra money because of the lack of adequate income from retirement. Depending on their situation, they may or may not be as flexible on their selling price.

Some minor disadvantages of buying a second home during the colder months can range from discomfort of looking at homes (sometimes unheated) in the colder weather, to not knowing what the property actually looks like during the warmer seasons. If you are looking to buy waterfront property, in most cases (in this region of the U.S) the lakes and rivers can often be frozen over and you may not be able to get an idea of what the property might be like during the warmer months. The key to this is to do some research or have the seller (or real estate agent) provide some current photos of the property (and the waterfront) taken during the warmer months of the year. You'll have to be the judge on whether you are comfortable with the information that is (or is not) provided, so that you can make an educated choice on whether you should entertain making an offer on a property. Sometimes you may want to wait until the spring to make your decision and hope that the property is still available at that time.

As for the advantages, you may be able to pick up a property at a much better price than you would during the prime selling season. Also, since the market is slower during these months, there will be less people looking at homes, therefore minimizing your chances of competing against other potential buyers. This creates a great buyers market for you!

So if you have been thinking about buying a second home, you may want to consider starting your search now. It may give you the leg up on getting a better deal in the long run.

Different types of health insurance

2009-05-23T04:59:00.000-07:00

Medicals treatments are becoming expensive day by day. Though you cannot predict when you will need medical attention, yet you can purchase health insurance policy for future medical benefits. It will help you to afford the right medical treatment, even if it is expensive. Buying health insurance policy can also help you to reduce stress as you’ll not have to worry about the rising cost of medical treatment.

Types of health insurance plans

Health insurance plans can be divided into 2 types, which are discussed below.

1.Indemnity plans – It is often referred as fee-for-service plans. You can choose your own doctor if you buy this health insurance plan. The claim can be made either by the doctor or the insurance holder. Indemnity plans usually cover outpatient care, hospitalization along with covering physician services in or out of the hospital.

2.Managed care plans – These health insurance policies can help you to minimize the unnecessary costs of medical treatment. In managed care insurance plan, the insurance companies usually contract with a number of hospitals and doctors in order to provide you with cost-effective health care.

Health insurance for the aged

There is a federal government program for the senior citizens, which is termed as Medicare. You can purchase a Medicare policy if you are at least 65 years of age; however, even if your age is less than 65, you can buy this policy if you have certain disabilities.

There are a number of companies that offer health insurance policies. However, it is advisable that you carefully examine the medical coverage provided by your policy. You can also compare premium rates before buying a particular insurance policy. These will help you to choose the right health insurance policies, which can provide you with the exact coverage, when necessary.

Some useful tips for you to find the Best Real Estate Leads

2009-05-23T03:49:00.000-07:00

Becoming a real estate agent is not a simple task. The profession necessitates you to acquire particular skills and refine them with knowledge and exposure. Obviously, it is quite hard to obtain the best real estate leads and the type of endeavor that needs to be put in for switching these leads into customers. With the development of technology and the arrangement of the real estate sector, getting good leads is not as big a challenge as it was about 10 years back. Currently, the Internet works as a valuable resource for finding the best leads. In addition, getting leads is only part of the larger plan, which is to switch the lead into a client and make money.

There are numerous means to locate buyer and seller leads. Following are two techniques to source some of the best real estate leads:

Buying Real Estate Leads:
Earlier, buying real estate leads was a significantly admired approach. Numerous agents still apply this plan, though it is not the most useful means. When you are buying the leads, you are essentially purchasing names and telephone numbers of people who don’t recognize you, have not listened about you and already can have an agent when you get the chance to communicate with them. However, there is no damage in creating a database given that you go on modifying the details regularly.

Personal Real Estate Websites:
Several agents frequently disapprove of a personal real estate website. Nevertheless, it has been witnessed that personal real estate websites are an excellent means to grow the degree of exposure and for value addition of your personal brand. Your website is a real symbol of your knowledge and expertise. You have to ensure that you include a lead generation form on your site. In addition, you must offer helpful details associated with real estate on your website for the readers.

When you demonstrate yourself as an expert in real estate, you would instill faith and belief in your prospective clients and would have the capacity to supply more first-rate leads.

Looking for cheap Car Insurance Rate??

2009-05-21T23:51:00.000-07:00

Car insurance extends protection in the event of a financial loss you incur if you meet with an accident. When you buy a car insurance policy, you are accepting the terms and conditions put forward by the company that will pay for your financial loss in the event of an accident. In return you will be required to pay premium. It is an agreement between you and your car insurance carrier. Car insurance rates usually differ from one insurance carrier to another.

The amount you shell out every month as premium depends on a number of factors. Some of the factors are given below-

Your age
Drivers who are below 25 years are prone to accidents. As such they are required to pay a higher premium. If you are above 50, you belong to the high risk category and you pay a higher premium.

Marital status
If you are married, you will be required to shell out less as car insurance premium.

Gender
Generally women drive safely. As such they have to pay less premium amount.

Driving habits
Car insurance premium also depends on your driving habits. If you have a record of speeding tickets and rash driving, your car insurance rate will be higher.

Credit rating
If you have a poor credit rating, it signifies financial irresponsibility. Many car insurance rates are determined by viewing your credit rating. This is because insurance carriers think if you are financially irresponsible, the same may spill over in your driving habits. As such your premium will be higher if you have poor credit rating.

In addition to the factors mentioned above, there are many other factors that determine car insurance rates.

Mortgage Refinance...know the actual meaning

2009-05-09T05:24:00.000-07:00

Is the home mortgage payment your biggest expenditure every month? You might be speculating how to reduce your mortgage payment. Mortgage refinance can give you the answer.

What is Mortgage Refinance?

First of all, you might have a question: what is mortgage refinance? It is the process of obtaining another loan to repay your existing loan. Most of the time, your original home mortgage loan would carry a higher interest rate, therefore it is reasonable for you to secure a new loan at a reduced interest rate. Of course, you would want to save money on your monthly mortgage payments and at the same time, have some additional cash available. Through refinancing, you can lower the monthly payments either by extending the loan term or reducing the interest rate.

