Shopping for a Personal Loan to Suit Your Finances

Just as one would shop around for the right automobile to suit your taste and financial style, the same is true in shopping for a personal loan. If you’re thinking about taking out a personal loan, it’s important to make sure it matches your paying and financial composite. For example, do any of the following apply to you?

1. If you plan to take out a personal loan do you plan to repay the loan off fast?
2. Would you prefer to stretch your repayment plan out for as long as possible?
3. Do you have poor credit – therefore gaining a personal loan approval is important to you?
4. Are you looking for the lowest interest rate possible on a personal loan?
5. Because you require a large sum of money (over $10,000) you would like to put your home up for collateral?

As the above questions depict, personal loans come in all assortments with varying terms and payment guidelines. As we all know all men are created equally, but not all salaries and personal loans are right for all financial needs.

Did you know that the average American consumer (almost 60 percent) carries – an average debt of over $10,000? Moreover, almost 60 percent neglect to remit their monthly credit card and mortgage balances on a timely basis. The profile of the middle class family is generally cash-challenged and used credit cards for their basic necessities.

In the realm of personal loans, American consumers must take caution during the search for a personal loan. Financial desperation has a way of affecting a consumer’s judgment. Banks, creditors and lending institutions are targeting the financially fraught consumer. The sector is referred to as a "sub-prime" market. The target audience is the working poor or impoverished who are in most cases unable to make payments.

The rampant growth of the industries has been evident in both mortgage lending and cash advance firms. Normally, sub-prime loans (home financing and payday) are accompanied by mammoth interest rates. In reality, it boils down to supply and demand.

After all, why should an organization dole out loans or credit to consumers who are unable to pay or have demonstrated a poor payment history.

Fact: Annually, creditors and financial institutions charge over $7 billion in late fees.

Despite the advantages and drawbacks of personal loans, here are a few ways to shop for a loan customized to your financial style:

Fast Repayment Plan

If you plan to take out a quick personal loan to hold you off until you receive a tax refund or even a salary bonus, look for a personal loan that does not have a prepayment penalty. Since many payday loans and other personal loan products are designed to make the company money over the life of the loan, many carry a pre-payment penalty clause. Read the fine print and thoroughly review the contract to avoid being pigeon-holed into a personal loan.

Extended Repayment Program

The unemployed consumer should look for the personal loan where the repayment plan can be stretched out overtime. Opting for this type of loan can circumvent the chance of biting off more personal loan than one can afford while they are looking for gainful employment.

High Interest Rate

Some consumers do not have the luxury of being choosy in pursuit of a loan. Particularly, for the indebted with a low credit rating, the chances of personal loan approval may be limited. Generally, financial institutions up the interest rate based on how risky they deem the loan to be. Also, if a person has shown a poor payment history, the only way for the lending company to protect their interest is by charging an excessive interest rate.

Lowest Rate

Although the lowest interest rate possible always sparkles with appeal, it can be tricky. Pay particular attention to any personal loan that sounds too good to be true. For example, certain fraudulent lending companies will detail ambiguous wording in a personal debt agreement to purposely defraud the consumer of property (house or car).

Secured Loan

For a lending institution’s perspective, the secured personal loan is completely failsafe for the bank. In any case, if the borrower defaults on the loan, they have an expensive property to sell to even make a profit. Before selecting a secured personal loan evaluate if the risk of possibly losing one’s home is worth the pay-off of any loan worth $10,000 or more.

Whatever you personal loan you decide to take out, remember to prioritize what is important and only select the loan tailored to your financial situation.


About The Author

Holly Bentz is a finance writer and a contributor to About Personal Loans.

About-Personal-Loans.com

How To Establish Good Credit

How To Establish Good Credit

Obtaining and maintaining a good credit history is very important for any consumer’s present and future financial condition. But how does someone go about doing this?

To some people’s surprise, establishing credit is relatively simple. If you are earning a stable income and have lived in the same residence for at least the past year, there are many ways to establish credit. One way is to apply for a credit card with a local gas station or department store, both of whom have lower credit standards than other larger businesses and lenders. This allows you to obtain a credit card that will limit your spending to only gas or the items that you can find in that particular department store. Usually, the balances you accumulate on these kinds of cards will not exceed what you can bear.

Another way to build credit is to take out a small loan from your local bank or credit union. Even though you may not have any real need to take out a loan, and though you might not want to pay the interest expenses, it will be a relatively simple way for you to build credit, so long as you make your payments on time.

