Personal Finance guide

What do the people who rise from rags to riches have that you don’t. After all you work hard, pinch your pennies until President Lincoln cries tears, you even do your best to find the best bargains.

Here’s 7 Tips Hand-Picked By A True Rags to Riches Group of Friends I gathered together to discuss their success secrets. One quiet secret people who rise from rags to riches is they’re ability to negotiate. Whether it’s money, time, services, skills or sweat equity, or credit rates people who rise up the ranks of economic independence

Whether you realize it or not our ability to negotiate affects almost every area of your life. It affects our standard of living, our comfort, even romantic relationships. Yes, our negotiation skills affect much more than our financial success.

You started to negotiate from birth, in some form or fashion. You started your negotiation skill with your parents (Change my diaper, give me a bottle of milk and I’ll stop crying).

We negotiate through life, whether we realize it or not. We negotiate to for what we want and need each day. However, when it comes to getting the lowest prices on goods and services, most people dread negotiating. Or at best they’re ineffective, awkward or uncomfortable doing it.

Continue reading ‘Money Stretch: Money Stretching Secrets To Living Better on Less Money’ »

Unplanned expenses creep in to our budget more often, and people who are not prepared for these kind of expenses turn towards the fast cash options like credit cards, payday loans or overdrafts to meet their expenses. The discussion is which of these options is cheaper and effective compared to others in terms of quickness and flexibility.

When to take into consideration of these fast credit options, the argument will be on the high APRs charged, unreliability over the lenders and lending companies. Starting with payday loans, considering the fact that fast payday loans are short term in nature and requires no collateral, the high APR is not of much consideration. The multi digit APR of payday loans are mostly misrepresented with that the typical fee charged is £25 per £100 borrowed. This high APR of payday loans is quite unrealistic considering that the only way to reach triple digit is to roll the loans over a 12 times an entire year.

The APR (Annual Percentage rate) is what costs a customer on his borrowing over one year. APR should include not only the interest rate, but also any annual fee. But in reality APR is a complicated formula, which can confuse the borrowers by not including any balance transfer fees on credit cards or any payment protection insurance. The tricky part of repayment in credit cards is that if you have a 0% deal on purchases and a cash withdrawal on the credit card, the lender will put the purchase debt first on your monthly payment. Overdrafts are another option of credit that is expensive than payday loans. The problem with overdrafts is that if you have to extend your overdraft, you usually have to pay an arrangement fee, that your bank could charge you if you exceed your overdraft limit without authorisation, that the bank has the right to ask for repayment of your overdraft amount at any time. The typical APRs of overdrafts are high, but might not be expensive if you the debt is cleared fast. The variable interest rate applied, makes it difficult to accurately calculate the borrowing costs.

Continue reading ‘Payday loans compared with other fast credit alternatives’ »

At some point or another people find they need cash right away. Often, one of the most common solutions for this type of problem is getting a no teletrack payday loans direct lenders when these kinds of situations arise. This is the easiest and fastest way for people to get the money they need, when they need it.

There are two kinds of lenders that do these types of loans. One of them offers direct loans, while the other one offers indirect loans. Whenever a person is borrowing money it is important that they know the difference between the two kind of lenders they are going to be borrowing from. Anyone that wants the best rate, they should make sure that they have an understanding between the two lenders they will find.

Whenever a person is borrowing from an indirect payday lender, this type of lender acts as a broker between both lenders and borrowers. The application that a person submits to the lender is then forwarded onto other various other lenders. Basically what they are doing is acted as a middle person to the loan a person gets, therefore making it so that the person has higher fees as well as charges.

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As economic times become harder, so does the ability for people to pay loans. Presently, things have continued to rise in relation to the prices that are associated with living as well as other costs related to a person’s living expenses. Many times, people can find some ease that comes along with payday loan lenders only, however there are other expenses that come along with this as well.

Generally, most families will do whatever they have to do when it comes to feeding the family and paying the essentials related to things that are necessities. When there are things that families cannot do without, then they are sure to turn to whatever will give them the money that they will need.

When times like this arise, then people are forced to find alternative ways in which they can make the money. Many who find themselves within these types of situations may find they no longer can stay within the budget in which they had set for themselves due to something which arises and causes them to spend more than they have anticipated.

In these kinds of situations, people are forced to find other means in order for them to survive. When the person does not have the best credit, or find they need the money fast, sometimes the best way to do this is going through a payday lender. Often, this kind of loan does not require the person to have any kind of documentation among other things. This is what allows the person to borrow money as long as they are over the age of eighteen, along with an existing bank account.

Continue reading ‘Payday Loan Lenders Only’ »

With Christmas and New Year’s Eve just around the corner, you’ll likely want to wish your close friends and family members happy holidays. While some friends and family might be local, others are perhaps situated in other cities or countries around the world – which means a phone call could be the best means of communicating.

However, calling all over the world during the holidays can be costly – not only because international calling costs more than your average phone call, but also because phone calls made to friends and family during the holidays are seldom kept short. By the time you catch up with everyone on the other end and wish them all happy holidays, you could very well have racked up a considerable phone bill. When you think about accruing similar types of charges with each international phone call, your phone bill could exceed way beyond your budget.

