Five Steps To Creating A Family Budget

Getting started on creating your family budget can be as easy as 1,2,3. In just five steps you can be on the path to sorting your finances. Budgeting is an important first step in planning your family finances and evermore important in this day and age with rising costs. A budget is an empowering tool letting you control your money instead of your money controlling you.

Step one: Find out your monthly income.

This is your take-home pay and regular funds from other sources such as rental, interest etc. Income from all member of the household should be included.

Step two: Establish what your expenses are.

Writing your expenditures down will provide you with the unique opportunity to find out if your money goes for things that you do not really need. This list should include necessities such as food; regular bills such as rent; insurances, school costs, vehicle expenses and incidentals. Also include entertainment and any saving.

Step three: Work out how much you spend on each expense.

Some expenses will come in regularly each month but others are perhaps annual or quarterly. The trick here is to include each expense in your monthly budget. An annual bill for example will be divided by 12 to give you the monthly figure. This way there's no nasty surprises when the bill comes through. Also allow a sum for unexpected expenses.

Step four: Compare your monthly expenses with your monthly income.

This could result in a surplus (positive) or a deficit (negative). A surplus is great as you can save more -- or spend it. A negative means you are spending more than you have coming in and will need to cut costs.

Step five: Balance your budget.

If you have found that your family budget shows that you are spending more than you are earning you will need to cut back on spending. Work out how much you need to cut down on and find where you can make these changes. Do not make cuts in your budget that you are unable to live with or that are unrealistic. When you make these decisions keep your real expenses and living realities in the forefront of your mind. Re-balance your budget after you have made the cuts.

The good news is that whether you are "in the red", just scraping by, managing to save a little, or a lot, this five step family budgeting process will highlight areas where your immediate attention is needed. And if you are trying to get out of debt cutting expenses is crucial and not only if you are over budget.

Re-visit your family budget often -- it should be an active process and is an invaluable tool to help you keep your fingers on the pulse of your financial situation. If you can stick with your family budget it can help you to meet your goals, get out of and stay out of debt, to always pay your bills on time, keep track of your spending and make the most out of your dollar.

In the World of Investments and Finance

Investments includes how to value stocks, bonds, and other financial securities; the theory and practice of portfolio management; and the functioning of the securities markets.

Financial institutions examines the role of financial intermediaries, especially commercial banks, in the financial system and the principal managerial issues facing such institutions. Investment in companies may be in shares or by direct investment (private equity).

Islamic scholars have made some concessions on permissible companies, as most use debt either to address liquidity shortages (they borrow) or to invest excess cash (interest-bearing instruments).

Financiers are rightly rewarded for taking risks, which by their nature cannot be entirely managed away or anticipated. The tendency for success to breed complacency and recklessness is as ingrained in financial markets as it is in any other walk of life.

Financial mathematics is the study of financial data with the tools of mathematics , mainly statistics . Such data can be movements of securities?stocks and bonds etc.?and their relations.

Students will learn how to establish appropriate investment objectives, develop optimal portfolio strategies, estimate risk-return tradeoffs, and evaluate investment performance. Many of the latest quantitative approaches are discussed.

Students interested in financial careers receive an excellent professional financial education through the College of Business? Finance Program. You will find highly qualified faculty members, well defined jobs in the field, and other resources, which properly used will lead to excellent career prospects.

Students are also required by the Mathematical Sciences Department to pass a Qualifying Examination, covering major and minor topics, to certify the students' preparedness to begin research. The minor topic may be numerical analysis, statistics, or finance/economics. Students majoring in business need only three additional economics courses to get a minor in economics.

Finance is about ideas. And one of the nice things about finance is that the same ideas come back again and again - but dressed up in different disguises. Finance is a specialty that deals with the allocation of resources on the corporate, institutional and personal levels.

Money is the life blood of the economic system and the flow of money through corporations, capital markets, and financial institutions are integral to how that life blood gets pumped through the system, how it nourishes the health of the system, and how the economy sustains and perpetuates the standard of living that we enjoy. Finance is fast, easy, and free. You can create and maintain as many portfolios as you like with a single Yahoo!

Finance is responsible annually for the audit, budget, capital improvement program and the long range financial plan for the City. Finance also directs the issuance of municipal debt and industrial revenue bonds.

Accountants and finance specialists are essential to a firm's growth and development. If you are interested in a career in this field, you are fortunate to be able to make use of the many career opportunities which abound worldwide in this growing area.

Accounting and Control, Business Studies, Economics) or Master's programmes at other universities can also be included in your curriculum after approval of the Master's in Quantitative Finance programme committee. You can thus create your own future career profile.

Benefits of Asset Finance- The Reason Behind its Popularity

Asset finance is a sort of financial arrangement with the help of which one can purchase any business related equipment be it new and used cars, machinery or office equipment. As the loan can be arranged easily, many business firms take the asset finance route to expand their business infrastructure and this is adding to its growing popularity as an affordable finance solution.

