Archive for the ‘finance credit’ Category
Facts Behind 0% Car Finance Deals
June 3rd, 2010 | 
Author: 0% car finance is emerging as one of the most sought after auto financing options in the UK. This would mean saving thousands of pounds which would have otherwise gone towards interest. And so, buyers are getting attracted to this conception. Now, have a look at the truth behind this apparently easier strategy.
Statistics reveal that only one-third of buyers who apply for zero percent financing actually gets qualified for the loan. There are quite a few conditions that you need to fulfil.
Credit Score: Zero percent car finance deals do consider your credit report. The guidelines for credit are very severe. Bad credit record prevents you from getting the loan. These deals demand an out standing credit score of more than 700. This very credit score criterion declares one ineligible for zero percent car loans since an ordinary borrower will be having atleast one bad remark in his credit history.
Select Models: These loans are applicable only on a few selected models of cars. The trap lies again at the fact that, these selected models are usually those which are not in demand or those which have a poor performance so far as fuel economy, mileage or efficiency is concerned. This is, most times, the dealers attempt remove such vehicles. Sometimes vehicles may be available in desired models. But colour and interior designs may not satisfy the buyer’s desire.
Short Duration: Dealers offering zero percent car loans typically assume another interesting tactic- specify shorter loan terms. A maximum term of 36 months is usually fixed by these dealers where as a typical buyer prefers to finance a vehicle for 48 to 72 months. It’s true that no interest is charged. But owing to the shorter duration, the monthly payments will be higher.
It will be nothing less than a fragment of absurdity if you take 0% car finance deals for the best deal available. Do spend time to check out other car financing options to avoid future inconveniences.
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Facts you Should Know Before Considering Credit Counseling or Debt Consolidation
There is one topic which every time I write about it seems to generate some hate mail while at the same time spawning a flurry of wonderful praise from consumers. Of course, the hate mail is always from a few people that happen to own these “certain types” of businesses I discussed and those businesses of course are Credit Counseling or Debt Consolidation companies; of which many “claim” to be non-profit organizations.
You’d almost have to be an ostrich with your head stuck in the sand to not see or hear at least one advertisement a day from a Credit Counseling or Debt Consolidation Company. However, you can expect this to change and change soon. Since this is a topic which tends to “stir up” the owners of these businesses, I am going to take a different approach by NOT sharing my opinion, but rather, the opinion of others. I will start with the news media and the Internal Revenue Service:
“(NPR News, May 15, 2006). The Internal Revenue Service is revoking the tax exempt status of some of the largest credit counseling agencies in the country. An IRS investigation disclosed that the firms solicited business from people seriously in debt and that they didn’t provide counseling or consumer education, as required.
Prodded in part by a congressional oversight committee and consumer advocates, the IRS began investigating dozens of credit counseling agencies — most holding non-profit status — two years ago. IRS Commissioner Mark Everson says the companies “poisoned an entire sector of the charitable community.”
Everson says in many instances, companies were organized merely to funnel business to loosely affiliated for-profit companies. Many of the firms spend millions of dollars on commercials that urge anyone with debt to call them to solve their financial woes. And because tax-exempt organizations are not bound by the federal do-not call list, the firms were able to randomly call consumers, pitching their services under the guise of a non-profit counseling service.
The IRS investigations are also likely to affect consumers, thanks to a new bankruptcy law that requires consumers considering bankruptcy to get counseling before they are allowed to file. The IRS wants to ensure that only legitimate non-profit agencies are doing the counseling. In addition to the actions announced Monday, the IRS is sending more than 700 compliance letters to the rest of the credit counseling industry (END).”
Since almost all Credit Counseling and Debt Consolidation companies claim a non-profit status, I feel most consumers are easily sucked in with their skepticism and defenses at bay. After all, when most of us hear the word “non-profit” the first thing we usually think of is a church or homeless shelter.
From the NPR article and the actions of the IRS, I think it’s fair to assume that many of these “non-profit” organizations have been operating under a scenario similar to that of a wolf guarding a hen house. However, this doesn’t mean all credit counseling and debt consolidation companies are bad but… you do need to know the truth about how they operate and their limitations.
The first thing you want to understand is these companies are ALL more interested in making money off you than they are in preserving your credit rating. The bottom line with either credit counseling or debt consolidation is that it absolutely ruins your credit. I can just hear the companies arguing this with a consumer right now, telling them nonsense like “It helps your credit since it tells creditors that you’re working on your situation and not just running away from it.” Listen… if one these places tells you that than watch out. Why? Because they will lie to you about other things as well!