In refinancing, you pay off your previous loan with the proceeds of the new loan and the same property is used as collateral. People go for refinancing if the present rates are cheaper than the rates at which they borrowed the loans earlier. People get a very good opportunity to get rid of that huge interest burden and also find a way out to save some money at the end of the day as this process shortens the tenure of the total loan also. This procedure is followed by most people and is also advisable from my end.

Refinancing has some risks factors as well. Fixed-term debts mostly contain penalty clauses like an early payment of the loan for an example. In addition, there are also charges like closing and transaction fees attached with refinancing debt. In addition, some refinanced loans, may result in large interest over the total tenure of the loan the borrower might have face to greater risks than the existing loan because of the type of loan used to refinance the existing debt. Calculating the potentially and other variable costs of the refinanced loan, this important decision should be taken on whether or not to refinance. So, all my readers please do keep this in mind and take your crucial decision

How to get the best Auto Insurance Quote

2009-05-09T05:08:00.000-07:00

It's not just a way to work. For most of us, our car is almost a part of who we are, and we take care of it like it's a member of the family, keeping the engine running properly, and cleaning it regularly and thoroughly. So getting the best auto insurance quotes is something that we all look for.

Some important tips on getting auto insurance quotes:

i) Phone Book- When most people think about car insurance resources they often overlook this valuable tool. Your local phone book is a great place to start when you want to get best car insurance quotes in your area.

ii) Friends and Family- You are sure to know people that have automobiles, and more than likely those people have insurance. One of the best car insurance resources is word of mouth. Your friends and family can help you find a reputable insurance company.

iii) Better Business Bureau- One of the most valuable car insurance resources available. The Better Business Bureau’s primary mission is to seek out un-reputable companies to help consumers avoid doing business with them.

iv) Online- The internet is one of the best car insurance resources you can use. It allows consumers to go outside their area and find reputable companies from around the country that can offer them lower rates than they may get anywhere else.

Getting car for own self gives us a very proud feeling. We all tend to forget other important things and necessary things to do in that joy. But I would request all my readers to get the proper auto insurance quotes and then go ahead for the deal as that would make the smartest purchase for you and save your pocket as well.

Have a safe holiday - Have travel insurance

2009-04-11T05:46:00.000-07:00

Vacation planning is something which we all like doing it for long before actually we actually reach our destination. Whether you go for a honeymoon overseas or a family vacation tour, before you pack everything you will need and schedule full itinerary, you should always remember getting travel insurance. Travel insurance gives coverage to you and your family from travel related disasters and accidents. Risk is involved in everything. Needless to mention that traveling also involves lot of risks. Hence it is always a good idea to have travel insurance. Travel insurance cost something around $100.00 per person to something more depending on few factors like age, number of travelers, destination location as well the length of the trip. The tour co-coordinating agencies sometimes offer travel insurance along with the tour package by giving some dollars extra. One can take the same or can purchase own travel insurance online.

Here is the list of some risks covered by travel insurance:

i) Trip cancellation- in case if you have to cancel your flight trip ticket due to some unavoidable circumstances, and such circumstance is covered under the policy then your travel insurance provider will cover the cost of the ticket.

ii) Baggage loss or delay- too often luggage gets misplaced or delayed by the airlines, in such cases if this falls under the policy then insurance company returns back the total damage.

iii) Medical coverage- if you become sick during the vacation tour, then the expenses incurred is also covered by the insurance company.

So this way it gives lot of benefits and protection to our family from material and physical damage. Hence I think it is a must have for any long tour vacation planning.

Know how to get Low Mortgage Rate Refinance

2009-04-01T07:46:00.000-07:00

Refinancing is never an easy decision to make neither a too tough job. As we all can notice that interest rates are climbing the ladder. In this situation my readers who are stuck with different kind of mortgages must consider refinancing to lock themselves into a final rate. So once this decision is taken to go for refinancing benefits could be seen automatically. Benefits like lowering the interest, your payments as well overall borrowing costs. People today hold more than one credit card as they find it to be really easy to get unsecured debt with good credit. So here is the chance of reducing debts, interest and payment by paying off the high interest rated debts.

Another advantage that low rate refinance provides is the cash back option. Here the bank provides you money to refinance and can keep the money untill and unless current mortgage contract is broken.
Now talking about the lenders on the other hand, they also have different types of mortgage needs. Online quote submission is also possible, but have to be very careful and should always double check the mortgage type before submitting the same.

At the end would like to suggest my readers to look for all possibilities, pros n cons before jumping into such a conclusion. So appointing a mortgage broker would also be a very good decision as they can really guide through the sucess path to obtain with their enormous experience.

Internet business-a smart money earning process

2009-03-30T07:47:00.000-07:00

Are you thinking of starting your own business? Are you feeling unsecured with your current job in this recession time? If your answer is yes then i have a solution for you. I suggest you to start your own business. Internet business is a kind of business which shows investment and profit on a day to day basis. And in this business online auction is a very popular and successful kind of occupation as it involves less investment as well low risk.

Is it fascinating you?? Learn it more. It is no age bar business. All you need to do is invest quality hours after gathering knowledge about the type of products and services that are on high demand in the market. Here you need to be very innovative and come out with ideas which can make a product lucrative for others. It is very time saving as well as you can reach out to huge numbers of customers at a time. It gives you possibilities to work from home with several other household works. But it has disadvantages also as people take it to be a scam and do not really want to be believe that such kind of business or help can be actually provided. It also restricts purchasers as they fail to see the product physically. Along with this customers fail to give or take live feedback which can also create dissatisfaction. So we need to be little careful about the same.

Finally, you need to be convinced with the kind of work you start up to convince others about your products. People can come up with different views and ideas but you need to answer first whether this kind of business suits you or not. If the answer is yes you have it all for yourself. But yes for any kind of business to be successful, hard work and dedication is the main ingredient.

