Getting The Best Interest Rates On Your Car Loan

12 March 2010

Whenever you consider applying for a car loan, you immediately think about the amount of the monthly payments and the down payment. But, do you also think about the interest rates? You should because they can either save or cost you thousands of dollars.

If you are planning to apply for a car loan, avoid applying for any other type of credit for a period of 6 months to a year. Each time that you apply for credit, it reduces your FICO score. And, if too many requests for credit are made within a short period of time, it could make the lending institution wary of you. They may wonder why you have been requesting so much credit and may be less likely to approve your car loan. The higher your FICO score, the lower interest rates you will receive. However, if your FICO score is on the lower side, you will end up paying higher interest rates if you do qualify for a loan.

Before applying for a car loan, purchase a copy of your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus. These are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Lenders commonly rely somewhat upon the information contained in your credit report in determining your interest rates. It is very important that you make sure everything in your credit file is accurate, including your name, address, social security number, employment and payment history on all of your credit accounts. If you find anything that is incorrect, send a letter to all three credit bureaus and dispute the information immediately.

If you are applying for a new car loan, make sure that you pay as much as possible toward eliminating your current debt prior to your application. If your debt to income ratio is too high, the lending institution may feel that you are unable to pay the car loan back. So, pay off your credit cards if possible. If you have any credit card charge-offs or accounts that have been turned over to collection agencies, pay them off immediately and get this information removed from your credit report if at all possible. If you have negative information showing in your credit file, you run the risk of not being approved for a car loan. But, if you are approved, you are looking at a higher interest rate over the life of the loan. The same is true if you have a previous bankruptcy or other credit problems, but many car loan companies are eager to help you find the loan that will fit your budget. Many car dealerships advertise promotions for those with past credit blemishes and may be able to work directly with a lender to get financing approved.

Even if you arent planning to apply for a car loan in the near future, understanding interest rates and how they are determined may save you a lot of money in the long run. The bottom line is that, the more likely that you are to repay the car loan in the lenders eyes, the better interest rates you will receive. Higher interest customers end up paying thousands of dollars more than those individuals with minimal interest rates.

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I Want To Catch Up on My Retirement Planning What

11 March 2010

I Want To Catch Up on My Retirement Planning What Should I Do?

Good question and even better, youre thinking in the right direction about your future which is someday retiring. If youre one of those people who havent saved any or very much money for your retirement, its never too late for you to start now! Its important that you do start and soon. It doesnt take long for age to slip up on you fast if you know what I mean! So, just get started on your retirement planning now while youre thinking about it. You may want to consider some of these tips and information to get you started:

1) If the employer you are working for offers a 401K plan wherein you contribute a percentage of your earnings towards retirement, consider signing up for this plan! In most instances, the employer may match a percentage of the contributions you make to your 401K account. Your contributions can be made on a pre-tax basis which will help your money grow faster in your account.

2) You may want to consider taking a second job to add more income for your retirement. This will assist you in increasing the amount of money for your retirement fund. If youre able to fit a second job into your schedule, make sure this would be feasible for you and your family without causing problems.

3) Save more of your money by cutting back on some of your expenses. You may want to reduce the number of times you eat out, go to the movies, shop, and any other areas you can cut back on to save towards your retirement.

4) Consider saving your change! Thats right, save your change. You would be surprised at the amount of money you can accumulate in a small amount of time by saving your change. Your change could be set aside for your retirement fund. So, start putting your coins away for your future!

5) Reduce or eliminate your spending on your credit cards. The less you pay on your credit cards, the more money youll have to save towards your retirement. So, if you can pay cash for that item you need to purchase, do that instead of charging it to your credit card. Youll not only save yourself interest charges, but, youll have extra money to put away for your retirement.

