2 What to Expect from Credit Counseling

Across the country, many people are trying to juggle overdue bills while living from paycheck to paycheck. Credit counseling can often provide the tools and resources consumers need to assist them in learning how to develop a good budget and get on track financially. When you first consider working with a credit counseling company, it is quite common to have questions about what to expect.

A reputable agency will provide you with advice regarding money management, as well as assist you in preparing a budget. They will also often provide you with complementary money management resources and workshops. Be prepared for the initial counseling session to last a minimum of one hour. During the initial session, your counselor will perform a careful review of all of your current debt. At this time, you will need to be prepared to discuss both your income and expenses. It can be beneficial to have all of your bills and statements readily available for this review. Although you may find it uncomfortable to discuss you finances, it is much better to be open and honest regarding your current financial situation. You are certainly not alone in your situation. As of today, there are many people facing financial hardships through no fault of their own.

Your credit counselor will discuss your financial situation with you in detail and develop a plan that is personalized to your situation. Based upon the amount of debt you currently have, your counselor may also recommend a debt management plan that will allow you to make monthly debt payments directly to the credit counseling agency so that they can disburse the payments to your creditors. In turn, they will pay your creditors on your behalf. This can often be beneficial because the counselor will be able to lower interest rates and negotiate late fees with your creditors.

If you have reached the point where you are being harassed by creditors and collection agencies due to late payments, a credit counseling service can also help to put a stop to collection calls. This alone can prove to be a tremendous relief. Your credit counseling service can also provide you with an array of educational tools that can assist you in learning to plan for financial emergencies. If you are considering buying a home in the future, your counselor can educate you about what you need to know before making such a large purchase. Credit counselors can even assist you in getting back on track if you are having difficulty making your mortgage payments. Follow-up sessions may then be scheduled as needed to help you stay on track for reaching your financial goals.

Credit counseling may be beneficial if you find that you are not able to pay the minimum balances on your credit cards every month or are consistently late on one or more bills.

By working with a reputable credit counseling service, it’s possible to take control of your finances and develop a debt management plan that will assist you in budgeting your income and paying off your debt quickly.

Jennifer Willard is a freelance writer and blogger. She writes for her own personal finance blog and is a contributor for CreditGUARD, a non-profit debt counseling agency.

0 Understanding the Role of a Good Billing Solution in a Business

The business with a comprehensive billing system will definitely achieve success in the industry. The revenue for a business and efficient management of the same will definitely help the business as a whole to excel in this industry. Efficient and dynamic billing solutions help the business to monetize and manage their business relationships better, from which they are able to reap benefits in the longer run as well. Efficient billing solutions help the business houses to manage, administer and handle the daily operations like invoice generations, periodical administration of the financial standards etc in a scientific and effective manner. 

 

These solutions provide management to administer their financial affairs as per the nature of the products and services. These also help the management from the auditing perspective and overall finance management. These solutions are designed to cater the requirement of the companies as per their business culture and pre-programmed financial practices. This multipurpose financial tool helps a company to make a lot of money but surprisingly it is an extremely cost effective tool, which does not require huge investment. This tool definitely enables a company to gain a competitive edge over its competitors in this highly competitive market. 

 

Industries which are benefited

These financial management tools help the companies to manage their billing and revenue affairs effectively. Most vitally the business houses are now able to manage their relationships with their parties, such as vendors, clients etc efficiently. These tools have gained tremendous popularity and these have been designed to cater the needs of all types of business functions in the industry. These tools are suitable to be used in the industries like Communication and allied service providing industries, Different financial institutions e.g. Banks, NBFCs, Insurance companies, different consulting companies engaged in collaboration and conferencing, business houses with innovative styles of business etc.