President Obama's first Budget

2009-03-28T05:21:00.000-07:00

February 26, 2009-President Obama came up with his first financial budget of around a multi trillion dollar. His very ambitious first budget seems to cut the rate of federal deficit first via few steps like increasing business tax, wealth tax and by diminishing spending after Iraq and Afghanistan war. Here is an overview on his budget plan.

Economy:
Economy budget started with labour department. Expected budget rise for this is about $600 million which is almost 4.7%. Legislation also proposed that there will be extended benefits given to the unemployed. Retirement security plan has also got a boost as the employers who usually do not offer retirement plan has to enroll themselves in direct deposit IRAs. As a stimulus package helping poor has been approved. Around 13% additional help would be provided to the disadvantaged people which sums up to $79 a month. Budget is also offering an increase of $1 for child nutrition program and $25 increment weekly for unemployment benefit.

Defense:
Budget calls for a hike of $663.7 billion which comes to 4% from the last year. The expenditure for the wars has been included in calculating the deficit for the first time. Officials are saying that budget is giving a ratio which is definitely contributing in lowering the figure in this changed operation. It is giving a ratio of 20% for war funds and 80% for others.

Education:
Obama's perception for higher education was highlighted when he urged all Americans to start some kind of crash courses and keep oneself engaged and prepared for future. He also added "A higher education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity; it's a prerequisite." He wants a dramatically rise in the figure of college graduates by maximum 2020. President wants to do away with the student loan provided by different banks and lenders and replace it with direct student loan program given by the Education department itself. It promises a huge save of about $24 million.

Tax:
Rate of tax has been increased for families making more than $250,000 annual income where as tax rate has been cut for most of the families who are failing to make so. It is providing a tax credit of $400 for individuals and $800 for couples. Deduction rate has also been checked. Affluent taxpayers would get a 20% tax rate on the total capital gains and dividends.

Transportation:
Proposed transportation spending is around $70.5 billion but an additional $48 billion is also allocated for this need. This budget has proposed a new initiative like having a "National Infrastructure Bank" which can provide financial support for infrastructural projects on national or regional basis. $800 million has been granted for improving air traffic control system. Around $55 million fund to increase commercial air service in rural areas.

60 seconds Guide to Personal finance

2009-03-16T03:07:00.000-07:00

We all are facing the slowdown phase, where everything seems to be moving very sluggishly. Economic growths are facing a crisis situation, overall demand and growth rates for every product have melted. This crisis situation has spared none of the developed countries as far as review report status is concerned. At this condition everyone is busy in guessing what is coming up next. So, being your Finance Adviser let me give you tips which will help you pave your own roadway in this crisis crunch. Devote just 60 seconds and you can damage proof your own personal finance.

0:60 Prepare a budget
Preparing a budget will help you set a realistic target for every expenses like utilities, household, medical, grocery, transportation etc. Try to squeeze something from these expenses and pay off your debt.

0:53 Keep checking your Expenditure
Keeping a constant check on the spending is extremely necessary as it gives you the ultimate scope to manage your finance properly and come out of debt by paying them off.

0:46 Avoid interest and late fees
Make payment on time to avoid any kind of late fine charges. Also understand the impact of interest which if taken any time on anything that you pay, can actually double the charges. So try to avoid it. This will also help you in being debt free.

0:35 Read the Statement carefully
Credit card statement should be read very carefully in order to make sure that it is error free and every charge taken is accurate and no duplicate or wrong charge levied on the statement. It is your hard earned money, so be extra careful while paying.

0:26 Carry just as much you need
Carrying extra cards at one time doesn’t make any sense. So carry credit cards which are in need and use. Carry one for purchase purpose and another for emergency purpose. Any more than this can actually be over killing.

0:23 Try paying more than minimum
This is a good financial habit. Keeping an urge of paying at least something more than minimum can actually help you in getting out of the debt very soon and also have a good financial fund to support during crisis period.

0:18 Consolidate your creditors
Many people have huge number of creditors to pay which is one of their debt management problems that they face. Trying to reduce the same or opting for a consolidation program would be very good financial decision.

0:13 The most expensive debt should be paid first
Any size of interest can add on the total amount of debt at any point of time. So the most expensive debt should be given first priority in case of repayment.

0:05 Co-operate with your family members
Learn to co-operate with other members of your family by managing financial needs and also encourage them in saving money and paying off little debts.

0:00 Relax and sleep tight
Try follow these tips and you will find yourself relaxing at the end. This will definitely help you achieve your mission of managing Personal Finance within minimum time of 60 secs only.

So sticking to our financial budget isn’t easy at this crisis situation but we do not have plenty of alternatives open for us also. Hence, above mentioned tips would surely help you out if implemented correctly.

Credit Card Rules become more Consumer-Friendly

2009-03-10T06:02:00.000-07:00

Credit card regulatory bodies are coming up with several new rules and policies for the consumers which would be more user-friendly for them. Most credit card users face inconvenience when they fail to get regular credit cards due to failure or delay in debt payment. This immensely affects credit scores/ratings. This is the reason why some banks came up with special credit cards for those having poor credit ratings. These cards are more like "prepaid credit cards". Here you get opportunity to fill up your own account when you have money available with you and use it in time of necessity. Like these there are several self help options which have got introduced. Some important ones are highlighted below:

1) Restriction is put up for credit card companies that they suddenly cannot raise the interest rate on current balances unless a user fails his payment to them.

2) The bill payment duration has become minimum 21 days. This is compulsory for every credit card company to provide a user for making the bill payment.

3) The credit card companies can no longer charge "double cycle billing" interest to you even in worst situation like you make full balance payment to nil one month and fail completely to pay anything the next month.

Hope these changes would be beneficial to users like us. Being a finance adviser i think one change should have come in the type of marketing that the companies do while selling credit cards to the users. They should disclose all factors, rules and regulations clearly.

