The main objective of the debt consolidation companies is to make you debt free. Surviving the credit crunch has become a challenge as corporate giants are closing down shutters and there are many that have declared bankruptcy.
There is a famous quote that says “Survival of the fittest”. Similarly, debt consolidation non profit as well as for-profit companies is competing with each other to offer the best rates to their clients so that they can survive the competition. Undoubtedly, the debt consolidation non profit as well as for profit companies have successfully managed to get many debtors out of debt. However, due to a handful of illegal and unethical debt help companies, the authenticity and the fate of the entire debt help industry is questionable and at stake.
Debt consolidation companies are in business for a common cause and for a larger cause. However, there is no free lunch. So, the quality of service they offer and the fees they charge are 2 important parameters that differentiate the debt help companies from one another.
Investing In Gold - Is it for you? Long ago our currency was backed by gold to make it valuable. Now that the dollar is losing it's value - People are scared to death. Many are turning to other types of investments for a fail safe in our falling economy. Gold is what many think are greener......
Could you be a wealthy franchise owner? There's lots of advantages to owning a franchise. You can operate under an established name, sell products people already want, have a pre-determined pricing structure, and it can be a valuable opportunity. Some may be more beneficial than others, and you'll have to do your homework though! Is a......
Review - Sharebuilder So, you've heard from everyone that you need to get into stocks, but you have no idea what a broker is or why you need one? Share builder is a great start for you to get into the world of trading! If you want to buy stocks then you......
Buried under paperwork - How to start a business the right way I recently did another article where I mentioned starting a home based business instead of falling for one of those product job scams. I was very interested in this for a long time, and did a lot of research on it - So I thought i'd share for anybody......
Get your bills together by eliminating them? Go paperless! If you're more than about twenty years old then you remember the days before online banking. When you had to tediously mark out every transaction by hand in your bank register to keep track of your spending. Thank goodness I don't have to do that! It's easy to get......
Considering All The Options Before Bankruptcy Filing for bankruptcy is a major decision and it is important to consider all the options first. Some people see bankruptcy as an easy way out of debt, but don't realize it will stay with them for years to come. In fact, in most cases bankruptcy stays on your credit......
Dale Siegel Shares the New Rules for Mortgages I was recently fortunate enough to have the opportunity to interview Dale Siegel, author of The New Rules for Mortgages. We exchanged emails in a Q&A format on the subject of mortgages, the housing market, etc. Here are her responses to my questions. Lending Guidelines Frugal Dad: Lenders used to......
Get Rid Of Your Credit Card Debts Credit card debt consolidation is a quite effective option of eliminating your credit card debts. Getting into credit card debt is really harmful for your credit score. It is even worse if you let it accumulate. At present, an average American household carries credit card debts of over $8,000 which......
Avoiding Late Fees The absolute last thing that we need right now considering the economy is unnecessary late fees. The average fee that is charged for a late payment by a credit card company is a surprising $39 dollars. But when you are literally living from one paycheck to the next and trying......
How Capitalism Really Works I was talking to another investor about the BlackStone IPO. He was planning on investing and wanted to know my opinion. My only opinion is that the ticker should have been BS instead of BX! Why is that? Because its a fraud. The only reason Stephen Schwarzman is taking the......
Learning is a big part of my life. I’m addicted to RSS, because it delivers tidbits of knowledge from every source directly to my reader page every morning. I sit down at my computer, check my messages, and see what I can learn today. Which, I honestly think is a good way to start the day! I wish I’d have started doing it years ago, because hopefully without being too cliche “knowledge is power”.
Why don’t I pay somebody to fix my computer? Because I’ve learned to do it myself.
Why don’t I pay somebody to manage my websites? Because I’ve learned to do it myself.
Why don’t I pay somebody to do my taxes? Because I’ve learned to do it myself.
Knowledge like anything else is varying in its degree of neccesity. I might learn how to build something fascinating today, but tomorrow I might just learn a new cookie recipe. Today I’m learning that I am at an important age. The age where people form most of their wonderful ideas, because they don’t know enough yet to be weighed down by the reality of failure. So, I present a few articles that have inspired me today, and hopefully they will do the same for you.
I was instantly interested in this article. Kevin Lylman who is among other things the organizer of the ever popular music event ‘Vans Warped Tour’. I’ve attended this event myself, and enjoyed it a lot. His interview with Forbes gives insight into how he became a music promoter, and the legacy that unfolded. Also how he’s still kicking himself for dishing out a full partnership stake to his lawyer.