The characteristics of these tools

There are different features of these tools. They help the business houses in different ways and in different functions. The main features are listed below:

• Charge calculation of recurring nature, especially contemporaneous unit based and seat based charge calculations along with the option of prorated calculations
• Different types of fixed and interim charge calculations on the basis of the activation of the services, usage summary and expiration of the validity or contract of the services etc
• Unit per minute or second calculation, manned seat calculation, unit per cost calculation etc can be done
• Pre programmed algorithms for successful pricing function
• Different calculations on various discounts
• Periodical and unique billing cycle generation along with the feature of end of the period reports
• These are flexible enough to be customized as per the accounting practices and billing nature. Companies can customize these solutions to cater their specific needs
• Bill generation for events with multiple stages and services, capability of measuring and generating the bills of different transactions as per the nature of the services and products
• The solution providers offer flexibilities to the customers by providing round the clock support and resolution to all types of issues and concerns
• Comprehensive product catalogue helps the customer to choose their required solutions along with the feature of customization

The benefits which can be derived from this solution

The business houses can experience multiple benefits by using this solution. The approach of the companies changes altogether after the integration of this billing solution into their core financial management. Some of the key advantages which can be derived from this solution are:

• Suppleness and Adaptability – This solution enables the business houses to adapt to varied situations in quick time. The most complex scenarios can be handled and business relationships can also be maintained properly by using this financial tool
• Flexibility in terms of Marketing – In case of new products and services the companies can fit them into this tool without any hassle and delay
• Cost of Operations gets reduced – Integration of this tool enables the companies to engage lesser numbers of staffs as it helps them to automate the process to great extent
• Support the associated functions related to the audits – The application environment provided by this tool help the companies to resolve the customer issues and other operational flaws very fast
• Quick integration – This is primarily a web based tool and does not require much time for the integration with the core system

Author Bio:

Criss Derek is one of the veterans of financial industry and has loads of experience regarding the various financial management tools. His blogs on Billing Solutions are useful to understand the criticality of successful financial tools.

0 Fiscal Cliff and Housing

It seems that for now we have avoided the fiscal cliff which was supposed to take effect in 2013. It is considered as an economically damaging set of tax increases and spending reductions which is good news for the housing industry, but for how long? The enactment of H.R. 8 or the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 has the following provisions; it has increased income tax, increase in capital gain and dividend rates, exemption and deduction phase-out for all individuals with high-income.It has made permanent the alternative minimum tax relief and has increased the federal estate, gift and generation-skipping tax.

There will also be an extension of certain tax breaks but for a limited time which is generally two years for various business credits, exemptions including new markets tax credit, work opportunity tax credit, and the exclusion of gain on the disposition of certain small business stock. Well, this extension from the Tax breaks are good for home buyers since it will help lessen the number of foreclosure and will help borrowers whose mortgage is upside down to stay in their homes. You may recall, that a law was signed in 2007 stating that debt relief modifications, foreclosures and homes in short sale were no longer taxable and it was supposed to end in 2012. Now, if these tax breaks were not extended, homeowners would not agree in putting their homes in short sale because they would then be facing the tax bill and they would also not agree to the principal reduction loan modification which is way more successful than any other modifications because it leaves the principal as is. This latest development in legislation would do “mostly” good for the people. It somehow prevented the massive tax hikes and deep government spending cuts which could trigger the country to go into recession again. About ninety percent of the new tax revenue which will be collected for the year will come from families who are earning more than 1 million dollar annually. Meaning, only 1 percent of the population will be affected.

However, the negative part of the deal would be; the act did not extend the 2% reduction in Social Security portion of the FICA tax collected from wages, so as a result, a worker who earns a total of $113,000 per Social Security ceiling for 2013 will see an increase in taxes from his earnings of $2,274 this year. If an individual’s income is above $250,000 then expect the tax rate on stock dividends to exceed the current 15% level. Explained as; each extra dollar earned as investment income which includes dividends and long-term capital gains are now subject to the 15% rate plus a 3.8% surcharge under the Affordable Care Act or the “Obama Care” making now a total levy of 18.8% on your income.

In two weeks time the Congress will meet again to raise the debt ceiling. Well, whatever the outcome would be, ordinary citizens are being called to act and let their voices be heard by calling their representatives and let them hear your thoughts on this before it takes effect on March 1, 2013.

About the Author:

Georges Kfoury is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Leaderscorp Financial Inc. headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, CA, a leading provider of mortgage financing dedicated towards providing affordable home loans. He founded the company way back 2003 from a ground level, without having the mortgage background. In spite of this, he was able to immediately take the company a level of generating annual income ranging from 8 to 10 million dollars.

5 Housing Market Trend in Chicago

The year of 2012 has had its ups and downs, and the following is information on the housing market trends last year in the Chicago area.

Housing market trends are famous for changing and every year there are different factors and issues that determine if it is a good year for buyers or a good year for sellers, or something in-between.