Take Private Mortgage Insurance and avoid Big Down-payment

2009-03-09T02:02:00.000-07:00

Bigger down payment often become the reason for home buyers to cancel the deal as they fail to fund the standard amount of 20% down pay. Sometimes even happen that the home buyers do not know that there is a down pay required and in such a situation they fail to take correct decisions which often put them into great depression. This is where the Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) plays a vital role. It is basically an insurance that a buyer with less than 20% down pay required to pay. This is how with PMI, the lenders actually ensure the balance payment in case of any default from the buyers end. However the price of PMI differs between lenders, but still it comes to 1% of the mortgage amount per year. This means if the loan amount is $250,000 then you land up paying $2,500 for PMI.

Benefits of Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)

This kind of private Insurance is beneficial as they provide chance to more number of buyers get home ownership. This also gives good opportunity to low-income or medium-income families as well younger buyers to purchase a home as their own asset which they otherwise couldn’t have afforded. It also reduces risk for the lenders by ensuring a repayment in case of any default. It also enables one to buy a home with as little amount as 3% to 5% down payment. This also means that waiting for years to accumulate funds to purchase a home is no more required with the help of PMI.

Tenure of Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)

Once the insurance payment balances 78% of the home's value, mortgage lenders usually cancel PMI. However, they review the payment history very carefully before doing so. For average home buyers, it normally takes 10 to 15 years to pay 20% of the home's value, however if you stay in an area where the home price increases drastically, then you can get a chance to pay off the balance much faster.

Alternatives to Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)

PMI has definitely proved to be beneficial for many homeowners, but is costly at the same time. So as an alternative Piggybank loan or 80/20% loan can be suggested but after considering all possible options with various lenders.

Private Mortgage Insurance has actually allowed millions of people to buy homes with smaller down payments. It has also made people qualify for home loans. It has actually helped many people in accomplishing their dream of moving to their own house from an apartment.

Tips to "Recession proof" your career for Students

2009-03-05T04:21:00.000-08:00

Professional development and personal career option should always take the first priority regarding financial thinking irrespective of good or bad economic time. It is always a good idea as well a good financial habit to start securing life with whatever possible from today itself. We should always remember that recession fear is shaking up everybody, so would you like to know what is there in store for you? I am sure you or no one would like to become such another identity. So my advice here which comes as surefire tips to you to recession proof your career today is-“Do not waste time but make the most of it now”.

1) Live in a Knowledge Economy- according to experts it is widely believed that world is living in knowledge economy now, the reason why people are concentrating on lifelong education. Get committed to lifelong learning and training, this will make your career more recession proof. Do some online learning, on site training, flexible weekend course or any distance crash course. Education has become very accessible now days. So start utilizing your free time into such practice and keep wide knowledge about everything that surrounds you.

2) Always meet your targets or objectives and show dedication- concentrate on whatever work you do and do it with full dedication. This will help you in achieving own targets, helping own company to make more money and increase productivity as well getting appreciation from higher posts. Time is very important and very short, so do not waste the same.

3) Increase contacts with Professionals- get involved with more and more people in same career as well with people pursuing different courses or working in various industries. This will increase your knowledge about various products, the happenings around us as well increase your chance to apply services in any chosen field. Trust me references are very important for future and work like wonder.

4) Use your other skills and make money part-time- the toughest job for an individual is to find out own skill which are in demand. So devote time into it and do something productive to make some extra income without neglecting your main responsibilities. This does not only help you increase network with potential employers but also makes you experienced to start own business.

So paying attention towards our responsibilities and working hard for it is not too tough if we can understand the priority and show dedication. Knowing our own skills and abilities are very important because you never know what can work out for you the best in your life. So keeping adequate knowledge about everything around us is definitely a good sign of financially stabilizing future. This would surely help you out at some or other crucial turning point of life.

Debt Consolidation or Bankruptcy.....which is better??

2009-03-04T00:05:00.000-08:00

Time may arise when people become frustrated and start thinking that Bankruptcy is the only option open for them, without thinking the worse situation that need to be faced for rest of the years after filing it. Moreover the recent Legislation which has been passed has made it more difficult to file as well. Bankruptcy raises question against your creditworthiness, so as a financial adviser, my advice would be to avoid it or keep it as a last choice. There is also certain reason for people selecting bankruptcy as the only option. These are illness, unemployment, divorce or simply overspending. This is the reason why I suggest Debt consolidation or settlement if debt is getting over your head.

Debt settlement on the other hand helps to improve financial situation by providing gradual relief and peace. It helps you come out of harassing creditor calls, disturbance from collection agencies etc. It also enables you to pay off 40% to 60% of total amount that you owe within two to three years of time span. So the final aim should be achieving Debt settlement. To achieve it one's attorney may require to be re-negotiated on prices and payments that no one wants to part from. Lenders do extend help in such case with customer's attorney. Debt consolidation means making a plan of how to pay back things and executing that plan. Considerable items over here include cars, houses, appliances or any credit purchases not paid yet. So my suggestion would be before deciding to accomplish debt consolidation, think about all other conditions, talk to an attorney and then plan your action, because after everything is done there would be no one to blame. Debt consolidation or settlement improves debt ratio. If one is aiming to eliminate bad or unsecured debt, then without waiting apply for debt settlement today and consolidate all your debt problems and live a happy life ever after.

5 Ways to bullet-proof your Finances during Recession

2009-03-03T06:07:00.001-08:00

Recession survival is not too tough or too easy. It actually has got a secret to it, and the secret is finding the right opportunity. During recession time economy takes such a form that we fail to recognize and believe that there is always opportunity open for them who pursue it. In good times, we try to capitalize on things that are normally there with us. But in bad times, we need to abandon old stuffs and start finding new and fresh options. Recession itself is a opportunity, but yes it depends on us how we take it. So my dear readers, like always am giving you few ways to secure your finances in this recession time. One thing to note is that when recession is only not certain then why should we fear about the ugly prospects always. Read the article and fight against the downturn.

1) Delay big purchase- unless you know you can pay for it comfortably, do not go for big and expensive purchase right at that moment. This will help you avoid adding more to your debts.