I’ve never lived off the classic college diet of ramen noodles. I’ve always been fortunate enough to have a better dining selection. I can however sympathize with Betsy McLaughlin’s need to establish her own financial plan. Like her I never grew up with one, both of my parents were awful with money. Now she’s the CEO of Hot Topic, and definately has her paperwork in check.
Lessons learned from struggling entrepreneurs in other countries I've never been a fan of traditional charities, because you can never be sure where the money is going. Kiva is an organization working with micro lenders world wide to help people better themselves. All of these hopeful business people are quite inspiring, and may have you wondering what's......
Make money from home - Sell affiliate products using facebook ads! Everyone knows facebook now a days. Even your 80 year old auntie is probably working the night away playing farmville! There are many mixed opinions about facebook, but one things is certain – the audience is huge. It's also very diverse! Using some targeted ads, and the right product you......
Review - Sharebuilder So, you've heard from everyone that you need to get into stocks, but you have no idea what a broker is or why you need one? Share builder is a great start for you to get into the world of trading! If you want to buy stocks then you......
Job Scams - Criminals Are Working Harder Than Ever! It's a tough time for the United States economy, and unfortunately there are those out there looking to take advantage of people that already are barely making ends meet. While it's true that there are plenty opportunities to be had it's also important to be weary of fishy situations.......
A little birdie told me to day trade with Twitter. I like to read other personal finance finance blogs; because.. well I that's one of the things I like to learn about! I recently was reading The Wild Investor, and came across a nifty little post that introduced me to Stock Twits I've never been a fan of Twitter, because......
Useful Tips For New Forex Traders With the help of forex market you are going to change your life and to become one of the happiest persons. There is nothing extremely difficult but you also need to be careful and do not think that the money will come to you without any effort. If you would......
How To Become A Network Marketing Guru We have all heard stories about network marketers bringing people into their business by the truck load online. I am sure at some point or another you have wondered how is it done? The process can be broken down to 3 easy steps Step 1. First and foremost you have......
Fighting Back Against the 'Too Big to Fail' Banks I'm convinced that the current administration will fail to significantly alter the regulatory framework that governs the investment banking community, as well as the fee based business model practiced by the institutional mega-banks. Regardless of the new regulations that will be drafted, or the old regulations that might be......
Professional Blogging Roundup: The Early Veteran's Day Edition We hope you enjoy this latest edition of the Professional Corporate Blogging Roundup. We endeavor to bring new and helpful links to your attention by highlighting them. Here are some links we thought were worthwhile from the past week: Corporate Affiliate Product Reviews presents Blogging for Internet Marketers: How to......
Picking the Right Acoustic Instrument For Your Child Picking the right acoustic instrument from your child is important, because the wrong instrument will not inspire your child to learn how to master the concept of playing music. Research has shown that it is extremely beneficial for children to learn a musical instrument. Choosing an instrument that suits them......
Even if you’ve checked your credit, and ran the numbers you may still be under estimating the cost for getting your own home. Here’s a few things to look out for that may cost you a pretty penny.
The majority of the homes for sale right now are either bank owned foreclosures or short sales. A short sale is a house that is not quite foreclosed on yet. Typically the seller is making a deal with the bank that if they can sell their home, and recoup some amount of profit then the bank lets them out of their loan. With the great number of liability properties popping up this makes a good deal for the bank.
There’s nothing wrong with purchasing a short sale or foreclosure (I’m doing so right now!), as long as you’re aware of a few things. Firstly, short sales are not usually quick dealings. You can offer anything you want, but the bank has to approve this offer before you can close. Depending on how picky the lender is this could take many months. If you’ve got time to wait like I do then this is no big deal for you. However, if you need to relocate sooner than later you may need to avoid this type of dealing, and search for regular listings that will close faster.
Secondly, you’ll want to be sure to thoroughly inspect a home before purchasing it. You should do this with any home you purchase, but certainly a foreclosure or short sale. When a person is losing their home it really gives them no reason to take care of it, and you can never be sure what type of damage or repairs the house has sustained in years past. If you’re working with a lender then you will most likely be required to hire a home inspector, but if you pay cash then it may be up to you. I would certainly recommend doing it even if you aren’t strong armed into it. As a side note if you’ve already signed a purchase contract, but the inspection reveals facts that could affect the value of the home that you were not previously aware of you can walk away.