During 2012 the housing market trend in Chicago has been reported to be on the decline, according to the Trulia report. The average sale price for houses in the Chicago area between January and March was $160,750, which is a little over a 13 percent decline when compared to the price in 2011.

Market May Be Better For Buyers, Than Sellers
While this may be good for buyers, it isn’t good news for people trying to sell their homes who may be facing a situation where their homes are worth less than they paid for them. This is a bad issue that causes home sellers to lose money on sales, and even in some extreme cases, they may not even break even when they sell their homes.

The statistics also show that as of April 2012 the Chicago market price for each square foot of property was $124, which is also a decline from the same time in 2011 by a little over 12 percent.

Certain Neighborhoods Are Better Than Others

The market trend in the Chicago housing arena does show, however, that certain neighborhoods are doing better in sales than others. The ones that were doing better this year include North Side, Lincoln Park, the Loop, Wicker Park, De Paul and Bucktown.

Reports say that sales are brisk in those areas and buyers are investing in housing there, although no specific reason for it was listed in the Trulia report.

Chicago area, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, is on par with the rest of the country on the number of distressed homes at about 35 percent, while it is only one point lower on the national housing market. However, there have still been a lot of foreclosures in the Chicago area, according to the Chicago Tribune, which reported on the market showing a lot of vacant homes that were going unsold.

Experts Hope For Change in Trends

Experts are reporting that the Chicago market for housing is not very stable this year and that there is much financial uncertainty. Due to this, people who normally invest in the real estate market are standing by to see what transpires, as it is possible the housing prices will rise. The potential investors were heartened by recent reports from the Illinois Association of Realtors sales data for October, which showed an increase in the number of homes sold from the beginning of 2011. In fact, this rise is the best in the past six years for homes being sold in the Chicago area and have significantly gone up in the past two years.

Housing Time On the Market

The amount of homes for sale that are listed in the Chicago area is also a number that goes up and down. It is sometimes hard to get an accurate number in this area though, as many houses that are under a contract never close and this could cause flawed data to be counted. Even so, the trend has been for a rise in the homes available for sale, though when the recent home tax credit of $8,000 expired it brought this number way down in August of 2012.

However, while this was bad news for buyers, it means good news for sellers since there will be less properties on the market for people who want to buy to choose from. The only problem is that since the job market has not been good as of late, there are less people who can actually afford to buy these available houses.

The bottom line is that just like in many other communities and metro areas, the housing market in the Chicago area has had its share of ups and downs. If you are trying to either buy or sell a home, then you should talk to a realtor for the latest information and advice.

2 7 Areas Of Interest - The Lender Will Pick His Nose At While Loaning You Money

Many lenders find it hard to give loans especially to people with bad credit .Financial Advisors are keen a when advising their clients to follow their repayment periods and interests as stipulated once a loan is given. Fortunately, it is possible to get a loan for bad credit people but it is not easy, lenders will give such loans with high interest rates since they pose a risk to the lender. 

Loan lenders always look out for the following when they are just about to give you a loan.

 1. Possibility of giving you a payday loan
 Every lender needs to have an understanding on the different types of loans they offer. Moreover, they will be able to advise potential borrowers on the right loans to pick. When borrowing a loan you need to consider whether you need a short term or long-term loan. Payday loans are short-term loans given strictly on your ability to repay them. Applying for a payday loan does not affect the effect of your credit score unless you fail to repay the loan. Thus is it advisable to use quick cash in unexpected situations. 
2. The possibility of having credible cosigner 
When applying for a loan, lending institutions always check your credit background. Therefore, it is wise to apply for a loan with a cosigner. A cosigner is a family member or a friend who has a good credit history. The cosigner agrees to take responsibility for the loan if you do not make the payments. When you are listed as a borrower on the loan with a cosigner, you get higher chances of getting the loan. Lenders easily give loans to a borrower who is cosigned. 
3. Would you have some collateral?
 Collateral is property that you own that can be used to secure a loan. Most people offer homes and vehicles forms of collateral. It is a way that gives lenders confidence in your ability to repay the loan. Most financial lenders prefer giving loans with such security to ensure you can be accountable.
4. What is your placement on Credit? 
Higher credit scores make qualifying for loans easier. Credit scores are affected by collection accounts, and available credit. Paying off debts will increase your available credit and increase your credit scores. Financial lenders are keen to ensure you have small amounts of unpaid debts and good credit scores before lending.
 5. Term of refunding your loan
 Term refers to the length of time you will take to repay the loan. This repayment period could take five years for a general-purpose loan. Therefore, a lender is able to verify depending on the amount of money he has offered, how long the repayment period will take. 
6. Price of your loan
 This implies the cost on taking out the loan. Most financial lenders are able to set the price depending on two factors - interest rates and charges. Different lenders vary in price depending on the financial package they able to offer to their clients. Lenders are able to set fixed or variable interest rates. Charges will include the fees of setting out the loan. 
 7. Money laundering
 These are a major key factor for every financial lender to check. The law has come up with ways to detect lenders who take advantage of borrowers. There are rules that have been set apart to trace any crime of money laundering and any proceeds of crime. The law requires most professional advisers and lenders to adhere to these laws. For example, they are required to report to any suspicions they may have on money laundering .Such professionals face long sentence in jail when they fail to report anything that comes to their attention. 

