Personal Finance guide

If you had to guess, what value would you put on your most prized possessions?

The chances are that whatever figure you put on it you would underestimate it by a significant amount. We all tend to do this, however much we might try to get an accurate figure. We think of the more obvious things, such as jewellery and precious ornaments and antiques, but what about the other items we own? It all starts to add up very quickly indeed.

Needless to say it pays to spend some time thinking about this topic. We all want to be sure our possessions are as safe as possible, regardless of what might happen. So what can we do to turn things in our favour?

The most obvious hazard people think of when it comes to their possessions is burglary. If someone breaks into your home they can steal whatever they will easily find. How much would they find in your house?

A safe is an essential item to have, and this doesn’t just apply to making things more difficult for burglars. Make sure you spend a bit more money and buy one that is fireproof and waterproof as well, if possible. You should also be sure that it comes with bolts so you can fix it to the floor in an unobtrusive spot.

Obviously this will greatly cut the odds of burglars being able to break into it and steal your most important possessions. It will also protect them should you be unlucky enough to experience a flood or a fire.

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Food is one of the necessities of life. It also takes up a good piece of our budget each month so learning to save money in this area is a worthy goal. At the same time we may just start eating healthier as well. There are several ways to start attacking our food costs and we will cover them here.

One of the first things you can do is cut down or stop altogether is eating out. Fast food may be convenient but it is not cheap. Not compared with making your own meals. This goes for the family dinner as well as lunch at work. Brown bagging it is chic.

Now we can move on to shopping for cheap groceries. One of the options is to shop at the not so name brand stores. Many areas have this type of store and the go by various names. They carry generic brands of most items and can be quite a source of savings.

If these types of stores are not readily available to you there are still ways you can save money at your local grocery.

First off, go in with a plan. Plan your meals and make a list of what you will need. This will aid in stopping impulse buying. Most of the time you should adhere to your list but sometimes a bargain may show up on an item you use or could substitute for something else.

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Chapter 13 payments are used when debt is restructured through bankruptcy. Debtors must abide by the repayment plan for two to five years. During the restructured debt period, debtors are prohibited from incurring new debt unless approved through the court.

Chapter 13 payments are usually paid to a bankruptcy Trustee and dispersed to creditors on a monthly basis. Occasionally, chapter 13 payment plans are setup through payroll deduction. Automatic payroll payments are usually reserved for debtors who have been employed with the same company for three or more years. Should the debtor quit or be terminated by the employer, bankruptcy payments will be revised through the court.

Many people turn to chapter 13 bankruptcy to avoid foreclosure. While filing personal bankruptcy can temporarily stop lenders from commencing with foreclosure action, if debtors do not adhere to their chapter 13 payments repayment plan, they will eventually lose their house.

One thing homeowners often fail to understand is they must be financially able to pay regular monthly home loan payments in addition to chapter 13 payments. Individuals struggling to make ends meet find that bankruptcy repayment plans create a heavier debt load which can cause them to fail out of bankruptcy.

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Since the publishing of my book money stretching secrets over 5 years ago many people have been helped and rewarded from following the powerful tips. But despite the how to stretch your money information contained in the pages, some people still need extra clarity on many of the ideas. I get many letters and emails asking valuable questions that can help others who would like to know the money stretching secrets of rags to riches people.

I’ll share them with you from time to time. In this tight economic climate this information can be a life line to millions of people if they read and use the information. Here’s the top 3 most frequently asked questions I received in the month of November 2009. The questions have been edited slightly for brevity and clarity.

1. Based On Your Research What’s the Number One Trait of People Who Rise From Rags to Riches?
The key ingredient average people who rise from rags to riches have isn’t the ability to pick the right lottery ticket, choose the winning race horse or even play the best poker hand. In this tight economy the people who rise the fastest are those who are able to negotiate the best. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be a genius, a millionaire or a wheeler dealer to negotiate confidently or effectively. In fact, more retailers, businesses and companies (even government agencies) are more willing to negotiate now than ever before. But you have to ask. You’ll soon discover in a tight economy almost everything is negotiable. If you have a special skill, knowledge or talent, you don’t necessarily need cash, credit or connections. You can negotiate your way to better prices, services or products. You can negotiate your way to lower interest rates, or even negotiate your way out of debt. Many rags to riches people are doing it everyday.

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There are plenty of new and improved deals coming onto the market in the last couple of weeks. Having a look at the best buy tables there are a number of fixed rate mortgage deals that have much better interest rates but more importantly there are a couple of newer higher loan to value mortgages entering the market. There are new 30% LTV deals and interestingly new 10% deposit deals. This will be welcome news for those trying to save the hefty deposits needed.

While mortgage lenders will still have their strict lending criteria in place this does look like the market is beginning to thaw. More competition especially in the higher loan to value should translate into continued improvements in the rates available to borrowers. It is however predicted that interest rates will again increase in 2010 so this may well be the time to lock into a fixed rate mortgage deal if you are of the cautious type. Rates for fixed rate mortgages may again start to climb.