Here are some major benefits associated with asset finance:

Helps in saving working capital

Buying equipment outright needs a huge amount of capital investment that at times prevents the business owner from investing in other projects. But with smaller, frequent lease payments, one can save some much needed cash and invest it in other areas of the business. It helps a company to adapt quickly to new business opportunities and meet unexpected requirements.

Helps in responding to opportunities

To take advantage of sudden unexpected opportunities, one needs money. And especially businesses are almost always in need of easy finance solutions to keep pace with latest technological developments. Timely response to the changing needs of the business holds the key to success. Asset finance is one of the quicker solutions that can be arranged in relatively shorter time.

Helps in managing the budget

Asset finance allows one to make regular fixed payments for a particular period of time leaving one comparatively free from inflation worries or changes in interest rates. Hence, it becomes easier for a business firm to plan its future budgeting.

Helps in maintaining existing credits

With asset finance, there would not be any problem in maintaining other existing credit lines arranged with a bank or other financial institutions. Hence, if necessary, a business firm is free to use other bank facilities any time.

Has a flexible nature

Under each and every asset finance agreement, a lot of meticulous attention is given to the lender’s requirements. Most of these finance solutions are tailor made to ensure that the future targets of the business can be achieved as planned.

No need for any deposit

For arranging an asset finance loan, there is no hard and fast rule for a deposit. The borrower just needs to make regular payments to repay the loan as per the terms of the agreement.

Maximum tax benefits

As the lease payments are referred to as expenses, it means the payments may be offset against taxable profits. It ultimately helps in reducing the overall cost. Moreover, the untaxed portion can be used in a profitable manner.

Payments as per the lender’s convenience For the repayment of an assent finance loan, the lender has the flexibility to choose the repayment option. While payments can be made through direct debit, there are also provisions to choose the period - monthly or quarterly. One can decide the right option depending upon their financial conditions.

These positive factors do make it seem as if asset finance is the best solution whenever your business is in need of fast cash. But before applying for asset finance, it is advisable to understand all its pros and cons.

Rather than taking the plunge without adequate homework, it is advisable to take the help of some consulting company which is networked with the top lenders and can help you to get competitive and tailored asset financial solutions to suit your business requirements.

Get unchained finance and feel free to run on the path of economic progress

People take loans at different junctures of their economic lives for various reasons. Most of us are required to maintain a sustainable financial path as the life progresses. The borrowings may be required to purchase a new car, spending for a holiday, establishing a new business, home improvements or above all the task of debt elimination through the debt consolidation process. Finance plays a very vital role in the smooth functioning of economic machinery. Loans without any piece of security are the most popular forms of borrowing for relatively small sums over a short-period of time.

As these money provisions are availed without any sort of security placing, a great number of borrowers have shown their interest in receiving these loans. These forms of financing not only offer better financial packages for economically disadvantaged persons like the tenants, but also a risk free borrowing choice for the homeowners as well. As these borrowings do not contain the threat of property repossession, homeowners who do not want to place their valuable asset as a security before the lending body can avail them without any big risk.

With unsecured loans, the borrowers often are required to pay higher rates, because the lenders do not require any valuable piece of immovable property of the borrowers as security against the loan amount. The payable rate of interest associated with these borrowings is calculated in APR (annual percentage rate) and this is conventionally dependent on the credit rating of the loan taker. Some of the unsecured loans are available on a fixed rate, which means that the individuals know exactly what their monthly repayment sum is, while the payable amount remains the same throughout the repayment period. Loan applicants without putting any risks on their property can borrow amount ranging between £1,000 and £25,000 under these funds. This amount is provided with a short repayment term of 1 to10 years from the date of approval. In the British loan market, availing a loan without putting your property at the stake is not a challenging job, because the banks, financial institutions and online money lending institutions are ready to give the amount by following hassle free documentation process.

Apart from this, the increasing rates of interest in case of the unsecured loans also get affected by the loan taker's credit rating. Credit rating symbolises the past track record of the borrowers’ regarding repayments on various types of financial commitments. When a borrower struggles to make repayments, it results in the increasing of incurring rates of interest. But even under such circumstances, the road of loan availability is not blocked for the bad credit customers. These borrowers can get bad credit unsecured loans at a higher rate of interest and smaller repayment period.

There is a massive flux of lenders across the British financial market offering the unsecured loans for the unemployed as well. Finding a suitable lender for the loan deal has become rather puzzling for some of the borrowers. To save one from this confusion, the applicants must not hesitate to search around for a better loan deal. It might get difficult for the customers since they are busy in their office work. Under such circumstances the online process proves to be a good loan application method. Online application system not only saves time but also secures cheaper loan deals. In order to avail the details concerning loan and the lender, the borrowers ought to collect and subscribe various loan quotes and utilise the facility loan calculator. Loan calculator helps the clients to assess their monthly instalments.

Tips For Your Real Estate Finance and Investment Strategy

You may have decided you would like to start investing in property but you are not exactly sure how to go about it. One thing you should do before you begin is to research the financing options that may be available to you.

