Fortunately banks are by no means the only institutions which lend money to people. If a bank will not let you borrow money, the chances are that you have a credit rating which is less than perfect. While this can be a problem for a lot of lenders, there are plenty of others who specialise in people with bad credit.
A poor credit rating does send a signal to lenders that you are going to be a higher risk than someone without your credit problems, so the terms of bad credit borrowing can often be adjusted to compensate for this. What that means is that if a lender thinks they are less likely to get all their money back by lending to people with a history of credit problems, they are probably going to charge a higher interest rate to make up for their increased losses.
However, there are other types of borrowing where a bad credit rating is far less of an issue anyway. The main one being secured loans, where the money you borrow is secured against something you own, usually your house, but sometimes a car. What this means is that the loan is legally tied into the ownership of your home, so if you were to default on the loan and not pay it back, the lender could have your house sold to get their money. Because they have this ultimate safety net to fall back on, they are much more willing to overlook bad credit ratings and lend much higher amounts of money.
The other type of lending which often does not rely on a credit report is for very short term loans for small amounts of cash. These are referred to as payday or cash advance loans. These are always for relatively small amounts and usually only for a period of weeks, or months at the most. The reason credit reports matter less is that the lender is unlikely to be lending you any more money than you will be getting in your next pay packet. So provided you prove that you have a job and will be getting paid at the end of the month, they do not usually worry about your credit rating.
You need to be careful if you are considering either of these types of borrowing. Secured loans put your home at risk, so for fairly obvious reasons you need to consider these carefully and be sure that you are going to be able to keep up with repayments. Knowing that they have your home to cover the debt, some less scrupulous companies may not be that careful about assessing your ability to repay the loan, and not very understanding if you do get into difficulties. You should therefore be very careful when you are selecting a company to use for such a serious undertaking.
Payday loans are for small amounts of money, but the interest charges are very high if you use the loans for longer periods than are intended. Like secured loans, this form of borrowing is a little open to abuse by less responsible lenders, who will be only to happy to slap outrageous penalty charges on you if you do not pay the loan back on time. Take care to seek recommendations on well established and reputable companies, and always get quotes from more than one.
Read recommendations for the most reputable direct payday lenders in the US and UK.
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Friday, 30 October 2009
Why Is Budgeting Important - How Budgeting Can Turn Your Finances Around
A budget is an extremely useful tool which can help you control your financial situation. Many people who get into problems with debt or overspending do so at least partly through not fully understanding where their money is going. By using budgeting techniques you can get a clear picture of exactly what you spend your money on, and take action to adjust that balance if it is not what you want to be doing. In other words, it is not about stopping all expenditure, but rather choosing what you spend your money on and making sure you have money free for the things you really want.
Working to a budget really should not mean permanent thrift and misery; it is about understanding and control, and the end result should be that you have more money to spend. The difference an effective budget can make is enormous, and it really is largely about getting a clear understanding of where all your money goes to, so that you can make sure that matches up with the amount you have coming in.
If you buy a coffee once or twice a day, it costs very little each day, so you don’t even think about it. However, if you add that up and work out how much that is every month and every year, it becomes a substantial amount of money, which you may well decide you would rather do something else with. If you buy lunch every day at work, would you really rather do that than bring something from home and have an extra holiday each year? It really does make that much difference and most people are making these sort of choices on a daily basis without knowing it.
So understanding that a budget can be a useful thing is a bit of a no-brainer, but then comes the part where many people fall down - doing something about it. Understandably, a lot of people do not get started down the budgeting route simply through a lack of understanding of how to go about it. There are various options you can consider, but in essence what you need to find is a system you can follow that gives you an easy way to keep track of where your money is going. If you are reasonably comfortable with figures and spreadsheets, you can do this completely from scratch. You can download free budget sheets online to get you started.
