Category: Personal Finance

Keeping Score: How To Get Your Credit Rating Back In The Black

score your creditIn the modern era, just about the entire economy is built around credit. While many people think of credit and debt as inherently scary things, the truth is that most people find them to be incredibly useful. Whether you’re applying for a mortgage, buying a car, or paying for something on your credit card, your credit score is both affected by everything that you do and impacts what you’re able to do. However, a lot of people struggle with how they can go about improving their credit score. For something so important, it’s shocking just how many people don’t actually know how to go about improving it. With that in mind, here are some things that you can do to get your credit rating out of the red and into the black.

Consolidate your debts

Debt isn’t necessarily a bad thing when it comes to your credit rating. After all, being able to borrow money and show that you can pay it back in full and on time is one of the very best ways to building up a decent credit score. However, having a lot of debt from different creditors can have a pretty negative impact on your credit score and can make lenders much less likely to trust you with their money. Sites like consolidated.credit can help you to consolidate your debts and combine them into a single monthly payment. Not only can this improve your credit score but it can potentially help to reduce your monthly outgoings significantly.

Reduce your spending

One of the biggest issues for a lot of people is simply that they fail to pay close enough attention to how much they’re spending. Sure, you might not spend large amounts all at once, but it’s the little purchases here and there that actually make all the difference. It’s incredibly easy for those purchases to add up and before you know it you’re spending far more than you can actually afford. Ending up in your overdraft every month is a surefire way to wreak havoc with your credit rating and leave lenders highly reluctant to do any dealings with you at all.

Speak to the experts

Sometimes your financial situation can be so bad that it feels like you can’t deal with it on your own. If that’s the case, then don’t panic. There are plenty of organisations and debt based charities that can help you to manage your finances better and help to provide you with plans to pull yourself out of debt and improve your credit rating. Remember, no matter how bad things get, there are always ways to pull yourself back out and take back control of your finances.

Improving your credit rating isn’t necessarily going to be something that you can achieve right away. There’s a good chance that it’s going to require a good deal of discipline and patience from you. However, it’s important that you hold onto it because it’s simply too important to ignore. There are so many things in life that you cannot do without decent credit.

4 Ways To Start A Business When You’ve Got Bad Credit

bad money businessWhen you get yourself into financial trouble, your credit score is going to suffer. Having a bad credit score affects in so many ways and it’s not a position you want to be in. Trying to borrow money or buy things on credit is a nightmare so your dream of starting a business seems so out of reach. But there’s no need to give up on your dreams just because you’ve got bad credit. It’s going to be made more difficult by your low credit score but if you’re serious about it, there are ways to deal with it. If you’re worried about your credit score affecting your business goals, check out these tips to get around it.

Increase Your Score

The first thing you need to do is to try to increase that credit score, even the smallest increases will help your situation no end. Paying down debts is the simplest way to do it. If you’ve borrowed a lot of money, seek the services of companies like consolidation.creditcard who can help you to combine all of those separate debts into one easy to manage payment. Clearing those debts will put you in a better financial situation and improve your score so it’s easier to borrow the start-up capital that you need for your new business.

Find A Partner

Having a business partner is always a bonus. Two heads are better than one and it also helps to reduce the financial strain that starting a business will put on you. If you’re struggling to get loans in your name, consider collaborating with a business partner that has better credit than you. They will be able to borrow the money that you need for start-up costs but make sure that you make clear agreements beforehand because they will be shouldering the lion’s share of the risk so you need to be bringing something to the table as well.

Crowdfunding

The internet has given birth to lots of alternative lending streams that aren’t bothered about your credit score at all. Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter are perfect for your situation because they offer a platform where you can showcase your business idea. If people like it, they can make small donations to help towards your costs. It runs solely on the quality of your idea so you aren’t hindered by any financial mistakes you’ve made in the past.

Peer To Peer Lending

Another new lending stream that has started to become more relevant in the past couple of years is peer to peer lending. These sites pair up investors that are looking for opportunities with entrepreneurs that are looking for alternate lending streams. Again, you won’t be bound by your credit score and you can find investors that are willing to take a chance on you based on your ideas rather than your financial history.

Having bad credit makes it more difficult to start a business, but there are so many successful businesses out there that are run by people that have been bankrupt multiple times, so don’t give up on your dream of owning your own business.

The Best Ways To Keep On Top Of Your Finances

top financial positionKeeping your finances in check is a very important thing to do in the 21st century. You’re going to need to be able to keep everything where it is because the world revolves around money! Everything you need and want you have to pay for with money, including your house and food, so it’s important to make sure it’s all in order so you don’t go without anything, but how can you do it? Well, if you read on, you’ll learn how!