Most people, when they first begin their endeavor with property investing, find that financing is their only means of purchasing property. The following is some information regarding real estate financing and investment strategy that may be beneficial to you.

When you hear the term "leverage" applied to real estate financing and investment, you will find that this term simply means to use borrowed money for financing your property investment. Your initial investment will be the money that you use for a down payment.

In order for this leverage to be beneficial in your real estate finance and investment strategy, you will want to secure the borrowed money at a low-interest rate and make sure the term of the loan is over the longest period of time that is possible. This is to avoid yourself from being tied up in the property and having least money for your own or other investment usage.

You do have to remember, however, that the risk of your investment is tied in directly with leverage. If you place a small down payment on the property, the leverage is high and the ratio of the amount owed to the value of the property is high, making the property a high risk. The more money you put as a down payment on the property, the lower the leverage and the lower the risk.

Many, in their real estate financing and investment strategy, use pyramiding to acquire more properties. What this simply means is that you are using the equity on one property to help you purchase another.

For example, you purchase a property for $100,000 by making a down payment of $20,000 and borrowing $80,000. The properties value at the time of the purchase is $110,000. Six months later, you have a positive cash flow of $1,000 a month on the property and its value has increased by $40,000 due to your renovations. You now have equity of approximately $70,000 or more in the property.

You take out a home equity loan of $30,000 and this is used for the down payment of another investment property. This is also known as pyramiding and is a real estate finance and investment strategy used by many.

Pyramiding through sale is also another real estate finance and investment strategy used by many, as well. In this method, when your property's value has increased, you sell instead of taking out a home equity loan.

In the example above, if the same property was sold for its value of $150,000, you would use the money to pay off the initial loan of $80,000, deduct your initial investment of $20,000, what you have paid in interest and principal, as well as the cost of renovations, to discover you've made a profit of approximately $25,000 to $30,000 in a matter of a six-month period. This money can then be used as a down payment on another property.

Before you begin investing in property, it is crucial to understand what real estate finance and investment strategy you plan to use. However, it is also important to understand that property investment comes with risk. Research the facts and figures before you make any decision with your real estate finance and investment strategy.

Tips For Your Real Estate Finance and Investment Strategy

You may have decided you would like to start investing in property but you are not exactly sure how to go about it. One thing you should do before you begin is to research the financing options that may be available to you.

Most people, when they first begin their endeavor with property investing, find that financing is their only means of purchasing property. The following is some information regarding real estate financing and investment strategy that may be beneficial to you.

When you hear the term "leverage" applied to real estate financing and investment, you will find that this term simply means to use borrowed money for financing your property investment. Your initial investment will be the money that you use for a down payment.

In order for this leverage to be beneficial in your real estate finance and investment strategy, you will want to secure the borrowed money at a low-interest rate and make sure the term of the loan is over the longest period of time that is possible. This is to avoid yourself from being tied up in the property and having least money for your own or other investment usage.

You do have to remember, however, that the risk of your investment is tied in directly with leverage. If you place a small down payment on the property, the leverage is high and the ratio of the amount owed to the value of the property is high, making the property a high risk. The more money you put as a down payment on the property, the lower the leverage and the lower the risk.

Many, in their real estate financing and investment strategy, use pyramiding to acquire more properties. What this simply means is that you are using the equity on one property to help you purchase another.

For example, you purchase a property for $100,000 by making a down payment of $20,000 and borrowing $80,000. The properties value at the time of the purchase is $110,000. Six months later, you have a positive cash flow of $1,000 a month on the property and its value has increased by $40,000 due to your renovations. You now have equity of approximately $70,000 or more in the property.

You take out a home equity loan of $30,000 and this is used for the down payment of another investment property. This is also known as pyramiding and is a real estate finance and investment strategy used by many.

Pyramiding through sale is also another real estate finance and investment strategy used by many, as well. In this method, when your property's value has increased, you sell instead of taking out a home equity loan.

In the example above, if the same property was sold for its value of $150,000, you would use the money to pay off the initial loan of $80,000, deduct your initial investment of $20,000, what you have paid in interest and principal, as well as the cost of renovations, to discover you've made a profit of approximately $25,000 to $30,000 in a matter of a six-month period. This money can then be used as a down payment on another property.

Before you begin investing in property, it is crucial to understand what real estate finance and investment strategy you plan to use. However, it is also important to understand that property investment comes with risk. Research the facts and figures before you make any decision with your real estate finance and investment strategy.

Real Estate Finance Strategy that Few People Consider

If you are considering a new home loan anytime soon, and you do not want to get an adjustable rate mortgage (remember, ARMs are very strong loans), you should consider a 2/1 buydown.

This is a great mortgage program for people who require a smaller payment now, knowing that they will have more money in the following years.

Here's how it works.

You pay an additional premium on your loan amount to get a 2 percent improvement on the rate. So, if the 30-year fixed rate mortgage is 6 percent, you will get a rate of 4 percent in the first year of your loan. In the second year, your rate will go up one percent to 5 percent, and in the third year, your rate will increase to the rate it was when you locked in your loan, the 6 percent in this example.