The problem is that unless you are very determined, it does not take much to be put off following the whole process through and putting in the work that is required to prepare your own budget manually. The alternative is to use some sort of budgeting tool, of which there are many on the market. The reason these are so popular is that they take all the hard work out of budgeting and mean that you only need spend a small amount of time keeping track of your finances. Keeping the process as simple as possible is actually quite an important factor in determining whether people put the budget into action and stick to it or not.
Even with a budgeting tool, you will need to spend some time initially inputting all your financial information so that you can come up with your monthly budget. Once that work is done, however, the all important monitoring and updating is so much easier with a budgeting software tool. Some packages will even pull your online bank statements into the system so that all your financial information is integrated in one place. One of the most useful aspects of a good budget tool should be the reporting function. This is where you are able to really analyse your spending, to show you in a clear and simple way where exactly your money goes, where spending is out of control and which areas require your attention.
Read reviews and recommendations on home budgeting software.
Working to a budget really should not mean permanent thrift and misery; it is about understanding and control, and the end result should be that you have more money to spend. The difference an effective budget can make is enormous, and it really is largely about getting a clear understanding of where all your money goes to, so that you can make sure that matches up with the amount you have coming in.
If you buy a coffee once or twice a day, it costs very little each day, so you don’t even think about it. However, if you add that up and work out how much that is every month and every year, it becomes a substantial amount of money, which you may well decide you would rather do something else with. If you buy lunch every day at work, would you really rather do that than bring something from home and have an extra holiday each year? It really does make that much difference and most people are making these sort of choices on a daily basis without knowing it.
So understanding that a budget can be a useful thing is a bit of a no-brainer, but then comes the part where many people fall down - doing something about it. Understandably, a lot of people do not get started down the budgeting route simply through a lack of understanding of how to go about it. There are various options you can consider, but in essence what you need to find is a system you can follow that gives you an easy way to keep track of where your money is going. If you are reasonably comfortable with figures and spreadsheets, you can do this completely from scratch. You can download free budget sheets online to get you started.
The problem is that unless you are very determined, it does not take much to be put off following the whole process through and putting in the work that is required to prepare your own budget manually. The alternative is to use some sort of budgeting tool, of which there are many on the market. The reason these are so popular is that they take all the hard work out of budgeting and mean that you only need spend a small amount of time keeping track of your finances. Keeping the process as simple as possible is actually quite an important factor in determining whether people put the budget into action and stick to it or not.
Even with a budgeting tool, you will need to spend some time initially inputting all your financial information so that you can come up with your monthly budget. Once that work is done, however, the all important monitoring and updating is so much easier with a budgeting software tool. Some packages will even pull your online bank statements into the system so that all your financial information is integrated in one place. One of the most useful aspects of a good budget tool should be the reporting function. This is where you are able to really analyse your spending, to show you in a clear and simple way where exactly your money goes, where spending is out of control and which areas require your attention.
Read reviews and recommendations on home budgeting software.
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Why Is Budgeting Important - How Budgeting Can Turn Your Finances Around
A budget is an extremely useful tool which can help you control your financial situation. Many people who get into problems with debt or overspending do so at least partly through not fully understanding where their money is going. By using budgeting techniques you can get a clear picture of exactly what you spend your money on, and take action to adjust that balance if it is not what you want to be doing. In other words, it is not about stopping all expenditure, but rather choosing what you spend your money on and making sure you have money free for the things you really want.
Working to a budget really should not mean permanent thrift and misery; it is about understanding and control, and the end result should be that you have more money to spend. The difference an effective budget can make is enormous, and it really is largely about getting a clear understanding of where all your money goes to, so that you can make sure that matches up with the amount you have coming in.
If you buy a coffee once or twice a day, it costs very little each day, so you don’t even think about it. However, if you add that up and work out how much that is every month and every year, it becomes a substantial amount of money, which you may well decide you would rather do something else with. If you buy lunch every day at work, would you really rather do that than bring something from home and have an extra holiday each year? It really does make that much difference and most people are making these sort of choices on a daily basis without knowing it.