Keep A Good Credit Score

Credit scores have been around for a while but have only recently become used, so what is it? Well, your credit score is a representation of how good your financial standings are in terms of credit. It takes into account things like how much credit has been used in your past, how long it’s taken you to pay it back and if there were any discrepancies with the payment. When you apply for a loan, banks will look at your credit score and judge you off it; if it’s in a poor state then they’re going to be likely to turn you down for the applied loan, however if your credit score is good then you’re going to be in the green and get your loan! Not getting loans can become a very serious problem if you need to money urgently, so we need to find a way around this, and luckily there is. Websites like usarepaircreditinc.com are able to repair your credit score by filtering through very small loans and repayments through your account, improving your credit score so you don’t have to worry about getting turned down for a loan ever again!

Opening A Savings Account

Savings accounts are brilliant ways to raise money without actually having to do anything or invest anywhere, so what are they? They are small accounts that are attached to your main bank account and serve as a way to store money. Each month, your savings account will take a predetermined amount of money from your main bank account into your savings account, which will stack up and accumulate after a while. You can open these accounts from banks like american express, and the real beauty of them is revealed once you’ve been paying into them for a few years. You’re going to have a sum of money that has interest on it so that it grows within the account, which can be a huge amount depending on how long you leave it! This can get you through a rainy day when you need funds but don’t have the available in your bank account. Another good thing about them is that they are temptation free; you need not worry about accidently spending what is in your savings account because you are unable to access it with your card, perfect for anyone that might find themselves buying extra things because they think the money is there which makes it a great tool for keeping on top of your money.

Debt Consolidation

Having and dealing with debt is part of life, and an unavoidable one at that too! Debt just means something that you need to pay back, and with the amount of things we have to borrow money for in the 21st century this covers a lot of things. Debt can come in the form of credit card payments, loan repayments, mortgages and so on, and the single thing that makes them a pain is how many there are. Debts become a problem when you’ve got lots of them; they become hard to follow and track, which means that you’re going to struggle a bit trying to work out how much money is going out of your account each month to what company! This means it’s more difficult to budget, meaning that life gets more difficult. However there is a solution. Debt consolidation loans that you can find more about if you read on at DebtConsolidationUSA.com, operate in a way that allows all of your debt repayments to be funneled into one, monthly repayment. This reduces the amount of tracking down money you have to do, you know how much you’re going to have to pay at the end of the month in one easy instalment making life easier for you!

Smart Meters

This is a great way to keep a track of how much you’re going to be spending on your utility bills at the end of the month! Smart meters are installed into your system, and it will gather data from all of the different sources your house pulls from, mainly being electricity, gas and water. It will be able to read how much of each commodity you have used, and by inputting how much you pay for a given volume or measurement of each of the commodities, it can tell you how much you’ve used and therefore how much it’s going to cost at the end of the month. It will be able to make basic predictions about your resource usage so you can effectively plan for the month ahead by knowing how much your bills are going to be instead of being stuck doing guesswork like the days of old!

Coupon Shopping

Everyone loves coupons; they’re given to us by supermarkets and other retailers and give us brilliant discounts that we then go and take full advantage of, but there is a problem with them. Nothing in the world comes for free, and unfortunately neither do coupons; they’re given away when a customer spends over a certain amount, which means that if you don’t reach the quota like a lot of us won’t, you’re not going to be eligible for the coupon and this means you’re going to miss out! So what can we do to circumvent this? Well, websites like groupon exist to serve this purpose for us. They have online coupons available for free, for everyone to use however they’re only available for a limited time so if you’re wanting to use something for a later date it’s best to do it sooner rather than later! They’re able to do this because the company coupons are a form of advertising, meaning that it’s completely legal and nothing for you to worry about getting in trouble for. Some coupon sites are illegal though, so you will have to use your head and avoid websites that look dodgy to save yourself from having a nightmare!

Budgeting Properly

Budgeting is the key to managing your finances properly, it’s an essential skill that you need to learn in order to be able to properly manage your finances. Budgeting involves being able to plan out where your money is going to go for the next month, or where it should be going at least! You’re going to have to know how much you spend each month on each bill that you have to pay, as well as for food and taking into account how much money you’re going to be putting away each month! This can all be very difficult to do when you’re starting off and chances are that you’re not going to be able to do it very well, but there is a helping hand available to you! Online budget planners are available for free on the internet, which you should take advantage of if you find yourself struggling! They’re able to take out all of the pain of trying to do all the maths work manually; instead, these planners do it for you and show how much money you’re going to have at the end of the month and how much you should be saving each payday to keep some spare.