6) If you have a home and are using it as a cash machine or atm by taking out your home equity via loans or a credit line, stop what youre doing! Your home is one of your largest investments and will most likely be a retirement vehicle for you. Youll either want to have your home paid off prior to retirement or be in a position to sell your home to obtain the equity to use as retirement income. If you have your home equity tapped out, then you will not be in the position during your golden years to enjoy your retirement. Youll probably be still paying a mortgage that you may not be able to afford and will not have much money in your retirement fund.

Its better late than never when it comes to starting your retirement planning. So, go ahead, start working on catching up with your retirement planning today, youll be glad you did!

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Getting A Better Interest Rate Is Not So Hard

09 March 2010

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If you are unhappy with the interest rate you currently receive for your credit then there are a number of steps you may wish to consider taking in order to get yourself better rates and more favourable terms. These include:

Ensuring that you credit report is accurate and up to date
Requesting better rates from your existing credit providers
Applying for better rates from new credit providers
Consider switching to secured credit or less flexible credit over a longer term
Put effort into improving your credit rating

All of these steps have a potential to get you better credit card interest rates and reduce the amounts you have to pay in monthly repayments. If you have a lot of loans and payments on credit cards and other high interest accounts, one of the best ways to reduce your monthly payments is to consolidate this debt into one loan. This loan can be secured over your home if you are a homeowner and this will give you access to far better interest rates. You should be very careful before securing any debts over your home as it may put your home at risk if you find that you are unable to meet your repayment commitments. A consolidated loan, over a period of two to five years usually, can give you access to far lower rates of interest and this alone can save you hundreds of dollars each month in bills.

Ensure your credit report is accurate

Another step you may consider is checking that your credit report is accurate. Since all credit-reporting companies have a legal obligation to ensure the accuracy of their reports, they will usually be happy to amend your report if you find that there are errors contained on it that will make it harder for you to receive credit. You may also wish to put some time into improving your report if it is bad, by paying your bills on time, reducing the amount of overall credit you have outstanding and making other alterations that get reported on your rating.

For credit card advice please visit here http://www.creditcards-gb.co.uk/creditcardadvice.html

If all else fails, just ask

One very simple way of getting better interest rates is simply to ask for them. If you have been with your credit provider for some time and have always managed to pay your bill in full and on time, you may be entitled to have your credit rate lowered. If you have other credit cards with lower rates, tell this to the company and they may be willing to match this in order to keep your business.

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Credit Card Interest Rates – Why It’s Important To Understand

19 January 2010

Credit Card Interest Rates – Why It’s Important To Understand How They Work

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Einstein put it best when he said, “Compounding interest is the greatest mathematical discovery of all time”. Now the question you need to ask is, “Do I want this force working for me or against me?” If you own a credit card and you carry-over balances from month to month then you’ve got that amazing force called compounding interest working against you.

In this article, I’ll attempt to explain how this “force” works against you month after month after month, in the form of interest upon interest. And perhaps, by helping you to gain a better understanding of how this “force” works and how important even a small change in the interest rate you are being charged effects you and families financial future. And hopefully, it will also inspire and motivate you to do whatever it takes to pay off your credit cards and initiate some type of savings plan so you can put this “force” to work for you.

Credit Card Interest Rates are Compounded
The interest you pay on your credit card balances are compounded, which means that you pay interest on the interest from the month before. A simple example would be that if you were being charged an interest rate of 2% per month, you would not be paying 24% per year. In reality, you would be paying 26.82%. A neat little trick that credit card companies use to pick up an additional point or two of interest is to calculate interest on a monthly rather than on a yearly basis. You pay more but you don’t know you’re paying more.

A Brain Teaser
Here’s a little brain teaser based upon what you’ve already learned. Would you rather have $1 million in cash or $10,000 in some form of savings account earning you a compounded interest rate of 20 percent per year?

Hmm, let’s see how that $10,000 would grow after 10 years – $61,917 or 20 years – $383,375 or 30 years – $2,373,763 or 50 years – $563,475,143.

After fifty years, you would have over $500 million. Of course, you would have to take inflation into account and if we used a figure of 5% per year, then that $500 million would have the buying power that $10,732,859 does today. Not a bad return on your investment of $10,000 but on a side note it also exposes another lesson in how the compounding rate of inflation destroys wealth but that’s the subject of another article.