Author's Bio:
 Natalie Pace is a qualified loans expert and deals widely with this subject. Being in the finance field for a long time, she likes to write blogs about insurance and she has a vast amount of knowledge on the subject. She has some vital knowledge on quick personal loans, which is an insight for everyone. 

Other Resources:  SBA Loan Programs

2 How To Utilize Scrap Gold To Make Money

Scrap gold is presently a worthwhile business commodity; however it's prudent to know how to trade this commodity so that you can earn a lot of money. Gold always holds a basic value regardless of its state because it can be melted down with ease and reworked. This is to say, out-dated and broken jewellery, decorative properties and watches are worthwhile and can earn you handsome cash. 

What is the value of scrap gold?

The price of scrap gold should always not be less than the current price of gold on the market which is called the spot price. This is to say, if you have some goods that have lost their decorative value, such as broken jewellery, you are still in a position to earn good cash out of them. Prior to selling your gold, always inquire about its current market price. Put the gold in a weighing balance after removing additional fixing and stones and estimate its approximate price using the market value. This guides you on what to expect when selling your gold since this is what it will be able to fetch you in its basic condition. Gold coins are more collectible and therefore they can be slightly more valuable in comparison to the basic market cost. It's beneficial to gather coins and jewellery products, especially those that have precious gems like diamonds and are still in their fantastic state. These are often highly valued by collectors and could be worth a lot of money.

Ways of selling scrap gold

Items in your possession and in good state, for example candlesticks, trays, jewellery, coins and many more can be considered for sale by auction. The online auction and traditional auction house prices have always maintained consistency for collectible gold products; therefore, this is often a splendid place for maximizing money. When selling via online auctions, proper product listing is a critical tool which offers a correct description and weight and puts clear images of the products and hallmarks they may possess. This assists the customers in value recognition and bid for a reasonable price for your gold. Scrap gold can also be sold via auction but don't forget to place a reserve on the lot so that it doesn't go at a cheaper price.

Local pawnbrokers and jewelers are always willing to purchase gold products; however, you should ensure you receive varieties of quotes because they usually don't offer competitive rates. There are also many committed scrap gold dealers who operate in local areas and via the internet. These are often splendid places when offering your scrap gold for sale since they give good prices, closer to the gold base rate, and will always make it easier for you to sell the scrap gold. However, their reputation is worthwhile, so it's always vital to consider this because you will have to post the item for them to valuate it prior to payment. It's wise to employ recorded delivery to ensure that the gold is received by the buyer and you also have proof of the sale.

19 Help After the Holidays With Payday Loans

January can be a very difficult month financially. Trying to cope with all the expenses that the holiday season can bring, means that most people are short of money at this time of the year. This is when many people look for financial help. 

In December, many people get paid a week early, to help them cope with Christmas. This can be very useful, but means that there is an extra week before being paid in January and as this is often the month when the credit card bill from Christmas spending comes, then it can be very difficult to manage. 

This can be the time when many people find that payday loans can help them. A payday loan will let you have some money until you next get paid. You may find that you are more likely to run out of money in January or you have a bill in for something you bought that you cannot manage to pay for. The loan will allow you to be able to get that extra bit of help until you get paid in January.