It’s recommended to do all of these things to make sure that you keep on top of everything to do with your money, if you have a good credit score you’re not going to have to worry about getting refused for a loan when you need it most, you’ll have a savings account that you can dip into as and when you need it for those days that cost just the little bit extra, you could have yourself a debt consolidation loan to help you pay back all those small niggling debts that somehow creep up on you, a smart meter so you know exactly what your bills are going to be that month too. And then to top it all off you’ll have loads of coupons at your disposal to make your life cheaper and you’ll have a proper budget so you know what your plan for your money is for the month! When you’ve got all this income, it’s important to not only know where to spend it, but how to protect it once you’ve spent it. If you go out and buy something new with all your savings, only for it to break, you’ve just lost yourself a lot of money, so if you want to know how to keep what you invest in safe then read this!

3 Ways You Must Protect Your Earnings

Knowing how to protect your earnings is an absolute must if you’re going to avoid bad financial situations befalling you both now and in the future. Luckily, we’re here to give you a few ideas on how to do just that. Here are 3 ways you can protect your earnings:

Have A Savings Safety Net

Having a savings safety net is crucial, whatever job you do and however much you earn. Consider every eventuality for a moment. Is there a chance somebody could fall ill? Could you take a pay cut? Could you lose your job? Many of these things can happen to anybody at any time. A savings safety net takes a while to build up, but when you experience an emergency, you’ll be glad it’s there.

Take Out Income Protection Insurance

Income protection insurance will help you if anything happens to your income in the long run. This is especially helpful if you are a contractor or a freelancer who could fall ill and lose out on cash. You’ll be seriously glad you got the appropriate insurance cover, even if just for peace of mind.

Use Your Money In Smart Ways

Make sure you use the money you have in smart ways. You should invest as well as save, as investing is one of the only ways to make a great return on your cash. You should also know when to lease or buy, as this can make a huge difference to your finances overall. Take a look at the infographic below for more information:


credit to auto.loan

Is Bankruptcy The End… Or a New Beginning?

are you bankruptShakespeare once said “Neither a lender nor a borrower be”. That’s a nice sentiment, but the bard didn’t live in an era of subprime mortgages, negative equity and business insolvency. In his day, all you had to do was write a few sonnets for a wealthy patron and you were golden. In the 21st century, however, lending and borrowing are not only essential in a realistic business climate, they’re the basis of our entire global economy.

In both personal and business finances, peaks and troughs are inevitable, and even the most successful among us have our rough times. From hip hop icon 50 Cent to Mark Twain, many of successful business and creative types face stared down bankruptcy and come through it stronger than ever. Even the billionaire president Donald Trump has been declared bankrupt four times.

Myriad circumstances may result in individuals and businesses filing for bankruptcy. While it’s undeniably a stressful and upsetting experience, it’s important to remember that though there are certainly repercussions following bankruptcy, by no means is it the end.

If bankruptcy is looking like a possibility, or even an inevitability here are some tips that will help you to make an informed decision whether or not to file:

Remember… You are not alone

Facing bankruptcy and feel like an isolating experience, but you are most assuredly not alone. In fact, over 800,000 people applied for bankruptcy in federal court last year. Filing will neither make you a social pariah nor mark you out as a failure. It is, however, important that you do it right, so hiring a bankruptcy attorney should be one of your highest priorities. Your spouse or partner doesn’t even need to file alongside you.

There are different kinds of bankruptcy

In the US there are two forms of bankruptcy; Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 and which you file for will depend on your circumstances. A Chapter 7 requires the business or individual’s assets to be liquidated, using them to pay creditors as much of the outstanding debt as possible. A trustee will be appointed to facilitate the liquidation and ensure that creditors are paid in proportion to the debt. A Chapter 11, on the other hand, reorganizes the debts and adjusts them in terms of repayment amounts and interest rates (much like consolidation).

You may still be able to get credit

You may feel that it’s the end for you and your business, but lines of credit will still be open to you. Remember, however, that over-reliance on credit is what leads many to bankruptcy in the first place. Bankruptcy is a highly instructive tool for many as it teaches them to really appreciate the importance of budgeting and financial planning. That said, the bankruptcy is not quite as prohibitive in terms of credit as many believe.

But it’s important to be realistic

Bankruptcy is intended to wipe the slate clean. It’s a fresh start for businesses and individuals, but it’s not without financial consequences. Credit gets harder to come by (but not impossible) and it could have repercussions on your business borrowing. Bankruptcy can help you but it should also be considered a last resort. You should first consider an alternative such as a consolidation plan before filing for bankruptcy.