So understanding that a budget can be a useful thing is a bit of a no-brainer, but then comes the part where many people fall down - doing something about it. Understandably, a lot of people do not get started down the budgeting route simply through a lack of understanding of how to go about it. There are various options you can consider, but in essence what you need to find is a system you can follow that gives you an easy way to keep track of where your money is going. If you are reasonably comfortable with figures and spreadsheets, you can do this completely from scratch. You can download free budget sheets online to get you started.
The problem is that unless you are very determined, it does not take much to be put off following the whole process through and putting in the work that is required to prepare your own budget manually. The alternative is to use some sort of budgeting tool, of which there are many on the market. The reason these are so popular is that they take all the hard work out of budgeting and mean that you only need spend a small amount of time keeping track of your finances. Keeping the process as simple as possible is actually quite an important factor in determining whether people put the budget into action and stick to it or not.
Even with a budgeting tool, you will need to spend some time initially inputting all your financial information so that you can come up with your monthly budget. Once that work is done, however, the all important monitoring and updating is so much easier with a budgeting software tool. Some packages will even pull your online bank statements into the system so that all your financial information is integrated in one place. One of the most useful aspects of a good budget tool should be the reporting function. This is where you are able to really analyse your spending, to show you in a clear and simple way where exactly your money goes, where spending is out of control and which areas require your attention.
Read reviews and recommendations on home budgeting software.
Working to a budget really should not mean permanent thrift and misery; it is about understanding and control, and the end result should be that you have more money to spend. The difference an effective budget can make is enormous, and it really is largely about getting a clear understanding of where all your money goes to, so that you can make sure that matches up with the amount you have coming in.
If you buy a coffee once or twice a day, it costs very little each day, so you don’t even think about it. However, if you add that up and work out how much that is every month and every year, it becomes a substantial amount of money, which you may well decide you would rather do something else with. If you buy lunch every day at work, would you really rather do that than bring something from home and have an extra holiday each year? It really does make that much difference and most people are making these sort of choices on a daily basis without knowing it.
So understanding that a budget can be a useful thing is a bit of a no-brainer, but then comes the part where many people fall down - doing something about it. Understandably, a lot of people do not get started down the budgeting route simply through a lack of understanding of how to go about it. There are various options you can consider, but in essence what you need to find is a system you can follow that gives you an easy way to keep track of where your money is going. If you are reasonably comfortable with figures and spreadsheets, you can do this completely from scratch. You can download free budget sheets online to get you started.
The problem is that unless you are very determined, it does not take much to be put off following the whole process through and putting in the work that is required to prepare your own budget manually. The alternative is to use some sort of budgeting tool, of which there are many on the market. The reason these are so popular is that they take all the hard work out of budgeting and mean that you only need spend a small amount of time keeping track of your finances. Keeping the process as simple as possible is actually quite an important factor in determining whether people put the budget into action and stick to it or not.
Even with a budgeting tool, you will need to spend some time initially inputting all your financial information so that you can come up with your monthly budget. Once that work is done, however, the all important monitoring and updating is so much easier with a budgeting software tool. Some packages will even pull your online bank statements into the system so that all your financial information is integrated in one place. One of the most useful aspects of a good budget tool should be the reporting function. This is where you are able to really analyse your spending, to show you in a clear and simple way where exactly your money goes, where spending is out of control and which areas require your attention.
Read reviews and recommendations on home budgeting software.
Monday, 26 October 2009
Small Loans With Bad Credit - Advice On How To Get Small Loans When Your Credit Is Bad
Having problems on your credit rating can wipe out access to borrowing money from a huge range of lenders. Most companies that lend larger amounts of money need to be sure that the people they lend it to are likely to pay it back, often over a considerable period of time. This is why your credit rating matters and your overall credit needs to be pretty good. However, if you only require a smaller amount of money, and you can pay it back relatively quickly, there are certainly loans that you can access, no matter how bad your credit is.
