Monday, April 27, 2015

Bad Credit Auto Loans: How to Get a Car Loan After Repossession

If you don't pay your car payment for three consecutive months, your auto loan lender has the right to reclaim or repossess your automobile. There are many reasons why a borrower falls behind on their payments. In many instances, loss of employment makes it impossible for a person to continue making payments. Then again, some people buy cars they can't afford and are unable to meet the monthly obligation. Whatever the reason, a car repossession will damage your credit rating and make it harder for you to get approved for future credit. Still, there are ways to obtain a new car loan and improve your credit score.



1. Pay the Balance: Once the auto loan lender repossess a car, the automobile is sent to an auction house, and the proceeds payoff the vehicle loan. If the automobile sells for less than the loan balance, the original borrower must pay the difference. In many cases, borrowers don't have extra cash to pay the difference, and lenders report the repossession and the delinquent balance to the credit bureaus. If you want to finance a new car shortly following a repossession, it helps to develop a plan that will enable you to pay the balance and salvage your credit.

2. Wait at Least One - Two Years: Financing a car immediately following a repossession is a bad idea for several years. For starters, the lender will charge an enormous interest rate, which will increase monthly payments. If you need transportation and do not have enough available funds to pay cash for a car, financing is the only alternative. However, if possible, wait until your credit improves. There are several ways to quickly improve your credit. You could open new lines of credit and payoff the balance each month. This tactic can increase a low credit score within a short amount of time. Furthermore, paying bills on time and reducing debts is an effective way to improve credit and get approved for a car loan. Once your credit score is high again, some auto loan lenders will excuse the repossession and approve you for a reasonable interest rate.

3. "Buy Here, Pay Here" Car Dealers: After a repossession, it is difficult to obtain a loan from a prime lender. Even if these lenders approve your loan request, you'll pay hefty fees. If looking for a sub prime auto loan, consider a small privately owned car dealerships. These car dealers may provide easy financing, and offer low, comparative rates to persons with bad credit, recent bankruptcy, and repossession.

10 Personal Finance Tips for College Students

1. Get a Job - Finding employment is often challenging for college students because their schedule varies, which makes it impossible for them to work set hours. However, several jobs offer flexible schedules, wherein you're allowed to work different hours each day.

2. Open a Checking Account - If looking to establish credit, don't forget to open a checking account. Even though creditors accept payments by money order, obtaining a money order is very inconvenient.

3. Open a Savings Account - One of the best ways to prove that you are financially responsible is to start a savings account. This will help you adopt good spending habits, and you'll establish a habit of self-control.

4. Apply for a Student Credit Card - Having little or no credit history can make it challenging to rent an apartment and finance an automobile. Getting approved for a student account is simple. Payback the credit card and keep balances low, and you'll establish a good credit history.

5. Keep Debts Low - Since it's so easy for college student to obtain credit, it's also easy for them to acquire a lot of debt quick. Credit card companies are sneaky, and they want you to stay deep in debt.



6. Payback Personal Loans - If your parents, siblings, or friends lend you money, make every effort to payback the money. Once you graduate from college and enter the workforce, you will likely have monthly rent, auto loan, student loan, etc. Get into a habit of paying back monies owed. This will make the adjustment into adulthood a little easier.

7. Establish a Budget - It is common for college students to blow all their extra money on clothes, shoes, liquor, and so forth. If you have disposable income, rather than spend the money on frivolous items, create a recreational budget and stick to it.

8. Spend within the Budget - Once a budget is established, practice living within your means. In other words, don't splurge on a pair of $180 jeans, especially if you're only making $250 a week.

9. Get a Secured Credit Card - If you can't get approved for a student credit card because of bad credit, consider getting a secured credit card. This usually requires a deposit, which serves as collateral. Don't worry. Once you've submitted timely payments for two years, the credit card
 company will refund the deposit.

10. Become Financially Independent - Many college students depend on mom and dad for money. It's common for parents to assist their college children financially. However, if you want to prepare yourself for the future, pay for some of your own expenses. For example, if your parents purchased your automobile, you might attempt to pay the insurance, gasoline, and maintenance costs.

Why Consumers Are Investing in Dubai Property


 High Profits Come to Those Who Diligently

There are places all over the world that real estate experts and hopeful home owners target in order to get a good deal or in order to make a profit from their purchase. Of such places is Dubai, a region in the United Arab Emirates, or UAE. This region of recent attraction has much to offer homeowners and investors alike.