Then, it will remain fixed at that rate, until you pay it off, sell or refinance.

For people afraid of adjustable rate mortgages, this is a very powerful loan. It's also great for people buying their first home or for newlyweds, who think they have to rent, before buying. Remember, there are many ways to get into a home. This program is one of them.

America is the land of second chances. If you have financial problems, you might be wondering which the better option for you - bankruptcy or foreclosure?

Bankruptcy has been around for a long time. It was the answer to the question of what happens to someone with immense debts. Whereas people were previously imprisoned in debtors' prisons, bankruptcy was based on the idea of modifying or eliminating debts to give people a new start.

Foreclosures, in contrast, have long been viewed as a remedy for a lender, not homeowner. A foreclosure is not about giving a person a second chance. It is about a lender taking back a home that a person has failed to make loan payments on. There is no redeeming element to the foreclosure for the person in question. It is just a disaster.

So, which is route should you go with real estate problems? Well, both are damaging to you. That being said, bankruptcy is probably going to be viewed in a worse light. Why? Bankruptcies typically are filed where you've made a complete habberdash of your finances, not just run into problems with paying a mortgage. Thus, it is seen as a more comprehensive failure on your part and lenders are going to be very hesitant to loan money to you.

There is a second reason foreclosure is more favorable than bankruptcy. It is no secret great swaths of homeowners are in dire financial situations. Millions will end up in foreclosure. These millions, however, are also future homeowners. Once the current mortgage mess and credit crunch cleans up, it is believed that a solution will be created for these foreclosed individuals to borrow again in the future.

If you are facing foreclosure, you have a better option than bankruptcy. Contact your lender and see if they will allow you to do a short sale. Lenders really do not want to own homes, so they will give out forbearance and short sale options like candy. A short sale can hurt your credit, but nothing like a bankruptcy or foreclosure.

Secured Personal Loan—Way To Finance Immediate Needs

We are constantly judging ourselves on the fast advancing living standards of the world around us. Pressure to be one with all that is contemporary or to maintain hard earned status often becomes a tough asks. This is because of the financial constraints we all have to face at some point of time. Money is what you need the most and by opting for secured personal loan you can have ready money at your disposal. Popularity of secured loan is rapidly growing in the UK, with an estimate putting its demand at £51 billion by 2008, compared to £ 28 billion in 2003.

There are two ways a borrower goes for a loan—secured and unsecured loan. While in secured loan lender demands security in the form of home, car or valuable papers; in unsecured loan, financial strong position of the borrower matters the most. Clearly, to a borrower of average financial position, secured personal loan becomes the best option.

With secured personal loans you avail the loan by using your own asset as security offered to the lender. Secured personal loan is available immediately and that too at lower interest rate. Moreover, you can have a loan of larger amount if need be so.

Average borrower can benefit immensely from secured personal loan.

Borrower’s first concern is the interest rate. The very fact that he is in urgent need of money reveals his financial and cash in hand position.

When he opts for offering his own property to the lender as security against loan, he is most surely to get loan at a lower interest. The security ensures lender that he will not loose his money in case the borrower fails to return the amount. Hence, interest rate remains lower. But how low will it be, will depend on how much the equity of borrower’s property offered as collateral is.

One advantage with secured personal loan is that one can borrow greater amount. As the lender has the security, it enables borrower to ask for a larger amount ranging £ 3000 to £ 75,000. On the strong base of security as collateral, borrower also has the option of expending repayment on a monthly basis even up to 25 years.

Often a bad credit report of the borrower becomes a barrier in easy availability of loan. But even in such cases secured loan comes to the rescue of the borrower. This is because he has put his home or any other property as collateral. Even with bad credit secured personal loans offer the same advantages and facilities.

Another advantage of having secured personal loan is that borrower has this flexibility of using the loan for many purposes. He has the liberty to use it as personal expenditure, go for home renovation, spend on education or enjoy holiday trip. Also people would go for a secured personal loan for various reasons such as buying car, property, paying for wedding. The loan may even be used for the purpose of debt consolidation so that borrower gets rid of his previous loan payments.

Secured personal loans are very easily accessible as they are offered online. After the loan seeker has searched the right lender all he has to do is to apply for the loan online then and there. Also while searching, he can compare interest rates of different lenders and can choose a rate that suits his budget.

One can safely say that secured personal loan is the best bet. Borrower gets the amount of his requirement that too at lower interest rate and comfortable time frame as lender has security in the form of property.

Use Secured Finance For Personal Needs - Secured Loan

Before we switch over to the concept of secured loans, let’s illustrate it by means of an example. Suppose if a person decides to avail loan from the financial market, he will seek two basic characteristics in any loan that is low interest rate and flexible repayment period. Generally seen, the loan lacks one of the two characteristics and this ends in making the person hopeless. But, now there is no need to lose hope because secured loan serves for both these characteristics.

