March 1st, 2010
$Clip coupons. This is the single most important rule of personal budgeting. Why? Simply because a few minutes spent clipping coupons could end up saving you multiple dollars in the checkout line.
$Buy in bulk. If your favorite products are on sale, buying in bulk may cost you more at present but could end up saving you a lot in the future. Some good examples are items that do not have an expiration date, such as soap, shampoo, toiletries and other household items. Canned foods, which carry a long expiration date, are also ideal for buying in bulk.
$Saving your change can be a great help in your quest for personal budgeting. You would be surprised how quickly change can add up and, even if it’s $50 or $100 per month, your coins can add up to some serious cash. Many people discard their coins or simply toss them around without thought, but saving them in a bowl or dish will help a great deal when it comes to personal budgeting.
$Put a portion of each paycheck into a savings count each week or month. Whether it’s a few dollars or several hundred, always make sure that you are putting aside some amount of money into a savings account. If possible, deposit 10-20% from each paycheck.
$Avoid impulse shopping. This type of buying is what ultimately leads to buyer’s remorse. In order to avoid it, think about what you want to shop for and make sure that you avoid any last minute additions unless they are absolutely necessary or you can afford them without being in a crunch.
$Shop the sale racks. Everyone enjoys sprucing up their wardrobe now and then so, when it comes time to add a few new pieces of apparel, stop by the sale rack for big savings. There’s nothing wrong with keeping a few extra dollars in your pocket, which can be later be used for life’s little essentials.
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Tags: budget software, budgeting
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February 27th, 2010
Adjustable rate mortgages are to home buyers as carrots are to bunnies – very tempting. The secret to figuring out if an adjustable rate mortgage is a good deal is the rate index used.
Indexes – Setting Rates
Lenders really want your business and are willing to create enticing loan products to get it. Occasionally, lenders will offer adjustable rate mortgages that offer a lot of carrot on the front end, but none on the back end. These loans are typically offered to you with an insanely low initial interest rate, which has you looking at mansions and other structures completely out of your realistic price range. The problem with these loans is the rate rises dramatically after six months or a year when the rate becomes pegged to an index.
Indexes are a unique animal when it comes to the mortgage industry. An index is a calculation of general interest rates charged across a number of financial markets that a bank uses to set a real interest rate on your loan. Common financial markets or products considered in this index include six month certificate deposit rates at local banks, LIBOR, T-Bills and so on. Let’s take a closer look.
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Tags: adjustable rate mortgages, cofi, cost of funds index, interest rates, libor, t-bills, treasure bills
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February 26th, 2010
Money makes the world go round and this saying has never been in more prominence then in these modern times. It is the money which does all the talking and all the walking. So if you have the money then its ok, else you are one of the millions whom no one seems to take seriously.
To make yourself a success one thing that is paramount is money, especially for people who come from lower middle class families. They generally are people who are tenants and find great difficulty in getting the loans. This hampers the progress that one can make in his area of work or interest. To make parity the borrowers with that profile can now resort to the low cost tenant loan.
A low cost tenant loan is a loan which is designed to help people who are basically tenants and need money to fulfill their needs. The loan can either be a secured loan or an unsecured loan. It all depends whether the tenant has something that he can provide as collateral to the creditor. Also, as the name suggests the loans are of low cost that means that the borrowers do not have put themselves under any stress to pay off the loan. The other features of the loans also allow the tenants to build on what they want to build.
Benefits of the low cost tenant loans are not only limited to people with normal credit history, they also provide the solutions to the problems of people with bad credit history. The only difference is that they might get charge a higher rate of interest then the other borrowers because of the profile. It also depends on the credit score that they have got from there previous loan. But on the other side they can improve on their credit score if they follow they follow the loan repayment schedule correctly.
If you want to apply for the low cost tenant loan, the borrowers can follow one of the two methods of applying for the loan. Either a borrower can apply to a local lender or, as many people do can apply through an online lender. By this way the borrower has many options and also the data remains confidential. However, the client must verify that he has fulfilled all the criteria that are required to apply for a loan. It generally includes residential ship of the country along with a regular income from the business or profession once all the things are sorted the person can apply for the loan.
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Tags: bad credit low cost tenant loans, low cost secured tenant loans UK, Low cost tenant loans, low cost unsecured tenant loans UK
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February 24th, 2010
Are you excited about the upside potential of China but can’t pull the trigger because of the significant downside risk? Here is a way to invest in China growth and still sleep at night.
China has been the largest economy in the world for eighteen of the past twenty centuries and it is clearly determined to regain its role as the hegemonic power in Asia and then challenge U.S. global leadership. Will it be able to sustain its 10% economic growth rate, quell rural discontent, build a sound market-based financial system, privatize dominant state-owned enterprises and move towards openness and democracy? This is a tall order and you can put me in the skeptic column.
Nevertheless, China’s raw industrial power, momentum and the palpable ambition of the Chinese people could realistically yield a huge return. I advise my clients to go ahead and invest in China but emphasize that this is a speculative investment. It is smart to protect against the considerable downside risk.
Here is a simple plan you might want to execute to capture the upside while cutting your losses if the Chinese economy hits a speed bump.
First, you could take a broad stake in China through investing in the China iShare exchange-traded fund (FXI) that is comprised of 25 of the largest and most liquid China names. All of the 25 stocks included in the China iShare are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Some of them are incorporated in mainland China (H shares) and some of them are incorporated in Hong Kong (red chips). The China iShare has been picking up steam in the last few months and is up just over 12% so far this year.
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Tags: etf, investment newsletter, investor newsletter, ishares
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