Archive for October 2008


8 Great Personal Finance Sites

October 24th, 2008 — 03:28 am
personal finance
There’s lots of online information about personal finance. If you’re looking for advice on budgeting or investing, you’ll find plenty. If you want quotes for loans or insurance, they’re available. If you need help getting out of debt, you can find it online.

Predictably, some of the personal finance resources online are better than others. Some are frankly self-serving, trying to sell you some product or service. Others give information freely. Some of the information is good and some is not so good. You have to evaluate and discriminate when looking for authority and accuracy in personal finance information. After all, it’s your money that you’ll be risking if you follow bad advice. So be careful out there.

We can’t hope to list all the good online sites for personal finance. There are just too many. But here’s a short list to get you started in the right direction. We’ve included a few of the standard mega-sites plus some really good ones that are not so well known.

Necessary Virtues Personal Finance

http://finance.necessaryvirtues.com/

Specializes in information about how to manage your money efficiently and live a prosperous life. Offers several full-length books as free downloads, including these titles: “Solving the Money Puzzle: Personal Finance Made Simple,” “The Science of Getting Rich,” “Money for Life,” and the classic, “Think and Grow Rich.” Also offers free newsletter, “Your Money Plan.”

MSN Money

http://moneycentral.msn.com/

Specializes in information for investors, including free stock quotes and analysis tools. Also has sections on planning, banking, and taxes. Good investment advice columns and features. Some analysis tools require Internet Explorer for best results. (The site is owned by Microsoft.)

CNN Money

http://money.cnn.com/

More breadth than MSN Money but less depth on investing. Covers many areas and has quite a bit of unique content from Fortune and Money magazines. (This is a Time-Warner site so there is common ownership.)

Kiplinger.com

http://www.kiplinger.com/

Mostly about investing, but also has good articles on credit management, real estate, insurance, retirement. Do be aware that much of their focus is on selling subscriptions to their various newsletters, like the Kiplinger Report.

Zen Personal Finance

http://www.finance-weblog.com/

This is something completely different, a blog with a unique perspective on personal finance. Has sections on retirement, housing, credit, and investing (a mammoth 30-part series of posts on “How To Think Like Warren Buffet”). Not the place to go for everyday reference, but recommended for browsing.

The Motley Fool

http://www.fool.com/

Specializes in help with investing, particularly in stocks and mutual funds. Information is of high quality, but registration is required to access most of it, and payment is required for parts of the site and for some newsletters.

Yahoo Finance

http://finance.yahoo.com/

There’s a lot here, but most of it is conglomerated by Yahoo from various third-party sources. You’ll have to be discriminating.

Carnival of Personal Finance

http://carnivalofpersonalfinance.com/

A blog carnival that offers weekly collections of recent blog posts on topics like budgeting, saving money, earning money, managing debt, and living below your means. The quality is uneven so be prepared to dig deep.

So there you have it, a quick introduction to some of the best of the web when it comes to personal finance. Some of the big sites made our list as well as some smaller hidden gems. Here’s hoping you find it useful.



By: Steve Diamond

About the Author:

Steve Diamond is a computer consultant, a web developer, and a long-time web surfer. His consulting services are offered at http://consulting.necessaryvirtues.com/. Steve knows a good site when he sees one.



Content supplied by Articlesbase.com

Comment » | Finance

Ensure Low Rate Borrowings Through Cheap Personal Finance

October 19th, 2008 — 07:00 am
personal finance
When borrowing finance, make sure that it is burden less on your limited resources. This can be ensured through a loan of cheap cost. So first you must be well aware of different aspects of a personal finance that should come cheap. There are host of lenders who have cheap personal finance if you are able to meet certain conditions. You can avail cheap personal finance for home improvements, purchasing new or used car, planning a wedding party, for holiday tour or debt consolidation.

Cheap Personal Finance ensures you a loan at cheaper interest rate. For cheaper rate, usually the lender wants you to pledge your home or any valued asset as collateral, which cuts risks for the lenders. Also note that cheaper interest rate depends on the borrower’s good credit history. Clearly a borrower having good credit history and offering collateral will be preferred for cheap personal finance.