Clearly, that question was a bit tricky because there’s so many variables to take into account that would influence what decision you would ultimately make – but you get my point, the power of compounding interest and by the way… it’s the primary way credit card companies make their money is a powerful “force”. It’s also the way pensions work and the reason the prices of things seem to rise massively as you get older. Be afraid… or at the least very wary of compounding interest.

Compounding Interest Can Really Add Up
Now, let’s look at a more real world example. Let’s say you have an average unpaid balance of $1,000 on a credit card with an APR of 15 percent.

First year interest would be $150. However, this amount is then carried-over and added onto the balance and interest is charged on that. As a result, year two interest would be another $172.50 for a total of $1322.50 and it continues to build year after year. Year three, four and five would look like this – $1,520, $1,749 and $2,011.

As you can clearly see, after just five years at 15%, you would owe double what you borrowed and after 10 years you would owe four times. I know it’s hard to believe but once again this simple “real world” example dramatically demonstrates the power of compounding interest.

If you let something like that carry on long enough, you end up paying on that same amount of debt for years and years and end up paying back many times what you originally borrowed and in some instances you still may not have completely satisfied the original debt. Unfortunately, most people simply don’t take the time to think through this out and they feel that the high and never ending payments are simply their fault for spending too much money to begin with.

The Three Percent Difference
You may feel that there’s not that much difference between a credit card that charges an APR of 15% versus one that charges an APR of 12% but then again after reading this article I’m sure you’ve realized that there is and so – that’s exactly what I’m going to show you. Remember the previous example that showed you would owe over $2,000 after only five years at 15% after borrowing an initial amount of $1,000.

That same example at 12% reveals the following: Year one – $1120, year two – $1254 and years three through five – $1404, $1573 and $1762 respectively. After the same five year period you would have saved nearly $250 or almost 25% in interest from a mere 3% difference in APR. Quite dramatic and hopefully it will help you convince you to make the necessary decisions to pay-off your credit cards and start saving so that you can put, “the greatest mathematical discovery of all time” to work for you… rather than against you.

This article may be reproduced only in its entirety.

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Get A Jump On Retirement – Part 3

19 January 2010

I am going to make a bold statement but it is a true statement nonetheless. If you ever plan to retire comfortably or at a reasonable age you cannot abuse credit cards. They are financial cancer.

I used to be buried in credit card debt. Part of it was sensible because it helped me purchase books and other things to get me through college, which I financed on my own. However, some of it was just stupidity. Once I decided to make a change in my thought process it only took me 2 years to get out of this debt and I wasnt making lots of money at the time either.

Lets take an example. The average credit card debt is almost $10,000 per household now. Lets say you have a $9000 credit card debt balance and the interest rate is 14.9 % which is low for most people. Depending on the company the minimum payment is probably in the neighborhood of $150/month. If you paid nothing but the minimum payment on that card, and never made another purchase, it would take you 111 months to pay this card off. Almost 10 YEARS to pay off a $9000 credit card debt? That is insanity. It would cost you roughly $16,600 to pay of $9000 in debt.

Lets take a look at the same balance with some different, and probably more common, factors involved. Take a $9000 balance and a 28% interest rate, which happens with just a couple late payments, and you pay the minimum payments only. Someone that only pays the minimum payments will take 1984 months to pay that $9000 balance off. I am not sure about you but I am not going to live 165 years to pay off my credit card debt.

Obviously it wouldnt take you that long to pay it off because your estate would cover it when you died but it speaks to the point of my article. How would you plan to retire comfortably, and certainly not early, if you have this debt as well as other debt hanging over your head?

What many people do not see is that the money you save by not forking it over to the billion dollar banks, that give you the credit cards, can be used much more wisely for you. At my worst I was paying $400 in interest on credit cards. Once I finally paid off my credit cards and stopped using them I found I was easily able to pay cash for the things I would typically put on credit cards. Not only that, I found when I was taking money out of my bank account I was much more careful on what the money was being spent on in the first place.

