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Part politics, part stupidity, but it all hurts children in the end – why the public schools rarely teaches personal finance to their students.
Retirement Investing 101: Don’t Make This Common Retirement Investing Mistake
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Click this link to get your copy! http://lethemonfinancial.com/freeretirementguide How To Retire Happy, 7 Simple Steps To Creating Your Ideal Retirement In t…
Dont Lose HopeThere Is Bad Credit Financing
There was a time, not all that long ago, when it was fairly simple to receive bad credit home loan financing. One of the major providers of such a service was Countrywide. Unfortunately, they were giving loans to high risk borrowers and eventually Bank of America took over. Countrywide were such big players in the market that their absence makes it more difficult to get bad credit home loan financing today.
But don’t lose hope. It is still possible to get this kind of financing, however it will probably take a bit more time to find what you’re looking for.
One of your first tasks is to figure out if you are really a subprime borrower or not. The quickest way to do this is by checking your credit report and finding out what your credit score is. A lot of people are happily surprised to discover their credit scores are higher than they assumed. Those with a credit score of 620 or better will most likely be able to get a traditional loan as opposed to bad credit home loan financing.
But even if you have a score that’s between 580 and 620, there is still something you can do, and that is raising your credit score. Go over your report and look for any inaccuracies that may be corrected. Also, be sure to pay all of your bills on time and try to bring down the total amount you owe all of your creditors. It may take a few months for your credit score to go up, but it will be worth it if it means getting better terms on your financing.
However, these tips may not be enough to get your score high enough, or it may be well below 580. You still may be able to get bad credit home loan financing, but you should be aware that it will come with a higher cost if you do get a loan. In the eyes of a lender, you are a higher risk, and that risk comes out of your pocket. This usually means paying a higher interest rate, and even one percentage point can add up to thousands of extra dollars over the life of your loan.
A good place to start looking is online. Go to your favorite search engine and search for “bad credit home loan financing” to see what’s out there. The internet also makes it easy to compare quotes from several lenders at the same time. You will have to enter some basic information, and then you will be presented with results from different companies. Being able to do a side by side comparison is convenient and will help you to see which offers fit in best with your current situation.
Finally, there is some good news even if you have to pay high rates for your bad credit home loan financing. If you are able to make all of your payments on time, and can improve your credit score over a period of two years, you can almost always renegotiate the terms of your agreement to make them more favorable to you.
Financing A Car In A Shaky Economy – Dont Get Trapped
There is no question that today’s economy could be doing better. However, even in this slump, financing a car probably isn’t quite as hard as you may think. In some ways, car dealers are tightening their purse strings and are more careful about lending money than they were just a few years ago. At the same time, though, their lower sales volume gives them more incentive to help people buy new cars.
But that doesn’t mean that automobile dealerships are the only place to go for financing a car. Big banks are actually not one of the best sources because of the changes they have made. On the other hand, credit unions, regional bank and other local lending institutions are all potential sources for getting car loans.
The good news about the bad economy is that it makes it a buyer’s market. Car dealers are offering various incentives and rebates to help move the inventory off their lots. Some of these incentives include low interest rates, keeping your payments lower, and reducing the overall amount you will spend over the life of your loan.
There is a catch, however. The best deals are only available to those customers with the best credit. Therefore, if you are financing a car, you should check into your credit report and correct any mistakes that may be there. Also, if you haven’t been doing so, start paying all of your bills on time. The longer you do this, the more your credit score will go up.
But don’t just take the best terms you can get at the first dealer you go to. The key is to find the best price on a car first, then go to other dealerships to get the best price and terms. See what they each offer and crunch the numbers to see which ones are best. But don’t stop there! Once you have a firm offer from one dealership, go back to a different dealership and see if they can beat the offer. Remember, they are interested in selling vehicles, and may be willing to go even lower than their previous best offer if they’re afraid you’re going to buy from a competitor.
Now there is another potential trap here, so be careful. You are not only comparing the prices of cars, you are also comparing the terms of the financing. One of the dirty little secrets of car sales is that a large portion of their profits are made on the interest rates they charge. Remember, you do not have to get a car loan through the dealership. You can go to a bank or credit union, and will usually get better rates. However, you also have to take into account any special dealer incentives that good skew the numbers back into their favor.
Another thing you can do when financing a car is to go online to compare offers from various lenders. This is convenient because instead of you going out to visit each potential lender, they come to visit you, although they do it virtually.
Dont Settle For Inferior Auto Insurance – Read These Tips
Plenty of insurance commercials state that by switching to their company, you will save so much a year in terms of dollars or percent. But in doing so, you may be sacrificing quality service. You don’t always have to find a new auto insurance provider just to cut costs. We have several tips to help you save money without compromising service.
Use social media to your advantage when shopping for an auto insurance policy. Check what real drivers are saying about insurance companies via websites, forums and blogs. By going the social route, you will find out the truth about an insurance company, not the hype the insurance companies themselves pay to put out.
Work with an insurance broker or aggregator online. Sites like Esurance.com or Insureme.com can help you get quotes from several insurance companies at once for no charge so you can get a feel for how your current rates stack up, and whether you need to switch to a new insurance company.
When purchasing auto insurance, make sure that you aren’t paying for “extras” that overlap with coverage you already have. For instance, if you already have roadside assistance through a traveling club or your cell phone carrier, you do not need to pay for this benefit through your auto insurance company, too.
Even your age can play a large factor in the price you can expect to pay for auto insurance. Statistically speaking, drivers over the age of 55 and under the age of 25 are considerably more prone to vehicle accidents compared with adults in mid-life. While this cannot be changed, you may wish to compare coverage options across companies; some place less emphasis on the age of the insured party.
Do not settle for the first auto insurance company that you find. You may be missing out on special discounts or rewards. For instance, some insurance companies offer discounted premiums for accident-free drivers, or for people of certain professions. Some even give discounts to college students who maintain good grades.
Know what is on your driving record when you are shopping for auto insurance. Your driving record has direct impact on the cost of your insurance. A clean driving record will get you better rates than a record full of tickets. Since tickets do not stay in your record forever you can wait until they disappear from your record before you get new quotes.
There are a number of steps you can take to reduce your automobile insurance premiums. One way is by maintaining a good credit score. Many insurance companies now use this statistic as part of their criteria in determining a client’s premiums. Joining an automobile club is also a good idea if you have a classic car. Most of these clubs offer members quality insurance policies at reduced rates.
When you use these tips to help cut your auto insurance costs, you should be able to stay with your current auto insurance provider. If you do decide that it is worth your while to switch insurance companies and reap the savings as a new subscriber, be sure to use these tips to keep your costs down with them as well.