Secured loan is the product of the financial market which assists you in the times of crisis. Security placed in the secured loans makes the task easier of procuring funds from the market. The reason is that security balances the risk involved in lending an amount to the person. In other words, the collateral makes the lender play game on the safer side and if somehow the person fails to make the repayments in such case the lender can seize the security in order to realise his payment.

Financial market offers variety of secured loans as per the needs of the person. That is, if a person desire to buy a car then for him secured car loan is appropriate loan and if he wants to purchase a house, in such case secured home loan is suitable for him.

Interest rate in secured loans is determined by taking in to account equity and type of collateral placed. More the equity in the asset, more the competitive rate of interest will be offered by the lender to the person. Usually, the lender offers two types of interest either fixed or variable rate of interest. Both of them are good in their own way. Fixed rate of interest implies which remain same till the last repayment and it is not affected by external market factors. On the other hand, variable rate of interest changes with the change in external factors such market forces, base rate etc.

Secured loan can be applied either in the physical market or through online. In both the modes the person is required to locate the lenders offering secured loan. After locating, the next step is to ask for the loan quote. Loan quotes will provide an idea for the cost involved in the loan deal. Then he is required to fill an application, generally such application asks for personal and financial details. And if the lender finds application eligible for the loan, then he approves the loan amount. It is also suggested that the person must apply through online method as it saves time and effort.

Bad Debt Personal Loans— Easy Way To Finance Your Needs

Bad debt is no more considered a blot on credit report of an individual. Lenders now know that majority of the people fall into bad debt trap for no fault of theirs. Many lenders now offer loan to people with default, arrears or bankruptcy. So even if you are going thorough a lean phase you can avail a bad debt personal loan for a variety of purposes like buying a car or going on a holiday.

Borrowers, however, use bad debt personal loan mostly for paying off previous debts. In fact, previous bad debts are of big concern to any borrower and he wants to get rid of them as early as possible for different reasons. One reason may be that the debt was taken at a higher interest rate, which is crushing the borrower financially because of the larger outgo. On availing new personal loan at a lower interest rate, he can pay off those previous bad debts himself or can ask the new lender to do the job. Moreover one saves valuable time that goes waste in going around to visit the different lenders just to pay the installments. Those bad debts may also be impacting the creditability of a person adversely. To improve it, there is no other better way than to take bad debt personal loan. A better management of previous debts surely helps him in many ways.

However, lenders usually become cautious while offering loan to such borrowers because of their previous bad debts. To assure the lender that he can safely lend the money, the borrower shall have to put some property as a collateral with the lender.

Any property such as home, car or even a saving account serves as a collateral. When opting for a secured bad debt personal loan one makes use of the equity in the property without selling it. This enables the borrower in not only getting the desired rate of interest but the required amount as well.

Usually lenders provide bad debt personal loans in a range of £5000 to £75000.If the borrower is in need of a higher amount then the lender will look for the value of the property placed as a collateral. Higher the value, higher the amount one may get as loan.

Lenders offer loan to such borrowers for a period of 5 to 30 years. This long duration enables borrower to choose a repayment term that suits him the most. However, lenders usually give maximum repayment term to those borrowers whose collateral in the form of property is of higher value.

But, it is the interest rate that is of main concern to a bad debt personal loan seeker. The lender offers bad debt personal loan at a higher interest rate, as risk potential in such loans is higher. But there is a solution to this problem. Such borrowers can extract a lower interest rate if they put down some more cash payment. So, one strategy is to save as much as possible for a down payment. This way the interest rate may come down to desired level.

For bad debt personal loan seekers it would be good if they compare rates of interest of different lenders to get a rough idea of which lender has a competitive package for them. The interest rates are offered online by many lenders. Once you have compared the rates you can request specific quotes from a handful of lenders.

These tips may be of a big help to borrowers who have bad debts and are looking for a new lender to finance their requirements. They can hunt for lower interest rate and larger amount as well.

Why You Should Finance Investment Property Via Debt

Are you looking to get your feet wet in real estate but don’t know how to begin. If you ask the more creative and experienced of investors, they would suggest that you look for financial institutions that finance investment property. That is, the golden rule of real estate is to use other people’s money to leverage your investments.

Seasoned investors advise against investing scads of money on a single real estate asset, even if you have the funds to do it – simply because it is too risky a proposition. Moreover, you forego the benefits of leveraging.

Nowadays, several reputable lenders offer finance for up to 95% of the purchase price of the property. The most alluring feature of such schemes is that they cut back on your out of pocket costs when acquiring an investment property. Moreover, the finance is typically available in the shape of a single loan, which can be used to invest further in other properties.

The benefits of financing can be better understood with an example. Let’s assume that you purchase an investment property, without financing, for $150,000. If your expected yield from the property is 10%, then you would get returns of $15,000, which is a 10% return on your investment. On the other hand, if you get your property financed up to 95%, then you would effectively make the same profit on a mere investment of $7,500, which amounts to be an overwhelming 200% return on your investment.