2) Build an emergency fund- we all should be well prepared before the axe actually falls on us. It might not be always possible to get a second job or arrange for immediate fund during this tough time. So a tight fund to support that lean time will be a very good sign of financial sense.

3) Live a calculative lifestyle- think of managing your expense with 20% less income or even worse than it. This will actually help you out in prioritizing and spending in proper places as well saving some, which would definitely going to be a good financial focus.

4) Get rid of debt burden- try to get out of debt as fast as possible. This will certainly take a new dimension altogether but try doing exactly the same by not adding to any more debt and paying it off as quick as possible.

5) Go for extra income- boost up your energy of working more and try out all the options possible to earn extra dollar. You might not be aware of all the good options of earning extra, so try out all possibilities by talking to friends, neighbors, relatives and even the colleagues.

Recession fear continues to shake people till date in every possible ways. So, to survive a recession we all have to be very articulate. So, follow those five points for financial recovery. Good news always remains in stock. According to a survey done by the National Association of Business Economy, situation might worsen in the first half of 2009 but things will start looking up by end of 2009 and must have a solid recovery by 2010.

Enjoy full Payday Loan Remuneration

2009-02-25T01:30:00.000-08:00

Payday loan has been into existence for years now, but still the excessive interest rate has not gone down till date. This has a reason to it as it provides immediate help to people within 24hrs who are in financial emergency, because payday loan is nothing but a short term loan available with very high interest rate. As I have always given necessary financial tips and important suggestions to my readers before taking any kind of financial decisions, the same way I request you people to read this article and ask two most important questions before taking a payday loan.

When to apply a payday loan:

1) Purpose of your loan is not accepted by Other lending Organization- justifications and explanations for taking payday loan is not required as it is not demanded by the lenders for such a short time period as it kills time.
2) Money is needed extreme quickly- it takes very less time to get processed and money is offered in hand within short time span.
3) When your Credit Card fails to help you- people who face trouble in borrowing money requires it the most, and hence it might not always be possible that you have credit card ready with you to fulfill that urgent need.

Why apply a payday loan:

1) Cash advance facilities for US people to get hassle free loan within 24hrs up to an amount of $500.
2) Payday loan is extremely easy to apply and get as it demands much less verification and application form to fill up unlike normal bank procedures.
3) This loan gets processed within very short time frame and even gets approved on spot within few hours sometimes.
4) Borrower gets facility to make part payment with some additional fees or can pay back the entire loan on the agreed date.
5) Payday loan is offered to all kinds of people even if there is a bad credit score report or no property is owned to apply for the same. It does not demand any collateral.
6) Payday loan is also beneficial in occasions that arrive suddenly during month end or in situations which cannot be avoided neither can be attended for less cash.

Some conditions should also be verified from a borrower's point of view before taking a payday loan to avoid any kind of financial disaster or get scammed.

Check these before applying a payday loan:

1) Applicant age should be of 18yrs and above.
2) Should have a minimum income which could be weekly or monthly basis.
3) It is necessary to have minimum one (savings) bank account.
4) Certain information is required from borrower's end to provide the lenders to prove his trustworthiness.
5) Be sure to check out that the loan company is legit by checking it with BBB and State Attorney General's office.
6) Always better to understand clearly the terms and conditions of loan mentioned in the application form and then sign the same as well the penalty charged in case of loan pay back failure.

Many people often run out of money before the month ends, so you are not certainly the only one living in an isolated place. Hence taking payday loan can be definitely a good financial decision, but before taking it check out all possibilities and conditions from this post so that you can work out the best deal and do not repent at the end of the day.

20 Useful Tips to Fix Identity Theft Today

2009-02-24T06:04:00.000-08:00

According to Federal Trade Commission (FTC), around 50,000 Americans get robbed every year by the Identity thieves. It recorded 380103 total fraud complaints in the year 2002, amongst which 161819 cases were of identity theft, which accounts to almost 43% of the total complaint. Last year gave a figure of 70,000 people getting robbed for taking internet help and Law Enforcement anticipates a growth of 25%-35% this year. The above figures and percentages prove that Identity Theft has become a rapidly growing crime in US nowadays.

All a criminal would need to perform this crime is your name, address, Social Security Number (SSN), driver’s license number and even mother’s maiden name sometimes. All these information reach out to the criminals without you even knowing what is happening. I definitely do not want my readers to fall into such trap in life. Hence before it is too late follow my article on this serious matter and save yourself from becoming a victim.

1) The prime target of the criminals is to get the social security number which gives access to credit reporting and bank accounts. Hence protect it with strong hands.
2) Avoid carrying necessary documents with you unless it is actually required.
3) Add name to the “Do not disturb” list so that market surveys fail to trace your name and other details.
4) Never print the Social Security Number on the cheque.
5) To check for fraud, order social security earnings and benefits statement at least once a year.
6) Verify all the credit card statement charges manually by yourself before paying them.
7) Providing personal information over phone should always be avoided.
8) Avoid saving credit card shopping profile on the net.
9) Password must be made unique and never use SSN as your password for anything.
10) Log out the bank account properly before closing the window.

11) Pin number should never be written down on the ATM card.
12) Try using a credit card for online purchase instead of a debit card.
13) Be sure not to use your Social security number as your Employee identification number.
14) Never share your driver’s license number with anyone or anywhere online.
15) Your cell phone number should be kept secret as much as possible and never ever use it as a password always.
16) Mother’s maiden name also shouldn’t be used as a password.
17) Always get your cell phone’s bluetooth security checked from a reliable priority dealer.
18) Shred out important papers which are no more required before throwing them out.
19) Always use password protected system and documents.
20) Computer should be checked properly and necessary documents and details should be cleaned before discarding it forever.

This article will help my reader to get rid of online spying and also useful steps are there to keep all the personal information safe and secure. My main motto behind all the hard work was to minimize and eliminate the risk for my readers of getting their sensitive information stolen.

Getting Mobile home loan with Bad Credit Score... is it Possible??