A borrower should also note that cheaper interest rate on cheap personal finance depends on the loan amount as well. If you borrow an amount that is well below than the value of property pledged as collateral, the lenders approve the loan at cheaper rate. This is because the lenders feel more secured. However you can borrow greater amount depending on value of collateral.

Another reason why cheap personal loans are called cheap is that you can repay these loans in larger duration of say 25 years if you borrow against your property. Larger duration reduces monthly amount towards the loan installments payments.

Best source of cheap personal finance is online lender. An online lender provides loan at cheaper rate for winning the customer in highly competitive loan marketplace. This is one reason for the lenders even approving personal finance at comparatively lower interest rate for bad credit borrowers as well. But search internet well to find a lender who has a loan of cheaper rate for your circumstances.



By: Ben Gannon

About the Author:

Ben Gannon is a senior financial analyst at Cheap Finance UK with an acumen for business and loans. His articles are widely read because of the lucid manner of wriiting and thoroughly researched datas. To find cheap personal finance, personal finance uk, personal finance, personal finance solution, uk personal finance that best suits your need visit http://www.cheapfinanceuk.co.uk/



Content supplied by Articlesbase.com

Comment » | Loans

Stopping The Home Repossession Process

October 12th, 2008 — 04:59 am
repossession
It may fee as though you have no option other than to surrender your property when facing home repossession. This is not true, however, as there are options to consider which can help to stop repossession of you home and save you from eviction.

Repossession is one of the most devastating things that can happen to a home owner. The very thought of losing your family home to a lender as a result of a failure to keep up with mortgage repayments is unpleasant and uncomfortable. Unfortunately this unfortunate even happens to thousand a people each year forcing entire families to evict their homes and begin their lives again.

Once the repossession process is complete the pain of the experience does not immediately stop. The effects of losing your home and destroying your credit rating can last for many years making it difficult to build a new life. While it may seem like there is no way to stop this terrible experience from occurring once a possession order has been made, there are options available.

Firstly, it is important to remember that lenders do not actually want to repossess properties. It is an expensive and drawn out process. Lenders are in the business of lending money, not repossessing properties, and they are usually receptive to any alternative solutions that can be reasonably offered by the borrower.

Therefore, your first act in attempting to stop repossession is to contact your mortgage lender and try to reach an agreement for paying off your debts while being allowed to keep your home.

A second solution to stop repossession of your home is to refinance your mortgage and any other debts you may have. Many finance companies specialize in refinancing loans for applicants whose properties are at risk.

Another alternative, which is proving popular in modern times, is to sell your property for cash to any number of companies that specialize in solutions for stopping repossession.

The sale proceeds can be used to clear up mortgage arrears and pay off the balance of the mortgage. Such a solution can ensure that the potential repossession victim is not made homeless and will have every opportunity to make a fresh start.

Such a solution should also help to ensure that their personal credit rating is not plundered. This should help ensure that the recovery process is as quick and painless as possible.

A recent trend that has emerged in the current credit crisis is for people facing repossession to simply abandon their homes. Home owners who cannot keep up with their mortgage repayments are simply handing over the keys to their lenders and surrendering their property.

This is not an advisable solution as the lender will be forced to carry out the repossession process as normal and the borrower’s credit rating and personal finances will suffer. All other alternatives should be exhausted before allowing your home to be repossessed and sold.

It is possible to stop repossession of your home. The methods outlines above may prove effective and should be carefully considered before giving up. Also, this article may not provide an exhaustive list of alternative solutions. Therefore, if you are facing the prospect of having your home repossessed you should conduct extensive research to try and uncover as many potential solutions as possible. The key to success is to act fast and do all you can to help salvage the situation.



