Anyone with a bad credit score is also able to get a loan whenever he/she needs it. However, you will be limited to lenders who offer a bad credit secured loan. When you choose your lender carefully, you are guaranteed of getting the money to fulfill your needs.
To be eligible for a secured loan, you should be able to verify that you can settle it through a regular income that you receive. You can do this by offering the lender your latest payslip or bank statement. Resolving this moves you a step closer to finally getting the bad credit secured loan.
Since it is a secured loan, you need to give something as collateral. In case you want to use the money to buy a car, then that car can be used as security such that when you default in repayment, the lender can come possess it. Normally, you cannot sell whatever asset that you decide to use as collateral before repaying the loan.
It is important to settle the loan within the agreed time in order to build a good working relationship with the lender. Moreover, repaying it on time can be useful in helping you rebuild your credit score so that you can be eligible for mainstream loans. This is because these types of lenders are part of a large system of monetary institutions that have an impact on your credit card score.`
Whilst having a savings account is a great idea, there are so many different varieties of account available and choosing the right one can be puzzling. However, there will be a few factors that will have some impact on which type of account you choose including whether you want to have instant access to the cash or if you are prepared to have it locked away for a certain period. To get you started, here is a brief guide to the various accounts on offer.
Regular Account
The essence of a regular savings account is that they require you to pay in a certain amount each and every month. However, there may be a restriction on how much this can be. Therefore, whilst the interest rates may be relatively attractive, if you are planning on investing large amounts into an account, a regular savings account is not ideal. In addition, a regular savings account will generally restrict the number of withdrawals each year.
Instant Access Account
If you prefer to have an account that allows you instant access to your savings, you should opt for an account that does just that and open an instant access savings account. This type of account will not only allow you to draw out money when you want but, more often than not, it will also make this a relatively easy task.
Most accounts will provide you with a plastic card, which whilst not allowing you to purchase goods with it, will allow you to withdraw cash from ATMs. In addition, many will allow you to make over the counter withdrawals or to transfer the money to another account online, free of charge. However, with some accounts, transfers may take two or three days to clear whilst others may limit the number of withdrawals you can make each year.
Cash ISAs
Cash ISAs, or Individual Savings Accounts, are ideal for anyone who is a UK taxpayer. This is because this type of account offers tax-free interest. This could make a huge difference because, in general, you can expect to lose between 20 and 40% of your savings in tax with an account that doesn’t include this aspect.
Whilst the interest rates may not appear so attractive at first sight, the fact that they are tax-free means you could end up with more interest earned in the long run. To check whether you will end up better off with an ISA, compare their before tax interest rate with the ‘after tax’ interest rate of a standard account. It should be noted, however, that at present, you can put no more than £5,640 a year into an ISA account.
Notice Savings Account
Quite simply, this account works just as it sounds. In other words, in order to withdraw money, you will have to give your bank notice. This can be anything between 30 and 90 days, so if you feel you may need the money in an emergency this is not the account for you. Furthermore, in general, this type of account no longer offers a higher rate of interest.
Fixed-Rate Bonds
With these bonds, whilst you will generally earn higher interest, your money will essentially be tied up for the entire period of the bond. This can be between one and five years. The longer period you opt for, the higher rates you will get. This is ideal for anyone who is confident they will not need the money in an emergency but risky for others as any decision to withdraw will incur a pretty hefty fine.
This guest post was written by Francesca, who lives in the UK and has an interest in personal finance and money matters. She writes for IVA experts.
If you are like most Americans, then you may have a hefty amount of debt. With the recent economic fall, a lot of people relied on credit cards in order to pay for necessities and bills, but now they are left with high interest rates and virtually no way of repaying the debt in full for years to come. This is where debt consolidation loans step in because the loans allow individuals and families to get back on track with their finances so that they lessen their debt and avoid filing for bankruptcy.
What Is a Debt Consolidation Loan?
When making a money management plan, the term “debt consolidation loan” will be common. This form of debt repayment allows individuals and families to put together their debts, so to speak. There are many companies that specialize in this field and each one offer different terms and rates. A debt consolidation loan will usually come in the amount of the total amount of debt you currently have. From there, you will only have one payment each month instead of several that went to various creditors/bills. It is an easy and organized solution when debt is out of control and you need to handle it quickly and efficiently.