2009-02-22T23:26:00.000-08:00

Being a finance adviser and a professional whose aim is to help financially challenged people, I have done lot of research and studies on whether it is actually possible to apply for home loan with a bad credit score and get approval for it. The answer I found is "Yes, It is certainly possible". Having a bad credit score does not mean one cannot obtain Mobile Home Loan. There are several options open to solve our purpose as bad credit score is not the end of life we all should remember. Yes, it is true that getting loan with bad credit would not be a cake walk but on other hand it should also not stop you from getting approval. Several mortgage lenders are there who tries out every possible way for you to get your credit score in shape. Plans are finalized according to affordability of the borrower even if there is a bankruptcy or foreclosure report in past.

Several bad credit mobile loan options are there, like:

i) Sub-Prime Mortgage Home Loans
ii) Stated Income Mortgages
iii) No Money down Home Loans
iv) Jumbo Loans
v) Adjustable Rate Mortgages

Once this is done we have to take certain crucial and important step without making any mistakes as this will decide our eligibility for the loan approval.

1) Know Your True Credit Score- this is always necessary as all the credit score reports are not 100% correct. Hence follow these steps to correct and rectify the same if any mistake is noticed.
* Get a copy of your credit report today.
* Verify the items listed on your credit report manually.
* Make effort to repair any errors on your credit report and remove them urgently.
* Monitor your credit regularly with strong hand.

2) Check Your Options- here few considerations are required to shape up the bad credit score.
* Pay off as much debt as you possible.
* Pay your bills on time every month.
* Do not apply for too much credit at a time.

3) Prepare yourself with the Facts- before you finally apply for the decided loan
* Get comparative market home loan quotes from as many lenders as possible.
* Low mortgage rates should be compared from top lenders.

Always remember to give written information about any adverse reason of your bad credit score for situations like, illness, temporary job suspension, marital problems or other temporary setbacks. This might help you in getting some considerations.

President Obama and his Financial Ideas on Reverse Mortgage:

2009-02-20T05:44:00.000-08:00

The year 2009 came up with much awaited and anticipated plan of President Barrack Obama on Reverse Mortgage, to fight the housing crisis. President can sense that a total amount of $300 billion is required to give protection from severe onset trouble of foreclosure. A bill got introduced in the House of Representatives to raise the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) limit in the current year from $417,000 to $625,500 as reported by the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA). I think this would definitely give access to millions of people to take part in the program of reverse mortgage in this current crisis market. This will also give great relief to consumers who are already in process of court date with an added anxiety that the lenders might not allow him to stay in his house at all. Many financial strategies are there which if worked out with proper planning can give desired outcome. So, to know further check out what President Plan speaks

i) Lenders have to agree to cut interest rate so that monthly payments of borrowers are not more than 38% of their total income. This again would be checked to bring down to 31%.

ii) Borrowers having 55% and more debt obligations of their total income has to enter a consumer debt counseling regarding their car, credit card and other debt to get mortgage modification facilities.

iii) This program targets mainly those borrowers who are occupied with high mortgage debt in comparison with their income. However they do not have to miss payments for that to get qualified.

iv) Any kind of modification of plans will not be encouraged for coming 5 years.

The president plan is certainly going to help many homeowners to keep foreclosure away from them. The challenge is for the senior homeowners with mortgages. Well its time to see how flexible the plan is going to be for people. However the forthcoming standards might have something like these items in stock which are yet to be published.

Auto Insurance Fraud - The Biggest Fraud Problem of US

2009-02-20T01:13:00.000-08:00

This country has faced many fraud problems and is still unable to come out of it, but Auto Insurance Fraud is today's biggest fraud problem reported. Staged auto accidents has become the most popular and sophisticated scam for the criminals. Caught into such a scam can make you and your families pay with their lives as they involve many participants at a time in it. So in this post I am going to discuss some most happening auto insurance fraud scams and also report prevention from them.

i) Swoop and Squat: This scam normally involves three vehicles. Two of them are driven by the criminals while the third is driven by the victim. The first criminal car is known as 'squat' which is driven by placing the car in front of the second criminal car known as the 'swoop' vehicle. The swoop vehicle then intentionally increases speed and cuts off the squat vehicle causing the driver to apply break and come to a sudden stop. Before the victim can realize and react on the situation, his vehicle crashes on the back of the squat vehicle. Meantime the swoop vehicle runs away and never gets traced again. Now the victim is caught responsible for this accident, and even if he informs police that the actual accident is done by swoop driver, that individual is never caught, hence the victim lands up paying for all the damages.

ii) Side Swipe: This always happens in busy intersections of roads and places with dual left hand turning lanes. The criminal intentionally keeps his vehicle on the outer left turn of the lane and when the targeted victim tries to turn, the criminal immediately swipes by the other vehicle. The busy traffic gets the victim into trap and unnecessary debate. At last he is held responsible for the accident and damage.

iii) Panic Stop: In this type of scam the criminal driver drives a vehicle loaded with passengers and placing the car right in front of the target vehicle. A passenger is instructed beforehand to keep a constant notice on the victim driver whether he takes his eyes off from the road to either receive a call or for changing car fm station. Noticing any such signal the criminal driver suddenly applies car break forcing the victim to cause a sure accident and hence land up compensating for the damages and injuries incurred by the passengers.

Like these, many auto scams are ruling the road, targeting innocent people and making money out of them. Do we actually have any prevention from these? Yes we have, and the only prevention is to be extremely observant and careful while driving and keeping a safe distance from the vehicle ahead. Obeying traffic rule and driving safe and smart can only prevent us from becoming the next auto insurance fraud target victim. So, keep the above points in mind and save yourself from getting trapped into it.