It is lovely to be able to buy great food and gifts at Christmas time but many people find it difficult to manage afterwards. It is lovely to bring joy to people but the financial burden can be too much to bear, especially if you do not plan things properly. It could therefore be a great option, to be able to get a payday loan. 

To get a loan like this, you will need to have a regular monthly income. If you have a bad credit record, you need not worry as there are no credit checks. This means that it is a really good option for anyway who does have this worry. It is also good for anyone who has used up all of their quick credit options, perhaps got a maximum overdraft and credit card and so cannot get other money quickly. A payday loan can be organised in a matter of hours in some cases and so it can be a great option in these cases. The money can be there quickly to make sure that you have enough to cover that unexpected bill or other financial need. 

Payday loans do have a bad reputation for being expensive. They are a big risk for the lender, which is why they are dear but they will let you know exactly how much you will need to pay back and so you will not have any hidden costs. You do need to be careful to make sure that you pay it back on time though, because you will have extra fees, charges and possibly even higher interest if you delay the pay back. They do make it easy to make the payment though, by setting up an automatic payment from your bank, so it is not easy to miss it. Of course if the money is not in there, then they will not be able to take it. 

You can find more info about payday loans at http://payday-loan-bad-credit.co.uk

7 How To Utilize Gold Price to Make Wise Investment

There are many big and small investors all over the world. People do invest their money with respect to get positive returns in terms of profit to their investment. Investment on gold can be done in a number of ways such as through stock exchange secondary markets, via banks etc.

Gold prices keeps fluctuating for which there is a need of keeping a track on the change in price of the gold. The change in gold prices depends on multi-factors in the financial markets. A proper financial planning is required for investing in gold. Buying gold is a good investment as the price of the gold is rising with each passing day.

 

Gold as investment

Out of all metals which are precious,gold is considered as one of the most favorite and popular in the investment point of view. In gold market gold is always subjected to some or the other speculation in comparison to the other markets, mainly by the use of derivatives and futures contracts.In the ancient history of gold standards, gold reserves has played a very important role in the central banking along with the low correlation of gold, and prices of other commodities. We can also say that gold being a commodity behaves just like the liquid cash which can be converted into cash any moment with an ease.

Factors which can influence gold price

Some of the factors which influences or drives the gold price are s follows –

• Demand and supply – the demand and supply highly affects the gold prices. When the demand is excess over the supply, its price started rising and as soon as the supply becomes excess over the demand the price started falling down.
• Speculation – it is a practice to get engaged in such financial transactions which are risky in nature. People do speculation with the attempt for making profit from either medium or short term fluctuations of gold in market value of the tradable goods for example the financial instruments instead of attempting to making profit from financial attributes which are underlying which embodies in such financial instruments like dividends, interest, capital gains etc. many speculators do not pay much attention to fundamental value of security rather they focus more on the price movements of gold. Speculators are common in financial markets for commodity, bonds, stocks, derivatives, real estates, collectibles, fine art, currencies, futures and many more.
• Savings and disposal –savings and disposal is playing a very important role for affecting the price of commodities but as far as the gold prices are concerned it focuses more on the consumption. The gold which have been mind in all the years most of which are still existing in an accessible form like jewelry which are mass produced, bullion which has a very little value on the fine weight. It can potentially come back into gold market at right price.

More about the value of gold and investments

The quantity of the stored gold above the ground as compared to annual production, gold price is affected mainly by the change in its demand or sentiment rather than the change in supply o the annual production.

Some of the important gold based questions which knock every mind of an investor are as follows –

• Whether the investment on gold is a wiser decision or is it only a store of value simply.
• Is investing on the gold at higher price is a good decision?

For answering the above questions it is very important to follow expert’s advice in the financial market as well as on keeping continuous track of the changing values and prices of the gold time to time. You must analyze and understand the trend of the prices of gold before making your investment or before risking your money into it. Only a very few knows about the relationship between the gold prices and the silver prices. However it is complimentary and related. 

Author's Bio:

Criss Derek is a specialist in global resources as well as a contributing writer. He writes on Gold Price to make people aware about the pros and cons of investing in gold. Read his blogs to stay updated about the price fluctuation in gold.