The Pros & Cons of a Debt Consolidation Loan
For every person and situation, the pros and cons of obtaining a debt consolidation loan will vary. No matter the case though, a decision to consolidate your debt should be a serious matter. Discuss it with a financial expert so that you fully understand what you are doing.
Pros:
Avoid paying high interest on several accounts
Decrease in late fees & extra charges
Instant gratification
Cons:
Above normal interest rate for the loan
Quick-fix
Take longer to pay off debts (depending on term)
A debt consolidation loan is an option for those who want to become financially responsible because it is easy to fall back into debt when choosing to consolidate debt. It is often referred to as a quick fix because you are given money at this very moment to help you pay off balances and so forth; however, it is completely up to you whether you would like it to be a quick fix or a long-term solution.
Is a Debt Consolidation Loan the Best Solution For You?
In order for you to determine whether or not a debt consolidation loan is a good debt repayment method to use, you need to have a serious discussion with yourself about your finances. What caused you to go into debt in the first place? Do you rely on your credit cards at the moment to help pay for necessities and bills? You will have to be completely honest with yourself before making such a huge decision because you are essentially adding another debt to the overflowing pot you already have.
Debt consolidation loans have helped many overcome their debt and showed them how to properly manage their money. Do extensive research and learn more about debt consolidation loans through professional means, such as a banker, or try reaching out to family and friends to see what their experiences have been like. Make a change today and tell yourself that you will no longer be burdened by the debt you have.
Nick Thomas explains how debt consolidation loan helps you avoid unnecessary charges through his website debtconsolidation.com.au.
Let’s face it, applying and getting qualified for a home loan in today’s market is already tough enough. For people with ‘less than perfect’ or even ‘bad credit’, the experience can be literally heart breaking. If you’re thinking of getting a home loan and you already know that your credit isn’t as great as you would like it to be, arm yourself ahead of time with the best and only weapon you have at your disposal, “KNOWLEDGE”!!
Knowing what you’re up against ahead of time and all the little ‘ins & outs’ in bad credit home loans will at the very least, level the playing field when sitting across the desk from a loan officer scowling over the top of his/her glasses, looking down at your credit report. It is a lot less nerve racking if you already know exactly what it is he/she is seeing in that report, so before you walk in his/her office, you should get a copy of current Fico score. This is what banks and loan companies look at to determine the level of risk involved in granting you a loan. You want to be able to point out and explain any negative marks against you, as well as point out how you have began to improve on making payments on time and even some older charges that you have recently paid off. This will show that you are not only aware of your credit situation, but also that you are trying to turn it around and improve your Fico Score.
Once you have received your Fico Score, another stumbling block you will encounter is whether or not you qualify for an unsecured loan. This is a loan without having to use anything for collateral. Without a pretty high Fico Score, banks and other loan companies usually look towards secured home loans for people with bad credit. Meaning you can expect to need some sort of collateral in order to qualify for the home loan.
Other things you need to know in advance is that bad credit home loans always come with higher interest rates. Typically the interest rate on a home loan with less than perfect credit can be upwards of 7% or even as high as 9-10%, compared to the 2-5% that people with good credit pay. Unfortunately in the ‘money borrowing game’, being poor is very expensive! Another aspect of this is you can also look forward to paying the higher closing cost that will be added into your loan. And if you think that’s hard to digest, ask the loan officer to explain the oddest ‘fine print’ in the loan agreement, pre-payment penalty. That is the penalty the bank or loan company will charge you if you try to pay off the loan early!
So as you can see, it is not a good idea to go around applying for a bad credit home loan without first doing your homework and preparing yourself for all the things you are going to have to face. There is a whole lot that you can do to make the experience a little easier. Arming yourself with the knowledge of what to expect before you sit down at the loan officer’s desk is by far the most important.
Credit card companies charge high interest rates. For those who let their debt from credit cards spiral out of control, this can mean that they have insurmountable debts to pay back. One thing that they can do to make sure that their debts stop growing at the high interest rates they are currently paying is to obtain balance transfer credit cards that offer them 0 percent interest rates.
Several Hundreds of Dollars Saved
Balance transfer credit cards can be very advantageous to people with high interest rates on their credit card debt. For example, the average interest rate for credit cards is around 13.36 percent. If people are paying 13.36 percent interest on a $5,000 debt, they are paying around $650 in interest. If they were to transfer their balances to credit cards that offer them 0 percent interest, they would significantly lower their monthly payments.