I decided at age 27 that I wanted to retire comfortably at age 50 and spend my free time with my kids (that I did not have yet) and grandkids. It was worth it to me to sacrifice at a younger age than it would be to deal with my mistakes at age 70. Who really wants to be bagging groceries, at the age of 70, for some high school kids running the register? I know I dont. Clearly, it could happen anyway because of illness or some other circumstance that wipes out my retirement savings but I have no control over those things. I do have control over stupidity though and I wanted to stop it at an early age.

What I am hoping you will take away from this article is how bad credit cards are for you. Credit card companies make billions in profit each year and it is for a reason. Many people feel the insurance companies are the same as credit card companies in that they like to screw people. The difference is, with an insurance company you are at least getting something back for all the money you give them, if you buy the right products of course.

Insurance companies are rich because they take the money you give them in premiums and invest it to make their money. In many cases insurance companies pay out more money on claims for auto and home than they actually take in for premiums. It is hit or miss if they make a profit on earned premiums. (Sorry for the insurance jargon.)

You get no benefit from a credit card company accept for the ability to spend even more money you dont have. Credit cards should be use for emergency purposes only and if you adopt that outlook you will most likely be standing next to me on the golf course in 20 years.

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Get A Jump On Retirement

17 January 2010

Everyone works their whole life to pay bills, go on vacation, provide for their kids, and much more. Most people dream of the day when they can retire. It is interesting to me how few people actually work as hard at planning their retirement as they do each and every day they show up for work.

With a few smart decisions everyone can retire early if they want, provided they do not have any unforeseen medical issues, unemployment, or live through a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina. Those things will obviously put a wrench in anybodys financial plans for the future but with the proper planning even those events cant stop you from achieving your goals. Just imagine how bad your future would look if you didnt plan properly?

The first, and most important, decision you have to make when planning your future is the one to live within your means. Many people in this country feel the need to keep up with the Jones. Their friend or neighbor gets a nice new car so they go out and do the same. How do you know if that person you are trying to keep up with isnt buried in a pile of debt?

People max out their credit cards, keep no money in a savings account, let alone the six month emergency fund all financial professionals recommend, and keep on spending. They borrow money against their homes and spend it. I hope to help at least a few people learn the benefits of changing their lifestyle so they can live comfortably when they retire. I hate hearing about elderly people that need to chose between eating and buying medicine. Hopefully I can help prevent that from happening to a few people.

I recently began a business as an independent insurance agent/financial professional, with the goal of making a difference in peoples lives. I worked for too long under the control of a major corporation, allowing them to tell me what I had to do, whether it was good for the customer or not. Deciding I had to sleep at night I finally stood up to the company and voiced my opinion when I didnt believe in one of their policies. The company was Liberty Mutual Insurance and they wanted to begin turning away bad customers for auto insurance in Massachusetts, where it is illegal to turn customers away,. Massachusetts is a take-all state. (Id be happy to share additional details if you want to hear them. Feel free to contact me at the email in my signature below)

Needless to say, I was fired for poor performance and I decided I would not let this happen to me again. People work hard for their money and I want to help them get the most bang for their buck as opposed to hurting them. Keep an eye out for a series of articles on the following topics:

-Pay Yourself First
-Shred the Credit Cards
-How to Make Insurance Work for You
-Increase Your Earning Potential

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Credit Card Interest Rates – Destroyer Of Finances

16 January 2010

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Interest kills your finances. Especially on credit cards. Did you realize that paying the minimum payment on your credit cards just builds a deeper and deeper hole for you?

I have a wonderful strategy for those of you who have credit card debt on more than one card.

Take out your credit card statements and write down the interest rate and the balance of each. For example, lets say you have three credit cards that have interest/balance as listed.

