A commonly held notion is that a debt relief program will help anyone who is struggling financially. They will at least be able to reduce credit card debt to a manageable level and save some money each month.
However, this is not always the case. Sometimes a debt relief program ends up costing the consumer more than what they are able to save. For instance, if a consumer has low credit card balances but is still only able to make the minimum payments, a debt reduction loan may not ultimately help them. One reason is that late fees and interest continue to accrue on the balances of the credit cards while enrolled in the program. These charges are usually a flat fee and therefore are a more substantial percentage of a smaller balance than they are for a larger balance. Also, debt reduction adversely affects your credit score. Therefore, while you may reduce your current credit card debt somewhat, you will ultimately pay higher rates on any future credit cards.
Another area where debt reduction might actually cost more than it saves is if you underestimate your monthly expenses and set your monthly payment too high. If your payment is set too high and you are unable to continue making the payments, all fees paid to that point would be lost. It is vital to allow enough room in the budget for the unexpected expenses that always arise so that you can continue to make the debt reduction payments timely.
If a person has a good or excellent credit score, debt reduction will adversely affect their credit substantially more than it would a person whose score was already marginal. Those who have good credit but feel they need a debt reduction service, should analyze what type of credit they intend to utilize over the next few years. If plans are to purchase a home, then debt reduction may not be the right option, since the mortgage interest rate will be substantially higher for someone who has gone through debt consolidation than for someone who has not.
Only the individual can determine whether debt reduction is the right step for them to take, the debt reduction company cannot determine that for them. However, it is important to realize that debt reduction programs may not be the answer in every situation.
Some people in today’s economy think it’s a good idea to use their 401k to pay down debt. Though this is a popular choice, it might not be the right one. There are plenty of reasons why paying down debt with your 401k can be a crippling move.
The first disadvantage is that you are pulling money out of an account that’s generating compound interest. The best thing about a 401k is that you can allow your money to grow without having to pay taxes at the current time. Compound interest will help your account grow significantly faster than if you were just throwing money at it on your own. Though you might think borrowing against your 401k is a wise long-term move, it is more likely to strip your saving potential.
The second problem with these loan options is that when you decide to leave your current job, you will likely have to pay off your loan immediately. You will have to leave behind that 401k and there will be tax disadvantages to that kind of move. Many individuals have borrowed against their 401k in hopes of getting out of debt quickly, but the situation can blow up in your face if you aren’t careful.
Lastly, using a retirement account in this way is likely not even necessary. There are many good debt relief programs out there that can give you exactly what you are looking for. You can be out of debt in matter of months without having to mortgage your future. These accounts are important and they provide structure for your financial future. It is not wise to touch them unless you absolutely have to. When other options exist and can be even more effective, it generally makes sense to use those over using your 401k account.
There are many things a business does not want, or need. One of these is to be hit, out of the blue, with a solicitor’s letter alleging that someone has been injured, or property has been damaged, because of your business activities – this is where small business liability insurance / public and products liability can come into play.
I used to find it quote amusing, many years ago, to read some of the stories coming from the United States of America about claims that people were making against businesses. Whilst it is undoubtedly a serious business, we used to hear of some weird and wonderful claims being made. You would instantly laugh them off and say that they were never likely to proceed. Claims ranged from people burning their mouths on hot beverages or food because they were not warned to falling off play equipment because there were not safety procedures in place.
The problem is that some of these claims were settled. Not a full settlement mind you, but an “out of court” settlement. What this usually means is that even though the company having the claim made against them knows full well that in the course of time, the claim would be kicked out of court. But, it is more cost effective to offer a settlement based on less than the legal and staff fees would be to take the claim all the way.
Insurance companies are starting to fight back against these spurious claims that are made, with the sole purpose or aggravating the insurers into making a quick and easy settlement.
If you, as a business, sell or provide a product, then potentially that product could cause injury, illness or disease to a third party person, or damage to property. If you or your staffs visit third party premises, either to do some work, or just a sales call, then you could do the same, injure someone or damage property. And, lastly, if a member of the public or someone through their work visits your shop or office or other business premises then they could injure them, usually through tripping, slipping or falling.
As you would expect, products you supply need to be covered by products liability insurance. Your business activities, by public liability insurance.
Think of the worst case, once in a blue moon, scenario and the potential costs, just in legal fees could be huge. This is where the liability insurance is good because it covers spurious claims as well. If you have customer who alleges they slipped in your shop on such and such a date, and you have no recollection of this, then the insurers will deal with this. They will ask who at the shop was told, which hospital they went to, what caused the injury and a whole host of other questions. The claimant will probably have a solicitor looking for the very, very expensive pound of flesh, but don’t let this deter you.
