A Look at the Cheapest Fixed Rate Mortgages

By Gugu Martini

Many couples buying a home are face with the question of whether to opt for a 15 or 30 year fixed mortgage rate. Many people wait until they are older before taking on the responsibility of a mortgage so an early payment of this large debt is an important issue to think about. Decisions of this nature need careful consideration before any commitment is made. It is always a good idea to confirm that the interest rate does not alter during the term of the mortgage.

Steer clear of lenders that are offering unbelievable deals because they probably are. Loans agreed with a 15 year fixed mortgage keep the same interest rate throughout the entire life of the agreement. For those individuals that do not like hidden surprises, this is always a benefit. My wife and I looked into the loans available with 15 year fixed mortgage rates when we were searching for a home for sale.

Even though it was important for us to pay off our loan at the earliest possible opportunity, we did not want high, unrealistic monthly payments which we would have trouble maintaining. Considering longer term fixed rate mortgages was one option if we could not afford a 15 year plan. We did not really like the prospect of having a mortgage as we approached retirement so were really hoping to get one of the loans with 15 year fixed mortgage rates. There was a lot of pressure to have the house paid off as soon as possible.

It took some time but we finally chose to go ahead with the 30 year mortgage plan. Although a number of things had to be pondered over, eventually the choice was made for us.Finding out my wife was having a baby made making the choice so much easier! The contribution my wife made to the monthly finances would be unreliable since she intended to raise our child at home. Our monthly payment would have been too high if we had committed ourselves to the 15 year fixed mortgage plan. For us it just was not feasible as we would just be in over our heads. Despite the trepidation of having a longer term loan, it did reduce the repayments considerably.

Being able to make additional lump sum payments during the year means the outstanding loan reduces faster. My making just a few of these payments each year we discovered that a number of years could be taken off the mortgage term. This is well worth it in the long term but it does require some discipline. Our first choice would have been to go for the short term 15 year fixed rate mortgage solution but this did not help with our more immediate situation. Despite all our worries, things turned out well for us and we do not regret the decision.

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How is this economy treating your small business?

By JR Rooney

You would have to be living under a rock if you don't know that we're in the worst financial crisis in our lifetimes in the USA. If you find yourself worried about your business and what can happen next, you're certainly not alone.

As I write this, the next few days bring great uncertainty about what the government is going to do to try and help bail out the banking system in the United States. While it's not clear what form the assistance will take, it appears almost certain that the United States government will have to do something to fix the mess created in the financial system by rampant greed. What is going to happen? Who knows! What is obvious is that the vast majority of Americans are very unhappy with the situation and quite angry about spending billions of dollars to bail out an industry known for greed.

The unfortunate truth is that a bailout is not the end to the troubles for those of us who run small businesses. The US economy is in deep trouble and is not likely to be fixed very quickly. All the major news outlets have commentaries about what's happening and what to expect. It seems the consensus is that it's unlikely we're going to experience a level of unemployment seen during the Great Depression. That's the good news. The bad news is that things are ugly and their likely get much worse before they get better. And if that wasn't enough, things are probably not to get better very quickly!

Small-business owners are unlikely to be able to get the credit that they need in order to expand their business in the near future. So what can you do? No one can tell you what you need to do in your particular business, but I've always been a strong supporter of the low-cost direct marketing style in my businesses. I suggest you start rethinking all the creative ways you can seek out more revenue at a minimum cost. This means not only getting new customers at minimum cost, but equally important, you need to try to sell more services to the customers you already have.

The situation is a lot more complicated than simply not being able to obtain additional credit, it is also going to be difficult for most business owners to even make it through the next several years. There has already been a huge drop in consumer spending in the US. Getting new customers as well as maintaining the ones you already have is going to get very difficult. That is why this is the time to get yourself back to the basic and most important task you have, "Get your business well marketed." There is nothing more important for your business in tough times such as these than your marketing efforts.

About the Author:

JR Rooney works for a full service debt Collection Agency. When your customers won't pay, hire his Collection Company

How will I know if I should use a Collection Agency Service?

By JR Rooney

Do you have past due accounts that avoid doing business with you because they owe you money, if so a Collection Agency may be of help to you.

By hiring the proper Collection Agency you will accomplish many things. Not only will an established Collection Agency be successful in collecting your past due accounts, but once the accounts have been collected the customer that was avoiding you, most likely, will come back into your company to do business with you once again.

Are your employees spending too much time trying to collect past due accounts rather than doing the job you hired them to do in the first place? This is where a Collection Agency can really help your bottom line.