By: michael sterios

About the Author:
Contact We Buy Property Fast to Sell Your Home Fast and Stop Repossession of your property



Content supplied by Articlesbase.com

Comment » | Real Estate

Learning to Manage Your Personal Finances

October 11th, 2008 — 09:03 am
personal finance
 

Let’s face the facts; one of the hardest things to manage is, of course, your personal finances. However, a lot of people do not know what it means to manage their personal finances. The good thing about this is that you can ask yourself four main questions that will be able to answer this for you. These are questions that can help you see if you have managed your personal finances the right way. Learning to do this is one of the hardest things that you can do. However, if you get to the point where you can do it, then you will live a very happy life.

 

The first question that you have to ask when looking at how to manage your personal finances is, can you meet your living means without using a credit card? This means, can you get by month after month without having to have a lot of credit card debt? If you can not, then you have not learned how to manage your personal finances the right way yet. This is something that people have to learn how to do. You have to learn to be able to break away from the credit cards and live debt free. Only then are you going to be able to handle your personal finances.

 

Then next thing that you have to look at is if you have any money saved up? Usually people do not get money saved up until it is late in their life. However, thinking about saving money up is a good way to get your Personal Finance in order. Remember, you need to make sure you can meet your living needs first. As soon as you can do that, then start saving money. After all, you can not start saving money before you meet your living needs. The sooner that you start saving money, the sooner you will get your personal finances in order.

 

The most important thing that you have to look at when you are trying to manage your personal finances is your job. You need to look at if you have a steady job that has reliable income. Now this is something that can be hard to do. That is because if you work in retail, you never know when you could get let go. So to have a steady job you have to be with a bigger company or your own boss. This can really help you get your personal finances in order. Your personal finances are the main thing that you need to be worried about. Get those in order first before you worry about other things.

 

The last question that you need to answer when dealing with Personal Finances is, do you have emergency funds? This means if something goes down, do you have the money to cover it? If you do, then you have your personal finances in order. Of course, this is a thing that goes hand and hand with saving. Keep all of these keys in mind when you are dealing with personal finances, and you will be on the road to financial freedom.



By: Usha Pradhan

About the Author:

Usha Pradhan has completed her MBA in finance sector and currently working as financial author for cash loan by phone. She is contributing her knowledge on loan, cash loan, finance. To know more about her please visit website www.cashloanbyphone.com.



Content supplied by Articlesbase.com

Comment » | Personal Finance

Considering Going Bankrupt? the Consequences and Alternatives Explained

October 9th, 2008 — 04:10 am
bankrupt
If you are considering going bankrupt, then you are obviously in a very serious debt situation. Bankruptcy may not be the best solution for you, so it is very important to consider the alternatives and get qualified debt advice.

What are the Consequences of Going Bankrupt

In the UK, the consequences for bankrupts are quite severe. You will have your bank accounts frozen, you will have to sell any major assets that you own (house, car etc.), and you may have to pay some money each month out of your income to the insolvency service (this is quite rare). Certain professions do not allow you to be a bankrupt, e.g. accountancy or police.

You will not be able to obtain credit whilst you are bankrupt and you will find it extremely difficult to obtain once you have been discharged from your bankruptcy.

There is a risk of a criminal conviction if the investigation into your finances finds that you were reckless in the way that you got into debt (e.g excessive gambling etc.) and had no intention of paying it back. These types of convictions are quite rare and will only be applied in the most serious of circumstances.

What are the Benefits of Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is the quickest route to becoming debt free. Once you have presented your petition and been declared bankrupt you will immediately be free of all your unsecured debts. This compares favorably with the timescale for an individual voluntary arrangement that can take 5 years or more to clear your debts.

Alternatives to Bankruptcy

If your situation is serious enough to consider bankruptcy then the only realistic alternative that will resolve your debt problem in a reasonable time is the Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA). This is suitable for people that have a profession that will not allow bankruptcy and also makes it more likely that you will be able to keep your home. As previously noted it will take longer to resolve your debt problems (5 years is the standard period but this can be shortened by making a lump-sum payment from a remortgage). There will be no investigation into your finances other than the proposal that the Insolvency Practitioner puts forward to your creditors.

Making the Decision Between Bankruptcy and an IVA

You should always seek qualified advice when deciding between bankruptcy and an IVA. The following is offered as guidance only:

You should try to arrange an IVA if: You have significant assets that you want to protect. You are in a profession that doesn’t allow you to be bankrupt. You are worried that your conduct might leave you open to criminal conviction.