Despite an increase in the number of international calls you make during the holidays, it’s still possible to get a good deal – and it all starts with shopping around. Countless call service providers offer competitive rates on international calls – many of which could appear to be very similar. A closer look into such deals will reveal that some are, in fact, more competitive than others.

Continue reading ‘Tips for Saving on Holiday Calls’ »

New mortgage refinancing and modification options now exist for millions of struggling homeowners thanks to President Obamas stimulus plan. This $75 billion program offers struggling homeowners new mortgage refinancing and modification options that did not exist before. This plan is designed to help struggling homeowners save money, save their home from being lost, or both. Here are some things to know about refinancing a mortgage with Obamas stimulus plan.

Every homeowners situation is different, but here are some of the biggest benefits refinancing or mortgage modification with President Obamas stimulus plan provides:

-Monthly home loan payments that, including tax, insurance, and other costs, does not cost more than 31% of their gross monthly income.

-There will be no closing costs or other fees for modification or mortgage refinance using this program. This is a savings of thousands of dollars.

-Homeowners with financial hardships can easily find the help they need to refinance a home loan.

-Home loan interest rates can be reduced to as little as 2% to help lower payments to an affordable level.

Continue reading ‘New Mortgage Refinance or Modification Options from Obamas Stimulus’ »

Buying off-the-plan real estate is often pitched by marketers as a “win win investment” But, how safe is buying property sight unseen? Leading Melbourne Mortgage Broker What If We Finance provide some advice below for you to consider.

Certainly people have made great returns buying real estate before it is completed. Some have on-sold their properties at a good profit before ever having to settle, but these are usually more exclusive properties close to major cities, where demand is strong.

There have also been many instances of people paying far more for an off-the-plan property at settlement than they could hope to attain in the prevailing market. Melbourne Docklands apartments, where oversupply drove down prices, are a prime example of where this happened.

Buying off the plan is undoubtedly a leap of faith and the dangers are twofold.

First you have to believe that the property you can only see on a plan will eventuate exactly as specified within a certain time. If, like most of us, you do not find it easy to envisage exactly what you will get, it’s probably worth getting help from an expert. Even if there is a display suite, it may not be truly representative of the finished product.

Continue reading ‘Buying off the Plan “Caveat Emptor”’ »

Conveyancing is a term used to describe the whole of the process of selling a property on the open market, executing an agreement to sell and buy, and then transferring ownership of the property from the vendor to the purchaser.

If you buy or sell a property in Victoria you will need to understand what conveyancing is all about.

What If We Finance’s guide is general information only and should not be treated as a substitute for legal advice .

What Is Conveyancing?

Conveyancing is the process of transferring the legal ownership of real estate from one person to another.

Conveyancing Is About Real Estate Interests

Real estate is permanent. It cannot be moved, or hidden or destroyed. These features make real estate extremely valuable, and they also mean that real estate represents one of the best forms of security. If a bank lends money, and accepts real estate as security for the loan in the form of a mortgage, it doesn’t matter if the owner of the real estate flees the country and refuses to repay the loan. The bank has an “interest” in the land, and is entitled to sell that interest in order to recover the loan money.

A mortgage is just one form of interest a person can have in real estate, but there are many others. It is part of the role of person providing the conveyancing services to ensure that the property is transferred to the new owner free of any other interests. If the property cannot be conveyed free of other parties’ interests, then the purchaser or transferee of the property should be alerted to the interests as part of the conveyancing service.

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Equity release and reverse mortgages are an alternative for retirees or home owners wishing to upgrade their property.

Leading Melbourne Mortgage Broker What If We Finance advises these loans allow you to borrow the equity in your home, while you still occupy it. This can be a tempting option for many borrowers as the repayments do not have to be made until the owner either dies or moves into long-term care. As most retirees to do not have a regular income, these loans tend to meet their needs. Usually the loan is paid in full out of the sale of the property. Home owners over 60 years can borrow between 15% and 45% of the value of the property.

Borrowers taking out an equity release loan can take the funds either in a lump sum, or in smaller, regular instalments, and voluntary repayments are treated as surplus and can be accessed at any time.

You should always contact your mortgage broker to discuss their options before taking out a reverse mortgage, as there may be implications for pensions and tax assessments. How much you borrow will depend on your personal circumstances. However, it is important to decide how this loan will affect you overall.

* ADVANTAGES

You can have access to additional funds while still living in your home and retaining ownership. This is a great advantage to customers who do not want to move from their home or suburb, but need access to extra funds. Using an equity release loan enables you to access extra funds on top of your pension or superannuation policy, therefore topping up your weekly or monthly income and budgets.

Continue reading ‘Untapping the Equity in Your Home’ »

Ditech is taking part in President Obamas housing stimulus plan and now offering mortgage refinancing options to all types of homeowners. This means homeowners with financial problems or issues with their mortgage will find it easier than ever finding help refinancing a mortgage. Here are some things to know when using President Obamas plan and Ditech to get a mortgage refinancing.

Ditech, like a few other selected mortgage lenders and banks, gets cash incentives every time they offer a struggling homeowner a refinancing option that is in accordance with President Obamas stimulus. This means that they are taking on less financial risk and are able to help even more homeowners in even worse problems. This is helping the housing market, economy, and millions of homeowners.

Continue reading ‘New Ditech (GMAC) Mortgage Refinance Options from Obamas Stimulus’ »