With a 0 percent interest rate, these people would be able to pay more each month toward the debt and in the process, they would be lowering their balances faster than if they had to pay a significant amount toward interest. Because they can pay the balances down at a quicker pace, they will be making it possible for them to climb out of credit card debt. With the ever-increasing interest they were paying, being debt-free may have seemed like an impossibility to people.
Open Enough Balance Transfer Credit Cards to Make a Difference
The person who has $5,000 of credit card debt may not be able to transfer that much to 0 percent balance transfer credit cards. These credit cards will have credit limits just like any other card, and they, generally, will only allow a limit of about $3,000. In this case, this customer will need at least two balance transfer credit cards to cover the entire amount to make transferring their balances worth while.
Fees for Balance Transfer Credit Cards
When considering balance transfer credit cards, people will have to pay fees. This fact doesn’t have to scare anyone off; these fees can be as low as three percent of the amount of the balance. When they find these types of credit cards, they may be able to obtain a time period of as much as 21 months that they can enjoy the 0 percent interest rate.
Some credit cards have shorter 0 percent time periods, such as 15 months, but this may be sufficient to pay some people’s debts. The added advantage with these cards is that they may give the cardholders the opportunity to obtain cash back rewards which can be placed toward the fees they will be charged for transferring their balances.
Good Timing for Balance Transfer Credit Cards
At the moment, anyone who needs to obtain balance transfer credit cards couldn’t pick a better time to do it. Right now, the Federal Reserve is keeping interest rates at a low level and it’s projected that this will be the case until at least 2013. The current rates are as low as they have been in years, and people can’t expect this to be the case ad infinitum. The possibility also exists that credit card companies will stop offering these types of deals. It has already started to occur; credit card companies were offering and advertising for 0 percent balance transfer credit cards at a much more furious pace than they are currently. This gives people fewer choices, but they do still exist and people can find them if they look.
Noelle Greenwood is a consumer finance advocate who wants to make sure the consumers come out on top and are not at the mercy of the banks or marketing spiel. Noelle helps run a number of finance comparison websites including High Interest Saving Account which compares high interest savings account products from leading banks.
The holiday season is just about behind us and what lies ahead for many is the mounting piles of bills left over from the spending- and over spending- that frequently goes on this time of year. If you find yourself faced with mounting debt there are things you can- and should- start doing to help get out of debt.
More and more Americans are faced with rising debt loads. We are carrying too much credit card debt and we keep buying. The first step is, of course, admitting that you have a problem. Realize and accept that you have a problem. That is what must happen before you can begin to create a plan that will help you fix the problem. It took you a long time to incur the debt and it wont go away over night, either.
Stop Using Credit
Put your cards away. Stop using them. That only makes an already large problem even bigger. Pick up the phone and call your credit card companies and ask them to lower your interest rate. Many may say no but some may very well say yes, especially if you have been a customer with them for some time and have made your payments on time. Tally up all the debt you owe and look at the interest rates and balances.
Some experts suggest paying the balances that have the highest interest rates first. Some experts say pay off the smaller balances first. That leads to a level of success and makes you more inclined to keep to your new path. Whichever path you choose, stick to it and track your progress.
Create A Budget
The best way to ensure that you are living on less than what you make is to create a budget and stick to it. It doesn’t help to have the best budget in the world if you never follow it. Track your income and expenditures on a daily basis. Focus your attention on what you spend your money on and if it something you truly need more than you need to be out of debt.
Being in debt makes you captive to those to whom you owe money. In essence, they own your life. Isn’t it time you take it back? Look at your income. If possible, find additional ways to bring income in and focus those dollars to paying off your debt. Let your budget- a zero based budget works best, be a road map to your money. The budget will show you where every dime of your income goes.
Cut Back on Expenses
During this period of debt repayment, only spend on those items that are necessities. Now is not the time for frivolity– no matter how much fun it might be. Your goal here is to rid yourself of the debt you owe thereby creating a life of more freedom. There are things you can do without; there are compromises you can make. You have to decide which is more important to you and your family.
Emergency Fund
One way to prevent the use of credit cards is to start an emergency fund. Many experts say this should have around $1,000. It exists to protect you in the event of emergency. It is to help you when those unexpected situations arise so that you are not tempted to use your credit card and raise your debt amount. Remember that if you do have to tap into the emergency fund, you should replenish it as soon as you can to continue the prevention of credit card usage. Once you paid off your debt you can then begin adding more to the emergency fund as an additional savings account.
