Manage your debt, by consolidating your debt

If you are facing a mountain of debt, consolidating your bills may be beneficial. While it doesn’t work for everyone, debt consolidation can be a way out of the red for many. What many people don’t know, however, is that there are a number of ways that debt consolidation can be achieved.

When you are researching ways to manage your debt, through consolidation, here are five ways to consider:

• Mortgage Refinance

If you own a home, and have equity built in that home, a cash-out refinance can give you the money you need to pay your bills. Sit down with your bills and come up with a grand total; you’ll need this number when you apply for a cash-out refinancing loan. Your lender may even be willing to pay these debts directly; it won’t hurt to ask. In addition to paying off your bills, refinancing your home may get you a lower interest rate and a smaller mortgage payment. You will also qualify for a tax deduction on next year’s federal income tax returns.

• Balance Transfer

If your credit is still in good-standing, consider applying for a credit card that will allow you a zero percent balance transfer. By transferring the balances you are carrying on other credit cards, you will not only have the benefit of making one monthly payment, but you will save money in interest in the long run. Do make sure, however, that you look to see how long the introductory rate will last and what your interest rate will be raised to once this introductory period is complete.

• Unsecured Loan

Though these loans are becoming more difficult to find, they are still being offered by some lenders. By taking out a single loan to pay off your debt, you will pay your debt off earlier than you would have otherwise, saving you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in interest. Before taking out a loan, be sure to look at the terms and conditions; if you aren’t going to save money overall, the only benefit you’ll find is in making one payment each month rather than several.

• Debt Settlement

If you’ve found yourself with an insurmountable pile of debt, using a debt settlement company may be an option. A company such as this can contact your debtors, negotiate a settlement with each and then require a single monthly payment from you. Do understand, however, that this option will have a negative impact on your credit score; your debts will be marked as settled for less than what was due.

• Credit Counseling

A credit counseling service works in much the same way as a debt settlement service with one major difference: you will pay back 100 percent of what you owe. A credit counselor, acting on your behalf, will negotiate lower interest rates on your various accounts and then charge you a set amount of money each month. Out of this payment, the credit counseling company will pay your bills for you. This can bring a great deal of relief as you will only be making one payment every month and the calls from creditors and collection agencies will cease.

If you are facing debt that has you overwhelmed, consolidating your bills can provide tremendous relief. Not only will your bills be paid sooner, but you may just see your credit score not only survive, but improve throughout the process. The worst thing you can do, if you are facing debt, is to ignore it; explore any of these five options and start climbing your way out of debt today.

Sheila Barnett writes on personal finance and budgeting for http://www.financialcalculator.org, a site with helpful tools and information about investments, loans, net worth and even a debt calculator.

3 Ways To Finance Your Business During The Credit Crunch

Most people have been affected in one way or another from the recession and the effects of the
credit crunch. Although we are told that the worst is over, the recovery time is slow and painful, with many smaller businesses folding under the financial pressure.

For some companies, it is simply a matter of funding. If there was finance, the company would
probably be able to fund plans for growth and expansion.

Traditional bank lending is not what it used to be; banks are far stricter with their terms and only 40% of SMEs that apply for loans are receiving them. However, there may still be hope for those that get rejected.

Financing Your Business Method 1

A merchant cash advance is one type of lending which has grown more popular over the past couple of years. Essentially the loan is not a loan at all but actually an advance, enabling you to gain a lump sum based on your future sales.

This is paid back from a percentage of your customers future credit and debit card transactions. The small business cash advance is ideal for any company that processes credit and debit card transactions regularly.

The loan could be anything from £3500 to £150000 and could be used for a whole host of company improvements such as opening a new store, expanding a stock range, or to improve marketing and advertising efforts.

Many SMEs have benefited from this type of lending as it is both flexible and easier to repay due to having no fixed monthly repayments. You can find this type of business finance online.

Financing Your Business Method 2

You could try applying for a grant. There are many grants available for various items which your
business may be eligible for.

For example, if you want to make your business more eco friendly to help cut fuel and utility costs, there is funding available for this. You might have to do a bit of searching to find it, but some businesses have been lucky and gained a lump sum for their projects through the authorities.

Financing Your Business Method 2

Try trading online. Many smaller companies are finding that by shutting down physical premises and operating solely online, a lot of money can be saved and gained! The spare cash not used to pay for rent can be used to fund marketing or advertising plans or to take your business oversees (which is easier when you operate on the internet!)

Mortgage after facing foreclosure

Foreclosure is not so hard situation to overcome. In this situation people think that they will never be able to buy house again. They can think that because no bank will lend to a foreclosure victim? Wrong, a foreclosure victim can also get mortgage again by keeping some basic rules in mind. By taking right decision at the right time helps people in overcoming foreclosure situation and getting mortgage again.

Affects of foreclosure?

Right away after foreclosure it is not so easy get mortgage or even qualify. Down payment and interest rate requirement are very high. Foreclosure affects the credit rating up to 250 points. Applicant can get 75-80% loan on the purchase price of the property by the bank. Down-payment requirement by most of the banks can be as high as 35% and the interest rate might be up to 10%.

What to do for qualifying to get new mortgage after foreclosure?

To qualify for a new mortgage one has to work hard,have to follow some strategies like making a saving plan, work for good credit score etc. After foreclosure one should do everything for repairing credit ratings and side by side have to do some savings also. These savings helps the buyer in giving down-payment at the time of new mortgage. Down-payment reduces the default risk and helps in getting mortgage.

Simple mistakes to avoid after foreclosure?