It should be noted that before you apply for credit through any company, be sure that the creditor or lender actually reports credit history information to a credit bureau so that all of your dealings with the institution will aid your credit history.

Once you have found a way to begin building your credit, make sure that you pay your bills on time. Recurring late payments and unpaid bills are frowned upon by all creditors, and will negatively affect your credit score.

However, if you do encounter a situation that makes it impossible to avoid late payments, contact your creditor immediately. Most creditors are willing to negotiate an adjustment to your payment schedule to accommodate whatever difficulties you are experiencing.

Author: Credit Management

How Can I Repair My Credit?

How Can I Repair My Credit?

Congratulations! You realized you had a debt problem and you took the steps necessary to get those debts paid off. Now it is time to see what you can do about restoring your credit.

The best way to restore your credit is to apply for new credit and make your monthly payments on time. Over time, as you keep making your payments on time, you will see your credit score increase. This may sound easy, but before you get to this point, it is important to be sure that your financial situation is stable. Make sure you have reliable employment, that you have sufficient income and that your debts are under control. With anyone of these things not stable you could be asking for trouble and more negative credit history.

Negative credit history may remain on your credit record for as long as seven years, but the more time you put between it and your positive history, the less attention lenders will pay it. The longer you maintain good credit, the easier it will become to get credit. Keep in mind that cleaning up your credit record is going to take time.

Do not jump at the first credit card offer you get. Evaluate the terms of the offer. You will get a lot of high risk offers with high interest rates and high annual fees. It is best to stay away from any card with an annual fee or anything that is secured with property. If it is secured with cash, that is different. The most you stand to lose is the cash you secured the credit card with.

You want to inform the credit bureau of any unreported positive payment history that is not listed on your credit report. The credit bureau is not obligated to record the history, but it does not hurt to try. You will not be any worse off than you are now. If the credit bureau does choose to include the history, it can only help your credit.

If possible, submit an explanation of any negative credit on your report. Once again, the credit bureau is not obligated to include this information, but in the majority of the cases, they do. If you became delinquent because you became unemployed due to an unexpected layoff or you had unexpected medical expenses, the credit bureau should know this, especially if this is the only time your payments were delinquent.

Following these steps will help you get your credit record back in good shape. Remember to be patient. Your credit history didn't become a mess in one day and it will not be fixed in one day. Also, the single best thing you can do for your credit is to make your payments on time, consistently.

Author:Marjorie Salada is the owner of debtmanagement1.com, a website that contains information on debt consolidation, debt settlement, debt counseling and how to manage credit card debt.

Tips for Choosing the right Credit Card

Tips for Choosing the right Credit Card
Credit Cards are now one of the most popular forms of short term debt. The reason for this popularity is that credit cards offer flexibility and convenience that no other forms of finance can provide.

When it comes to determining which credit card is best for you, you need to match the credit card features and benefits to your individual spending habits. Things you need to take into consideration is:
• How quickly do you pay your credit card balance off?
• Is you credit card balance paid off monthly?
• Do you travel much?
• Is your credit card balance generally ongoing, therefore no longer short term debt.
• Are membership rewards important for you?
How do I Choose the right card?
The first thing to remember it that nothing in life is free. Therefore the more benefits the credit card offers, generally the higher the interest rate, and the higher the annual fee. You should always remember that the banks are in this to make money, so when they look at packaging a credit card offer, profitability is always high on their agenda.
Low Interest Rate Credit Cards
Low interest rate credit card market is currently being hotly contested. All the traditional banks have low interest rate offers however other issuers are making inroads into this space with very competitive offers.
These cards typically offer no rewards program for their credit cards. An interest free period on these credit cards is pretty much standard at between 40- 55 days, and generally have a late payment fee. Low interest rate cards are good for those people who:
• Generally have an outstanding balance on their credit card.
• Don't seem to be able to pay off purchases within the interest free period.
• Are not interested in receiving membership benefits
• Might be looking for flexibility in regards to medium term credit.

Many low interest rate cards are also offering 0% on balance transfer rates (generally for 6 months) . So if you currently have a high balance on and existing cards which you are trying to pay off, switching onto a card with a lower ongoing interest rate and low balance transfer rates is worth consideration.

