Category: Budgeting

Stuck for Cash? 5 Short Term Solutions

money stuckWe’ve all found ourselves, at one time or another, financial strapped. It could be an unexpected car repair, a short work week or even an unexpected medical expense. Whatever the reason, it causes stress and anxiety, especially if you don’t know where to turn for solutions. These 5 short term solutions may just help you get by until your cash flow picks up again or until you can get past the unexpected expense.

1.Cash Loans/Short Term Loans

Cash loans don’t have the best reputation in the financial world, and that is mostly because they bear higher interest rates and can be easily abused. However, if you are in a bind and know that paying back the loan won’t be an issue, they can be a short term solution to a financial need. Be sure to read the terms, understand your obligations as the borrower, and plan ahead so you can ensure the money is paid back on time preventing further interest or penalties. A cash loan broker will connect you with multiple lenders who may offer different terms, rates etc. IneedmoneytodayASAP is a website that provides this service and you can visit their website here.

2. Sell Unwanted Items Online

You would be amazed at the amount of clutter you might find by simply cleaning out your garage or basement. You might find items you haven’t used in well over a year or more. These items are great candidates for online classified websites where you can sell you items locally and receive cash for them fairly quickly. Do a quick online search in your area for local buy and sell groups or even on social media for places to post your unwanted goods.

3. Visit the Pawn Shop

Similar to selling online, but much faster turn around, taking unwanted items to a pawn shop will yield you some extra cash. You will not be paid the full value of your item in most cases, since the shop will want to make money too. Alternatively, you could put valuable items in hock until you can pay to get them back. Be sure to read the terms so you know exactly how long you have before that item becomes property of the pawn shop.

4. Take the Bus, Walk or Car Pool

Simple but definitely cost effective, taking public transit or walking places will save you tonnes of money compared to driving everywhere. With the rising cost of fuel, driving is a costly commodity. You could talk to a co-worker and see about car pooling if public transit or walking are not an option. Even if you did this for a week, you would save a fair amount on gas.

5. Make Coffee at Home and Pack Lunches

While this short term solution won’t put cash in your pocket, it will keep the cash you have in there. Making a coffee at home every morning could save you between $1 and $2.50 per day for just one coffee. Packing your lunch from home will save you even more–somewhere around $10 per day! That’s around $2500 a year if you ate out every work day. Imagine that nice chunk of savings you could be using for more important things, in your bank account.

Negotiating and Settling Debt: Tips for Talking to Creditors

settlement with creditorsWhen money is tight, and your expenses are high, you may find yourself in a pickle with creditors. It’s often an inevitable part of life as you learn and progress – but when the creditors are more than just one or two, the problem seems to snowball a bit too fast. It’s impossible to keep up with, the phone never keeps quiet, and life seems so very unfair.

You can solve it all in one go, though, by learning how to communicate effectively with those dreaded people on the other end of the line and negotiate a good deal.

Here is a handful of the best advice from money experts out there, giving you and your finances some peace of mind at last.

Be honest to generate sympathy

So creditors may be unpopular, but they’re just regular folks like you and I. Pick up the phone, talk from the heart, and stick to your story – especially when you’re dealing with multiple creditors. They don’t want to hear about all the problems you’ve had the past year, of course, but a quick explanation will soften even the toughest creditor.

If you’ve been ill or away from work for a couple of months, it’s a good idea to make them aware of this. The same goes for any other problems you’ve had in the household lately, if your husband has been laid off, or if you’ve run into unexpected medical expenses.

Life is, after all, just life and creditors deal with it too. Check out entrepreneur.com for some top tips on how to convince them not to ruin your credit score.

Stay calm, by the way, and whatever you do, don’t lose your temper with them. To be overdramatic or show childish anger won’t get you anywhere when you’ve passed the age of ten.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions

Remember that this conversation is for your benefit as much as the people you owe money. When the ruthless creditor tells you that you may risk losing your house or be sued, try not to run away from it all but ask specific questions instead.