Lenders that finance investment property up to 95% normally offer loans with a 15-year or 30-year term. These loans may either be fixed-rate or adjustable-rate. Lenders verify your credentials, such as your income source, savings and credit score, prior to offering finance. Though low credit scores are permissible by many financial institutions, a healthy credit score does help acquire finance at low interest rates.

While choosing a financial institution that will finance investment property, ensure that you are thorough with the terms of the finance agreement. Although financing your investment property seems like a profitable option, you may not be able to acquire finance for just about any property you desire. Reputable lenders offer finance for no more than 5 investment properties. And this too can be rather tough to accomplish. You need to be eloquent enough to persuade the lender into offering finance.

All in all, it is prudent to seek lenders that finance investment property. Financing empowers you to leap ahead in your real estate career at a rapid pace. It helps you augment your investment portfolio, which leads to significant profits in the long run.

Free Yourself Through Debt Consolidation Finance

People…some rich…some poor…everybody is not equal in terms of finances. People with sufficient monetary support easily fulfill their dreams and desires, but….what about the people lacking funds??? Such people usually take the help of loans increasing their debts. Further again financial requirement arise, again these people go for debts. Lastly what happens is… they get surrounded by the trap of debts which becomes difficult for them to repay… This further increases trouble for them in form of a bad credit tag which gets attached to them for making defaults in repayments. There comes debt consolidation finance to the rescue.

Debt consolidation finance is meant for the consolidation or combining of all your existing debts into a single monthly repayment. This means debt consolidation finance can help you reduce the numerous repayments you make every month at variable rates to several lenders. With the loan amount, you can pay off these debts with ease. Debt consolidation finance serves you with much lower rates than what you may be paying now with large number of debts. Also, it gives you a chance to improve your credit score.

Debt consolidation finance offers you larger amounts between ₤5000 to ₤75000, when it is secured against some collateral. However, you can also apply for debt consolidation finance without any collateral in form of an unsecured debt consolidation financing. This type of financing comes with quicker approval and is available to people lacking security to offer to the lender. These people include non-homeowners, tenants, PG’s, people living with their parents etc. In addition to all these benefits, debt consolidation finance gives you freedom from the threatening calls from the lenders and creditors.

Debt consolidation finance works better for you when it is combined by measures such as credit counseling, debt education, hiring the services of debt consolidation agencies to manage your debts. Besides these, you can take measures from your side also such as controlling your credit card spending, working out a budget plan etc.

You can search for debt consolidation finance providers through online websites. These websites offer you free quotes from numerous lenders. You can compare these quotes through comparison tools to get the best deal out of the rest. Finally, you can fill an application form with the details about you, loan amount required, residential and employment status etc. After going through your application form lender himself will contact you with his services.
Make it a point to read the terms and conditions of the loan agreement before signing it. With its unique features and advantages debt consolidation financing will surely help you to breathe easy without the stress of debts.

Asia’s Real Estate Financing Costs to Stay High

(Bloomberg) — Asia’s real estate funding costs will likely remain high over the next 12 months after rising as much as 700 basis points in the past year, said Sameer Nayar, head of real estate finance at Credit Suisse Group.

Switzerland’s second-biggest bank is still funding property acquisitions amid the credit crunch and selling debt to investors, has lent $6.5 billion over the last 14 months. Financing costs have risen 500 basis points to 700 basis points in China and India, and as much as 300 basis points in other markets, Nayar said. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

"High cost of financing is not good for anyone’s business,'’ Nayar, also a managing director at the bank, said in an interview today. "Looking out 6 to 12 months, we don’t see a significant decline in terms of cost of financing. Investors are taking a view to sit back and see where this goes.'’

Global real estate financing evaporated after the collapse of the subprime mortgage market that saddled banks and securities firms with $398 billion of credit losses and writedowns. Smaller real estate investment trusts and private funds are struggling after Morgan Stanley cut as many as 65 employees in its securitization unit, and Merrill Lynch & Co. closed its property financing unit in February.

Higher financing costs have "definitely slowed down the markets,'’ Nayar said. "There aren’t as many transaction activities as last year.'’

`Very Challenging Time’

China’s plan to curb housing prices has slowed sales. That may make homes less affordable by prompting small developers to sit on vacant lots they can’t develop because of a shortage of funds.

"It’s a very challenging time and market'’ for developers in China, Vincent Peng, managing director of real estate Asia at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said at the Real Estate Investment World Conference in Singapore, adding that banks are holding back loans.

Still, the credit crunch was necessary in markets such as India and China, where prices have gone up too much and too fast, Nayar said. Inflation in markets such as Vietnam is also a concern, he added.

"Inflation is a real threat,'’ said Nayar. "Good part is that inflation also comes with a lot of growth, which is good for real estate.'’

Vietnam’s inflation accelerated to 25.2 percent in May, the fastest since at least 1992, driven by record rice and energy prices. India’s inflation also rose to a 13-year high after record crude-oil prices forced it to raise the regulated cost of fuel.

"Real estate development is a very cash demanding industry,'’ said Remy Chan, regional director and head of China business development at Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate consulting group. "Property developers are all having problems continuing their projects. Tightening credit market is just deteriorating consumer confidence.'’