Forgetting closing costs, and down payment here’s some other things you could be expected to pay for out of pocket. Depending on where you live all of these may not be the case, but it is in the state of Florida.
Home inspection $300
Home surveyed (Based on home square footage $80 - $200 a sq foot)
Property Appraisal ($250 -$400)
First year’s taxes (Varies depending on home value)
First year’s insurance premium (Varies by area and home value)
Escrow ($500 for your offer contract, and up to $2,000 after your offer is accepted)
Loan processing fee (I know Bank of America will charge you a pretty $400 to start working on your loan)
Mortgage points (If you mortgage requires points you could pay a couple extra hundred or thousands of dollars)
Private Mortgage Insurance $1,000 a year(If you don’t put enough money down your bank may make you get this to protect THEM.)
Some other factors you should be aware of that could save you big bucks are..
Buy outside the flood zone - Buying in the flood zone will make your insurance much higher. Not to mention you may actually flood!
Watch the property tax assesement - If you use a site like Zillow or even read the paper work that the realtor hands you then you can get an idea of the property taxes you’ll be paying. Similar homes can have very different taxes depending on what they’re assesed at. If your property taxes are $3,000 a year you’ll be paying about $250 a month, but if they’re $1200 a year you’ll make out at $100.
Check out the area - Buying in an undesirable area could affect you should you ever want to resell your home. Pay attention to your potential new neighbors - they’re property affects yours.
Wind mitigation - If you live in a high risk storm area like I do you may want to get wind mitigation. This is where an inspector comes to your property, and either gives you a passing grade or suggests repairs. If you get their seal of approval your insurance rates could drop dramatically. This could include things like a new roof or hurricane shutters.
Be aware of future repairs - If you buy a home that is hooked up to a well or septic system you could be spending a bundle to be hooked up to public utilities down the road. Sometimes the local government even makes it mandatory for you to do so! This can cost thousands of dollars.
Watch for association fees - Some communities may have fees you’re required to pay to live there. These could be anywhere from $50 a month to a couple hundred dollars a month, and aren’t always voluntary. These might be for lawn care, grounds maintenence, club houses, community pools, ect.
Make sure a “TLC home” is really for you - As hard as a real estate agent may try to convince you that a home only needs minor repairs make sure that it’s true! You don’t want to move into your home, and find out that “TLC” costs a lot more than you can afford or it’s work you can’t do. Make sure you have them elaborate on damages - if you don’t think you can handle more than small cosmetic details like paint, and carpet then keep looking.
Do a walkthrough before closing - In this long drawn out process you’ll want to make sure you walk the home again before you close to make sure nothing has changed. If you buy a home with no warranty (most foreclosures and short sales are) you’ll be stuck with repairs.
Be present for your inspection - You’ll want to know everything that the home inspector finds. Make sure you walk with him, and that you really learn about what you’re purchasing.
How To Get a Killer Deal On A House It's truly a buyer's market right now for those that are financially able. If you've been wanting to buy a home for a while this could be your opportunity to get an awesome deal. Here's some things you may want to look out for. I'm currently in the process of......
How High Of A Risk Is Your Landlord? There's plenty people down on their luck in the housing market so did you ever stop to think about your land lord's financial situation? Considering how many properties they own, empty houses everywhere, and even their own personal debt may save you big trouble! You might be the only......
Get paid to write! Real cash for your original or reprint articles! Tired of getting pennies for your writing, and want to delve into the realm of real freelance writing? Constant-Content could be the ticket for you! Constant-Content is different from most other writing sites. Here you can really get paid to write about what you want to, much like Associated Content.......
15 ways to save every month Kill your land line phone (You're paying for a cellphone anyway!) $40+/a month Don't need or want this service! My cell plan provides more than enough minutes (and they're anytime! No crappy long distance service for me!), and half the calls on your land line will be telemarketers anyway. Cut......
Could you be a wealthy franchise owner? There's lots of advantages to owning a franchise. You can operate under an established name, sell products people already want, have a pre-determined pricing structure, and it can be a valuable opportunity. Some may be more beneficial than others, and you'll have to do your homework though! Is a......
The Master List - 66 Ways to Save Money So, you think you know the best ways to save money? Do ya? Well, the government thinks that they know some of the best ways to save money too...which is kind of funny because they like wasting so much of it. But putting that aside, they have assembled a master......
Learn How to Repair a Flooded Home After a flood, it may seem as if your home and your possessions are beyond hope, but many of those belongings can likely be repaired. With the right process, you can clean up, dry out, rebuild and reoccupy your home much sooner than you may have previously imagined. First and......