When can you expect further action to be taken? Is it a good idea to find a personal loan to cover the most pressing expenses? When can you expect the money to be withdrawn from your account? You can have a look at personalloan.co to have a backup handy in case another loan may keep you from being sued.

Some of the threats they make may be illegal, by the way, so ask questions and take note of their answers for your own record.

Understand your situation

Do yourself a massive favor and be prepared the next time they ring. When you know how much you’re able to afford, it becomes a lot easier to keep up with the negotiations and find a realistic solution – otherwise, you may end up in the same situation in a few months.

Dealing with creditors is never much fun, but it’s inevitable when you’d like to put the past behind you. Get it over with as soon as possible, improve your credit score, and start to live within your means again.

The Best Educational Investments You Can Make

invest to studyIf you look at the best ways to invest your money, many people will recommend investing in your education. The reason is that spending money on your education isn’t just a one-time investment. Adding qualifications to your resume is an investment in yourself and could lead to higher earnings in the future. You’re not buying an asset that could start depreciating or taking a risk on an investment that could end up losing you money. If you want to invest in your education, there are a few smart ways you can do it. Try the following tips to consider your options.

Go to College

There will always be controversy over whether it’s necessary to go to college. Of course, not everyone wants or needs a college education. And some people will say that studying certain subject isn’t going to help you in your career. However, even though it can be expensive, going to college can do a lot for you in the long-term. There are several options to explore if you want to find one that works best for you financially. There’s the choice of going to community college, attending a college in your state, scholarships, or even studying online. Gaining postgraduate qualifications will also often help to boost your career.

Take a Course

Whether or not you choose to attend college, your education doesn’t need to stop once you’re no longer in school. It’s always worth exploring your options for learning new skills and improving your abilities. There are many online courses you can sign up for, but Training Connection believes that classroom learning is best. When you’re learning practical skills like how to use software, it’s useful to have an instructor who can show you how to do something. As well as investing your own money in training, it’s always useful to take advantage of any opportunities you might gain from employers.

Learn About Finances and Investment

Courses both online and offline can teach you about just about anything. You can choose skills that are useful for your career goals. But if you want to make the most of your money, learning about finance and investment is one of the best things you can do. Seek out courses in investing and managing your money if you want a good way to spend money on your education. While you can find free resources, it pays to invest in a more professional and comprehensive course, or perhaps resources like books.

Invest in Your Child’s Future

Your education isn’t the only one worth investing in. If you want another way to spend your money wisely, investing in your child’s future is also a good idea. You can help them out by saving money for their education, whether it’s a college fund or just general savings. You can also help them out when it’s time for them to go to college, perhaps by co-signing loans or simply giving them some financial support.

Education is one of the best things you can invest in because it sets you up for the future. Don’t dismiss the power it can have.

The Very Many Benefits Of Having Good Credit

score your creditsEveryone desires a good credit rating. Possessing one can unlock financial doors and make you look much more appealing to creditors. However, many people don’t realise how easy it is to build up a credit rating with the correct financial decisions. This is especially important for young people during their 20’s who may hope to apply for a mortgage in the future. It can also be used to provide you with business loans, short term cash advances, and even simple things such as mobile or broadband service contracts.

However, applying for the best signature loan or car finance deal will take shrewd financial planning. While this may seem like ‘boring planning time,’ it can be immensely valuable, and any hour spent here can translate to days or weeks of solid financial security. In a tumultuous world, this can be the bedrock you need to truly live the life you want.

The steps to building great credit are as follows:

Stay Aware

Many people will tell you the first best thing you can do is to apply for credit cards, make your purchases and pay back the balance promptly. This is an excellent guiding point, but it’s not the most important. Staying aware of your credit rating at all times, as well as the circumstances that might bring it down, is just as important. Not only does staying aware in this way give you the opportunity to identify past debts or loans which have completely gone unpaid, but they’ll help you understand and potentially build a timeline for how long you can expect to be in the ‘good credit’ bracket. This can help you plan significant financial investments in the future at a much more accurate timescale than someone who is simply ‘guesstimating’ the process.