One of the first actions these programs usually requires you to do is for you to CLOSE all your revolving credit accounts. You then make payments to the organization and they take care of everything for you. What this says to all your creditors (as well as anyone considering giving you credit) is that you are so out of control with your finances that you can’t even manage paying everyone back on your own. Therefore, you’re hiring someone else to do it for you!
99% of the time these companies will claim they can negotiate with your creditors and get interest rates reduced thereby saving you money. While this is true, what’s also true is you can easily negotiate these same rates as well as they can by just calling your creditors yourself. You’d be amazed at how many of your creditors would love to hear from you (especially when the chips are down!). Not too mention, any money the counseling company was to save you would more than likely be sucked back up by their monthly fees (usually around $500 to $1,000 per year).
This brings us into a whole other dynamic of their business model. Because these companies always make their money off of monthly fees paid by the consumer, the longer they can keep those monthly fees coming in the more profitable their business will be. It’s for this reason that most consumers who sign up with these companies usually find themselves on payment plans with the lowest monthly payment possible (which turns out to also be the LONGEST payment plan as well). Not surprising is it?
Am I against Credit Counseling and Debt Consolidation companies? Absolutely not. After all, there are millions of people in America who will never be able to manage their finances. Credit to them is a destructive addiction much like alcohol or drugs and they will never be able to control it. Instead, it will always control them. We’ve all seen these people. Every time they are extended credit shortly thereafter they are in financial trouble (usually blaming it on some external factor). For these people I think these credit and debt counseling programs can be a good thing (as a ruined credit report is not a hindrance to them but actually an asset). It keeps them out of future financial trouble by forcing them to live their lives on a “cash and carry” basis; which is ultimately conducive to a better standard of living down the road.
On the other hand. If you’re good with your finances and have control with credit but went through some type of hardship beyond your control in the past (i.e. divorce, job loss etc); then the services of these companies will never be for you. You will do far better and preserve your credit rating by taking matters into your own hands. Reason being is that you understand your credit rating is a powerful tool that can help you move ahead faster, help others and help yourself as well as create the life you want. It all comes down to self management. We all know that those who cannot manage themselves will ultimately be managed by others. Credit is no different. When you learn to manage it well, you are the master and it is the servant.
If you care about your credit and want to benefit from it in the future, then you will never rely on a credit or debt counseling service to help you get out of any trouble you find yourself in. Instead, you’ll look inward and get yourself out while preserving your credit rating the best you can. Credit and debt counseling is for people who are “ok” with throwing their credit rating in the trash so they can have “someone else” manage their payments for them (since they are unable to manage them themselves). And again, as far as negotiating interest rates, you can do just as good as them or better. If you don’t believe me just call any of your creditors and straight out tell them your situation. You will quickly find you don’t need to be afraid of them. They just want to get paid like the rest of us.
www.Credit-Secrets-Bible.net
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Posted in finance credit | 
Tags: Before, Considering, Consolidation, Counseling, Credit, Debt, Facts, Know, Should | 
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Small Business Finance Basics – Financial Ideas and Tips for Your Home Business
I’m not an Economics Major! What do I need to know about Small Business Finance?
No, you don’t need to be an economics major, but you do need to understand the basics of small business finance and good financial management. And if you are an economics major, Great! You have a big head start.
Do you need a bunch of spreadsheets? Not today, but as you plan your business and it begins to grow, you’ll know how to use these! When you’re starting out, there are five basics areas where you need to learn as much as you can:
Bookkeeping:
In very simple terms you need to keep track of the money that comes in and the money that goes out. It may sound a simple, and it might be in the beginning, but you’re not starting this business to run for a month. Hopefully you’re starting this business to last for a long time.
It’s a very good idea to put a smart small business finance accounting system into place from the beginning, and get it set up to grow with your business. You will find a resource page below with some very good basic accounting systems that are affordable and easy to use for small business finance.
Credit and Collections:
You need to make sure you get paid for your product or service. How this happens can vary greatly based on the type of business you run. If you’re just starting out, you will probably not offer your customers credit terms, more likely it will be cash on delivery.
For this you need a payment tool that your customers trust (always look at your customer’s point of view first) and one that will allow you immediate access to your cash. There are many online payment tools and gateways, like PayPal.
One important note, it is an extremely smart idea to use a payment tool or gateway that also offers you the ability to download transaction details into your accounting package. This saves you loads of time manually entering information into your small business finance software package, and has many additional upside advantages.
Cash Flow:
This is where most people have problems with small business finance, and the largest reason for business failures. Let me explain it this way.
Can a profitable business fail? YES, and many do! Cash is KING!