1 Bear Market Investing Strategies

Bear markets are worrisome indeed. But one need not get unduly perturbed. When the market is down, ‘buy’ is the strategy to be practiced. Watch out for those companies that are selling at a lower price than usual. This is generally referred to as averaging down. This could be a good equities investment in the long term. 

It has been observed that when there is a lot of optimism in the market, it results in the welling up of buying by investors and then this bull market paves way for the entry of the bear market. The intermittent stage is when the cleverest of investors manages to steer clear of the stock market plunge. But the rest are tossed about in the oncoming gush of the bear market waters and then they feel that they are going to drown. So they, in totality, get out of the market while they are in the midst of this bear market. In most cases, this is the wrong move as they incur more losses on their investments. They should actually wait for the stock market to recover / gain from the upside in the succeeding bull market. Thus when the market is under-valued, it is quite difficult to understand when to again invest in it. Similarly when the market is over-valued, selling out is tricky.

History has seen that investors who do not part with their stocks when the bear market is ongoing stand to gain more on their investments when it recovers than investors who wait for some period after the market rally to reinvest in it.

The bear market is feared so much that some investors shy to ever purchase stocks thereon. When recovery is seen, they tend to view it with skepticism; thinking it could be temporary, which also could well be true. These investors then wait until the time when the market is so full of talks of stocks yielding handsome profits that their past losses fade out as a paled nightmare and they reinvest well into the rally. At such a maximum-risk-time, the stocks tend to be very high-priced and the returns will mostly fetch extremely less upside as compared to the times when the market sentiment is quite weak.

With all the complications involved with investments during the bear market, it is very necessary to understand what exactly happens herein: The stock market sits low for an exceedingly long period of time on account of a variety of factors; namely, when there is a decline in the profits of corporations; when there is a correction of over-valuation, etc. The jittery investors sell their stocks in this scenario and hence the price tumbles. This fear is transmitted to other investors as well and they too sell their stocks. Thus starts the vicious circle. And before the stocks lose value, selling is advisable. For long term investments, buying into the bear market is recommended.

The best stocks to buy would be those who look to offer potential profits in the long run, for, say, the next ten to twenty years.

Author Bio:

Liza Dey is a financial advisor in a leading stock market company in Canada and she has immense interest in writing about latest trends in the financial market. She publishes her market forecasts and investment suggestions often through the internet. Writing guest posts and articles is one of her passions so as to create awareness in investors all around the globe. You can visit http://www.profitconfidential.com/ to read about her recent market forecasts and helpful financial investment suggestions.

0 Improve Your Lifestyle at No Cost

Everyone has needed to look closely at their spending in the past few years; job security was at its weakest in years after the subprime lending problems hit economies all around the world. It has left many people facing financial problems and many needing to obtain bad credit loans after their credit score was hit.

While there is a slow improvement there are still issues still be resolved as forecasts suggest that USA growth will not go much above 2% in 2013; it will need 3% to make any further impact on unemployment statistics. In these circumstances there are a few tips to follow that can improve your lifestyle without it hitting your pocket. 

It is certainly worth looking more closely at your expenditure; are there any regular purchases that are not really necessary, certainly not so regularly? It may be you are easily seduced by advertising; resist. If you cut down in some areas, there is nothing to stop spending the savings on other things as long as you are balancing your monthly budget. It’s a matter of focus.

While in an ideal world your home would have every single appliance, everything a kitchen needs in terms of utensils etc., but is there the need to own something that’s use is irregular at best? A friendly neighbor who will lend you something you need for a short time can be the answer. You can reciprocate.

You can’t own everything you want, particularly if you are in the process of repairing your finances. Bad credit loans may come at a couple of points higher than the norm so repairing a credit score can reduce monthly spending in the medium term.

It is certainly nice to have a monthly surplus and to build that up over months. There is no need to spend everything you earn. If you need to borrow it comes at a cost and as previously stated bad credit loans are more costly. If you are beginning to create a surplus there will be less need for loans and your standard of living can rise as a consequence.

It may sound strange that your lifestyle will improve if you cut down on takeaways and eating out but it is much more cost effective to do your own cooking. Without being critical of cooked food that you can buy you are likely to eat better if you cook yourself, particularly in relation to takeaways.

Why not speculate to accumulate? Buying necessities that are at discounted prices and looking to insulate the house to reduce energy bills do involve spending in the short term but they can contribute to a better lifestyle in the medium term.