You should consider bankruptcy if: You don’t own you own home. Your job is not money related and there are no known restrictions on you becoming bankrupt.



By: Neil Robertson

About the Author:

If you want more free information then visit my Debt Advice Free blog for advice on debt from someone that has been in a debt crisis situation and is now debt free. Would you declare bankruptcy? If so, visit my site to see what other options are available to you.



Content supplied by Articlesbase.com

Comment » | Personal Finance

Searching for Colorado Online Mortgage Quotes

October 7th, 2008 — 11:55 pm
mortgage
Going on the internet is a great way to start a search for Colorado mortgage rates, especially if you want a true mortgage quote from a Denver mortgage company.

Getting a Colorado online mortgage quote is a practical answer for borrowers who are looking for a Denver mortgage company and has many built-in advantages.

The Ease of Getting A Colorado Online Mortgage Quote

Online, it’s easy to apply with a Colorado or Denver mortgage company. Colorado online mortgage quote applications will take borrowers only minutes to fill out when they

have their information ready. With an online application, there is no time on hold. Instead, you’ll get a call back with loan options and Colorado mortgage rates in just a short time. The process is made to save a borrower lots of time. Borrowers will have the ability to find out exactly what a Denver mortgage company needs, so there is no time wasted with a lender waiting for the right information needed to give a true mortgage quote.

Colorado Online Mortgage Rates Help A Borrower Get A True Mortgage Quote,

Colorado online mortgage quote providers give a better quote because they have a complete and accurate profile from a lender, which assists in getting a true mortgage quote. When a lender can see exactly what is needed to make a specific and precise quote for an individual Colorado mortgage rate. With all of the information, a borrower and lender can get a true mortgage quote.

Why does that make a difference? When customers contact a potential Denver mortgage company, they are looking typically at one thing — the rate. But Colorado mortgage rates are different for different customers. No two are ever the same. So a Denver mortgage company giving a flat rate is impossible. There is no way to guarantee to  rate without having information like the amount of the loan, the price, the credit and debt status. With all of this information ahead of time, like with an online application, a Denver mortgage

company can prepare a Colorado online mortgage quote based on the detailed facts, not assumptions.

What to Watch Out For When Shopping for Colorado Online Mortgage Rates

Getting an Colorado online mortgage quote doesn’t dismiss person-to-person communication. Instead, it is a tool for accuracy and a faster way to get an accurate quote. A borrower must still communicate with a live Denver mortgage company associate. There is still a need to look over all of the information carefully to ensure there is the best overall Colorado online mortgage quote for the borrower, with not only the Colorado mortgage rate, but closing costs and other fees. A borrower should also make sure that the lender is a Denver mortgage company with the knowledge of Colorado real estate and not just an out-of-state company with out-of-state contacts.

No matter who a borrower chooses or how they start the process, they will need to put the company they ultimately pick to the test and ensure they will get a true mortgage quote and a flexible product.



By: 1st American Mortgage

About the Author:

This article is written by J.B. of 1st American Mortgage and Loan, LLC, a Colorado mortgage lender who offers access to information on obtaining a Colorado mortgage loan as well as other information on loans inColorado online mortgage quotes, and rates through his website TrueMortgageQuote.com http://www.truemortgagequote.com).



Content supplied by Articlesbase.com

Comment » | Business

mortgage?

October 5th, 2008 — 03:34 am
mortgage
bjm_116 asked:


if i buy a home of $350,000 detached / semidetached and 10,000 down payment then how much mortgage will i have to pay every month????

thanks for the answers :)
well if not 10,000 then wat abt 20 or 25 ?

Content supplied by Yahoo Answers

5 comments » | Other - Home Garden

Mortgage Security not That Costly

October 3rd, 2008 — 11:03 pm
mortgage
Forget everything you thought you knew about the benefits of taking a variable-rate mortgage instead of locking in for the long term.