Card#1 13.9% with a balance of $555.00
Card#2 17.9% with a balance of $486.00
Card#3 19.9% with a balance of $322.00

Note that card #3 carries a higher interest rate than #1 or #2. In fact, Card #3 would cost you more than 40% more in interest dollars over a period of a year if they had the same balance! Do you understand what I am saying here?

The plan to eliminate is easy. Pay the minimum balance due on the lower rate cards (in this case Card#1 and #2) and pay as much as you can afford to pay on Card#3. (For example, you are paying minimum payments of $15.00 on Card#1 and #2 and you can pay $100, $150, $200 whatever you can afford to pay. Make it hurt a little.

Continue paying this way until Card#3 is paid off. Cut it up and throw it away. You dont want a higher interest card do you?

Now, apply the same strategy to Cards#1 and #2. Card#2 is the next highest rate (actually 25% higher in interest than Card#!). Pay the minimum payment on #1 and pay the same payment you were making for Card#3 plus the minimum payment you were making on Card#2. You have already seen you can get by without the minimum payment. Do it!

Continue until Card#2 is paid off. Now, follow the same routine until Card#1 is paid off.

I promise you will feel good about yourself. You will save money that you didnt even realize you were spending before.

If you have followed this far, realize you can do the same thing with your hoousehold loans such as your mortgage and car loans. Many car loans have higher interest rates and can be paid down much quicker in this manner.

Remember, start with the highest interest rates and when your way down. Good luck!

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Consolidation Loans: Get The Best Interest Rates

02 January 2010

If you’re looking for a smart way to get out of debt, a consolidation loan can help. The purpose of a consolidation loan is to consolidate your credit card, car loan, or other debts and make just one payment a month. This is more convenient than making minimum payments to your creditor or missing payments altogether.

Finance Charges

When you choose the right consolidation loan, you will save money in the long run. Creditors expect you to pay interest on your balance each month; these finance charges can add up. This makes it more difficult to eliminate your debts. As long as the consolidation loan interest is reasonable, you will save from having to pay high interest rates.

Those with good credit can easily secure consolidation loans with a great interest rate. The lender will usually issue a check so you can pay off remaining balances. Your obligation from that point on is to repay the consolidation loan once a month until your loan is paid off in full.

If your credit is modest, you may have a difficult time finding a lender who will give you a good interest rate. However, if your interest rate on credit cards and other debts is high, it still might be better to take on a high interest consolidation loan. As long as the consolidation loan interest is lower than your current rates, you will be saving money.

Collateral

Sometimes, your lender will require you to have collateral as a backup, just in case you fail to pay your consolidation loan. When collateral is required, the loan is considered to be a secured loan. Collaterals may come in the form of a home, car, or other personal property. It is used as extra assurance for the lender, knowing that they will somehow be paid, even if you fail to make your payments. Those with less-than-perfect credit may have to opt for a secured consolidation loan.

When it comes to consolidation loans, you should shop around to ensure that you get the best interest rate possible. The lower your interest rate, the more money you’ll save in the long run. These days, it is easy to get loan quotes. You can usually fill out an application online and receive a quote within a few minutes. Use your favorite search engine to search for consolidation loan specialists or lenders. Watch out for lenders who charge excessive application fees, or fees to receive a quote.

Low Interest Rate

Consolidation loans don’t always come with the title. Some individuals with good credit can open a low interest rate credit card to transfer balances from high interest cards. In other instances, you can get a personal loan or a home equity loan to pay off credit cards and other bills. You can go about it in many different ways, as long as the interest from the new loan is less than your current interest rates.

Taking out a consolidation loan can simplify your financial situation and get it under control. You can avoid bankruptcy, missed payments, or repossession by getting a consolidation loan early on.

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Best Strategies For Online Approval Of Credit Card Application

01 January 2010

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Credit cards had been a popular form of purchasing items on a “chargeable” or borrowed term.