Variable deals have improved also with some great two year deals on the market. I even spotted a great first time buyer deal with a very competitive interest rate and no arrangement fee payable.

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Mortgage bankruptcy filings are on the rise as homeowners continue to struggle financially. The American Bankruptcy Institute states bankruptcy filings rose 35-percent during 2009 and millions more are anticipated during 2010.

Mortgage bankruptcy is also referred to as the Conyers Bill; a controversial bill enacted by legislation in 2007. The Conyers Bill modified terms of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA) passed by Congress in 2005.

Controversy stems from the fact the Conyers Bill grants bankruptcy courts authorization to alter existing mortgage terms to benefit borrowers. Mortgage terms that can be changed include: reduction of principal mortgage balance to reflect appraised property value; reduced interest rates; and elimination of excessive fees.

Altering mortgage terms provides homeowners the opportunity to regain control over finances. As long as borrowers adhere to modified loan terms, mortgage lenders can recover financial losses and avoid foreclosure.

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Mortgage refinancing is a great move for many homeowners. With interest rates near record lows and new Government programs in effect, getting help refinancing a mortgage is easier than ever. Even struggling homeowners and those with financial issues can find help. Here is some advice for homeowners looking to refinance a mortgage with Obamas stimulus plan into the low mortgage interest rates available today.

Mortgage refinancing in the past was pretty much only beneficial for homeowners with good credit and a good repayment history. However, with the economy and housing market in bad shape, homeowners needed help. That is why the Obama administration has launched the “Home Affordability” stimulus program.

This stimulus program is designed to help struggling homeowners avoid losing their home, get better interest rates, and save money. Millions of homeowners are in a bad financial situation and are at risk of losing their home. This plans designed to help struggling homeowners and offer them refinancing options which were not available before.

This program provides cash incentives to mortgage lenders and banks who offer refinancing options to homeowners in accordance with Obamas stimulus. This means that the lenders and banks are more willing to help struggling homeowners, and people who would not have gotten help before. Never before has such a plan been in place to help so many homeowners find relief and help them secure their financial future.

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Mortgage rates are currently near record lows. Combine that with new mortgage refinancing options available from Obamas stimulus plan and millions of people can benefit from refinancing a mortgage. Here is some advice for homeowners looking to refinance a home loan with Obamas stimulus program.

President Obamas stimulus plan is backed by over $75 billion in funding. This money makes getting help refinancing a mortgage in all types of financial problems easier than ever before. This money is going to be given to selected mortgage lenders and banks who follow Obamas guidelines and approve homeowners for a mortgage refinancing. The money enables mortgage lenders and banks to take more risk and approve more homeowners than ever before.

Never before has such a massive program been enabled that can help so many people. The goal of this stimulus program is to get homeowners an affordable monthly mortgage payment. The stimulus plan calls for a homeowner to not have to pay more than 31% of their gross monthly income to their mortgage payment. The thought behind this stimulus plan is that if a homeowner can actually make their payments, they will, and avoid foreclosure and defaulting on their mortgage.

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Mortgage interest rates are currently near all time lows due to a bad housing market and a struggling economy. Many homeowners are refinancing a mortgage now to take advantage of low rates and Government stimulus programs. However, I predict that things will change in 2010 and interest rates will go up. Here are my mortgage rate predictions for 2010, and how I made them.

Currently, a typical 30 year fixed rate mortgage can be had for around 5%. This is much lower than many homeowners are paying for their home loan. This has led to a massive rush of refinancing applications from homeowners looking to take advantage. Also, new Government stimulus programs have been keeping interest rates low and offering struggling homeowners a refinancing option to save money, their home, or both. While it sounds bad, the struggling economy and housing market are actually benefits for many struggling homeowners. That is because as a result, interest rates have dropped, and Government stimulus programs make getting approved for refinancing easier than ever.

With money being pumped into the housing market and banks to keep interest rates low, I predict that things will change in 2010. While interest rates in 2010 will still be very low, I predict that they will rise by 1.5%. This means that a typical 30 year home loan would have an interest rate of 6.5%. While this is still a very low rate, the interest rate increase will be enough to make refinancing a bad option for some homeowners. However, many people will still benefit from refinancing, even with a 1.5% rate increase.

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Having a negative credit score may affect you while availing regular loans, but not in the case of short term monetary assistance. If you are having trouble meeting expenses on the middle of the month and do no have any other option, then you can best do by opting for bad credit cash loans.

Unsecured cash loans are primarily designed for the applicants having serious credit defaults such as arrears, defaults and those who are in the verge of bankruptcy. With these loans, the applicant is not required to pledge any asset as collateral .Moreover; the loan amount is sanctioned without any credit check, which implies that the applicants can access the necessary funds, without facing too many obstacles. This also results in its quick and instant approval.

Under these loans, an amount in the range of €100-€1500 is made available for a period of 14-31 days. The amount can be used judiciously to tackle expenses related to getting rid of electricity bills, credit card dues, house and car repair, tour related expenses and many more. Usually, the repayment date falls on the eve of your next payday. Even then, by informing the lender and paying a small fee, you can extend the repayment tenure.

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