"Managing money"-the toughest job for students

2009-02-18T02:29:00.000-08:00

Are you a student of university or doing any other crash course? If yes then all the best for your future. Now by future i am not meaning a good career only, i am also hoping you are taking care
of your money as well. If this answer is no then stop here and take a deep breath because now you need to learn to take care of your financial condition as well. this is a very crucial time when we need to understand our responsibilities and this is the reason why universities also teaches us about money management. Read the points given below which i have written after lot of study and research specially for students and i am sure you will find out your suitable way of saving money.

i) Do not make any decisions based on incentives - never do this mistake of living based on your incentive and freebies. It make things difficult and harder and not a smart money saving tip at all, instead research out some best overdraft deals to survive.

ii) Budget and stick to it - make plans and budget today according to your income and total expenditure obviously keeping some as savings and promise yourself to stick to it no matter what happens.

iii) Use your student loan wisely - use your instalment of loan wisely and dont blow up cash quickly in excitement of being at university. Trust me it is never a fun having no money. So take time as much as you need to think and then spend.

iv) Protect yourself - learn to take your own responsibility. Do not ask your friend to use your ATM card and PIN number to withdraw cash for you, dispose all your financial documents in proper place, invest in a shredder for better security. Living in shared accommodation leaves a high chance for identity theft, hence give your correspondence address as your parent's address.

v) Buy insurance - not many students would like to follow but trust me theft do happen on campus, so do it for your own benefit. Companies are there who provide great student insurance rates as a university welcome pack. So take full advantage of it.

I know you have already made your choice of saving money as per your suitability from the above given points. So what are you waiting for? start doing it from now

Learn to manage your money-dont let money manage you

2009-02-17T22:55:00.000-08:00

Thinking to start with money management? Hold on for a while and gather useful information from this post which you will need at every step you take and which will also guide you to move ahead in life with successful money-management. Starting from retirement to investing, tax to credit cards or financial freedom to money management, one common thing is to have"control over our money".

The best time to start money management is when we are young professionals. This period gives you money, options to spend the same and options to save as well. Young working demographic people need guidance the most. So, let me give you some tips on it.

i) Eat out less - eating outside is more expensive than cooking.

ii) Set a budget - fix a budget, plug as many leaks as possible and boost your emergency fund today.

iii) Assess your fire ability - recession time so anybody can be fired at any time, hence if you are expert in anything and that expertise is valued, then let those people know specially about this who make the firing decision.

iv) Polish up your resume - always keep an updated resume irrespective of good or bad time and whether you are looking for a job or not. It is also a good idea to accomplish your achievement.

v) Keep good network with people in your industry - reference from coworkers does half the battle. So keep a good network with useful and helpful people.

vi) Avoid signing contracts - do not sign any contracts for expensive products in this kind of uncertain future.

vii) Avoid loans - try to control your wishes so that you do not have that urgency to take loan and fulfil ypur wish.

Explaining some more money saving tips usefull for all readers of any age:

i) Income and expenditure - start thinking big and wide. Untill you have the appetite you cannot think of having more food. So dream big and want more, there is nothing harm in it. Everyone wants to get rich, so explore all possible ways where you live to earn some extra money. Start something small today and you will grow big tomorrow. And on the other hand understand and prioritise your necessities and avoid unnecessary expenditures. Expensive products are not always good, do some bargaining which can save little amount for you. Afterall its your hard earned money.

ii) Investment and Tax Saving - invest your money wisely after checking out all possible opportunities keeping in mind where ever you invest, it should have maximum possibility for growth so that it hepls you in long run. At the same time do some study and research related to your living style and go for some tax saving plan as well. Insurance for example is a very good idea to save tax.

iii) Save money in two bank accounts atlest - keep all your savings in bank no.2 and do not touch it at all and rest amount for expenditure in bank no.1. Now once you make a good amount of savings try out all possible ways to invest them taking calculated risk to increase your profit.

So, I would like to dedicate this post to all my readers and followers as i have done a lot of study and research work in writing this post. I also consulted every possible ways so that people get full assistance from here and can also put their head in understanding their income and expense, make plans to invest and save good amount of money by making it sure they get full tax benefit also. It is always said that "Spending money is easy but earning is difficult, and its even more difficult to save it".

Get Out Of Debt, a "Biblical Approach"

2009-02-17T01:06:00.000-08:00

Bible says,"The borrowers are the servant of the lenders", this is what we all know and believe and hence this is what our approach has become when we play role either as a borrower or as a lender. I am writing this post for my readers to help them get out of their bad debts, with readers I mean here my borrower friends.

Bible also says,"Owe no man anything except love", love is all that we are supposed to owe as we have debt of love. As we can understand that we should not be in debt as it is nothing but a bondage. But bible has given a very good reason as well as for having debt except love. It says, "we have debt because we want everything "now" which is our"lust". Our intense desire for achieving anything is pushing us deep and deep inside debt. So it is a trap where we are getting indulged day by day by wanting too much at a time. And on the other hand it also says "Ignorance is never bliss". So never ignore your burden of debt even if you have to face the uncomfortable truth.

We all have heard this, "No problem exists on earth without a solution". So, do not worry and be assure that if debt is a problem you are facing, you have a solution or rather ways to come out of it. You must be Thinking how it can be achieved? Read these points carefully and I am sure at the end you will get all your querries answered.

i) Jesus said "Know what you have and use it" so here he has actually asked us to use law of compound interest combined with the law of use, which means use what you have properly or else that can also be taken back from you.

ii) "Give and it will be given back to you" this principle GOD has put through his words. Share whatever is there with you and you will surely get good return out of it.

iii) Spend money in places where you can keep constant check so that at the end you know where all your money went.

iv) Do whatever is possible "loyally" to increase your income.

v) "Pray", because with God anything is possible.

So, i suggest all my readers to try these out and let people ask you after couple of years "How did you get to manage so much money?" and the answer will be "Well, it was easy because I followed the laws of God."

Refinance Your Goals

2009-02-16T05:35:00.000-08:00

Refinance consideration needs a specific and clear plan in mind. Until we clearly know about our goals, things become difficult to judge. So first job is to identify and judge them properly and then evaluate the best way to achieve it. While taking final decision be sure that there isn't any other option open for you.

So, once it is decided some possibilities should be considered. Below are are some of them:-

i) Home equity loan is a very good alternative, so here we need to understand whether this can take care of the purpose.

ii) Talk to your current lenders and find out whether they agree to renegotiate on the previous terms of your loan to keep the business, if so then you save time and save yourself from getting harassed from finding a better deal as well save closing cost money.

iii) If you wish to decrease the length of your loan, then think and check out whether you can make extra payment each year or not.