You must have enough cash coming in to pay your expenses. In the beginning this will be from your own pocket or from your small business finance loan or credit facilities. But eventually, and in most cases sooner rather than later, the start-up funding will run out. You need to be focusing on cash flow from Day ZERO, and eventually when the business is running on its own income you can focus more and more on profitability.
Purchasing:
You will need to buy things for your business. In the beginning it’s important to focus on how you pay for these items. If you’re using your credit card, no problem, but watch the finance charges. Try and keep the outstanding balance on your card down to a minimum.
If your making most of your purchases online, then find a good payment tool or gateway that you can use to pay for purchases while at the same time collecting money from your customers.
Financial Analysis:
Don’t worry, this is not a huge issue in the beginning, because if you’re like most new businesses there will be very little to analyze.
But keep in mind; this will become more and more important as your business begins to grow and you have less and less time to dedicate to finance. You will need to again select an accounting package that can grow and expand with your business giving you easy reports to understand.
In the beginning you really just need the ability to watch your finances and do short range forecasts of your cash flow. Most accounting packages have this as a basic part of the package, if not; keep looking for a system that offers this from the beginning.
Get the Small Business Finance Basics right, and the rest will follow with much greater ease. Ignore the basics, or do them wrong, and you’re asking for problems later on that will distract you from your main function as a business owner which is finding and keeping customers!
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Posted in finance credit |
Tags: Basics, Business, Finance, Financial, Home, Ideas, Small, Tips |
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Asset Finance In A Credit Crunch
Adapting to the credit crunch
For many years banks and lending institutions have dominated control over business/Asset Finance. Over recent times new choices have become readily available which have never existed before; one of those is the availability of money through non-traditional sources.
Banks and conventional lending institutions lend on specific criteria. The variation cost fluctuates from one lender to another on a daily basis and more recently due to the credit crunch lenders are differentiating themselves by wanting to operate in different marketplaces and by funding various types of equipment and funding structures.
The majority of businesses require finance for a wide range of assets from traditional wheeled assets, machinery and IT equipment to warehouse racking, mezzanine floors and office furniture but to name a few. In this current economic climate it is crucial for a business to arm themselves with a wide range of asset finance credit lines that can be drawdown as and when they require.
The role of a Asset Finance broker is becoming ever more apparent and is a valuable tool for businesses in this current climate to acquire competitive rates and lending terms. Companies do not have the time available to research and present financial proposals to source additional lines of credit.
A good finance broker will save you both time and money. Consider the huge amount of time alone that would be spent researching and presenting your financial proposals. Many Asset Finance proposals are turned down because they are packaged and presented in the wrong way, and even presented to the wrong lending organisation.
Yellow Note Asset Finance Limited
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Building Credit from Scratch: Your First Credit Card
If you are trying to rebuild your credit or are just starting out and have no credit history whatsoever, getting approved for your first credit card can seem like an insurmountable task. If you have applied for several credit cards and keep getting turned down, do not worry. A change in strategy will put plastic in your wallet before you know it.
One of the most common mistakes that people make when applying for credit cards is applying for the wrong card. Major credit cards such as Visa, Master Card, Discover and American Express are very difficult for the first-time card holder to get. Finance cards, on the other hand, are much easier to get. Finance cards are credit cards that are issued through a store or franchise and can only be used at that business. Finance cards include cards issued by Target, Wal-Mart or Best Buy, etc.
Granted, finance credit cards do not carry as much weight on your credit report as major credit cards, but they are a great way to start out. If you find it difficult to get a finance credit card, a secured credit card might be your best bet. Secured credit cards are especially helpful if you have bad credit.
Secured Cards
A secured credit card is a card that is issued to you in exchange for a deposit in the amount of all or part of the credit limit. It may sound ridiculous to pay $500 to get a $500 credit card, but a secured credit card can be a major boost to your credit standing. Why? If you get the right card, a secured credit card can have as much impact on your credit report as a major credit card.
When you apply for a secured credit card, you should be sure of two things: that the card will report your credit limit no matter how low it is and that the card will not show up as a secured credit card on your credit report.
Getting a card that reports the credit limit is very important. This is due to the way that credit scores are calculated. In order to score well, your debt ratio on revolving accounts should be less than 25%. This means that a card with a $1000 credit limit should carry a balance of $250 or less. If your secured card does not report the credit limit, credit reporting agencies will use the total amount charged as the credit limit. This will make it seem like your debt ratio is 100%.
It is also extremely important to make sure that your card will look like any other major credit card on your credit report and not look like a secured credit card. If your credit card company reports your card as secured, your credit score will be negatively impacted.
Getting your first credit card can seem impossible, but it is not. If you go about it the right way and apply for the right types of cards, you will be approved before you know it.