After foreclosure usual mistakes that people do like they mess up with the payments of other open credit lines. If they missed or delay payments of different debts than it will take a lot of time in repairing credit ratings. So its better to make other debts payments on time to improve credit ratings.

How to improve credit rating?

Firstly one should see ones credit report and then work accordingly for credit ratings step by step . Credit repairing is not so easy after foreclosure so it will take up to 1-2 years. By taking small loans and doing on time payments on different debts helps in improving credit ratings. One should regularly check or maintain credit accounts positively . There are number of ways to increase homeowners credit rating. One is the third party credit repair. In third party repair professionals competent in their work handles your credit ratings. Other way is to post mortgage questions to different forum websites. Basically on these forum websites Experts solve all the queries and shows the right way out .

Summarizing above, foreclosure does not indicate that an individual will not qualify to get mortgage again. It does indicate that one has to plan a better strategy to become eligible again. Extra savings help to accumulate money for the down payment of new mortgage and that savings can be helpful in any harder times in future.

5 Things to Do Before Retirement

The decision that it’s time to retire is a tough one to make and a huge life transition. You’re moving from having a career, somewhere to be, and something to do to having complete freedom over your days, and it can be a trying time for a lot of people who are unsure of what to do with themselves. Before you make the switch from employee to retiree you should make sure that you have these things in place:

1. Figure out all of your expenses

Before you jump headfirst into retirement you have to assess whether you’re going to be financially stable on a retirement income or not. You need to ascertain all of your current expenses, from things like food costs to regular bills, so that you can scale back where necessary and aren’t short on cash when the bills start rolling in and your current salary doesn’t. You’ll also need to try to account for any changes in your lifestyle that may occur over the next several years that you’ll be without a job.

2. Make sure any legal documents are in place and up to date

If you made your will several years prior then you will want to take another look to make sure that everything included in it is still accurate and up to date. You’ll also need to decide if you need to set up any trusts to protect your assets. It’s a good time to meet with your attorney and get your ducks in a row.

3. Determine when to enact Social Security

The soonest you can apply for social security is three months before your 62nd birthday and the latest you can apply is three months before your 65th birthday. It’s usually easiest to sit down with a financial advisor and have them help you figure out when the best time will be for you to start collecting Social Security.

4. Evaluate part-time job opportunities

Plunging into retirement after a long, rewarding career can be a bit of a culture shock. If you’re ready to retire but not necessarily ready to be completely out of the working world or are still somewhat concerned about expenses then taking on a part-time job can be the perfect balance between a full-time position and full-blown retirement. With a part-time job you will still have responsibilities and interactions with colleagues, just on a lesser scale.

5. Get rid of as much debt as possible

Retiring before your debt is paid off – at least the majority of it – isn’t a good plan. When people begin to calculate their expenses while preparing for retirement they often don’t add in debt payments, which can end up being a huge issue. If your debt is paid off then you don’t have to worry about this extra expense.

Retirement is not a decision to be made lightly and there should be quite a bit of thought put into it before execution. However when approached with a well-laid plan it can be smooth sailing and enjoyable!

This Guest post is by Christine Kane from internet service providers, she is a graduate of Communication and Journalism. She enjoys writing about a wide-variety of subjects for different blogs. She can be reached via email at: Christi.Kane00 @ gmail.com.

Guide to Financing a Car with Poor Credit

Many Britons are struggling to cope with the high cost of living amid troubling economic conditions. As fuel, food and energy prices continue to soar; it is becoming increasingly difficult for people with poor credit histories to purchase new or used vehicles. Fortunately, companies such as Car Finance 247 are able to offer finance to people who have a history of bad credit.

A somewhat perverse consequence of the credit crunch and recession has been that creditors are more circumspect of how and where they lend money. People with relatively good credit histories are being turned down for loans and credit cards that they might have easily acquired several years ago, so what hope is there for people with poor or non-existent credit histories?

As mentioned above, there are several finance companies in the UK that provide solutions to those whose credit histories are not quite as shiny as a new car. The first step towards purchasing a car through a specialist finance firm is to find out more about your credit history. Applying to credit agencies such as Experian and Equifax can enable a person to review their credit profiles, which may include erroneous or out of date information. After cleaning up a credit profile, a process that can take several months, it is necessary to apply for a finance deal.

After an application has been received by the finance company in question, it should be processed in a manner consistent with the firm's terms and conditions of sale. Some of the leading finance companies in the UK provide solutions for people who have CCJs, mortgage defaults and so on, but obviously each company will make an effort to ensure that a finance deal will be repaid on time. As such, each application is likely to be subjected to various tests before being accepted. Tests will include obtaining proof of address and income.

If finance deals worked on a credit-only basis, no person with a poor credit history would be able to avail of them, which is why the finance companies are probably more interested in an applicant's ability to repay than default credit card payments several years ago. On this note, it is necessary to highlight the somewhat obvious point that no firm is likely to offer finance to an applicant who wants to borrow or buy more than they can afford to repay.

During the acceptance process and assuming an application is not rejected, a finance firm will usually consider all relevant details before passing the application to a sales team. Underwriters will then discuss various details with the applicant in order to establish exactly how much can be financed. Applicants are advised to be realistic at this stage. While they may very well want the latest BMW or Mercedes, underwriters will do their best to find the best, most affordable deals available.

Finance companies will also charge an interest rate on credit deals, so applicants ought to be aware that repayment figures will include a 5-20 per cent charge, depending on circumstances. In summary, finance companies are useful in that they are able to offer solutions to applicants whose poor credit histories would probably exclude them from obtaining credit from the bank or any other established lender.

Louis Rix is marketing director of www.carfinance247.co.uk