A Collection Agency that has experienced professional collectors can be highly successful in pursuing and collecting your past due accounts and at the same time allowing your employees the time to do the job you hired them to do.

In the end you have to decide if paying a small fee to recover the money that if rightfully yours is worth it.

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In order to get the best Collection Agency Service possible you may want to stop by a top rated Collection Agency

Will UK credit card customers see light at the end of the tunnel?

By Frank Armstrong

The Bank of England's recent interest rate cut of 1.5% may have been a shot in the arm for UK PLC, but this particular credit crunch has just as much effect on the average person in the street as for big businesses and the banking sector. So will the reduction of the base rate to 3% have any major impact on the 72 million credit cards currently in circulation?

Mortgage borrowers are eagerly awaiting news of the trickle-down effect reducing their monthly mortgage repayments. But credit card customers have been warned not to expect the same benefits, with interest rates on cards remaining unchanged. Consumers look set to continue paying an average of just over 17% APR on their cards, with no change as a result of the base rate cut due any time soon. The credit card lenders tend to only reduce interest rates to attract new customers, with 0% deals for fixed periods being the carrot of choice to draw customers in. However, in the current economic climate, lenders are reluctant to expose themselves to potential problems further down the line. An impulsive reduction of rates could actually compound the issue, destabilising an already shaky financial marketplace. Nobody wants to see another major firm go to the wall, and a sudden reduction of income as a result of APR cuts could start a chain reaction that would be difficult to bring under control. For the moment, maintaining the status quo is a more pragmatic approach.

The lenders are more aware (and increasingly concerned) by the prospect of 'bad debt' eating into their profits, as some cardholders struggle to make repayments. Profit is intrinsically tied up in the amount of interest charged, and consequently lenders are fighting hard to make sure those profits aren't squeezed further by cutting interest rates, despite Government attempts to boost the economy at ground level. This reluctance to expose their companies to a worsening position has drawn the attention of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, prompting them to call for a "new, responsible approach" to lending. Card lenders in return have made it quite clear that they do have their customers interests at heart, and stabilising the market is their first priority, rather than making knee-jerk cuts that could cause more problems than they solve.

Store cards are amongst some of the worst culprits of inflated interest charges, but a few credit cards also charge above-rate interest charges. The trick for the consumer is to hunt through the acres of information and find a deal that suits them. The average APR charge on credit cards has risen from 16.8% a year ago to the current average of 17.6% today, despite the interest rate almost halving from 5.75% to 3% over the same time period. Store card rates have risen faster, up by 1% over a six-month period, with the most expensive now charging shoppers more than 30%. This reluctance to replicate the base rate cut has angered government officials, leading them to accuse credit card companies of behaving 'irresponsibly' in the face of mounting pressure to mirror the base rate cut with reductions of their own. Despite continued calls by both the public and the Government, credit card lenders are remaining steadfast, insisting that rates on cards will not be changed. In truth, the credit card lenders are caught between a rock and a hard place. Interest payments are what keep credit card companies in business. At this time, reducing your capital would be a suicidal move by the card companies.

The credit card lenders, concerned by 'bad debt' exposure, are tightening their policies on repayments, and enforcing stricter approval guidelines for first-time card applicants. Minimum monthly repayments, as any cardholder knows, barely cover the cost of administration or interest charges. The Citizen's Advice Bureau has seen more new debt inquiries in 2007-08, with 20% of its clients expressing concerns over credit card, store card and charge card debts. The Consumer Credit Counselling Service reports a surge in 'charging orders' being enforced by lenders, potentially putting customers in even more financial difficulty as a result of missed payments. The truth is that reducing the APR on credit deals to reflect the fluctuating base rate could compound matters, forcing lenders into ever-tighter controls over lending to keep their exposure to bad debt to a minimum. That wouldn't help the consumer at all. Nor would it help to stabilise the market.

In the US, interest rates on credit cards have echoed base rate cuts, but this is unlikely to happen in the UK any time soon, despite only a 2% difference in the base rate between the two countries. Lenders point to regulations, such as the decision by the Office of Fair Trading in 2006 to cap penalty fees to 12 as responsible for their woes. They also earmark their own falling profits on payment protection insurance as a primary factor in their inability to reduce card interest rates. The card lenders are trying to maintain a critical balance at the most direct contact point that most consumers have with the financial world, and despite the nay-sayers, there are still very attractive deals to be had on credit cards, if you're prepared to do your homework.

About the Author:

Frank Armstrong specialises in financial and money related articles for websites. Learn more about cheap credit cards and compare credit cards here.