Real Estate Finance Overseas

After the technology bubble burst back in 2000 the stock markets suffered a bleak period of decline and investors chose to place their focus on bricks and mortar rather than falling share prices and they began investing heavily into real estate.

As a result the second home and the buy-to-let real estate markets in many countries around the world such as in the UK, US and Australia boomed. However, as the real estate affordability gap continues to widen in these nations and fewer first time buyers can even get onto the first rung of the real estate ladder, property price increases have begun to cool off and the ability to generate impressive rental yields and strong capital appreciation has slowed right down for at least the short term.

At the same time the stock markets around the world remain volatile and so now many more investors are looking overseas for alternatives to cooling domestic housing markets and bumpy rides on the stock market. Many are finding that there's an abundance of real estate opportunity in emerging countries around the world which has created a strong demand for real estate finance overseas.

For those considering joining the jet-to-let real estate investment set here are the three main options available when it comes to raising real estate finance, loans or mortgages to buy property abroad.

1) In many of the nations that were the first to boom the property markets are now stagnant and because lenders have fewer customers to provide finance for they are actively targeting those who have yet to upsize, release equity or take out a second mortgage and offering them increasingly favourable terms, conditions and interest rates.

For anyone thinking about buying real estate overseas in a country where they believe it will be difficult for them to secure local finance or where interest rates are unattractive, the option may exist for them to re-mortgage their existing property or take out a loan secured against the equity in their primary residence.

The negative side of this option to raise real estate finance to buy overseas property is that the purchaser's primary residence will be the security against the loan and naturally this introduces an element of risk.

2) The second option available to buyers looking for real estate finance overseas is getting a mortgage locally in the country in which they want to buy. Some countries such as Spain, Germany and France for example offer attractive interest rates and payment schedules to buyers from other European nations and many countries offer mortgages to international purchasers who can provide a decent sized deposit.

Anyone thinking about buying abroad would do well to also research which banks and lending institutions exist in that country, whether they are allowed to lend to foreign buyers and if so, are the criteria for getting a loan and the terms and conditions of the loan favourable?

3) The final option available to the majority of real estate investors looking to finance the purchase of a property abroad is an international mortgage provided by an international lender who usually has experience in the country from which the borrower heralds and also in the country in which they wish to invest which can make the whole finance process so much simpler…but the downside is that arranging such mortgages can be far more expensive than the first two options available to those contemplating their real estate finance options.

The availability or applicability of any type of mortgage or finance raising scheme discussed in this article is something that needs to be determined on an individual basis therefore this article does not constitute advice. Anyone hoping to raise finance to purchase real estate overseas should seek expert financial advice.

10 Principles For The Common Sense Investor

1. Put Your Money To Work

Investing is about putting money to work in effective ways to make more money. The most effective way to put your money to work over the long term is in well-run, profitable companies. Companies that are good stewards of your money, will help you create a level of wealth that you couldn’t generate by merely saving your money.

2. Investing is not a Game

Many people mistakenly think of investing in the same way they think of sports or gambling: as a game. Watch CNBC for a day and you’ll see what we mean. The ups the downs, the highs the lows. The stock market, over the short-term, can provide entertainment value and adrenaline rush.

But investing is not a game. Your goal is to make more money, and it turns out that over the long-term, there are intelligent and rational strategies for growing your money. The reason you make money should actually make sense!

Remember: don’t treat investing as a game of chance. Understanding why your investment makes you money is the key to being a common sense investor.

3. Risk is relative

It is not uncommon for financial advisers to give very bad advice. One of the most common pieces of bad advice is the view that saving your money in something like a CD is less risky than investing it in stock equities. Why is this not true (most of the time)? Because history tells us that risk is relative. Over a 15 year period of time it is clearly more risky to leave money in a CD than in good stock. While your balance won’t erode, the purchasing power of your money could due to inflation and taxes.

Over periods of time that are greater than three years, the common sense investor understands that, ceteris paribus, the best place for money is in stocks.

4. Invest in Good Companies, Avoid Bad Companies

The common sense investor entrusts his money in companies that put money to good use. Good companies will use money in effective ways to produce more wealth. One of the best ways to identify good companies is to look at their Return on Equity, which is essentially a measure of how well they create profits using shareholder investments.

5. Don’t Pay Too Much For a Good Thing

Even if you’ve found a good company, don’t invest in the company unless it’s being sold at a reasonable price. Ideally, try to find good companies that are selling at a discount. Often times, you will have to go against the flow and buy into companies that are out of favor for one reason or another (often irrational) with investing professionals. Normally, a company is priced too high if it’s Price To Earnings ratio is higher than its Return on Equity.

6. Fear the Following of Fads

Following the crowd can be disastrous for the common sense investor. More often than not, it results in paying way more than a company is worth. If the price of a company is dictated by short-term exuberance rather than long-term rationality, it should be avoided.

In fact, the common sense investor can take advantage of the fact that in the short term, stock market exuberance is often irrational. If the boys on Wall Street are too extreme in a sell-off for a good company, you should be ready to buy.

