10 Simple Financial Advice Rules That Can .........

10 Simple Financial Advice Rules That Can Create Wealth

Money is what "makes the world go round." And one of the most difficult propositions in life is to manage money.

While some are born with great financial acumen others need to be methodical and follow sound advice.

Here are a few basic tips:

1. Inculcate frugality within you; desist temptation to spend now save later. Every dollar earned must be divided into four parts: one part to meet essential expenses; one part to be invested in short-term savings; one part for retirement savings; and one part for emergency expenses.

2. Create with expert advice an infallible financial plan. Plan your credit report, taxes, and expenses. Keep a watch and learn how to regulate yourself.

3. Avoid the debt trap set by credit card companies and the easy availability of loans. Only spend what you have in hand and not any monies in advance.

4. Learn the art of investment. The World Wide Web is a reliable resource for information, reviews, and guidelines on investments. If doubtful seek expert advice on investments; the ideal is to balance investments into sure-fire investments, medium risk investments, and high risk investments.

5. Make wise decisions when buying a home, office, and more. Avail a mortgage that works for you. Property can be a good investment when bought after deep thought and in allocation where the appreciation is high.

6. Teach every family member how to invest and the secret of handling money wisely. Even children need to learn from a young age.

7. Insure your interests. Take enough insurance but learn the art of saving on premiums, clubbing policies, and umbrella policies. Know how to save money every step.

8. Spend prudently. Plan your luxuries and eating out. Learn how to shop sensibly and not indulge.

9. Avoid lending money or borrowing money. Financial matters are best handled alone and not through family or friends.

10. Review your financial plan regularly and make the necessary adjustments. As a family grows needs change. Begin saving for college and education from the early years. Teach the children never to take you for granted. Discuss things with your family members.

Use expert advice when needed so that you are always protected financially. Read websites such as that hosted by the Federal Trade Commission to protect America's consumers: http://www.ftc.gov

The World Wide Web is a knowledge highway and brings financial advice to the finger tips. Keep abreast of money management, taxation, insurance, and property laws. Plan for retirement and be secure in the future.

Article Source: Financial Advisors

Mortgage Leads, Ask for the Business

Many times in the process of making a sales presentation to a potential client, we will break down our product piece by piece, explaining all of the features and benefits it has to offer, then we expect our customer to have immediate buy in, and purchase our product based on the presentation they just heard.

Unfortunately, it does not work that way. Simply explaining your product is not enough. To many times we are satisfied with our presentation of the product that we forget our number one goal. Closing the deal!

Customers will get up from your desk, or hang up the phone, parting with statements such as, that sounds great! Let me think about it, or let me discuss it with my spouse and get back to you.

The number one reason we do not ask for the business is the fear of rejection. We would rather end our presentation on a happy, upbeat note, and leave the ball in our customers court.

Ask yourself this question:

Would Michael Jordan leave the ball in the opposing teams court, or would he take the ball to the hoop?

You should be doing the same thing at the end of every sales presentation, take the ball to the hoop, except in your case, ask for the business and close the deal.

One of the best techniques for doing this is by asking leading questions.

Here are a few examples of leading questions:

How about we open an account for you right now?

Why don’t we take a minute and get you started?

What do you say I go ahead and order an appraisal right now?

A leading question basically leads the customer in the direction you want to go with them, if they weren’t interested in your product, you would

never have gotten to this point. It is just following through with everything you just explained to them.

They are most likely going to agree with you and buy your product because the information is fresh in their mind. The minute they leave your

office, or get off the phone, your business card is left in their pocket, all but forgotten, headed toward a wash cycle, or the napkin they wrote your number on is headed for the trash.

Out of sight, out of mind!

So strike while the iron is hot!

Get their business while they are in front of you, because they may never be in
front of you again!

Author: Jay Conners
Article Source : http://www.jconners.com

Flexible Mortgages Are Made for Today’s Modern Lifestyle

Flexible mortgages are among some of the new mortgage packages that have been created to cater for the modern mortgage market. The modern mortgage market has become more liberal and creative, and therefore this has led to an increase in the choice and diversity of mortgage packages being offered to borrowers. Most major lenders include some kind of flexible mortgage in their product range. The majority of flexible mortgages are sold through the traditional routes and they are increasing their hold in the mortgage market, due to consumer demand.