The advantages of having a credit card are:

1. Security, since one does not have to carry a large amount of cash to purchase certain items.

2. Convenience. In case one has to purchase an item that is immediately needed (and is out of cash), these can be purchased using a credit card

3. Cash advances. Purchases that require cash payments may still be accommodated by the credit card through the cash advance feature. This works like a regular ATM transaction (with of course a corresponding interest rate)

Disadvantages

1. Interest rate. Unlike purchasing with cash, credit card charges come with a corresponding interest (unless paid before the due date). The consumer should be aware of the various interest rates offered by the different credit card companies. One has to choose the mode of payment (plus the interest rate) that would best suit his or her capacity to pay.

2. Overuse. A consumer tends to purchase items that are not really needed or included in their budget if they have a credit card that is ready to use.

3. Annual fees. Whether one chooses to use his or her card, after activation, annual fees will be charged.

4. Other charges. A delay in the payment during one billing period would incur you additional charges.

Credit card online approval usually is far easier than manual applications that require various forms to be completed before it can be processed. The company likewise is more likely to receive your application on a shorter period of time as compared to snail-mailing your forms.

For a faster credit card online approval, take into consideration the following:

1. Do not leave any unanswered line, especially those marked with a red asterisk.

2. After completion of the online application, immediately send either through email or facsimile the additional requirements needed.

3. Take into consideration that credit card companies prioritize applications of the following group of people:
- married couples

- persons with a mortgaged house or car

- persons with several dependents

4. Choose credit card companies that have a promotional offer in the application process, chances are, promos are offered due to low application rate, thus prioritization your entry is a sure shot.

The logic here is that the more obligations an applicant has, the more they are likely to use the credit card, which equivalents to higher earnings (through interest charges) on their part.

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First Time Buyers Find Help In Mortgage Plus

31 December 2009

Obtaining a mortgage is one of the biggest financial responsibilities a person faces; it should not be entered into lightly. Whether youre a first time buyer, or youre thinking of refinancing, it takes careful planning to obtain this life-changing loan. It can be a long drawn-out ordeal if you dont find the right lender or you get bad advice. Why not make the process easier, log onto to www.mortgageplus.ie to answer all your questions and choose from a wide range of credited lenders.

Most adults have a car loan (or two), and most every adult has a few credit cards they pay off monthly, but a mortgage is unlike any other loan you will ever get. All your future financial plans will need to be considered in the shadow of your monthly house loan payments. Mortgages can be a heavy burden indeed, remember this is a loan youll be paying off for a very long time to come. By logging onto www.mortgageplus.ie, you can apply on-line, search up-to-the-minute programs and calculate your future payments so you know exactly what youre getting into.

Whether this is your first time for a house loan or youre trading up, all the necessary tools to make an informed decision about a mortgage are here. Because our lenders are from all over Ireland, the competitive rates we find are lower than the ones you would get just walking into a bank. We even have programs in place to arrange 100% mortgages for our first time buyers. We treat you the same whether you are looking to buy your first property or your tenth. Our goal is to get each one of our clients into the property they want, at the rate the can afford.

All these figures can be daunting. This is a big step in your life and the life of your family (or future family). At www.mortgageplus.ie you will be shown through the process of obtaining a mortgage and leave knowing more about mortgages than you ever dreamed you could. Our experts take you through the process step-by-step, explaining every detail until you are fully satisfied. And best of all, our advice is FREE.

Why not try us as your one-shop-stop for a house loan? Forget the time-consuming hassle of walking into a bank and literally begging to be consideredespecially if you are a first-time buyer! Forget all that back and forth, time-consuming, possibly humiliating scrutinizing of your credit. With a simple click of your mouse and some information you could be on your way to getting approved for your mortgage.

Set-up in 2002, www.mortgageplus.ie is on the cutting edge of Irelands current house market. To get up-to-the-minute advice, the very best rates and find a trustworthy lender, you need to be online with us. We have the programs in place to search for the very latest rates, while watching the rapidly fluctuating real-estate market. In no time you could be living in your dream house, with a mortgage that fits comfortably into your life.

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