7. Time is on Your Side: the power of compounding interest

Give your money as much time to grow as possible. If your money doubled every five years, then five thousand dollars would turn into $320,000 in thirty years. Over 10 years, it would only turn into $20,000. Big difference.

It seems like magic, but it’s not. The earlier you put your money to work, the longer it works for you, and the more wealth you generate. It makes a lot of sense if you think about it. Wealth is generated via production. The longer your money works in good companies, the more time it has to produce further profit; profit which you get to share. The cool thing is that you can put all of your profit back to work, and effectively have more money generating more profit. This process can keep iterating so long as you don’t withdraw your money.

8. Some Debt is Good Debt, But Most Debt is Bad

Why pay off a debt that is accruing a 5% tax-deductible interest when you could be generating 12% interest by investing your money instead? Many people make the mistake of trying to pay down their home mortgage early, but this is often unadvisable for several reasons. First of all, the money you pay towards your mortgage is not liquid and gets tied up in your home until you sell. Second, mortgage is often tax-deductible. You can’t take advantage of this tax break if you avoid the interest.

Having said that, most debt should be avoided. Never sustain credit card debt and try to avoid all debt that will be used to purchase items that depreciate (e.g. cars, clothes, toys). Debt can be emotionally and psychologically difficult to sustain so only carry good debt if it doesn’t affect you aversely.

9. Keep It Simple

Always, always, always understand your investments. Understand the company’s business model: how they make money. If the business model seems odd (read: Enron) or complicated or unfocused, avoid the company, even if it means that you have to avoid the temptation of following the crowd.

Companies make money by producing products and services that people or businesses want and need. Make sure you understand what products and services your company are producing and developing for profit.

10. Employ Disciplined Principles

Invest regularly and intentionally. Force yourself to put your money to work, but don’t just throw your money at any investment. Choose your investments wisely. Don’t chase after fads. Fight your emotions. If you feel like selling (the market is doing badly), you should probably consider buying and if you feel like buying (the market is doing well), you should probably consider selling.

Tips For Financial Success.

The Two Great Principles for Success.
There are two great principles for achieving financial success:
1. The first principle is what we call the law of attraction. The law of attraction says that you are a living magnet. It says that your thoughts creates a force field of energy that radiates out from you and attracts back into your life people and circumstances in harmony with them. Any thought you have combined with an emotion, positive or negative, radiates out from you and attracts back into your life the people, circumstances ideas and opportunities consistent with it.
How to Attract the Success You Desire.
Many people feel that perhaps this is the most important of all mental laws. It says that if you have a very clear idea in your mind of your desired goal, to become wealthy, and you can hold that idea in your mind on a continuing basis, you will inevitably draw into your life the resources that you need in order to achieve it. Every person who has become wealthy or successful has become wealthy and successful as a result of holding the idea of wealth and success in their mind long enough and hard enough, until they drew into their lives the resources they needed to accomplish it. . 2. The second principle is called the law of correspondence. This mental law is very powerful. It says, "As within, so without." It says that your outer world is like a mirror that reflects back to you what is going on in your inner world. And this law of correspondence says that every thing that happens outside of you corresponds to something that's going on inside of you. When we say that your outer world is the reflection of your inner world, we mean both at a conscious and at a subconscious level.
Visualize Your Goals Clearly.
If you consciously believe that you have the ability to achieve your goals and you can hold a picture of those goals clearly in your mind long enough and hard enough, eventually your outer world will correspond with it.
Three Reflections of Success.
There are three places where we see this law of correspondence. First of all, your outer world of people will correspond with your own attitude. You will always see your attitude reflected back to you in the faces and the behaviors of the people around you. If you have a positive, optimistic attitude, people will respond to you almost immediately, even before you open your mouth, in a positive and cheerful way.
The second area where we see this law of correspondence is in your relationships. Your relationships will always mirror back to you exactly the kind of a person you are. When you are happy and optimistic and at peace, your relationships will be happy and harmonious and loving. But when your thinking is disrupted or negative for any reason, consciously or unconsciously, this will be immediately reflected in your relationships.
The third place you see the law of correspondence is with regard to your wealth. Your external world of wealth and financial accomplishment will be a mirror image of your inner world of preparation. The only part of the equation that you can control is your conscious thoughts, and if you can keep your conscious thoughts on what you want, on your images of wealth and affluence, eventually your external world of reality and experience will reflect it back to you.
Applying These Principles.
Here are two things you can do to apply this principles in your financial life:
Firstly, guard your thoughts carefully. Whatever you think about, combined with the emotions of desire or fear, you will attract into your life an element of success. Be sure that you are attracting what you want by continuing to think only about what you want.
Secondly, keep feeding your mind with new information, idea and pictures of the person you want to be and the life you want to live. By creating this inner attitude of mind, you change the outer aspects of your reality.
In conclusion, your financial success depends on how far and how well you can see beyond your present financial status. Dream big, act big and become financially big.