Bad Credit Student Loans Actually Exist

By Dave Davis

The first few years I was away from home, I ruined my credit. Spending money that I didn't have was my big vice and there were times when I couldn't make my credit card payments. This obviously made life quite difficult when I tried to get loans. Banks saw me as a huge risk and wouldn't loan me money.

Since my credit score was in the 450 range, getting loans was also really tough. I couldn't even get a cell phone without putting down a deposit of over $400. Since I had been denied for other types of loans, I honestly believed that getting student loans was outside the realm of possibility for me.

Now that school is a thing of the past, I have started to learn a lot more about loans and credit. The funny thing is that I could have taken out student loans all along. There are a few different government programs that help people with bad credit.

The federal government has created the Stafford loan program which allows you to take out student loans regardless of your credit history. They guarantee the loans which takes away the risk from the institution that provides you with the loan.

If you think about the economics behind this program, it actually makes a lot of sense. If the government can increase your ability to earn, you will pay more taxes later in life. They may take a hit on some defaults now but will make more in the future. This is why they're willing to basically sign with you on your student loan.

Qualifying for Stafford loans is actually quite simple. First, you will need to be a citizen of the United States that is 18 years old. Yes, minors can go to college. However, they can not legally get loans without a cosigner.

Stafford loans are almost always available to people as long as they haven't defaulted on a student loan in the past. Once you have a default, you are required to repay your previous loan before you can take out another.

If I had learned about these loan programs earlier, I could have finished school in a much shorter time period. As is, it took a few extra years. I guess you have to live and learn. Hopefully this article will help someone to learn that getting loans is an option now.

About the Author:

Dave helps educate people about guaranteed online personal loans and student loans for bad credit.

Collaborative Divorce Can Save You Money

By Mike Mastracci

Particularly in today's struggling economy, people are conscious of every dollar they spend. When separation and divorce strike, some people will understandably try to save on legal fees by embracing the collaborative law approach. While you will still have to spend money, it is well worth it. Whatever you do, don't try to do it yourself with one of those do-it-yourself "divorce in a box" kits.

In a collaborative case the parties and their respective collaboratively trained attorneys engage in a series of 4-way meetings with the goal of reaching acceptable resolutions for each spouse. It simply costs more to fight and it sure doesn't do much good when there are children involved. People are often totally shocked at the costs of divorce when everyone is in fight mode.

Most divorces are not necessarily cheap. In fact, you may have heard the phrase, "it's cheaper to keep her." What about him though? "Cheaper to keep him," may be true too, but it doesn't sound as good. Oh well, with the holiday season upon us and given the state of the economy in general, household finances are an issue. When divorce hits, it can be a financial disaster no matter when the separation occurs.

By engaging in the collaborative divorce process you do not have to contend with arbitrarily imposed court requirements, but can work together to provide your children with maximum financial stability. Both you and children deserve nothing less. If you must separate or divorce, do it with dignity and save a buck or two along the way.

Collaboratively trained professionals are not only concerned about the outcome, but the process. If you have children together, you and your spouse will still have to deal with each other for many years after the divorce is final. Learning how to co-parent is an important step in learning how to act in your children's best interests.

How much you spend on a collaborative case, much like any other domestic cases, will largely depend on the degree that the parties truly cooperate to reach acceptable resolutions of their respective issues and concerns. Fighting and bickering is expensive. It is much cheaper to"play nice.

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Foreclosures and Taxes Consquences

By David Pierce

So you escaped the huge house payment and got out from under it, or so you thought. If you thought you had problems when you could not afford the mortgage, you will really have problems with the Internal Revenue Service.

There are many different ways you can owe the Internal Revenue Service when you foreclose on your house, we will only discuss a couple of the ways here. There were many people who bought their home under creative financing deals that the bank offered. When these loans adjusted, such as with the variable rate loans, it created disaster for the home owners.

If a bank takes your home or forecloses on it, you are responsible for the difference of what you owe and what the bank had to sell for it. So if you owed 50K on it and the bank had to sell it for 20K you will have a taxable difference of 30K, so homeowners really need to be careful about this.

A homeowner can owe taxes on a short sale when the bank forgives part of the balance or the debt is discharged. Homeowners should not think for a minute that cancelled debt is forgiven without tax consequences.

Tax rates can be from 10 to 35%, but it depends on the tax bracket of the indebted homeowner. It can vary greatly but tax law mandates that the owner actually sell back the house with the proceeds going back to the bank to cover their debt.