For home owners, property in Dubai is a good buy because it is still relatively cheap. When considering the fact that Dubai is becoming a major tourist attraction, with even its own Disneyland being created, obtaining property now can mean that living in a high class area will cost a fraction of what it does elsewhere. The best part is that homeowners can make a great profit when they decide to retire or move away to more exotic or peaceful locations.



For investors, Dubai property is just as much of an interest as there is much money to be made in the Dubai real estate market. Dubai properties are expected to rise greatly in cost over the next decade as more and more tourist attractions are created. As more jobs, locations, and houses become in demand, the prices of real estate will skyrocket. For the investors that bought their property at low rates, this will prove to be a very high return on investment.

The worth of residential apartments isn't the only thing skyrocketing in the near future. So too are the commercial properties that are springing up everywhere. Getting a piece of Dubai commercial real estate will allow investors to make much more money through developing a business rather than simply reselling real estate. Developing a business next to tourist attractions and tourist "hot spots" can essentially give business owners a guaranteed success in almost all business types.



Other investors in Dubai real estate who want to establish a long term income are buying real estate locations in order to develop apartment complexes, duplexes, and other rental and lease properties. When the real estate market reaches an all time high in Dubai, investors will make a massive sum of money on select real estate locations given proper circumstances.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Simple Ways to Cut Everyday Expenses

Switch from paper coffee filters to a reusable coffee filter. A pack of coffee filters is relatively inexpensive, but if you buy one pack per month that cost $1.50, by switching you can save $18.00 per year. Not to mention that you are helping the environment by making the change.

Switch from soda to water. Even when soda is on sale for $1.00 per bottle, if you buy five bottles per week, that adds up to $260.00 per year. By switching to water you are not only helping you budget, but also helping your
 body.

Save plastic butter and sour cream containers and use them to store leftovers. Reusing these containers is not only better for the environment; it prevents the need to purchase expensive storage containers.

Adjust the thermostat in your home by on degree, depending on the season. This will help with the electric and gas bill.

Switch from harsh cleaning chemicals to baking soda and vinegar. Chemicals are more expensive, and very harsh on the environment and your family. Baking soda and vinegar work just as well as the harsh chemicals and are a fraction of the cost.

Stop using paper towels. Cut old towels into smaller sections, and use them for everyday cleanup. This is also better on the environment by recycling what you already have, and decreasing the amount of garbage produced by your home.

Place crumpled up newspaper in the empty space in your refrigerator. This promotes better cooling, and reuses old newspaper.

Clean the air filter in your home. By keeping the air filter clean, you allow the air to flow freely through your home.

Use less laundry detergent when you do the laundry. You do not have to use the entire cap full to get great results. Less detergent can go a long way.

Recycle everything that can be recycled to cut down on the number of trash bags consumed by your home. This is also great for the environment, because it keeps the landfills from being overfilled.

Use bath towels more than once before you wash them. After the shower, hang the towel up to dry and use it again. This cuts down on the amount of electricity used to wash and dry, the amount of water used to wash, and the amount of detergent needed to clean them.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Financial Tips for Slow Economy

If you're not rich you are probably well aware that the economy is past slow. With an uncertain future ahead you need to save more now than ever. The realistic news is the business you currently work for may not be around in six months. So what do you do?



Go into survival mode
Worst case scenario the economy won't affect you and you have extra money saved. Having extra money doesn't sound too bad to me. The bad news is you may want to save that money you were going to use for that third car or the money for the wide screen television for a game room.

1. Cut your electric bill - Turn off fans, lights, and any power source that you aren't using. Turn off your water heater for the day if you are going to use it.

2. See if you can trim money off your phone bill. Have cell phones? Look at your bill to see if you can get a lower rate. Can you save money on your phone bill? Most of the home plans are all inclusive to keep up with the cell phone's plans. Maybe you don't need both phones.

3. Cable - Can you cut your cable bill? What do you really watch and how often. Maybe you don't need all the boxes you have. Would satellite be cheaper?

4. Internet - Can you use dial up cheaper than DSL? Can you combine packages and get one bill for less money? Is changing your usage a good idea?

5. Save on water and electric by doing less laundry, or do all the laundry in one day and leave your water heater off. Make sure your dishwasher is fully loaded or wash the dishes by hand.

6. Use less gas in your vehicle. Combine trips out. Get enough groceries to last for a week or two. Slow your vehicle down. Shut your vehicle off instead of letting it idle for long periods of time. Go the shortest distance to a destination. Carpool when you can.