A new study suggests the security of a five-year mortgage costs little or nothing beyond a riskier variable-rate mortgage, providing you get a jumbo-sized rate discount.

“Interest costs on discounted closed five-year mortgages have been close to, and often lower than, those of variable-rate mortgages since late 1996,” senior Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. economist Ali Manouchehri writes in the study.

Homeowners have made variable-rate mortgages hugely popular in the past few years in the belief that you can save on interest costs by pegging your mortgage rate to your lender’s prime lending rate. As the prime rises, or as has generally happened in the past few years, fallen, so goes your mortgage rate.

The prime rate at the major banks is now 4.5 per cent, while the posted five-year rate at the big banks is 6.15 per cent. In just one year, the variable-rate choice would save you about $1,700 on monthly payments toward a $150,000 mortgage amortized over 25 years (assuming a level prime rate).

Historically, you would also have saved a lot. The CMHC study shows that five-year mortgages taken out from 1993 through 1998 would have cost anywhere from $50,000 to $5,000 in additional interest paid over the term of the loan (the example is based on a $100,000 mortgage amortized over 25 years).

The flaw with this analysis is that it doesn’t reflect real-world mortgage pricing. These days, very few people take out a mortgage without a sizable discount off the posted rates at major banks.

For that reason, the CMHC’s Mr. Manouchehri decided to compare discounted five-year mortgages with discounted variable-rate mortgages. Incidentally, five years is the most popular term by far for fixed-rate mortgages at about 59 per cent of the total.

The size of the discounts Mr. Manouchehri applied was based on the difference between posted major bank rates and the best deals available from other lenders. For five-year mortgages, he used a discount of 1.25 of a percentage point; for variable-rate mortgages, it was 0.4 of a point off prime.

For five-year mortgages taken out between 1993 and mid-1996, the five-year mortgage was costlier in terms of interest costs. Since then, however, variable-rate mortgages have generally been a little bit more expensive.

Obviously, there’s nothing in this study that decides the fixed-rate versus variable-rate debate once and for all.

In fact, the CMHC study may just confuse anyone who recalls some research done for Manulife Financial back in 2000 by York University finance professor Moshe Milevsky. His research found that the extra interest charged on a five-year mortgage would have cost $20,000 on average between 1950 and 2000 for a $100,000 mortgage amortized over 15 years.

To make some sense of the variable-rate versus five-year question, let’s go back to the CMHC study.

It shows that five-year mortgages, discounted or otherwise, were especially bad choices for a three-year period starting in mid-1993. Rates were high for a while back then, but they subsequently fell.

You were a spectator to these rate declines if you were stuck in a five-year mortgage, while people in variable-rate mortgages would have benefited almost immediately.

It’s a different world now, though. Five-year mortgage rates are close to a 50-year low, which suggests they’re far more likely to rise over their term than fall.

So what’s the best choice here, variable-rate or five-year fixed rate? People who want to pay rock-bottom mortgage rates for as long as possible will probably still want a variable-rate mortgage. Remember, you can lock this sort of mortgage into a fixed term without penalty in most cases.

The case for the five-year term looks almost as strong, though. First, the CMHC study tells us there may not be a significant cost to locking your mortgage in for five years, and you might even save a little over a variable-rate mortgage.

Second, the likelihood of higher rates in the years to come would suggest that this is a good time to lock in.

If you had a variable-rate mortgage discounted to 4 per cent, the prime would have to go up by 0.85 of a percentage point to equal the current five-year rate. That’s not a lot of ground to cover in the span of 12 to 18 months when the economy is doing well.

Arguably, the variable-rate versus fixed-rate debate is all about risks and rewards. Right now, the five-year option offers much less risk, and almost as much reward.



By: The House Team Of Mortgage Intellingence

About the Author:

The House Team is commited to providing quality information to help people make informed decisions about their mortgage financing needs.

Compare Ontario Mortgage Rates with the traditional banks.

Need a mortgage calculator? Click Here Mortgage Calculator Ontario

Mortgage Rates Ontario



Content supplied by Articlesbase.com

Comment » | Mortgage