How to Afford to be a Stay at Home Wife or Mom For over four years now, my wife and I have enjoyed living off one income. While our lifestyle might not be appealing to some, we absolutely love it. Every day I thank God that he has allowed our family to grow so close. It is a blessing my wife is......
Benefits of Home Warranty Policies Homeowners typically want to protect all that they own and this usually means purchasing an insurance policy for their home and valuables. However, this will not provide any assistance if something just stops working or if something in the home is damaged as a result of typical use. In this......
Obama - Show me the Money Every single day I have a friend, family member or co-worker talking to me about politics/economics. Â While, I don't see myself as above intelligent, I think am able to formulate and communicate an argument (maybe that does make me smarter lol JOKING!). Â Well today, I had a very close friend......
It’s always a cat and mouse game to get the best interest rates. Don’t just believe whatever your local banker tells you. They’re getting paid to secure your investment! Just because they say that’s the best rate available doesn’t mean it is.
I surprised a bank employee who was trying to get me to get into an investment account when I told her how I’d calculated out how breaking a CD, taking a penalty, and moving to another bank would actually save me money. Since I was infact paying off a car loan, and investing in a new CD that would be several points higher than what they were offering. It pays to do your home work.
Sometimes you may have to go beyond your home town to get the best rates though! My local bank of choice has been Sun Trust partly because of the abundence of free ATMs, but mostly because at the time they were offering me a very attractive CD rate. Since then their numbers have reached almost painful lows. They were offering my something in the 2% range some months ago, and I told them no thanks.
I moved my cash investment to Capital One, and got a much more attractive 5.50% - since I’ve locked in my rate their tiers have dropped significantly too. I also had a nice High Yield Savings for 4% that has since took a tumble.
I still believe the best deals are online, and I’m even pondering an elaborate strategy of bouncing money from one account to the other when the return gets too low to bare it anymore.
The amount of time you plan to invest, and the amount of money you have typically effect the outcome of your interest rate. Gmac is looking promising, but no clue how long they’ll hold that position. I’m looking into an account with them as I’m no longer impressed with Capital One.
Savings Accounts
Capital One - 3 % * On balances over $10k (I’d just invest that amount in a CD for higher return..)
GMAC - 3.20 % (Starting at $500)
At first glance it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but if you read the fine print you’ll see that any investment under $10,000 will only garner you a 1.5% interest rate.. ouch.
Certificate Of Deposits
Again the differences aren’t apparent until you read the fine print, and compare the amount of time you have to invest, and amount of cash you have to put in to the rate you’ll be getting.
Capital One - 4.00% (Minimum $5,000 deposit, and a term of 5 years)
GMAC - 4.00% (Minimum of $500, and a term of 5 years)
Capital One’s highest rate is actually 4.75%, but you’ll have to invest for an additional 5 years to get that extra bit! Gmac has much better deals for shorter term CDs or people without a lot to invest.
12 months - 3.75%
18 months - 3.50%
2 years - 3.65%
If you noticed the fee tiers shrink a bit when you get into certain date ranges. I would presume that’s supposed to make you hand over your money for the longest amount of time since it offers the most attractive rate.
I will say Capital One has an interesting account that I haven’t tried yet. It offers a lower interest rate than their main account, but also gives you rewards for savings instead of spending. Though, since I never got anything in the way of rewards from their credit cards I asssumed their saving account would be the same way, and took a higher interest rate instead. If anybody has tried this account I’d love to hear how it went for you though!
Banks are being stingy with their interest rates, and you’re going to have to bum around for the deal that works best for you. If all of this seems like too much work you might want to go with a longer CD term if you don’t need your money for too long. Be careful in calculating though or you’ll have to pay a fee to get your funds. I think CDs are a good balance of stablity, and liquid funds personally. Some people need that lingering ‘penalty’ to keep them from spending up their savings on every whim! My Uncle comes to mind - He told his family they’d be having a cheap Christmas, and then he bought a boat.
Investing In Gold - Is it for you? Long ago our currency was backed by gold to make it valuable. Now that the dollar is losing it's value - People are scared to death. Many are turning to other types of investments for a fail safe in our falling economy. Gold is what many think are greener......
Why you shouldn't ask for a lower credit card interest rate! While it seems like a good deal you really might be doing yourself more harm than good to get a lower rate. A high interest rate can cost you lots of cash every month, but a lower one might cost you more in the long term. Credit card companies......