As a professional finance executive, I hereby want to give my readers some advantages and disadvantages of my explanation:

Advantages:

i) Rate of interest gets reduced than the current one which in turn reduces the amount of monthly payment.

ii) You can avail full opportunity to either extend or reduce the length of loan.

iii) Gives permission to switch over to a different type of mortgage, for example form adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage.

Disadvantages:

i) Closing cost might need to be paid which sometimes can be substantial.

ii) Extension of a loan can also result in ending up paying more in interest than usual.

iii) Sometimes the new mortgage become larger than the one it replaces.

I hope my readers will follow all the above points and think twice before refinancing.

Know your Credit Scores today

2009-02-12T00:09:00.000-08:00

Do we know what Credit score actually means?
It is basically a numerical and statistical analysis done on a person’s credit report to value the creditworthiness of that person.

Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO) was the first company to develop software from which the most credit bureau scores are used in US today. These scores are provided to the lenders by the credit reporting agencies as data which gets used to provide the best guide for future risk. It normally says that the higher the credit score, the lower the risk, but at the end the lenders take the total decision as they use their own strategies and consider different levels of risk and factors to determine the actual rate of interest for a particular product.

Below is a diagrammatic explanation given on FICO break outs and ratings for Credit Score. This is a famous model used to decide creditworthiness of a person.

Coming up next some depending factors for Credit Score Rating:-

1) Payment history – about 35% of a FICO score – Avoid late payment and bankruptcies as its most important factor to keep a good record.

2) Outstanding debt– about 30% of a FICO score – It depends on how much you owe on all your accounts. The more you owe compared to your credit limit, the lower your score will be.

3) Length of your credit history – about 15% of a FICO score – It is the period of time one continue with credit. The longer had established credit, the better it is for your overall credit score.

4) New credit – about 10% of a FICO score – Opening new credit accounts will definitely rate negative score for short time.

5) Other factors – about 10% of a FICO score – Having a mix of credit types on your score report can add on positive points slightly.

So by now I am sure you have had enough idea on what credit score is, how it works and its depending factors. Not necessarily that the score which is given to you depending upon all above factors are always correct. So if you see errors in your credit score report, immediately use these helpline numbers to report it to the credit bureau.

The three major bureaus in U.S.
Equifax (1-800-685-1111),
Trans Union (1-800-916-8800) and
Experian (1-888-397-3742) .
All have procedures for correcting information promptly.

Buck Up with Your Finances

2009-02-12T00:02:00.000-08:00

People know very little or nothing about where their financial condition is taking them to the extent of recovering from huge debt. That is the reason I am writing this post to give very necessary advise to my readers which I am sure will help everybody to calm down their nerves. Investing strategies, proper planning, saving money is becoming really tough job for people, hence at this condition a proper financial advisor is very much in need and I guarantee that this post would be worth reading. Christopher Mizzi (a Certified Financial Manager) said “be greedy when everybody is panicking, and panic when everybody's greedy” so till the time i continue extending my help giving financial advises, “you can be at peace”.

So, here I present my words of “Wisdom” and “Comments” to all of you:

1) Identify the difference between your needs and wants – We often fail to understand the difference between them which always create confusion in deciding our own priorities. So take time and select the most required and necessary one and be a smart chooser.

2) Try to earn more if you need more – This is a fact which we all try to skip from, but trust me the earlier you believe it, the earlier it does good to you and before you realize, your bank has enough balance and you have a smart wallet.

3) Always save little no matter how much you earn – Saving money seems to be a hard job, without understanding that it is the most important part of finance and once you get the taste of it, you will definitely manage it somehow and start living on what is left over after saving.

4) Put your money to work – Saving money is not enough; saving it in place where it can provide proper interest as well security is what we should look for. Thus making our money work hard as we are doing to earn it.

5) Plan a good future after retirement– Always remember whatever we do today has an after effect on our future. So work hard and save hard for a relaxing and happy retirement life giving a good thought to your future.

6) Be prepared for that rainy day – we should all be prepared to face the most outrageous day of our life. Here I mean to say that we all should make our finance position strong enough to support and reimburse in our hard days.

7) Reduce being Frugal and Stingy – Be very selective in purchasing products to reduce the chances of waste as it also saves a huge amount of your pocket money. At the end of the day money is there to do good things, hence take the advantage of smooth consumption.

8) Avoid Borrowing – Borrowing gives a feeling of instant relief, the reason why we get attracted towards it but trust me it is like wetting your bed in middle of night which initially gives you a sure relief but then starts stinking and horrible cold feeling last of all do not allow you to sleep at all, so discomfort is something not wanted by anybody.

9) Be slow but steady – Saving is something that is necessary to do but don’t be in a haste to do it. Be slow in saving but be steady in doing it, do not skip days in between once you decide and start saving.

10) Always diversify your investment – It is always important to keep in mind that everything has potential downside and upside. So keeping this in mind diversifies your investment and don’t put all the eggs into one bucket.

Listed above are some of the financial advises which I am sure going to do wonders in your life and make a big differences. So what are you waiting for, hurry up and give it a try today.
Good luck!!!!!!

Welcome to My Finance Hub

2009-02-02T21:51:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons why I thought it might be a good idea to start something like this was that upon speaking with my friends in different profession and my colleagues, I found that these people had very little knowledge in finance. By finance, I mean knowing how to save money as well where money can be saved, moreover some or the other way protecting your personal finances in the way you don't face any problem in future. Before I got seriously interested in learning more about money and finance I realized how much money I've actually wasted in my entire life.

This has personally motivated me to come up with my own financial blog. After i joined the finance company in Texas, I made sure that i will learn more about saving the finances and i will definitely share my knowledge with the people who are in need of some help regarding their finances. So, here i am presenting everybody my financial advices to all of them who are in seek of it.