7. Groceries - Instead of buying brand name groceries get the no name, inexpensive brand. Try buying in bulk. Bulk is usually cheaper. Get groceries that you can make multiple meals out of. Use items that are easy to store leftovers or you can store the unused portion easily. Think of inexpensive meals. Now is a great time to experiment with menus and meals.

8. Unessentials - If you don't need it don't buy it. Save it for a rainy day.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Why You Should Make a Will

It’s incredibly common for people to delay making a will. If we’re not sick or old then we have no reason to think we will die – and who wants to spend time thinking about death anyway? However, creating a will is essential if you own anything of reasonable value, and you want to ensure said assets are left to those that you choose. What’s more, a will can reduce probate fees and the hassle involved in obtaining it. If you don’t make a will then it is the law that decides who will receive your assets, and how much. If you are married and have children then much of your estate will automatically be passed to them.



While this might not seem like an issue if it is your partner and children you want to benefit, what happens if you have an estranged child who hasn’t spoken to you in years? You would probably want to leave more to the child that visits you once a week for a cup of tea and a chat, right? If you failed to leave a will, your assets would be distributed between them equally.

In addition if you are separated (but still married) then your ex-partner would still be entitled to their share, whether or not that is what you want to or believe should happen.

If you are not married but are living with a long-term partner, then not leaving a will could leave them with nothing. They could make a claim for their perceived share, but there is no guarantee it would be granted. There would also be no provisions in place for looking after anybody else that is not an immediate member of your family, no matter what impact they might have had upon your life.

In addition, having a will in place makes the process of obtaining probate much simpler. Probate is needed following most deaths – it is the legal proceeding involved in establishing exactly who is entitled to what and ensuring said inheritance reaches the correct people.

Obtaining probate can be difficult, time-consuming and costly. Depending on the value of the assets, and the complexity of the case, the probate cost can be substantial. The probate cost however will be much more substantial if there is no will. The added time and complications involved in the matter will mean that the probate fees could easily spiral out of control.

The effort involved in obtaining probate is additionally something that nobody would want to wish upon their loved ones following their death. Obtaining probate can be incredibly stressful, yet this stress can be reduced simply by ensuring a will has been written. Surely the security of knowing where your assets will end up, combined with the knowledge that your loved ones will incur no added stress upon your death are enough reasons to make writing a will worth the effort?

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Using the Snowball Method to Eliminate Debt

In today's tough times, many of us are trying to reduce our debt burden to improve our financial situation in the face of recession. While there are many ways to approach this goal, one increasingly high-profile and popular method is the so-called "Snowball" method espoused by financial guru Dave Ramsey.



The snowball method offers a way to break your debt down into manageable chunks so you can make steady, visible progress in eliminating all your bills. The method basically involves the following steps:

1. List all your outstanding debt, from the smallest to the largest

2. Determine how much money you can reasonably redirect monthly toward paying off your debt

3. Divide your allotted money into minimum payments on all the bills except the smallest

4. Use the remaining amount of your allotted funds to pay the smallest debt

5. Once the first debt has been paid off, focus all the money you've been paying on the first debt on the second one. You'll be paying the extra amount on top of the minimum payment you've been making.

6. Continue down the line. By the time you reach the largest debt, the amount of money you're paying toward it will have "snowballed," enabling you to eliminate even this larger bill in a reasonable amount of time.

While this process is underway, it's important not to incur additional debt, so don't use any credit cards or take out any additional loans unless absolutely necessary, such as for a medical emergency.

What People Critics About Snowball Method?
Critics of the snowball method say that it makes more sense to pay down the debts in order of which has the highest interest rate. However, Ramsey says that if this is your largest debt, the amount of time it could take you pay it off will be discouraging, making your debt burden seem insurmountable. By starting with the smallest dollar amount, you can see success in a relatively short period, giving you initial success that will encourage you to continue with the plan. By the time you reach the largest debt, it will also be paid down more quickly because of the way you've focused the payments.

There are, of course, many ways to approach this conundrum. You might want to start with the debt that you know will give you the largest emotional boost if it's paid off--for example, the debt that's been on the books for the longest amount of time. And if paying the debt with the highest interest first seems like the best approach to you, that might be a good choice for your personal debt management plan. The point is, whatever approach you choose, get started. The sooner you get a plan underway, the sooner your debt will melt down and disappear.