Standard Credit Cards

Your standard credit cards generally offer a higher interest rate, membership rewards, interest free days on purchases (generally around 55 days), and a low balance transfer rate for an introductory period. In many cases these cards are what we have been holding for years and they are now coming under pressure with all the new low interest rate cards on the market.

These cards still have a place in the market and might be best for:

• People who are disciplined and pay the card balance off monthly
• Use the cards for convenience for everyday purchases.

Buying everything on your card and then paying it off within the interest free period allows you to obtain reward points and not pay interest charges.

Gold Credit Cards

Gold and Platinum credit cards generally have higher interest rates and yearly fees than other cards, however they also have higher rewards associated with the cards as well as other member benefits. When comparing these types of cards it is important to match the associated benefits of the cards to your own specific needs.

Income requirements for these cards can be higher than the standard credit cards, and then available credit limits are also generally higher.

These cards might be best for:

• People who are disciplined and pay the card balance off monthly
• Use the cards for convenience for everyday purchases. Buying everything on your card and then paying it off within the interest free period allows you to obtain reward points and not pay interest charges
• Travel frequently - can redeem rewards point for flights
So, when selecting a credit card take all these things into consideration. Decide which card fits your lifestyle choices.
Before applying for any credit card, be sure to discuss your specific financial needs with your financial advisor.

Author:Shane Stocks writes articles for Australian financial website http://www.creditmart.com.au You can read other credit card articles regarding comparing credit cards by visiting their associated websites.

How to Avoid Property Tax


How to Avoid Property Tax
By Carl Bayley

This unique and comprehensive guide is packed full of property
tax saving advice that cannot be found anywhere else. Now in its 9th
edition, How to Avoid Property Tax is widely regarded by landlords,
developers and the media as the tax bible for property investors. The guide
will help you pay much less income tax and capital gains tax on all your
property investments and dealings.

The 2007 edition of this bestselling guide has just been published and
contains a huge number of new tax-saving ideas. It is essential reading
for:

* Buy-to-let investors and landlords.
* Anyone renovating or developing property.
* Anyone looking for plain-English tax advice.
* Property investors wanting to pay much less capital gains tax.
* Anyone wanting to claim lots of income tax relief and deductions.
* Experienced and novice investors.
* Accountants, solicitors and IFAs.
* Those actively climbing the property ladder.
* Those with second homes or big portfolios of buy to let property.
* Anyone wanting tried and tested ways of legally paying less tax.

The guide is supported throughout with clear examples and numerous tax
saving ideas including:

* How you can rent out property and pay absolutely no capital gains tax.
* Ways to avoid capital gains tax even if a property is not your main residence.
* How you can escape capital gains tax by selling one property and buying another.
* How to make the most of your Principle Private Residence Exemption.
* How couples can save an extra £8,000 in income tax every year.
* How to claim motoring, home office, travel, research and hundreds of other expenses.
* How anyone renovating or developing property can save thousands in tax.
* The enormous tax benefits enjoyed by commercial property investors.
* How re-mortgaging property can save you thousands in tax... plus the traps to avoid.
* How to receive an extra £4,250 pa in tax-free rental income.

About the Author
Carl Bayley is an expert at translating complex tax laws into plain English and helping investors and businesses pay less tax. Trained as a chartered accountant, Carl is a well-known conference speaker and a regular contributor to television and radio on tax matters.



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The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Investors and Managers, Revised Edition


The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Investors and Managers, Revised Edition
By L. A. Cunningham

Too many books contain the word Buffett in their title but only this book comes from the annual letters to shareholders. Truly authentic Buffett in his own words is much better just because he dosen't need any interpretation.
Domenico De Salvo


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The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means Book


The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means
By George Soros

In the midst of the most serious financial upheaval since the Great Depression, legendary financier George Soros explores the origins of the crisis and its implications for the future. George Soros, whose breadth of experience in financial markets is unrivalled, places the current crisis in the context of decades of study of how individuals and institutions handle the boom and bust cycles that now dominate global economic activity. 'This is a once in a lifetime moment', writes Soros in characterizing the scale of financial distress spreading across Wall Street and other financial centres around the world. In a concise essay that combines practical insight with philosophical depth, Soros makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of the great credit crisis and its implications for the world.

Review
This was a book that George Soros badly wanted to write. It is probably not what many of its readers expect to read. But it shows that in his deeper thinking about the way markets operate, Soros was several decades ahead of his time... His insights are clear and concisely expressed. They are worth reading for anyone interested in the topic. --Financial Times

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