What you should not do is react to any letter, simply pass this straight away to your business insurance broker or insurer and get them to deal with. You may be furious that a claim is being made, but don’t react and respond to any letters, let your insurers deal with it.
Remember those amusing American claims? There was a programme on the TV in 2010, following different councils. On Clapham Common in South London there are hundreds and hundreds of trees. The council settled a claim for someone who was hit by a branch falling from a tree. Do you know why? Because they could not prove they had an adequate health and safety survey process in force to check all of their trees for potential falling branches.
There are many things a business does not want, or need. One of these is to be hit, out of the blue, with a solicitor’s letter alleging that someone has been injured, or property has been damaged, because of your business activities – this is where small business liability insurance / public and products liability can come into play.
I used to find it quote amusing, many years ago, to read some of the stories coming from the United States of America about claims that people were making against businesses. Whilst it is undoubtedly a serious business, we used to hear of some weird and wonderful claims being made. You would instantly laugh them off and say that they were never likely to proceed. Claims ranged from people burning their mouths on hot beverages or food because they were not warned to falling off play equipment because there were not safety procedures in place.
The problem is that some of these claims were settled. Not a full settlement mind you, but an “out of court” settlement. What this usually means is that even though the company having the claim made against them knows full well that in the course of time, the claim would be kicked out of court. But, it is more cost effective to offer a settlement based on less than the legal and staff fees would be to take the claim all the way.
Insurance companies are starting to fight back against these spurious claims that are made, with the sole purpose or aggravating the insurers into making a quick and easy settlement. If you, as a business, sell or provide a product, then potentially that product could cause injury, illness or disease to a third party person, or damage to property. If you or your staffs visit third party premises, either to do some work, or just a sales call, then you could do the same, injure someone or damage property. And, lastly, if a member of the public or someone through their work visits your shop or office or other business premises then they could injure them, usually through tripping, slipping or falling. As you would expect, products you supply need to be covered by products liability insurance. Your business activities, by public liability insurance.
Think of the worst case, once in a blue moon, scenario and the potential costs, just in legal fees could be huge. This is where the liability insurance is good because it covers spurious claims as well. If you have customer who alleges they slipped in your shop on such and such a date, and you have no recollection of this, then the insurers will deal with this. They will ask who at the shop was told, which hospital they went to, what caused the injury and a whole host of other questions. The claimant will probably have a solicitor looking for the very, very expensive pound of flesh, but don’t let this deter you.
What you should not do is react to any letter, simply pass this straight away to your business insurance broker or insurer and get them to deal with. You may be furious that a claim is being made, but don’t react and respond to any letters, let your insurers deal with it.
Remember those amusing American claims? There was a programme on the TV in 2010, following different councils. On Clapham Common in South London there are hundreds and hundreds of trees. The council settled a claim for someone who was hit by a branch falling from a tree. Do you know why? Because they could not prove they had an adequate health and safety survey process in force to check all of their trees for potential falling branches.
A business or commercial mortgage is the one which is secured by a real estate which is used for business purposes. The proceeds of a business mortgage are to be used for the business purposes only. A business mortgage can be secured by a land or building or an on-going business. Business mortgages too can be a first time mortgage or a refinance mortgage. Thus, if you want to refinance your business mortgage you can do that with the help of business home refinance mortgage loans.
Areas of business mortgage underwriting:
The four main areas of business mortgage underwriting are-
1. Cash Flow Analysis or DSCR - The most important component while underwriting a business loan request is the analysis of the cash flow of the property. The ratio which is used to calculate this cash flow for a business loan is the DSCR or DSC ratio. Generally, commercial lenders require at least a DSCR of 1.20x. That is, for every dollar ($1.00) incurred in debt, the property must contribute one dollar and twenty cents ($1.20) in cash flow in order to support the business mortgage payment.
2. Loan to Value or LTV – Unlike simple residential properties, business properties are viewed rather conservatively. Generally, commercial lenders require a minimum of 20% of the purchase price to be paid by the buyer during the application of business mortgage. The remaining 80% can be in the form of commercial mortgages provided by a bank or a business mortgage company. However, some commercial lenders require you to pay more than 20%. If you know a lender’s LTV requirements, you will also be able to calculate the business mortgage loan amount by multiplying the purchase price with the LTV percentage.
3. Credit Worthiness of the borrower – For business loans, the personal credit of the borrower will be critically evaluated. You need to have a minimum of 680 credit score in order to qualify for a business mortgage.
4. Analysis of property– In addition to your credit the Fair Market Value and the Fair Market Rent will be analyzed too. The special use of property may require an additional underwriting. Some other factors which may be considered are the age, accessibility, appearance, location, and the local market.
