Category: Personal Finance

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.

Your Financial Afterlife: Preparing for the Inevitable

fix your financesIf you have a family, being financially healthy isn’t just for you. It also helps you to provide for your family. Even when your children have grown up and left home, you still want to make sure you can be there for them when they need it. You might even be considering how you might help them after you’ve gone. When it’s your time to go, perhaps you’re hoping to leave your family in a financially stable position. Although you hope you won’t die until you reach old age, you never really know when it might happen. So it’s always best to be prepared, especially if you have a young family.

Take Out Life Insurance

If you have a family and you work, your family relies on your income. Some families decide to live using only one income, even if they have two, so that it’s not so difficult to deal with if one income is lost. However, many families need to make the most of any income they have. Whether or not you’re the primary breadwinner, the loss of your income could make a big difference to your family, especially when they’re grieving. Using a site like insurance.me to find the perfect life insurance helps to protect your family. Some employers offer life insurance as a benefit, but if yours doesn’t, you should consider taking it out yourself.

Write a Will

Writing a will is one of the best things you can do to make sure you’re prepared for the end of your life. Since you can’t usually know when you’re going to die, it’s important to keep your will updated so that it reflects your wishes. You might change it at different stages, like if one of your children moves out or you get a new grandchild. You can easily find templates and will writing kits to make things easier. However, you might want to use a lawyer to help you write your will, especially if you want to set up something that isn’t straightforward.

Create a Funeral Plan

Funerals can actually be very expensive, so it’s worth thinking about how you might prepare for that. You might like to come up with some ideas or even instructions on how you want your funeral or memorial service to go. In terms of finances, it’s a good idea to have funds specifically intended to pay for it. You might have some savings, or you could consider paying for a funeral plan or insurance. These are intended to cover the costs of funerals to make the burden easier on your family. You might also want to take other financial considerations into account, like buying a burial plot.

Keep Debts Organized

When you pass away, remaining debts might have to be paid from your estate. To make things easier for your heirs, it’s a good idea to organize your debts and bills. This will mean they don’t need to spend too much time figuring out what is owed and paying it off.

Planning your finances for after your death is just as important as paying attention to them while you’re alive. Look after your family by being prepared.

Debunking the Myths About Debt Settlement

settle your financesThe debt settlement industry is growing – and it’s no surprise given that consumer debt is on the rise. However, there are a lot of myths and unsubstantiated rumours surrounding debt settlement, which we hope to debunk for you today. Let’s take a closer look at everything you need to know.

Anyone can settle

One of the biggest myths about debt settlement is that anyone can reduce the cost of their liabilities by a significant amount. It’s an excellent idea in theory, of course, but it’s far from the truth. Good debt settlement companies will only work with people who are genuinely facing financial hardships, and if you’re earning $250,000 and just don’t fancy paying the money back, your lenders will take a dim view.

It will improve your credit score

Settling a debt can still hurt your credit score, unfortunately. Once a lender reports they have accepted a settlement offer, the chances are they will make a note on your file. It’s also worth bearing in mind that it’s a new report, and will stay on your file for seven years.

It’s a cheap way out

While the sum total of your debts will be reduced in a settlement, it can still be expensive. Debt settlement companies charge you a percentage of the amount you owe or the amount you are forgiven. You also need to bear in mind that reducing your debts also means you might have to repay tax for the breaks you received for your interest payments in the past. It all adds up to a significant amount of money.

You can go it alone

Make a phone call to a lender and ask them to consider a settlement and they will tell you to join a long and growing queue. And the chances are that they will scoff at your offer. According to debtsettlement.co, using a professional company can help you make an offer that is likely to be agreed as they have a lot of leverage and expertise. The DIY route is an option – but it can often end up costing you more than you need to pay.

You need professional help

Conversely, with the right approach, it’s possible to get a good settlement deal yourself – as long as you work hard, get to know the rules, and play the game accordingly. While having an experienced negotiator by your side is advantageous, it’s not impossible to go it alone and get similar results. Ultimately, it’s all about how much time you can afford on the task at hand – and how well you can state your case.

Not settling means the debt is there forever

A final point on debt in general: as stated on consumerfinance.gov, there is a statute of limitations that can run out, meaning your debt is unenforceable in court. This vital point means that if you are being chased for an old, time-barred debt, you aren’t legally obliged to pay it back. There aren’t many advantages of doing so, either, as the settlement you pay will not be recorded on your credit card.