Essentially a flexible mortgage is a secured loan that can be paid back in varying amounts, and the interest is calculated on the fluctuations of the outstanding balance. Flexible mortgages are particularly suited to today’s lifestyle, for example: ‘jobs for life’ are virtually unknown, you might want a career break to raise a family or you might expect some major life changes in the near future.

A flexible mortgage can offer:

Overpayments

You can pay off your mortgage quicker by making regular overpayments or by paying in a lump sum on an ad hoc basis, without incurring any redemption penalties. A flexible mortgage recalculates your outstanding mortgage balance on either a daily or monthly basis, and your interest payments are quickly adjusted for the overpayments that have been made.

Underpayments

You can reduce your regular mortgage payments or even have a complete payment holiday without being in default. There will be conditions attached to this option, for example: you might have to build up a reserve of overpayments before being allowed to underpay. However, a consequence of underpayment means an increase in your outstanding mortgage balance.

Further loans

You can withdraw lump sums from your mortgage account to be used for any purpose, without the formality of applying for a new loan. There are usually conditions attached to this feature, for example: you might have to build up a reserve of overpayments against which you can borrow, and there will probably be a ceiling on the overall amount you can borrow through your original mortgage.

Not all flexible mortgages offer those features, so you will have to shop around.

The ability to pay off your mortgage early is a necessary feature of all flexible mortgages, and the main point of distinction for a flexible mortgage is the extent to which you are allowed to withdraw funds from your mortgage account. The least flexible mortgage combines overpayment facilities with only the option to take occasional payment holidays.

In a recent survey of flexible mortgages carried out for the Council of Mortgage Lenders, nearly half of the surveyed borrowers had not made use of the flexible options that their mortgage gave them. The borrowers that had made use of the flexible options mainly used the overpayment option to allow them clear their mortgage early by either regular overpayments and/or an occasional lump sum payment.

A more structured approach to the flexible mortgage is offered by the current account mortgage (CAM) and the offset mortgage. With a CAM, there is just one account as it combines your mortgage account and current account. The offset mortgage uses separate accounts for the mortgage, current, and savings account. The interest earnt by the current and savings accounts is offset against the outstanding mortgage capital and the interest is reduced accordingly. It is important to make sure the mortgage rate is competitive because some lenders charge a higher rate than average and thus the benefit is lost.

Flexible mortgages have been around since the 1990’s and they have grown in popularity since then. The future looks good for flexible mortgages, with even more options for borrowers to choose from as time progresses.

Author:Jenny Hoskins

Tips on Finding a Mortgage With Bad Credit Score

Bad credit score is not an uncommon thing. The question is, can you actually qualify for a mortgage if you have a bad credit? The simple answer is: yes, you can! Even if your credit is less than flawless, you still have a chance to find mortgage that will meet your requirements and suit your needs. The main trick here is that you will probably have to put down more money than in case of a usual loan just to convince the lender of your reliability, but after that your monthly payments will be the same as for a borrower with a flawless credit.

There are several ways to find a bad credit lender. The best place to start your search would probably be online. There are some internet-based companies directly specializing in lending money to individuals with bad credit scores, and such companies will be willing to work with you and will propose you the best rates they can. Perhaps that would be a right way to get funds for the house you want.

Another place to visit is your bank. Of course, most banks will treat you as a giant risk and will most likely refuse to lend money to you, but they might as well point you in the right direction – they may know and advice you to turn to some lending companies that can potentially be willing to work with you.

After all, you can just ask other people – maybe some of them were in similar bad credit situations and know where to turn to for reasonable mortgage options.

Once you have found a few lenders willing to lend money to you, you should do a careful research to choose the one that suits you the most, and below we shall discuss the main points you should pay special attention to.

First of all, ensure that the lender is credible. Check the actual company to make sure that it is legitimate.

Second, verify if there are any additional costs. Most likely you will have to make a large down payment, but that is normal in a bad credit situation. The thing to be on the lookout for is that there are no additional monthly fees or overly high application costs. Don’t neglect this point – checking it in advance can well save you from a lot of trouble in future.

Finally, check out all the basic facts, as you would do with a usual mortgage. Is the mortgage fixed or adjustable? Can you pay off more each month without penalty? Whatever your credit score is, these basic matters do not become less important.

All in all, be very careful when choosing a lender – having a bad credit does not mean that you can’t find a suitable mortgage option that will provide reasonable rates and save your money. On the other hand, remember that if an option looks too good to be true, then most likely it actually is.

Author: Arthur York