Don’t Be Afraid Of Cosign Loans

Cosign loans often exist to help you with a financial circumstance, such as an emergency payment or a large gift you’re buying, without subjecting you to the dreadful high APR a low to medium credit score can net you. Simply find another guarantor to sign their name on the loan in good faith, and repaying the loan back on time (or better earlier,) can help skyrocket your credit score. Of course, asking someone to take this risk on you is a very personal and demanding affair, so be sure to be completely upfront about the loan terms and your requirements for taking it.

Financial Links

Sometimes, your credit score can be affected by the financial links you have. For this reason, staying aware of opening joint bank accounts is appropriate. Unless you have been happily married for at least a year, it’s likely that opening one should be postponed.

Check Information

The simplest way to keep on top of your credit score, and to make sure it’s accurate, is to update your information at all times. Changing certain information such as your current address, marital status and dependants help your credit profile with its accuracy. Not falling down at the first hurdle when applying for credit can be the first line of success in getting accepted.

With these simple tips, you’re much more likely to begin your ascent into solid credit reliability with ease.

A Short-Term Struggle For A Long-Term Gain: Three Steps To Getting Out Of Debt Quickly

rub your debtsThere are many resources online that show you the impact of being in debt, from the personal to the professional, to your overall quality of life. But the task of managing your debt and the emotional impact is something that cannot be underestimated, especially when it comes to asking the question if we can actually get out of debt quickly. The vast majority of people would argue that it cannot be done. However, it is possible, but there are a few impacts on the parts of your life (as mentioned above). So, if you endeavor to get out of debt quickly, here are some things you should do, but beware that it will impact on your life in the short term, but the long-term benefits are infinite.

The First Step: Confronting Your Debt

This is possibly the hardest step of all, much like an addict needs to admit to themselves they have a problem, by tackling your debt and realizing the magnitude of what it is that you owe to your creditors may be the thing to wake you up and put you on the right route to consolidating your debt. It’s very simple, the way to confront this is to add up every single debt you have. Discounting your mortgage, but every credit cards, auto loan, student loan, everything. It all has an impact on your credit score and your ability to borrow in the future, if you needed to buy something essential like a mortgage.

The Second Step: Calculating Your Debt To Income Ratio

This is a common step to calculating whether organizations would lend you money or not. But there are plenty of debt to income ratio calculators you can find, one is on bankrate.com, and by calculating this, you can figure out how much you are in debt in comparison to how much you earn. It’s simple, almost too simple, but a lot of people don’t think about the amount of debt they have in comparison to what they earn. For a lot of people, it doesn’t hit home until they see the figures in front of them. From here you can start to make positive changes.

The Third Step: Identifying Behaviors And Getting Out Of Debt

By looking at how you got into debt in the first place, you can start to make positive changes in respect of these behaviors so you can start to dig yourself out of the hole effectively. A site like debtrelief.xyz can show you the best ways of consolidating your debts, but you need to think about your spending behaviors first before you get to this point. For many, it’s simply about asking yourself if you buy things that you cannot officially afford. If you know you cannot afford these items on your salary, you then need to ask yourself if the items you are purchasing are essential to your life. Most of the time they are not. You then need to find ways to get yourself out of debt in a healthy manner. This may have an impact on your personal and social life, but one of the best ways to get out of debt is simply to earn more and spend less. The thing you need to remember with this is that you may think that you’ll have to get a second job working nights somewhere, but there are many ways to earn money at home now so you can get out of debt without it impacting on your overall health.

Getting out of debt quickly is feasible, but you have to have the right attitude. It’s going to be hard, but it’s a short-term struggle for a long-term gain.