These are just a few ideas to improve your lifestyle at no cost, certainly in the medium term. Bad credit loans can become a thing of the past if you can regain your financial health; the days of casual spending have been questioned since the financial crisis. Those days may never come again, certainly not any time soon.

3 How to Save Up For Your Vacation Dream Home

Saving up for your vacation dream home is not as complicated as it may seem. However, it does involve a lot of self discipline and the willingness to make temporary sacrifices in the present in order to enjoy a luxury vacation home in the future. Following are some tips on how you can save up for the vacation home of your dreams, a bit at a time.
 

Saving Money

A number of financial gurus suggest that a person should set aside about 10% of his or her income and put this money in a savings account. This is a wise idea and should be done before a person spends money from his or her monthly paycheck.

Naturally, saving 10% of your income means that you have less money to spend in the present. Chances are you will probably have to make some sacrifices in order to save this amount of money. Perhaps you will have to eat out less often than before, buy secondhand clothing instead of new clothes and/or walk or ride a bike every so often instead of driving short distances. However, if the vacation home is worth it to you, then making these small sacrifices will not be such a big deal.

Increasing Saved Money via Investments

If you want to maximize your savings, then investing this money can be a good idea. Every type of investment comes with some risks, although some investment options are safer than others. Buying gold is a good way to make more money, as gold usually costs more at the end of the year than it did at the beginning. Other safe investment options include buying fixed annuities, putting the money in a savings account that accumulates interest and investing in bonds.

A person may also want to invest in a few risky investments, such as stocks and mutual funds. While there is a chance that one will lose money, these investments have the potential to be very profitable. You just need to do some research to see which exact stocks and mutual funds are the best ones to invest in at the present time. You will also need to keep an eye on your investments and be prepared to sell them quickly if they take a sudden downturn.

Calculate how much your vacation dream home will cost and then determine how much money you will need to set aside every month in order to buy the home of your choice. You can then determine if saving money is enough or if investing the saved money is also in order.

While you can take out a mortgage or refinance your home in order to buy a vacation home, it is cheaper and better to save the money and pay for the home without going into debt. The above tips provide a good starting point for anyone who wants to set aside money to buy a luxury vacation home.

About the Author: The author is an expert in the field of buying property and has written extensively on the subject. Click here if you are interested in good deals on luxury properties in Park City, Utah.

0 Save On Money Through Couponing

Couponing is a great way to stay on budget, which is especially important during the holiday season, when the temptation to overspend on others is almost irresistible. But even in this season of giving, you can use coupons effectively to minimize the impact on your wallet, and make January’s budget less stressful for you. The first step is to make a list of who you need to buy for, and estimate how much you are willing to spend. Be realistic as to what your limits are, and most importantly, firmly stick to them. Think of gift ideas that match these spending limits, then it’s time to do some research on sales and coupons. Look in your local newspapers and flyers for in-store deals and coupons. Some stores allow for combining coupons with already lowered prices. The Internet is an excellent tool for finding great deals. Many manufacturers offer exclusive coupons on their own websites, as well as on retail websites. Several coupon-specific websites consolidate offers from various other websites for one-stop searching. Active users on these sites share their own coupon finds, which leads to a list of bargains that is constantly being updated. Websites such as Groupon and LivingSocial have daily offers for services and entertainment (as well as tangible items) that are frequently at a fraction of the regular cost. These “coupons” make for excellent gift-giving when you know the recipient and their tastes well. One does not need to pay a premium to afford going out, if you plan ahead and are open to new experiences. I spoke with the experts in printable coupons from Canadian Savers and their best word of advice for couponing beginners is to shop around for the best deals. Compare prices, and take your time in deciding. Impulse shopping, even with coupons in hand, is never a good idea for your bank account. Take your time, do your research, and do not allow yourself to be pressured into a purchase price that you are not completely comfortable with. Also, take the time to evaluate your needs. If you are spending money for products that you won’t use, or are name brands that are still more expensive than store-brand equivalent versions, then that’s just money down the drain. Pay attention to “deals” that are really product promotions in disguise. Couponing can enable you to cut corners and save money in your day-to-day life, but it requires a little research and a lot of self-awareness of your own shopping habits. Let’s start the new year off with a resolution to spend less and save more.