Posts tagged: cash flow

Specific Finance Options Right For Me

understanding financeLet’s look at what options there are in the financial world and that will give you the foundation to leap from when asking yourself; “What finance Option is right for me?

Secured V’s Unsecured

When a loan is secured, it means that you are putting up a piece of property against the value of the loan. This means that should you fail to pay back this loan, the lender is entitled to claim that property as their own in forfeit or enforce the owner to sell the property and surrender the proceeds of the sale. A mortgage is the best known example of a secured loan type; second loans taken against the value of a home are often home improvement loans used to build extensions, modernise or renovate the property. Credit history affects your ability to acquire a Secured Loan.

An unsecured loan, often known as a personal loan, will often be for a much lower amount of money and the interest rate will be higher. It will also be paid off quicker and often with no penalties for early settlement, allowing the borrower to accrue little interest with astute financial management. No property is secured against the value of the loan so failure to pay will be pursued in the courts and through debt collection agencies. The red tape associated with this gives the borrower ample time to negotiate a method of payment to suit both parties. The amount of the loan and the payment plan is calculated on a current ability to pay back what is owed, projected income and expenditures; credit history is rarely important.

Guarantor Loans

A guarantor loan is a type of unsecured loan where a third party agrees to pay off part or all of the balance if the person taking out the loan is unable to meet the debt. They are also repayable over a shorter period of time and for similar amounts of money and interest rates as the unsecured loans above. They are particularly suitable for those with a poor credit history or none at all and therefore suitable for young people purchasing their first car for example. It is important that the guarantor has a good credit history, home owners are preferred and their ability to pay is just as important as the person taking out the loan. Failure to pay means that the guarantor becomes legally responsible for the debt.

Payday Loans

A very recent phenomenon, payday loans are designed to help in the very short term. If you are still a few days away from getting your wages but are in critical need of money and fast, the payday loan may suit you. Unsecured loans that are supposed to be paid back within days, they can help get you out of immediate difficulty but should not be used for long-term borrowing. As well as the above mentioned loans, as they are unsecured the legal implications for failure to pay are not as severe and credit history is not important, only the current ability to pay it back within the specified time. They can also be useful for the borrower in helping them to build a credit history and encourage good financial practice.

Now Your Interest is Perked

It is very important to understand that the types of loans discussed above will come with a wide range of interest rates. Ensure that you are taking out the right loan for you depending on your personal circumstances and what you are borrowing the money for. A payday loan for example will come with a jaw dropping high rate of interest because they are designed to be paid back within days; they are not a long term solution to financial need. Secured and unsecured loans are taken out over increasingly longer terms, usually counted in months with secured loans being the longest. Mortgages are the longest terms loans and counted in tens of years. With secured loans, the amount of money loaned is usually higher than an unsecured loan and often with a lower rate of interest. When considering taking out a loan of any kind, do take length of time and interest rates into consideration.

Stuart Edge went to university and like many others finished with considerable debts. Therefore he explored the idea of applying for loans to help him to pay it off quickly.

Benefits Of Merchant Cash Advances

Merchant Cash AdvancesStatistics have shown that the majority of failed small businesses lack underfunding and adequate capital investment. As a small business owner, it can be difficult to find the right funding source to meet the investment levels that will ensure your business has a fair chance for success in the market. A merchant cash advance is an alternative cash source that may be an ideal way for your business to get the funding it needs without the added risk of a conventional loan.

Is a Merchant Cash Advance the Same as a Loan?

When a small business loan is contracted by a business owner, the principle amount is paid back through payments that include interest. The interest rates on small business loans tend to be less reasonable for new businesses simply because they lack the merchant credit history that is required to garner a low interest rate. Merchant cash advances are different from loans because they are based on a flat fee rather than interest. The money is paid back automatically without further action by the merchant.

How Does a Merchant Cash Advance Work?

Any business that has accepted credit card sales for more than 60 days is typically eligible for a merchant cash advance. The provider in this case is known as a factoring company. When applying, the factoring company will agree to a lump-sum payment to the applicant business in the form of an agreed amount. The business owner is then free to invest the new capital into his immediate operation. The factoring company then retrieves the investment from credit card sales payments that are made to the merchant from credit card companies in lieu of that merchant until the full amount of the cash advance and the flat-rate fee have been retrieved.

What Are the Benefits to a Merchant Cash Advance?

The most significant benefit is that the flat-rate fee associated with the transaction is highly competitive with interest rates because it does not continually accrue over the duration of the outstanding debt. Another benefit is that the risk of repayment default is lower due to the fact that the initial principle is retrieved according to the natural influx of credit card receipts. The principle is not based on a strict, predetermined timetable.

The merchant cash advance is intended to stimulate an immediate cash flow investment that is then repaid at a prorated pace according to credit card sales. The majority of small businesses that need extra funds can benefit greatly from merchant cash advances.

Fred often writes articles on how small businesses can improve their cash flow problems. He believes that a merchant cash advance company can be an excellent solution for many companies in this situation.

How To Create A Winning Investment Strategy

investment stratgiesWhether playing an online game or investing your money in real life, there are a number of ways in which individuals can build themselves a winning investment strategy. We have to say that, when it comes to investing, there is no specific right way or wrong way, and no one way that will always guarantee to make you successful.

Building a winning investment strategy takes into account a whole range of factors with one overall aim: getting out with a positive return. We looked at some of the things to consider when building your own personal investment strategy.

Specific or General?

Depending on how you plan to invest, you will either want to invest generally with a view to making a return, or look at specific sectors. When it comes to specific sector investing, try to stick to those that you have a little knowledge about and will be able to make educated decisions around. It is often too easy to be drawn into investing in a particular area just because “the returns are great.”

High returns potential generally means high risk, and if you adopt a cavalier attitude you will find that out the hard way!

Learn to Read

Reading investment charts is a little bit like checking out form for horseracing. You know the information is important, but tend to look at it blankly without ever really understanding what it means.

If you can teach yourself how to read financial charts and information, you will find it much easier to get on board with winning investments. Learn how to read a chart to understand the best times to buy and, even more crucially, the best times to sell, so that you can maximise all of your investment returns.

Know Your Limits

Before doing anything involving finances, you should know what you are looking to spend. If you are committing money to a private equity fund, then put in what you want initially, and then leave it there. If you use an online trading platform, ensure you have it set up so that you can automatically sell or stop if you lose a certain amount.

It is easy to be drawn in by attractive looking, high numbers, but very difficult to deal with the repercussions of being financially irresponsible. Ensure this doesn’t happen to you.

Find Resources

Although you will understandably want to build your own investment patterns, it is always worth picking up top tips from those who have been successful in the industry. If you are using a private equity fund then you will have a wealth of experience to help you, while if you are going it alone, for example online, you should make use of blogs, infographics, social media and emailing lists in order to glean as much advice as you possibly can.

Rob is a writer on the private equity marketiplace and has specialised in raising funds for entrepreneurs over a series of years, ranging from local investments to mulit-million pund funding.