15 ways to save every month Kill your land line phone (You're paying for a cellphone anyway!) $40+/a month Don't need or want this service! My cell plan provides more than enough minutes (and they're anytime! No crappy long distance service for me!), and half the calls on your land line will be telemarketers anyway. Cut......
Eight things you could do with the new home owner's credit! I was originally very critical of the new 'tax credit', because of the wording which lead people to believe it was free money. While I am in the market for a new home in the time period where it's claimable - I'd thought about NOT doing so just, because......
A little birdie told me to day trade with Twitter. I like to read other personal finance finance blogs; because.. well I that's one of the things I like to learn about! I recently was reading The Wild Investor, and came across a nifty little post that introduced me to Stock Twits I've never been a fan of Twitter, because......
Three Month CD at First Century Bank, Gainsville, Georgia First Century Bank of Gainsville, Georgia has by far the best APY of three month CD interest rates available, standing at 1.35 percent at this time. I'm doing a review on them because they are the best rates at this time for a place to put your short-term money, but......
Consider Municipal Bond Funds for Your Fixed Income and Cash Investments Warning: Municipal bonds can be boring. But, if you are looking to squeeze a little more yield out of your fixed income and cash-equivalent investments, keep reading. But while you are reading, be sure you monitor all of the developments in the market that have occurred in 2008 and 2009. Freddie......
Earning 11.89% Interest By Lending Money At Lending Club. Back in February 2008, I wrote a post titled "Why I Started Lending Money With Prosper And Lending Club" that outlined why I had veered from my savings account mentality into the world of peer-to-peer lending. Basically, I wanted to try to beat the rate that my online bank was......
Different Types of Short Term Investments Short term investments are the most ideal form of investing if you want to invest over a period that is relatively short. Cash manager accounts make it possible to access your money whenever you need to. Fixed term deposit investments secure your money for the entire length of the term.......
How to Create a CD Ladder The current era of historically low interest rates has been great for borrowers, but it stinks for those who’d rather save their money. I was fortunate to find a local bank that offered a money market account at 2.25% last year, but after a couple extensions, I received notice that......
Related Posts 
Investing In Gold - Is it for you? Long ago our currency was backed by gold to make it valuable. Now that the dollar is losing it's value - People are scared to death. Many are turning to other types of investments for a fail safe in our falling economy. Gold is what many think are greener...... 
Could you be a wealthy franchise owner? There's lots of advantages to owning a franchise. You can operate under an established name, sell products people already want, have a pre-determined pricing structure, and it can be a valuable opportunity. Some may be more beneficial than others, and you'll have to do your homework though! Is a...... 
Review - Sharebuilder So, you've heard from everyone that you need to get into stocks, but you have no idea what a broker is or why you need one? Share builder is a great start for you to get into the world of trading! If you want to buy stocks then you...... 
Buried under paperwork - How to start a business the right way I recently did another article where I mentioned starting a home based business instead of falling for one of those product job scams. I was very interested in this for a long time, and did a lot of research on it - So I thought i'd share for anybody...... 
Get your bills together by eliminating them? Go paperless! If you're more than about twenty years old then you remember the days before online banking. When you had to tediously mark out every transaction by hand in your bank register to keep track of your spending. Thank goodness I don't have to do that! It's easy to get...... 
Considering All The Options Before Bankruptcy Filing for bankruptcy is a major decision and it is important to consider all the options first. Some people see bankruptcy as an easy way out of debt, but don't realize it will stay with them for years to come. In fact, in most cases bankruptcy stays on your credit...... 
Dale Siegel Shares the New Rules for Mortgages I was recently fortunate enough to have the opportunity to interview Dale Siegel, author of The New Rules for Mortgages. We exchanged emails in a Q&A format on the subject of mortgages, the housing market, etc. Here are her responses to my questions. Lending Guidelines Frugal Dad: Lenders used to...... 
Get Rid Of Your Credit Card Debts Credit card debt consolidation is a quite effective option of eliminating your credit card debts. Getting into credit card debt is really harmful for your credit score. It is even worse if you let it accumulate. At present, an average American household carries credit card debts of over $8,000 which...... 
Avoiding Late Fees The absolute last thing that we need right now considering the economy is unnecessary late fees. The average fee that is charged for a late payment by a credit card company is a surprising $39 dollars. But when you are literally living from one paycheck to the next and trying...... 
Recent Comments