Many homeowners have been wrongly informed that debt discharged by the bank is not fully taxable, when in fact it is. They have been given, often times, bad advice by a loved one or someone else who does not know the law, but they will need to pay the IRS for the discharged debt at their current tax rate.

Owners of homes should always consider the tax consequences before they give thier home back to the bank, it is never as easy as it seems, and by giving their keys back to the bank, they could end up having a huge tax bill at the end of the year.

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Financial advice has always been important, now more than ever.

By Chris Clare

People often use dentists, accountants, solicitors and other professionals, but it has to be said that the majority don't go out seeking advice from a financial advisor. Most people leave talking to an IFA, an independent financial advisor, till the day they think they actually need something, such as a mortgage life insurance pension or savings plan.

In case you don't already know, an independent financial advisor is someone who can advise you on financial issues but works independently of all financial organizations and institutions. They are employed by you, the customer. Although they often work on commission, this does not affect the advice they give you as they are obliged to give you the best advice for your particular situation. Furthermore, they must provide the justification for their advice in writing so that you can see and prove why it is that they have advised you in the way that they have. Inappropriate advice is very hard to give when it has to be documented in this way.

So what is it that Independent Financial Advisors give advice on then? Well basically any product within the financial market. That is to say, mortgages, life insurance, private pensions, savings plans. Some also deal with will writing and inheritance tax planning.

You may be asking yourself, "Well, all these services can be acquired anywhere on the high street, so why should I go to the bother of hiring an IFA?". The reason is that IFAs are not sales people. You don't just ask them to sell you life insurance, for example. In approaching an IFA you will be asking them if you need life insurance at all, and if so, which is the best option available to you.

A financial advisors process will involve sitting down with you for a couple of hours going through all the things you currently have such as the policies that you already pay into. They will asses your attitude to risk which means they will establish how much risk you are prepared to associate with particular areas or you financial planning. They will also establish what you can afford and how much money you are prepared to commit to dealing with any particular need you may have.

Then they will look at your future financial aspirations. They will ask you about the quality of life you would like in the years to come. Maybe you would like to retire earlier in life, get sickness coverage to cover future events or pay your mortgage off before the term stated.

By asking all of these questions, an IFA is then able to ascertain what you need and what sort of budget you have available in order to achieve it. They can then create a personal profile and use it to go away and source what financial services best fit your needs and budget.

Once they have done this they are then in a position to sit with you again and go through their proposals for you and if they are acceptable to you they can move it all forward and make applications on your behalf.

Now with an ordinary financial advisor this would usually be the end of the process. The difference with an IFA is that they view it as being an ongoing process. This means that they will maintain contact with you in order to ensure that the plan is constantly working for you to the best financial ends. Remember that your situation will almost never remain constant and the role of an IFA will be to give you advice with regards to your plan and your changing situation.

So to summarise an independent financial advisors job entails gathering information about you and researching the best products for you then sitting down with you to ensure that you know exactly what you have and what they propose and then carrying out regular reviews to ensure that the advice stays current and relevant. So I think you will agree they are worth their weight in gold, especially in these financial times when we should all be reviewing what we have and most of all why we have it.

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Credit Score: How To Improve It

By Gugu Martini

A bit of time and effort are needed to understand how to amend your credit score. A credit rating is an indicator of your financial solvency and it is crucial if you need to borrow cash from loaners. A low credit score would always result in your credit application getting rejected.

Your credit score tells loaners of how dependable you are as a borrower. money lending institutions take this figure to measure your fiscal status. That is because the rating is a mathematical measure of a person's borrowing habits and behavior based on some crucial credit factors. The credit rating is also called the FICO score since the formula for calculating credit ratings was developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO).

When the credit evaluation low, your potential lender starts to presume that you may not be a dependable borrower. This may be based on your past credit accounts from which you may have defaulted on, late payments of debts, bankruptcy or foreclosure issues that you may have in the past and other similar factors. A high ranking instantly puts you in a positive light to the lender and your credit application might be approved.

There are many ways that you may be able to amend your credit score and this will include having a closer look at your current credit rating. See if you have overdue bills to pay, and pay them off instantly, as this can affect your credit ranking in a negative way. Remember that to improve credit history, you need to always pay your outstanding on time.

In case you find that you have missed on some past payments, make the situation current as soon as you can by clearing past dues. Staying current with your outstanding credit accounts may also have an effect on your credit score. What's more, your credit record, along with the missed or delinquent payments, may reflect on your credit report and will stay there for a period of seven years. It will be looked upon as a smudge on your report even after you have paid off any debts.