The main type of loan where your credit report is often of little interest is a payday loan. These are always for small amounts of money and always for a very short period of time. The loans are usually just until your next payday, hence the name. The reason that bad credit does not stop you getting one of these loans is that the loan is for a very short period of time, so the lender is only really interested in knowing that you will have enough money going into your bank account at the end of the loan period to cover what you have borrowed.
For this reason, the main criteria for being accepted for a payday loan are that you have a job and a bank account. While some companies still want to do a credit check, there are plenty who either will not check your rating, or who will be very flexible about any problems with your rating. Payday loan companies often used to require you to fax through various proofs of employment, etc, but with certain online companies you can now go through an extremely fast, entirely online application process, and have the money in your account the same day as you apply.
Payday loan companies will often require that you have a debit card or that you set up a direct debit with them to pay back the money borrowed. If you do take out one of these short term cash advance loans, it is very important to pay the full amount back exactly on time. The fees charged are reasonable when you look at them as a flat fee for a service, but when you compare them in terms of annual percentage rate with other types of borrowing, the interest rates are extremely high. So if you didn't pay the loan back on time and continued that debt for a longer period, the interest charges would soon mount up. Some people who have failed to repay a payday loan have ended up owing much more in interest than the amount they borrowed in the first place.
It is therefore important to understand what payday loans are and when you should use them. They are not designed to tackle ongoing debt problems, and if they are used in this way, it is almost inevitable that you will end up with bigger problems. They are for dealing with one-off, unforeseen bills or expenses, and tiding you over until your next payday. If you need to borrow money for longer, or require it to pay off other existing debts, then payday loans are not the answer.
The fact that such loans can lead to high interest charges if not used properly, does attract some lenders who are less than scrupulous and who add ridiculous penalty charges onto any late payments, making it very difficult to ever pay the loans off. For this reason you need to take great care when choosing a company to borrow from. Check that they are reputable and make sure you know what the terms and conditions are for any late payment interest. It is also worth getting quotes from more than one to compare rates.
Read recommendations for direct payday loan lenders.
The main type of loan where your credit report is often of little interest is a payday loan. These are always for small amounts of money and always for a very short period of time. The loans are usually just until your next payday, hence the name. The reason that bad credit does not stop you getting one of these loans is that the loan is for a very short period of time, so the lender is only really interested in knowing that you will have enough money going into your bank account at the end of the loan period to cover what you have borrowed.
For this reason, the main criteria for being accepted for a payday loan are that you have a job and a bank account. While some companies still want to do a credit check, there are plenty who either will not check your rating, or who will be very flexible about any problems with your rating. Payday loan companies often used to require you to fax through various proofs of employment, etc, but with certain online companies you can now go through an extremely fast, entirely online application process, and have the money in your account the same day as you apply.
Payday loan companies will often require that you have a debit card or that you set up a direct debit with them to pay back the money borrowed. If you do take out one of these short term cash advance loans, it is very important to pay the full amount back exactly on time. The fees charged are reasonable when you look at them as a flat fee for a service, but when you compare them in terms of annual percentage rate with other types of borrowing, the interest rates are extremely high. So if you didn't pay the loan back on time and continued that debt for a longer period, the interest charges would soon mount up. Some people who have failed to repay a payday loan have ended up owing much more in interest than the amount they borrowed in the first place.
It is therefore important to understand what payday loans are and when you should use them. They are not designed to tackle ongoing debt problems, and if they are used in this way, it is almost inevitable that you will end up with bigger problems. They are for dealing with one-off, unforeseen bills or expenses, and tiding you over until your next payday. If you need to borrow money for longer, or require it to pay off other existing debts, then payday loans are not the answer.
The fact that such loans can lead to high interest charges if not used properly, does attract some lenders who are less than scrupulous and who add ridiculous penalty charges onto any late payments, making it very difficult to ever pay the loans off. For this reason you need to take great care when choosing a company to borrow from. Check that they are reputable and make sure you know what the terms and conditions are for any late payment interest. It is also worth getting quotes from more than one to compare rates.
Read recommendations for direct payday loan lenders.
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