A business mortgage underwriting is done on a case-by-case basis because both the borrower and the property that is to be financed create a unique individual situation.
Here is the fastest and easiest way to tell the trend in the foreign exchange markets.
In today’s video I’m going to share with you a wonderful way to look at the forex markets and determine which way they are headed in a matter of seconds. We’ll be looking at three different cross rates and how they all correlate together in a way that I think may surprise you.
The forex markets are the biggest markets in the world and MarketClub not only covers all of them, but also covers them in real-time with pricing and charts. I hope you learn from this video and take the time to post your comments on our blog.
How much do you think you could learn if you had a chance to sit down with over 15 of the most successful day, value, and long term investors of all time? Do you think you’d finally get that one piece of advice that takes your trading from OK to extraordinary? Today you have the chance to pick the brain of one man who has sat down with experts and got your top questions answered.
The key ingredient with ‘super-traders’ isn’t as complicated as you think, as most of them share the same traits and behavioral patterns, but it’s how they put them to work in the markets that sets them apart.
Click Here to watch the seminar that brings the experts to you:
Don’t delay and once you visit the seminar you’ll notice 3 other seminars…that’s a special bonus just for you, from me!
Adam has created 2 more videos..the 1st one talks about the Dow Jones Industrial Index, whereas the 2nd one talks about the Gold market. I hope that you find them useful.
Two Major Forces Collide in the Index Markets
by Adam Hewison
On Wednesday, 11/11/09, the Dow Jones Industrial Index rallied to a 50% retracement level based on MarketClub’s Fibonacci measuring tool. The action today indicates that this level is very important and that it could be an important top for this market.
In my latest video I cover both the Dow and the S&P 500 and tell you what I think is going to happen to both of these markets in the near and intermediate term.
Today, 11/12/09, the gold market took its first corrective action on the downside. The question many traders will have now is, have we hit the high end for gold this year?
In my latest video I examine that question in some of the internals that I see and feel are important in this market.
As always our videos are free to watch and there is no need to register.
There are many people that trade in the S&P 500 index and the spot gold market. Have these 2 markets reached their high for the year? Adam gives his thoughts in the two videos below. I hope that you found them as interesting as I did.
There is compelling evidence that we may have seen a top in the S&P index. In my new short video, I show you the evidence that I have found which may point to the fact that we are going to see a correction in this index.
While the S&P index needs to put in more work to create a major top, there are early signs that this may be happening. I think when you watch this video you will come to the same conclusion as I did in regards to this market.
That is the big question on many traders’ minds as gold fell from a high around $1,070 to the lows seen earlier today.
In my new video that was shot at noon on Tuesday 10/27, I go into detail on what I think is going to happen to this market. I think you will see a refreshing view of the gold market and also the strategies that we’re employing to take advantage of the next big move in gold.
Of the three major indexes we track: DOW, NASDAQ and the S&P 500, only the NASDAQ is in thin air.
What do I mean by thin air? So far the NASDAQ is the only index to make it past the 50% Fibonacci retracement levels as measured from the highs seen in 2007 and the lows that were made in March of this year.
Both the Dow and the S&P 500 have rallied strongly from their March lows but have not made it over the 50% retracement level.
Many professional traders – myself included – are looking at the NASDAQ’s Fibonacci retracement as it represents a potentially key turning point for this year’s market.
While not all the pieces are in place to go short or get out of long positions, one of the first clues is being put in place today by the Japanese candlestick charts.
In my new video, I share with you the NASDAQ retracement levels, as well as one of the key components that could lead to a potential reversal to the downside.
Adam shows how you could have invested into 4 markets and got 6% returns per month over the last 42 months. How many fund managers would have made those type of returns in that economic environment? Once more, it is dead easy to understand and implement. Watch the video below and then click here to get access to the second part of the video.
The Perfect Portfolio for 10,000 or 10,000,000 Dollars
Is there such a thing as a perfect portfolio? Maybe or maybe not, but there are certain times, and this is one those times, that it is practically a no brainer in how to make money in the market. That is why we call this approach “The Perfect Portfolio”.
It doesn’t matter if you have $10,000 or $10,000,000. It’s all percentages and this approach has averaged 6% a month over the last 42 months in some of the toughest economic time on record.
Right about now you might be saying to yourself, “Man this has got to be super risky and they must be swinging for the fences or using some highly speculative option plays, or worse yet, futures.” It is none of these. In fact, the approach downright conservative and in some cases only makes 1 trade a year. Now I understand that this is not going to make your broker happy, but whose money is it anyway?!
Okay, let’s get started. This is a two part video and I promise I will show you how these gains were generated and how you can easily replicate this approach. No one can guarantee 6 percent per month returns, but what I can guarantee is that this approach is proactive. There are very few trades and it works!