If you find that you are unable to handle the outstanding situation anymore, it makes sense to contact either the creditors or take professional advice from a credit counselor. This cannot dramatically amend your credit score, but the sooner you start clearing your past dues, it starts getting reflected on your improved credit rating.

Learning how to improve your credit would increase your chances to acquire that loan or mortgage, when you desperately need it. It would be frustrating for one to apply for some much needed credit and not get sanctioned in the end, all because of a low score. When you improve your credit rating, you are assured that you would get the money when you need it most.

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You welcome to visit: Expert Articles On Online Business plus Effective Online Advertising for more reviewed information.

Vital Information On MLM Business

By Don Pedro

With the passage of time business and economics have evolved a lot. Innovative minds have invented new ways and policies for their business. The newest marketing policy that have spread throughout the world in the last century is home based MLM business.

In the MLM system of business the manufacturers or the owners of the company are forming the upper level and the lower level representatives are the unlimited dealers who link the field level buyers by advertising and for each sale they get their commission.

It doesn't take much to become an MLM dealer or representative. One can easily become a partner in any MLM business simply by buying some products and enlisting himself for the promotional jobs. And thus it opened a lot of opportunity for people of all classes to earn by working from home.

Thanks to World Wide Web, this has made home based MLM business easier. There you will find many companies relying on this revolutionary form of marketing. The first and foremost of the representatives is to promote the industrial products and the more they can sell the more profit they gain. If you can stay away from those frauds and find the right link to MLM business you are sure to get to the highest level with your income.

What they say about MLM business is this, people often advertise for goods they liked by themselves, they promote others goods without gaining anything. But in MLM business, if you are a buyer you can tell others about the products you like, and for the advertising, you will be paid a commission for each sale.

With the increasing popularity come the troubles. Many people have suffered badly by falling to wrong hands. There are also frauds and sometimes desperate dealers who can make the whole concept of MLM bitter for you. But if you know how to avoid the hazards and have a good communication skill, you can be sure of success in MLM.

Before you can make success out of MLM, you need to work hard. I know ths si contrary to what you may want to read or may have read in so many places on the internet. To be frank with you, nothing good comes easy. You need to make an input before you can get an output. In other words, this business is nto about going to bed and waking up to find millions in your online account. You must work hard and believe that you cna succeed.

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Don Pedro offers insightful resources about Acn Network Marketing Opportunity , and 14 Principles For Success In Network Marketing on the website at http://www.about-mlm.com

10 Loan Consolidation Questions All Students Must Pose!

By David T. Lightcomb

When it comes time to choose one of the many student loan consolidation companies, all of the colleges in the world can't teach you how to deal with it. But you can deal with it by asking questions.

The good news however, is that you can simply by asking some questions. Here are 10 questions every student should ask:

1 - What are the reasons for you wanting to consolidate your loans? Of course, the primary reason is so that you are able to reduce your monthly repayments. Additionally, it carries with it, the convenience of only have one loan to be responsible for.

2 - When is the best time to consolidate your loans? When you either need lower monthly payments or are stressed by the multiple monthly payments of your current loans.

3 - Do I qualify for a student consolidation loan? Generally speaking, it is during your period of grace after graduation that one would normally apply.

4 - Is there any incentive for me to go ahead with an application? There most certainly is. In most cases, companies have various schemes in place in order to attract clients as well as offering their clients special bonuses in return for their loyalty.

5 - Does this lender have experience with student loan consolidation? Choosing one of the reputable student loan consolidation companies is essential to your peace of mind.

6 - What are the chances of my loan being serviced? Here again, you really do have to inquire about this when making an application because some lenders are in essence, only brokers. If this is the case, they'll simply sell your loan to another lender and in reality, the new lender could be far less than reputable.

7 - What type of loan am I getting? Make sure you consolidate your federal student loans with federal consolidation loans so you won't lose any of the benefits the federal government provides.

8 - What are the terms and conditions? The golden rule here is to not sign anything until you are absolutely sure you understand the terms and conditions of the loan. After all, you are borrowing a vast sum of money which will be leaving you in debt for many more years.

9 - What features does the lender offer? Some lenders offer features to make loan repayment easier and more convenient, like online applications and account access.

10 - What if I can't make payments? Most importantly, determine this when making your application as one never knows what the future holds in store. However, most companies will have some form of service available to deal with such tragedies such as loan repayment insurance, etc.

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Are personal student loans a good method to pay for college? Find out how it works and whether student loans with bad credit may be a superior choice for you @ http://www.studentloan-i.com